Karelia Brigade (''Finnish: Karjalan Prikaati'', KARPR) is one of the three

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

readiness brigades. It is currently based at

Valkeala Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...

. With some three thousand soldiers it is the second largest

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is the only Finnish brigade providing training in all Army branches and houses the Finnish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre of Excellence. , the brigade is under the command of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Jukka Jokinen after

Pasi Välimäki, who served as commander until August 2019, was promoted to

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

History

The present Karelia Brigade was founded on 1 January 1957 by renaming the 5th Brigade. The lineage of the brigade hails back to the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

13th Division, which formed the 8th Brigade during the

Interim Peace The Interim Peace ( fi, Välirauha, sv, Mellanfreden) was a short period in the history of Finland during the Second World War. The term is used for the time between the Winter War and the Continuation War, lasting a little over 15 months, from 1 ...

. During the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

, the brigade formed Infantry Regiment 8. Following the

Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...

, the regiment became a garrison unit in

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lappeenranta and northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is ...

, where it was renamed the 5th Brigade in 1952.

Heraldry and traditions

The brigade keeps the traditions of the Regiment of the Karelian Guard ( fi, Karjalan Kaartin Rykmentti, link=no), which was formed in 1918 from three other regiments. The brigade anniversary is on 6 May, commemorating the 1618 order by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to found the Regiment of Karelia ( fi, Karjalan Rykmentti, link=no). The flag of the brigade is the old flag of the Regiment of the Karelian Guard, designed by . It consists of the Finnish

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

in the middle of an open

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

. Each of the corners are decorated with the dueling arms from the

coat of arms of the Province of Karelia The coat of arms of Karelia in Finland were first used in 1562, although the arms were probably presented at the burial of Gustav Vasa in 1560. The arms were used for the Swedish province of Karelia and they have been used continuously since the ...

with crowns. The flag is carried on a pole with the Cross of Liberty as a finial, and ribbons of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class. The ribbons are embroudered with names of locations where the original regiment saw combat during the

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 ...

. The brigade insignia consists of the dueling arms of the coat of arms of the Province of Karelia on a laurel wreath. As with the flag, the insignia belonged originally to the Regiment of the Karelian Guard, and was assigned to the brigade in 1967. Since 4 April 1978, the brigade cross has been the , designed by Pentti Vainikka. It is a cross of white and red, with a golden brigade insignia in the middle. The colors stem from those used by the officers of the Regiment of the Karelian Guard on their

shoulder mark A shoulder mark, also called rank slide, or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a ''shoulder board'' (which is an elaborate sh ...

s. The brigade march is the old march of the 8th Viipuri Sharpshooter Battalion ( fi, 8. Viipurin Tark'ampujapataljoona, link=no). It was composed by Eduard Dupuy and arranged by Uuno Kuparinen.

Composition (Peace time)

*Kymi Jaeger Battalion (''Kymen Jääkäripataljoona'', KYMJPKarelia Brigade - For Conscripts
Retrieved 2020-03-01. (In Finnish)]) **1st Mechanized Jaeger Company (''1. Panssarijääkärikomppania'') **2nd Mechanized Jaeger Company (''2. Panssarijääkärikomppania'') **3rd Mechanized Jaeger Company (''3. Panssarijääkärikomppania'') *Karelia Artillery Regiment (''Karjalan Tykistörykmentti'', KARTR) **1st Field Artillery Battery (''1. Kenttätykistöpatteri'') **2nd Field Artillery Battery (''2. Kenttätykistöpatteri'') **Mortar Company (''Kranaatinheitinkomppania'') *Salpausselkä Air Defense Battalion (''Salpausselän Ilmatorjuntapatteristo'', SALPITPSTO) **1st Air Defense Battery (''1. Ilmatorjuntapatteri'') **2nd Air Defense Battery (''2. Ilmatorjuntapatteri'') **3rd Air Defense Battery (''3. Ilmatorjuntapatteri'') *Kymi Engineer Battalion (''Kymen Pioneeripataljoona'', KYMPIONP) **1st Engineer Company (''1. Pioneerikomppania'') **2nd Engineer Company (''2. Pioneerikomppania'') **EOD Company (''Raivaajakomppania'') *East Finland Signal Battalion (''Itä-Suomen Viestipataljoona'', I-SVP) **HQ Company (''Esikuntakomppania'') **1st Signals Company (''1. Viestikomppania'') **2nd Signals Company (''2. Viestikomppania'') *Karelia Logistics Battalion (''Karjalan Huoltopataljoona'', KARHP)Karjalan Huoltopataljoona
Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2015-08-06. **1st Supply Company (''1. Huoltokomppania'') **2nd Supply Company (''2. Huoltokomppania'') **Materiel Centre (''Materiaalikeskus'') **Maintenance Centre (''Kunnossapitokeskus'') **Transportation Centre (''Kuljetuskeskus'') **Driving School (''Autokoulu'')

References

{{Reflist

External links

Puolustusvoimat: Karjalan Prikaati
(In Finnish) Brigades of Finland Kouvola