What If-Finland had been prepared for the Winter War?

[Juha Tompuri]

Kunnes helvetti jäätyy is a suitable and perhaps an even catchier title as well, but the proverb was not known to Finns until the later hollywoodization of our culture?

Well one another translation could be Hamaan helvetin jäätymiseen.
That would combine the modern(?) freezing of hell and an age old(?) term.

Regards, Juha

[CanKiwi2]

Kunnes helvetti jäätyy is a suitable and perhaps an even catchier title as well, but the proverb was not known to Finns until the later hollywoodization of our culture?

Well one another translation could be Hamaan helvetin jäätymiseen.
That would combine the modern(?) freezing of hell and an arch old(?) term.

Regards, Juha

Thx Juha,

I'll defer to you guys on what the best Finnish is - Kunnes helvetti jäätyy or Hamaan helvetin jäätymiseen. In the next Post, I'll use Kunnes helvetti jäätyy (part way down) - but change if you guys agree that Hamaan helvetin jäätymiseen sounds better.

And thx for all the suggestions - really appreciated .................Nigel

[CanKiwi2]

“Punainen myrsky – valkoinen kuolema” (Red Storm, White Death) – draft Table of Contents for this Winter War Alternative History

Spent a bit of time over the last week going through updating the Table of Contents and mapping things out a bit more clearly going forward. As always, comments, criticism, feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Especially on things that could be added in. On posting, I notice I've duplicated myself here and there so ignore those for now.

Finland – The Third Path
Independence, the Civil War, the Heimosodat & the aftermath
- Independence and the Civil War
- The Heimosodat (the Kinship Wars)
- Finnish Volunteers in the Estonian War of Independence
- Bitter Winners and Sore Losers – Reds and Whites in the 1920s
- The Jääkärit and their place in the Finnish Army

Foundations for Change: the 1920’s
- Finnish Economic and Industrial Growth – 1920 to 1939
- Finnish Nationalism and the Economy
- Building the Finnish Military-Industrial Complex
- Initial Steps towards a Maritime Industrial Complex
- The Finnish Army (Armeijan) through the 1920’s
- Origins of the Cadre-based Army
- Conscription: Finland Fast-Forwards into Military Modernity
- Training the Conscript Citizen-Soldier (in the 1920’s)
- Stories and Memories of Conscript Soldiering in the 1920’s
- Army Conscript Training and Mobilisation Plans in the 1920’s
- Finnish Army Infantry Weapons of the 1920’s
- Finnish Army Artillery of the 1920’s
- Finnish Army Anti-Aircraft Guns of the 1920’s
- The Suojeluskunta in the 1920’s
- The Lotta Svärd Yhdistys (Organisation)
- The Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force): a Brief History through the first half of the 1920’s
- The Ilmavoimat and the Kirke Mission
- The Ilmavoimat in the late 1920’s
- Coastal Defence Fortifications in the 1920’s
- The Fortress of Krepost Sveaborg
- Finland’s Coastal Artillery Fortresses

Social Cohesion and a sense of national identity in Finland
- Finnish Government and Politics of the 1920’s and 1930′s

• - The Defence Triumvirate – Mannerheim, Walden & Tanner
  - The Politics of the 1920’s
  - The Lapua Movement and Rise of the Isänmaallinen Kansanliike (IKL)

- Social Cohesion and the rapproachment between the Suojeluskunta (Civil Guard) and the Social Democrats
- The Triumvirate – Mannerheim, Rudolph Walden and Vaino Tanner
- The changing social and military role of the Suojeluskunta (Civil Guard) and Lotta Svard organizations
- An example of Corrective Action within the Armed Forces in the 1930’s and the wider ramifications of such a change within Civil Society

A Time of Change – the 1930′s
- The Finnish Naval Construction Program 1933-1939
- The development of KäsiKähmäTaistelu (KKT)
- Civil Aviation

• - The Growth of Finnish Civil Aviation and the Finnish Aviation Industry through the 1920’s and 1930’s
  - The Early Years of Finland’s Air Travel and the construction of Civil Airports
  - Civil Aviation, Forestry and Smokejumpers

- The Ilmavoimat through the 1930’s

• - Ilmailuvoimien Lentokonetehdas / the Finnish Airforce Aircraft Factory)
  - Aircraft Engine Manufacturing in Finland
  - Hispano-Suiza in Finland – Engines and Cannon
  - An Interesting Experiment
  - The Ramifications of the 1931 Military Review for the Ilmavoimat
  - The 1934 Ilmavoimat Procurement Program
  - The 1935 Ilmavoimat Procurement Program
  - The 1936 Ilmavoimat Procurement Program
  - The 1937 Ilmavoimat / Merivoimat Air Arm Procurement Program
  - The last of the 1937 Fighter purchases – the Fokker G.1 Fighter
  - 1937 – A Medium Bomber for the Ilmavoimat
  - The 1938 Ilmavoimat and Merivoimat Air Arm Procurement Program
  - The Torpedo Bomber Purchase of 1938
  - The 1938 Procurement Program: Additional Fighters for the Merivoimat
  - Observation, Army Co-operation and Medical Evac Aircraft – 1938
  - Other Programs: Gliders and “Assault Transport” aircraft
  - Water-bombers for Fire-fighting – and some spinoffs
  - Aerial Refueling Experiments and Droptanks
  - The Gyrocopter Program
  - The “Flour Bomb” Project

- The Development of Ilmavoimat Doctrine

• - Aarne Somersalo, Architect of the Ilmavoimat’s Air War
  - Lorentz, Magnusson, Somersalo & doctrinal development
  - Ilmavoimat volunteers in the Spanish CivilWar
  - Ilmavoimat Fighter Command and Control System
  - Ilmavoimat Bombing and dive-bombing
  - AA guns and Air Defence
  - Temporary airfield construction units

- Mining and Forestry

• - The Development of the Finnish Mining Industry
  - Forestry and related Industries
  - Reforestation and Planting Programs
  - Tools, Mechanisation and Transportation in the Finnish Forestry Industry
  - The Development of Fire Watching and it’s military applications within Finland
  - Flame Throwers in the Suomen Maavoimat
  - Fire Fighting, Aerial Surveillance, Forest Service Smokejumpers (Savusukeltaja) & the origins of the Parajaegers
  - Waterbombers, Aerial Refuelling, Drop Tanks & Molotov Bombs
  - Lightweight Body Armor for the Maavoimat

- Eric Tigerstedt & Military Communcations

• - The development of Radios for the Forest Service and for the Maavoimat
  - Radio in Finland in the 1920’s
  - Maavoimat Signals equipment through the 1920’s and into the 1930’s
  - The Maavoimat’s “Kyynel” Long-Range Patrol Radio
  - Eric Tigerstedt
  - The Nokia one-man Portable Combat-Radio
  - The Suomen Maavoimat’s “Suuritehotaisteluvalonheitin” Device
  - The Nokia Portable Combat Voice-Radio
  - The Nokia Radio-Wave Detection System
  - Verenimijä
  - The most heavily armed Pigeons in the World
  - ASDIC

- The Finnish Military-Industrial complex through the 1930’s

• - An Overview
  - Tampella Tampereen Pellava- ja Rautateollisuus Osake-Yhtiö (Tampere Linen and Iron Industry Ltd., abbreviated to Tampella)
  - Lokmo
  - Tolfvan
  - Crichton-Vulcan
  - Tikkakoski Rauta ja Puuteollisuusyhtiö
  - Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy (SAKO)
  - VPT – Valtion Patruunatehdas – State Cartridge Factory
  - VRT – Valtion Ruutitehdas – State Powder Factory
  - VKT – Valtion Kivääritehdas - State Rifle Factory
  - VTT - Valtion Tykkitehdas - State Artillery Factory
  - Machine Workshop Leskinen & Kari
  - Oy Physica Ab
  - Ab Strömberg Oy
  - Ammus Oy
  - Wårdström
  - Neste (Oil)
  - Tornio Steel
  - Ab Patria Oy (Tanks and AFV,s founded in the mid-1930's in this scenario)
  - Fertiliser & Chemicals? Ethanol and Wood/Charcoal as vehicle fuel
  - Xylitol from wood?
  - Any others I should consider?

