Finnish Infantry Regiment 200

Finnish military unit mostly made up of Estonian volunteers during WW II JR 200Estonian volunteers in Finland during the Continuation WarActive1944CountryEstoniaAllegiance FinlandTypeInfantrySizeRegimentNicknamesFinnish: Suomen-pojatEstonian: soomepoisidMottosFor the freedom of Finland and the honour of EstoniaEngagementsContinuation WarTartu OffensiveMilitary unit Infantry Regiment 200 (Finnish: Jalkaväkirykmentti 200, JR 200, Estonian: Jalaväerügement 200, JR 200) or soomepoisid (Finnish Boys) was a unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany. Background In September 1939, the Soviet Union entered World War II by first invading Poland from the east and then de facto occupying the Baltic states. In August 1940, the Republic of Estonia was officially annexed by the Soviet Union. During the following year, thousands of Estonians were arrested, executed, or sent to the Soviet concentration camp system in Russia. After war broke out between the Soviet Union and Germany on June 22, 1941, the Soviet authorities in occupied Est