Above: Map showing the border between Finland and Russia

In 1917 the rule of the Tsars came to an end in Russia. With the Bolsheviks coming to power there, Finland became tensed. The middle class apprehended the fear of socialist rule while the workers of Finland took this opportunity to break out into a general strike on 14th November 1917. It was so successful that within two days they gained control of nearly most of the country.

Above: White Guard Firing Squad, executing Red Guard supporter at Varkaus (1918)

At this point, a difference of opinion arose amongst the leftists. The extremists wanted a complete takeover but the SDP leaders, committed to their democratic ideals, persuaded them to end the strike. Meanwhile clashes between Red and White Guards took its toll of lives.

Above: Picture of Vladimir Lenin

The post-strike period saw the upper and middle class Poles united in a no-compromising belligerent mood. They were emboldened by getting arms and support from those who had returned from Germany. The White Guards had become a power to contend with. This led to the declaration of independence of Finland by a middle-class government led by Svinhufvud on 6th December 1917 – celebrated as Independence Day. The Bolshevik Government under Lenin gave it recognition in keeping with the principles of self-determination of nations, which Lenin had eschewed.

Above: White Guard Cavalry unit marching to war

Initially, the new Finnish government was firm in its resolve of having no truck with the socialists. In January the White Guard was given full charge of maintaining law and order. This enraged the workers who hit out with a sudden strike. The extremists took over the movement, which led to a general uprising towards the end of January.

Above: More death through Firing-Squad; pictures out the cruelty of the Civil War in Finland

To make matters more explosive, the White government appointed Mannerheim (1867-1951) as the head of the armed forces. The latter was a Swedish speaking Finn who had been previously a general in the army of Tsarist Russia. He replied the uprising of the Reds with military action and thus began the internal strife of Finland known as the Civil War. Both sides are blamed for their uncompromising attitude, which escalated bloodshed and violence.

Above: Map of Finland showing the boundary and areas controlled between Reds and Whites (February 1918)

The borderline between the Whites and Reds became frozen within a day or two of outbreak of hostilities. The Whites, whose fighting forces consisted mostly of farmers, came to control the rural northern regions. The urban middle class supported the Reds. The southern parts together with the important cities and industrial complexes came to be controlled by the latter, together with the support of half the population. Thus the Whites were greatly outnumbered.

Above: German troops sided the whites and advancing to Helsingfors (now Helsinki), Finland.

Despite great courage being displayed by soldiers of both sides, the Whites had a distinct advantage. Mannerheim was an experienced professional who steered the operation with skillful precision aided by jaegers from Germany. The latter had been offered the olive branch of being allowed to come back to Finland in February 1918. Apart from their General Mannerheim, the Whites had on their side quite a few Swedish military professionals manning even their small units. That apart, Germany had supplied the Whites with the latest military equipments making them technically superior to their opponents. Germany had further helped the Whites by sending the Baltic Division that consisted of the very best soldiers.

Above: Map of Eastern Europe during Brest-Litovsk Treaty (click map to enlarge)

On their part the Reds got the help of nearly 40,000 Russian troops, which had remained in Finland. But after the Brest-Litovsk treaty in March 1918, the Russian units withdrew before the beginning of the critical phase of the hostilities. To make matters worse the leadership was poor and inexperienced. There was a constant shortage of food and supplies. Ill discipline was rampant and the soldiers were reluctant to move out of their own areas. The Finns did not have a Lenin or Trotsky to inspire them.

Above: Picture of General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, the 6th President of Finland

Thus it was not surprising that the Whites won a decisive victory towards the end of March and the beginning of April and took over the inland industrial centre of Tampere. In a parallel move, the Germans landed in the southern coast and marched onto Helsinki by the middle of April, destroying nearly half of the Red Guards. The last Red strongholds collapsed by early May 1918. Thousands of Reds fled into the Soviet Union. General Mannerheim marched into Helsinki on May 16th marking the formal end of the civil strife. This date is marked as a Second Independence Day for Finland.

Above: Unburied bodies of victims during the war at Tampere, Finland

Civil war had meant a reign of terror for the populace. The Reds killed at random and murdered thousands of businessmen and farmers belonging to the middle class. Even the Red leadership distanced itself from the mindless butchery of the guards. It all went to show how ineffective the leadership was. The net result was that the leftists lost general support and as well as their morale.

Above: Prisoners dying in hunger and disease in a prison camp at Suomenlinna Island, Helsinki, Finland

The Whites denied the Reds the protection from War rules on the ground that they were criminals and unworthy of any consideration. So the Whites in their turn unleashed their own brand of terror – which proved to be far worse than that of the Reds. Prisoners were executed en masse under the supervision of White commanders. Thousands of Red supporters were killed and the captured were inhumanely treated. About 12,000 died from malnutrition and neglect in detention camps. The Whites did not know how to cope with 80,000 Reds they had captured. The law was twisted to suit the Whites and mock mass trials were held to justify reprisals. Nearly 67,000 were charged for joining the war and 265 were executed. Others lost their citizenship.

Above: Corpse of captured soldiers died in execution (Finland 1918)

The Civil War was a tragedy of gigantic proportions for Finland. About 30,000 had died within a couple of months – that is about 1% of the total population. USA lost 2% during her Civil War but that figure was staggered out over a period of four years.

The internecine strife left a permanent scar on Finland dividing the nation into the victors and vanquished. Memories refused to fade. The worst sufferer was the working class. Not a single family had been spared a loss. Thus nearly 40% were alienated and for generations the voting pattern continued to be pro-Communist. Till the 1960’s the left won more than a fifth of the votes – the highest trend in any Western democracy.

Above: Finnish White Guard troops and Germans, having a victory parade at Hilsinki (May 1918)

Strong feelings spilled over to the issue of naming the war. The Right wanted the episode to be termed as the ‘War of Independence’ – that is independence from Russian domination. But the Leftists wanted to refer to it as the ‘Civil War’. Social Democrats refused to take part in the Independence Day parade even during the 1930’s. It is only recently that historians have come to an agreement to brand the conflict as a civil war.