Finnish Double Knights of the MC

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MikeF
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Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#1

Post by MikeF » 25 Aug 2004, 01:38

Hello,

I am conducting research on the Finnish soldiers who were awarded the Mannerheim Cross twice. I have a fair amount of information on three of the known six soldiers who were bestowed with such a honor; however, my sources are lacking when it comes to the other three gentlemen. Can anyone help by providing some biographical data on the following individuals (I'm especially interested in the reason for the issuance of each Mannerheim Cross):

Axel Erik Heinrichs
Aaro O. Pajari
Matti J. Aho

Thank you,
MikeF

Mikko H.
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#2

Post by Mikko H. » 25 Aug 2004, 08:01

Just a clarification. Four men were awarded the Mannerheim Cross, 2nd class, twice (date is for the second award):

lentomestari Ilmari Juutilainen on 28 June 1944
kapteeni Hans Wind on 28 June 1944
kenraalimajuri Aaro Pajari on 16 October 1944
eversti Matti Aho on 16 October 1944

Two were awarded Mannerheim Cross 1st and 2nd class:

Suomen marsalkka Gustaf Mannerheim on 7 October 1941 (both classes)
jalkaväenkenraali Axel Erik Heinrichs on 5 December 1942 (2nd class) and 31 December 1944 (1st class)

Here is what I have on Aaro Pajari:

Aaro Olavi Pajari

Born Asikkala, southern Finland on 18 July 1897
Died on a trip in Pohjanmaa, western Finland on 14 October 1949

Ranks: Commissioned vänrikki (17 September 1919) ● Luutnantti (6 December 1920) ● Kapteeni (6 December 1923) ● Majuri (16 May 1927) ● Everstiluutnantti (6 December 1930) ● Eversti (18 December 1939) ● Kenraalimajuri (3 October 1941).

Prewar: In War of Liberty (1918) infantry squad and platoon leader, company commander ● Attended Viipurin Upseerikokelaskurssi I (1918 – 1919) ● In Onega Incursion infantry platoon leader and company commander (1919) ● Graduated from Kadettikoulu (1922) ● Graduated from Sotakorkeakoulu (1926) ● Chief of Suojeluskunta District of Pohjois-Häme (27 May 1932 – 10 October 1939).

Important Posts: Commander of Jalkaväkirykmentti 16 (10 October 1939 – 7 December 1939) ● Commander of Osasto Pajari (7 December 1939 – 19 February 1940) ● Commander of Ryhmä Talvela (19 February 1940 – 22 February 1940) ● Commander of 14th Divisioona (22 February 1940 – 21 July 1940) ● Commander of Military Province of Pohjois-Häme (21 July 1940 – 10 June 1941) ● Commander of 18th Divisioona (10 June 1941 – 21 October 1943) ● Commander of Taisteluosasto Pajari (26 March 1942 – 10 April 1942) ● Commander of 3rd Divisioona (21 October 1943 – 4 October 1944) ● Commander of Ryhmä Pajari (4 October 1944 – 21 October 1944).

Under arrest for suspected crimes against Soviet POWs (21 October 1944 – 14 December 1944), released without charges being raised.

Major Awards & Decorations: MR 2 #12 (14 September 1941) ● MR 2 solk (16 October 1944) ● VR 1 tl (25 April 1942) ● VR 1 mk (16 April 1940) ● EK I (25 May 1942) ● EK II (6 October 1941).

Medical: Pajari was half-deaf and suffered from heart disease.

Postwar: Commander of Military Province of Savo-Karjala (14 December 1944 – 6 October 1945) ● Commandeered into Defense Forces General Staff’s employment, nominally as artillery commander (6 October 1945 – 15 October 1949) ● Financial manager of the political party Kansallinen Kokoomuspuolue (1949) ● Died of heart attack on work-related trip in Pohjanmaa, western Finland, the day before formal resignation from Defense Forces came into force (14 October 1949).

I'll post details on Heirichs later, unless someone else beats me to it.


