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The Finnish Civil War was part of the national and social turmoil caused by World War I and the Russian Revolution. The war was fought from January 27, 1918 to May 15, 1918, between the "Reds" and "Whites", the socialists and non-socialists, respectively. The Reds were led by the People's Council under the control of the Social Democrats. The Whites were the forces of the Senate, the government, which was formed by the non-socialist parties after the parliamentary elections of 1917. The Reds were supported by Soviet Russia, and the Senate by the German Empire and Swedish volunteers.

The defeat in World War I and the February and October revolutions in 1917 caused a total collapse of the Russian Empire; and the destruction of the mother country resulted in a corresponding breakdown of Finnish society during 1917. The Social Democrats on the left and conservatives on the right competed for the leadership of the Finnish state. Both groups collaborated with the equivalent political forces in Russia, deepening the split in the nation.

As there were no generally accepted police and army forces to keep order in Finland after March 1917, the left and right began building security groups of their own, leading to the emergence of two independent armed military troops, the White and Red Guards. An atmosphere of political violence and fear grew among the Finns. Fighting broke out in late January 1918 after the bourgoise Senate named the White Guards as the official army of Finland and the Red Guards rose against them. The Whites were the victors in the war that followed. The legacy of the war was that the hegemony of Russia over Finland ended and the country remained a Western democracy instead of becoming a communist state. As a result of the war, monarchists gained temporarily the upper hand in the dispute over the form of government that Finland should adopt.

The Civil War remains the most controversial and emotionally loaded event in the history of modern Finland, and there have even been disputes about what the conflict should be called. Approximately 37,000 people died during the conflict, including casualties at the war fronts, and deaths from political terror campaigns and high prison camp mortality. The turmoil destroyed the economy, split the political apparatus, and divided the Finnish nation for many years. The country was slowly reunited through the compromises of moderate political groups on the left and right.

Background

The main factors behind the Finnish Civil War were the rise of socialism and World War I with its detrimental effects on the Russian Empire, which led to revolution and a total collapse of that nation. Finland, as a part of Russia, was powerfully affected by the turmoil and by the war between Germany and Russia. Both empires had political, economic, and military interests in Finland. An earlier crisis in the relations between Imperial Russia and the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland had occurred in 1899 due to the rising tension and competition between the major European powers at that time. The Russian leaders, as part of an attempt to unite the large, heterogeneous empire, had adopted the programme of the Russification of Finland, with the aim of reducing Finnish autonomy. The Finns called this policy "the first period of oppression 1899-1905". As a reaction, serious plans for achieving sovereignty for Finland were drawn up for the first time.

Before the first period of oppression, Finland had enjoyed broad autonomy; and compared to other parts of the Russian Empire, Finno-Russian relations were exceptionally peaceful and stable. As this policy altered, the Finns began to strongly oppose the imperial system. Several political groups with different opposition policies arose, the most radical one, the activist movement, led to covert collaboration with Imperial Germany during World War I.

A major reason for the Civil War was the undemocratic class system run by the estates, originating in the Swedish regime of the 17th century, which effectively divided the Finnish people into two groups, separated economically, socially and politically. Left-wing activity after 1899 not only opposed Russification but also sought to develop a domestic policy that tackled social problems and responded to the demand for democracy. Finland's population grew rapidly in the 19th century and a class of industrial and agrarian workers and propertyless peasants emerged. The Industrial Revolution and economic freedom had arrived in Finland later than in the rest of Western Europe (1800-1850), owing to the autocratic rule of the Russian Tsar; this meant that some of the social problems associated with industrialisation were diminished by learning from the experiences of countries such as England. The social conditions, the standard of living, and the self-confidence of the workers gradually improved between 1880-1914, and at the same time the political concepts of socialism, nationalism and liberalism took root. But as the standard of living rose among the common people, the rift between rich and poor deepened markedly.

The Finnish labour movement, born at the end of the 19th century out of folk and religious movements, had a "Finnish national, working class" character and was represented by the Social Democratic party, established in 1899. The movement came to the fore without major confrontations when tensions during Russia's failed war against Japan led in 1905 to a general strike in Finland and revolutionary upheaval in the empire. In an attempt to quell the general unrest, broad universal suffrage, including that of female citizens, and parliamentarianism were introduced in Finland. This soon produced nearly 50% turnouts for the Social Democrats, although there were no evident improvements for their supporters. The Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, regained his authority after this crisis, reclaimed his role as the Grand Duke of Finland, and between 1908 and 1917 neutralized the functions and powers of the new parliament.

February Revolution (1917)

A further, even more severe programme of Russification, called "the second period of oppression 1908-1917", was halted on 15 March 1917, when the removal of the Russian Tsar brought the personal union between Finland and Russia to a sudden end. The immediate reason for the collapse of the Russian Empire was a domestic crisis precipitated by defeats against Germany and by war-weariness among the Russian people. The deeper causes of the revolution lay in the collision between the policies of the most conservative regime in Europe and the necessity for political and economic modernization brought about by industrialisation. The Tsar's power was transferred to the Russian Duma and Provisional Government, which at this time were non-socialist.

