Paavo Talvela

Paavo Juho Talvela (born Paavo Juho Thorén; 19 February 1897 – 30 September 1973) was a Finnishgeneral of the infantry and a member of the Jäger movement. He commanded major formations during the Winter War and the Continuation War, leading Finnish forces to victory at the Battle of Tolvajärvi in December 1939, and was the second person ever to receive the Mannerheim Cross. From 1942 to 1944 he served as the Finnish army's representative at the German high command. Talvela had earlier participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War and the Finnish Kinship Wars.

Outside the army, Talvela was active in radical nationalist politics during the interwar period, being involved in the founding of the Academic Karelia Society and in the Lapua Movement, for which he organized the Peasant March of 1930. He also held senior positions in Finnish business, including as deputy director of the state alcohol monopoly Oy Alkoholiliike Ab and as director of the transport company Pohjolan Liikenne. He resigned from active military service four times during his career — to volunteer in the Kinship Wars or to take civilian positions — and has been described as "Finland's most senior reserve officer".