Not only Russia experienced a civil war where the Reds fought against the Whites... also in
Finland there was such a conflict, but instead of several years it lasted several months and
instead of the Reds achieving victory the Finnish White forces won the conflict. In
this video you're going to learn about the Finnish Civil War and why the Reds lost.
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all find the information below the video. The Grand Duchy of Finland was annexed by Russia in 1809
after being taken from Sweden. Finnish identity began to emerge after the adaptation of universal
suffrage and establishment of a parliament following the 1905 Revolution. However Tsar
Nicholas II undermined the parliament's authority by ignoring its decisions and calling for new
elections. This fueled frustration with Russian rule and the tsar's policy of Russification. Attempts to
impose Orthodox Christianity and use of Russian in schools cause resentment in the largely Lutheran
region. Industrialization in southern Finland led to the growth of socialist groups which clashed
with the Swedish speaking landowners who favored closer ties with Germany. Because of its autonomous
status Finland was neutral during World War One albeit that 1 500 Finns fought at the side of the
Russians or the Germans, in that case in a Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. These men were called
the Finnish Jägers. Finland therefore was not severely hit by the war and did not experience the
same 'brutalization' as other countries did by the returning of countless of traumatized veterans, yet...
the Finnish Civil War was a savage conflict in which 36 000 people perished which was 1% of
the total Finnish population... how did it got so far? The fall of the Romanovs in 1917 created a
political crisis as the Finnish head of state was the Russian Tsar. In response the Finnish
parliament passed the Power Act effectively declaring independence but this was rejected
by both the Russian Provisional Government as well as by right-wing groups in Finland. The right-wing
parties eventually won a small majority in the subsequent elections they had set up their civil
guard to maintain order. Many Finnish socialists therefore lost faith in the political system: they
turned to revolution as a means of protecting their rights. The prelude of the civil war came
in mid-November 1917 when inspired by the events in Petrograd Finnish trade unions joined forces
with the social democrats as well as with Otto Kuusinen’s Finnish Bolsheviks in calling for general
strike in which armed red guards were pitted against supporters of Finland's independence.
Clashes between them occurred. “From this point on, Finland backed into revolution and civil war, with
the Germans and Soviet Russians in supporting roles. Other than Mannerheim, no charismatic figure
emerged to lead the political charge on either side. The conflict escalated not as a result of
foreign interference but as a byproduct of Bolshevik agitation among the Russian armed
forces and in the Finnish factories. As the two sides—Finnish Reds versus Finnish Whites—tried
to gain control over the exercise of armed force, the Germans tipped the balance.” Soviet Russia had
endorsed Finnish independence but Russian forces remained on Finnish soil albeit in a process
of dissolution. As long as the peace talks between them and the Central Powers were going on at
Brest Litovsk Germany was not allow to intervene into conflict in Finland. Clashes ensued on the
19th of January in Vyborg (Viipuri) where Russian troops and Finnish Red Guard seized control
of a weapon factory... for three days there was sporadic fighting after which the Finnish Home
Guard chased them out. On the 27th of January 1918 the Finnish Red Guards or the Workers’ Guards (which
were supported by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd) toppled the government of Pehr Evind Svinhufvud. Svinhufvud
fled by ship. A new government – the Council of People’s Representatives – was established;
there were similarities as what had happened in Petrograd were also a small group of Bolsheviks
that seized power by storming the Winter Palace and occupying strategic places and the civil wars
that followed, both in Russia and in Finland, it was conflict of Reds versus Whites. Many contemporaries
frequently conflated the two conflicts; historian Robert Gerwarth wrote the following about it: “In
reality, the two civil wars were quite distinct and the often alleged ‘Russian involvement’ in the Finnish revolution was actually rather marginal, with no more than 5 to 10 per cent of those
fighting for the ‘Reds’ being Russian volunteers. More importantly, the Finnish ‘Reds’ were not Bolsheviks, at least not the majority. Even if Bolshevik-inspired Red Guards had carried out the
coup in Helsinki, thereby triggering the civil war, it was the more moderate Finnish Social Democrats who almost immediately assumed control of the revolutionary movement, which temporarily gained
power in the towns and industrial centres of southern Finland.” As tensions grew in Finland
Finnish troops that were serving for the Germans on the Eastern Front, the Jägers, they were withdrawn
from the front. Berlin decided to use these men to develop the Finnish Civil Guards which
became known as the White Guards into an effective fighting force, but why did Germany have interest
in Finland? Didn't the Germans have their hands full in the 'war to end all wars'? First, Germany
wanted Finland to become an independent pro-German nation; therefore the flow of Swedish raw materials
could continue. A hostile Finland could disrupt the flow of iron ore. Second, the Central Powers
could make use of Finland's natural resources. Third, the Germans were looking at the future;
the Germans knew that the British and French had provided significant support to the Russian army
through aid shipments to the ports of the White Sea situated in the icy northern region.