- Maavoimat weapons design and weapons procurement thru the 1930’s

• - Infantry Weapons
  - The starting point: the Moison-Nagant Rifle
  - Antti Lahti and the Suomi SMG
  - The 7.62mm SLR Project, the LMG Sampo and standard ammunition
  - The shoulder-fired Mini-Mortar (basically a grenade launcher)
  - The Lahti 20mm Anti-Tank gun
  - Flamethrowers
  - Mortars
  - The 81mm Tampella Mortar
  - The 120mm Tampella Mortar

- Artillery

• - Nenonen, Master of the Guns
  - Artillery – The starting point in 1930
  - The 76mm Skoda Field Gun
  - The 105mm Tampella Howitzer
  - Heavy Artillery from France + French artillery tractors
  - Artillery buildup, guns, units, strength
  - Maavoimat Artillery Fire Control System
  - The Rocket Launchers

- AA Guns

• - Existing AA Guns – the starting point in 1930
  - The Bofors 76mm
  - The Bofors 40mm
  - The Lahti 20mm AA Gun

- Anti-Tank Guns

• - The 37mm Bofors AT Gun
  - The Bofors 76mm AA Gun conversion
  - The German 88's

- Mines
- Vehicles for the Armeijan
- Tanks and Armoured Cars

• - Renault FT17’s – the first tanks and armoured units
  - A second purchase of Renault FT-17’s
  - 1927/28 and observations on the British Experimental Mechanized Force and more
  - Post-1930 Tanks, Armoured Cars, experimental vehicles and Ab Patria Oy
  - A late development – armoured fighting vehicles
  - Finland’s Armour & Mechanized Fighting Strength as of late 1939

- Fortifying the Isthmus

• - The early fortifications and the geopolitical position
  - The Mannerheim Line and the Volunteer Construction Units of the 1930’s
  - Dragons Teeth – the 4 defence lines and intermediate positions as of late 1939

- Improvements in Finnish Coastal Defences over the 1930’s

• - The Marine Jaeger Division
  - The Naval Guns
  - Unsinkable Aircraft Carriers – key island fortresses of Finland
  - The Coastal Artillery Fortifications as of late 1939
  - Naval Expansion

- The Armeijan in the 1930’s – experimentation and evolution

• - The Armeijan in 1930 – a summary
  - The evolution of Armeijan doctrine
  - The evolution of Officer, NCO, Conscript and Cadet Training – “An Army of Leaders”
  - Experimentation: The Combined Arms Experimental Unit: flexibility, mobility and the evolution of the Combined Arms Regimental Battle Group
  - “Switzerland is our example” – Rifle Shooting Clubs, a Weapon in every Home, Total War, Propaganda and Morale
  - "Total War" - Mobilization Plan changes and manpower expansion - "Any war we fight will be a war involving the entire nation"
  - Organisational Changes – new units, revised strengths, inclusion of Lottas and Cadets in the mobilized Maavoimat
  - The Crucible: The experiences of the Finnish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War – lessons learned and applied
  - The “New” units – Armoured Division, Marines, ParaJaegers, Sissi units, Osasto Nyrkki, Combat Swimmers, other special units, Signals Intelligence & others
  - SIPL & the Ilmavoimat: training Pilots, Aircrew and Ground Personnel

Govt and Politics of the 1930’s
- Foreign Affairs thru the 1920’s and 1930’s and the attempts to build defence treaties
- Ties with Estonia and Estonian politics, history and the armed forces
- Sweden – Hopes and Disappointments
- Latvia and Lithuania
- Poland & the “secret agreement”
- The Guns vs Butter debates – Defence Funding through the 1930’s
- The USSR in the 1930’s

• - Internal and external politics
  - The Soviet Economy
  - Military developments and expansion
  - The Holodomor
  - The Red Army purges
  - The Finnish view (including Karelia and Ingria and the Purges)
  - Finnish Intelligence and the Soviet threat

The Great Awakening: Munich, October 1938
- Munich and the abandonment of Czechosolvakia / impact on Finnish military equipment orders from Czechoslovakia
- Mannerheim’s Speech: “Storm Clouds are gathering over Europe”
- Immediate increases in the defence budget
- Moving towards a War Economy
- Applying the lessons of the Spanish Civil War to the military
- A Nation in Arms – “Switzerland is our example”
- Contingency measures
- The Emergency Procurement Program of October 1938

• - Ships
  - Aircraft
  - Fighter: playing the wild card
  - Artillery and AA Guns
  - Other weapons
  - The Coastal Fortifications
  - Dragon’s Teeth II – The Isthmus Defence Program accelerated

1939: Alone at the Brink of the Abyss
- The Lyngenfjord Highway
- Overtures and threats from the Soviet Union
- The “Maritime Mobilization”
- The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the secret protocols and Finnish Intelligence
- September 1939: The Fall of Poland

• - Europe at War
  - Poland’s Dunkirk

- Pressure from the Soviets – Latvia and Lithuania cave in, Estonia mobilizes, further negotiations
- From Hanko to Petsamo – Finland mobilizes for war
- Tensions with Germany & The Last Convoy
- The First Volunteers – The Poles & the Italians
- The Opposing Sides: a Summary

• - The USSR
  - Finland
  - Estonia

- Finland’s Military as of November 1939: a Summary

• - Force Structure – Armeijan
  - Force Structure – Ilmavoimat
  - Force Structure – Merivoimat

- Soviet Forces positioned along the Finnish border in November 1939: a Summary
- The Evacuation of the Isthmus & the Mainila Incident

“Kunnes helvetti jäätyy - Talvisota 1939-1940” - (Until Hell Freezes Over: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940)
“If the Russians attack, sir, we’ll fight them until hell freezes over, and then, sir, we will fight them on the ice.” Unknown Finnish soldier to Marshal Mannerheim, October 1939.

December 1939: Punainen myrsky / Red Storm
Finland attacked – “war has begun”
Defensive Battles – 1st Days on the Karelian Isthmus
- The Soviet Navy attacks
- Bloody days on the Isthmus – “The Red Army is making good progress”
- Surprise and Annihilation – Suomassilimi and Raate Road
- Eastern Karelia – “Kollaa must hold”
- Blood on the Snow – the defence of Petsamo
- Eagles over the Isthmus – the Ilmavoimat goes to war
- The Kronstadt Raid and the destruction of the Soviet Baltic Fleet
- A Slow Withdrawal
- Osasto Nyrkii goes into action
- The Finnish Diplomatic Offensive, the Foreign Press and the beginnings of Foreign Aid
- First Volunteers at the front: The Alpini and the Poles
- The Foreign Press and War Reporting from the Winter War
- The Foreign Volunteers and Foreign Aid

• - Italy and the Alpini Division
  - First Volunteers: The ANZAC Volunteer Battalion
  - The Polish Volunteers
  - The Spanish Blue Division
  - The Viking Division
  - The Magyar Division
  - The Commonwealth Division
  - The Australians
  - The New Zealand 2nd echelon
  - The South Africans
  - The Selous Battalion – Rhodesians
  - The Devils Brigade – Canadians in Finland
  - The Atholl Highlanders
  - The 5th Battalion, Scots Guards
  - The De La Rey Commando
  - The Regimientio San Martin (South American)
  - The Irish Volunteers
  - Amerikansuomalainen legioona (The American-Finnish Legion)
  - Carlson’s Rangers – the US Volunteers
  - The Garibaldi Regiment (Italian Volunteers)
  - The Iron Guard – Romanians in Finland
  - Other Volunteers - the British Aid Detachment
  - Other Volunteers - Air Force volunteers
  - Aid from Britain
  - Aid from France
  - Aid from Canada and the USA
  - Aid from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)

