President of Finland and commander-in-chief of its army. Marshal of Finland.
Baron Mannerheim was born in Finland near the city of Turku, came from an aristocratic family. He graduated from the University of Helsingfors in 1887 and in 1889 from the Nikolaev Cavalry School in the Russian capital, from where he was released with the rank of lieutenant. He stood in the guard of honor during the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1895.
Baron Mannerheim served in the Russian army from 1899 to 1917 and had a successful career. Member of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he distinguished himself in battles on the territory of Manchuria. He finished the war with the rank of major. He served further in the Russian cavalry.
In 1913-1915, Major General Karl Mannerheim commanded the Separate Guards Cavalry Brigade, which consisted of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Ulansky Regiment and the Life Guards of the Grodno Hussars. The brigade was part of the Warsaw military district and was stationed in the Polish capital. Then he commanded the 12th cavalry division, which was stationed in the city of Proskurov before the war. In 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant general. During the First World War, the cavalry commander took part in the hostilities against the German troops and was awarded several orders.
With the beginning of the collapse of the Russian army, he was out of work, having lost command of the cavalry division. After the October events of 1917 he returned to Finland. There he joined the movement that proclaimed in December 1917 the independence of Finland, which was part of the bygone Russian Empire. Combat front-line general Karl Mannerheim became one of the leaders of the movement for Finland to gain state independence and the armed struggle against the left forces in this country.
On January 16, 1918, the former lieutenant general of the Russian army took command of the White Finnish army, formed in the western part of Finland. In the city of Vaza, Mannerheim's troops managed to seize the weapons and ammunition of the demoralized Russian garrison, which offered no resistance to the attackers and surrendered. The soldiers and officers of the Vasa garrison thought only of a speedy return to Russia.
The weapons, ammunition and other military equipment captured in the city of Vase allowed General Mannerheim to arm his troops well. By that time, they began to replenish with Finns who served in the army of Kaiser Germany. Having captured rich trophies from the Russian army garrison, the troops of the White Army of Finland launched an offensive against the Finnish Red Guard.
On March 16, the Belofinsk troops collided with the main forces of the Red Guards in a battle near the city of Tampere. Mannerheim could not go further and began to maneuver, trying to take the initiative into his own hands. However, neither side could gain a tactical advantage.
Mannerheim received help from the German General Count Rüdiger von der Goltz, who from February 1918 commanded the 12th German division. It was also called the Eastern Naval Division, or the Baltic Division. The division of General von Goltz was originally stationed in the Baltic states, fighting there against the Red Army.
Goltz created the so-called Finnish Corps in the German army. He became the basis of the German expeditionary force, whose help was decisive during the civil war in Finland. The 10,000th army of General von Goltz on February 18, landing in the port of Hanko (Gangut) near the city of Helsinki (Helsingfors), captured the capital of the country. The result of such an operation of the German interventionists was the division into two parts of the forces of the Finnish Red Guard.
Together, the White Finns and the German expeditionary force of General von Goltz forced the Red Guard units to retreat first to the city of Vyborg (where they lost the battle on April 24), and then to the territory of Soviet Russia, where they joined the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. Mannerheim did everything to ensure that the Karelian Isthmus remained with Finland.
Soviet Russia, engulfed in the fire of the Civil War, did not lay claim to the former territory of the Russian Empire. In addition, the separate peace treaty signed in Brest-Litovsk completely deprived her of the right to be among the winners - the Entente allies in the First World War. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, defeated Germany was obliged to withdraw its troops from foreign territories as soon as possible. This also applied to the German troops of General von Goltz, who ended up in Finland.
Thus, Finland gained full national independence. The commander of the white troops, General Karl Mannerheim, was proclaimed Regent of Finland in December 1918. He continued to lead military operations against the remnants of the Finnish Red Guard. In the summer of the following year, the Finnish Revolution was finally crushed.
It is known that Mannerheim offered military cooperation to the leadership of the white movement in Russia and even an attack on red Petrograd, from which the Soviet government moved to Moscow. But neither the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak, nor the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of southern Russia, General Denikin, agreed to such cooperation with Finland. The reason was that they both advocated a united and indivisible Russia within the framework of the Russian Empire that had gone into the historical past.
On June 17, 1919, the Republic of Finland was proclaimed. In the same month, General Mannerheim voluntarily resigned as Regent of Finland. But he continued to be one of the most prominent political figures in the country, retaining enormous personal influence over its military.
Mannerheim, being an implacable opponent of Soviet Russia, collaborated with the right-wing forces in the country and was increasingly inclined towards establishing close interstate and military relations with Nazi Germany. He became the founder of the Shutskor, a right-wing nationalist paramilitary organization that became the main reserve of the Finnish army.
In 1931, when Marshal of Finland Karl Mannerheim was already over 60 years old, the country's government again returned him to active state activity. He was appointed chairman of the Defense Council of the state, which was to resolve military issues in the face of aggravated relations between Finland and its neighbor, the Soviet Union. The West was completely on the side of the Helsinki government, and therefore it frankly did not take into account the position of Moscow.
For eight years (the construction of the first fortifications began as early as 1927), Karl Mannerheim led the construction of a powerful fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus, just 32 kilometers from Soviet Leningrad and even closer to the main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, the fortress city of Kronstadt. This fortification line entered the world military history under the name "Mannerheim Lines".
The system of long-term fortifications and barriers stretched from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland. German, English, French and Belgian military fortifiers participated in its construction. The total length of the line was 135 kilometers, and its depth was 95 kilometers. The "Mannerheim Line" included the front line (obstacle zone), the main, second and rear (Vyborg city) defense lines, two intermediate lines and cut-off positions.
In total, there were 220 kilometers of solid wire barriers, 200 - forest blockages and 80 - anti-tank gouges. The main line of defense with a depth of 7 to 10 kilometers ran along the Murila, Summa (Khotinen), Muola, Ritasaala lines and further along the left bank of the Vuoksa River to Taipale. It included 25 nodes of resistance, which in turn consisted of 3-4 strongholds.
Initially, the line of fortifications was supposed to connect separate fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. However, it was soon decided to make it more powerful, especially in anti-tank terms. The construction of the "Mannerheim Line" was completed under the leadership of the Belgian fortifier general Badou, one of the participants and leaders in the construction of the famous "Maginot Line" in France.
In 1939, the former general of the Russian imperial army with the rank of Marshal of Finland, Baron Karl Mannerheim, became the commander-in-chief of the army of the Republic of Finland. This gave him enormous powers in the event of a war with the Soviet Union.
Until the start of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, the construction of the "Mannerheim Line" was not completed as planned. However, even without this, the fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus was such a powerful engineering obstacle that the Soviet Red Army had not yet encountered. Long-term reinforced concrete and granite-earth field fortifications alternated with minefields and continuous lines of barbed wire barriers. In addition, the terrain itself was difficult to pass, replete with numerous rivers, lakes and swamps.
The reason for the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish war was the uncompromising position of Helsinki, which did not take into account the wishes of the Soviet side on territorial acquisitions on the Karelian Isthmus and some islands in the Gulf of Finland. The Soviet government was concerned that the state border passed in close proximity to Leningrad, the second most important industrial, political and cultural center of the country, a major port city.
On October 14, 1939, Finland was offered to lease the port of Hanko for 30 years to set up a Soviet naval base there, and also to transfer to the USSR several islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, part of the Karelian Isthmus and the Rybachy Peninsula in the north of the country - a total of 2761 square kilometers . In exchange, 5529 square kilometers of Soviet territories in Karelia were offered. Official Helsinki refused to do so.