The revolt in Russia handed the Finnish Parliament true political power for the first time. Autonomous status was returned to the Finns in March 1917, and a more modern parliamentary structure was formed, with a left and a right wing. The left comprised mainly the Social Democratic party that was the first mass-party in Finland with a proper organization. Social Democrats covered a wide spectrum from moderate to revolutionary socialists. The right was more diverse, formed by cadre parties with the heritage of the class system and the first period of Russification. The members of the Old Finns party and the Swedish People's Party (representing the Swedish-speaking minority), were rightist or moderate conservatives. The Young Finns were split during 1900-1918 into liberals and moderate or strong conservatives. The Agrarian Union, representing owners of small or middle-sized farms was non-socialist, "centrist", between the left and right. The parties of the right included some radical activist elements which gained increasing relevance, with the radical socialists, as the ensuing power struggle between the two sides contributed to a breakdown in Finnish society during 1917-1918.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Finnish people stood at the crossroads between the old regime of the estates and the evolution of a modern, democratic society. The direction and goal of this period of change now became a matter of intense political dispute which eventually spilled over into armed conflict, the Social Democrats seeking to retain the political rights already achieved and establish influence over the people, and the conservatives fearful of losing their long-held social and economic power.

The Social Democratic party had gained an absolute majority, 103 seats of a total of 200, in the Parliament of Finland as a result of the general elections of 1916. The new Senate was formed by Social Democrat and trade union leader Oskari Tokoi, considered the first Social Democratic prime minister in the world. His Senate comprised six Social Democrats, two Old Finns, two Young Finns, and one member each of the Swedish People's Party and the Agrarian Union. In theory, the cabinet consisted of a broad, and in Finnish conditions historical coalition but in practice, with the main political groups unwilling to compromise and the most experienced politicians remaining outside, the members of the Senate proved to be "scapegoats" and unable to solve any major Finnish problems. Real political power shifted instead to street level in the form of mass meetings, protests, strike organizations, and the street councils formed by workers and soldiers after the revolution, all of which served to undermine the authority of the state.

The rapid economic growth stimulated by World War I, which had raised the incomes of industrial workers during 1915 and 1916, collapsed with the February Revolution, and the consequent decrease in production and economy led to unemployment and heavy inflation. Large-scale strikes in both industry and agriculture spread throughout Finland, the workers calling for higher wages and eight-hour-per-day working limits. The cessation of cereal imports from Russia had produced food shortages in the country, as a response to which the government introduced rationing and price-fixing; but a black market formed in which food prices continued to rise sharply, a major problem for the unemployed worker families. Food supply, prices, and the fear of starvation became emotional political issues between farmers in the countryside and industrial workers in the urban areas. The common people, their fears exploited by the politicians and the political media, took to the streets. Despite the food shortages, no large-scale starvation hit the Finns in southern Finland before the war. Economic factors remained a supporting factor in the crisis of 1917, but only a secondary part of the power struggle of the state.

Battle for leadership

The power struggle between the Social Democrats and the conservatives culminated in July 1917 in the passing of the Senate bill that eventually became the "Power Act", which incorporated a plan by the Social Democrats to substantially increase the power of Parliament, in which they had a majority; it also furthered Finnish independence by restricting Russia's influence on domestic Finnish affairs. The Social Democrats’ plan had the backing of Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Bolsheviks, who in July 1917 were plotting a revolt against the Russian Provisional Government. Both the Finnish conservatives and the Russian Provisional Government opposed the "Power Act" because it reduced their political power. In the event, Lenin was thwarted during the "July days" and forced to flee to Finland. The Provisional Russian Government refused to accept “the Power Act” and sent troops to Finland, where, with the support of the conservatives, Parliament was dissolved and new elections announced. In those elections, in October 1917, the Social Democrats lost their absolute majority, after which, the labor movement's role changed. Until then, it had mainly struggled for new rights and benefits for its members; now the movement was forced to defend the gains it had already made.

The collapse of Russia in the February revolution resulted in a loss of institutional authority in Finland and the dissolution of the police force, creating fear and uncertainty. In response, groups on both the right and left began assembling independent security groups for their own protection. At first, these groups were local and largely unarmed, but by autumn 1917, in the power vacuum following the dissolution of parliament and in the absence of a stable government or a Finnish army, such forces began assuming a more military and national character . The Civil Guards (later called the White Guards) were organized by local men of influence, usually conservative academics, industrialists and major landowners; while the Worker's Security Guards (later called the Red Guards) were often recruited through their local party sections and the labor union. The presence of these two opposing armed forces in the country imposed a state of “dual power" and "multiple sovereignty" on Finnish society, typically the prelude to civil war.

October Revolution (1917)

Lenin's Bolshevik Revolution on November 7 transferred political power to the radical, left-wing socialists in Russia, a turn of events which suited a German Empire exhausted by fighting a war on two major fronts. The policy of the German leaders had been to foment unrest or revolution in Russia in order to force the Russians to sue for peace. To that end, they had arranged for the safe conduct of Lenin and his comrades from exile in Switzerland to Petrograd in April 1917. Furthermore, the Germans financed the Bolshevik party, believing Lenin to be the most powerful weapon they could launch at Russia.

