The Scandinavian defence union was a failed plan to establish a military alliance between Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark after the end of World War II. Finland had fought two wars against the Soviet Union, Denmark and Norway had been occupied by Germany between 1940 and 1945, and Sweden, having been a neutral state throughout the war, had still felt the effects on either side. The four governments agreed that integration in the area of defence was needed, although specific arrangements and the nature of a defence union would be subject to later negotiations.