Matti Armas Aarnio, known as Motti-Matti (24 February 1901, Kouvola – 16 December 1984) was a Finnish military officer and a specialist in '' motti'' battles during World War II.

Career

Aarnio was a volunteer with the White Guards at the Savonia Front during the Finnish Civil War. Later, he participated in the Estonian War of Independence, the Latvian War of Independence and the Aunus expedition in

East Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...

. Aarnio transferred from active military service to the reserve officer corps in 1920. He graduated from the Kadettikoulu in 1926 and the Sotakorkeakoulu in 1933. Aarnio was promoted as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1929 and served in the Foreign relations department of the General Staff. During the Winter War, Aarnio was promoted to the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and commanded the 4th Jaeger battalion (JP 4) to the north of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

. His battalion became known for battles against encircled Red Army troops in the

battle of Lemetti 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 forc ...

. During these ''motti'' battles, Aarnio used his eight best battalions, including his own. The tactics of Aarnio—attacking mottis at night and at close range—proved successful. He later received the nickname "Motti-Matti". During the Continuation War, Aarnio was the commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment. His regiment successfully participated in the Finnish reconquest of Ladoga Karelia in 1941. In December 1941, Aarnio was transferred to command the 56th Infantry Regiment, and in the Lapland War, commanded the 2nd Jaeger Battalion. In 1945, Aarnio emigrated from Finland and served several years in Venezuela. While in Caracas, Aarnio assisted Finnish expatriate and Mannerheim Cross recipient Lauri Törni as Törni was illegally immigrating to the United States in 1950. and He returned to Finland in 1952 and worked in the insurance business.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aarnio, Matti Armas 1901 births 1984 deaths People from Kouvola People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Finnish military personnel of World War II People of the Winter War Finnish emigrants to Venezuela