After the dissolution of the Finnish parliament, the polarization and mutual fear between the Social Democrats and the conservatives increased dramatically. At this moment, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, including some revolutionary Finnish Bolsheviks, under threat in Petrograd, urged and pressured the Social Democrats to seize power in Finland; but the majority of Social Democrats were moderate and preferred parliamentary methods, prompting Lenin to label them “reluctant revolutionaries”. Instead the Social Democrats aimed at asking for an independence manifest for Finland from the Bolsheviks, but the uncertain situation in Petrograd prevented the plan. In fact, Lenin's demands and pressure on the Finns was an empty gesture as he had to ask for help to Petrograd from the reliable Russian troops located in Finland. The socialists decided to call for a general strike on 14-19 November 1917 due to the loss of parliamentary power in the October elections; the moderate socialists aiming at forcing political concessions, while the radical minority urged for seizing power. The strike was a success with 85 000 workers joining it and giving socialists a comprehensive control over major industrial centres in the country. Finally, the “Workers’ Revolutionary Council” voted by a narrow majority to seize power on November 16 at 5 a.m. However, the supreme revolutionary “Executive Committee” was unable to recruit enough qualified leaders to carry out the plan, and had to call the proposed revolution off at 7 p.m. the same day. The incident, "the shortest revolution", effectively split the Social Democrats in two, a majority supporting parliamentary means and a minority demanding revolution. The repercussions of the event had a lasting effect on the future of the movement, with some powerful leaders now staking positions within the party. In addition, the party leadership lost part of its authority and ability to control the worker's movement since the turmoil of the strike.

The new Finnish Parliament, partially due to the pressure of the general strike, supported the Social Democratic proposals for an eight-hour working day and universal suffrage in local elections on November 16 1917. But the right, after their victory in the elections of October 1917, appointed a purely bourgeoise cabinet after the strike on November 27. The most important consequence of the general strike was, however, that the first serious acts of violence occurred between the Finns. Radical elements of the Workers’ Security Guards executed several political opponents in the main cities of southern Finland; and the first armed clashes between Civil Guards and Workers’ Guards broke out. In total thirty-four casualties were reported during the strike. The Finnish Civil War would probably have started at that point had there been enough weapons in the country to arm the two armies; instead there began a race for weapons and a final escalation towards war.

Finnish sovereignty

The disintegration of Russia offered the Finns a historical opportunity to gain independence; but after the October Revolution, the positions of the conservatives and the Social Democrats on the sovereignty issue had become reversed. The right was now eager for independence because sovereignty would assist them in controlling the left and in minimizing the influence of revolutionary Russia. The Social Democrats had supported independence since spring 1917, but now they could not use it for the direct political benefit of their party and had to adjust to conservative dominance in the country.

The Senate, led by Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, proposed Finland's declaration of independence, which the Parliament adopted on December 6, 1917. Though the Social Democrats voted against the Svinhufvud proposal, they decided to present an alternative declaration of independence containing no substantial differences. The socialists feared a further loss of support (as in the October elections) among the nationalistic common people and hoped to win a political majority in the future. Both political groups, therefore, agreed on the need for Finnish sovereignty, despite strong disagreement on the selection of its leadership.

The establishment of sovereignty was not a foregone conclusion; for a small nation like Finland, the recognition of Russia and the major European powers was essential. Three weeks after the declaration of independence, Svinhufvud's cabinet faced up to the fact that it would have to negotiate with Lenin for Russian recognition. Before this, on December 9 and December 27 in St. Petersburg, delegations of the Social Democrats asked Lenin to allow sovereignty to the Finns. During December 1917, the Bolsheviks were under pressure in peace negotiations with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. The new Russia was in a deep domestic crisis, with an almost completely demoralized army and the fate of the October Revolution still in doubt. Lenin calculated that the Bolsheviks could perhaps hold central parts of Russia but would have to give up some territories on its periphery, including Finland in the less important north-western corner. As a result, the delegation of the Senate, led by P.E. Svinhufvud, in St. Petersburg came away with Lenin’s concession of sovereignty on December 31, 1917.

Warfare

Escalation

The Finns have often in hindsight seen the events of 1917 simply as precursors of the Civil War, an escalation of the conflict starting with the February Revolution. The opposing political factions in fact made many failed attempts to create a new order in 1917;but the events of the general strike in November finally put compromise out of reach, and from that point on, the suspicion and mistrust deepened. The conservatives and the activists feared that the groups of radical workers seen during the strike would threaten the dominance and security of the former estates, so they resolved to use any means necessary, including armed force, to defend themselves. At the same time, the revolutionary workers and left-wing socialists decided that they might remove by force the old regime that could draw back the achievements of the worker's movement. The result of this hardening of positions was that in late 1917, moderate, peaceful men and women, as so often throughout history, were forced to stand aside while the men with rifles stepped forward to take charge.