On November 30, 1939, Soviet troops launched a broad offensive operation against Finland, inflicting the main blow on the Karelian Isthmus. Approximately one million servicemen participated in the war from the USSR side. In addition to the ground forces, the Baltic Fleet conducted the fighting. The Soviet-Finnish war began with the bombing of the Finnish capital of Helsinki and the city of Viipuri (modern Vyborg)
The commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Finland, Marshal Karl Mannerheim, had much smaller forces. He had an army of 300 thousand people, of which only about 50 thousand belonged to the regular, regular troops. In the Finnish army that fought against the Red Army, there were many volunteers from Scandinavian and other European states.
Soviet troops launched an offensive on the territory of Finland from the east and southeast. In the far north, the port of Petsamo (the modern village of Pechenga) was captured. Several tactical amphibious assaults were landed in the southern part of Finland, but they were all unsuccessful.
The beginning of the war was not in favor of the Soviet Union, whose army turned out to be ill-prepared for military operations against the powerful fortification line of the enemy in winter conditions with its 40-degree frost. Finnish soldiers were provided with good winter clothing, including white protective camouflage coats, as well as skis for faster movement. The equipment of Soviet soldiers left much to be desired, so a large number of frostbite immediately appeared among them.
Soviet troops and especially armored vehicles had to overcome several echeloned barriers - forest blockages, wire nets, granite gouges, anti-tank ditches and scarps, minefields. This entire system of engineering barriers was covered by cross machine-gun and artillery fire from pillboxes and bunkers (in total, there were 296 of the former on the Mannerheim Line, and more than 800 of the latter). The ice on the rivers, lakes and swamps could not withstand the weight of the tanks, and they, along with the crews, went under water.
Especially strong battles flared up with the complete dominance of Soviet aviation in the air near Suomussalve in December 1939 - January 1940. Here, the defending troops of Mannerheim, in an area teeming with rivers and lakes, managed to slow down the advance of the Soviet troops and, setting up ambushes, cut off part of them from the main forces. After that, artillery and numerous groups of snipers came into action. The Soviet 163rd Infantry Division and the 44th Division, which hastened to its rescue, were completely defeated. As a result, the Soviet troops near Suomussalve lost over 27 thousand people killed and frozen, and the losses of the Finns (according to their data) amounted to only about 900 people.
The Soviet command drew the right conclusions from the first unsuccessful battles to break through the "Mannerheim Line" on the Karelian Isthmus. The number of sapper and engineering units, artillery was increased, and reconnaissance of enemy fortifications began to be conducted more carefully. The very tactics of the offensive changed, and this immediately yielded results.
After a powerful three-hour artillery preparation on February 11, 1940, the troops under the command of Marshal Timoshenko went on the offensive along the entire line of fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus. 27 army divisions with tanks and artillery were thrown into the battle. On February 21, the Finnish defense was broken through on a 12-kilometer section. On March 13, Soviet troops captured the Vyborg fortified area. After that, the fate of the military conflict between the USSR and the Republic of Finland was practically decided.
On March 12, 1940, little Finland capitulated to prevent the advance of Soviet troops deep into its territory. In the Soviet-Finnish war, Marshal Karl Mannerheim's leadership abilities were fully manifested. Under his command, the Finnish army offered stubborn resistance to the Soviet troops on the Karelian Isthmus, inflicting significant losses on the enemy in people and armored vehicles. Marshal of Finland has gained immense popularity in his own country and fame beyond its borders.
The losses of the Finnish troops in the war are estimated at 24,900 people killed and missing, 43,500 were wounded. The losses of the Soviet troops are calculated several times more.
Under the terms of the peace treaty between the USSR and the Republic of Finland in 1940, the state border on the Karelian Isthmus moved away from Leningrad beyond the line of the cities of Vyborg and Sortavala. The Mannerheim Line ended up on Soviet territory.
During the Second World War, Finland opposed the Soviet Union on the side of Nazi Germany, becoming its satellite. Marshal Karl Mannerheim was again at the head of the Finnish army, which was attacking Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus. On the occupied Soviet territory, the Finns by June 1944 created a new line of long-term defense, in which the "Mannerheim Line" became an integral part.
What role Marshal Mannerheim played in Finland, which was fighting against the Soviet Union, is best evidenced by the fact that in August 1944 he became president of a country that, together with Germany and its other allies, suffered an inevitable defeat in World War II.
The city of Leningrad heroically withstood the years of the long blockade. During the Vyborg offensive operation of 1944, the troops of the Soviet Leningrad Front, with heavy fighting, broke through the defenses of the Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus and liberated the city of Vyborg. Subsequently, all the defensive structures of the "Mannerheim Line" were destroyed.
In September 1944, impressed by the victories of the Red Army on all fronts, Finnish President Karl Mannerheim decided to withdraw the country from the war. Thus, Finland broke the 1940 pact of the year allied with Nazi Germany. The country was leaving the war on the terms of the Soviet Union.
The peace treaty between the USSR and Finland was signed on 4 September. According to this agreement, the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, Marshal Mannerheim, was to carry out the last military operation in his military biography. Finland pledged to oust its recent German allies from the area they occupied in the north - Lapland.
The defeated Finland for the second time made small territorial concessions to the Soviet Union. The Karelian Isthmus, some islands in the Gulf of Finland and territories in Karelia were finally assigned to it. As a result of the war, Finland was deprived of access to the Arctic Ocean - the polar port of Petsamo went to the USSR.
In March 1946, Marshal Karl Mannerheim, under pressure from the country's democratic forces, resigned from the presidency of Finland. He proved himself not only the largest military figure in the history of this state, but also a master of political maneuvers, skillfully balancing between East and West. Mannerheim died in Switzerland, in the resort town of Lausanne.
Mannerheim Carl Gustav Emil (1867-1951), Finnish marshal (1933), statesman and military leader, President of Finland (August 1944 - March 1946).
He graduated from the Helsingfors Lyceum (now in Helsinki), the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg and made a brilliant career in the Russian army. During the year of hostilities in Manchuria (1904) he was awarded military awards three times, promoted to colonel. After the Russo-Japanese War, in the direction of the General Staff, he went on a military-scientific expedition to the countries of Central Asia, and became an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society.
In 1911, with the rank of Major General, he led the Cavalier Guard Regiment. During the First World War, he fought in Galicia (the historical name of the Western Ukrainian and Polish lands) and Romania. With the beginning of the 1917 revolution in Russia, he returned to Finland, which declared independence.
In January 1918, having gathered parts of the Volunteer Army, Finnish and Swedish volunteers, he began the fight against the Red Army units located in Finland. After the failure to elect the German Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse as King of Finland, Mannerheim acted as regent from December 1918 to July 1919.
On July 17, 1919, Finland was proclaimed a republic, but Mannerheim was defeated in the presidential elections.
In 1931 he was appointed chairman of the Defense Council, in 1937 he achieved the adoption of a seven-year plan for rearmament of the army, from 1933 he created border fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus (Mannerheim Line).
Construction was sluggish and intensified only in the autumn of 1938. During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940), which ended in the defeat of Finland, Mannerheim was the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army.
In June 1941, Finland declared war on the USSR, but the fighting was limited to the return of the territory seized by the Soviet Union in 1940 and the capture of Petrozavodsk by the Finns.