Mikko H.
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#3

Post by Mikko H. » 25 Aug 2004, 13:51

Axel Erik Heinrichs

Born Helsinki on 21 July 1890
Died Helsinki on 16 November 1965

Ranks: Commissioned majuri (11 February 1918) ● Everstiluutnantti (12 August 1919) ● Eversti (16 May 1928) ● Kenraalimajuri (16 May 1933) ● Kenraaliluutnantti (19 February 1940) ● Jalkaväenkenraali (3 October 1941).

Prewar: Journalist (1913 – 1915) ● Took part in the Jääkäriliike (1915 – 1918) ● In War of Liberty (1918) infantry battalion commander ● Graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Guerre, France (1928) ● Director of Sotakorkeakoulu (4 July 1929 – 1 January 1931) ● Governor Province of Vaasa (11 June 1930 – 14 August 1930) ● Commander of 1st Divisioona (1 January 1931 – 11 February 1938) ● Inspector of Infantry (11 February 1938 – 16 October 1939).

Important Posts: Commander of III Armeijakunta (16 October 1939 – 19 February 1940) ● Commander of Kannaksen Armeija (19 February 1940 – 19 March 1940) ● Commander of Ground Forces (19 March 1940 – 16 May 1940) ● Chief of General Staff (16 May 1940 – 29 June 1941) ● Commander of Karjalan Armeija (29 June 1941 – 29 January 1942) ● Chief of General Staff (29 January 1942 – 6 October 1944) ● Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defense Forces (17 April 1943 – 9 May 1943) ● Military expert in the Finnish peace delegation in the Soviet Union (September 1944).

Major Awards & Decorations: MR 1 (31 December 1944) ● MR 2 #48 (5 December 1942) ● VR SR rt mk (6 April 1940) ● RK (5 August 1944) ● DKiG (4 June 1942) ● Commander of Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Swedish Order of Sword (4 June 1944) ● Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Hungarian Order of Crown (12 November 1943) ● Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Rumanian Order of Star (20 September 1942) ● EK I (25 November 1941) ● 1939 Spange zum 1914 EK II (25 November 1941).

Medical: Suffered nervous breakdown, two weeks’ sick leave (22 September 1944).

Postwar: Chief of Defense Forces General Staff (6 October 1944 – 31 December 1944) ● Temporary Commander of Defense Forces (31 December 1944 – 12 January 1945) ● Commander of Defense Forces (12 January 1945 – 30 June 1945) ● Retired (30 June 1945) ● Helped Mannerheim to write his memoirs in Switzerland (1948 – 1951) ● Doc. Phil. honoris causa, University of Helsinki (1957) ● Wrote biography of Mannerheim Mannerheim Suomen kohtaloissa I-II (1957-1960) ● Died Helsinki (16 November 1965).

Notes: Brother of eversti Bertil Heinrichs and eversti Gunnar Heinrichs.

MikeF
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Question about abbreviations

#4

Post by MikeF » 26 Aug 2004, 15:46

Hello and thank you Mikko,

I have a question in relation to Heinrichs awards....what do the abbreviations RK and DKiG stand for? I have not seen those before. And thank you for the bio data on the two gentlemen. I knew during the Winter War Pajari had to be taken off the front for a while due to his heart problems but I did not know about his hearing difficulties. And the neverous breakdown suffered by Heinrichs was also new to me. Men under so much pressure have to suffer some sort of side effects, I guess.

MikeF

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Harri
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Re: Question about abbreviations

#5

Post by Harri » 26 Aug 2004, 18:28

MikeF wrote:...what do the abbreviations RK and DKiG stand for?
These are German decorations:
RK = Ritterkreuz
DKiG = Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
MikeF wrote:....Pajari....I did not know about his hearing difficulties.
Most soldiers who had been in combat and especially those who had served in field or coastal artillery during their career had usually that same problem - more or less. :wink:

Mikko H.
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#6

Post by Mikko H. » 27 Aug 2004, 07:48

And the neverous breakdown suffered by Heinrichs was also new to me. Men under so much pressure have to suffer some sort of side effects, I guess.
This happened soon after Heinrichs returned form the Moscow peace negotiations. One can only imagine what terrible pressure these men had been under for the whole war-time -- Mannerheim didn't allow the officers at the Supreme HQ to take leave.