January 1940 – “Finland fights a Thermopylae every day”
- We Stand Alone
- Eagles Strike – the Ilmavoimat takes the offensive
- They Came from the Sea – the destruction of the Soviet Merchant Marine
- The VKT Line Holds – for a while
- The Motti’s of Eastern Karelia
- “Neighbourhood Friends” – the capture of Murmansk
- “Horror on the Kola” – the discovery of the Soviet “Death Camps”
- Volunteers arrive – the Spanish Blue Division, the Viking Division, the Magyar Division,
- “Finland Fights On” – the world applauds, aid begins to trickle in
- Sweden vacillates on military assistance

February 1940 – The Lion in Winter
- Withdrawal to the Mannerheim Line
- The Battle of the Summa Gap ("Death of a Corps")
- Taking the Offensive – Mannerheim’s “Sword and Scabbard” speech
- On the offensive in Eastern Karelia – Reaching the Syvari and Lake Onega, on to the White Sea, the Biggest Knifefight in Lapland
- Special Forces on the offensive
- The Ilmavoimat Rules the Skies
- More volunteers – the Commonwealth Brigade, the Poles, the Boer “De La Rey” Battalion, the Irish Volunteers, Carlson’s Rangers, the San Martin Regiment, The Garibaldi Regiment
- Foreign Aid begins to arrive
- British and French Intervention Proposals declined

March 1940 – Valkoinen kuolema / White Death
- “Mannerheim’s Wizards” – Sowing Deception and Reaping the Harvest
- Into the Grinder – Slaughter on the Karelian Isthmus
- “Now We Strike” – the Red Army “breakthrough” and the battle of Tali-Ihantala
- Raid and Reprisal – The Soviet Air Forces launches terror raids / Reprisal: “Our Target is the Leningrad Peoples Military Hospital”
- A Bolt from the Blue: the annihilation of the Red Air Force (“Deep Penetration”) – the Ilmavoimat strikes Soviet airfields and aircraft factories deep behind the lines
- Lentolaivue 666 and the death of Colonel-General Shtern
- Help from an Unexpected Quarter
- The Helsinki Convoy

• - The Helsinki Convoy – The Die are cast
  - The Helsinki Convoy – “We are engaging the enemy”
  - The Helsinki Convoy – “Home Run …. I say again, Home Run”
  - The Helsinki Convoy – ”FNS Jykari will enter Port”

- The Finnish Ambassador in Berlin: “The Northern Baltic is a Finnish Sea”
- The Consequences

April 1940 – The War Goes On
- Norway and the Finnish Intervention
- From the Gulf of Finland to the White Sea, Intelligence reports are that the Red Army is building strength for a new offensive
- War in the Air

May 1940 – “To the Gates of Leningrad”
- “All Hell is breaking loose” – the Spring Offensive on the Karelian Isthmus
- The Knife of the Marshal – the 21st Pansaaridivisoona leads the way
- A boot to the head – Unleashing the Special Forces
- Advance to Leningrad
- We Will Go No Further
- The End of the Phoney War in France

June 1940 – An Uneasy Stalemate
- An Uneasy Stalemate
- Mannerheim and Mussolini
- The Fall of France, end of aid from France and the UK
- “The long term situation is untenable”
- The Red Army purges – and reorganizes
- Aid shipments from the USA
- The Finnish military-industrial complex at work

July 1940 – Case Zulu
- From Leningrad to the White Sea – the Red Army attacks
- Afrikanerhart – the Battle of the Onega Gap and the heroic stand of the de la Rey Commando
- The Last Stand of Field Kitchen xxx
- The Soviet Invasion of Estonia
- "Oesch is in command on the Syvari" - Stablising the Front Line

August 1940 – Counterattack: Defeat into Victory
- The Fall of Estonia – Last Stand at Tallinn & The Evacuation
- “Kalmaralli: Puna-Armeijan tuhoaminen syvärin rintamalla, Elokuu 1940″ (Death-dance: The Destruction of the Red Army on the Syvari Front, August 1940)
- “Cry Havoc, and unleash the Dogs of War” – Osasto Nyrkki unleashed
- Weapons of Annihilation
- “Ukkosvyöry: Tuulispäänä Leningradiin” (Avalanche of Thunder: Whirlwind Ride to Leningrad)

September 1940 – Desperate times demand desperate measures
- Operation Hauki – airstrike to the heart of Soviet industry
- Operation “Medusa’s Head” – the destruction of the Kremlin and the death of Stalin
- The Soviet succession
- Negotiations and concessions
- Peace at last / Mannerheim’s Speech

Balancing Act: Neutrality in a World at War
October 1940 to May 1941
- An Agreement with Germany on Norway
- A Greater Finland: The Dream and the Reality
- The Foreign Volunteers Depart
- Karelians, Ingrians, Estonians and Refugee Resettlement
- Finland rebuilds and rearms / Trade and Industry
- “The Finnish military will protect Sweden if she is attacked by Germany” – Talks with Sweden

June 1941 (Barbarossa) to March 1944: Finland On Guard
- “Where do Finland’s best interests lie?”
- The Germans have attacked: Soviet and German threats, Finnish mobilization
- The Baltic is a Finnish Sea: Peace through Superior Firepower
- A Courageous Neutrality: German victories, German pressure and the Siege of Leningrad
- Aid from America and the Atlantic Convoys
- Watching and Waiting
- The Tide is Turning – Winter 1942 and Stalingrad
- 1943 – the Russian Bear attacks
- Debates and Decisions
- The Die are Cast: Preparations for War
- Old Friends Return (the Polish Divisions, US and British Divisons, Norwegian, Danish & Swedish volunteers, the Kiwis and Australians).

Invasion: Reluctant Enemies, Reluctant Allies

April 1944: “Finland is again at War” / E-Day and the Invasion of Estonia
- The Airborne Drops & Special Forces
- The Capture of Narva
- Tallinn is Ours
- Beachhead
- Armoured Spearhead: the thrust South
- Battle of the Blue Hills – convincing the Red Army that “Finland is an Ally”
- The Courland Offensive
- Estonia has been liberated

May-July 1944
- The Destruction of Army Group North
- Neck and Neck towards the South
- The Capture of Bornholm
- The East Prussian Front & the Fall of Konigsburg

August 1944 – April 1945
- The Warsaw Uprising and the Soviet Betrayal
- The Polish Home Army rises
- The Drive to Warsaw
- Liberating Poland: Polish borders, Soviet Anger
- Death Camps & Bloodlands
- Across the North German Plain
- Onwards to Berlin
- Firestorm– the death of Lt-Gen Nicholas Reek, the annihilation of the Red Army’s xx Corps and the taking of North Berlin
- Finland Victorious, Poland Resurgent

End Game
- The Finnish Zone of Occupation
- The Potsdam Conference – July 1945
- East Prussian independence and the terrible fate of Eastern Europe’s German’s
- The Polish Question – Borders and Vengeance
- The division of Czechoslovakia – “communist” Slovakia and the “democratic” Czech Republic
- The Finnish-Polish Coalition and the Nuremburg Trials
Mannerheim in Berlin
- The Finnish Navy in the Pacific War – Task Force “Hirose Chusa” and the Surrender of Japan
- “An Iron Curtain has descended across Europe”

Aftermath
- The Post-war Recovery and the Finnish economy
- The recovery of the “Baltic Tigers” – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and East Prussia
- Poland Resurgent
- The Post-war USSR & the “Bucharest Pact”
- Germany: West, East and North
- The Cold War and the Finno-Soviet Relationship

A Glimpse into the Future

• - The Finnish aerospace and high-tech industries
  - “Rocket Island” – the Finnish/Polish/German/Baltic States space program of the 1960’s and “Finns in Space”
  - The ‘Union of Baltic States” today