By forming an alliance with Finland the Germans could potentially endanger the railway connection
Archangelsk to the rest of Russia. To that end Germans created the Baltic Division and placed it
under command of Major General Rüdiger von der Goltz: “Coming from a family with many men serving in the
German Army, Goltz was in many respects a typical Prussian Junker: highly patriotic, utterly devoted to the army, and deeply suspicious of Germany’s enemies, particularly the British. Before the war,
he had served in the foreign section of the general staff and had come to the conclusion that war with Britain was inevitable, given the determination of the British to prevent Germany from securing its
rightful place in world trade.” Von der Goltz had to work with the Finnish conservatives; he
wanted to intervene as soon as possible, because of the thick ice in the Baltic Sea going ashore
right away was not advised. Von der Goltz was assisted by Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. His ancestry came
from Germany, Sweden and Scotland. He spoke Finnish poorly. As an unruly child his uncle had sent him
to the Finnish Cadet Corps, part of the system of military schools that stretched across the Russian
Empire. He had seen action in the Russo-Japanese War and returned from the war with his reputation
enhanced. When World War One broke out he was the commander of the Guards Cavalry Brigade and saw
action along the middle Vistula. After the February Revolution he was promoted to Lieutenant General
and given command of the Sixth Cavalry Corps but the new leaders they questioned his loyalty so
therefore he was relieved and he left for Finland. In January 1918 Svinhufvud appointed Mannerheim to be
the commander of the Finnish Army, effectively the White Guards. Now giving the fact that Mannerheim had
fought against the Germans in WW1 he wasn't pro-German and therefore did not
like the pro-German attitude of the conservative Finnish government; he preferred cooperation with
Sweden but Sweden did not want to get its hands dirty in this conflict so therefore cooperation
with the Germans was the only option. Under Mannerheim's command 42 000 Russian troops, that were
still stationed in Finland, were disarmed and this gave the Finnish Whites considerable firepower. Now
I said the Swedish didn't get involved but there were Swedish volunteers that were willing to help
the Finnish Whites. Among them there was a circle of staff officers and this gave Mannerheim the much
needed military expertise to win the conflict. Interesting enough the language of command in
the Finnish White Army was Swedish as Swedish was spoken by the Finnish upper classes. Early January
1918 Mannerheim had set up his HQ in Vaasa (200 miles north of Turku). Mannerheim had secured Northeastern
Finland a part of Karelia, the easternmost part of the country. “Mannerheim denounced “the mutilated
bodies of murdered citizens and the ruins of burned villages,” demanding “revenge on the country’s traitors.” The aim was to liberate the south from the “terrorist regime” that was “murdering, plundering,
imprisoning and torturing the peaceful and law-abiding inhabitants.” Between January and
March 1918 the Red Guards murdered 1 650 people. These were mostly White sympathizers. These were
mostly spontaneous outbursts of violence and not a coordinated plan of terror as was the case in
Soviet Russia where the Bolsheviks exercised the Red Terror. Ragtag Red Guards took control of key
cities of Vyborg (Viipuri), Tampere, Turku and of course Helsinki. The Reds were poorly led in some cases
they were supported by Russians but the Russians were mostly resented by the Finns and most of them
were busy getting away from the country. On 7 March 1918 a Finno-German Treaty was signed.
