Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion
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Note: This article is a direct translation of the Finnish Wikipedia version Suomen Kaarti
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. [1]
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 batallions 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.[2]
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. [3] 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. [4] Two of them were downgraded to infantry regiments, while the third held its name and character. [5]
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. [6] The name of the battalion fixed to the Helsinki Educational Battalion in 1819 and Finnish Educational Battalion in 1824. [5]
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. [7] 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. [8]
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. [9]
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.[10] 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. [11]
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.[12]
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.
References
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 60, 63.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 23–27.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 27–29.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 35–36.
- ^ a b Backström 1996.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 37–38, 40, 44.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 50, 68.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 363, 365–367.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 51, 54–56, 69.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 58.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 50–51.
- ^ Ekman 2006, s. 84, 86–87, 90–91, 94, 98–100, 104–105, 109–111, 116.