In Memoriam
- Marshal Mannerheim
- Hymn for the Fallen (Finnish War Cemeteries & War Memorials)ries & War Memorials)

[Seppo Koivisto]

- The Finnish Military-Industrial complex through the 1930’s

• - An Overview
  - Tampella Tampereen Pellava- ja Rautateollisuus Osake-Yhtiö (Tampere Linen and Iron Industry Ltd., abbreviated to Tampella)
  - Lokomo
  - Tolfvan
  - Crichton-Vulcan
  - Tikkakoski Rauta ja Puuteollisuusyhtiö
  - Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy (SAKO)
  - VPT – Valtion Patruunatehdas – State Cartridge Factory
  - VRT – Valtion Ruutitehdas – State Powder Factory
  - VKT – Valtion Kivääritehdas - State Rifle Factory
  - VTT - Valtion Tykkitehdas - State Artillery Factory
  - Machine Workshop Leskinen & Kari
  - Oy Physica Ab
  - Ab Strömberg Oy
  - Ammus Oy Sytytin Oy
  - Wårdström
  - Neste (Oil)
  - Tornio Steel Outokumpu Oy
  - Ab Patria Oy (Tanks and AFV,s founded in the mid-1930's in this scenario)
  - Fertiliser & Chemicals? Ethanol and Wood/Charcoal as vehicle fuel
  - Xylitol from wood?
  - Any others I should consider?

Valtion Rikkihappo ja Superfosfaattitehtaat Oy was founded in 1920 to produce suphuric acid, fertilizers.
http://www.kemira.com/en/about-us/histo ... fault.aspx

Abloy Oy (locks)
http://www.abloy.com/en/abloy/abloycom/ ... and-today/
Kone ja Silta (Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy, Maskin- och Brobyggnads Aktiebolag) paper machinery
Hietalahden Sulkutelakka- ja Konepaja Oy (Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki)
all merged in Wärtsilä in 1935
http://www.wartsila.fi/en/about/company ... nt/history

[John Hilly]

@Nigel
Nice scenario indeed!
Have you left the question of Ahvenanmaa - Åland and her military position from early 1920s until 1939 away deliberatly?

Armeija not Armeijan, this mistake is repeated throughout.

With best,
J-P

[CanKiwi2]

@Nigel
Nice scenario indeed!
Have you left the question of Ahvenanmaa - Åland and her military position from early 1920s until 1939 away deliberatly?

Armeija not Armeijan, this mistake is repeated throughout.

With best,
J-P

I was going to include Ahvenanmaa - Åland under Govt and Politics of the 1930’s, but I think you're right, it deserves it's own writeup. Going back to add it in as a seperate section.

And correcting to Armeija.

Kiitos..............Nigel

[Fliegende Untertasse]

- The Finnish Military-Industrial complex through the 1930’s

• - An Overview
  - Tampella Tampereen Pellava- ja Rautateollisuus Osake-Yhtiö (Tampere Linen and Iron Industry Ltd., abbreviated to Tampella)
  - Lokomo
  - Tolfvan
  - Crichton-Vulcan
  - Tikkakoski Rauta ja Puuteollisuusyhtiö
  - Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy (SAKO)
  - VPT – Valtion Patruunatehdas – State Cartridge Factory
  - VRT – Valtion Ruutitehdas – State Powder Factory
  - VKT – Valtion Kivääritehdas - State Rifle Factory
  - VTT - Valtion Tykkitehdas - State Artillery Factory
  - Machine Workshop Leskinen & Kari
  - Oy Physica Ab
  - Ab Strömberg Oy
  - Ammus Oy Sytytin Oy
  - Wårdström
  - Neste (Oil)
  - Tornio Steel Outokumpu Oy
  - Ab Patria Oy (Tanks and AFV,s founded in the mid-1930's in this scenario)
  - Fertiliser & Chemicals? Ethanol and Wood/Charcoal as vehicle fuel
  - Xylitol from wood?
  - Any others I should consider?

Salora & Väisälä - electronics & meteorological instruments

What happened to Sisu ?

[Seppo Koivisto]

Salora & Väisälä - electronics & meteorological instruments

and ASA Radio http://www.radiomuseum.org/m/asa_fin_en_1.html
and Helvar http://www.helvar.com/corporate/company/helvar-legacy
Kaapelitehdas would be a good location for Nokia secret projects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaapelitehdas

[CanKiwi2]

- The Finnish Military-Industrial complex through the 1930’s

• - An Overview
  - Tampella Tampereen Pellava- ja Rautateollisuus Osake-Yhtiö (Tampere Linen and Iron Industry Ltd., abbreviated to Tampella)
  - Lokomo
  - Tolfvan
  - Crichton-Vulcan
  - Tikkakoski Rauta ja Puuteollisuusyhtiö
  - Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy (SAKO)
  - VPT – Valtion Patruunatehdas – State Cartridge Factory
  - VRT – Valtion Ruutitehdas – State Powder Factory
  - VKT – Valtion Kivääritehdas - State Rifle Factory
  - VTT - Valtion Tykkitehdas - State Artillery Factory
  - Machine Workshop Leskinen & Kari
  - Oy Physica Ab
  - Ab Strömberg Oy
  - Ammus Oy Sytytin Oy
  - Wårdström
  - Neste (Oil)
  - Tornio Steel Outokumpu Oy
  - Ab Patria Oy (Tanks and AFV,s founded in the mid-1930's in this scenario)
  - Fertiliser & Chemicals? Ethanol and Wood/Charcoal as vehicle fuel
  - Xylitol from wood?
  - Any others I should consider?

Salora & Väisälä - electronics & meteorological instruments

What happened to Sisu ?

Sisu! Yikes! I missed them out after mentioning them so many times!!!!! Thanks, adding them in as well.

Salora & Väisälä - electronics & meteorological instruments

and ASA Radio http://www.radiomuseum.org/m/asa_fin_en_1.html
and Helvar http://www.helvar.com/corporate/company/helvar-legacy
Kaapelitehdas would be a good location for Nokia secret projects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaapelitehdas

Kiitos. Will plug them in as well.

Also, I know Juha-Pekka mentioned a company that made bicycles a while ago. Will track that down and add them in as well.

Cheers.......Nigel

[John Hilly]

Also, I know Juha-Pekka mentioned a company that made bicycles a while ago. Will track that down and add them in as well.

That was Kone ja Terä Oy, Tampere.

J-P

[CanKiwi2]

Also, I know Juha-Pekka mentioned a company that made bicycles a while ago. Will track that down and add them in as well.

That was Kone ja Terä Oy, Tampere.

J-P

Kiitos.

Also adding in Suunto Oy - compasses and watches, founded 1936.

[CanKiwi2]

Way back near the start of this, I put up a post on The Jääkärit and their place in the Finnish Army -
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 0#p1569715. Have added a section on "The story of the Jääkärit" covering the WW1 period in Germany in a lot more detail than previously. It`s mostly taken from a Finnish language source http://www.jp27.fi/jaakarit and summarised just a bit. Any critiquing an corrections more than welcome. I hasten to add this Post is pure history, nothing alternate about it...... (I hope)

The story of the Jääkärit - the Finnish Jaegers

The Jääkärit (Finnish Jaegers) German = Jägers or Jaegers, were nationalist volunteers from Finland who fought for a Finland free from, and independent of, Russia. Trained in Germany as Jägers (elite light infantry) during World War I, they were supported by Germany in their mission to establish a Finnish sovereign state free of Russian oppression. For the Germans, it was one of many means by which Germany intended to weaken Tsarist Russia and cause Russia's loss of her western provinces and dependencies.