On June 9, 1944, Finnish President R. Ryti signed an agreement with Germany and received military assistance. On August 4, 1944, Mannerheim became president; the treaty with Germany was terminated.
In September of the same year, Mannerheim concluded a separate peace with the USSR, having managed to achieve the preservation of the sovereignty of Finland.
In 1946, 78-year-old Mannerheim retired.
The future Finnish marshal studied and worked in St. Petersburg more than 100 years ago. Now such passions have flared up over his memorial plaque that the matter has gone to court.
The issue of the Finnish marshal and officer of the Russian army Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, 1867-1956) acquired a political connotation and became a stumbling block for the Russian leadership. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky has to avoid answering the constant questions of journalists.
On Saturday in Gatchina, not far from St. Petersburg, he promised to tell about it "separately" - and even these words became news.
The porridge was brewed when in June, after almost a decade of unsuccessful attempts, a memorial plaque to Mannerheim was installed in St. Petersburg.
Last year, the board was already installed and removed once. Mannerheim is a controversial figure for Russia. Here they pay tribute to the time when he served in the tsarist army. On the other hand, many cannot accept that he fought on the side of Nazi Germany and participated in the blockade of Leningrad.
Thus, the Kremlin was well aware of the reaction that the opening of the commemorative plaque could cause. And yet, in addition to the Minister of Culture, Medinsky, the opening was attended by Sergei Ivanov, who at that time held the post of head of the presidential administration. Thus, the country's leadership supported this event. However, no one takes responsibility for opening the board.
The Russian media have been discussing Mannerheim for several months. Why did the Kremlin decide that now is the right time for these disputes? The plaque hangs high on the wall of the Military Academy building, located on Zakharyevskaya Street in St. Petersburg. The board, which was filled with paint three times, was washed again.
“National-traitor,” a young guy throws a fashionable word. He stands with his head thrown back and looks at the board from which Mannerheim looks at him. “I would understand if this board was hung in Finland. Why did they do it in Russia? he asks.
That's exactly why? It is clear that St. Petersburg was of great importance in the life of Mannerheim. In 1887-1904 he studied at the Nikolaev Cavalry School, married Anastasia Arapova, and had two daughters. Later, discord ensued in the family, Mannerheim served in the royal guard - in the Cavalier Guard Regiment. Mannerheim had several apartments alone in the center of St. Petersburg. On the Moika embankment not far from the Winter Palace, Mannerheim, who had just married and became rich thanks to the dowry of his wife, had at his disposal a whole floor - 12 rooms.
“Here they were still happy,” says the guide Vitaly Fedoruk.
A Japanese flag flies over the building, as the Consulate General of Japan in St. Petersburg is now located here.
“Mannerheim could not imagine such a thing. After all, in 1904 he went to the Russo-Japanese War,” says Fedoruk.
Lots of details. On Millionnaya Street, in a spacious apartment, Mannerheim's telephone number was 1258. The apartment on Kutuzov Embankment had six rooms and eight stoves, but it was still terribly cold. After Mannerheim entered the service in the Cavalier Guard Regiment, he bought seven uniforms for service in a store on Nevsky Prospekt.
More recently, in St. Petersburg there was a hotel called "Marshal", which housed a small Mannerheim Museum. Now everything is closed there.
Mannerheim's uniform was not at all thought of when, on September 14, his question was decided at a meeting of the Smolninsky District Court.
“For Finland, Mannerheim is a hero. But we are in Russia. And we treat Mannerheim through the prism of our history, the war and the siege of Leningrad. Mannerheim took part in the blockade of Leningrad, he was awarded several orders of Nazi Germany. It would be wrong to perpetuate the memory of such a person in St. Petersburg,” says lawyer Ilya Remeslo before the opening of the meeting.
Here is a comment by the historian and head of the Center for Parliamentary Studies Markku Jokisipilä. Yes, the Finnish army made up a significant part of the blockade ring. “However, Finland did not move on to active offensive operations after taking up its positions,” he says.
Professor Emeritus Ohto Manninen notes that Mannerheim received the German Iron Cross as early as 1918.
He recalls that Mannerheim refused to participate in the capture of Leningrad, but, despite this, he received orders.
Let's return to the courtroom, in which there are many journalists. A gilded image of a double-headed eagle hangs on the wall, although it is slightly lopsided.
Private person Pavel Kuznetsov asked the court to clarify whether the leadership of St. Petersburg is to blame for the fact that the board was installed. It also requires the removal of the board. Kuznetsov's side is supported by the lawyer Craft, residents of St. Petersburg, employees of the Committee on Culture, who do not want to give their names to journalists.
It soon becomes clear that not everything is so simple at this meeting. Judge Tatyana Matusyak asks a lawyer: “Why do you demand that the city authorities be held responsible for the violation, when there are no documents indicating that the city leadership gave an order to install the board?”
No paper, no one to blame. In the end, the meeting is postponed to the end of September. By this time, the Craft's lawyer should consider who he will hold responsible for installing the board.
Craft is disappointed but is going to keep fighting. He does not, however, call the Kremlin to account.
For example, the Vedomosti newspaper published an article that Ivanov planned to take the post of Russian ambassador to Helsinki, and the opening of the board would be the first step in establishing good neighborly relations. On the other hand, the Finns were not invited to its opening at all.
Finland is not yet in the main roles in this dispute, because the Russians are sorting out the relationship between themselves. Mannerheim and historical issues have been covered in the Russian media for many months now. Official sources give conflicting information.
The television channel NTV, which specializes in slandering the opposition, made a big show about Mannerheim. It emphasized his role in the service of Russia, and in the end it was said that he stood at the origins of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
Context
Mannerheim in St. Petersburg: what mistake Putin made
Apostrophe 06/21/2016Would Donbass give Mannerheim?
Ukrinform 12.02.2016Noise due to Mannerheim
Dagens Nyheter 09/10/2016However, it was claimed that "tens of thousands of Russians" died of starvation in Finnish concentration camps in occupied eastern Karelia. Mortality was indeed high, and the death toll among the civilian population amounted to approximately four thousand people. In turn, the number of prisoners of war who died in the Finnish camps amounted to approximately 22 thousand people.
“Interest in Mannerheim’s personality suggests that the anniversary year of 2017 is approaching,” says Elina Kahla, head of the Finnish Institute in St. Petersburg.
Next year, independent Finland will celebrate its 100th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Mannerheim's birth. In addition, Russia will celebrate the anniversaries of the February and October revolutions.
Kahla expects a great revival in cultural work, although many issues will have to be resolved. In May, the Institute will hold a large seminar in St. Petersburg dedicated to Mannerheim.
“We will be very happy if Finns and Russians can exchange experience on it.”
It is possible that behind the opening of the memorial plaque is the respect of the top leadership of Russia for Mannerheim. President Vladimir Putin did not express his attitude towards the opening of the board, but in 2001 he laid flowers at Mannerheim's grave in Helsinki.
At the same time, Moscow is very concerned about fueling Russians' nostalgic memories of the mighty Soviet Union and, in particular, the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is commonly called in Russia.
And now the prosecutor's office finds out, at the request of the Communist Party, whether the installation of the board is "rehabilitation of Nazism."
It is noteworthy that the Minister of Culture, Medinsky, and the then head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, at the opening ceremony of the board, focused on the time when Mannerheim was in the service of tsarist Russia.
“No one tries to justify Mannerheim’s activities after 1918, but before 1918 he served Russia, and, to be very precise, he lived in Russia and served her longer than he lived in Finland and served her,” Ivanov said according to the newspaper. Businessman.
