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{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Finnish Civil War
| partof = [[World War I]], [[Revolutions of 1917-1923]]
| image = [[File:Tampereen taistelun aikana tuhoutunutta Tammelan kaupunginosaa (26696844330).jpg|300px]]
| caption = [[Tampere]]'s civilian buildings destroyed in the Civil War
| date = 27 January – 15 May 1918<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=01|day1=27|year1=1918|month2=05|day2=15|year2=1918}})
| place = [[Finland]]
| result = {{unbulleted list|Victory of the Finnish Whites|German [[hegemony]] until November 1918|Division in Finnish society}}
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[White Guard (Finland)|Finnish Whites]]<br> {{flag|German Empire}}<ref>Including conspirative co-operation between Germany and Russian Bolsheviks 1914–1918, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|McMeekin|2017|pp=125–136}}</ref><br>[[Swedes|Swedish]], [[Estonians|Estonian]], [[Poles|Polish]] volunteers
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Red Guards (Finland)|Finnish Reds]]<br> {{Flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Soviet Russia]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hannes Ignatius]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Ernst Linder]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Ernst Löfström]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Martin Wetzer]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Karl Fredrik Wilkama|Karl Wilkman]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} Hans von Tschirsky und von Bögendorff<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} Konrad Wolf<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Otto von Brandenstein]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Hugo Meurer]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hjalmar Frisell]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} Harald Hjalmarson<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hans Kalm]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} Stanislaw Prus-Boguslawski
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Ali Aaltonen]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Eero Haapalainen]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Eino Rahja]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Adolf Taimi]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Evert Eloranta]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Kullervo Manner]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[August Wesley]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Hugo Salmela]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} Heikki Kaljunen<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} Fredrik Johansson<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Verner Lehtimäki]]<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} Konstantin Yeremejev<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Mikhail Svechnikov]]<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Georgij Bulatsel]]
| strength1 = White Guards 80,000–90,000<br />[[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] 1,450<br />[[Imperial German Army]] 14,000<br />[[Swedes|Swedish]] Brigade 1,000<ref name="Strength">{{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=19–24}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993a|pp=24–93}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=107, 267–273, 377–391}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref><br />[[Estonians|Estonian]] volunteers<ref>{{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=55–63}}</ref><br>[[Polish Legion in Finland|Polish Legion]] 1,737<ref>{{Harvnb|Muilu|2010|pp=87–90}}</ref>
| strength2 = Red Guards 80,000–90,000 (2,600 women)<br />Former [[Russian Imperial Army]] 7,000–10,000<ref name="Strength"/>
| casualties1 = '''Whites''' <br>3,500 killed in action<br />1,650 executed<br />46 missing<br />4 [[POW]] deaths<br>'''Swedes'''<br>55 killed in action<br>'''Germans'''<br>450–500 killed in action<ref name="Casualties">{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=191–200, 453–460}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|}}, [http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/stat2 National Archive of Finland 2004], {{Harvnb|Roselius|2004|pp=165–176}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|Kalleinen|2004|pp=267–271}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|pp=53–72}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref><br>'''Total'''<br>5,700–5,800 casualties (100–200 neutral/"White" civilians)
| casualties2 = '''Reds''' <br>5,700 killed in action<br />10,000 executed<br />1,150 missing<br />12,500 POWs deceased, 700 acute deaths after release<br>'''Russians'''<br>800–900 killed in action<br>1,600 executed<ref name="Casualties"/><br>'''Total'''<br>32,500 casualties (100–200 neutral/"Red" civilians)
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Finnish Civil War}}
| alt = Ruinous buildings, with only the parts made out of concrete left standing, after the Battle in Tampere.
}}The '''Finnish Civil War'''<ref>Legacy includes war designations: '''Brethren War''', '''Citizen War''', '''Class War''', '''Freedom War''', '''Red Rebellion''' and '''Revolution''', {{Harvnb|Tepora|Roselius|2014b|pp=1–16}}. According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''[[Aamulehti]]'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil War 29%, Citizen War 25%, Class War 13%, Freedom War 11%, Red Rebellion 5%, Revolution 1%, other name 2% and no answer 14%, {{Harvnb|Aamulehti|2008|p=16}}</ref> (27 January – 15 May 1918; {{Lang-fi|Suomen sisällissota}}; {{Lang-sv|Finska inbördeskriget}}; {{lang-rus|Гражданская война в Финляндии|}}; {{Lang-de|Finnischer Bürgerkrieg}}) was a conflict for the leadership and control of [[Finland]] during the country's transition from a [[Grand Duchy of Finland|Grand Duchy]] of the [[Russian Empire]] to an independent state. The clashes in Finland took place in the context of [[Aftermath of World War I|the national, political, and social turmoil]] caused by [[World War I]] ([[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]) in [[Europe]]. The civil war was fought between the ''Reds'', led by the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]], and the ''Whites'', conducted by the non-socialist, [[conservatism|conservative]]-based [[Senate of Finland|Senate]]. The [[paramilitary]] [[Red Guards (Finland)|Red Guards]], composed of industrial and agrarian workers, controlled the cities and industrial centers of southern Finland. The paramilitary [[White Guard (Finland)|White Guards]], composed of peasants, along with middle-class and upper-class social strata, controlled rural central and northern Finland.
In the years before the conflict, Finnish society had experienced rapid population growth, [[industrialization]], pre-urbanization and the rise of a comprehensive [[labour movement]]. The country's political and governmental systems were in an unstable phase of [[democratization]] and modernization. The socio-economic condition of the population had gradually improved, while national-cultural feeling had also grown stronger. World War I led to the collapse of the Russian Empire and a power struggle, militarization and escalating crisis between the left-leaning Finnish labour movement and the Finnish conservatives.
The Reds carried out an unsuccessful general offensive in February 1918, supplied with weapons by [[Soviet Russia]]. A counteroffensive by the Whites began in March, reinforced by the [[German Empire]]'s military detachments in April. The decisive engagements were the [[Battle of Tampere|Battles of Tampere]] and [[Battle of Vyborg|Vyborg]] ({{Lang-fi|Viipuri}}), won by the Whites, and the [[Battle of Helsinki|Battles of Helsinki]] and [[Battle of Lahti|Lahti]], won by German troops, leading to overall victory for the Whites and the German forces. [[Political terror]] became a part of this warfare. Around 12,500 Red [[prisoners of war]] died of malnutrition and disease in [[Finnish Civil War prison camps|camps]]. Approximately 39,000 people, of whom 36,000 were Finns, perished in the conflict.
In the aftermath, the Finns passed from Russian governance to the German [[sphere of influence]] with a plan to establish a German-led [[Kingdom of Finland (1918)|Finnish monarchy]]. The scheme was cancelled with the defeat of [[Germany]] in World War I and Finland instead emerged as an independent, democratic republic. The Civil War divided the nation for decades. Finnish society was only reunited through social compromises based on a long-term culture of moderate politics and religion and the post-war economic recovery.
==Background==
[[File:General Map of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Indicating Postal Roads, Stations and the Distance in Versts Between Them- According to the Latest Verified Data in St. Petersburg in 1825 WDL353.png|alt=A map from 1825 illustrates the Grand Duchy of Finland, then part of the Russian Empire. The map has several creases from folding. Place names and legend are written in Russian cyrillic script and Swedish.|left|thumb|A general map of Russia's Grand Duchy of Finland from 1825. The map texts are in Russian and Swedish.]]
