Vilho Petter Nenonen (6 March 1883 – 17 February 1960) 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 ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. Nenonen was born in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

. He received his military education in the Hamina Cadet School 1896–1901, in the Mihailov Artillery School in St Petersburg 1901–1903, and in St Petersburg Artillery Academy 1906–1909. He served in the

Imperial Russian 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When 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 ...

began, he moved to Finland and was given the job of creating the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

of general Mannerheim's

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

. After the war, Nenonen also served as the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

between 1923 and 1924. During 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 ...

, he was a part of Mannerheim's inner circle. He was promoted to the rank of ''General of the artillery'' in 1941 and remains the only person to have held the rank. As Finnish Defence Forces' Inspector of the Artillery, Nenonen played a large role in developing the Finnish artillery's training, equipment, and tactics. For example, the Fire Correction Circle developed in 1943 proved decisive in the defensive victory 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 ...

in 1944 and was made standard equipment of the Finnish artillery by an order issued by Nenonen in July 1943. The trajectory calculation formulas he developed are still in use today by all modern artillery. Nenonen received the

Mannerheim Cross The Mannerheim Cross ( fi, Mannerheim-risti, sv, Mannerheimkorset), officially Mannerheim Cross of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin Mannerheim-risti, link=no, sv, Frihetskorsets Mannerheimkors, link=no) is the most distinguished Finnish ...

in 1945. His medals and personal history are on display in

The Artillery Museum of Finland The Artillery Museum of Finland (''Suomen Tykistömuseo'' in Finnish) is a special military museum dedicated to the history of the artillery from the 15th century to the present day. It was located in Niinisalo from 1977 to 1997. In 1997 it was re ...

. Nenonen is buried at the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nenonen, Vilho Petter 1883 births 1960 deaths People from Kuopio People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish generals Military personnel of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Finnish military personnel of World War II Knights of the Mannerheim Cross Ministers of Defence of Finland