Viena expedition
Encyclopedia
The Viena expedition was a military expedition in March 1918 by Finnish
volunteer forces to annex White Karelia (Vienan Karjala) from Bolshevist Russia
. It was one of the many "kinship wars" (Heimosodat
) fought near the newly independent Finland during the Russian Civil War
. The Russian East Karelia
was never a part of the Swedish Empire
or the Grand Duchy of Finland
and it was at the time mostly inhabited by Karelians
. However, many advocates of a Greater Finland
considered these Karelians a "kindred" Finnish nation and supported the annexation of Russian East Karelia to Finland.
led by Lieutenant
Kurt Martti Wallenius
. Initial operations in Northern Finland were successful and the Red Finns were forced to withdraw to Eastern Karelia. He and his light infantry crossed the border at Kuusamo
but got bogged down in fighting the Finnish Red Guards
. Low level of training and the low morale of the conscripted troops made any advance impossible and only withdrawal of the defending Red Finns allowed the White Finns to advance a small distance until the troops again mutinied at the goals of the operations having passed the state border. In the end the force was withdrawn back within Finnish borders and performed only small incursions into East Karelia.
Carl Wilhelm Malm and consisted of about 350 volunteers. By 10 April, Malm's group had advanced as far as the coastal town of Kem on the White Sea
. Malm was unable to capture the town and retreated to Uhtua where he began defending western White Sea Karelia. The Finns now switched tactics and adopted a village-by-village strategy of persuading locals to join the Finnish volunteer side.
When the Finnish troops arrived in White Sea Karelia they noticed that the population was divided. A part of the population wanted to secede from Russia and form an independent Karelia
separate from Finland. However, a larger part of the population just wanted some form of autonomy. Many thought they would get autonomy as part of Bolshevist Russia
. A small minority of the population wanted Karelia to be joined to the new state of Finland. Most importantly, for the great majority of the population, practical issues (such as ensuring having enough food) were more important than ideological issues. In the end, the proposal to join East Karelia to Finland received support in the White Karelian villages around Uhtua. Local Finnish White Guard (Suojeluskunta) militias were formed in over 20 villages in that area. In July, Malm was recalled back to Finland and in his place Captain Toivo Kuisma was placed in charge of the Finnish troops. The Finnish government could not decide whether to recall the troops or to send reinforcements.
of 130 British Royal Marine Light Infantry on 6 March to prevent the Germans (and their Finnish allies) from gaining the White Sea coast and the Murmansk Railroad. By June 1918, an assortment of British Royal Marines, French artillerymen, part of a Serb battalion, Poles, Red Russians from the Murmansk Soviet, and some Red Finns occupied the railway line from Murmansk south as far as Kem. The arrival of British reinforcements and an Allied plan for them to link up with anti-Bolshevik units in Siberia prompted Trotsky, now at peace with the Germans, to send 3,000 Red troops northwards. In July these troops were disarmed and seen off by the British, who advanced as far south as Sorokka. British-led forces defending the railway line included a battalion of 1,400 Red Finns and the Karelian regiment also known as the "Irish Karelians" after Colonel P.J. Woods
of the Royal Irish Rifles who raised and led the regiment formed of the local Karelians.
The situation of the Viena expedition began to deteriorate. The Karelian regiment stationed in Kem attacked the Finnish troops at Jyskyjärvi on 27 August. 18 men were lost. The next attack came against Luusalmi on 8 September when 42 Finns were killed. The following battles were fought at Kostamus and Vuokkiniemi in September–October. The Finnish troops withdrew to Finland on 2 October. Of these troops, 195 survived and made their way home; 83 were killed. The British forces withdrew in October 1919 and the situation of the Russian White Army collapsed.
and Porajärvi in East Karelia had held a vote to join Finland, but Finland gave up all claims to East Karelia
in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu
.
Two years later, after the end of the British expeditionary forces had left Russia and Bolshevik control was established, a group of Karelian irredentia
supported by Finnish volunteers began an uprising in an attempt to form their own state.
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...
volunteer forces to annex White Karelia (Vienan Karjala) from Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. It was one of the many "kinship wars" (Heimosodat
Heimosodat
The term in Finnish historiography heimosodat in English literally "Kindred Nations Wars", "Wars for kindred peoples" or "Kinship Wars" for Finnic kinship. It is often erroneously translated as "Tribal Wars"...
) fought near the newly independent Finland during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. The Russian 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...
was never a part of the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
or the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
and it was at the time mostly inhabited by Karelians
Karelians
The Karelians are a Baltic-Finnic ethnic group living mostly in the Republic of Karelia and in other north-western parts of the Russian Federation. The historic homeland of Karelians includes also parts of present-day Eastern Finland and the formerly Finnish territory of Ladoga Karelia...
. However, many advocates of a Greater Finland
Greater Finland
Greater Finland was an idea which was born in some irredentist movements emphasizing pan-Finnicism and expressed a Finnish version of pre-World War II European nationalism. It was imagined to include Finland as well as territories inhabited by ethnically-related Finnic peoples: Finns, Karelians,...
considered these Karelians a "kindred" Finnish nation and supported the annexation of Russian East Karelia to Finland.
Northern Group
The expedition was made up of two groups. One group was Finnish Jäger troopsFinnish 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...
led by Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Kurt Martti Wallenius
Kurt Martti Wallenius
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...