=== International politics ===
The main factor behind the Finnish Civil War was a political crisis arising out of World War I. Under the pressures of the Great War, the Russian Empire collapsed, leading to the [[February Revolution|February]] and [[October Revolution]]s in 1917. This breakdown caused a large [[power vacuum]] and a subsequent struggle for dominance in [[Eastern Europe]]. The Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire since 1809, became embroiled in the turmoil. [[Geopolitically]] less important than the continental [[Moscow]]-[[Warsaw]] gateway, the northerly Finnish ground, isolated by the [[Baltic sea|Baltic Sea]] was a peaceful side front until early 1918. The war between the German Empire and Russia had only indirect effects on the [[Finns]]. Since the end of the 19th century, the Grand Duchy had become a vital source of [[raw materials]], industrial products, food and labour for the growing Imperial Russian capital [[Petrograd]] (modern Saint Petersburg), and World War I emphasized that role. Strategically, the Finnish territory was the less important northern section of the Estonian–Finnish gateway and a buffer zone to and from Petrograd through the [[Narva]] area, the [[Gulf of Finland]] and the [[Karelian Isthmus]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–13, 152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The German Empire saw Eastern Europe—primarily Russia—as a major source of vital products and raw materials, both during World War I and for the future. Her resources overstretched by the two-front war, Germany pursued a policy of breaking up Russia from within by providing financial support to revolutionary groups, such as the [[Bolsheviks]] and the [[Socialist Revolutionary Party]], and to radical, separatist factions, such as the Finnish activist movement leaning toward [[Pan-Germanism|Germanism]]. Between 30 and 40 million marks were spent on this endeavour. Controlling the Finnish area would allow the [[Imperial German Army]] to penetrate Petrograd and the [[Kola Peninsula]], an area rich in raw materials for the mining industry. Finland possessed large ore reserves and a well-developed forest industry.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–13, 152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=54–64}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=15–40}}</ref>
From 1809 to 1898, a period called ''Pax Russica'', the peripheral authority of the Finns gradually increased, and Russo-Finnish relations were exceptionally peaceful in comparison with other parts of the Russian Empire. Russia's defeat in the [[Crimean War]] in the 1850s led to attempts to speed up the modernization of the country. This caused more than 50 years of economic, industrial, cultural and educational progress in the Grand Duchy of Finland, including an improvement in the status of the Finnish language. All this encouraged Finnish nationalism and cultural unity through the birth of the [[Fennoman movement]], which bound the Finns to the domestic administration and led to the idea that the Grand Duchy was an increasingly autonomous state of the Russian Empire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=13–15, 30–32}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=110–114, 150–196}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–73}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|p=397}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=81–148, 264–282}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=108–165}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In 1899, the Russian Empire initiated a policy of integration through the [[Russification of Finland]]. The strengthened, [[Pan-Slavism|pan-slavist]] central power tried to unite the "Russian Multinational Dynastic Union" as the military and strategic situation of Russia became more perilous due of the rise of Germany and [[Japan]]. Finns called the increased military and [[Administration (government)|administrative]] control, "the First Period of Oppression", and for the first time Finnish politicians drew up plans for disengagement from Russia or sovereignty for Finland. In the struggle against integration, activists drawn from sections of the working class and the Swedish-speaking intelligentsia carried out terrorist acts. During World War I and the rise of Germanism, the pro-Swedish [[Svecoman movement|Svecomans]] began their covert collaboration with Imperial Germany and, from 1915 to 1917, a [[Jäger Movement|Jäger]] ({{Lang-fi|jääkäri}}) battalion consisting of 1,900 Finnish volunteers was trained in Germany.<ref>{{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=13–85}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|pp=397}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=81–150, 264–282}}, {{Harvnb|Soikkanen|2008|pp=45–94}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Ahlbäck|2014|pp=254–293}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
===Domestic politics===
The major reasons for rising political tensions among Finns were the autocratic rule of the Russian [[Czar]] and the undemocratic class system of the [[estates of the realm]]. The latter system originated in the regime of the [[Swedish Empire]] that preceded Russian governance and divided the Finnish people economically, socially and politically. For centuries, the geographical area of the Finns had been a firm part of [[Sweden]]'s development of a major Nordic Empire. With the exception of language, the culture of the people did not differ substantially between the western and eastern part of Sweden, dominated as they were by the Swedish administration and the common Lutheran Church. Eventually the Finnish area became bilingual. Finland's population grew rapidly in the nineteenth century (from 860,000 in 1810 to 3,130,000 in 1917), and sizeable new formations of industrial and agrarian workers -as well as of propertyless peasants- emerged over the period. The [[Industrial Revolution]] was rapid in Finland, though it started later than in the rest of [[Western Europe]]. Industrialization was financed by the state and some of the social problems associated with the industrial process were diminished by the administration's actions. Among urban workers, socio-economic problems steepened during periods of industrial depression. The position of rural workers worsened after the end of the nineteenth century, as farming became more efficient and market-oriented and the development of industry was not vigorous enough to fully utilize the rapid population growth of the countryside.<ref> {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=29–35, 40–51}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–69, 90–97}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Engman|2009|pp=9–43}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The difference between Scandinavian-Finnish ([[Finno-Ugric peoples]]) and Russian-[[Slavic people|Slavic]] culture affected the nature of Finnish national integration. The upper social strata took the lead and gained domestic authority from the Russian Czar in 1809. The estates planned to build up an increasingly autonomous Finnish state, led by the elite and the intelligentsia. The Fennoman movement aimed to include the common people in a non-political role; the labour movement, youth associations and the temperance movement were initially led "from above".<ref>In contrast to developments in Central Europe and mainland Russia, the policies of the Swedish regime did not result in the economic, political and social authority of the upper-class being based on feudal land property and capital. The peasantry existed in relative freedom, with no tradition of serfdom, and the might of the pre-eminent estates was bound up with an interaction between state formation and industrialization. Forest industry was a vital sector for Finland and peasants owned a major part of the forest land. These economic considerations gave rise to the birth of Fennomania among a Swedish-speaking upper-class social layer. {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=19–39, 85–100}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=40–46}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
Due to industrialization between 1870–1916, social conditions and the self-confidence of workers gradually improved. But while the standard of living of the common people rose in absolute terms, the rift between rich and poor deepened markedly. The commoners' rising awareness of socio-economic and political questions interacted with the ideas of [[socialism]], [[social liberalism]] and [[nationalism]]. The workers' initiatives and the corresponding responses of the dominant authorities intensified social conflict in Finland.<ref>Socialism was the antithesis of the class system of the estates. {{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=73–133}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–69, 245–250}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=250–288, 416–449}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>[[File:Tammerkoski (22286032958).jpg|alt=A 2015, night picture of the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere. The Festival of Light has just opened and an old, large factory chimney is lit in warm red on the right side of the rapids and contrasts with the cool blue lighting of the trees beneath it. The array of colours is reflected wondrously by the water of the rapids. The city was a central point both ideologically and strategically during the Finnish Civil War and its build-up, such as the general strike of 1905. |thumb|Tampere in 2015. The city was among ideological centres in the 1905 general strike and strategic strongholds of the Finnish Civil War.|left]]The Finnish labour movement, which emerged at the end of the nineteenth century from [[temperance movement in Finland|temperance]], [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland#History|religious movements]] and Fennomania, had a Finnish nationalist, [[working-class]] character. From 1899 to 1906, the movement became conclusively independent, shedding the paternalistic thinking of the Fennoman estates, and it was represented by the Finnish Social Democratic Party, established in 1899. Workers' activism was directed both toward opposing [[Russification]] and in developing a domestic policy that tackled social problems and responded to the demand for [[democracy]]. This was a reaction to the domestic dispute, ongoing since the 1880s, between the Finnish nobility-[[bourgeoisie]] and the labour movement concerning voting rights for the common people.<ref>The power struggle for voting rights -1880–1905- was two-fold. It found expression in a peasant-clergy alliance against the nobility and burghers as a dispute over Swedish or Finnish language dominance and as a struggle for democracy between the labour movement and the elite. The peasant-clergy supported voting rights for the common people in the class system, as this increased the political power of the Finnish-speaking population within the estates. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=3–25}}, {{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1992|pp=227–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=218–225}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=289–309, 416–449}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–55}}, {{Harvnb|Olkkonen|2003|pp=517–521}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2009|pp=12–75}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}.</ref>
Despite their obligations as obedient, peaceful and non-political inhabitants of the Grand Duchy (who had, only a few decades earlier, accepted the class system as the natural order of their life), the commoners began to ask for and demand for their [[civil rights]] and [[citizenship]] in Finnish society. The power struggle between the Finnish estates and the Russian administration gave a concrete role model and free space for the labour movement. On the other side, due to at least a century-long tradition and experience of administrative authority, the Finnish elite saw itself as the inherent natural leader of the nation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1992|pp=227–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=218–225}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref> The political struggle for democracy was solved outside Finland, in international politics: the Russian Empire's failed [[Russo-Japanese War|1904–1905 war against Japan]] led to the [[Russian Revolution of 1905|1905 Revolution]] in Russia and to [[Russian Revolution of 1905#Finland|a general strike in Finland]]. In an attempt to quell the general unrest, the system of estates was abolished in the [[Parliament of Finland#History|Parliamentary Reform of 1906]]. The general strike increased support for the [[Social Democrats|social democrats]] substantially. As a proportion of the population, the party was the most powerful socialist movement in the world.<ref>The increasing political power of the left drew a part of the Finnish intelligentsia behind it, mainly Fennomans from the Old Finnish party: Julius Ailio, Edvard Gylling, Martti Kovero, Otto-Ville Kuusinen, Kullervo Manner, Hilja Pärssinen, Hannes Ryömä, Yrjö Sirola, Väinö Tanner, Karl H. Wiik, Elvira Willman, Väinö Voionmaa, Sulo Wuolijoki, Wäinö Wuolijoki (called the "November 1905 socialists"). {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=62–69, 90–97}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=250–288, 428–439}}, {{Harvnb|Nygård|2003|pp=553–565}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Payne|2011|pp=25–32}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The Reform of 1906 was a giant leap towards the political and social liberalization of the common Finnish people: the Russian [[House of Romanov]] having been the most autocratic and conservative ruler in Europe. The Finns adopted a unicameral parliamentary system, the [[Parliament of Finland]] ({{Lang-fi|eduskunta}}) with [[universal suffrage]]. The number of voters increased from 126,000 to 1,273,000, including female citizens. The reform led to the social democrats obtaining about fifty percent of the popular vote, but the Czar regained his authority after the crisis of 1905. Subsequently, during the more severe programme of Russification, called "the Second Period of Oppression" by the Finns, the Czar neutralized the power of the Finnish Parliament between 1908 and 1917. He dissolved the assembly, ordered parliamentary elections almost annually, and determined the composition of the Finnish Senate, which did not correlate with the Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–100, 101–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=230–232}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=450–482}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=62–78}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|pp=372–373, 377}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=244–263}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The capacity of the Finnish Parliament to solve socio-economic problems was stymied by confrontations between the largely uneducated commoners and the former estates. Another conflict festered as employers denied [[collective bargaining]] and the right of the labour unions to represent workers. The parliamentary process disappointed the labour movement, but as dominance in the Parliament and legislation seemed to be the workers' most likely way to obtain a more balanced society: they identified themselves with the state. Thus domestic politics led to a contest for leadership of the Finnish state during the ten years before the collapse of the Russian Empire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–100, 101–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=230–232}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=62–78}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=244–263}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
===February Revolution===
{{See also|February Revolution}}
==== Build-up ====
[[File:Demonstration at Helsinki Senate Square.jpg|thumb|A demonstration at [[Helsinki Senate Square]]. The mass meetings and local strikes of early 1917 escalated to a [[general strike]] in support of the Finnish state's power struggle and for increased availability of foodstuffs.|alt=Hundreds of demonstrators at the Helsinki Senate Square with the Helsinki Cathedral high in the background. The demonstrations were a prelude to the later local and general strikes.]]
