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Hjalmar Siilasvuo
Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo (born Hjalmar Fridolf Strömberg, 18 March 1892 – 11 January 1947) was a Finnish lieutenant general ( fi, kenraaliluutnantti, link=no), a knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger Movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War, Continuation War and the Lapland War. Early life Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo was born as Hjalmar Fridolf Strömberg on 18 March 1892 in Helsinki to newspaper reporter Frans Strömberg and Hulda Röman. He graduated as an ylioppilas in 1911 from Svenska normallyceum i Helsingfors and began to study law. During his studies, he became involved in the Jäger Movement, which aimed at sending Finnish volunteers to receive military training in Germany. As a member of the movement, Siilavuo left for Germany in early 1915. While in Germany, the Finnish volunteers formed the 27th Royal Prussian Jäger Battalion, fighting for the Imperial German Army on the Eastern Front ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Viipuri
The Battle of Viipuri was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought 24–29 April between the Finnish Whites against the Finnish Reds in Viipuri. Together with the Battle of Tampere and Battle of Helsinki, it was one of the three major urban battles of the Finnish Civil War. The battle is also remembered because of its bloody aftermath, as the Whites executed up to 400 non-aligned military personnel and civilians of Russian and associated ethnicities. Background At the time of the Finnish Civil War, Viipuri was the fourth-largest city in Finland, with about 30,000 people. The surrounding Viipuri Province was the largest Finnish province with a population of 540,000. Viipuri was also the most multicultural city in Finland with a large minority of Russians and smaller minorities of Swedes, Germans, Tatars and Jews. Its location at the Karelian Isthmus near the Russian capital Petrograd made the city an important center of transport and trade. During the Civil War, Viipuri was u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The German Eagle
The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II in Europe. The wearing of the Order of Merit of the German Eagle is prohibited in the Federal Republic of Germany. Criteria The Order of Merit of the German Eagle was a diplomatic and honorary award given to prominent foreigners, particularly diplomats. In addition to awards to non-Germans, the Reich Foreign Minister and the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia received a 'Special Degree' (Sonderstufe), with identical insignia to the Grand Cross of the Order. Accordingly, Foreign Minister Constantin von Neurath, received the Special Degree of the Order, with a further award to Joachim von Ribbentrop on his appointment as Foreign Minister in 1938. In 1943 Dr. Wilhelm Frick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The Sword
The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. The motto of the order is in Latin: ''Pro Patria'' (which means "For Fatherland"). Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it eventually became a more or less obligatory award for military officers after a certain number of years in service. There were originally three grades, ''Knight'', ''Commander'' and ''Commander Grand Cross'', but these were later multiplied by division into classes. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Sword Order and Vasa Order, to be in effec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The Cross Of Liberty
The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation The President of Finland is the Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and usually of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as well, Grand Mastership of which is attached to the position of Commander-in-chief. All of these orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board. History The Order of the Cross of Liberty was founded on March 4, 1918, upon the initiative of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela was commissioned to design the Order's insignia with the Old-Scandinavian Fylfot. At its foundation there were sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The White Rose Of Finland
The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board. History The Order of the White Rose of Finland was established by Gustaf Mannerheim in his capacity as regent (temporary head of state) on January 28, 1919. The name comes from the nine roses argent in the coat of arms of Finland. The order's rules and regulations were confirmed on May 16, 1919, and its present rules date from June 1, 1940. The revised scale of ranks was confirmed most recently in 1985. The original decorations were designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The swastika ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 military honour. A total of 191 persons received the cross between 22 July 1941 and 7 May 1945, with six of the recipients receiving a cross twice. Available in two classes, the 1st class medal has only been awarded twice, with both recipients also having received the medal in the 2nd class. Although still active ''de jure'', no crosses have been awarded since 1945. Tuomas Gerdt, the last living Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, died on 1 November 2020. Description The honour, proposed by and named after Field Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim, was introduced after the Winter War on 16 December 1940. Associated with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, the decoration was awarded to soldiers for exceptional bravery, for the achievement of crucially i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lapland War
During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. Though the Finns and the Germans had been fighting against the Soviet Union since 1941 during the Continuation War (1941–1944), peace negotiations had already been conducted intermittently during 1943–1944 between Finland, the Western Allies and the USSR, but no agreement had been reached. The Moscow Armistice, signed on 19 September 1944, demanded that Finland break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland after 15 September 1944. The ''Wehrmacht'' had anticipated that turn of events and planned an organised withdrawal to German-occupied Norway, as part of Operation Birke (Birch). Despite a failed offensive landing operation by Germany in the Gulf of Finland, the evacuation proceeded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Silver Fox
Operation Silver Fox (german: Silberfuchs; fi, Hopeakettu) from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint German–Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. The objective of the offensive was to cut off and capture the key Soviet Port of Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory. The operation had three stages. In Operation Reindeer (''Rentier'') German forces advanced from Norway to secure the area around Petsamo and its nickel mines. Operation Platinum Fox (; ) was an attack from the north by Mountain Corps Norway, as XXXVI Mountain Corps and units from the Finnish III Corps attacked from the south in Operation Arctic Fox (''Polarfuchs''; ) to cut off and capture Murmansk by a pincer movement. The German–Finnish forces took some ground but Murmansk was neither cut off nor captured and continued to operate as an important destination for Allied Arctic convoys throughout the war. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. According to Finnish historian Olli Vehviläinen, the term 'Continuation War' was created at the start of the conflict by the Finnish government, to justify the invasion to the population as a continuation of the defensive Winter War and separate from the German war effort. He titled the chapter addressing the issue in his book as "Finland's War of Retaliation". Vehviläinen asserted that the reality of that claim changed when the Finnish forces crossed the 1939 frontier and started annexation operations. The US Library of Congress catalogue also lists the variants War of Retribution and War of Continuation (see authority control)., group="Note" In Soviet historiography, the war was called the Finnish Front of the Great Patriotic War.. Alter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kuhmo
The Battle of Kuhmo was a series of skirmishes, mainly between January 28 and March 13, 1940, near the town of Kuhmo during the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. The 54th Soviet Rifle Division was encircled, but was able to hold out until the end of the war. Prelude By conquering Northern Finland, the Soviet leadership wanted to occupy the entire Finnish state and cut off the traffic routes to its neighbors during the war. In order to support the advance of the 163rd Rifle Division and 44th Motorized Rifle Division on Oulu, the 54th Rifle Division was to advance south to cut off any routes for reinforcements from the Finnish heartland. Battle After crossing the border, the 54th Division advanced towards Kuhmo. The Finnish army had only small border units stationed in this area, as an attack in northern Finland was not expected. On December 3, 1939, the Finnish High Command under Mannerheim was forced to send a regiment from the reserve, to slow down the advance of the Soviet divisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
