 An even greater problem than lack of soldiers was the lack of materiel ; foreign shipments of anti @-@ tank weapons and aircraft were arriving in small quantities . The ammunition situation was alarming , as stockpiles had cartridges , shells , and fuel only to last 19 – 60 days . The ammunition situation was alleviated somewhat because many Finns were armed with Mosin – Nagant rifles dating from the Finnish Civil War and updated infantry weapons capable of <unk> the 7 @.@ 62 × <unk> cartridges used by Soviet forces . Some Finnish soldiers maintained their ammunition supply by looting the bodies of dead Soviet soldiers . The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom afford counterbattery or saturation fire . Finnish tank forces were operationally non @-@ existent . 