The final escalation towards war began in early January 1918. The most radical Workers’ Security Guards from Helsinki, Kotka and Turku changed their names to Red Guards and convinced and pressured those leaders of the Social Democrats who wavered between peace and war to support revolution. The Workers’ Guards were officially renamed the Red Guards at the end of the same month, under the command of Ali Aaltonen, a former Russian army officer, who had been appointed in December. At the same time, the Svinhufvud's Senate and the Parliament decided on January 12, 1918 to create a strong police authority, an initiative which the Worker's Security Guards saw as a step towards legalizing the White Guards. When the Senate renamed the White Guards the Finnish White Army, the Red Guards refused to recognise the title. On January 15, Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, like Aaltonen a former officer in the Russian army, was appointed supreme commander of the White Guards. He located his headquarters in Vaasa, while Aaltonen located his in Helsinki.

The official starting date of the Finnish Civil War is a matter for debate. The first serious battles were fought during January 17-20 in Karelia, in the south-eastern corner of Finland, mainly for control of the town of Viipuri and to win the race for weapons. The White Order to engage was issued on January 25; the Red Order of Revolution was issued on January 26. The next day, the White Guards attacked trains carrying a large shipment of weapons from Russia, as promised to the Reds by Lenin. Official hostilities began in the late evening of January 27, followed by disarmament of Russian garrisons in Ostrobothnia during the early hours of January 28, 1918. A symbolic date for the start of the war could be January 26, 1918, when a group of Reds climbed the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall and lit a red lantern to mark the start of the second major rebellion in the history of Finland.

Brothers in arms

At the beginning of the war, the front line ran through southern Finland from west to east, dividing the country into White Finland and Red Finland. The Red Guards controlled the area to the south, including nearly all the major industrial centres and the largest estates and farms with high numbers of crofters and tenant farmers; the White Army controlled the area to the north, where agriculture predominated, with small or middle-sized farms and tenant farmers, and where crofters were few or held a better social position than in the south. Enclaves of the opposing forces existed on both sides of the front line: within the White area lay the industrial towns of Varkaus, Kuopio, Oulu, Raahe, Kemi and Tornio; and within the Red area lay Porvoo, Kirkkonummi and Uusikaupunki. The elimination of these strongholds was a priority for both armies during February 1918.

Red Finland, later named the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic, was led by the People's Deputation of Finland under Kullervo Manner in Helsinki. Bolshevist Russia declared its support for Red Finland, but the Reds' vision of democratic socialism for the country did not resemble Lenin's dictatorship of the proletariat,and in fact, Lenin and his comrades wanted to annex Finland. The majority of Social Democrats intended to remain independent; during the war, however, the Red Guards dominated the politics of Red Finland with their weapons, and the most radical Guards and the Finnish Bolsheviks, though low in number, obviously favoured annexation of the Finns back to Russia.

The Finnish senate relocated to the west-coast city of Vaasa (the Vaasa Senate), which acted as the capital of White Finland from January 29 to May 3, and looked to Germany for military and political aid. Mannerheim agreed on the need for German weapons but opposed any intervention by German troops in Finland. The conservatives planned a monarchist political system, with a lesser role for Parliament. A section of the conservatives had always been against democracy; others had approved parliamentarianism at first but after the crisis of 1917 and the outbreak of war they concluded that power of the common people should be reduced. Moderate non-socialists opposed any restriction of parliamentarianism and initially resisted German military help, but prolonged warfare changed their stance.

The Finnish Civil War was fought along the railways, the vital means of transporting troops and supplies. The Red Guards’ first objective was to cut the Whites’ east-west rail connection, which they attempted north-east of Tampere, at the Battle of Vilppula. They also unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the Whites’ bridgehead south of the River Vuoksi at Antrea on the Karelian Isthmus, a threat to their rail connection with Russia.

The number of troops on each side varied from 50,000 to 90,000. While the Red Guards consisted mostly of volunteers, the White Army contained only 11,000-15,000 volunteers, the remainder being conscripts. The main motives for volunteering were economic factors (salary, food), idealism, and peer pressure. The Red Guards also included 2,000 female troops, mostly young girls, recruited from the industrial centres of southern Finland. Both armies used juvenile soldiers, mainly between 15 and 17 years of age. Urban and agricultural workers constituted the majority of the Red Guards, whereas land-owning farmers and well-educated people formed the backbone of the White Army.

Red Guards and the Russian Army

The Red Guards seized the early initiative in the war, taking control of Helsinki, the Finnish capital, in the early hours of January 28, and gaining first advantage with an "attack phase" that lasted till mid-March. However, a chronic shortage of skilled leaders, both at command level and in the field, left them unable to capitalize on their initial momentum and most of the offensives finally came to nothing. The troops of the Red Guards were not professional soldiers but armed civilians, whose military training and discipline were mostly inadequate to resist the counter-attack of the White Army when it came, still less the onslaught of the German forces who arrived later. Consequently, Ali Aaltonen found himself rapidly replaced in command by Eero Haapalainen, who in turn was replaced by the triumvirate of Eino Rahja, Adolf Taimi and Evert Eloranta. The last commander of the Red Guards was Kullervo Manner, who led the final retreat into Russia. The only victories of the Finnish Red Guards were the heavy battles at Hauho and Tuulos, Syrjäntaka, on April 28-29, 1918, during their retreat from southern Finland towards Russia, but these conflicts had only local importance by then.

