Polish Legion in Finland ( pl, Legion Polski w Finlandii, fi, Puolan Legioona Suomessa, russian: Польский Легион в Финляндии) was a military unit made up of ethnic

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

who had been soldiers of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

during World War I and stationed in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

. Created on April 24, 1917, in Viipuri, the unit existed until March 1, 1918. It comprised an infantry battalion in Viipuri, an infantry company in Ino, and a heavy artillery battery in Sveaborg. At its peak, the Legion comprised 37 officers and 1,700 soldiers and was commanded by Captain Stanisław Bogusławski. The Legion, based in Viipuri, as well as other Finnish towns, such as

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Ina,

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

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 ...

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedis ...

, Rauma,

Panelia Panelia is a village in the municipality of Eura in Satakunta, Finland. It is located on the connecting road 2172, about away from the town centers of Eura and Harjavalta. Panelia has a population of 850 inhabitants, and, along with the Eurakosk ...

(

Kiukainen Kiukainen ( sv, Kiukais) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Eura on 1 January 2009. It is located in the Satakunta region. The municipality had a population of 3,408 (2003) and covered an area of 149.88 km² of w ...

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

and

Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...

, was subordinate to the Government of Finland, and took part in fighting against the

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 ...

troops, capturing large amounts of equipment, which was handed to the

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-aircraft ...

Footnotes

References

Polish Legion in Finland, Calendar of the Officer of the Polish Army, 1938

''Venäläissurmat Suomessa 1918-1922'' Toim: Lars Westerlund. Helsinki: 2004

Footnotes

References

See also