The Second Period of Russification was halted on 15 March 1917 by the February Revolution, which removed the Russian Czar, [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]. The collapse of Russia was caused by military defeats, [[war-weariness]] against the duration and hardships of the Great War, and the collision between the most conservative regime in Europe and a Russian people desiring modernization. The Czar's power was transferred to the [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]] (Russian parliament) and the right-wing [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]], but this new authority was challenged by the [[Petrograd Soviet]] (city council), leading to [[dual power]] in the country.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=51–54}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=163–164}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=75–97}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=230–243}}</ref>
The autonomous status of 1809-1899 was returned to the Finns by the March 1917 manifesto of the Russian Provisional Government. For the first time in history, as a result of the February Revolution, ''de facto'' political power existed in the Parliament of Finland. The political left, consisting mainly of social democrats, covered a wide spectrum from moderate to revolutionary socialists. The political right was even more diverse, ranging from social liberals and moderate conservatives to rightist conservative elements. The four main parties were:
* The conservative [[Finnish Party]];
* the [[Young Finnish Party]], which included both [[liberalism|liberals]] and conservatives, with the liberals divided to [[social liberals]] and [[economic liberals]];
* the social reformist, centrist [[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]], which drew its support mainly from peasants with small or middle-sized farms; and
* the conservative [[Swedish People's Party (Finland)|Swedish People's Party]], which sought to retain the rights of the former nobility and the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish-speaking minority of Finland]].<ref>There were few [[Bolsheviks]] in Finland. Bolshevism became more popular among Finnish industrial workers who emigrated to [[Petrograd]] at the end of the nineteenth century. The Finnish Party and Young Finnish Party were descendants of the old Fennoman parties, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–132}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=56–59, 142–147}}, {{Harvnb|Nygård|2003|pp=553–565}}</ref>
During 1917, the Finns faced a detrimental interaction of a power struggle and the breakdown of society. The collapse of Russia induced a chain reaction of disintegration, starting from the government, military and economy, and spreading to all fields of society, such as local administration and individual workplaces. Citizens at all levels wanted changes and raised questions of freedom, responsibility, and morality. The social democrats wanted to retain the civil rights already achieved and to increase the socialists' power over society. The conservatives feared to lose their long-held socio-economic dominance. Both factions, trying to gain hegemony over Finns, collaborated with their equivalents in Russia, deepening the split in the nation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=109, 195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=143–149}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–14}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The [[Social Democratic Party (Finland)|Social Democratic Party]] gained an [[absolute majority]] in the [[Finnish parliamentary election, 1916|parliamentary elections of 1916]]. A new Senate was formed in March 1917 by [[Oskari Tokoi]], but it did not reflect the socialists' large parliamentary majority: it comprised six social democrats and six non-socialists. In theory, the Senate consisted of a broad national coalition, but in practice (with the main political groups unwilling to [[compromise]] and top politicians remaining outside of it), it proved unable to solve any major Finnish problem. After the February Revolution, political authority dispersed to the street level: mass meetings, strike organizations and worker-soldier councils on the left and to active organizations of employers on the right, all serving to undermine the authority of the state.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=221, 232–235}}, {{Harvnb|Kirby|2006|p=150}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The February Revolution halted the Finnish economic boom caused by the Russian war-economy. The collapse in business led to unemployment and high [[inflation]], but the workers in employment gained an opportunity to resolve long-term problems of their arduous working life. The commoners' call for the [[eight-hour day|eight-hour working day]], better working conditions and higher wages led to demonstrations and large-scale strikes in industry and agriculture.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=95–98, 109–114}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=155–159, 197, 203–225}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
While the Finns had specialized in [[milk]] and [[butter]] production, the bulk of the food supply for the country depended on cereals produced in southern Russia. The cessation of cereal imports from disintegrating Russia led to food shortages in Finland. The Senate responded by introducing [[rationing]] and [[price controls]]. The farmers opposed to state control: a [[black market]] -accompanied by sharply rising food prices- formed and export to the free market of the Petrograd area increased. Food supply, prices and, in the end, the fear of [[starvation]] became emotional political issues between farmers and urban workers, especially those who were unemployed. Common people, their fears exploited by politicians and an incendiary, polarized political media, took to the streets. Despite the food shortages, no actual large-scale starvation hit southern Finland before the civil war and the food market remained a secondary stimulator in the power struggle of the Finnish state.<ref>In 1917–1918, Finns were still under the shadow of the trauma of the 1867–1868 famine, in which around 200,000 people had died due to malnutrition and epidemic diseases, caused by a sudden climate change with decreased air temperatures during the growing season. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=95–98, 109–114}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=163–172}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=163–164, 192}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=155–159, 203–225}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}}, {{Harvnb|Voutilainen|2017|pp=25-44}}</ref>
====Contest for leadership====
[[File:Russian sailors celebrating February Revolution in Helsinki.jpg|thumb|Russian soldiers in Helsinki. Prior to 1917, they sustained Finland's stability, after the [[February Revolution]], the Russian troops became a source of social unrest.|alt=A formation of Russian soldiers are pictured at the Helsinki Railway Square as a part of a parade celebrating the October Revolution. Prior to 1917, the Russian Army sustained Finland's stability, but later became a source of social unrest.|left]]
The passing of the Tokoi Senate bill called the "Law of Supreme Power" ({{Lang-fi|Laki Suomen korkeimman valtiovallan käyttämisestä}}) in July 1917, triggered one of the key crises in the power struggle between the social democrats and the conservatives. The fall of the Russian Empire opened the question of who would hold sovereign political authority in the former Grand Duchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
After decades of political disappointment, the February Revolution offered the Finnish social democrats an opportunity to govern; they held the absolute majority in Parliament. The conservatives were alarmed by the continuous increase of the socialists' influence since 1899, which reached a climax in 1917. Since the Russian administration could no longer control the social democrats, the conservatives felt it necessary to act before the socialists were able to markedly alter the political structure.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=487–524}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
The "Law of Supreme Power" incorporated a plan by the socialists to substantially increase the authority of Parliament, as a reaction to the non-parliamentary and conservative leadership of the Finnish Senate between 1906 and 1916. The bill furthered Finnish autonomy in domestic affairs: the Russian Provisional Government was only allowed the right to control Finnish foreign and military policies. The Act was adopted with the support of the Social Democratic Party, the Agrarian League, part of the Young Finnish Party and some activists eager for Finnish sovereignty. The conservatives opposed the bill and some of the most right-wing representatives resigned from Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=50}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
In Petrograd, the social democrats' plan had the backing of the Bolsheviks. They had been plotting a revolt against the Provisional Government since April 1917, and demonstrations in favour of soviet power during the [[July Days]] brought matters to a head. The Provisional Government still had sufficient support in the Russian army to survive and as the street movement waned, [[Vladimir Lenin]] fled to Karelia. In the aftermath of these events, the "Law of Supreme Power" was overruled; more Russian troops were sent to Finland and, with the co-operation and insistence of the Finnish conservatives, Parliament was dissolved and new elections announced.<ref>The weakness of Russia emphasized the significance of the Finnish area as a buffer zone protecting [[Petrograd]]. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In the [[Finnish parliamentary election, 1917|October 1917 elections]], the social democrats lost their absolute majority, which radicalized the [[labor movement|labour movement]] and decreased support for moderate politics. The crisis of July 1917 did not bring about the Red Revolution of January 1918 on its own, but together with political developments based on the commoners' interpretation of the ideas of [[Fennomania]] and socialism, the events were decisive for the goals of a Finnish revolution. In order to win power, the socialists had to overcome Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Kettunen|1986|pp=9–89}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
The February Revolution resulted in a loss of institutional authority in Finland and the dissolution of the [[police]] force, creating fear and uncertainty. In response, both the right and left began assembling their own security groups, which were initially local and largely unarmed. By late 1917, following the dissolution of Parliament, in the absence of a politically strong government and national armed forces, the security groups began assuming a broader and more paramilitary character. The Civil Guards ({{Lang-fi|suojeluskunnat}}, lit. protection corps) and the later White Guards ({{Lang-fi|valkokaartit}}) were organized by local men of influence: conservative academics; industrialists; major landowners, and activists. The Workers' Order Guards ({{Lang-fi|työväen järjestyskaartit}}) and the Red Guards ({{Lang-fi|punakaartit}}) were recruited through the local social democratic party sections and from the labour unions.<ref>The role of the Swedish-speaking upper-class was significant, due to their long-term influence over the economy, industry, administration and the military. A battle for power arose between the most left-wing [[socialists]] and the most right-wing elements of the [[Swedish language|Swedish-speaking]] conservatives. The language issue was not as fundamental as social differences, since many Swedish-speaking workers joined the Reds. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–230}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=166–167}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=151–167}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993a|pp=324–343}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=123–127, 237–243}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
===October Revolution===
{{See also|October Revolution}}