Russian ideas about Mannerheim were changed in a positive direction by the deceased researcher Leonid Vlasov, who wrote 17 books about Mannerheim. Some of them have been translated into Finnish.
His wife Marina Vlasova is also an expert in this matter.
“The opening of the memorial plaque is like a breath of fresh air. It was clear that the gray communist masses would immediately begin to protest. I don’t watch TV so as not to get a heart attack, ”Vlasova says by phone.
Vlasov gave Putin information about Mannerheim and presented his point of view before his visit to Helsinki in 2001. In the preface to Mannerheim's biography ("Mannerheim", series "Life of Remarkable People", 2005), Vlasov tells that Putin laid flowers and bowed his head before Mannerheim's grave.
“There is some sacred meaning in this. St. Petersburg, which raised the current Russian president, was at one time the second homeland and, until the last days of his life, Mannerheim's favorite city. No matter how high a post Baron Gustav Mannerheim occupies in Finland, in his heart he remained a Russian officer who traveled all over Russia, putting his head and chest under bullets for her, ”wrote Vlasov.
The periods of Mannerheim's life from a stubborn student of a cadet school to a marshal
1867
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim was born on June 4 at Louhisaari Manor in Askainen. He was the third child of Count Carl Robert Mannerheim and Helene von Julin.
1882
The beginning of training in the cadet corps of the city of Hamina. The family broke up. After the ruin, the father is hiding from debts in Paris, the mother dies. In 1886, Mannerheim was expelled from the cadet corps for unauthorized absenteeism and drunkenness on Good Friday.
1887
He passes exams at the University of Helsingfors, enters the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg.
He fulfills his dream and enters the service in the Cavalry Guard Regiment, headed by the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Marries Anastasia Arapova. Later, two daughters are born in the family - Anastasia and Sofia.
As part of the guard of honor, he takes part in the coronation ceremony of Emperor Nicholas II.
1897
Transferred to serve in the Court stables in St. Petersburg. Acquires horses from stud farms in Russia and Western Europe.
1903
In the relationship with his wife comes the final discord. The official divorce is issued only in 1919.
1904
Receives the rank of lieutenant colonel and takes part in the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria.
1906
For two years he goes on a scientific expedition to Asia, during which he overcomes 14 thousand kilometers.
1912
During his service in Poland, Mannerheim was awarded the title of "Major General of His Imperial Majesty's Retinue".
1914
World War I breaks out, Mannerheim commands a cavalry brigade and later a cavalry division in Poland and Galicia.
1917
The revolution is tearing Russia apart, and in December Mannerheim returns to Finland.
1918
Appointed Supreme Commander of the Government Forces of Finland. The bloody war that divided the whole of Finland into two camps ends with the victory of the Whites.
1919
Loses presidential election to Kaarlo Ståhlberg in 1920.
1920
Founded General Mannerheim's Union for the Protection of Children.
1933
Promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.
1939
Supreme Commander of the Finnish Army during the Winter War. Commander-in-Chief in the Soviet-Finnish War that began in 1941 (1941-1944). In 1942 he was awarded the rank of Marshal of Finland.
1944
Elected President of Finland.
He falls ill and undergoes treatment in Portugal.
1946
Resigns as president, Juho Kusti Paasikivi becomes president.
He lives mainly in Switzerland, writes memoirs, which are published posthumously.
1951
Dies at night after stomach surgery at the age of 83 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was buried in the Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki.
There are several monuments to Mannerheim
The memorial plaque opened this year in St. Petersburg is not the only monument to Marshal Mannerheim abroad. In Montreux, Switzerland, since 1955, there has been an obelisk erected in honor of Marshal Mannerheim. He is in the park that bears his name. In 2011, a memorial plaque was opened in the park of the Valmont clinic. Mannerheim spent the last years of his life in this clinic. The most famous monuments to Mannerheim in Finland are the equestrian monuments in Helsinki and Lahti. There are sculptural monuments in Seinäjoki, Tampere, Mikkeli, Turku and Lahti. There are even two monuments to Mannerheim in Lahti.
There is also a tombstone at the Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki.
According to the Mannerheim Museum in Helsinki, Mannerheim's bas-reliefs are also installed in the General Staff, in the city of Vaasa, in the modern Helsinki hospital in Töölö, the house where Mannerheim spent his childhood - the Louhisaari estate of the Askainen commune.
“Besides this, there are many small monuments scattered throughout Finland, which are erected in honor of any events that took place in this place,” says Toni Piipponen, senior curator of the Mannerheim Museum.
Many cities in Finland have streets named after Mannerheim.
“When it comes to showing respect, the largest group is the streets named after Mannerheim, as well as monuments. In addition, there are badges and awards that bear the name of Mannerheim,” says Piipponen.
“In Finland, interest in Mannerheim never waned, but over the years it has become less emotional,” he adds. The public knows less and less about him, which is noticed in the museum in the Kaivopuisto park in the capital.
"Young people are already emerging who don't even know who Mannerheim is."
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
The soldier who does not dream of becoming a general is bad. Karl Mannerheim went from cornet in the Russian tsarist army to field marshal and president of Finland. He was an ally of Hitler, but Joseph Stalin personally struck him off the list of war criminals.
Mannerheim and the national question
The President of Finland was a Swede by birth, he devoted 30 years to the Russian army, and it was in the Russian Empire that he grew up and developed. Mannerheim's adjutant, even during World War II, was the Russian hussar Ignat Karpachev. It is significant that Mannerheim addressed him strictly by his first name and patronymic.
Mannerheim respected the Russians and did not hide his reverence even when communicating with Hitler.
When Mannerheim was already president of Finland, he insisted that all the inhabitants of his country be called precisely "Finns", and not the more neutral "Finlanders". The national interests of Finland for the Swede, who served half his life in the Russian army, were in the first place. Since 1942, Mannerheim's birthday has been celebrated in Finland as the day of the Finnish army.
Mannerheim and languages
Mannerheim was fluent in Russian, English, French and German. He knew eight languages in total. Paradoxically, his native Swedish and Finnish were far from ideal. Of course, this could not but attract attention. The marshal's language awkwardness was a favorite topic for jokes of his fellow citizens.
Mannerheim and the cavalry
Horses were Mannerheim's main passion. His life and military career was closely connected with the cavalry. Mannerheim's military career developed rapidly. This was due to the defiant initiative of the young cavalryman. Carl Gustav avoided staff work, although he was forced to devote time and effort to it from time to time. For the successful organization of the work of the office of the stable part, the young cavalry guard was noted in the order and promoted to the position of head of the harness department, which was under special control of the Minister of the Court, Count Frederiks. And at this place, Mannerheim managed to distinguish himself: he reorganized the unit and personally taught blacksmiths how to shoe horses.
He went from joining the cavalry guard regiment to being seconded to the prestigious cavalry school of General Brusilov.
For special successes and excellent driving qualities, Brusilov appoints Karl the commander of a training squadron and a member of the school's training committee. At school, this squadron was the standard of everything new and best in cavalry science. At first, Mannerheim was considered a "guards upstart", but the skill of the baron allowed him to gain respect even with this promotion.
Mannerheim and the Russo-Japanese War
Mannerheim took an active part in the Russo-Japanese War. He was the initiator of several successful military operations. For skillful leadership and personal courage, the baron was awarded the rank of colonel.
