Mannerheim: The Finnish Years

by JEO Screen

Overview

As soldier and statesman, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951) occupies a unique place in the history of Finland. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army in 1918 and again from 1939-1944. He was Regent of Finland in 1919 and President of the Republic from 1944-1946. In 1918 he suppressed an attempted revolution against the democratically elected Finnish Government which followed the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.

The passage of time turned him from a hero of the Right into a trusted national figure, while his leadership of Finnish resistance to Soviet aggression in the Winter War of 1939-40 won him international fame. He led the Finnish Army in the Continuation War of 1941-44, in which Finland fought as a co-belligerent with Germany, and took over as President in 1944, after which he ensured Finland negotiated an armistice with the Soviet Union, albeit with harsh terms for Finland. Under his leadership, Helsinki was one of only three wartime European capital cities that was not occupied. And only Mannerheim's authority held the nation together as it adjusted to a new relationship with the Soviet Union. This revised paperback edition describes his transformation from a Tsarist Russian General into a Finnish statesman and patriot. It sets his career in its historical context, examines his character and sums up his legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849043625
Publisher:	Hurst
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Pages:	290
Sales rank:	832,151
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

J. E. O. Screen was Librarian of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London from 1972 to 1998. He was the author of several books and articles on Finnish military history, including Mannerheim: The Years of Preparation.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements ix

Preface to the Second Edition xii

I The White General 1

Finland in 1917

Mannerheim's career in Russia

From 'exile' to command

From planning to action

War begins

Organizing an army

Mannerheim's strategy and German intervention

Towards victory

Triumph

Resignation

II Regent 43

In Sweden

From unofficial diplomat to regent

Military and foreign policy problems

Elections and a new government

The constitution

Intervention in Russia?

Stylish regent but rejected presidential candidate

Departure abroad

III Civilian 74

Advocate of intervention

Private life

Travel

Humanitarian work

Passed over for public service

IV Chairman of the Defence Council 104

Lapua and Mäntsäld

Work in the Defence Council

Seventieth birthday celebrations

The language problem

Foreign relations

Resignation?

Negotiations with the Soviet Union continued

From resignation to commander-in-chief

V The Winter War 137

At war

War or peace?

The exercise of supreme command

VI The 'Armistice' 160

Peacetime commander-in-chief

In the 'War Cabinet'

Finland and German plans

Towards war

VII The Continuation War 177

Successful Finnish offensives but no German victory

Wartime GHQ

Health

Attempts to leave the war

Near disaster

VIII President 206

President for peace

Under the Control Commission

Power slips away

Health deteriorates

The war responsibility case

Resignation

IX Testament 240

Retirement

The Memoirs

Death

The man

The legacy

Bibliography 268

Index 278