Although some 60,000 to 80,000 Russian soldiers of the former Tsar's army remained stationed in Finland at the start of the Civil War, the Russian contribution to the Red Guards’ cause was to prove negligible. When the conflict began, Lenin tried to commit the Russian army on behalf of Red Finland, but the Russian troops were demoralized and war-weary after years of constant, traumatic defeat against Germany. As a result, only 7,000 to 10,000 Russian soldiers participated in the Finnish Civil War, of which no more than 4,000, in separate small units, could be persuaded to fight in the front line. Despite the involvement of a few skilled Russian army officers such as Mikhail Svechnikov, who led the battles in western Finland throughout February 1918, it seems reasonable to assume that the Russian army had no significant influence on the course of the war. The number of Russian soldiers active in the Civil War declined markedly once Germany attacked Russia on February 18, 1918, and delivered its terminal blow to the Russian army. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed between Russia and Germany on March 3 effectively restricted the Bolsheviks' ability to support the Finnish Red Guards with anything more than weapons and supplies. The Russians did remain active on the south-eastern front, however, defending the approaches to Petrograd.

White Guards and the German Army

The military quality of the common soldier in the White Army differed little from that of his counterpart in the Red Guards, with brief and inadequate training provided for most of the troops. But the White Army had two major advantages over the Red Guards: the professional military leadership of General Mannerheim and his staff—which included Swedish officers as well as former Finnish officers of the Tsar's army—and approximately 1,300 "Jäger" (Jääkärit) elite Finnish troops, trained in Germany and battle-hardened on the Eastern Front.

Battle of Tampere

Mannerheim’s strategy was to strike first at Tampere, Finland's most important industrial town in the south-west. He launched the attack on March 16 at Längelmäki, 65 km north-east of Tampere; at the same time the White Army began advancing along a line through Vilppula-Kuru-Kyröskoski-Suodenniemi, north and north-west of Tampere. The Red Guards collapsed under the weight of the assault, and some of its detachments retreated in panic. The White Army cut off the Red Guards’ retreat south of Tampere in Lempäälä and lay siege to Tampere on March 24, entering the town four days later. Then began the Battle of Tampere, Finland’s first “city war”, fought from house-to-house as the Red Guards retreated; it was the bloodiest action of the war and lasted until April 6. The fighting in Tampere was pure civil war, Finn against Finn, "brother rising against brother", since most of the Russian army had retreated to Russia in March and the German troops had yet to arrive in Finland. The White Army lost 500-1,000 men, and the Red Guards lost 1,000-2,000, with a further 11,000 imprisoned. The battle was the decisive action of the war and the largest military engagement in Scandinavian history to that point.

After their defeat in Tampere, the Red Guards retreated eastwards. The White Army shifted its military focus to Viipuri, Karelia's main city, taking it on April 29. The Red Guards’ last strongholds in south-west Finland fell by May 5.

German Baltic sea division

The German Empire finally intervened in the Finnish Civil War on the side of the White Army in March 1918. The conservatives, especially the activists, had been seeking German aid in freeing Finland from Russian hegemony since Autumn 1917, but the Germans did not wish to prejudice their armistice and peace negotiations with Russia, the latter beginning on December 22 at Brest-Litovsk. The German stance altered radically after February 10 when Trotsky, despite the weakness of the Bolsheviks' position, broke off the negotiations, hoping revolutions would break out in the German Empire and change everything. The German government promptly decided to teach Russia a lesson and, after inviting “requests for help” from the smaller countries west of Russia as an excuse for aggression, attacked Russia on February 18. Representatives of the Vaasa Senate in Berlin had asked for German help on February 14.

Sweden promoted its foreign political interests during the war both by volunteers serving the White Finland and by sending a Swedish military expedition to the Åland Islands in the southwestern archipelago of Finland in the Baltic Sea, on February 15 1918. The stated purpose of the latter was to protect the local Swedish speaking population, but in fact Sweden had geopolitical interests in the island. A German Naval squadron landed in Åland on March 5 and the Swedish troops were forced to leave the area by May 1918.

On April 3, 1918, the 10,000-strong Baltic Sea Division led by Rüdiger von der Goltz struck west of Helsinki at Hanko; and on April 7, the 3,000-strong Detachment Brandenstein overran the town of Loviisa on the south-eastern coast. The main German formations then advanced rapidly eastwards from Hanko and took Helsinki on April 13. At the same time, two German battleships and smaller vessels entered the city harbour and bombarded the Red positions, which included the present-day Presidential Palace. The Brandenstein Brigade attacked the town of Lahti on April 19, cutting the connection between the western and eastern Red Guards. The main German detachment advanced northwards from Helsinki and took Hyvinkää and Riihimäki on April 21-22, followed by Hämeenlinna on April 26. The contrast between the efficient performance of the German top detachments and that of the demoralized Russian troops in the Civil War is striking.

The People's Deputation of Finland fled from Helsinki on April 8 and from Viipuri to Petrograd on April 25. The Finnish Civil War ended on May 14-15, when a small number of Russian troops retreated from a coastal artillery base on the Karelian Isthmus. White Finland celebrated its victory in Helsinki on May 16 1918.

