 Most Soviet soldiers had proper winter clothes , but this was not the case with every unit . In the battle of Suomussalmi , many Soviet soldiers died of frostbite . The Soviet troops also lacked skill in skiing , so soldiers were restricted to movement by road and were forced to move in long columns . Furthermore , the Red Army lacked proper winter tents , and men had to sleep in improvised shelters . Some Soviet units had frostbite casualties as high as 10 % even before crossing the Finnish border . The cold weather did confer one advantage : Soviet tanks were able to move more easily over frozen terrain and bodies of water , rather than being immobilised in swamps and mud . 