Heinrichs wasn't the only one. Minister of Defense jalkaväenkenraali Rudolf Walden suffered cerebral apoplexy on 27 November 1944, lost the faculty of speech and never fully recovered. He lingered on until dying on 25 October 1946.

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Requin Marteau
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Re:

#7

Post by Requin Marteau » 02 Mar 2017, 14:04

Mikko H. wrote:Axel Erik Heinrichs

Born Helsinki on 21 July 1890
Died Helsinki on 16 November 1965

Ranks: Commissioned majuri (11 February 1918) ● Everstiluutnantti (12 August 1919) ● Eversti (16 May 1928) ● Kenraalimajuri (16 May 1933) ● Kenraaliluutnantti (19 February 1940) ● Jalkaväenkenraali (3 October 1941).

Prewar: Journalist (1913 – 1915) ● Took part in the Jääkäriliike (1915 – 1918) ● In War of Liberty (1918) infantry battalion commander ● Graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Guerre, France (1928) ● Director of Sotakorkeakoulu (4 July 1929 – 1 January 1931) ● Governor Province of Vaasa (11 June 1930 – 14 August 1930) ● Commander of 1st Divisioona (1 January 1931 – 11 February 1938) ● Inspector of Infantry (11 February 1938 – 16 October 1939).

Important Posts: Commander of III Armeijakunta (16 October 1939 – 19 February 1940) ● Commander of Kannaksen Armeija (19 February 1940 – 19 March 1940) ● Commander of Ground Forces (19 March 1940 – 16 May 1940) ● Chief of General Staff (16 May 1940 – 29 June 1941) ● Commander of Karjalan Armeija (29 June 1941 – 29 January 1942) ● Chief of General Staff (29 January 1942 – 6 October 1944) ● Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defense Forces (17 April 1943 – 9 May 1943) ● Military expert in the Finnish peace delegation in the Soviet Union (September 1944).

Major Awards & Decorations: MR 1 (31 December 1944) ● MR 2 #48 (5 December 1942) ● VR SR rt mk (6 April 1940) ● RK (5 August 1944) ● DKiG (4 June 1942) ● Commander of Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Swedish Order of Sword (4 June 1944) ● Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Hungarian Order of Crown (12 November 1943) ● Grand Cross with Breast Star of the Rumanian Order of Star (20 September 1942) ● EK I (25 November 1941) ● 1939 Spange zum 1914 EK II (25 November 1941).

Medical: Suffered nervous breakdown, two weeks’ sick leave (22 September 1944).

Postwar: Chief of Defense Forces General Staff (6 October 1944 – 31 December 1944) ● Temporary Commander of Defense Forces (31 December 1944 – 12 January 1945) ● Commander of Defense Forces (12 January 1945 – 30 June 1945) ● Retired (30 June 1945) ● Helped Mannerheim to write his memoirs in Switzerland (1948 – 1951) ● Doc. Phil. honoris causa, University of Helsinki (1957) ● Wrote biography of Mannerheim Mannerheim Suomen kohtaloissa I-II (1957-1960) ● Died Helsinki (16 November 1965).

Notes: Brother of eversti Bertil Heinrichs and eversti Gunnar Heinrichs.
Bonjour,

What do you mean ?

VR SR mk : Grosskreuz des Ordens des Freiheitskreuz mit Schwertern,
MR 1 : Mannerheim Kreuz 1. kl,
MR 2 : Mannerheim Kreuz 2. kl,
K SVR 1 : Kommandeurkreuz 1. kl des Ordens d. Weissen Rose Finnlands,
K SVR 2 : Kommandeurkreuz 2. kl des Ordens d. Weissen Rose Finnlands,
VR 3 mk : Orden des Freiheitskreuz 3. kl mit Schwertern,
HeimoSR :
Sk Ar :
Vs mm : Medaille zur Erinnerung an den Freiheitskrieg 1918,
Ts mm : Medaille zur Erinnerung an den Kreig 1939-40,
Js mm : Medaille zur Erinnerung an d. Krieg 1941-1945,
RUL am :
InkValkM ar : Weisses Kreuz Ingriens,
PrRr 2 :
SaksRR 1 ja RR 2 sk,
SaksRR Rr :
SaksMskr :
Kult Saks risti :
VirSkKtR 2 :
PuolPRR Krt :
UnkPKrR suurr rtk : Ungarisches Grosskreuz des Ordens d. Heiligen Krone mit Schwertern,
RomTR suurr rtk : Rümanisches Grosskreuz des Rümanischen Ordens des Stern mit Schwertern,
LietGedR suurups : Litauisches Grosskreuz des Ordens d. Grand Duke Gediminas,
K LatvKTR 2 : Lettisches Grossoffizier des Drei Sterne Ordens ?
K RuotsMR suurr rtk :
RanskKL ups :
Jm : .