Red and White terror

During the civil war, the White Army and the Red Guards both perpetrated acts of terror. According to earlier views, both sides had agreed to certain rules of engagement, but violations occurred from the start, most notably when Red Guards executed 17 troops at Suinula village on January 31, and when White Army soldiers executed 200 troops at Varkaus on February 21. After these incidents, both sides began carrying out revenge executions at local level, a trend which escalated to massacres and terrorism.

Recent studies indicate, however, that the terror was a calculated part of the general warfare. The highest staffs of both sides planned these actions and gave orders to the lower level. At least a third of the Red terror and perhaps most of the White terror was centrally led (the proportion of the terror directly ordered by the Red Guard leaders was probably higher, but the data is lacking). The governments of White Finland and Red Finland officially opposed acts of terror, but such operational decisions had been made at the military level.

Both armies deployed “flying detachments” of cavalry, usually consisting of 10 to 20 troops aged 15 to 20, under the absolute authority of an experienced adult leader. These units, which specialized in search-and-destroy operations behind the front lines and during and after battles, have been described as death squads.

The Red Guards executed those they considered the main leaders of White Finland or class enemies, including industrialists, politicians, and major landowners. The White Guard executed Red Guard and party leaders and those who participated in the war and Red terror, as well as Russian soldiers who fought with the Red Guards (they executed all the Russians captured at the Battle of Tampere, for example).

In total, 1,400-1,650 Whites were executed in the Red terror, and 7,000-9,000 Reds were executed in the White terror. The breakdown of the rules of engagement in the Finnish Civil War conformed to a pattern found in many other civil wars.

Aftermath

Bitter legacy

The Civil War was a catastrophe for the Finnish nation. Almost 37,000 people perished, 5,900 of whom (16% of the total) were minors 14 to 20 years old. A notable feature of the war was that only about 10,000 of these casualties occurred on the battlefields; most of the deaths resulted from the terror campaigns and from the appalling conditions in the prison camps. In addition, the war left about 20,000 children orphaned. A large number of Red Finland supporters fled to Russia at the end of the war and in the period that followed.

The war created a legacy of bitterness, fear, hatred, and desire for revenge, and deepened the divisions within Finnish society. The conservatives and moderate non-socialists disagreed strongly on the best system of government for Finland to adopt: the former demanded monarchy and restricted parliamentarianism; the latter demanded a Finnish republic with full-scale democracy and social reforms. A new right-wing senate, with a monarchist majority, was formed by J.K. Paasikivi. All but one of the representatives of the Social Democrats were excluded from the parliament due to being imprisoned. A major consequence of the 1918 conflict was the break up of the Finnish worker movement into three parts: moderate Social Democrats, left-wing socialists in Finland, and communists acting in Soviet-Russia with the support of the Bolsheviks.

In foreign policy, White Finland looked to Germany and its military might for support; and at the end of May the Senate asked the Germans to remain in the country. The agreements signed with Germany on March 7, 1918 in return for military support had bound Finland politically, economically, and militarily to the German Empire. The Germans proposed a further military pact in summer 1918 as a part of their plan to secure raw materials for German industry from eastern Europe and tighten their control over Russia. General Mannerheim resigned his post on May 25 after disagreements with the Senate about German hegemony over the country and about his planned attack on St. Petersburg to repulse the Bolsheviks, which the Germans opposed under the peace treaty signed with Lenin at Brest-Litovsk.

Finally, the monarchist Senate and the incompletely represented parliament, under the pressure by Germany, chose a German prince, Friedrich Karl, brother-in-law of German Emperor William II, to be the King of Finland on October 9 1918—and Finland became a monarchist state. All these measures reduced Finnish sovereignty. The Finns, both right and left, had achieved independence on December 6, 1917, without a gun shot; but they gave part of their juvenile freedom away by an internal war which allowed the Germans to enter the country without difficulty.

The economic condition of the country had deteriorated so drastically that recovery to pre-conflict levels was not achieved until 1925. The most acute crisis was in the food supply, which had already been deficient in 1917, though starvation had at that time been avoided in southern Finland. The Civil War, according to the leaders of Red Finland and White Finland, would solve all past problems; instead it led to starvation in southern Finland too. The food situation was not helped by the allied blockade that still was being enforced in the Baltic. Late in 1918, the Finnish politician Rudolf Holsti sought out Herbert Hoover, then chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, and appealed to him for food for his starving, war-torn country. Hoover arranged to get hold of the food and also persuaded the Allied powers to relax the blockade in order to allow the food to be shipped in.

Prison camps

The White Army and German troops captured about 80,000 Red prisoners by the end of the war on May 5, 1918. Once the White terror subsided, a few thousand were set free, leaving 74,000 prisoners. A "Tribunal of High Treason" consisting of over 100 courts was set up in May to try the prisoners. Over 60,000 were sentenced to prison and 555 to death. Of the death penalties, half were carried out. Most of the prisoners were placed on probation or pardoned during 1918 leaving 6,100 still in captivity at the end of the year.

