Martti Johannes Aho (19 March 1896 – 21 June 1968) was a Finnish

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. He is one of the four double recipients of the Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, 2nd Class. Martti Aho participated in 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 ...

in 1918 and in the

Aunus expedition The Aunus expedition was an attempt by Finnish volunteers to occupy parts of East Karelia in 1919, during the Russian Civil War. ''Aunus'' is the Finnish name for Olonets Karelia. This expedition was one of many Finnic "kinship wars" (''heimos ...

of 1919–1920. He served in the Border Guard as a company commander before 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 ...

and during the war he was first a company commander, and later the commander of ''Erillinen pataljoona'' 8 (ErP 8; Detached Battalion 8). Aho was wounded twice during the Winter War. In the beginning of 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 ...

, Major Aho commanded Infantry Regiment 50 (''Jalkaväkirykmentti'' 50, JR 50), which belonged to the 11th Infantry Division. Due to his skilled command, during the

Army of Karelia The Army of Karelia ( fi, Karjalan armeija) was a Finnish army during the Continuation War. The Army of Karelia was formed on 29 June 1941 soon after the start of the Continuation War. Organisation The army was organised in two corps and one se ...

's breakthrough and the conquest of

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

, Aho was rewarded the Mannerheim Cross on 1 March 1942 as knight number 52. During the stationary phase of the war, Aho was stationed at the

Svir River The Svir (, Veps: , Karelian/Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest ...

with his regiment. He was promoted colonel on 23 June 1944. During the great Soviet offensive the 11th Division was transferred to the

Karelian isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

, where Aho and his regiment participated in the

battle of Tali-Ihantala A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

from 27 June. Aho was again wounded in battle on 29 June. During 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. ...

, JR 50 participated successfully as part of ''Ryhmä Pajari'', fighting the Germans north of

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

. Aho was again rewarded a Mannerheim Cross on 16 October 1944.

Sources

Martti Aho
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aho, Martti 1896 births 1968 deaths Finnish military personnel of World War II People from Keminmaa Knights of the Mannerheim Cross