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Russian gendarmerie in Helsinki in the early 1900's

The emergence of the Jääkärit took place in the milieu of an awakening Finnish nationalism in the late 1800's and the Russian repression at the turn of the 1900's, where Russia sought the Russification of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the destruction of the Grand Duchy's internal autonomy. This repression over the years 1899-1905 and a second period that began in 1908 created a strongly anti-Russian sentiment within Finland. When WW1 broke out in 1914, many Finns wanted to see Russia defeated. The early defeats suffered by the Russians encouraged these hopes and in Helsinki, student activists became more active.

In November 1914 the Russian government announced measures which would have meant the end of Finnish autonomy. Anxiety grew in Finland and on November 20th, the Finnish independence movement began organising. The activists objective was to drive Russia out of Finland and it was considered that this goal could only be achieved by force. Thus, it was decided to take steps to create an Army of Finland.

The Independence Movement consisted largely of young people, many of them University graduates. These activists saw the need for a Finnish Army to acquire weapons and trained leaders. Clandestine links with Germany were established and in January 1915 the German High Command and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved the military training of 200 Finns. Student activist groups immediately began secretly recruiting Jäger volunteers from the Grand Duchy of Finland. The recruiting was clandestine, and was dominated by German-influenced circles, such as university students and the upper middle class. The recruitment was however in no way exclusive. The recruits were transported across Finland's western border via Sweden to Germany, where the volunteers were formed into the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion (Königlich Preussisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 27).


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Student Activist Bertil Paulig was one of those to show initiative

The Finnish Jaegers objective was to secure Finland's independence and fighting with the Germans against Russia was seen as their best chance to achieve this goal. It was an almost religious call, and the Jaegers themselves even at this time felt that they were establishing a spiritual heritage for all Finns: "our legacy to you, the youth and future generations of Finland, is to leave you what we think most valuable - confidence in Finland's future as an independent and free country, unwavering faith in the legitimacy of the fight for freedom and for victory, even when all seems hopeless, the will and courage to fight at all times on behalf of this cause."

At first, all went without difficulty using the route through Sweden to Germany. Training took place in the camp Lockstedt Camp. The first men arrived there 25 February 1915 with a total number of 189 volunteers. The majority of the volunteers, 145 men, had passed the matriculation examination. Among them, 34 also possessed an academic degree. For the majority, about 64%, their mother tongue was Swedish. The Finnish volunteers were initially not treated as soldiers, but as guests of the German Reich and as civilians. They initially dressed as German Boy Scouts for disguise and they were called Pfadfinder. Later volunteers received a German infantry uniforms and were nicknamed the Three Musketeers.

Their legal status remained unchanged and so they underwent training for first four weeks, but the training was extended time and again. The training was appropriate and effective - and was mainly responsible for the subsequent Finnish reserve officer training in independent Finland. The course leader and commander of the Finnish volunteers since the beginning of January 1917 was German Army Major Maximilian Bayer. The trainers were four German officers and a number of non-commissioned officers. A number of Finnish volunteers were promoted to Officer's positions.


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The course leader and commander of the Finnish volunteers from January 1917 - Major Maximilian Bayer

Major Maximilian Bayer was born on 05 November 1872 in Karlsruhe. He had received his first war experience as a staff officer in Africa. He was a German Boy Scout Association founder and was chairman until his death. Major Bayer was well educated. He was a writer, well-known speaker, connoisseur of music and a youth educator. He supported with all his heart the Finnish freedom fighters in training and in their military education. Major Bayer fell as a regimental commander on the French front near Verdun 25 October 1917. He was buried in Mannheim. A Finnish memorial stone stands by his tomb.

In August 1915 the Emperor Wilhelm II signed a decree authorizing the expansion of the Pfadfinder Course with a target strength of 2,000 men. More than 200 university students had participated in the so-called “Boy Scout” training – they dressed in Boy Scout uniforms during the training, and theses went on to become the Officers of the Finnish Jääkärit (Jäger) Troops. This group was expanded by extensive recruitment over autumn 1915 and spring 1916.

Back in Finland, an Action Committee for Recruiting was formed, with the support of the Central Committee, which was made up largely of older Activists. All the non-Socialist Political Parties of Finland were represented in the Central Committee. Although the Social Democratic Party was excluded from the Committee, many SDP party leaders supported the independence movement and the SDP itself did not set policy for members on this issue. The Recruiting Committees tendency to form a nation-wide, centrally managed recruitment organization did not lead to the desired result. Local recruiters were forced to act independently as the country was in a state of war and strictly supervised by the Russians in the country.

The Lockstedt Training Corps
Document date: Aug. 26, 1915.
M.J.13630/15 A.I. Confidential.

1. An immobilized formation will be raised in Lockstedt Camp, which will be known as "The Lockstedt Training Corps". It will consist of several companies, which will be gradually brought up to the strength of a battalion of D. II. 3 type, with a machine-gun company and a pioneer company.

2. Enrolment in this company is open to foreigners who enlist voluntarily. Foreigners accepted for service in it will not acquire German nationality. The army administration will undertake no liability to endorse applications for naturalization. The army administration will also undertake no responsibility for the financial support of any such foreigners disabled by wounds received on active service with the German Army. Furthermore, the relatives of such persons will have no claim on the German Government for compensation in the event of the death or total disability of the persons concerned. This must be confirmed in writing by every individual serving in this formation. Foreigners must be warned before enlistment that it will be their duty to support the German Reich to the best of their ability, to serve wherever they may be sent, to obey all orders given them by their superiors and to obey the German civil and military laws and whatever regulations may have been issued for the duration of the war.

3. In all service, administrative and legal matters the formation will be under the direct orders of the general commanding the 9th Army Corps. The High Command will decide the nature of its future employment. The formation will be commanded by Major Bayer, of the 27th Infantry Regiment, who will receive the authority of an independent battalion commander. He will apply to the general commanding the 9th Army Corps for the appointment of any further subordinate officers or instructors he may require. The War Office will supply the necessary material resources. Major Bayer will be responsible for the supply of new recruits, and for this purpose the War Office will place at his disposition three officers and three N.C.O.s in addition to those on the regular strength of the formation.

4. The War Office will supply rifles, ammunition and machine-guns (exclusively captured Russian material) and all other training material which the commander may deem necessary. Furthermore, twelve bicycles will be supplied for the use of every company, including the pioneer company. The material for four field telephone sections will also be supplied by the War Office. The 9th Army Corps will supply any horses deemed necessary.

5. The formation will be trained on German principles. Words of command will be given in German. Clothing and equipment of a German Jaeger Regiment (shoulder straps without regimental number) will be supplied by the 9th Army Corps. Pay and rations on the scale in force for immobilized troops. Foreigners may be promoted to N.C.O. ranks to bring them up to strength. They will then receive the pay carried by the rank in question, but will not wear the distinguishing marks of such ranks. They will not be deemed superiors of German N.C.O.s of lower rank or German privates. For this purpose they will be given the ranks of section-leader, group-leader and assistant-group-leader instead of the German ranks of staff sergeant, corporal and lance-corporal, and shall be superior officers over all foreigners in the formation who hold no rank.

6. The Lockstedt Camp unit formed by the order of February 23rd, 1915, is merged into the new formation.

7. The commanding officer will make monthly reports to the 9th Army Corps and the War Office on the strength of the formation, the progress of its training and any other matters which may arise. The first report is due on October 1st.

8. The existence of this formation is to be kept as secret as possible. The contents of this document will therefore be imparted only to those authorities immediately concerned with the work of the formation and only in an epitomized form. No mention of the formation must appear in the Press.

Signed: Wild von Hohenborn.*

From the book: "Finland Breaks the Russian Chains" by Heinz Halter. Translated from the German by Claud W. Sykes. John Hamilton Ltd., London, 1940. Major Bayer's picture is from the book "Jääkärit maailmansodassa" (The Jägers in the World War), ed. E. Jernström, Helsinki 1933.


