Civil War 1918 1/4

When Finland was declared independent on December 6th 1917, it already had a senate and the infrastructure of an independent country. The one thing it lacked was an army. The only military presens on Finnish soil were the Russian troops that the last czar had put there in case of an uprising in Finland. The radical elements of the workers movement seized the moment and formed their own army, the Red Guards. The conservatives on the other hand formed the White Guards. The nationalist movement also had the Jaeger troops (Jääkärit), young men who had been training in Germany for 3 years, ready to form the core of a future Finnish army. Part 1 of 4 videos with old pictures and interviews, both with experts and with people who lived at the time and experience those events firsthand. This is a shortened and somewhat re-edited version of a documentary by YLE2.
Finland historiy civil war Russian revolution Lenin kansallissota vapaussota Mannerheim WWI 1918 execution massacre Ishexan







































