Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion

Note: This article is a direct translation of the Finnish Wikipedia version

Finnish Rifle Battalion (fin Henkikaartin 3. Suomen Tarkk’ampujapataljoona, ruots. Livgardets 3:e finska skarpskyttebataljon; ven. Лейб-гвардии 3-й стрелковый Финский батальон, Leib-gvardii 3-j strelkovyi Finski bataljon) was a Finnish military unit during 1829-1905 based in Helsinki. Continuing the legacy of Finnish Education Battalion (1817), it was part of the Imperial Russian Army and the only Finnish unit of the Imperial Guard (Russia). Furthermore it was the only Finnish military unit which was operational for most of the time during the Grand Duchy of Finland. Because of its connections to the Imperial Guard (Russia), it was considered as elite group and thus had visible role inside the Grand Duchy of Finland.

The Finnish Rifle Battalion took part twice to military efforts outside of the country. First in 1831 during the Polish November Uprising and in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) in the Balkans. The most famous of the battles it participated in was the battle of Gornyi and Dubnjaki in 1877. The unit was sent also in 1849 to assist in the Hungarian uprising and later during the Crimean War 1854-56 to guard the western border of Russia. However, it did not face any battles during these engagements. At the times of peace, it mainly was responsible for the guarding in Helsinki and participated annually to the Russian military exercises in Krasnoye Selo near Saint Petersburg.

The quarter Kaartinkaupunki has been named according to the battalion, as it was based in the Kaartin kasarmi next to the Kasarmitori in Helsinki.

Early forms

The military force of the Finland during the period of autonomy within Russia was initiated by an imperial order on 18 September 1812 by Alexander I of Russia. The day of 18th became to be the annual celebration of the battalion. Based on the imperial order, Finland had to form three rifle units, consisting each of of two battalions of 600 men, totaling 3600 men. Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt and many other authorities in Finland had seen it as important, that among the Russian troops based in Finland, there was also some kind of domestic military force to respond to the future uncertainties. These groups were formed from the recruits as well as forcibly taken homeless men, it was the intention to use these units only within the Finnish territory and in defense of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, not for any conflicts in more remote areas. The units were planned to be financed by crowd-sourcing, but the collected funds did not match the needs to the least. Finally it was decided, that Russia was to bear the cost of weapons, the hardware, while the Senate of Finland took the maintenance costs on it. Soldiers got 60 Russian ruble for the whole of 6 years in service and one'n half barrels of Rye annually.

Of these three regiments, the first to start operations was the Vyborg regiment (3rd), on 1812. Its first assignment was to guide Saint Petersburg between 31 March 1813 and 31 August 1814, as the majority of Russian Army was tied to Western and Central Europe in the battles against Napoleon. Until the summer 1813 two other regiments were formed, first consisting of the battalions in Turku and Hameenlinna and the other of Heinola and Kuopio. The military force of some thousand men, however, had only little significance to the Finnish defense, and what was remarkable, the forces completely lacked Artillery, Cavalry and Special Forces. Furthermore, only the unit in Vyborg was in service continuously, others gathered according to former Allotment system annually for 4-week training and the officers in preceding 6-week meetings. Two of them were downgraded to infantry regiments, while the third held its name and character.

During the spring 1817, the Vyborg regiment was split in two and the other was moved to Wasa. Part of it was separated into a special command unit of 274 men, left to Hameenlinna under the command of Nils Gylling. This became to be the basis for Finnish Educational Batallion, which was later topped up with recruits. It started operations in the summer 1818, was moved to Helsinki and labeled as The Battalion of Helsinki. The first commander was assigned lieutenant colonel Herman Wärnhjelm. As there was no facilities in Helsinki at the time, the battalion did stay and practice in Hameenlinna. The Kaartin kasarmi, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, was completed in 1822 and the Educational Battalion moved in on 23 December 1824. The name of the battalion fixed to the Helsinki Educational Battalion in 1819 and Finnish Educational Battalion in 1824.

With the imperial order in the March 1827, the Finnish military force was re-arranged to form six rifle battalions. The name of the Helsinki Battalion became to be Finnish Educational Rifle Battalion and its size was increased with 100 men. After two months, the recruitment in other units were forbidden and they were abolished in 1830. After that, the Helsinki Battalion was the only remainder of the military force formed in 1812. The recruits were until the end of 1970 and it consisted of farm-workers, labor, trainees or the sons of peasants and the sons of subcontractors. The discipline was harsh and physical punishments were widely used.

