Whites (Finland)

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White Finland
Coat of Arms of Finland
(colours gold and silver on red)

The Whites (

Finnish Civil War
or the 'Finnish War of Independence', as it is often called by the Whites, in 1918.

Background

The decision of the Soviet of the People's Comissars' to recognise Finnish independence, signed by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Petrovsky, Joseph Stalin, Isaac Steinberg, Vladimir Karelin and Alexander Schlichter.

White Finland was established as a provisional government following the collapse of the Monarchy in Russia and the questioning of the status of Finland, and following the establishment of the Soviet Russia, and with the recognition of Vladimir Lenin and other prominent Bolshevik officials in Russia, the status of White Finland was cemented as the official provisional government in Finland. This Government was ruled from Vaasa from 29. January – 3. May 1918, and the Senate was moved there, as Helsinki had been captured by the Reds.[1]

The Whites had no clear political aims in common, other than stopping the

Rule of Law. The provisional head of state of White Finland was Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, chairman of the senate at the time, and it's military was commanded by Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The Conservative Senate government was supported by the remnants of the Finnish Legion stationed along the eastern front.[2]

Protection Corpsmen in Oulu, 1918.

The main fighting force of the 'White Army' was the Protection Corps, which was a volunteer army mostly made up of the rural peasant and lower classes, as they made up around 77% of the entire protection corps fighting units. The Protection Corps had around 15,000 men in their ranks, and with conscription enforced, the numbers of the 'White Army' rose to around 60,000 men in total, with the conscription numbers, the working class become to consist of around 25% of the frontline troops.[3][4]

The

First World War
veterans had significant impact during the war. They received arms and equipment matching those of regular German troops, and sporadic further military support from the German Empire.

The White Army did not only just consist of

Finnish men, however they also gained the support of foreign groups and voluntary military organizations, such as the 'Friends of Finland' group in Sweden, which organized and equipped Swedish volunteers to fight in Finland, this came with Swedish officers such as Ernst Linder, who came to command the Satakunta Group [fi].[6] The Whites also found sympathy from the Poles and Estonians, who also served as volunteers in combat.[7]

Campaign

The Whites' campaign was initially challenged by the goal of capturing the Varkaus industrial center.[8] The around 1,200 Red guardsmen who were controlling the city finally surrendered after the White troops secured the surrounding areas.[8] This battle was one of the turning points of the civil war since it gave the Whites control of the northern part of Finland. The success of the campaign is attributed to the White's better equipment, organization, and unity.[9]

By February 1917, Finland was already divided with the Whites controlling the area north of

Treaty of Tartu
between Finland and Russia (1920) confirmed the outcome. Thus, the Republic of Finland is the sole successor of White Finland.

References

  1. ^ "Vaasan lyseon lukion vaiheita". Vaasa (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  2. ISBN 9783000280764
    .
  3. ISBN 978-951-25-1256-0
    .
  4. ISBN 978-951-0-43696-7
    .
  5. ^ "Memorial to Finnish Jaegers in Klapkalnciems".
  6. ^ Hannula, J. O. (1938). Suomen vapaussodan historia (in Finnish). WSOY.
  7. ^ "Valtioneuvoston kanslia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9789004243668
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 0521640695
    .
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