At the same time, Mannerheim takes part in "deep reconnaissance" on the territory of Mongolia. The purpose of intelligence was to search for Japanese forces in Manchuria, to eliminate diplomatic scandals, intelligence was carried out by the "local police".
The colonel wrote: “My detachment is just hunzuns, that is, local robbers from the main road ... These bandits ... know nothing but a Russian magazine rifle and cartridges ... My detachment hastily assembled from garbage. There is neither order nor unity in it ... although they cannot be blamed for lack of courage. They managed to break out of the encirclement where the Japanese cavalry drove us ... The army headquarters was very satisfied with our work - we managed to map about 400 miles and give information about the Japanese positions throughout the territory of our activity. This was the last operation in the Russian-Japanese war.
Mannerheim and orders
Mannerheim became the only person in history to receive awards from both opposing sides during the First and Second World Wars. He also became the only person awarded the highest rank of Finland - Marshal of Finland.
In total, Mannerheim had 123 orders and other state awards, including the St. George Cross and all the military awards of Russia until 1918.
The same Leonid Brezhnev, who was very fond of awards, had 115 of them. Mannerheim's name is even engraved in the St. George's Hall of the Kremlin.
Mannerheim and the Dalai Lama
In 1906-1908, Mannerheim undertook a secret reconnaissance expedition to China. The baron thoroughly prepared for his mission, studied the archival documents of the expedition of Przhevalsky and Pevtsov, met with the explorer of Central Asia Kozlov.
During the expedition, Mannerheim met with the Dalai Lama XIII, collected a lot of information, brought a lot of photographs, intelligence, artifacts and phonetic studies.
Mannerheim rode about 14,000 kilometers on horseback and was even accepted as an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society.
Mannerheim and the Mannerheim Line
In January 1918, Mannerheim submitted his resignation and left for Finland. Since that time, Mannerheim's ambitions have been connected with the idea of preserving the independence of Finland. At first, he holds the post of commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, then becomes the temporary head of the Finnish state and seeks international recognition of independent Finland.
Mannerheim is popularly known as the creator of the so-called "Mannerheim line". Before the Soviet-Finnish war, Mannerheim initiated the reconstruction of defensive structures between the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga.
The name of the defensive line is rather arbitrary, since fortification work on this site has been carried out since the beginning of the 1920s.
For almost 135 kilometers, a defensive belt was stretched, the basis for which was the very relief of the Karelian Isthmus. The defense capability of the "Mannerheim Line" was exaggerated by propaganda. At one time it was considered almost impassable. There were rumors that machine-gun pillboxes on the line could be used to shell Leningrad. After the war, the fortifications were dismantled. Sappers blew up the remaining firing points of the pillbox. In the spring of 1941, an armored cap, internal equipment, ventilation devices and doors dismantled from the pillbox of the fortified Summa unit were delivered to Moscow. An eight-ton viewing armored cap was installed in the park of the Central House of the Red Army
Mannerheim, Stalin and Hitler
During secret negotiations between the USSR and Finland on the withdrawal of the latter from the war, Stalin, through diplomats, conveyed to the Finnish government the condition: "We will accept only such an agreement, behind which Marshal Mannerheim will stand." When Herta Kuusinen was tasked with compiling a list of top Finnish war criminals, she did. Mannerheim was also on this list. Stalin crossed out Mannerheim with a red pencil and wrote: "Do not touch."
Where did Stalin have such a disposition towards a man whose country was an ally of Nazi Germany? It must be HOW Mannerheim helped Hitler. He did it with his characteristic originality.
He refuses to subordinate the Finnish army to the German command, but he does not agree to take German units under his command. At the beginning of 1942, in response to regular questions from the Wehrmacht generals about the fate of the Finnish front, Mannerheim chopped off: "I will not advance anymore." Hitler understands that it is useless to rely on Mannerheim and finds himself an obedient ally - General Talvel. At that time, the main German task was the capture of Sukho Island. It was necessary to land troops on Sukho and firmly gain a foothold. Then the Germans would be able to fully control the transportation along Ladoga, both on ice and on water. Leningrad would have been left without supplies and died. Mannegraim cannot forbid General Talvela to carry out the operation, but he finds his own methods. Suddenly, the Finns fall ill with an incomprehensible serious illness - the equipment that previously worked like clockwork ceases to function, Finnish diligence disappears somewhere. German sailors are surprised: nothing is done on time.
Hitler urgently comes to Mannerheim's anniversary and showers him with expensive gifts: a chic Mercedes-770, 3 military all-terrain vehicles, the Order of the German Eagle with a large golden cross. The most important gift was his own portrait of the Reich Chancellor, painted by the artist Truppe.
Mannerheim sells an expensive Mercedes to Sweden, gives away all-terrain vehicles to the army, and throws the cross and portrait away, out of sight. For him, meeting with Hitler is a diplomatic ritual, nothing more. The Germans never took Sukho Island: Mannerheim managed to warn the Soviet command, and the methods he chose, which slowed down the German advance, bore fruit.
Mannerheim and ballerina
Mannerheim was distinguished by enviable adventurism and even recklessness in matters of the heart. In January 1924, when he was already considered an enemy of the Bolshevik state, the 57-year-old Mannerheim arrived in Moscow and wooed the ballerina Ekaterina Geltser.
The wedding of the "young" is carried out by the disgraced Patriarch Tikhon. In addition, Mannerheim, together with Geltser, visit the mausoleum, standing in line for many hours in Epiphany frosts.
The ballerina then fell ill with bilateral pneumonia, Mannerheim could not wait for her recovery and left for Finland. They didn't see each other again.
Mannerheim and vodka
Accustomed in the Russian army to the daily use of good vodka, Mannerheim was extremely dissatisfied with the quality of Finnish spirits. D
In order to beat off the taste that bothered the marshal, 20 grams of French vermouth and 10 grams of gin were added to one liter of Finnish vodka.
The drink was called "Marshal's stack". In honor of his anniversary, Mannerheim, from whom Hitler expected decisive action, decided to please his soldiers and sent trucks with vodka to the front line. Two bottles of vodka per dugout. On the marshal's birthday, the Finnish army became incapable of combat, which had already become a sign to the USSR and allies: the Finns had finished their war.
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim(Swede. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, MFA (Swedish): [ˈkɑːrl ˈɡɵsˌtɑf ˈeːmil ˈmanːərˌheim]; June 4, Askainen - January 27, Lausanne, Switzerland) - baron, Finnish military and statesman, lieutenant general of the Russian Imperial Army (April 25), cavalry general (March 7) of the Finnish Army, field marshal (May 19), Marshal of Finland (only as an honorary title) (June 4), Regent of the Kingdom of Finland from December 12 to June 26, President of Finland from August 4 to March 11.
As a personal name, they used the second name, Gustav; while serving in the Russian army, he was called Gustav Karlovich; sometimes he was called in the Finnish manner - Kustaa.
Biography
Field Marshal Mannerheim had a tall stature, a slender and muscular body, a noble posture, a confident demeanor and clear features. He belonged to that type of great historical figures who were so rich in the 18th and 19th centuries, as if specially created for the fulfillment of their mission, but now almost completely extinct. He was endowed with personal traits characteristic of all the great historical characters who lived before him. In addition, he was an excellent rider and shooter, a gallant gentleman, an interesting conversationalist and an outstanding connoisseur of the culinary arts, and made an equally magnificent impression in the salons, as well as at the races, in clubs and at parades.