Germany would gain access to Finnish resources, control its foreign relations and
the right to keep military presence... what Mannerheim feared had become a reality: Finland had become a
de facto German client state. Although the Germans used different words they declared: “we come as
friends to help you, so that order, justice and liberty will again rule in your country. . . . We do not
come as conquerors.” On the 15th of March 1918 Mannerheim launched his attack in the town of Kuru:
the first serious fighting took place. The battle lasted the whole day after which the Red Guards
pulled back... cautiously the Whites advanced on Murole on the 19th of March. The capture of Orivesi was
more difficult as the town changed hands several times; despite the White victory many Reds got out
to help bolstering the defenses of the next city Tampere and that's where the heaviest battle of
the Finnish Civil War took place: it was also the biggest urban battle in the history of the
Nordic countries. As the Whites took Kangasala, just 9 miles / 15 kilometers to the east of Tampere, on
the 22nd of March they initiated artillery fire. While the White troops that had taken Kangasala
now pushed on to Lempäälä (south of Tampere) effectively isolating the Red garrison. Mannerheim was convinced his victory would be shift but
he was mistaken and he lost 150 men on 25th of March. Mannerheim sent the Reds a message
urging them to surrender... now some of the Reds were willing to do this but others believed
that reinforcements were close. Nevertheless some undertook a train breakout but it was put to halt
due to gunfire and therefore had to pull back. Nevertheless some Reds did make it out on
foot. On the 28th of March Mannerheim had assembled more artillery and subjected the city to a heavy
bombardment; yet the Red front line was closer to the White positions than believed so most shells
missed them. The attacking Whites therefore suffered heavy losses but did secure considerable gains as
the Reds pulled back to form a new defensive line. Mannerheim issued an ultimatum on the 1st
of April, threatening to bombard Tampere with heavy artillery. The Red army officers they put
it to a vote and there was a majority to continue the fighting just by one vote... a
heavy bombardment reduced much of Tampere to rubble and on the 3rd of April the Whites attacked
again. What followed was house-to-house fighting, some Reds managed to break out while around 11 000
laid down their arms on the 6th of April. After the fighting in Tampere was over the Whites started
to round up people suspected of being a Red Guard. Even people who weren't involved became
victim, one eyewitness recalled: “From a distance, the Whites shouted if there were any Reds there
[in the house], and they searched the pockets of all of them and took them to the washing house, and after a while they were taken away from there and shot. Or actually they were three Russians
[the men the Whites had arrested]. They were shot in the yard. I saw it myself from the kitchen window and when they were shot in the head a mound of pink brains spread on the ground from everyone.”
Although Mannerheim had ordered that prisoners should not be shot out of hand he did little to stop these wild
killings. Several days earlier on the 3rd of April the 9 000 men of the German Baltic Division landed
in Hanko which they took control of without a fight. The Red government relocated to Viipuri (Vyborg).
The Germans soon captured a vital bridge at Ekenäs intact; they then began to move on the
Finnish capital. On the 11th of April the first German cavalry units reached the outskirts of
Helsinki. Von der Goltz encountered the first prepared defenses of the Reds. The Finnish Reds had around
7 000 soldiers in the city, there were no match for the German troops. The fighting continued
until late on the 13th of April: the Germans suffered 60 casualties, the Whites 23 and between
300 and 400 Reds were either killed or wounded in action. A victory parade took place on the 14th.
Other German units landed separately in Lovisa, 48 miles (77 km) east of
Helsinki. From there they seized Lahti on 18 April cutting off the main Red forces from
Viipuri and Russia. Despite Red counter attacks they managed to hold till Mannerheim's forces from
the north reached them. Both the Germans and the White Finns marched on Viipuri. The core Red leaders had
decided to take refuge in Russia. Remaining Red forces put up a hopeless defense... they fought a
battle against an overwhelming enemy and on the 1st of May Mannerheim held his victory parade. The
fighting lasted till the 15th of May but as we saw in Tampere White reprisals continued in the
immediate aftermath of the battle. Inspired by the words from for example Finnish General Ernst Löfström
who spoke: “Red leaders and Russian soldiers who fight are outside the law and can be treated
accordingly”, many extrajudicial killing occured. Among those killed were also females around
2 000 females served in the Red Guards. Once captured many were raped before being shot and Red Guards
that were not killed were interned. As historian Stephen Anthony Smith puts it: “The civil war ended
on 15 May but the killing did not. White terror claimed the lives of more than 5,600, and about 12,500 more would die of famine and disease in prison camps. All this in a country of
just 3.1 million people. The Finnish war has been rightly called the first of the ‘savage counter-revolutionary campaigns that would open a new chapter in twentieth-century political violence’.”
The idea was that a Kingdom of Finland was to be created, with the German Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse
as its head of state. Due to Germany's defeat in November 1918 that decision was quickly overturned.
To all Finnish viewers I'm really curious: how is this conflict remembered in Finland
as of today? When I was in Helsinki years ago I spoke to a history student and that history student
told me the following: Finance has come to terms with what happened in WW2 but
not really what have happened during the Finnish Civil War. To what extent is this the case? I know
I have some Finnish viewers so please leave a comment: how is the Finnish Civil War
remembered in Finland?