The largest prison camps were in Suomenlinna, an island facing Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Viipuri, Tammisaari (Ekenäs), Riihimäki and Tampere. The conditions in the prison camps deteriorated soon after their establishment due to difficulties in producing and distributing provisions and due to inadequate health care. As a consequence, in June 2,900 starved to death or died as a result of diseases caused by malnutrition, 4,900 in July, 2,150 in August, and 1,000 in September. The mortality rate was highest in the Tammisaari camp at 34%, while in the others the rate varied between 5% and 20%. In total, between 11,000 and 13,000 Reds perished. The dead were buried in mass graves near the camps.

Compromise

The German Revolution brought to an end monarchy in Germany on November 9, 1918 and the armistice on November 11, 1918 ended World War I in German defeat. The pro-German monarchist stance of the Senate became impossible to maintain. The Senate led by Paasikivi resigned in late November, and in the new government led by Lauri Ingman, half of the ministers were republicans. On December 12, the pro-German Svinhufvud resigned his position as Regent, the provisional head of state, to be replaced by Mannerheim who sought to improve relations with the Western powers. Prince Friedrich Karl announced December 14 that he would relinquish his crown and on December 16 German troops left Finland.

The first local elections based on universal suffrage in the history of Finland were held during December 17-28, 1918, and the first parliamentary election after the Civil War on March 3, 1919. Britain and the United States recognized Finnish independence on May 6th and 7th, 1919, respectively. The new parliament with a republican majority of three-quarters, accepted a republican constitution on June 21, 1919 and it was ratified by Mannerheim July 17, 1919. The dispute over the form of government had finally ended in favor of a republic.

After the Civil War, in 1919, a moderate Social Democrat, Väinö Voionmaa, wrote: "Those, who still trust in the future of this nation, must have an exceptionally strong faith. This young independent country has lost almost everything due to the war...." At the same time, a liberal non-socialist, the eventual first president of Finland, K.J. Ståhlberg, elected July 25, 1919, wrote: "It is urgent to get the life and development in this country back on the path that we had already reached in 1906 and which the turmoil of war turned us away from". He was supported by a moderate and defender of the Finnish republic Santeri Alkio, the leader of the agrarians.

Together with other moderate non-socialists and socialists, they constructed a Finnish compromise which led to a stable and broad parliamentary democracy. This was based on both the defeat of the Reds in the Civil War and the fact that only a small minority of the non-socialists were of the radical right supporting authoritarian rule. After the foreign forces left Finland, the Finns realised they had to get along with each other and that none of the main groups could be rejected completely from society. The reconciliation led to a slow and painful, but steady, national unification. The compromise has turned out to be surprisingly strong and appears permanent, consolidating the independence of the Finns. From 1919 onwards, the Finnish democracy and sovereignty withstood tests from both right-wing and left-wing radicalism, the crisis of World War II, and the pressure from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Notes

