Valkokaartin soittokunta Senaatintorilla - HK19860105-1

The (; fi, Valkoisten voitonparaati ) was a

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the la ...

of the Finnish White Guard on 16 May 1918 celebrating their decisive victory 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 ...

, which officially ended the day before. The parade took place in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, the capital of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The parade was presided by General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, the then Commander-in-Chief of the

Finnish Defense Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which i ...

, a position he would resign from 14 days later. It consisted of 12,000 men marching down the streets of the capital.Suuri Paraati 16.5.1918
/ref> It is regarded today as a political show of force organized by Mannerheim to strengthen his position vis-à-vis the German troops in the country. The parade played an important role in Mannerheim's later career, as a result of which he became nationally known to the point of becoming the 6th President of Finland in the mid-1940s.Mannerheim ratsasti armeijansa kärjessä halki Helsingin tasan sata vuotta sitten 16. toukokuuta 1918 – valkoisten voitonparaati päätyi harvinaisesti myös kuvatallenteelle
/ref> The Whites also organized victory parades in other cities they had occupied during the war. Large parades were also held in

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

and

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

, both of which Mannerheim attended. Osoite = http://reservinsanomat.fi/etusivu-12018/toukokuun-16-paivana-1918-helsingissa/ Toukokuun 16. päivänä 1918 Helsingissa/ref>

Background

In early April, troops from the Imperial German Army took the capital, leaving the whites to control southern Finland. Mannerheim, who was opposed to the Germans, wanted to demonstrate a national Finnish Army to Helsinki's residents and in doing so, counteract the growing influence of the Germans in Finnish society and politics. Despite the intentions behind the parade, German Major General

Rüdiger von der Goltz Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (8 December 1865 – 4 November 1946) was a German army general during the First World War. He commanded the Baltic Sea Division, which successfully intervened in the Finnish Civil War in the spr ...

and his staff were invited to review the parade.

Details

The parade was divided into three parts: a march into the city, an inspection and a march-past. 12,000 men participated, accompanied by five

military bands A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

and other troop bands. Only some separate battalions/companies participated in the parade from the Eastern Army. The parade of the White Guards began from the street that is now known as

Mannerheimintie Mannerheimintie ( sv, Mannerheimvägen), named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is the main street and boulevard of Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu ( sv, Henriksgatan), after Rob ...

, with General Mannerheim and his staff were riding in front on horseback. The others grouped into infantry units led by Commander

Martin Wetzer Martin Wetzer (7 August 1868 – 29 September 1954) was a Finnish jurist and general. He fought in World War I and during the Finnish Civil War fought on the side of the White movement. He also commanded Finnish volunteers in the Estonian War of ...

from the Western Army, as well as the staffs of the Karelian Army Corps. They were closely followed by units such as the

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...

Dragoon Regiment and Jägers. Those who were present at the

Battle of Tampere The Battle of Tampere was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in Tampere, Finland from 15 March to 6 April between the Whites and the Reds. It is the most famous and the heaviest of all the Finnish Civil War battles. Today it is particular ...

wore fir twigs as part of their headgear.

Gösta Theslöf Gösta is a male given name, a variant of Gustav. Gösta may refer to: People * Gösta Åsbrink (1881–1966), Swedish gymnast and modern pentathlete * Gösta Andersson (skier) (1918–1979), Swedish cross-country skier * Gösta Andersson (wrestle ...

, the then Governor-General of Helsinki received the Commander-in-Chief in the latter half of the city while the first contingents of the parade continued along the parade route to

Helsinki Senate Square The Senate Square ( fi, Senaatintori, sv, Senatstorget) presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. Senate Square and its surrounding ...

. Other contingents marched to the Kauppatori.

Chairman of the Senate The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan ( ur, ), is the president-chair of the Senate of Pakistan.Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

and General Mannerheim inspected the troops and then delivered speeches to those attending. It was announced in one of the speeches that the troops had been given the honorary titles as well as the integration of

guards unit Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after di ...

s in

Lapua Lapua (; sv, Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

Vörå Vörå (; fi, Vöyri) is a municipality of Finland. In 2011, it was created from the municipalities of Vörå-Maxmo and Oravais. Vörå-Maxmo was created in 2007 from the municipalities of (old) Vörå and Maxmo. It is located in the province ...

and

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

in the White Guard. After a service held in the Church of Nicholas (now the Helsinki Cathedral), Mannerheim and members of the new government inspected the parade troops near a statue of

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly ...

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

Johan Ludvig Runeberg in Pohjoisesplanadi.

Legacy

The 16 May was celebrated as the Flag Day of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (whic ...

until 1942. An annual parade was organized on that day until 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 opposi ...

broke out in 1939. On his 75th birthday in 1942, Mannerheim's birthday (4 June) was declared as Flag Day by the National government, shifting the celebrations from 16 May to 4 June. This declaration was part of the celebrations that also saw the decision to grant Mannerheim the title of

Marshal of Finland In Finnish Defence Forces Field Marshal ( fi, sotamarsalkka, lit=War Marshal, sv, fältmarskalk) is officially not an active military rank but an honorary rank that can be bestowed upon 'especially distinguished generals'. So far the only hold ...

as well as the visit of German leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

at Immola Airfield. Today, Flag Day continues to be an official military holiday and is celebrated with parades and award ceremonies. 16 May is informally celebrated by the population as a commemoration of the end of the war while the third Sunday in May is officially recognized as the

Commemoration Day of Fallen Soldiers Commemoration Day of Fallen Soldiers ( fi, kaatuneitten muistopäivä, sv, de stupades dag) is the commemoration day observed in Finland on the third Sunday of May for the soldiers killed in the Winter War and Finnish Civil War 1918. After 1940 ...

. This holiday sometimes falls in the same week as 16 May and on that date itself.

References

{{reflist Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Finnish Civil War 1918 in Finland Victory parades 1918 in military history 1910s in Helsinki May 1918 events Military parades Military of Finland

Background

Details

Legacy

See also

References