(; fi, Pohjan Pojat ; ) was a
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 ...
military brigade in 1918–1919, the second group of
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 ...
volunteers to enlist to take part in the
Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...
, closely following behind the regiment led by Colonel
Martin Ekström
Martin Eugen Ekström (6 December 1887 – 28 December 1954) was a Swedish military adventurer who became the leader of the National Socialist Bloc, an umbrella organization for various fascist and National Socialist groups. Ekström was born ...
.
Pohjan pojat fought under the command of Estonian Lieutenant Colonel
Hans Kalm
Hans Kalm (21 April 1889 – 1 February 1981) was an Estonian soldier who served in the armies of Russian Empire, Finland and Estonia. He was also a homeopath and naturopath who took interest in alternative medicine.
World War I and Finnish Civi ...
on the southern front in Estonia. Pohjan Pojat was the only Finnish military unit that progressed outside the Estonian national borders in the Estonian War of Independence.
Establishment
As soon as the Finnish Commission for helping Estonia had decided on the formation of volunteer forces, Hans Kalm started recruiting volunteers. He published direct and emotional recruitment announcements in newspapers on December 23, 1918, in which he appealed to his comrades-in-arms 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 announcements called on Finns to fight for humanity, justice, the freedom of the homeland and the fraternal people.
![Pohjan_Pojat_4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Pohjan_Pojat_4.jpg)
The Finnish Commission for helping Estonia had decided that no more than a thousand men should be sent to Estonia. However, as an Estonian, Kalm did not care about this and gathered 2213 men and 400 officials for the campaign.
He formed a brigade that consisted of two infantry battalions and three artillery batteries supported by communication, cavalry and skiing departments. The force got its name from the slogan of the
Hakkapeliitta
Hakkapeliitta (Finnish language, Finnish pl. ''hakkapeliitat'') is a historiographical term used for a Finns, Finnish light cavalryman in the service of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648). Hakkapeliitta ...
s: ”''Hakkaa päälle, pohjan poika!''” ("strike upon
hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
son of the north!"). The regiment's flag had a picture of a polar bear, and the colours were based on a Finnish state flag.
Battles
![Pohjan_Pojat_6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Pohjan_Pojat_6.jpg)
Pohjan pojat crossed the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
on January 12, 1919. Their first battle was near Paju Manor (German: Luhde-Grosshof) against a heavily armed
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
Latvian sniper battalion on 31 January. The mansion was conquered in the evening by a plunge. The first battalion in charge of the fighting suffered heavy losses, losing one officer, two non-commissioned officers and 21 soldiers. 39 were wounded.
Next they took over Valki on February 1. The first battalion fought on the Estonian side against a Latvian sniper battalion in
Koikküla
Koikküla (german: Koiküll) is a settlement in Valga Parish, Valga County in southeastern Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of ...
. After this, the volunteer force was tasked with remaining in the reserve in Valki, until it would be ordered to proceed to northern Latvia.
However, Kalm didn't want to wait longer and ordered the attack on 16 February 1919 on the town of Marienburg (
Alūksne
Alūksne ()) is a town on the shores of Lake Alūksne in northeastern Latvia near the borders with Estonia and Russia. It is the seat of Alūksne municipality. Alūksne is the highest elevated Latvian city, located in East Vidzeme Upland at 217 ...
) in northern Latvia. The troops were not in favor to cross the border to Latvia. Despite this, the force set out on 19 February, with the exception of the protesting
Wäinö Havas' first company. On the evening of February 20, Finns arrived near Marienburg tired and in poor equipment. At dusk on February 21, the Finns launched an attack on Marienburg without additional support. In the evening, after a long and persistent firing, the Finns invaded the west side of the town and captured it with a bayonet attack. The losses were three officers and 15 soldiers, and a total of 40 men were killed due to illnesses. The captured Bolsheviks were shot, after which the city was looted as war booty. Estonian armored trains arrived on February 22, and the next day Estonian troops took full possession of the village.
On February 24, after the conquest parade, the Finns left Marienburg. They returned to the Estonian side in Valki on February 26.
Last battles
In mid-March 1919, the Pohjan pojat were sent to
Setomaa
Setomaa (; russian: Сетумаа, seto, Setomaa) is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto people. The Seto dialect is a variety of South Estonian. The historic range of Setomaa is located in the territories of present-day ...
on the Petseri front, where the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
had launched a counterattack. The Finns fought a consuming and severe station war in the area until the end of the month, when they returned to Valki on March 29. Last battles cost 27 fallen, eight missing and nearly 100 wounded.
References
{{Reflist
Estonian War of Independence