The Lions of Finland

After more than 100 years of subjugation by Russia, Finland took advantage of the power vacuum created by the Bolshevik uprising and resulting demise of the royal house of Romanov in 1917 to proclaim its independence. The preservation of this independence was not an easy task. The Finnish military had a civil war against the Reds in 1918, and was again called into action in 1939 at the outbreak of the so-called Winter War, when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, disregarding the provisions of the Tartu. The Winter War lasted only a few months before a peace treaty was signed, but the cost of Finland was the loss of 11% of its territory. It is therefore no surprise that when Germany launched an attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Finland saw an opportunity to regain what had been lost and allied with Germany. This alliance lasted only until 1944, when Finland, realizing that Germany was going to lose the Soviet Union and threatened its continued existence as an independent nation, signed an armistice with the Russians. This led to a number of skirmishes between Finnish and German forces, that is in Finnish history books, as far as the Lapland War, with minimal casualties on both sides. Thanks to the political dexterity of the government and the small-scale government of Finland, Finland was able to preserve its independence throughout World War II and beyond. The Finnish armed forces had given the Russians a bloody nose during the Winter War of 1939 - 1940, and in 1944 - 1945 they managed to force the German army out of Finland. It is a part of the Soviet Union, Finland remains independent and independent nation. This is largely due to the prowess, energy and courage or military leadership during the first twenty-year years of the nation's existence. It is these leaders who are featured in this book, the first of these in the Dutch language. The 111 generals and admirals who led Finland to independence, and who served to the independence of the War of Independence, World War II and beyond, these lions of Finland, are long gone. Today a new generation of generals and admirals commands the armed forces of this nation, inheritors or a proud tradition of military leadership. Andris Kursietis has been a researcher on military history for about forty years, using resources that span the globe. This latest book, "Lions of Finland" provides information about the military generators and admirals that served the Republic of Finland during 1918 - 1945. For his previous work on the Hungarian military, the Hungarian Knightly Order of Vitéz in 1997 awarded Kursietis its Cross of Merit. He is also the Silver Medal of Merit from the World Federation of Hungarian Veterans, and the Silver and Bronze Service Crosses from the International Hungarian Military History Preservation Society.