The birth of Finnish Rifle Battalion

In July 1829 the Finnish Educational Battalion was suddenly requested to join the imperial life-gueard training camp in Krasnoje Selo south-west of Saint Petersburg. After inspecting the battalion the Nicholas I of Russia announced it would be promoted to be worth of Young Guard. In the daily order next day the name of the battalion was set as "Finnish life-guard rifle battalion" and it was joined to be part of the imperial life guards 2nd infantry division's 4th brigade. The commander of the battalion continued Anders Edvard Ramsay. Even the battalion now was as part of the imperial life-guard and its inspector, it also did fall under the commander of all Finnish forces, Governor-General of Finland. The costs of the Finnish Rifle Battalion were still assigned for the accounts of Senate of Finland. Along with the new name and rank, the battalion received new uniforms and a domestic flag, which was inaugurated on 17 September 1829.

As the rank of the battalion was increased, the force was increased to 600 men. At the same time, it was specified, that only men taller than 5 feet and 6,5 inch (168 cm) could be recruited. The Helsinki Educational Battalion had had only two permanent officers; a commander and his adjutant. Other officers were temporarily assigned from other forces. At this day the battalion got 17 permanent officers. Furthermore it was regulated, that the battalion had to take all the competent and willing noblemen to enter the military career, as long as they could take care of their living until the posts were vacant. As the result of this, the battalion became to be the career shortcut for the young noblemen to enter the military career. In the year 1829 the language of command of the battalion was assigned to be Russian replacing the former Swedish language. The daily orders and correspondence were conducted, however, in Swedish, to the end of the battalion and during the last years also parallel diary in Finnish language was held.

In Russia the Guard referred originally to the guard of the sovereign, in this case Russian Emperor. For this reason, the Finnish Rifle Battalion also participated into the guarding missions in Saint Petersburg. The term "Guard" was gradually expanded to refer to the elite forces. In Russia, the guard-regiments were appreciated more than casual infantry. That was one of the reasons that the Guard became a career path, worth of competing. The special forces of the Guard did enjoy special privileges of the Emperor; the honorary masters were formed of family members, officers downgraded to the line-regiments did automatically enjoy promotion on to the next level. In Finland the Battallion, now more like a Guard, did enjoy special appreciation, because it did represent the Russian effort to Finnish defense. The value expressed for the battalion indicated at the same time the appreciation towards to that input.

The Polish Uprising 1831

The first real-world assignment for the battalion was the participation to the campaign to defeat Polish November Uprising in 1831. In Finland, the mobilization of the battalion was faced with positive attitude and with pride. Sending Finnish forces outside of the borders, or taking part to crush the Polish Uprising did not much cause troubles for Finns. The battalion left Finland on 12 January with the force of 746 men, marching by foot to Saint Petersburg and from there in March all the way to Poland. It did face first battles in the beginning of the April, together with other imperial forces and Finnish soldiers did quickly enjoy the fame as capable for good shot. The mission of the battalion was first to evict Polish forces from the area between Bug and Narew rivers, at the same time when the main Russian Forces were fighting in the south. During May the battalion had to fight to retreat as a result of the effective Polish counter offensive, all the way to Białystok. After that, it joined the Russian Army in Ostrołęka, which did reroute long way from the west in order to cross over Veiksel and in order attack Varsova from west. The Finnish military force did participate to the invasion of Varsova in 6-8 September.

The battalion spent the winter 1831-32 in Latvia, Biržai, before returning to Helsinki. They lost only ten men, including one officer. However as many as 399 men died due to illnesses and epidemics on the front. After the incident of November Uprising, on 18 December 1831, Russian Emperor Nicholas I granted the Saint George Flag for the battalion. In the flag, and a text had been appended "To appreciate for the defeating the Polish uprising in 1831". The same flag was in use to the end of the battalion.

During the times of peace

The battalion was from its early days relatively well on display in the Grand Duchy of Finland as it was based in the center of the capital. During the years it grew up to be a national symbol, despite its small size, as it did highlight the special status Finland enjoyed within the Russian Empire. The battalion participated also state ceremonies and from the year 1863 on, one of its troops was always present in the annual opening ceremony of the parliament. During the 19th century, large barracks and numerous parades gave the capital of Finland quite militaristic tone, also various incidents for the public order caused by the soldiers became common in the city. The battalion had responsibility to care of general guard in Helsinki every Saturday. The battalion did practice at first with the Russian Army on the Kamppi field (today Narinkkatori), before it got its dedicated shooting range from Punavuori near the current Tehtaanpuisto where the Russian Embassy is located as of today. The shooting gallery in Tehtaankatu, however ended up causing bullets to fly around to the sea, so in 1865 the battalion got new gallery in Taivallahti and ten years later from Pasila.

