Kurt Martti Wallenius
Encyclopedia
Kurt Martti Wallenius was a Finnish
Major General
.
Wallenius was a member of the Finnish Jäger troops
trained in Germany
prior to Finnish independence. In 1915 Wallenius travelled to Germany
where he enrolled in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion
. He took part in the battles on the Misse River.
After returning to Finland Wallenius took part in the Finnish Civil War
of 1918 on the side of the anti-Communist
Whites
. He commanded a platoon
in Tervola
and Tornio
. In Lapland Wallenius met reindeer herder Aleksis Hihnavaara, with whom he travelled around Lapland and became good friends. He was later appointed the commander of the troops around Kuolajärvi and Kuusamo
. Here he was given the command of the northern group in the failed Viena expedition
in March 1918 which tried to annex parts of East Karelia
to Finland.
After the Civil War Wallenius commanded the troops in North-Western Finland, the Salla Regiment and the 1st Border Guard Regiment of Lapland. In the 1920s he was briefly made a military attaché in Berlin
. In 1930 Wallenius was promoted to the rank of Major General
. However, he was forced to retire in that year when he was implicated in the kidnapping of the former President of the Republic Kaarlo Ståhlberg
, though he finally was acquitted of all charges.
In the 1930s Wallenius became involved in right-wing activities, becoming the secretary-general of the Lapua movement
. In this capacity he was involved in the so-called Mäntsälä rebellion
. Wallenius was imprisoned twice for a total of over one year.
In the Winter War
Wallenius commanded the Finnish troops in Lapland. When the Winter War
began, the Commander-in-Chief
of Finnish troops Mannerheim
appointed Wallenius as the commander of the Lapland Group
. The troops under his command, though outnumbered, repulsed Soviet
troops at Salla
and Petsamo
. Once the front in Lapland had stabilized, Wallenius handed the command over to Swedish volunteers under Lieutenant General
Ernst Linder in February 1940. Wallenius and most of his troops were sent to the southermost point of the front to western shore of the Bay of Viipuri, where the Red Army
had crossed the frozen gulf. Wallenius protested this new assignment, thinking he was being punished for his past sins. The situation was critical and terrain totally different from what Wallenius and his men were used to. Wallenius failed to prevent the Red Army
from gaining a foothold from the western shore of the bay, and there were reports that he was drinking heavily. Wallenius was dishonorably discharged in early March 1940, only after three days in command, and replaced by Lieutenant General
Karl Lennart Oesch
. Wallenius was removed from the Defence Forces officer lists.
Once the Continuation War
began in June 1941, Wallenius failed to get a command. He lived in retirement in Rovaniemen maalaiskunta
writing books and articles.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
.
Wallenius was a member of the Finnish Jäger troops
Finnish Jäger troops
The Jäger Movement were volunteers from Finland trained in Germany as Jägers during World War I. Supported by Germany to enable a Finnish sovereign state, it was one of many means by which Germany intended to weaken Russia and to cause Russia's loss of western provinces and...
trained in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prior to Finnish independence. In 1915 Wallenius travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he enrolled in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion
Finnish Jäger troops
The Jäger Movement were volunteers from Finland trained in Germany as Jägers during World War I. Supported by Germany to enable a Finnish sovereign state, it was one of many means by which Germany intended to weaken Russia and to cause Russia's loss of western provinces and...
. He took part in the battles on the Misse River.
After returning to Finland Wallenius took part in the Finnish Civil War
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...
of 1918 on the side of the anti-Communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
Whites
White Guard (Finland)
The White Guard was a voluntary militia that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guard as part of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918...
. He commanded a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
in Tervola
Tervola
Tervola is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is.The municipality is unilingually Finnish.-External links:...
and Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
. In Lapland Wallenius met reindeer herder Aleksis Hihnavaara, with whom he travelled around Lapland and became good friends. He was later appointed the commander of the troops around Kuolajärvi and Kuusamo
Kuusamo
Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
. Here he was given the command of the northern group in the failed Viena expedition
Viena expedition
The Viena expedition was a military expedition in March 1918 by Finnish volunteer forces to annex White Karelia from Bolshevist Russia. It was one of the many "kinship wars" fought near the newly independent Finland during the Russian Civil War...
in March 1918 which tried to annex parts of East Karelia
East Karelia
East Karelia , also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Christian Orthodox under Russian supremacy. It is separated from the western part of Karelia, called Finnish Karelia or historically Swedish...
to Finland.
After the Civil War Wallenius commanded the troops in North-Western Finland, the Salla Regiment and the 1st Border Guard Regiment of Lapland. In the 1920s he was briefly made a military attaché in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In 1930 Wallenius was promoted to the rank of Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
. However, he was forced to retire in that year when he was implicated in the kidnapping of the former President of the Republic Kaarlo Ståhlberg
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg was a Finnish jurist and academic, who played a central role in the drafting of the Constitution of Finland in 1919. He was the first President of Finland and a nationalist liberal.-Early life:...
, though he finally was acquitted of all charges.
In the 1930s Wallenius became involved in right-wing activities, becoming the secretary-general of the Lapua movement
Lapua Movement
The Lapua Movement , was a Finnish radical nationalist and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. After radicalisation it turned towards far-right politics and was banned after a failed coup-d'état in 1932...
. In this capacity he was involved in the so-called Mäntsälä rebellion
Mäntsälä rebellion
The Mäntsälä rebellion was a failed coup attempt by the Lapua Movement to overthrow the Finnish government.On February 27, 1932 some 400 armed members of the Suojeluskunta militia interrupted a meeting of Social Democrats in Mäntsälä with small arms fire...
. Wallenius was imprisoned twice for a total of over one year.
In the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
Wallenius commanded the Finnish troops in Lapland. When the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
began, the Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of Finnish troops Mannerheim
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...
appointed Wallenius as the commander of the Lapland Group
Lapland Group
The Lapland Group was a formation of the Finnish Army during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. The Group was formed on 13 December 1939 from troops of the North Finland Group. The Group was placed under the command of Major General Kurt Martti Wallenius and had its headquarters...
. The troops under his command, though outnumbered, repulsed Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
troops at Salla
Salla
Salla is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
and Petsamo
Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...
. Once the front in Lapland had stabilized, Wallenius handed the command over to Swedish volunteers under Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Ernst Linder in February 1940. Wallenius and most of his troops were sent to the southermost point of the front to western shore of the Bay of Viipuri, where the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had crossed the frozen gulf. Wallenius protested this new assignment, thinking he was being punished for his past sins. The situation was critical and terrain totally different from what Wallenius and his men were used to. Wallenius failed to prevent the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
from gaining a foothold from the western shore of the bay, and there were reports that he was drinking heavily. Wallenius was dishonorably discharged in early March 1940, only after three days in command, and replaced by Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Karl Lennart Oesch
Karl Lennart Oesch
Karl Lennart Oesch was one of the leading Finnish generals during World War II. He held a string of high staff assignments and front commands, and at the end of the Continuation War fully two-thirds of the Finnish ground forces were under his command...
. Wallenius was removed from the Defence Forces officer lists.
Once the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
began in June 1941, Wallenius failed to get a command. He lived in retirement in Rovaniemen maalaiskunta
Rovaniemen maalaiskunta
Rovaniemen maalaiskunta was a municipality of Finland. It merged with the city of Rovaniemi on January 1, 2006.It was located in the province of Lapland. The municipality had a population of 21,803 and covered an area of 7,915.51 km² of which 409.06 km² was water. The population density...
writing books and articles.