The Petsamo expeditions ( fi, Petsamon retket, sv, Petsamoexpeditionerna) were two military expeditions in May 1918 and in April 1920 by
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
civilian volunteers, to annex
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to:
* Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922
* Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland
* Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo
* Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast, Russi ...
(russian: Pechenga) from
Bolshevist Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
. It was one of the many "kinship wars" (''
Heimosodat
The Finnish Heimosodat (singular ''heimosota''), refer to a series of armed conflicts and private military expeditions in 1918–1922 into the areas of the former Russian Empire which were neighbouring Finland and inhabited in large part by ot ...
'') fought by the newly independent Finland during the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. Although both expeditions were unsuccessful, Petsamo was handed over by Russia to Finland in the 1920
Treaty of Tartu.
The expeditions
The goal of these raiders was to take Petsamo for Finland, which had previously been promised to Finland by
Tsar Alexander II in 1864, in exchange for land around the
Sestra River on the Karelian Isthmus transferred to Russia to build a weapon factory. The Bolsheviks were opposed to fulfill the Russian Tsar's earlier promises, which contributed to a deterioration in relations between the newly independent Finland and the recently formed Soviet Union.
The 1918-expedition, still during the First World War, was composed of about 100 men and was led by doctors Thorsten Renvall and Onni Laitinen. They were opposed by the British Navy, who wanted to prevent the German Army from following in the wake. The British sent
HMS Cochrane
Two ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Cochrane'', after Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald:
* was a armoured cruiser launched in 1905. She was stranded in 1918 and broken up.
* HMS ''Cochra ...
with naval Infantry and 40 Red Army soldiers.
After some fighting, the expedition had to return without reaching its destination.
The 1920-expedition, some 60 men headed first by General
Kurt Martti Wallenius and then by Major Gustaf Taucher, met with resistance from Soviet troops, and also returned without accomplishing its goals.
Aftermath
In the
Treaty of Tartu, signed on 14 October 1920, Petsamo was handed over by Russia to Finland and became the
Petsamo Province
The Province of Petsamo ( fi, Petsamon lääni, sv, Petsamo län) was a Finnish panhandle and province from 1921 to 1922, when it was merged into the Province of Oulu. This panhandle used to give Finland access to the Arctic Ocean, until it w ...
.
Source
* ''This is a translation of an article in the Finnish Wikipedia,
Petsamon retket.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petsamo Expeditions
Wars involving Finland
Russian Civil War
1918 in Finland
1920 in Finland
Finland–Russia relations
Finland–Soviet Union relations
History of Murmansk Oblast