Väinö Lahja Richard Valve (until 1915 Vähätupa; 28 December 1895 — 11 March 1995) was a Finnish

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 ...

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

commander and the last living member of the Royal Prussian Jägerbattalion 27 formed from Finnish volunteers. Valve studied seven years in Lappeenranta and after completing middle school, he worked in

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

, until went to study

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

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 ...

. In 1916 he joined to Jäger Movement and travelled secretly to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was in military training until 1918 until he travelled as an officer to newly independent Finland and fought in 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 ...

together with other jägers. In the 1920s Valve's military career was in upswing; he commanded first the

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

and in 1933 he became commander of the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for ...

, including the coastal artillery. Valve took part at developing military co-operation with Estonia. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted Valve's masterminded navy development plan, which had been approved just shortly before. During the Second World War the coastal artillery performed well in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

and in the Continuation War Valve organised navy co-operation with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

. After Finland made armistice with the Soviet Union, the navy took part in Lapland War in which the objective was driving off German troops from the country. Valve was defence minister of Finland in 1944–1945. He left army in 1946 as

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and made career in

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

. He took actively part in jäger association activities. Valve was promoted

in 1992. He died in 1995 as the last Finnish jäger.

Early life and studies

Valve was born in Lappeenranta as Väinö Vähätupa. His parents were from

Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

; the father, Matti Vähätupa, worked as farrier in

Finnish Dragoon Regiment The 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment () was a cavalry regiment of the Imperial Russian Army which saw service during the later half of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th before disbanding following the October Revolution. Three regiments went ...

and later he started his own business in Lappee. Väinö had six siblings. He studied in Lappeenranta coeducational middle school until 17-year old. He was interested in

and went for apprenticeship first to Helsinki City Electricity Works, then to

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

in Katajanokka and after that to State Railways repair depot. In 1914 Väinö Vähätupa started electrical engineering studies in Tampere Technical School. Valve vaino

Jäger Movement

In 1915 Vähätupa changed his surname to ''Valve'', "awake". He interrupted his studies in late winter 1916, when he decided secretly to join to the Jäger Movement, following example of many of his fellow students. He skied over frozen Kvarken to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and arrived in

Lockstedt Lockstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

camp in

on 1 May. The Royal Prussian Jägerbattalion 27 was formed from the Finnish volunteers. Valve was ordered to join

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 ...

and in November he was sent to east front at

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main con ...

. Valve served in

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

battery of the battalion in 1916–1917. Following the service at the front, he was sent to Libau for training and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Subsequently, he returned to the newly independent Finland in February 1918.

Military career in Finland

Return and early career

The returned jägers took part in the

on the white side, and Valve fought in battles of

and Viipuri as an artillery officer. In spring 1918, after the war was over, Valve started as trainer in newly founded Finnish Artillery School in Lappeenranta. In the same autumn he became commander of Heavy Artillery Battalion, from spring 1919 Heavy Artillery regiment, based in the same town. Still in 1918 Valve was promoted

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 1919 he became

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

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1923.

Rise to Navy commander

In 1924 Valve started as commander of

and in the following year, just at the age of 29, he was promoted

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

; in the 1920s Valve was the fastest promoted member of the Jäger Movement. One reason for the quickly progressed career was the military leadership's aim to push aside the older officers 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 ...

, and place the jägers in the key positions. During 1925–1926 went through Commander Course in General Staff College. The coastal artillery and navy were put together into one organisation under the same military staff in 1927, and Valve became commander of the entire coastal defence of Finland. He completed

Naval Warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

Course in 1929. Valve's title was changed Navy Commander in 1933, and the then 37-year old Valve became

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. The coastal artillery was further enlarged and modernised both at sea coast and

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 ...

. Valve took part at developing Finnish–Estonian defence co-operation. One part of it was a crisis plan of closing

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 ...

in artillery co-operation between the two countries, and as a part of this,

Mäkiluoto Mäkiluoto or MacElliot ( sv, Makilo) is a Finnish island in the Gulf of Finland, just to the south of Porkkala peninsula. It is part of Kirkkonummi municipality. The whole island is an unmanned military installation and access for civilians is ...

island close to

Porkkala Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than half ...

peninsula was fortified. Rahola ja Valve

A large part of the Finnish fleet were vessels inherited from the Imperial Russian Navy and in the early 1930s the Navy was strengthened by five submarines and two Väinämöinen-class coastal defence ships; the decision about purchasing the two heavily armed floating fortresses was made without listening to Väinö Valve. After this, the Navy got just a narrow slice of the annual budget of national defence. The head of the Defence Committee,

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

C.G.E. Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comm ...

was not familiar with naval warfare. The situation changed in 1938 when Valve became member in the committee; new plans for the Navy development were in place in 1939, but they could not be executed before outbreak of the

Second World War

During the Second World War Valve led the Navy. Naval activity in the Winter War was low; the coastal artillery fought efficiently against the Soviet Navy and ground forces in

Gulf of Viipuri Vyborg Bay (, , ) is a deep inlet running northeastward near the eastern end of Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. The city of Vyborg is located near the head of the gulf. The Monrepos Park is considered a jewel of the bay and a major draw for ...