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The routes for recruits from Finland into Sweden were varied

Nevertheless, recruiters were abundant. Most of them were civilian men. Their positions in society were mixed, but generally they were well-known in their home regions, and were prominent personalities. Students served as the conduit between recruiting offices in the capital and the provinces. The new recruits included young working class men and farmers as well as sailors and students, and the numbers of recruits sent to Lockstedt was significant. Reaching Germany required some hard traveling. Routes across the border were staffed by local residents or Jaegers. Crossing the border was dangerous and often required a long trek on foot or on skis. Starting positions were reached by rail from southern Finland, with the most important escape route leading from Kemi to Haparanda across the Torne River and thence south through Sweden. Another route was from the coast of Ostrobothnia across the Gulf of Bothnia to Umeå. During the open water season, the Gulf was crossed by boat.

In the late winter and spring of 1916 the Russian gendarmes arrested about fifty activists with some armed clashes. Recruitment was revived by sending volunteers through remote areas with local guides, one of whom, the farmer Juho Heikkinen, or "Old Man Frost" was the bravest of the Jääkärit's helpers. By May 1916 a considerable number of men had made it to Germany and were undergoing infantry training. Finnish troops were a kind of miniature people's army, representing all occupational groups and ages between 15-49. The average age in 1916 was less than 24 years and the difficult and dangerous conditions of recruitment had not deterred the volunteers, the majority of whom were good military material. Suitable men for Officers were in also abundance.


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Site of the December 1916 skirmish: Simon Meadow - Eight men hidden in the Sauna were discovered by a Russian NCO and his men. In an exchange of gunfire at dawn one man fell on the step, two were captured.

Around August-September 1915 the voluntary legal status of the Finnish volunteers was changed. They became soldiers of the German Army but were not required, however, to take the military oath. Instead, they had to make a commitment to serve Germany with all their might (under the laws of Russia and Finland, the volunteers committed treason). From September 1915 to May 1916 the Finnish volunteers trained at Lockstedt. The courses were structured to train as many of the Finns as possible in the leadership and in the needed military skills for their assigned Finnish military branches of service. The initial establishment was two Rifle Companies (kiväärikomppaniaa), a machine gun company and a Pioneer Company. Two further kiväärikomppaniaa were added, together with a field artillery unit (kenttätykkijaos?).

From the autumn of 1915, arriving Finnish recruits knew almost no German, and it was concluded that most would never learn the level of German necessary for the German military. It was therefore necessary to create military manuals in Finnish, and to come up with a Finnish military vocabulary. Due to language requirements for training of the men, German officers and non-commissioned officers needed to be supplemented by Finnish Officers and NCO's.

Finnish Officers and NCO's were therefore used as trainers. The German military ranks ​​differed from their own Finnish ranks. The Senior Finnish Platoon Commander (pääjoukkueenjohtaja) was appointed the battalion commander and the company commanders were the next ranking Finnish soldiers (ylijoukkueenjohtaja). Erik Jernström was appointed the Finnish commander (Pääjoukkueenjohtajaksi) and held this role until the dissolution of the battalion. In all, during the existence of the battalion 19 Company Commanders (ylijoukkueenjohtajiksi), 46 Platoon Commanders, 196 Senior NCO's and 274 junior NCO's were selected.


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Finnish Jaeger (Jaakari)

The training was run by the German officers and non-commissioned officers. The early soldier training focus was on fitness and close order drill training. Later, training focused on firearms and combat training. The German language was for many a very tedious subject. In this training, the Finns were acclimatized to Prussian discipline and precise adherence to tactics and orders. The training was tough, versatile and efficient and also reflected the latest war experiences. Some of the Finnish officers were also involved in running the training.


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Lockstedter Lager in Schleswig-Holstein was used as a training area for the Finnish Volunteers

The Finns had an exceptionally good military education compared to the Germans, who were often sent to the front after only a short training period. The German trainers were very satisfied with the results of the training. In particular, Finnish marksmanship, marching ability and sports performance provoked awe. For the Jääkäri, the dark side of life were poor accommodation conditions, the (to the Finnish) strange and often inadequate food and a constant lack of money. The worst part, however, was homesickness, as well as the uncertainty of both their own and Finland's fate. Shortcomings and concerns were somewhat alleviated by the local Holstein population's welcoming attitude to the Finns.


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Finnish Volunteers training with a machinegun at Lockstedt


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Lockstedter Lager, the commandant's house

As training progressed, the Jaegers were given more free time. In most cases, this free time was spent in the Lockstedt camp site or in the immediate surrounding area. The most popular evening venue was the Café Schütt, if the money was available. Some Finnish infantry officers and a number of NCO's also visited different parts of Germany.


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Cafe Schütt. was popular with the Finnish Jaegers

June 1916 and movement to the Eastern Front and the Misse River

Major Bayer was in Germany at the end of 1915 meeting with a Finnish delegation and the German War Ministry negotiating for the Finnish volunteers to acquire frontline combat experience. It was at this time that the Finnish volunteers received the name Königlich 09/05/1916 Preussisches Jägerbataillon No. 27, (the Royal Prussian Jaeger Battalion 27). The battalion moved from Lockstedt to the German Eastern front in three trains at the end of May. At this time it had a strength of 203 Germans and 1254 Finns. On 11th and 12th of June 1916 the Battalion marched up to the front lines on the Gulf of Riga and was allocated a four kilometer front on the Misse River, in a swampy area. The Jaegers front service on the Misse River (Misa) was primarily to man picket duty stations and fortifications. Patrolling in no-mans land at times led to skirmishes with the Russians. The enemy's artillery often fired on the Finnish positions.


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Two Jaegers in the trenches looking across the Gulf of Riga

In July 1916, two units of the battalion was forced to battle the battalion area of responsibility outside of the main components. Tykistöjaos (the Finnish artillery unit) participated in an attack against the Russian Ekkau-Kekkaun (Jecava-Kekava) front sector and an Engineer Company of the Jaeger Battalion participated in a German attack on the Schmarden (Smārde) sector. Both the gunners and the pioneers won plenty of recognition from their German commanders for their performance on the battlefield. Slightly later the battalion was transferred to the Gulf of Riga Dumben (Klapkalnciems) sector. Here, the terrain was dry and the scenery was beautiful, but the enemy was active, which resulted in losses. The German military cemetery at Dumben (Klapkalnciemsin) is the place of burial of five Finnish infantryman who were combat casualties.


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Finnish Artillerymen

Christmas 1916 and the Aa River (Lielupe) battle


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Jääkäripataljoonan officers foraging in winter during the fighting. In the middle Zugführer Lennart Oesch.

In late September 1916, dissatisfaction grew within the Battalion due to heavy combat service and uncertainty of their own future. Also, superior-subordinate problems occurred. Although the problems were moderate, a number of Jaegers were punished and some were sent to a labor camp. In December 1916 the Battalion handed over Front responsibility to German units and spent Christmas at Libau. They were there for just three weeks before being sent back to the front to fight the Russians on the River Aa (Lielupe), where an attack had been launched. In the end, winter and hard frost paralyzed all combat operations.

In January 1917 Major Bayer handed over battalion command to Captain Julius Knaths. On 25 March 1917 the battalion was removed from the front. By this time the Finnish volunteers had received a relatively large amount of war experience, but had also suffered losses.

Finnish dead numbered 11, with one mortally wounded and one missing. A total of 49 infantrymen had been wounded. Worse than the combat casualties were variety of different diseases, with unhealthy conditions playing a role. Disease, mostly cases of tuberculosis, killed 15 men. The Jaeger dead were all buried in territory that is now part of Latvia, and almost all their graves have now been discovered and restored.