The younger grandson of Nicholas I of Russia, who later became as Alexander III of Russia, was granted the status as a honorary commander as 3 months old baby, in 1845. It was remarkable tribute for the battalion and its first troop was named "The Troops of His Majesty". In the books of the battalion, also prince Alexander (later Alexander II of Russia) in 1848 and his older son Nikolai in 1850, price Nicolas (later Nicolas II of Russia) at the time of his birth 1868 and his son Aleksei as well in 1904. Alexander III of Russia was held the role for his life, after which it moved on to Nicolas II of Russia. As the second secretary, along with the heir of the crown, was named in 1868 the first commander of the battalion Anders Edvard Ramsay. The battalion was considered to enjoy special trust relationship towards Russian Emperor and when the Emperor visited in Helsinki, they usually were dressed up with the uniform of the battalion. After the Emperor passed out, the uniforms were handed over for the battalion, which stored and preserved them as valuable relics, placed on display in showcase, inside a dedicated church-hall in Kaartin Kasarmi.

During the times of peace, the annual highlight of the battalion was the participation to war games in Krasnoje Selo. The Emperor of All Russia in person guarded the trills. At most there were some 80000 men participating the 10-week spectacle. During the era of Nicholas I of Russia, the battalion on its way to Krasnoje Selo usually stopped in Pietarhovi for a couple of days to server as guards and to entertain the Emperor with parades. According to the tales, Nicholas I of Russia and his family were always eagerly expecting the arrival of the Finns. After the war games, the emperor inspected the battalion once again and recognized each soldier with one ruble, one pound of meat and a sip of spirit. Later the meat was replaced with herring, however the tradition to serve herring and alcohol was finished during the rule of Alexander III of Russia.

During the years 1837-1846, the battalion was bound to send one officer annually to Caucasus. The size of the battalion was increased in 1840, after which the Helsinki Barrack had to be expanded with an annex building on the side of Kasarmikatu. After the Crimean War the Russian Army faced some budget cuts and so at the beginning of 1860 the size of the battalion was decreased. As the Finnish grenadier battalion formed in 1846 was shut down in 1860, the rank-file system was ramped down in 1867, the battalion with its 700 men was left to be the only military force in Finland. The organization of the Russian military complex was reformed in 1871 and all sniper rifle battalions were formed into single rifle prigade, into which the Finnish Rifle Battalion did belong to. At the same time, its name was reformed as "The 3rd Finnish life guard rifle battalion".

Hungarian Uprising 1849 and Crimean War 1854-56

As Nicholas I of Russia sent 120000 men to fight against the Hungarian Uprising, the Finnish battalion was again drawn with. It left Helsinki on 31 May sailing to Latvian Dünamündeen (today. latv. Daugavgriva). After spending June and July in Riga, it arrived in Brest on 8th August. It did not get closer to Hungary, before Hungarian forces were defeated and the war effort diminished. The Finnish Battalion returned on 17th October. Even the forces did not face the battle, they faced Dysentery during the trip.

The next time the battalion took part into international war efforts was when the Crimean War started. This time there was a fear that threat could reach also Finland and Helsinki, but the battalion was commanded to head to Saint Petersburg on 18 March 1854. It did stay there until the spring and took part in Imperial Lifeguard, which was considered to be a dignified honorary mission. During September-October the battalion moved to Latvia and in March to Rakišk from where it was moved in February 1855 to Wilkomir. The main war scene was in Crimea, but Russia held large amount of troops securing the western border, in the case of Austriaa invasion. Still this time, the Finnish battalion did not face the battles, but still most of the soldiers died due to Cholera epidemic. During the spring and summer 1855 the unit was moved around in White Russia, but the Cholera epidemic did not cease.

After the defeat of Sevastopol in September 1855, the Russian Army anticipated that the coalition forced could move the troops freed from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea for an offensive against Saint Petersburg, so the Finnish battalion was called home. However, due to the epidemic, it was not allowed into Helsinki, but did stay for next winter and spring in the Karelian Isthmus. During that time, the war ended as Alexander II of Russia agreed on peace. After taking part to the crowning of the new Emperor in Moscow, the Finnish battalion finally returned to Helsinki on 29 September 1856. Despite not facing a single battle, the battalion was counted to have lost 654 men, however the real figure might be even higer.