Crdl
Thierry

Mikko H.
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#8

Post by Mikko H. » 03 Mar 2017, 15:39

Just from the top of my head;

HeimoSR : Memorial Cross of the Kindred People's War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimosodat
Sk Ar : Suojeluskunta Cross of Merit
RUL am : Reserve Officers Association Medal of Merit
PrRr 2 : EK II (WWI)
SaksRR 1 ja RR 2 sk, EK I (WWII) and Spange for the WWI EK II
SaksRR Rr : Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
SaksMskr : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honou ... _1914/1918
Kult Saks risti : DKiG
VirSkKtR 2 : an Estonian Home Guard decoration
PuolPRR Krt : a Polish decoration

Mikko H.
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#9

Post by Mikko H. » 03 Mar 2017, 15:53

And these:

K RuotsMR suurr rtk : A decoration of the Swedish Order of the Sword
RanskKL ups : Officer of the French Legion d'honneur
Jm : . sorry, no idea

Seppo Koivisto
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#10

Post by Seppo Koivisto » 03 Mar 2017, 18:16

Jm = Jääkärikunniamerkki (Jäger decoration)
https://www.postimuseo.fi/fi/lehdistoku ... nniamerkki

antwony
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Re: Re:

#11

Post by antwony » 03 Mar 2017, 21:14

Requin Marteau wrote:
Bonjour,

Crdl
Thierry
Bonjour Thierry,

You realise your post had a weird mix of Finnish and German abbrevetions, right?

Am a bit surprised that foreigners would be interested in the Mannerheim- risti. You know the only two guys that got the first class one got it for sitting on the asses in an office somewhere and that two-thirds of the people it was awarded to were part of the Suojeluskunta?

The enlisted men who got it did some insane awesomeness. But, it wasn't just politically suspect, it could be "bling" for officer's who hadn't fcuked up.

Bonne journée,

Antony

Mikko H.
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#12

Post by Mikko H. » 03 Mar 2017, 22:38

Bonjour Thierry,

You realise your post had a weird mix of Finnish and German abbrevetions, right?

Am a bit surprised that foreigners would be interested in the Mannerheim- risti. You know the only two guys that got the first class one got it for sitting on the asses in an office somewhere and that two-thirds of the people it was awarded to were part of the Suojeluskunta?

The enlisted men who got it did some insane awesomeness. But, it wasn't just politically suspect, it could be "bling" for officer's who hadn't fcuked up.
Do you realise that, as per regulations, the Mannerheim Cross could be awarded for successful military operations?

Do you realise that in modern war, high-up generals do their jobs better by staying in their offices than popping up in the front line?

IMO, there was only one Mannerheim Cross that could be said to be irregular, and that was the one Mannerheim awarded to his old friend General of Infantry Rudolf Walden. As for the rest of the awards for higher-ups, one can is some cases disagree how justified they really were, but they certainly weren't 'bling'.

antwony
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#13

Post by antwony » 04 Mar 2017, 09:48

Mikko H. wrote:Do you realise that, as per regulations, the Mannerheim Cross could be awarded for successful military operations?
Exactly.

Lahtarin blinkki se on.

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Requin Marteau
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Re: Finnish Double Knights of the MC

#14

Post by Requin Marteau » 04 Mar 2017, 11:06

Bonjour,

Thanks all for infos.

Crdl
Thierry

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