. Initial operations in Northern Finland were successful and the Red Finns were forced to withdraw to Eastern Karelia. He and his light infantry crossed the border at 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 ....
but got bogged down in fighting the Finnish Red Guards
Red Guards (Finland)
The Red Guards formed the army of Red Finland during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The combined strength of the Red Guard was about 30,000 at the beginning of the Civil War, and peaked at 90,000-120,000 during the course of the conflict....
. Low level of training and the low morale of the conscripted troops made any advance impossible and only withdrawal of the defending Red Finns allowed the White Finns to advance a small distance until the troops again mutinied at the goals of the operations having passed the state border. In the end the force was withdrawn back within Finnish borders and performed only small incursions into East Karelia.
Initial Operations
The other group was led by Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Carl Wilhelm Malm and consisted of about 350 volunteers. By 10 April, Malm's group had advanced as far as the coastal town of Kem on the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
. Malm was unable to capture the town and retreated to Uhtua where he began defending western White Sea Karelia. The Finns now switched tactics and adopted a village-by-village strategy of persuading locals to join the Finnish volunteer side.
When the Finnish troops arrived in White Sea Karelia they noticed that the population was divided. A part of the population wanted to secede from Russia and form an independent Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
separate from Finland. However, a larger part of the population just wanted some form of autonomy. Many thought they would get autonomy as part of Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. A small minority of the population wanted Karelia to be joined to the new state of Finland. Most importantly, for the great majority of the population, practical issues (such as ensuring having enough food) were more important than ideological issues. In the end, the proposal to join East Karelia to Finland received support in the White Karelian villages around Uhtua. Local Finnish White Guard (Suojeluskunta) militias were formed in over 20 villages in that area. In July, Malm was recalled back to Finland and in his place Captain Toivo Kuisma was placed in charge of the Finnish troops. The Finnish government could not decide whether to recall the troops or to send reinforcements.
British Intervention
The situation became more complicated with the landing in MurmanskMurmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
of 130 British Royal Marine Light Infantry on 6 March to prevent the Germans (and their Finnish allies) from gaining the White Sea coast and the Murmansk Railroad. By June 1918, an assortment of British Royal Marines, French artillerymen, part of a Serb battalion, Poles, Red Russians from the Murmansk Soviet, and some Red Finns occupied the railway line from Murmansk south as far as Kem. The arrival of British reinforcements and an Allied plan for them to link up with anti-Bolshevik units in Siberia prompted Trotsky, now at peace with the Germans, to send 3,000 Red troops northwards. In July these troops were disarmed and seen off by the British, who advanced as far south as Sorokka. British-led forces defending the railway line included a battalion of 1,400 Red Finns and the Karelian regiment also known as the "Irish Karelians" after Colonel P.J. Woods
Philip James Woods
Colonel Philip James Woods, DSO was an independent unionist politician in Northern Ireland, member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons. He was a colonel in the Royal Irish Rifles and also worked as a textile designer.-Military career:A staunch Imperialist, P.J. Woods had an eventful career...
of the Royal Irish Rifles who raised and led the regiment formed of the local Karelians.
The situation of the Viena expedition began to deteriorate. The Karelian regiment stationed in Kem attacked the Finnish troops at Jyskyjärvi on 27 August. 18 men were lost. The next attack came against Luusalmi on 8 September when 42 Finns were killed. The following battles were fought at Kostamus and Vuokkiniemi in September–October. The Finnish troops withdrew to Finland on 2 October. Of these troops, 195 survived and made their way home; 83 were killed. The British forces withdrew in October 1919 and the situation of the Russian White Army collapsed.
Outcome
In the end the expedition failed due British efforts to prevent then German aligned Finland from gaining access to the Murmansk railroad. In addition, British forces in the region made an effort to instill a sense of nationalism (i.e. to form a Karelian state) to fight against the Finnish effort to annex East Karelia. Also the support of the expedition from the Finnish government waned with the fortunes of the Germans. After the Viena expedition, the parishes of RepolaRepola
Repola is a parish in the Republic of Karelia of the Russian Federation by the Finnish border. In 1926 the parish had a population of 1465.After Finland's declaration of independence the parish became an issue in Finnish-Russian relations when its population held a vote in August 1918 to join...
and Porajärvi in East Karelia had held a vote to join Finland, but Finland gave up all claims to 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...
in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu
Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)
The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed on 14 October 1920 after negotiations that lasted for four months. The treaty confirmed the border between Finland and Soviet Russia after the Finnish civil war and Finnish volunteer expeditions in Russian East Karelia. Ratifications...
.
Two years later, after the end of the British expeditionary forces had left Russia and Bolshevik control was established, a group of Karelian irredentia
Irredentism
Irredentism is any position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. Some of these movements are also called pan-nationalist movements. It is a feature of identity politics and cultural...
supported by Finnish volunteers began an uprising in an attempt to form their own state.
See also
- Aunus expeditionAunus expeditionThe Aunus expedition was an attempt by Finnish volunteers to occupy parts of East Karelia in 1919, during the Russian Civil War. Aunus is the Finnish name for Olonets Karelia...
- Finnish Civil WarFinnish Civil WarThe 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...
- Metsäsissit
- North Russia CampaignNorth Russia CampaignThe North Russia Intervention, also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, was part of the Allied Intervention in Russia after the October Revolution. The intervention brought about the involvement of foreign troops in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White movement...
- Pork mutinyPork mutinyThe Pork mutiny was an incident in Northern Finland in 1922. On February 2 a group of armed Red Guard members crossed the Finnish-Soviet border near Kuolajärvi and Savukoski. They advanced to a logging yard owned by Kemijoki Oy...