Origin
There is a document from which it follows that Hinrich Margein, who after moving to Sweden became known as Heinrich, founded an ironworks here. His son was raised to the Swedish nobility in 1693. (Swede.) Russian , while he changed his last name to Mannerheim. In 1768 the Mannerheims were raised to the baronial rank, and in 1825 Karl Erik Mannerheim (fin.) Russian (1759-1837), the great-grandfather of Gustav Mannerheim, was elevated to the dignity of a count, after which the eldest son in the family became a count, and the younger brothers of the eldest member of the family (to which Gustav Mannerheim belonged), as well as representatives of the younger genealogical branches, remained barons .
After the victory of Russia over Sweden in the war of 1808-1809, Karl Erik Mannerheim was the leader of the delegation received by Alexander I, and contributed to the success of the negotiations, which ended with the approval of the constitution and the autonomous status of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Since then, all the Mannerheims have become distinguished by a clear pro-Russian orientation, since Alexander I repeatedly reminded: “Finland is not a province. Finland is a state." Mannerheim's grandfather, Karl Gustav, after whom he got his name, was the president of the court court (hofgericht - appellate instance) in Vyborg and a well-known entomologist, and his father was an industrialist, conducting major business throughout Russia, and a great connoisseur of literature.
early years
Carl Gustav (right)
Gustav Mannerheim was born in the family of Baron Karl Robert Mannerheim (fin.) Russian (1835-1914) and Countess Hedwig Charlotte Helena von Yulin. Place of birth - the Louhisaari estate in the commune of Askainen, not far from Turku, which at one time was acquired by Count Karl Erik Mannerheim.
When Carl Gustav was 13 years old, his father went bankrupt and, leaving his family, went to Paris. In January of the following year, his mother died.
Russian army
Cavalier Guard Regiment
On August 12, the staff captain is already in the capital on a wide range of business: from equipping the Stables with horses to selling manure for the estate of the maid of honor of the EIV Vasilchikova.
The whole year passed in family scandals, as Gustav continued novels with both Countess Shuvalova and actress Vera Mikhailovna Shuvalova, while her wife staged terrible scenes of jealousy. As a result, this had a detrimental effect on the children: daughter Anastasia went to the monastery at the age of 22.
In October, Mannerheim is elected the 80th full member of the society. Imperial trotting races on Semyonovsky parade ground and a member of the referee commission.
The baron is left alone with an officer's salary and a very large number of debts (including card debts). Gustav's older brother is involved in the struggle to change the imperial laws in Finland, in connection with which he is expelled to Sweden. In the spring, a decree was signed on secondment of Mannerheim to the Brusilov cavalry school.
Officer Cavalry School
The captain is intensively preparing for (Brusilov's invention for "education of real cavalrymen"). In early August, in the village of Postavy, Vilna province, Gustav shows excellent driving qualities on a par with Brusilov.
Starting from September, business days begin: every day at 8 am an officer in the officer cavalry school on Shpalernaya Street. General Brusilov, knowing that Mannerheim was a supporter of the horse dressage system of James Phillis, appointed him as an assistant to the famous English rider.
Handing over the affairs of the training squadron to Lieutenant Colonel Lishin, Mannerheim began to prepare for shipment to Manchuria. A huge number of things had accumulated, some of which had to be transferred to other persons upon arrival at the front. To cover the huge expenses associated with the preparation, the captain received a large loan from the bank (under two insurance policies). Having chosen three horses, Mannerheim sent them separately to Harbin, although no one could say even approximately when they would arrive there.
Photo from Asian expedition
On June 10, Gustav was included in the expedition of the French sociologist Paul Pelliot, but then, at his request, Nicholas II gave Mannerheim an independent status.
On June 19, the colonel, with 490 kg of luggage, including a Kodak camera and two thousand glass photographic plates with chemical reagents for their processing, leaves the capital.
Before leaving for Russia, Mannerheim made another "mission", to Japan. The purpose of the assignment was to ascertain the military capabilities of the port of Shimonoseki. Having completed the task, the colonel arrived in Vladivostok on September 24.
Expedition results
- The map shows 3087 km of the expedition's route
- A military-topographic description of the Kashgar-Turfan region was compiled.
- The Taushkan-Darya river was studied from its exit from the mountains to its confluence with the Orken-Darya.
- Plans were drawn up for 20 Chinese garrison towns.
- The description of the city of Lanzhou as a possible future Russian military base in China is given.
- The state of the troops, industry and mining of China was assessed.
- The construction of railways has been appraised.
- The actions of the Chinese government to combat opium consumption in the country were assessed.
- Collected 1200 different interesting items related to the culture of China.
- About 2000 ancient Chinese manuscripts were brought from the sands of Turfan.
- A rare collection of Chinese sketches from Lanzhou has been brought, giving an idea of 420 characters from different religions.
- A phonetic dictionary of the languages of the peoples living in northern China has been compiled.
- Anthropometric measurements of the Kalmyks, Kirghiz, little-known Abdal tribes, Yellow Tanguts, Torgouts were carried out.
- 1353 photographs were brought, as well as a large number of diary entries.
Mannerheim rode about 14,000 km on horseback. His account is one of the last noteworthy diaries compiled by travelers in this way.
The results of Mannerheim's "Asian campaign" are impressive: he was accepted as an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society. When the full text of the traveler's diary was published in English in 1937, the entire second volume of the publication consisted of articles written by other scientists based on the materials of this expedition.
Poland
The preparation of the regiment (he received it from Colonel David Dieterichs) turned out to be weak, and Mannerheim began to correct it, as he had done before with his other units. Service, classes on the parade ground and "in the field" for 12 hours a year made the regiment one of the best in the district, and the ability to work with people and personal example allowed Gustav to get most of the regiment's officers as allies. Summer camps were held in the village of Kaloshino, not far from Novominsk.
Weekend Mannerheim often spent in Warsaw, in the Lubomirski family. He also repeatedly met with his friend and colleague A. Brusilov, who commanded the 14th Army Corps, while Mannerheim's regiment was part of this corps as part of the 13th Cavalry Division of the Corps, Brusilov's headquarters was stationed in Lublin. The wife of Alexei Alekseevich died, relations with his son did not develop very well. On one of Brusilov's visits to the Vladimir regiment, the major general solemnly presented the colonel with the Order of St. Vladimir - an award for the Asian campaign. Two campaigners, they got along quite closely, and both will go down in history as outstanding military figures.
The private life of officers before the arrival of Mannerheim was not very diverse. Horses and women, there were few contacts with the Polish population, with the exception of three officers - Holovatsky, Przhdetsky and Bibikov, who maintained contacts in the highest Polish society. Mannerheim wrote much later: "There were very few personal contacts between Russians and Poles, and during my communication with the Poles they looked at me incredulously." But the commander abruptly changed the situation, taking equestrian sport as a basis. He became vice-president of the race society of the Separate Guards Cavalry Brigade and a member of the Warsaw Race Society, joined an elite hunting club.
The major general was adopted in the family environment of the Radziwills, Zamoyskys, Velepolsky, Potocki. In the house of Countess Lubomirskaya, he has been accepted for a long time. Poles haunted the officers of the regiment, and Gustav was no exception. Rumors of high-society ladies visiting Mannerheim's apartment quickly spread throughout the city. Countess Lubomirskaya wrote in her memoirs about the "friend of the heart": "Gustav was a man who was carried away, he never knew how to value anything." Mannerheim, on the other hand, understood that it was impossible to break off relations with the countess - this would immediately affect his position in society.