The [[Bolshevik|Bolsheviks']] and Vladimir Lenin's October Revolution of 7 November 1917 transferred political power in Petrograd to the radical, left-wing socialists. The German government's decision to finance the Bolsheviks and arrange safe conduct for Lenin and his comrades from exile in [[Switzerland]] to Petrograd in April 1917 (based on the idea that Lenin was the most effective weapon they could launch against Russia), was a success. An [[Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers|armistice between Germany and the Bolshevik regime]] came into force on 6 December and peace negotiations began on 22 December 1917 at [[Brest, Belarus|Brest-Litovsk]].<ref>The Bolsheviks received 15 million marks from Berlin after the October Revolution, but Lenin's authority was weak and Russia became embrioled in a civil war which turned the focus of all the major Russian military, political and economic activities inwards. {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=36}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=86–95}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|McMeekin|2017|pp=125–136}}</ref>
November 1917 became another watershed in the 1917–1918 rivalry for the leadership of Finland. After the dissolution of the Finnish Parliament, [[Polarization (politics)|polarization]] between the social democrats and the conservatives increased markedly and the period witnessed the appearance of [[political violence]]. An agricultural worker had been shot during a local strike on 9 August 1917 at [[Ypäjä]] and a Civil Guard member was killed in a local political crisis at Malmi on 24 September.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=52, 59}}</ref> The October Revolution disrupted the informal truce between the Finnish non-socialists and the Russian Provisional Government. After political wrangling over how to react to the revolt, the majority of the politicians accepted a compromise proposal by [[Santeri Alkio]], the leader of the Agrarian League. Parliament seized the sovereign power in Finland on 15 November 1917 based on the socialists' "Law of Supreme Power" and ratified their proposals of an [[eight-hour working day]] and universal suffrage in [[local election]]s, from July 1917.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 70}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
[[File:Valkoisten konekiväärikomppania Leinolassa Tampereen valtauksen jälkeen 19.4.1918 (26970230675).jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the paramilitary [[White Guard (Finland)|White Guard]] in Leinola, a suburb of [[Tampere]]|alt=Around 30 soldiers of the paramilitary White Guard pose for the camera together with four Maxim heavy machine guns.|left]]
A purely non-socialist, conservative-led government of [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud]] was appointed on 27 November. This nomination was both a long-term aim of the conservatives and a response to the challenges of the labour movement during November 1917. Svinhufvud's main aspirations were to separate Finland from Russia, strengthen the Civil Guards, and to return a part of Parliament's new authority to the Senate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=70}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref> There were 149 Civil Guards on 31 August 1917 in Finland, counting local units and subsidiary White Guards in towns and rural communes; 251 on 30 September; 315 on 31 October; 380 on 30 November and 408 on 26 January 1918. The first attempt at serious military training among the Guards was the establishment of a 200-strong cavalry school at the Saksanniemi estate in the vicinity of the town of [[Porvoo]], in September 1917. The [[vanguard]] of the Finnish [[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] and German weaponry arrived in Finland during October–November 1917 on the ''{{Ship|SS|Equity||2}}'' freighter and the German U-boat ''{{Ship|SM|UC-57||2}}''; around 50 Jägers had returned by the end of 1917.<ref>Despite German-Russian peace negotiations, the Germans agreed to sell 70,000 [[rifles]] and 70 [[machine guns]] as well as artillery to the Whites and arrange the safe return of the Jäger battalion to Finland. The German arms were transported to Finland in February–March 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=59, 63, 66, 68, 98}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993b|pp=393–395}}</ref>
After political defeats in July and October 1917, the social democrats put forward an uncompromising program called "We Demand" ({{Lang-fi|Me vaadimme}}) on 1 November, in order to push for [[concession (politics)|political concessions]]. They insisted upon a return to the political status before the dissolution of Parliament in July 1917, disbandment of the Civil Guards and elections to establish a Finnish Constituent Assembly. The program failed and the socialists initiated a general strike during 14–19 November to increase political pressure on the conservatives, who had opposed the "Law of Supreme Power" and the parliamentary proclamation of sovereign power on 15 November.<ref>The socialists planned to ask the Bolsheviks for acceptance of Finland's sovereignty with a manifesto, but the uncertain situation in Petrograd stalled this plan. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=256–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=66}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
[[Revolution]] became the goal of the radicalized socialists after the loss of political control, and events in November 1917 offered momentum for a socialist uprising. In this phase, Lenin and [[Joseph Stalin]], under threat in Petrograd, urged the social democrats to take power in Finland. The majority of Finnish socialists were moderate and preferred parliamentary methods, prompting the Bolsheviks to label them "reluctant revolutionaries". The reluctance diminished as the general strike appeared to offer a major channel of influence for the workers in southern Finland. The strike leadership voted by a narrow majority to start a revolution on 16 November, but the uprising had to be called off the same day due to the lack of active revolutionaries to execute it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=64}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
[[File:Tampereen punakaartin komppania rintamalla (26936605946).jpg|thumb|Troops of the paramilitary [[Red Guard (Finland)|Red Guard]]'s Tampere company pictured in 1918|alt=Around 40 troops of the paramilitary Red Guard pose to the camera next to a farmer's house on a field. One of them, their apparent commander, is on a horse.]]
At the end of November 1917, the moderate socialists among the social democrats won a second vote over the radicals in a debate over revolutionary versus parliamentary means, but when they tried to pass a resolution to completely abandon the idea of a socialist revolution, the party representatives and several influential leaders voted it down. The Finnish labour movement wanted to sustain a military force of its own and keep the revolutionary road open too. The wavering Finnish socialists disappointed V.I. Lenin and in turn, he began to encourage the Finnish Bolsheviks in Petrograd.<ref>At the beginning of the October revolt, the Russian District Committee in Finland had been the first to reject the authority of the Provisional Government. Lenin's pessimistic comment on 27 January 1918 to Finnish Bolshevik Eino Rahja is well known: "No comrade Rahja, this time you will not win your campaign, because you have the power of the Finnish Social Democrats in Finland." {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1989|pp=83–161}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=70}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
Among the labour movement, a more marked consequence of the events of 1917 was the rise of the Workers' Order Guards. There were 20–60 separate guards between 31 August and 30 September 1917, but on 20 October, after defeat in parliamentary elections, the Finnish labour movement proclaimed the need to establish more worker units. The announcement led to a rush of recruits: on 31 October the number of guards was 100–150; 342 on 30 November 1917 and 375 on 26 January 1918. Since May 1917, the paramilitary organizations of the left had grown in two phases, the majority of them as Workers' Order Guards. The minority were Red Guards, these were partly-underground groups formed in industrialized towns and industrial centres, such as [[Helsinki]], [[Kotka]] and Tampere, based on the original Red Guards that had been built up during 1905–1906 in Finland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993a|pp=324–343}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993b|pp=393–395}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=282–291}}</ref>
The presence of the two opposing armed forces created a state of dual power and divided sovereignty on Finnish society. The decisive rift between the guards broke out during the general strike: the Reds executed several political opponents in southern Finland and the first armed clashes between the Whites and Reds took place. In total, 34 casualties were reported. Eventually, the political rivalries of 1917 led to an [[arms race]] and an [[Conflict escalation|escalation]] towards civil war.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=317–342}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=151–171}}</ref>
===Independence of Finland===
The disintegration of Russia offered Finns a historic opportunity to gain national independence. After the October Revolution, the conservatives were eager for secession from Russia in order to control the left and minimize the influence of the Bolsheviks. The socialists were skeptical about sovereignty under conservative rule, but they feared a loss of support among nationalistic workers, after promises of increasing liberty through the "Law of Supreme Power". Eventually, both political factions supported free Finland, despite strong disagreement on the selection of the nation's leadership.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 70}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=235–237}}</ref>
Nationalism became a "civic religion" in Finland by the end of 19th century, but the goal during the general strike of 1905 was a return to the autonomy of 1809–1898, not independence. The domestic power of Finns had increased under the less uniform Russian rule—compared to the unitary Swedish regime. In economy, the Grand Duchy of Finland benefited from an independent domestic state budget, its own currency (the [[Finnish markka|markka]], since 1860) and customs organization, and the industrial progress during 1860–1916. In turn, the economy was dependent on the huge Russian market and a separation would break up the profitable Finnish financial zone. The economic collapse of Russia and the power struggle of the Finnish state in 1917 were among the key factors that brought sovereignty to the fore in Finland.<ref>The activists also planned a Finnish Grand Duchy ruled either by Germany or Sweden. Until 1914, Finland exported refined forest and metal products to Russia and sawmill and bulk wood products to Western Europe. World War I cut off the export to the West and directed most of the beneficial war trade to Russia. In 1917, the export to Russia collapsed and after 1919, Finns emerged to the western market due to the high demand of products after World War I {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=89–100}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–73, 156–159, 243–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=9–10, 181–182, 203–204, 264–276}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kuisma|2010|pp=13–81}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=108–173}}, {{Harvnb|Ahlbäck|2014|pp=254–293}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=15–40}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}} </ref>
[[File:Ven tunnustaa Suomen itsenisyyden.png|thumb|The [[Bolshevik government|Bolshevik]]'s recognition of Finnish independence. Some minutes before midnight on 31 December 1917, two men with opposite worldviews, [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud|P.E. Svinhufvud]] and [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]] shook hands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=79}}</ref>|alt=A picture of the document whereby Lenin and the Bolsheviks recognized Finnish independence on 31 December 1917.]]
