History 27/01/20 Who won the first Soviet-Finnish war
At the words “Soviet-Finnish war” come to mind battles in snowy forests, snipers and soldiers frozen to death. However, the Soviet Union was at war with Finland until 1939. In 1918, an important episode of the civil war in Finland is the attack by Finnish troops on the territory of Russia controlled by the Bolsheviks — the Finns even massacred in Vyborg, killing 800 Russian citizens.
the Civil war in Finland
Finland in the Russian Empire was on the special rights and Petersburg practically did not intervene in the Affairs of Finns, but only limited their foreign relations. After the revolution, Finnish Seym declared independence, and in the former Duchy of Finland began a civil war between the red guards, supported by the Bolsheviks, and “white” forces promoting independence.
a few weeks after the Declaration of independence to Finland came General Gustaf Mannerheim, who became the head of the local “independence supporters”. The main striking force of the “white” was the jäger battalion in 2000 bayonets. This unit, which served the Finnish nationalists, formed and armed by the Germans. Berlin decided with the help of the Finns to weaken the Petersburg and sent a battalion with additional weapons to their homeland.
Soon the Germans themselves entered into a civil war in Finland and together defeated the forces of the red guard. After winning the appetites of Finland has increased, and she decided to increase its territory at the expense of lands belonging to the weakened Russia.
the Finns are going to attack
In March 1918, Russia signed the Brest peace, and Finland as the de facto ally of Germany agreed to sign with the councils contract in exchange for Eastern Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, part of the Murmansk railway. Response from was not followed, and Mannerheim approved the plan for the invasion of the Russian land.
Finnish units attacked the Fort Ino, which was defended by 150 soldiers. The commandant of the fortress, realizing the impossibility to organize an effective defense, ordered to blow up the fortifications and retreat. In April 1918 the “white Finns” became Vyborg, and among the soldiers of the jäger battalion main slogan is “Shoot Russian”.
For a few days in the city killed 3 to 5 thousand people, among whom were the workers of Russian nationality. The huntsman killed the local Finns, who, in their opinion, supported the “red” and Russian just because they are Russian and lived, as did the soldiers on Finnish native lands. Supervised the executions of the Swedish national major Ekstrem who came to fight against Russia. The massacre did not find understanding even Mannerheim, but Rangers with their ardent nationalism was the main force of the army, so this trick they got away with it.
In may, the Finns continued their offensive and occupied the city of Matautu, which is in the Leningrad region and is called Pine. From this point to St. Petersburg the road was opened and the Bolsheviks, this situation is very troubling. Among the Finnish elites had the idea to take away from Russian in the North.
the Mannerheim sought to knock out of the Petersburg Bolsheviks that would have made his personality a global scale. The campaign in the East failed because of Germany. Berlin signed with the Bolsheviks favorable peace Treaty, and tearing it from sprawling Finnish appetites no one was going.
Karelian question
Among Karelians existed provinsie mood, and the centre of the rebels was the town of Ukhta, authorities who declared independence and future accession of Finland. To support Karelian into Russian territory advanced units of Finnish volunteers numbering 300-400. So many fighters for those sparsely populated places a significant military force. In response to these aggressive actions of the Soviet Russia declared war on Finland.
the Finnish troops began to advance on Kandalaksha and Kem. Troops for the defence KarElie the Bolsheviks lacked, and corrected the situation, the “red Finns”, which in Russia as refugees were to 13 thousand people. The Finnish Communists received arms and began to force his fellow-nationalists from the occupied territories. Karely has lost the support of the Finnish soldiers, who behaved with the local as conquerors.
the Fighting in Karelia
While Germany was at war, the British supported the “red Finns”, but after the surrender of Berlin, London saw the “white Finns” opposed to the Bolsheviks. With the support now of Britain again invaded the Finns in Eastern Karelia.
In April, 1919 2,000 Finnish volunteers under the command of a former Russian General entered Moscow state University in Karelia. In the city of Olonets Finns shot the wounded red army and put a puppet government. By the end of the month the Finnish troops concentrated near Petrozavodsk, where their offensive was halted.
By the summer of 1919 the Soviet power strengthened, and the Red army to launch a counteroffensive. In July, the red army pushed the Finns, and even eliminated before they created the Karelian Republic with a puppet government in the town of Ukhta.
But the Bolsheviks never had the strength to bring the case to the end. Finnish military presence remained in REBOL’skaya porosozerskoy townships and counties of the Republic of Karelia. Under the peace Treaty of 1920, Soviet Russia ceded the territory in the Pechenga region in the Arctic, most of the Islands Middle and West of the Rybachy Peninsula.
Alexander Brazhnik
Source:
© Russian Seven
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