Life in secular Warsaw required a lot of money, and Mannerheim periodically visited the hippodrome, where he exhibited his horses incognito for competitions (there was a ban on senior officers of the guard to exhibit their horses in competitions). The prizes were large: the Warsaw derby - 10,000 rubles, the Imperial Prize - 5,000 rubles.
After the defeat at Krasnik, the Austrians mobilized and organized an extremely dense defense in front of the right flank of the 4th Army, in connection with which the raids of the Russian cavalry behind enemy lines practically ceased. Each reconnaissance operation turned into a protracted battle. A good characteristic of Mannerheim's commanding qualities is the way out of the encirclement near the village of Grabowka. At nightfall, Mannerheim gathered senior officers and divided the encirclement ring into 20 sectors on the map, appointing an officer responsible for each sector. Then he set the task to get in each sector of the "language". Around midnight, Mannerheim had at his disposal one captured Austrian from each sector. After analyzing the situation, at about two in the morning the guards broke through the encirclement in the weakest place and by morning joined the 13th Cavalry Division.
In August 1914, for successful actions, Major General Mannerheim was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 1st degree with swords and received swords to the already existing Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree.
On August 22, Gustav met with his former lover, Countess Shuvalova (she headed the Red Cross hospital in Przemysl). The meeting left an unpleasant aftertaste.
On October 11, Russian troops unexpectedly launched an operation that went down in history as the Warsaw-Ivangorod operation, as a result of which the Austrian-German troops suffered a serious defeat. At the end of autumn, the Mannerheim brigade occupied positions along the Nida River, where they celebrated the New Year. The officers of the brigade presented as a gift to their commander silver cigarette case, "for luck".
The 12th Cavalry Division consisted of two brigades, each of which had two regiments, according to Mannerheim, "splendid regiments with rich traditions". The Akhtyrsky Hussars led their history from 1651, the Belgorod Lancers - from 1701, the Starodubovsky Dragoon Regiment - from 1783, the Cossack regiment consisted of Orenburg Cossacks. “Although I had to give up a good military unit, I was inclined to believe that the new one I received was no worse; in my opinion, it was absolutely prepared for hostilities,”- Gustav Karlovich noted in his memoirs. The division headquarters had an excellent reputation and never lost their presence of mind. The tone in the work was set by the chief of staff Ivan Polyakov, who demanded real dedication from subordinate officers in the performance of tasks.
On March 12, in the evening, Mannerheim received an order from the commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps to change the 1st Don Cossack Division, which was holding the defense near the urban-type settlement of Zalishchyky, which was located 45 km from the city of Chernivtsi. Here, the commander of the 9th Army, General Lechitsky and General Khan-Nakhichevan, tried to “visit suddenly” Mannerheim, but the Austrians, having discovered the commander’s car, opened artillery fire, as a result of which the car was smashed, and Khan-Nakhichevan received a shell shock. Near this village, parts of Mannerheim held the defense until March 15, after which they were replaced by the 37th Infantry Division.
On March 17, in the evening, a telegram was received from the army headquarters, according to which Mannerheim should cross the Dniester near the village of Ustye and join the corps of General Count Keller there. On March 22, parts of Mannerheim, having already crossed the Dniester and captured the villages of Schloss and Folvarok, were forced to withdraw under the enemy's hurricane counterattacks. The day before, in response to a polite reminder from Officer Mannerheim to Officer Keller about the order of battle, about joint actions, the count replied: “I remember the task assigned to us”. When Mannerheim, seeing that the enemy's forces exceeded his strength by more than twice, turned to Keller with a request for support, he received a strange answer: "I'm sorry, but the mudslide prevents me from helping you". Mannerheim had to retreat back to the left bank of the Dniester and burn the pontoon crossing. The baron sent a report about what had happened (report No. 1407) to the headquarters of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, where he described in detail both this operation and Keller's actions. But General Georgy Raukh, apparently, let everything go "on the brakes." After all, once George Raukh was the best man at Gustav's wedding, and his sister Olga maintained close ties with Gustav's wife Arina Arapova. After Mannerheim's break with his wife, Rauch and his sister ended their relationship with Gustav. Apparently, for General Rauch, the opinion of a woman at that moment outweighed the duty of an officer and commander. This is how some Russian generals fought in the First World War. In his memoirs, Mannerheim noted this episode extremely sparingly, practically "without surnames."
From March 26 to April 25, Mannerheim's division was on vacation in the village of Shuparka. There were few training sessions, but the baron himself repeatedly showed the highest class in shooting competitions from various types of small arms.
On April 25, the baron was temporarily appointed commander of the consolidated cavalry corps, composed of the 12th division of Mannerheim, the Separate Guards Cavalry Division and the brigade of the Trans-Amur Border Guard, which was tasked with crossing the Dniester and, together with the Siberian Corps, attacking the city of Kolomyia. During the offensive, parts of Mannerheim took the city of Zabolotov on the Prut River, in which they stood for a long time.
On May 18, the baron received the following telegram: “To the General of the EIV retinue, Baron Gustav Mannerheim. I want to see my Akhtyrs. I will be on May 18 at 16.00 by train. Olga". The guard of honor led by Mannerheim hung around at the Snyatyn station waiting for the military hospital train No. 164/14 with Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna for several hours, but the train never arrived. It was decided to start the celebrations - festive tables were laid in one of the barns. At the height of the feast, a woman in the dress of a sister of mercy quietly entered the barn and sat down at the table next to Mannerheim, fortunately, one of the officers recognized her in time and offered a chair. The princess leaned over to Gustav: “Baron, you know that I do not like ceremonies. Continue dinner and do not forget to pour me wine, because I know that you are a gallant gentleman, unlike our mutual friends ... And I apologize for being late - my train was not allowed to pass because of the fear of German raids. I got on a horse - you know me as a rider - and here you are with my unnecessary escort ... And order to invite my guardians to the table. The gala dinner proceeded and quite well. The first couple in the first polonaise were Gustav and Olga. The next day, a solemn parade of Akhtyrs took place. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was one of those women whom no one forgot. A photograph presented to Gustav with a commemorative inscription of the princess has been preserved: “... I am sending you a card taken during the war, when we met more and when, as the beloved head of the 12th cavalry division, you were with us. It reminds me of the past…”
On May 20, a new order: "In connection with the general retreat of the armies of the Southwestern Front, you should move to the area of the city of Voynilov, where you will join the 11th Army Corps." Having covered the crossing of our troops across the Dniester, Mannerheim's 12th division began to cover the retreat of the 22nd Army Corps towards the Rotten Lipa River. “The June battles clearly demonstrated how disorganized the army was: during all this time, eleven battalions were subordinate to me in turn, and their combat effectiveness decreased from time to time, and most of the soldiers did not have rifles”, - Gustav Karlovich recalls in his memoirs.
On June 28, the baron receives an order to organize defenses in the area of the village of Zazulintse. Mannerheim's division was reinforced by two "wild brigades" from the Khan-Nakhichevan economy. One of these cavalry brigades was commanded by Pyotr Krasnov, the other by Pyotr Polovtsev. During the battle, Krasnov's brigade simply did not follow Mannerheim's order to attack the enemy. According to the baron himself, Krasnov simply “protected” his highlanders, according to another, the highlanders did not want to attack on foot. In any case, at the end of the battle, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich condemned Krasnov's actions.
The retreat was difficult, the morale of the troops fell, here and there there were cases of looting, spurred on by the order of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich to use the tactics of "scorched earth".
