The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (Finnish: Puolustusvoimat, Swedish: Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence Forces.
The Swedish Army is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry, field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops. The commander of the Finnish Army since 1 January 2022 is Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki.
The Nyland Brigade, officially Nylands brigad (NylBr) in Swedish, Finnish: Uudenmaan prikaati (UudPr), is a brigade-level marine-type unit of the Finnish Navy stationed in Dragsvik in Raseborg in the province of Uusimaa. The Brigade trains Coastal Jaegers and other troops for combat in coastal environments. It is the only unit of the Finnish Defence Forces where the instruction language is Swedish, the country's other official language. The command language is, however, Finnish.
The Utti Jaeger Regiment is the Finnish Army training and development centre for special forces and helicopter operations in charge of the Army Special Forces Unit and the Special Forces Qualification Course.
The Artillery Brigade was a Finnish Army unit stationed in Niinisalo in western Finland. The Artillery Brigade trained conscripts and regular personnel for wartime artillery duties. In addition, it provided weather service in the Niinisalo region, and trained most of the Finnish Defence Forces' dogs. The total strength of the brigade was some 800 conscripts and 400 regular civilian and military personnel. On 1 January 2015, it was merged with the Pori Brigade.
The Reserve Officer School, located in Hamina, Finland, near the southeastern border, is responsible for the training of most Finnish reserve officers.
The Helsinki Air Defence Regiment is unit of the Armoured Brigade in Parola. The regiment was previously an independent Finnish Army unit located in Hyrylä. The regiment trained 800 conscripts per year.
The Armoured Brigade is a Finnish Army training unit located in Parolannummi, Hattula, in southern Finland. The brigade specialises in training armoured and anti-aircraft troops. In case of mobilization, the Finnish Defence Forces would field one armoured brigade. The war-time armoured brigade has a strength of around 5,700 men, and fields 63 main battle tanks, 110 infantry fighting vehicles, circa 100 armoured personnel carriers, mainly of Soviet origin, and roughly 70 other armoured vehicles. However, the remaining war-time armoured brigade is being phased out and replaced by smaller mechanized battle groups. The new mechanized battle groups will field the Leopard 2 MBTs that are not included in the organization of the contemporary war-time armoured brigades.
The Jaeger Brigade (Jääkäriprikaati) is a unit of the Finnish Army. The unit is located in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, some 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. The brigade trains 1600 conscripts per year. The brigade has two main units: Lapland Jaeger Battalion in Sodankylä and Lapland Air Defence Battalion at Rovaniemi air base.
Häme Regiment, was a unit of the Finnish Army located in Lahti. The regiment's main duty was to train conscripts and the personnel of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Frontier Guard.
Kainuu brigade is a Finnish Army unit situated in Kajaani. The brigade is one of the biggest army units, training approximately 4000 conscripts annually. The Kainuu Brigade is one of the three readiness brigades in the Finnish Army. The brigade trains troops for war-time Kainuu Jäger Brigade.
The Military ranks of Finland are the military insignia used by the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks incorporates features from Swedish, German, and Russian armed forces. In addition, the system has some typically Finnish characteristics that are mostly due to the personnel structure of the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks have official names in Finnish and Swedish languages and official English translations. The Swedish forms are used in all Swedish-languages communications in Finland, e.g. in Swedish-speaking units of Finnish Defence Force. The system of ranks in the Swedish Armed Forces is slightly different.
The Pori Brigade, based in Huovinrinne, Säkylä and Niinisalo, Kankaanpää is a Finnish Army unit, directly under the Army headquarters. It comprises six battalion-level units and also trains soldiers for the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force.
Karelia Brigade is one of the three Finnish Army readiness brigades. It is currently based at Valkeala. With some three thousand soldiers it is the second largest brigade in Finland. It is the only Finnish brigade providing training in all Army branches and houses the Finnish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre of Excellence. As of 2023, its commander is brigadier general Jyri Raitasalo.
The Battle of Tornio was the first major engagement between Nazi Germany and Finland in the Lapland War; although hostilities had already begun elsewhere.
The Battle of Rovaniemi was an event during the 1944 Lapland War. The actual fighting between the components of the Finnish Armoured Division and Finnish 3rd Division against the troops of the German Twentieth Mountain Army took place at the vicinity of the town of Rovaniemi. The notoriety of the encounter derives from the near-total destruction of the town.
The 155 GH 52 APU, Finnish designation 155 K 98, is a Finnish towed artillery piece developed in 1998. It is largely based on the 155 K 83 with some major enhancements. It can be moved on the field short distances with its own auxiliary diesel engine, which is used in all 56 units used by the Finnish defence forces, is a 78-kilowatt Deutz diesel engine. The Egyptian units are not equipped with the APU.
The Lapland Air Command is the peace-time Finnish Air Force unit responsible for the protection of the airspace of northern Finland. The headquarters of the air command is located in the present-day province of Lapland, at Rovaniemi Airport.
During World War II, the Lapland War saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. Though the Finns and the Germans had been fighting together against the Soviet Union since 1941 during the Continuation War (1941–1944), peace negotiations between the Finnish government and the Allies of World War II had been conducted intermittently during 1943–1944, but no agreement had been reached. The Moscow Armistice, signed on 19 September 1944, demanded that Finland break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland.
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