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Funeral of Jäger Simo Ville Ilola in Kellinghusen in February 1917

The Jaeger Battalion at Libau (Liepaja) 25 March 1917 - 13 February 1918

The peace-time garrison, spa and tourist town of Libau (Liepaja), located as it was by the sea and on the beach was a base that provided good educational opportunities. There were large-scale training fields, shooting ranges, fortifications and a military port. The old Russian barracks were, however, unsatisfactory. Termites were everywhere, the clothing situation was poor and the food insufficient. Cases of tuberculosis were in abundance. In mid-summer a malaria epidemic raged. Care of patients and spiritual support was provided by Finnish volunteer nurses Ruth Munck and Sarah Rampan, who did valuable work.


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Ruth Margaret Munck ( August 12 1886 Lempäälä - September 30, 1976 ) was a Finnish baroness and a nurse. She studied at a Swedish co-educational school and then at a craft school Helsinki. In 1908 she started training as a Nurse in Helsinki, completing her training in 1910. At the end of the 1915 Ruth Munck went to Germany via Sweden. She already had apparently good connections with the volunteers, as in Stockholm, she was greeted by the Stockholm mission, including by Almar Fabritius. Through Fabritius, she met a number of high-ranking Jaegers and activists representatives.

She arrived in Berlin on 6 January 1916, where she worked in the Berlin University surgical clinic. Her first direct involvement with Jaeger Battalion 27 was at field hospital 55 at Jelgava (Mitau), where she started nursing in October 1916. In June 1917 she moved to field hospital 404 at Tukkum, and in August the same year, she moved to 124 military hospital in Liepaja (Libau). She was known among the soldiers of the battalion in the German way as Schwester Ruth ("Sister Ruth").


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Nurses: Baroness Ruth Munck and Miss Sarah Rampan did valuable work caring for the wounded or sick Jaegers. They worked in the territory of Latvia of war and a field hospital that had cared for Finnish light infantry. Both returned to Finland with the main body of Jaegers and served during the Civil War.

When the Finnish Civil War broke out, Ruth Munck arrived with the main body of the Jaegers at Vaasa on 25 February 1918 . During the Battle of Tampere she cared for the sick and wounded on a train, led by the German doctor Knape. After the capture of Tampere, Ruth Munck moved to the Karelian Isthmus with 2 IV Battalion Light Infantry Regiment. She worked in the field hospital led by Dr. von Hertzen. After the war, Ruth Munck returned to Helsinki. and in 1918, she married former Jaeger Battalion 27 company commander Eduard Ausfeld, who had also participated in the 1918 civil war in Finland. They divorced in 1921. Ruth Munck took part in the formation of the Lotta Svärd Association from the beginning. In the period 1924-1932 she was the Lotta Svärd Association district chairman of local branch I and until 1928 she was on the association's national board as medical chief. She was President of the Lotta Svärd Association from 1931 to 1933

At Libau, the Battalion established a second machine gun company, a cavalry unit and Communications Department. Captain Julius Knahts handed over the tasks of the battalion commander to Captain Eduard Ausfeldt on 29/September/1917. Ausfeldt became the last commander of the battalion. Officers and sergeant major responsibilities were transferred to the Finns. Pending return to their own country, the Finnish Jaegers were given further training by the Germans. Each man was given NCO training as well as a special course on destruction, sabotage and guerrilla training. Light infantry were also trained to use motor vehicles, maintain car and boat engines,manage the railway service, and a variety of maintenance tasks. One of the officers also received pilot training. (who was this


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Kuva Libaussa jääkreille järjestetyltä moottoriajoneuvokurssilta vuodelta 1917


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27th Jäger Battalion on a training march in Libau, Germany (East Prussia)


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n 1. komppania


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n 2. komppania,


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27th Jäger Battalion, 3rd Company


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The Communication Section of the 27th Jaeger Battalion, commanded by Lars Homén and Eric Heimbürger


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Radio Man - Men on the Course are practicing telegraphy under German non-commissioned officer leadership


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n saniteettikurssilaisia Libaussa vuonna 1917


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n konekiväärikomppania (Machine Gun Company)


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n ratsuosasto (Cavalry detachment)


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Some of the battalion Cavalry Section at Libau, fall of 1917


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Jääkäripataljoona 27:n pioneerikomppania, kuva otettu 5. huhtikuuta 1916. (Engineer Company)


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Jaeger pioneers (engineers) training at Libau

During the period at Libau, the Jaegers drew up a Finnish military vocabulary. The most notable achievement over this period was the writing up of the more than 1,500-page Finnish military manual. The Finnish military professional literature was based on the work of a task force led by Oberzugführer Armas Ståhlberginkuja. Also at this time, Hilfsgruppenführer Heikki Nurmio wrote the lyrics for the Jaeger march, the music for which was later composed by Jean Sibelius. The march was of great importance to the Jaegers cohesion and morale.



Syvä iskumme on, viha voittamaton (Deep is our blow, invincible our wrath,)
meil' armoa ei, kotimaata. (we have no mercy, no homeland.)
Koko onnemme kalpamme kärjessä on, (All our fortune is in the tip of our swords,)
ei rintamme heltyä saata. (our hearts will not give in.)

Sotahuutomme hurmaten maalle soi, (Our war cry rings out, thrilling the country,)
mi katkovi kahleitansa. (which is breaking her shackles.)
ei ennen uhmamme uupua voi, (Our defiance will not tire,)
kuin vapaa on Suomen kansa. (before the Finnish nation free.)

Kun painuvi päät muun kansan, maan, (When the heads of the people, the country, bowed down)
me jääkärit uskoimme yhä. (we Jäegers still believed.)
Oli rinnassa yö, tuhat tuskaa, (There was darkness in our chests, a thousands pains,)
vaan yks' aatos ylpeä, pyhä: (but one single thought proud, sacred:)

Me nousemme kostona Kullervon, (We shall arise as the vengeance of Kullervo*,)
soma on sodan kohtalot koittaa. (sweet it is to face the fates of war.)
Satu uusi nyt Suomesta syntyvä on, (A new tale of Finland will be born,)
se kasvaa, se ryntää, se voittaa (it will grow, it will charge, it will win.)

Häme, Karjala, Vienan rannat ja maa, (Häme, Karelia, the coasts and lands of Viena,
yks' suuri on Suomen valta. (there will be a single great country of Finland.)
Sen aatetta ei väkivoimat saa (The idea of her cannot be removed by violence,)
pois Pohjolan taivaan alta. (away from beneath the northern sky.)

Sen leijonalippua jääkärien (Her Lion Flag is carried)
käsivarret jäntevät kantaa, (by the strong hands of the Jäegers,)
yli pauhun kenttien hurmeisten (Over thunderous, gory fields)
päin nousevan Suomen rantaa. (towards the shores of rising Finland.)

The Jäger March was written by the Finnish Jäger Heikki Nurmio (1887-1947) in Libau, Prussia, in 1917 where a competition was held for the best lyrics for a march song. The lyrics were smuggled into Finland, where Sibelius received them from his ear doctor, Dr Wilhelm Zilliacus. Sibelius was enthusiastic about the song and composed the march in three days in his villa Ainola in Järvenpää. According to his own account he was overwhelmed by highly patriotic emotions as he wrote.

The march was presented for the first time in Libau on 28 November 1917 in a leisure occasion for the staff of the Battalion. It was published in December 1917 as written for a male choir and piano, without mentioning the writer of the lyrics or the composer. In Finland, the march was apparently presented for the first time to a larger audience in a celebration of the New Day Club made up of advocates of independence in the restaurant Ylä-Oopris in Helsinki on 8 December 1917. The proper debut of the Jäger March was in Helsinki on 19 January 1918, by the choir of Akademiska Sångföreningen, led by Olof Wallin. On the same day, the first battles broke out in Karelia between the Reds and the Whites, related to the weapons supplies to the Reds from St Petersburg.

Kullervo is a tragic hero of Kalevala, the national epos of the Finns, and this detail, a single word of the lyrics, is packed with strong sentiment to anyone familiar with Kalevala.