At the end of August 1917, "Manchurian rheumatism" finally twisted the general, and he was sent for treatment to Odessa for a period of five weeks, leaving the 12th cavalry division under the command of Major General Baron Nikolai Disterlo.
In September 1917 he was transferred to the reserve as a military leader, unacceptable under the circumstances. In January 1918 he sent a letter of resignation and went home to Finland.
February Revolution (1917)
In Moscow, I learned that on March 15 the Emperor had abdicated in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The news that Grand Duke Mikhail would take the reins of government into his own hands gave rise to some hopes. However, on March 17, Mikhail Alexandrovich also renounced his rights to the throne.
A few days later, Mannerheim writes:
On my way south to my division, I visited the commander of the Southern (Romanian) Front, General Sakharov. I told him about my impressions of the events in Petrograd and Moscow and tried to persuade the general to lead the resistance. However, Sakharov believed that the time had not yet come for such actions. even in military units. The military tribunal and the death penalty were abolished. This led to the fact that the age-old military order, in which soldiers must obey orders, was practically not respected, and the commanders, who sought to save their units, were forced to seriously fear for their own lives ... And the military leadership did nothing to combat the revolutionary elements.
Mannerheim remained loyal to the abdicated emperor, but welcomed the acquisition of complete independence by Finland. “I come from an era in which Mankind was enlightened by liberal ideas,” he wrote to his Swedish publisher K. O. Bonnier. And he went to Finland to maintain its independence in the outbreak of the "War of Liberation", although then he spoke only in broken Finnish.
Commander and Regent of Finland
Lieutenant General, former commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps E. K. Arseniev, reported on his negotiations with Mannerheim on May 8, 1919:
... he [Mannerheim] thinks of a campaign [on Petrograd] only "as a joint friendly action of the Finnish and Russian forces", but for the campaign "it is necessary that some authoritative Russian government recognize the independence of Finland." Mannerheim is already a Finnish national hero. But this does not satisfy him. He would like to play a great historical role in Russia, in which he served for 30 years and with which he is connected by thousands of threads:305
On the eve of the elections, using the insufficiently clear position of Kolchak and Sazonov regarding the recognition of Finland's independence, the Finnish Social Democratic press tried in every possible way to emphasize Mannerheim's friendship with representatives of "White Russia", drawing conclusions about the danger that Mannerheim poses to Finnish independence in the event of the victory of his "White" friends." Mannerheim was forced to renounce direct and public statements about supporting the armed struggle against the Bolsheviks in Russia and made such statements only in private conversations. But the elections were still lost to them: 305 .
On June 18, 1919, Mannerheim concluded a secret agreement with General Yudenich, who was in Finland, from which, however, no practical results followed.
After losing the presidential election on July 25, 1919, Mannerheim left Finland, living in London, Paris and various Scandinavian cities. Mannerheim acted as an unofficial, and later official, representative of Finland in France and Great Britain, since in London and Paris he was regarded as the only person with sufficient political capital for negotiations.
During Yudenich's attack on Petrograd in October 1919, Mannerheim wrote:
The liberation of Petrograd is not a purely Finnish-Russian question, it is a worldwide question of final peace ... If the white troops now fighting near Petrograd are defeated, then we will be to blame. Already now there are voices that Finland has avoided the invasion of the Bolsheviks only due to the fact that the Russian White armies are fighting far in the south and east.
Interwar years
In the years 1920-1930, Mannerheim was engaged in a wide variety of activities: he visits France, Poland and other European countries, India with semi-official visits, takes part in the leadership of the shutskor, in the management of commercial banks, social activities, and holds the position of chairman of the Red Cross of Finland. In 1931 he accepted an offer to become president of the State Defense Committee of Finland, in 1933 Mannerheim was awarded the honorary military rank of Field Marshal of Finland.
Marshal Mannerheim on a Finnish stamp, 1952
Until the 1930s, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union achieved quite a lot of success: European countries recognized the USSR and established diplomatic relations with it. The Soviet Union joined the League of Nations. This circumstance led to the widespread spread of pacifist sentiments in all sections of European society, which began to believe in the onset of an era of peace.
In Finland, the government and most members of parliament have systematically disrupted defense financing programs. So in the budget of 1934, the article on the construction of fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus was generally crossed out. “What is the use of providing the military department with such large sums if war is not expected,” said the then manager of the Finnish Bank, and later President Risto Ryti, to the demand of Mannerheim, who had no illusions about the intentions of the USSR, to finance the military program of Finland.
And Tanner, head of the Social Democratic faction in parliament, said that his faction believes:
... an indispensable condition for maintaining the independence of the country is such progress in the well-being of the people and the general conditions of their life, under which every citizen understands that this is worth all the costs of defense.
Due to cost savings, since 1927 combat exercises have not been conducted. The allocated funds were only enough for the maintenance of the army, but practically no funds were allocated for armaments. There were no modern weapons, tanks and aircraft at all.
As a result of the activity shown by Soviet diplomacy in the pre-war years, a key point was revealed, which consisted in demanding the right to bring Soviet troops into the territory of neighboring states (the Baltic countries and Finland), regardless of the request of the governments of these states, which by this time could be under strong pressure Germany.
Mannerheim is actively negotiating with almost all European countries, looking for help in a possible confrontation with the Soviet Union. At the same time, he, personally participating in the negotiations, is trying to find, together with Paasikivi, a compromise between the demands of the USSR and the patriotic public of Finland. At these negotiations, Paasikivi told Stalin that "Finland wants to live in peace and stay out of conflicts", to which the latter replied: "I understand, but I assure you that this is impossible - the great powers will not allow it."
The Second World War
The main task facing Mannerheim in World War II was to preserve state independence and exclude the possibility of becoming a satellite of Germany, as well as the return of the country to its historical borders, established by mutual agreement with Russia by his ancestor. In addition, he personally, as an aristocrat, was disgusted by the plebeian imperialism of Hitler.
Marshal Mannerheim at headquarters
In 70% of cases, Soviet troops were stopped on the Karelian Isthmus on the Enkel Line. Well-placed reinforced concrete pillboxes built in 1936-1939, the number of which, due to the high cost, did not exceed a dozen, turned out to be a big obstacle for the attackers.
During the war years, the command of the Finnish army followed the order of Mannerheim, who prevented the ill-treatment of numerous prisoners. “The more prisoners come to us and the more humanely we treat them, the sooner the Russian people thrown under the bullets of the Chekists against us will begin to see clearly and turn their bayonets against the Soviet regime”
Gustav Mannerheim in 1942. One of the few color photographs of him
In mid-June 1941, Mannerheim learned of the planned German attack on the Soviet Union. On June 17, mobilization was announced in Finland. Mannerheim, who in this war remained with his opinion about the fatality for Finland to be drawn into a big war, said:
I assumed the duties of commander-in-chief on the condition that we would not launch an attack on Leningrad.
Mannerheim assessed the situation by the summer of 1941 as follows:
The concluded agreement on the through transportation of goods prevented the attack from Russia. To denounce it meant, on the one hand, to rise up against the Germans, on relations with which the existence of Finland as an independent state depended. On the other hand - to transfer fate into the hands of the Russians. Stopping the importation of goods from any direction would lead to a severe crisis, which would immediately be taken advantage of by both Germans and Russians. We were pressed against the wall.
In his order for the offensive, Mannerheim clearly outlined the goal of not only "reclaiming" all the territories captured by the USSR during
