Thesleff began a military career in 1894 Hamina Cadet School from which he graduated in 1901. He continued his military studies in St Petersburg, Nicholas General Staff Academy in the years 1904–1907, and the Officers Cavalry School 1910–1911. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 12 June 1912.
Thesleff attended the first world war the Russian army in 1914–1917, until he was taken prisoner by the Germans in Riga in September 1917. In October 1917 he was transferred by request of the military committee to serve as a liaison officer between the Finnish Jäger battalion fighting under the German command and the Germans. He deposed the unpopular Colonel Nikolai Mexmontan. He was commander of the 27th Jäger Battalion from 6 November 1917 until 25 February 1918. In March 1918 he was appointed as a liaison officer with the Baltic Sea Division during the Finnish Civil War.
After the Finnish Civil War Thesleff became the War Minister, 27 May 1918 – 27 November 1918 in the first cabinet of Juho Kusti Paasikivi. He was promoted to the rank of Major General, 14 June 1918. After the resignation of Major General Wilkman, as a war minister, Thesleff became commander in chief of the Finnish military forces on 13 August 1918.
Paasikivi cabinet had been leaning towards Imperial Germany. When Germany was defeated in the First World War the cabinet resigned. This also meant the end of Thesleff's political career.
Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo was a Finnish lieutenant general, a knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger Movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War, Continuation War and the Lapland War.
Axel Erik Heinrichs was a Finnish military general. He was Finland's Chief of the General Staff during the Interim Peace and Continuation War and Chief of Defence for a short time after the war (1945).
Paavo Juho Talvela was a Finnish general of the infantry, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Finnish Kinship Wars, the Winter War and the Continuation War.
Ernst Ruben Lagus, better known as Ruben Lagus, was a Finnish major general, a member of the Jäger Movement and the recipient of the first Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I as a volunteer of the 27th Royal Prussian Jäger Battalion, in the Finnish Civil War as battalion commander and as a supply officer in the Winter War. During the Continuation War, he commanded an armoured brigade, later division, which had a significant role in the influential Battle of Tali-Ihantala.
The 27th Jäger Battalion, officially called the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion was a jäger battalion of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit mainly consisted of Finnish volunteers that were a part of the Jäger movement.
Krišjānis Berķis was a Latvian general. Rising to prominence as an officer of the Latvian Riflemen in World War I, he was promoted to the rank of general during the Latvian War of Independence, and served on the Army General Staff after the war. After the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States, he was deported to Siberia and died in a Gulag labor camp.
Mustang is a military slang term used in the United States Armed Forces to refer to a commissioned officer who began their career as an enlisted service member. A mustang officer is not a temporary or brevet promotion but is a commissioned officer who receives more pay according to their rank of O1-E, O2-E, etc., but has no more command responsibilities than those of any commissioned officer of the same grade.
The Hamina Cadet School and Finland Cadet School were the common names for the Fredrikshamn cadet school during the period 1819–1901. The Cadet School was founded in 1780 by Georg Magnus Sprengtporten at Kuopio and transferred in 1781 to Rantasalmi where it was called Haapaniemi Cadet School. In 1819, after the School was transferred to Hamina the name was changed accordingly, in common usage.
Johan Woldemar Hägglund was a Finnish lieutenant general in the Finnish Army in the Second World War, and an early volunteer of the Jäger Movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War, commanding army corps in the latter two. Between 1944 and 1945, he was in charge of a committee investigating Finnish war crimes, especially those committed against prisoners-of-war.
Kalervo Kurkiala was a Finnish soldier who later became a pastor. During World War I, he served as a volunteer in the German light infantry, his first engagement being on the Misa River in Latvia on the eastern front in 1916. He was a battalion commander in the White Army during the Finnish Civil War, which broke out in 1918. After being ordained in 1919, for a while he was an army chaplain before assuming civilian duties as a pastor and teacher. For several years, he served with the Seamen's mission in Australia. During World War II, in 1941, Kurkiala volunteered as chaplain to the Finnish volunteer brigade in the Waffen-SS. After the war, for many years, he was a pastor in Sweden.
Väinö Lahja Richard Valve was a Finnish general, navy commander and the last living member of the Royal Prussian Jägerbattalion 27 formed from Finnish volunteers.
Martin Wetzer was a Finnish jurist and general. He fought in World War I and during the Finnish Civil War fought on the side of the White movement. He also commanded Finnish volunteers in the Estonian War of Independence. He retired with the rank of lieutenant general and was promoted to general of the infantry in retirement.
Armas-Eino Martola was a Finnish general of the infantry, a knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger Movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. In his later years, he acted as the military advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld and led the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus from 1966 to 1969.
During the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923, a number of former Tsarist officers joined the Red Army, either voluntarily or as a result of coercion. This list includes officers of the Imperial Russian Army commissioned before 1917 who joined the Bolsheviks as commanders or as military specialists. For former Tsarist NCOs promoted under the Soviets, see Mustang.
Taavetti Laatikainen was a Finnish General of Infantry and a member of the Jäger movement. He fought in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. During the last of these, he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross of Liberty 2nd Class. Before the Winter War, he commanded both the Reserve Officer School and the Officer Cadet School. He retired in 1948 from the position of Inspector of Infantry.
Gunnar Isak Lindqvist was a Finnish Jäger and a senior lieutenant in the Estonian Army. He had received military training during the First World War as a Jäger and received his baptism of fire on the Eastern Front at Misse River in 1916. Later, he took part in the Finnish Civil War in the White Army as a signals officer and in the Estonian War of Independence as a battalion commander. During his life he served in the armies of three states and was a veteran of the six wars. In the 1930s and 1940s, Lindqvist took part in several Nazi groups.
Carl Lennart Nordensvan, was a Finnish soldier and automobile businessman. He is notable for his service as a member of the Finnish Jäger Movement during the First World War and in the Finnish Civil War, for organizing the Finnish Army Automobile Troops following the civil war, as well as for his pioneering efforts in the automobile industry and motor sports in Finland.
Einar Nikolai Mäkinen was a Finnish lieutenant general and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. Before the Continuation War, he participated in negotiations with the Germans regarding plans for the war.
Kustaa Anders Tapola was a Finnish General of Infantry and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross. He participated in the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and the Continuation War. In addition to commanding formations up to the size of an army corps, he held several notable staff positions, such as Army Chief-of-Staff, Chief of the General Headquarters Operations Section, Commandant of the War College, and Inspector of Military Schools and Infantry.
Bruno Jalander was a Finnish military officer who served as minister of war in the post-World War I period between 1920 and 1923.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