P.E. Svinhufvud's Senate introduced [[Finland's declaration of independence|Finland's Declaration of Independence]] on 4 December and Parliament adopted it on 6 December 1917. The social democrats voted against the Senate's proposal while presenting an alternative declaration of sovereignty. The establishment of an independent state was not a guaranteed conclusion for the small Finnish nation; recognition by Russia and other [[great power|great powers]] was essential. Svinhufvud accepted that he had to negotiate with Lenin for the Russian recognition. The socialists, reluctant to talks with the Russian leadership in July 1917, sent two delegations to Petrograd to request Lenin to approve Finnish sovereignty.<ref>Svinhufvud's initial vision: the Senate leads Finland and the independence process with a call for a [[Regent]], and no talks with the Bolsheviks as they will not set non-socialist Finland free. Socialists' vision: the Parliament leads Finland, and independence is achieved easier through negotiations with weak Bolsheviks than with other parties of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly]], {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=73, 78}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|1995|pp=11–20}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
In December 1917, V.I. Lenin was under intense pressure from the Germans to conclude [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk]], and the Bolsheviks' might was in crisis with an inexperienced administration and the demoralized army, facing a gradually increasing number of powerful political and military opponents. Lenin calculated that the Bolsheviks could fight for central parts of Russia but had to give up some peripheral territories, including Finland in the geopolitically less important north-western corner. As a result, Svinhufvud's delegation won Lenin's concession of sovereignty on 31 December 1917.<ref>The [[Bolshevist]] [[Council of People's Commissars]] ratified the recognition on 4 January 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=79, 81}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}}</ref>
By the beginning of the Civil War, [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Denmark]], [[French Third Republic|France]], Germany, [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and Switzerland had recognized Finnish independence. The [[United Kingdom]] and [[United States]] did not approve it; they stood by and followed the relations between Finland and Germany, the main enemy of the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], and hoped to override Lenin's regime and to get Russia back into the war against the German Empire. In turn, the Germans hastened Finland's separation from Russia to move the country within their sphere of influence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80, 81}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}</ref>
==Warfare==
[[File:Kenraali C. G. E. Mannerheim (26936604946).jpg|thumb|General [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]] in 1918 with an armband showing the [[coat of arms of Finland]]|alt=A studio-style picture of General Mannerheim, commander-in-chief of the White Army. He is looking away with his left shoulder turned towards the camera. On his left arm, an armband shows the coat of arms of Finland.|left]]
===Escalation===
The final escalation towards war began in early January 1918 as each military or political action of the Reds or the Whites resulted in a corresponding counteraction by the opponent. Both sides justified their activities as defensive measures, particularly to their own supporters. On the left, the vanguard of the war was the urban Red Guards from Helsinki, Kotka and [[Turku]]; they led the rural Reds and convinced the socialist leaders who wavered between peace and war to support the revolution. On the right, the vanguard was the Jägers who had transferred to Finland, and the volunteer Civil Guards of southwestern Finland, southern [[Ostrobothnia (region)|Ostrobothnia]] and [[Viipuri province|Vyborg province]] in the southeastern corner of Finland. The first local battles were fought during 9–21 January in southern and southeastern Finland, mainly to win the arms race and to control [[Vyborg]] ({{Lang-fi|Viipuri}}).<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65, 177–182}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009a|pp=92–111}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
[[File:Kullervo Manner.jpg|thumb|[[Kullervo Manner]], chairman of the [[Finnish People's Delegation]] and last commander-in-chief of the [[Red Finland|Reds]], pictured {{circa|1913–1915}}|alt=A picture of Kullervo Manner, chairman of the Finnish People's Delegation and last commander-in-chief of the Reds, looking straight at the camera with a suit and a hat on.]]
Parliament authorized the Svinhufvud Senate to establish internal order and discipline of the state on 12 January 1918. On 15 January, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a former Finnish general of the [[Imperial Russian Army]], was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Civil Guards. He placed the headquarters in the [[Vaasa|Vaasa–]][[Seinäjoki]] area. The Senate appointed the Civil Guards, called the White Guards henceforth, as the White Army of Finland. The White Order to engage was issued on 25 January. The Whites gained weaponry by disarming Russian garrisons during 21–28 January, in particular in southern Ostrobothnia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80–89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The Red Guards, led by [[Ali Aaltonen]], refused to recognise the Whites' hegemony and established a military authority of their own. Aaltonen installed the headquarters in Helsinki and nicknamed it as [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]] according to the [[Smolny Institute|Bolsheviks' headquarters]] in Petrograd. The Red Order of Revolution was issued on 26 January, and a red lantern, a symbolic indicator of the uprising, was lit in the tower of the [[Paasitorni|Helsinki Workers' House]]. The large-scale mobilization of the Reds began in the late evening of 27 January with the Helsinki Red Guard and some of the Guards located along the Vyborg-Tampere railway having activated between 23–26 January, in order to safeguard vital positions and escort a heavy railroad shipment of Bolshevik weapons from Petrograd to Finland. White troops tried to capture the shipment; 20–30 Finns, Red and White, died in the [[Battle of Kämärä]] at the Karelian Isthmus on 27 January 1918.<ref>The Reds won the battle and gained 20,000 rifles, 30 machine guns, 10 cannons and 2 armored vehicles. In total, Russians delivered 20,000 rifles from the Helsinki and Tampere depots to the Reds. The Whites captured 14,500 rifles, 90 machine guns, 40 cannons and 4 mortars from the Russian garrisons. Some Russian army officers sold their unit's weapons both to the Reds and the Whites, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65, 177–182}}, {{Harvnb|Klemettilä|1989|pp=163–203}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80–89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> The Finnish contest for power had reached its peak and the disintegration of society began.<ref>Attempts and agreements for sustaining peace and neutrality between socialist and non-socialists were made in January 1918 at a local level, such as in [[Muurame]], [[Savonlinna]] and [[Teuva]], {{Harvnb|Kallioinen|2009|pp=1–146}}</ref>
===Opposing parties===
====Red Finland and White Finland====
[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapBegin.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|The frontlines and initial offensives at the beginning of the war in February.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{legend|maroon|Red offensive}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrating the frontlines and initial offensives of both sides at the beginning of the war. The Whites control most of Central and Northern Finland excluding minor Red enclaves; the Whites assault these enclaves. The Reds control Southern Finland and commence attacks along the main frontline.]]At the beginning of the war, a discontinuous [[front line]] ran through southern Finland from west to east, dividing the country into [[White Finland]] and [[Red Finland]]. The Red Guards controlled the area to the south, including nearly all the major towns and industrial centres, and the largest estates and farms with high numbers of [[croft (land)|crofters]] and [[tenant farmer]]s. The White Army controlled the area to the north, which was predominantly agrarian with small or medium-sized farms and tenant farmers, and where crofters were few or held a better social position than in the south. Enclaves of the opposing forces existed on both sides of the front line: within the White area lay the industrial towns of [[Varkaus]], [[Kuopio]], [[Oulu]], [[Raahe]], [[Kemi]] and [[Tornio]]; within the Red area lay Porvoo, [[Kirkkonummi]] and [[Uusikaupunki]]. The elimination of these strongholds was a priority for both armies in February 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=91–101}}</ref>
Red Finland was led by the People's Delegation ({{Lang-fi|kansanvaltuuskunta}}), established on 28 January in Helsinki. The delegation sought democratic socialism based on the Finnish Social Democratic Party's ethos; their visions differed from Lenin's [[dictatorship of the proletariat]]. [[Otto Ville Kuusinen]] formulated a proposal for a new constitution, influenced by those of Switzerland and the United States. With it, political power was to be concentrated to Parliament, with a lesser role for a government. The proposal included a multi-party system, freedom of assembly, speech and press, and the use of [[referenda]] in political decision-making. In order to ensure the authority of the labour movement, the common people would have a right to [[permanent revolution]]. The socialists planned to transfer a substantial part of [[property rights (economics)|property rights]] to state and local administrations.<ref>The "ideological father" of the socialists, [[Karl Kautsky]], disapproved the Finnish Red Revolution. Kautsky, an opponent of V.I. Lenin, supported reformist policy, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1986|pp=417–429}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=88, 102}}, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1993|pp=486–627}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=108}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009a|pp=246–269}}, {{Harvnb|Payne|2011|pp=25–32}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
In foreign policy, Red Finland leaned on [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Bolshevist Russia]]. A Red-initiated Finno–Russian treaty and peace agreement was signed on 1 March 1918, where Red Finland was called the [[Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic]] ({{Lang-fi|Suomen sosialistinen työväentasavalta}}). The negotiations for the treaty implied that as in World War I in general, nationalism was more important for both sides than the principles of [[international socialism]]. The Red Finns did not accept an alliance with the Bolsheviks and major disputes appeared, for example, over the demarcation of the border between Red Finland and Soviet Russia. The significance of the Russo–Finnish Treaty evaporated soon due to the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between the Bolsheviks and the German Empire on 3 March 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=262–265}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}</ref>
Vladimir Lenin's policy on the right of nations to [[self-determination]] aimed at preventing the disintegration of Russia during the period of military weakness. He assumed that in war-torn, splintering Europe, the [[proletariat]] of free nations would carry out socialist revolutions and unite with Soviet Russia later. The majority of the Finnish labour movement supported Finland's independence. The Finnish Bolsheviks, influential though few in number, favoured annexation of Finland by Russia.<ref>After the [[Russian Civil War]], the gradually reinforcing Russia recaptured many of the nations that had become independent in 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=255–278}}, {{Harvnb|Klemettilä|1989|pp=163–203}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=94, 106}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=276–282}}</ref>
The government of White Finland, [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud's first senate]], was called the Vaasa Senate after relocation to the safer west-coast city of Vaasa, acting as the capital of the Whites from 29 January to 3 May. In domestic policy, the White Senate's main goal was to return the political right to power in Finland. The conservatives planned a monarchist political system, with a lesser role for Parliament. A section of the conservatives had always supported [[monarchy]] and opposed democracy; others approved [[parliamentary system|parliamentarianism]] since the revolutionary reform of 1906, but after the crisis of 1917-1918 concluded, that empowering the common people would not work. Social liberals and reformist non-socialists opposed any restriction of parliamentarianism. They initially resisted German military help, but the prolonged warfare changed their stance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–68}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–46, 56–115}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In foreign policy, the Vaasa Senate relied on the German Empire for military and political aid. Their objective was to defeat the Finnish Reds, end the influence of Bolshevist Russia in Finland, and expand Finnish territory to [[East Karelia]], a [[Geopolitics|geopolitically]] significant home to people speaking [[Finno-Ugric languages]]. The weakness of Russia induced an idea of [[Greater Finland]] among the expansive factions of both the right and left; the Reds had claims concerning the same areas. General Mannerheim agreed on the need to take over East Karelia and to request German weapons but opposed actual German intervention in Finland. Mannerheim recognized the Red Guards' lack of combat skills and trusted the skills of the German-trained Finnish Jägers. As a former Russian army officer, Mannerheim was well aware of the demoralization of the Russian army. He co-operated with White-aligned Russian officers in Finland and Russia.<ref>The fall of the Russian Empire, the October revolt and Finnish Germanism had placed Gustav Mannerheim in a controversial position. He opposed the Finnish and Russian Reds as well as Germany together with the Russian White officers who, in turn, did not support independence of Finland, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=102, 142}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=516–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}</ref>
[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapMiddle.svg|upright=1.75|thumb|The main offensives until 6 April. The Whites conquer [[Tampere]] and defeat the Finnish-Russian Reds at the [[Battle of Rautu (1918)|Battle of Rautu]], the Karelian Isthmus.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{legend|maroon|Red offensive}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrating the main offensives until April of 1918. The Whites conquer the Red stronghold of Tampere in a decisive battle and defeat the Finnish-Russian Reds at the Battle of Rautu on the Karelian Isthmus.]]
