Hugo Salmela (13 June 1884 – 28 March 1918) was one of the

Red Guard Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...

military leaders in the 1918

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. He was a saw-mill worker from the town of

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

in Eastern Finland, without any military background. Salmela was also known as an enthusiastic amateur actor in the local worker's theatre. After the Red Guards were formed in the late 1917, Salmela became the leader of the Kymi Guard.

Civil War

As the Civil War broke out in January 1918, Salmela's skills were noticed by Red leaders

Ali Aaltonen Aleksi "Ali" Aaltonen (2 August 1884 – May 1918) was a Finnish journalist and former lieutenant of the Russian Imperial Army, who served as the first commander-in-chief of the Finnish Red Guards from November 1917 to the end of January 1918. He w ...

and

Eero Haapalainen Eero Haapalainen (Russian Эро Эрович Хаапалайнен, ''Ero Erovich Khaapalaynen''; 27 October 1880 – 27 November 1937) was a Finnish politician, trade unionist and journalist, who was one of the most prominent figures of the Finn ...

. In late February, he was transferred to

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, where Salmela replaced

Mikhail Svechnikov Mikhail Stepanovich Svechnikov (30 September 1882 – 26 August 1938) was a Russian military officer in the Imperial Russian Army and the Red Army. He is best known as one of the military leaders of the Red Guards (Finland), Red Guards in the 1918 ...

as the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front. Since Salmela did not have any military training, the Russian lieutenant colonel Georgi Bulatsel became his advisor. During the

Battle of Tampere The Battle of Tampere was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in Tampere, Finland from 15 March to 6 April between the Whites and the Reds. It is the most famous and the heaviest of all the Finnish Civil War battles. Today it is particular ...

, Salmela led the defence mainly by himself, with instructions from Bulatsel, as Aaltonen was focusing on drinking.

Death

Salmela was accidentally killed in an explosion in March 1918. Kustaa Salminen, the former commander of the Western Front, unintentionally triggered a hand grenade in the Red Guard headquarters and threw it into a basket full of grenades. The explosion killed several members of the Red Guard staff and Salminen himself was injured.Events of the Civil War 2: The Battle of Tampere and the end of the war
Piece of the History of Finland. Retrieved 9 July 2015. Hugo Salmela was first buried at the Red Guard military cemetery in

Pyynikinharju The Pyynikki Esker (or the Pyynikki Ridge; fi, Pyynikinharju) is the tallest longitudinal esker in the world, located in Pyynikki, Tampere, Finland.Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

moved his body into a mass grave at the

Kalevankangas Cemetery Kalevankangas Cemetery ( fi, Kalevankankaan hautausmaa) is a cemetery in the Kalevanharju district within the city of Tampere, Finland. History The Kalevankangas Cemetery was consecrated in 1880. During the Battle of Tampere, Kalevankangas ...

References

1884 births 1918 deaths People from Parikkala People of the Finnish Civil War (Red side) Deaths by hand grenade {{Finland-bio-stub