1. ^ Arimo 1991 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFArimo1991 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 II, pp. 131, 145 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993_II (help), Upton 1981, p. 107 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help)
2. ^ Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Paavolainen 1966 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPaavolainen1966 (help), Upton 1981, pp. 191, 453 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help)
3. Upton 1980, pp. 109–114, 195–263 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 185–196 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 11–13, 152–156 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
4. Upton 1980, pp. 434–435 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Ylikangas 1986, pp. 163–172 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1986 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 223–225, 237–243 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
5. The Finnish Civil War has also been called The Freedom War, The Brethren War, The Class War, The Red Rebellion, and The Finnish Revolution. Haapala 1993 , Manninen 1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1993 (help), Ylikangas 1993b harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1993b (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
6. Haapala 1995, pp. 241–256 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
7. Upton 1980, pp. 13–15 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 110–114 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help)
8. Upton 1980, pp. 30–32 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
9. Haapala 1986 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1986 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 62–66, 105–108 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
10. Alapuro 1988, pp. 101–127, 150–151 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 230–232 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
11. Upton 1980, pp. 51–54 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Ylikangas 1986, pp. 163–164 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1986 (help)
12. Upton 1980, pp. 109, 195–263 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 143–149 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 11–14 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
13. Kirby 2006, pp. 150 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKirby2006 (help)
14. Haapala 1995, pp. 221, 232–235 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
15. Upton 1980, pp. 95–98, 109–114 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Ylikangas 1986, pp. 165–167 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1986 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 163–164, 192 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 155, 197, 203–225 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
16. Enckell 1956 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFEnckell1956 (help), Upton 1980, pp. 163–194 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 158–162, 195–196 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Keränen 1992, p. 50 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
17. Upton 1980, pp. 195–230 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Ylikangas 1986, p. 166-167 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1986 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 237–243 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
18. Upton 1980, pp. 195–230 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help), Salkola 1985 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSalkola1985 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 151–167 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Manninen 1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1993 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 237–243 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
19. Keränen 1992, p. 36 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
20. Upton 1980, pp. 264–342 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 167–171 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Keränen 1992, pp. 70 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
21. Keränen 1992, p. 73 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Haapala 1995, p. 236 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
22. Upton 1980, pp. 343–382 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Alapuro 1988, pp. 189–192 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlapuro1988 (help), Keränen 1992, p. 78 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Manninen 1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1993 (help), Jutikkala, E. in: Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, pp. 11–20, Uta.fi/Suomi80 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJutikkala,_E._in:_Aunesluoma_&_Häikiö1995 (help)
23. Upton 1980, pp. 258–261 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Keränen 1992, p. 79 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
24. Haapala 1995, p. 232 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
25. Upton 1980, pp. 517–518 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Ylikangas 1993, pp. 15–24 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1993 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 221, 223–225 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
26. Upton 1980, pp. 390–500 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help), Keränen 1992, pp. 80–87 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
27. Upton 1980, p. 471-515 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1980 (help), Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help)
28. Keränen 1992, p. 102 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
29. Upton 1981, pp. 263–278 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Manninen 1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1993 (help)
30. Upton 1981, pp. 255–265 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Manninen 1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1993 (help)
31. Upton 1981, pp. 62–64 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Vares 1998, pp. 38–46, 56–79 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFVares1998 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
32. Ylikangas 1993, pp. 15–21 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1993 (help)
33. Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Manninen, O. in: Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, pp. 21–32 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen,_O._in:_AunesluomaHäikiö1995 (help)
34. Upton 1981, pp. 227–255 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help)
35. Upton 1981, pp. 265–276 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help), Manninen, O. in: Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, pp. 21–32 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen,_O._in:_Aunesluoma_&_Häikiö1995 (help), Tikka 2006 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2006 (help)
36. Upton 1981, pp. 259–262 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
37. Upton 1981, pp. 62–144 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Tikka 2006, pp. 25–30 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2006 (help)
38. Ylikangas 1993, pp. 429–443 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1993 (help)
39. Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, pp. 92–97 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAunesluomaHäikiö1995 (help)
40. Ylikangas 1993, pp. 103–295 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1993 (help), Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, pp. 92–97 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAunesluomaHäikiö1995 (help)
41. Lappalainen 1981 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLappalainen1981 (help), Upton 1981, pp. 424–446 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Aunesluoma & Häikiö 1995, p. 112 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAunesluomaHäikiö1995 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
42. Jussila, Hentilä & Nevakivi 1999, pp. 116–117 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJussilaHentiläNevakivi1999 (help)
43. Jussila, Hentilä & Nevakivi 1999, pp. 117 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJussilaHentiläNevakivi1999 (help)
44. Upton 1981, pp. 369–424 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Arimo 1991 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFArimo1991 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Lackman 2000 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLackman2000 (help)
45. Keränen 1992, p. 137 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help)
46. Paavolainen 1966 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPaavolainen1966 (help), Keränen 1992, pp. 89, 101 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Uola 1998 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUola1998 (help)
47. Tikka 2004, pp. 452–460 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2004 (help), Tikka 2006, pp. 69–138 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2006 (help)
48. Tikka 2006, pp. 69–81, 141–146 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2006 (help)
49. Paavolainen 1967 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPaavolainen1967 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Eerola & Eerola 1998, pp. 59, 91 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFEerolaEerola1998 (help)
50. Upton 1981, p. 447-481 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 9–13, 212–217 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help), Peltonen 2003, pp. 9–24, 214–220 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPeltonen2003 (help), Tikka 2004, pp. 452–460 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTikka2004 (help), War victims in Finland 1914-1920
51. Upton 1981, pp. 447–453 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Keränen 1992, p. 136 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Vares 1998, pp. 56–79 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFVares1998 (help)
52. Rautkallio 1977 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFRautkallio1977 (help), Upton 1981, p. 480 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Keränen 1992, p. 152 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Vares 1998, pp. 199–249 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFVares1998 (help)
53. Keränen 1992, p. 157 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 9–13, 212–217 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
54. Jussila, Hentilä & Nevakivi 1999, pp. 112 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJussilaHentiläNevakivi1999 (help)
55. Paavolainen 1971 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPaavolainen1971 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help), Eerola & Eerola 1998, pp. 114, 121, 123 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFEerolaEerola1998 (help)
56. Jussila, Hentilä & Nevakivi 1999, pp. 124–125 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJussilaHentiläNevakivi1999 (help)
57. Keränen 1992, p. 154, 171 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKeränen1992 (help), Manninen & 1992-1993 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFManninen1992-1993 (help)
58. Jussila, Hentilä & Nevakivi 1999, pp. 128–131 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJussilaHentiläNevakivi1999 (help)
59. Haapala 1995, pp. 243, 249 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)
60. Upton 1981, pp. 480–481 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFUpton1981 (help), Ylikangas 1986, pp. 169–172 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYlikangas1986 (help), Haapala 1995, pp. 243, 245–256 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHaapala1995 (help)

Bibliography

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See also

• Winter War
• Continuation War
• Finnish War
• History of Finland
• List of Finnish wars
• Lotta Svärd
• Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

External links

• Uta.fi/suomi80 - History project at University of Tampere
• Finnish Civil War in Pictures
• War victims in Finland, 1914-22 - Valtioneuvoston kanslia
• Monuments of the Reds - The central museum of Labour
• Vapaussota.fi - Foundation of Invalids of the War
• The representation of violence in the Finnish photography of the Civil War - Maarteen Patteuw

Template:Link FA Template:Link FA

• 1918
• Civil wars
• Finnish Civil War
• Wars involving Finland
• Russian Revolution