====Soldiers and weapons====
[[File:Red_Guard_armoured_train.jpg|thumb|A Russian [[armoured train]], ''Partizan'', which assisted the Red war effort in the [[Vyborg]] area<ref>{{Harvnb|Eerola|2010|pp=123–165}}</ref>|alt=A Russian armoured train, Partizan, is pictured motionless on its tracks. The train is shown to have three cars and a weapon at its front, hidden beneath armour plating. The train assisted the Red war effort in the Vyborg area.|left]]
The number of Finnish troops on each side varied from 70,000 to 90,000 and both had around 100,000 rifles, 300–400 machine guns and a few hundred cannons. While the Red Guards consisted mostly of [[Military volunteer|volunteers]], with wages paid at the beginning of the war, the White Army consisted predominantly of [[conscription|conscripts]] with 11,000–15,000 volunteers. The main motives for volunteering were socio-economic factors, such as salary and food, as well as idealism and peer pressure. The Red Guards included 2,600 female troops, mostly girls recruited from the industrial centres and cities of southern Finland. Urban and agricultural workers constituted the majority of the Red Guards, whereas land-owning farmers and well-educated people formed the backbone of the White Army.<ref>White-supporting women demanded the establishment of female White Guards. Mannerheim stalled the plan, but some women were drafted as soldiers, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=85–106}}, {{Harvnb|Lintunen|2014|pp=201–229}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref> Both armies used [[child soldiers]], mainly between 14 and 17 years of age. The use of juvenile soldiers was not rare in World War I; children of the time were under the absolute authority of adults and were not shielded against exploitation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–30, 141–152}}</ref>
Rifles and machine guns from Imperial Russia were the main armaments of the Reds and the Whites. The most used rifle was the Russian {{Convert|7.62|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} [[Mosin–Nagant]] Model 1891. In total, around ten different rifle models were in service, causing problems for ammunition supply. The [[Maxim gun]] was the most used machine gun in addition to the lesser used [[M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun|M1895 Colt–Browning]], [[Lewis gun|Lewis]] and [[Madsen machine gun|Madsen]] guns. The machine guns caused a substantial part of the casualties in combat. Russian [[Field gun|field guns]] were mostly used with [[direct fire]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=182}}</ref>
The Civil War was fought primarily along [[railways]]; vital means for transporting troops and supplies as well for using armoured trains, armed with light cannons and [[heavy machine gun]]s. The strategically most important railway junction was [[Haapamäki]], approximately {{Convert|100|km|mi}} northeast of Tampere, connecting both western-eastern and southern-northern Finland. Other critical junctions included [[Kouvola]], [[Riihimäki]], Tampere, [[Toijala]] and Vyborg. The Whites captured Haapamäki at the end of January 1918, leading to the [[Battle of Vilppula]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=177–205}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=15–21}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapEnd.svg|upright=1.75|thumb|The German Army's landings on the south coast and the operations. The Whites' conclusive offensives in Karelia.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites or Germans}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|grey|German offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrates the final battles of the war. The Reds do not mount any more offensives, while the Imperial German Army lands from the Gulf of Finland behind the Reds and captures the capital of Helsinki. The Whites attacks all along the front southwards.]]
====Red Guards and Russian troops====
The Finnish Red Guards seized the early initiative in the war by taking control of Helsinki on 28 January and with a general offensive lasting from February till early March 1918. The Reds were relatively well armed, but a chronic shortage of skilled leaders, both at the command level and in the field, left them unable to capitalize the momentum, and most of the offensives came to nothing. The military [[Command hierarchy|chain of command]] functioned relatively well at company and platoon level, but leadership and authority remained weak as most of the field commanders were chosen by the vote of the troopers. The common troopers were more or less armed civilians, whose military training, discipline and combat morale were both inadequate and low.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=177–205}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=227–255}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
Ali Aaltonen was replaced on 28 January 1918 by [[Eero Haapalainen]] as commander-in-chief. He, in turn, was displaced by the Bolshevik triumvirate of [[Eino Rahja]], [[Adolf Taimi]] and [[Evert Eloranta]] on 20 March. The last commander-in-chief of the Red Guard was Kullervo Manner from 10 April onwards—until the last period of the war when the Reds no longer had a named leader. Some talented, local commanders, such as [[Hugo Salmela]] in the Battle of Tampere, could perform qualified leadership, but not change the course of the war. The Reds achieved some local victories as they retreated from southern Finland toward Russia, such as against German troops in the [[Battle of Syrjäntaka]] on 28–29 April in Tuulos.<ref>Some [[Female Red Guards of the Finnish Civil War|Female Red Guard]] platoons were active in combat along the Alvettula–[[Hauho]]–Syrjäntaka–[[Lahti]] line, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=227–255}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=130–135}} {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=233–236}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=70–81}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=181–202}}</ref>
[[File:Punapäällikkö Verner Lehtimäki (26901643321).jpg|thumb|Red Guard cavalry commander [[Verner Lehtimäki]] on his horse in 1918|alt=A Red Guard cavalry commander is pictured on top of his horse from the left side during the winter. A few cottage-like houses are in the background and the commander is equipped with a white sword scabbard, clearly visible from the rest of his clothing.|left]] Around 60,000 of the former Czar's army troopers were stationed in Finland in January 1918. The soldiers were demoralized and war-weary, and the former [[serfs]] were thirsty for [[farmland]] set free by the revolutions. The majority of the troops returned to Russia by the end of March 1918. In total, 7,000 to 10,000 Red Russian soldiers supported the Finnish Reds, but around 3,000, in separate smaller units of 100–1,000 soldiers, could be persuaded to fight in the front line.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=415–422}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=265–278}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=276–291}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}},{{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The revolutions in Russia divided the Russian army officers politically and their attitude towards the Finnish Civil War varied. [[Mikhail Svechnikov]] led Finnish Red troops in western Finland in February and [[Konstantin Yeremejev]] Russian forces on the Karelian Isthmus, while other officers were mistrustful of their revolutionary peers and instead, co-operated with their former colleague, General [[Mannerheim]], assisting the Whites in disarming Russian garrisons in Finland. On 30 January 1918 Mannerheim proclaimed to Russian soldiers in Finland that the White Army did not fight against Russia, but that the objective of the White campaign was to beat the Finnish Reds and the Russian troops supporting them.<ref>Mannerheim promised the co-operating officers their personal freedom, while many of those opposing the Whites were executed. Some Red Russian officers were executed by the Finnish Reds after the bitter defeat in the Battle for Tampere, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=265–278}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008a|pp=188–199}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}}, {{Harvnb|Muilu|2010|pp=9–86}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The number of Russian soldiers active in the Civil War declined markedly once Germany attacked Russia on 18 February 1918. The German-Russian Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 3 March restricted the Bolsheviks' support for the Finnish Reds to weapons and supplies. The Russians remained active on the south-eastern front, mainly in the Battle of Rautu on the Karelian Isthmus between February and April 1918, and defended the approaches to Petrograd.<ref>The Russian Bolsheviks declared war against White Finland after the Whites attacked Russian garrisons in Finland, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=259–262}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|p=98}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
====White Guards and Sweden's role====
[[File:Jääkärien paraati Vaasan torilla 26.2.1918 (26970229625).jpg|thumb|Finnish [[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] in Vaasa, Finland, on 26 February 1918. The battalion is being inspected by White Commander-in-Chief [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]].|alt=A parade of Finnish Jägers at the Vaasa town square. Spectators are gathered around the soldiers in the background. General Mannerheim is inspecting the formation in the foreground.]]