*In the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, Kullervo, the son of Kalervo, is an orphan, whose whole family has been murdered by sword by the men of Untamo, Kalervo's foe. Only a maid was left alive and taken as a slave, but she gave birth to this son of Kalervo. The boy is put to work but he proves of no use, they try to kill him but fail. Finally Kullervo is sold to Ilmarinen. He sends Kullervo to herd cattle, but his wicked wife, the daughter of Pohjola (North), bakes a stone inside the bread that is packed as a meal for Kullervo. When cutting the bread, Kullervo breaks his puukko knife, his only heritage of his father, on the stone. Infuriated by this he swears revenge. In his relentless, fierce hate of the unjustly oppressed, he puts a magical spell on the bears and wolves of the forest, driving them to kill all the cattle and the wicked wife as well.

Jaegers outside the Battalion

Jaeger Battalion 27's departure to the front from Lockstedt in May 1916 saw most of the Finnish volunteers move to the front. However, in addition to Jaeger Battalion 27 there was another group of Finnish Jaegers within the German Army over 1916-1917. This was the Altona Bahrenfeld artillery depot punishment unit (työkomennuskunta). From December 1916, Jaegers who were responsible for serious violations against military discipline were sent to this unit. A total of 224 Jaegers were sent to Bahrenfeld as punishment, were they were sentenced to hard labour. Most were released in August 1917. Jaegers who were judged unsuitable for military service were placed in employment in German civilian jobs, mainly in the service industry. In all, some 512 Jaegers were sent or released into civilian work; of these, 32 returned to the Battalion.


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Nurse and recuperating Jaegers in Latvia

There were also casualties related to a devastating train accident at Osnabrück, where a train collision on 16.01.1918 resulted in the death of Transport Officer, Gruppenführer Alfons Arlander and 11 other Jaeger casualties. Jaegers were also trained in reconnaissance and sabotage.Their most significant achievement was the destruction of a large store of Russian munitions at Kilpisjärvi in the summer of 1916. A total of 19 Jaegers who had been recruited for intelligence or sabotage work from the Pfadfinder Jaegers were captured by the Russians in Finland. Of these, 13 ended up in St. Petersburg in the Spalernajan Prison, which also held 60 Finnish male civilian independence activists. The trial of these "kalterijääkäreitä" (Prison Jaegers) was in progress when in the middle of February 1917 the Revolution broke out and the prisoners were released.

The Jaeger homecoming in 1917-1918

In the autumn of 1917 the first Jaegers returned to Finland. This first group consisted of eight infantrymen and arrived in a cargo-ship named the Equity, whose commander was Jaeger Lieutenant Gustav Petzold. Built in 1888 by Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering, Hull (UK), the S/S Equity was a German ship, which had been captured from the British in the port of Hamburg in August 1914. She then served as a German Army Transport under the names "Olaf", "Adolph Ardessen" and "Mira." Following WW1, the Equity was returned to her owners in 1918. She survived a wreck on Alderney in 1920 after leaving Goole, Jersey for Hull on 27 May 1920 with a cargo of potatoes. She was refloated by the salvage steamer Ranger and after repairs, resumed working life. She was broken up at Grangemouth on December 1931. See http://www.gooleships.co.uk/shipowners/ ... ty1888.htm for source).


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S/S Equity


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S/S Equity


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S/S Equity


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S/S Equity

The S/S Equity carried a cargo of weapons and ammunition (7,000 Rifles, 2,600,000 cartridges and 4,500 grenades) which were landed on Nov. 2nd 1917 in the islands of the Larsmo archipelago near Vaasa and Pietarsaaren (a memorial is now in place at Tolvmangrundet island commemorating this event). More about the Equity's trips can be found in KG Olins book "Tärningskast på Liv och Död" ("Dice Roll of Life and Death").

A second voyage by the Equity failed. Between the two different voyages by the Equity, eight Jaegers arrived in the German submarine UC 57 and were landed in Loviisa with weapons and explosives. On the way back the submarine UC 57 was destroyed. Towards the end of 1917 and beginning of 1918, other small groups of Jaegers arrived in Finland. On 6 December 1917, the Finnish declaration of independence indicated that the time for the return of the Jaegers to Finland had arrived.


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Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Thesleff

The Germans delayed the return of the Jaegers to avoid complications between Russia and Germany as the Brest-Litovsk peace negotiations were in progress and would be compromised. The situation was clarified, and the Russian Bolshevik government advised Germany that Russia recognized Finland's independence. Now the return of the Jaegers could not be regarded as an act of hostility towards Russia.

The German Ministry of War ordered the disbanding of Jaeger Battalion 27 from the German Army on the 5th February 1918. The new commander of the Jaegers was Finnish Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Thesleff, who arrived Libau representing the Finnish government. The Jaegers signed a commitment to serve in the Finnish army for at least one year, and they received Finnish military ranks.

Finland had gained its independence and the Finnish Army had gained 403 officers and 727 non-commissioned officers, all with military experience and training. This would be of the utmost importance to Finland's future as the country headed towards Civil War, with the Jaegers forming the nucleus of the nascent Finnish Army.

Arrival at Vaasa - 25 February 1918 02.25.1918

The battalion held a dawn parade on the morning of 13 February 1918 were the battalion commander, Captain Ausfeldt read orders regarding the change of command and made a farewell speech. The battalion's flag was consecrated in Libau (Liepāja) at the Holy Trinity church. The Jaegers swore a military oath to Finland's legitimate government. before the Jaegers could return to Finland, the Civil War began. This led to fears that the Jaegers could break into two camps.

These fears proved unfounded, as almost all supported the legitimate government (the Finnish Whites). While the main body of Jaegers returned to Finland, some 400 men were left behind in Germany for various reasons. Most of them were in civilian jobs, while some were in hospital or recuperating. The majority of these men returned to Finland over the remainder of 1918 and 1919. The vanguard of the Jaegers, 85 men under the leadership of Major Harald Öhquist, arrived in Vaasa on 18 February on the S/S Mira (actually the S/S Equity under a German name) and the S/S Poseidon.

The main body of the Jaegers left the port of Libau (Liepāja) for Finland in 14th February. The S/S Arcturus, which carried them, was bursting at the seams with its cargo of 854 Jaegers. The cargo ship Castor carried a further 96 Jaegers, with a total force of Jääkärien of 950 men.


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The icebreaker Sampo opened a passage through the ice for the Arcturus and Castor.

The Finnish icebreaker Sampo helped the ships make the final entrance into Vaasa, where they arrived on 25 February 1918, three years to the day after the first Pfadfinder had arrived in Lockstedt. On the 26th of February, the Jaegers held their last joint parade for the new Commander-in-Chief, General Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, in the market square of Vaasa. General Mannerheim emphasized the great and glorious task awaiting the Jaegers, after which they were dispersed to new jobs throughout the government forces of White Finland.


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The ships approaching the shore at Vaasa.


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The last parade of Jaeger Battalion 27 in Vaasa at the market square on 26/Feb/1918. General Mannerheim inspects the battalion.

[Fliegende Untertasse]

Lots of typos with names

at Libaussa (Libau)

at Libau

to Captain Eduard Ausfeldtille

to Captain Eduard Ausfeldt

Schmardenin (Smārde) sector.

sector of Schmarden etc.

Seems you forgot to prune out Finnish declinations.

[CanKiwi2]

Seems you forgot to prune out Finnish declinations.

Urk! Thought I'd cornered them all but obviously I missed a few. Hopefully now all corrected. Thx a million

[Panssari Salama]

"Koko onnemme kalpamme kärjessä on"

"onni" is a word with multitude of meanings, often the whole context must be considered to judge the proper meaning. At least: fortune, luck, happiness, blessing, ...

I would weigh towards a translation where 'onni' as used here would be about making one's own fortune, in this case with the tip of their swords, ie. with their skills and will as soldiers.

I always enjoy to learn there's a new posting by you, to see how this what-if continues to evolve