. After the war ended to bitter

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

in 1940, Finland established close relationship with

. During the subsequent Continuation War the Finnish Navy co-operated with

, managing to block the Soviet Navy into the eastern bottom of Gulf of Finland. Valve was in a key role, because he had created good relations with the Kriegsmarine already before the war broke out. After signing the Moscow Armistice with the Soviet Union in autumn 1944, Finland was obligated to drive off the German army from its area. Valve experienced the situation personally hard to bear; his troops took the first military action against Germany in

Operation Tanne Ost Operation Tanne Ost ("Fir East") was a German operation during World War II to capture the island Suursaari (Swedish: ''Hogland'', Russian: ''Gogland'') in the Gulf of Finland before it could fall into Soviet hands. Suursaari was especially imp ...

in Suursaari island. This was the starting point of the Lapland War.

Defence minister

Rudolf Walden Karl Rudolf Walden (1 December 1878 in Helsinki – 25 October 1946) was a Finnish industrialist and a military leader. Education Walden received his military education at the Hamina Cadet School and graduated in 1900. He was dismissed from serv ...

fell ill in late 1944. On 1 December president Mannerheim called Valve, whom he greatly respected, to take the place of Walden in J.K. Paasikivi's cabinet. Apolitical Valve, however, could not readjust himself to work efficiently in the government. After the end of his term in April 1945 he led

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...

of sea areas. He left the army as

in spring 1946.

Later career

Valve started a new career in banking sector. He worked as bank manager for Kansallis-Osake-Pankki, KOP in Saarijärvi 1950–1954 and in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki in 1954–1959. Valve was promoted General in 1992. He died in 1995 as the last member of the Jägerbattalion 27. A street in Lappeenranta was named ''Väinö Valveen katu'' and in 2007 city of Helsinki named a park after him.

Family

During 1921–1948 Valve was married to Margareta (Greta) Helena née Cornér (1884–1968). The couple had three children: Mirja Margareta (b. 1922), Helena Mathilda (married Hänninen; 1925–2005) and Matti Sakari (1928–1975). In 1949 Valve married Aili Aune née Haahti (1907–1996).

Awards

* Order of the Cross of Liberty, Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty * Cross of Liberty, 1st Class with a grand star * Order of the White Rose of Finland, Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland with Collar * Commander of the White Rose of Finland, 1st class * Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class * Cross of Liberty, 4th Class * White Guard (Finland), Defence Corps Iron Cross of Merit * Commemorative Medal for Finnish Civil War, War of Freedom * Commemorative Medal for

* Pro Benignitate Humana * Jäger Movement, Jaeger Medal * Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy (Kingdom of Italy, Italy) * Order of the Three Stars, Grand Officer of the Three Stars, 2nd class (Latvia) * Order of Polonia Restituta, Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta (Poland) * Order of the Sword, Commander of the Sword (

) (1925) * Order of Vasa, Commander of Vasa, 1st Class (Sweden) (1934) * Order of the German Eagle, Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle (

) * Iron Cross, Iron Cross, 1st Class (Germany) * Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (Germany) * The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918, German 1st World War Commemorative Cross (Germany) * Order of the Dannebrog, Commander of the Dannebrog (Denmark) * Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Cross of the Eagle, 2nd Class (Estonia) * Student Union of the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Student Union presidium purple ribbon with badge (1993)

Boards and positions

* Military member in Supreme Court of Finland, Supreme Court (1927–1946) * Deputy Chairman of Finnish Officers' Association (1928–1929) * Chairman of Finnish Officers' Association (1929–1930; 1946) * Head of Navy Department in Ministry of Defence (1932–1934) * Chairman of Jäger Association (1934–1937) * Rapporteur of Defence Ministry Navy Department in Cabinet of Finland, State Council (1934–1946) * Member of Defence Council (1938–1940) * Chairman of State Shipyard executive board (1938–1944) * Chairman of Disabled War Veterans' Association (1943–1956) * Chancellor of Order of the Cross of Liberty (1945–1986) * Chairman of Freedom Warriors' Maintenance Foundation management board (1964–1989; honorary chairman in 1989)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valve, Vaino 1895 births 1995 deaths People from Lappeenranta Ministers of Defence of Finland Finnish generals Finnish military personnel of World War II People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Jägers of the Jäger Movement Grand Crosses of the Order of the Cross of Liberty