While the conflict has been called by some "The War of Amateurs", the White Army had two major advantages over the Red Guards: the professional military leadership of General Mannerheim and his staff, which included 84 Swedish volunteer officers and former Finnish officers of the Czar's army, and 1,450 soldiers of the 1,900-strong, elite Jäger battalion. The Jägers were trained in Germany during 1915–1917 and battle-hardened on the Eastern Front. The main part of the unit arrived in Vaasa on 25 February 1918.<ref name="Upton 1981 62–144">{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=151–160}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> On the battlefield, the Jägers provided strong leadership that made disciplined action by the common White soldiers possible. The White troopers were similar to those of the Red Guards with brief and inadequate training. At the beginning of the war, the leadership of the White Guards had little authority over volunteer White Guard platoons and companies, which obeyed only their dominant, local leaders. In the end of February, the Jägers started rapid training of six conscript regiments.<ref name="Upton 1981 62–144" />
The Jäger battalion was politically divided too: 450 mostly socialist Jägers remained stationed in Germany as they could have chosen the Red side in the conflict. White Guard leaders faced a similar problem with drafting young men to the army in February 1918: 30,000 obvious supporters of the Finnish labour movement never showed up. It was also uncertain whether common troopers drafted from the small-sized and poor farms of central and northern Finland had strong enough motivation to fight the Finnish Reds; the Whites' propaganda promoted a nationalist war against [[Bolshevist]] Russians, and belittled the significance of the Red Finns.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=9–50}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=40–51, 74–77}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993b|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=90–92}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=264–291}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}</ref> Social divisions appeared both between southern and northern Finland and within rural Finland. The economy and society of the north had modernized more slowly than that of the south. There was a more pronounced conflict between [[Christianity]] and [[socialism]] in the north, and farmland had a major [[social status]]; ownership of even a small parcel of land instilled a motivation to fight against the Reds.<ref>Economy of Ostrobothnia declined, due to weak industrialization after the end of commercial [[tar]] production and grain export to Sweden. The fall led to political and religious conservatism, and emigration to the United States after rapid population growth, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=9–50}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=40–51, 74–77}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993b|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=90–92}}</ref>
Sweden declared neutrality during World War I and the Finnish Civil War. The general opinion, in particular among the Swedish elite, was divided between supporters of the Allies and the [[Central powers]], Germanism being somewhat more popular. Three war-time priorities determined the pragmatic policy of the Swedish liberal-social democratic government: sound economics, with export of [[iron-ore]] and foodstuff to Germany, sustaining tranquility of the Swedish society, and geopolitics. The government accepted participation of Swedish volunteer officers and soldiers in the Finnish White Army in order to block expansion of revolutionary unrest to [[Scandinavia]].<ref>The Swedish Germanism included an idea of "Greater Sweden" with plans to take over the Finnish area, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lindqvist|2003|pp=705–719}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
A 1,000-strong paramilitary [[Swedish Brigade]], led by [[Hjalmar Frisell]], took part in the battles of Tampere and in the area south of the town. In February 1918, the [[Swedish Navy]] escorted the German naval squadron transporting Finnish Jägers and German weapons and allowed it to pass through Swedish territorial waters. The Swedish socialists did not aid the Finnish Reds but tried to open peace negotiations between the Whites and the Reds. The weakness of Finland gave Sweden a chance to take-over the geopolitically vital Finnish [[Åland islands|Åland Islands]], located east of [[Stockholm]], but the German army's Finland-operation stalled the plan.<ref>On 31 December 1917, the people of Åland proclaimed by a 57% majority their will to integrate the islands to the [[Kingdom of Sweden]]. The question of controlling Åland became a dispute between Sweden and Finland after World War I, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=990–120}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=79, 97}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lindqvist|2003|pp=705–719}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|p=130}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
====German intervention====
[[File:SaksalaisiaHelsingissa.jpg|thumb|German soldiers with an [[Maschinengewehr 08|MG 08]] machine gun in Helsinki after the surrender of the Red Guard headquarters [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]]|alt=Seven soldiers of the German Army are stationed at a street corner in Helsinki after the surrender of the Red Guard headquarters Smolna. One of them is on his knee while two are relaxing against a railing or on a chair. MG 08, a heavy machine gun rests in front of them.|left]]
The German Empire intervened in the Finnish Civil War on the side of the White Army in March 1918. The Finnish activists leaning on Germanism had been seeking German aid in freeing Finland from Russian hegemony since late 1917, but the Germans did not want to jeopardize their armistice and [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)#Peace negotiations|peace negotiations]] with Russia because of the pressure they were facing at the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. The German stance changed after 10 February when [[Leon Trotsky]], despite the weakness of the Bolsheviks' position, broke off negotiations, hoping revolutions would break out in the German Empire and change everything. The German government promptly decided to retaliate, and as a pretext for aggression invited "requests for help" from the smaller countries west of Russia. Representatives of White Finland in [[Berlin]] duly requested help on 14 February; on 13 February, the German leadership made the decision to send troops to Finland.<ref>On 7 March, the representatives E. Hjelt and R. Erich signed disadvantageous German-Finnish agreements and promised to pay costs of the German military assistance, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=108}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=117}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=41–70}}</ref>
The [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] attacked Russia on 18 February. [[Operation Faustschlag|The offensive]] led to a rapid collapse and retreat of the Russian troops and to the signing of the first Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by the Bolsheviks on 3 March 1918. Finland, the Baltic countries, [[Poland]] and [[Ukraine]] were transferred to the German sphere of influence. The Finnish Civil War opened a straight access with low costs to [[Fennoscandia]], where the [[geopolitical]] status was altered as a British Naval squadron [[North Russia Intervention|invaded]] the Russian harbour of [[Murmansk]] by the [[Arctic Ocean]] on 9 March 1918. Leader of the German war effort, General [[Erich Ludendorff]], wanted to keep Petrograd under threat through the Vyborg-Narva area and install a German-led monarchy in Finland.<ref>The Murmansk–Petrograd [[Kirov Railway]] was deployed in 1916, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=108}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=41–70}}</ref>
On 5 March, a German naval squadron landed on the [[Åland|Åland Islands]], which the Swedish military expedition took over in mid-February and departed from in May. On 3 April 1918, the 10,000-strong [[Baltic Sea Division]] ({{Lang-de|Ostsee-Division}}), led by General [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]], launched the main attack at [[Hanko]], west of Helsinki. It was followed on 7 April by Colonel [[Otto von Brandenstein|Otto von Brandenstein's]] 3,000-strong [[Detachment Brandenstein]] ({{Lang-de|Abteilung-Brandenstein}}) taking the town of [[Loviisa]] east of Helsinki. The main German formations advanced eastwards from Hanko and took Helsinki on 12–13 April, while Detachment Brandenstein overran the town of [[Lahti]] on 19 April. The main German detachment proceeded northwards from Helsinki and took [[Hyvinkää]] and [[Riihimäki]] on 21–22 April, followed by [[Hämeenlinna]] on 26 April. The efficient performance of the German units contrasted strikingly with that of the demoralized Russian troops. The final blow to the cause of the Finnish Reds was dealt when the Bolsheviks broke off the peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, leading to the German eastern offensive in February 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=369–424}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=41–44}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=97}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=117}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=117–196}}</ref>
===Decisive engagements===
====Battle of Tampere====
{{Main article| Battle of Tampere}}
[[File:Punaisten ruumiita Kalevankankaan hautausmaalla Tampereen taistelun jälkeen (26365985413).jpg|thumb|Unburied bodies of the Reds at [[Kalevankangas Cemetery|Kalevankangas cemetery]] after the [[Battle of Tampere]]|alt=Unburied and clothless bodies of the Reds lay in the foreground at the Kalevankangas cemetery after the Battle of Tampere. On the right, around five crosses can be seen, while black silhouettes of people are visible against the sky in the background.]]
In February 1918, General Mannerheim weighed on where to focus the general offensive of the Whites between the two strategically vital enemy strongholds: Tampere, Finland's major industrial town in the south-west or Vyborg, Karelia's main city. Although seizing Vyborg offered major advantages, his army's lack of combat skills and the potential for a major counterattack by the Reds in the area or in the south-west made it too risky.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}</ref>
Mannerheim decided to strike first at Tampere. He launched the main assault on 16 March, at [[Längelmäki]] {{Convert|65|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-east of the town, through the right flank of the Reds' defence. At the same time, the Whites attacked through north-western frontline [[Vilppula]]–[[Kuru, Finland|Kuru]]–Kyröskoski–[[Suodenniemi]]. Some Red Guard units collapsed and retreated in panic under the weight of the offensive, while some detachments defended their posts relentlessly, and were able to slow the advance of the White troops, which were unaccustomed to offensive warfare. Eventually, the Whites lay siege to Tampere. They cut off the Reds southward connection in [[Lempäälä]] on 24 March and westward in Siuro, [[Nokia, Finland|Nokia]], and [[Ylöjärvi]] on 25 March.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}</ref>
The Battle for Tampere was fought between 16,000 White and 14,000 Red soldiers. It was Finland's first large-scale [[urban warfare|urban battle]] and, along with the battles of Helsinki, Vyborg and Lahti, one of the four most decisive military engagements of the war. The fight for the area of Tampere began on 28 March, on the eve of Easter 1918, later called the "Bloody [[Maundy Thursday]]", in the Kalevankangas cemetery. The White Army did not achieve a decisive victory in the fierce combat, with more than 50 percent losses in some of the White units. The Whites had to re-organize their troops and battle plans, and they raided the town centre in the early hours of 3 April.<ref name="Ahto 1993 180–445">{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=144–148, 156–170}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008b|pp=96–161}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
After a heavy concentrated [[Barrage (artillery)|artillery barrage]], the White Guards began advancing from house to house and street to street, as the Red Guards retreated. In the late evening of 3 April, the Whites reached the eastern banks of the [[Tammerkoski]] rapids. The Reds' attempts to break the siege of Tampere from the outside along the Helsinki-Tampere railway failed. The Red Guards lost the western parts of the town between 4 and 5 April. The [[Tampere City Hall]] was among the last strongholds of the Reds. The battle ended 6 April 1918 with the surrender of Red forces in the [[Pyynikki]] and [[Pispala]] sections of Tampere.<ref name="Ahto 1993 180–445"/>
The Reds, now on the defensive, showed increased motivation to fight during the battle. General Mannerheim was compelled to deploy some of the best-trained Jäger detachments, initially meant to be conserved for later use in the Vyborg area. The Battle of Tampere was the bloodiest action of the Civil War. The White Army lost 700–900 men, including 50 Jägers, the highest number of deaths the Jäger battalion suffered in a single battle of the 1918 war. The Red Guards lost 1,000–1,500 soldiers, with a further 11,000–12,000 captured. 71 civilians died, mainly due to artillery fire. The eastern parts of the city, consisting mostly of wooden buildings, were destroyed completely.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=317–368}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008b|pp=96–161}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
====Battle of Helsinki====
{{Main article|Battle of Helsinki}}
After peace talks between Germans and the Finnish Reds were broken off on 11 April, the battle for the capital of Finland began. At 5 a.m. on 12 April, around 2,000–3,000 German Baltic Sea Division soldiers, led by Colonel Hans von Tschirsky und von Bögendorff, attacked the city from the north-west, supported via the [[Rantarata|Helsinki-Turku railway]]. The Germans broke through the area between [[Munkkiniemi]] and [[Pasila]], and advanced on the central-western parts of the town. The German naval squadron led by Vice Admiral [[Hugo Meurer]] blocked the city harbour, bombarded the southern town area, and landed [[Seebataillon|''Seebataillon'']] marines at [[Katajanokka]].<ref>The Russian Navy in Helsinki harbour remained neutral during the battle and the fleet sailed to Kronstadt during 10–13 April due to the 5 April German-Russian Hanko agreement. At first, the Reds agreed to surrender and Colonel von Tshirsky intended to send a minor unit with a marching band and a movie group to symbolically free Helsinki, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
Around 7,000 Finnish Reds defended Helsinki, but their best troops fought on other fronts of the war. The main strongholds of the Red defence were the [[Helsinki Workers' Hall|Workers' Hall]], the [[Helsinki railway station]], the Red Headquarters at [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]], the [[Government Palace (Finland)|Senate Palace]]–[[Helsinki University]] area and the former Russian garrisons. By the late evening of 12 April, most of the southern parts and all of the western area of the city had been occupied by the Germans. Local Helsinki White Guards, hidden in the city during the war, joined the battle as the Germans advanced through the town.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=100–102}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
On 13 April, German troops took over the [[Market Square, Helsinki|Market Square]], the Smolna, the Presidential Palace, and the Senate-[[Ritarihuone]] area. Toward the end, a German brigade with 2,000–3,000 soldiers, led by colonel Kondrad Wolf joined the battle. The unit rushed from north to the eastern parts of Helsinki, pushing into the working-class neighborhoods of [[Hermanni (Helsinki)|Hermanni]], [[Kallio]] and [[Sörnäinen]]. German artillery bombarded and destroyed the Workers' Hall, and put out the red lantern of the Finnish revolution. The eastern parts of the town surrendered around 2 p.m. on 13 April—a white flag was raised in the tower of the [[Kallio Church]]. Sporadic fighting lasted until the evening. In total, 60 Germans, 300–400 Reds and 23 White Guard troopers were killed in the battle. Around 7,000 Reds were captured. The German army celebrated the victory with a military parade in the centre of Helsinki on 14 April 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}},{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=100–102}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=76–94}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
====Battle of Lahti====
{{Main article|Battle of Lahti}}
Detachment Brandenstein took over the town of Lahti on 19 April. The German troops advanced from east-southeast; via [[Nastola]], through Mustankallio graveyard in [[Salpausselkä]] and the Russian garrisons at [[Hennala]]. The battle was mild but strategically important as it cut the connection between the western and eastern Red Guards. Local engagements broke out in the town and the surrounding area between 22 April and 2 May 1918 as several thousand western Red Guards and Red civilian refugees tried to push through on their way to Russia. The German troops were able to hold major parts of the town and halt the Red advance. In total, 600 Reds and 80 German soldiers perished, and 30,000 Reds were captured in and around Lahti.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=194–201}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=61–70}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=399–410}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=104–105}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2004|pp=165–176}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=89–91}}</ref>
====Battle of Vyborg====
{{Main article|Battle of Vyborg}}
After the defeat in Tampere, the Red Guards began a slow retreat eastwards. As the German army seized Helsinki, the White Army shifted the military focus to Vyborg; 18,500 Whites raided against 15,000 defending Reds. General Mannerheim's war plan was affected by the Battle for Tampere, the civilian industrial town. He aimed to avoid new bloody city combat in Vyborg, an old military fortress. The Jäger detachments tried to bind and destroy the Red force outside the town and conquer it in a mild battle. The Whites were able to cut the Reds' connection to Petrograd and weaken the troops on the Karelian Isthmus on 20–26 April, but the decisive blow remained to be dealt in Vyborg. The final attack began on late 27 April with a heavy, concentrated Jäger artillery barrage. The Reds' defence collapsed gradually, and eventually, the Whites conquered Patterinmäki—the symbolic last stand of the Reds—in the early hours of 29 April 1918. In total, 400 Whites died, and 500–600 Reds perished and 12,000–15,000 were captured.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=486–512}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=201–226}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=391–400, 424–442}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=411–437}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|p=112}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=139–147}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009c|pp=199–223}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=232–309}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
===Red and White terror===
[[File:Kaksi punaista teloitetaan Kiviniemessä Karjalan kannaksella 11.4.1918 (26364614704).jpg|thumb|A White firing squad executing two Red soldiers in [[Losevo, Leningrad Oblast|Kiviniemi]], the Karelian Isthmus|alt=A firing squad of the Whites is executing two Red soldiers with rifles in wintry field against a small hill. The leader of White unit is standing behind the firing squad.|left]]
The Whites and the Reds carried out political violence, called White terror ({{Lang-fi|valkoinen terrori}}) and Red terror ({{Lang-fi|punainen terrori}}), through executions. The threshold of political violence was crossed by the Finnish activists during the First Period of Russification. Large-scale terror operations were born and bred in Europe during World War I, the first [[total war]]. The February and October Revolutions initiated similar violence in Finland; at first by Russian army troopers executing their officers, later between the Finnish Reds and Whites.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=219–243}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=52}}, {{Harvnb|Uola|1998|pp=11–30}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The terror was divided into two parts: a calculated part of general warfare, and local, personal murders and corresponding acts of revenge. In the former, the commanding staff planned and organized the action and gave orders to the lower level; at least a third of the Red terror and most of the White terror was centrally led. The Red and White governments officially opposed political violence, but the operational decisions were made at the military level.<ref name="Tikka 2006 69–138">{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=69–138}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The main goals of the terror were to destroy the command structure of the enemy, clear and secure the areas governed and occupied by armies, and create shock and fear among the civil population and the enemy soldiers. Likewise, the common troopers' paramilitary nature and lack of combat skills drove to use political violence as a military weapon. The terror achieved some of its objectives but also gave additional motivation to fight against an enemy perceived to be inhuman and cruel. Red and White propaganda used the opponent's actions effectively, increasing the spiral of revenge.<ref name="Tikka 2006 69–138"/> Most of the terror was undertaken by [[cavalry]] units consisting of 10 to 80 soldiers aged 15 to 20 under the absolute authority of an experienced adult leader. The detachments were specialized in [[search and destroy]] operations and [[Death Squad|death squad]] tactics.<ref>No order by the less organized highest Red Guard leadership to implement Red terror has been found. The paper was "burned" or the command was oral. In February 1918, the White troops were given ''Instructions for Wartime Judicature'', later called [[Shoot on the Spot Declaration]] and a ''Desk of Securing Occupied Areas'' acted in the highest White staff, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=19–38, 69–100, 141–158}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
[[File:Viipurin lääninvankila 1918.jpg|thumb|Red terror in April 1918; the Vyborg county jail massacre, where 30 White prisoners were killed<ref>{{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=290–301}}</ref>|alt=Around eight bodies are laying around hallway after the Vyborg county jail massacre, an example of Red terror. 30 White prisoners were killed by the Reds.]]
The Red Guards executed Whites with socioeconomic power, including politicians, major landowners, industrialists, police officers, civil servants, teachers as well as leaders and members of the White Guards. Ten priests of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|Evangelical Lutheran Church]] and 90 moderate socialists were killed. The number of executions varied over the war months; they peaked in February during the period of securing power, but March saw low counts because the Reds could not seize new areas outside the original frontlines. The numbers rose again in April as the Reds aimed to leave Finland. The two major terror centres were Toijala and Kouvola, where 300–350 Whites were executed between February and April 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=183–208}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=105}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–32, 69–100, 141–146, 157–158}}, {{Harvnb|Huhta|2009|pp=7–14}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The White Guards executed Red Guard and party leaders, common Red troopers, socialist members of the Finnish Parliament and local Red administration, and those active in Red terror. The numbers varied over the months as the Whites conquered southern Finland. Comprehensive White terror started with the general offensive of the Whites in March 1918, increased constantly, culminated at the end of the war, and declined and ceased after the enemy troops had been transferred to prison camps. During the peak of the executions, between the end of April and the beginning of May, 200 Reds were shot per day. White terror was decisive against Russian soldiers who assisted the Finnish Reds, and several Russian non-socialist civilians were killed in the [[Vyborg massacre]], the aftermath of the Battle of Vyborg.<ref>Around 350 Red females, mainly troopers, were executed with 200 of them in Lahti. [[Sexual violence]] against women, Red females in particular, is a long-term [[taboo]]. The number of reliable literary sources is negligible, while the number of unreliable oral sources is high, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=121, 138}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–32, 69–81, 103–138, 141–146, 157–158}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=312–386}}, {{Harvnb|Lintunen|2014|pp=201–229}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref>
In total, 1,650 Whites died in Red terror, while around 10,000 Reds perished in White terror, which turned into [[Political cleansing of population|political cleansing]]. White victims have been recorded exactly, while the number of Red troopers executed immediately after battles remain unclear. Together with the prison camp treatment of the Reds during 1918, the executions inflicted the deepest scars on the Finnish population, regardless of their political allegiance. Some of those, who carried out the killings were seriously traumatized, a phenomenon that was later to become well-documented.<ref>56 "Red" children, 11 girls, and 7 "White" children, 2 girls, were executed outside battles. After 1918, a historical myth was created: the victors' overall acts were legal, while those of the defeated faction were illegal. Modern historians assert that justification of civil war violence on a lawful and moral basis, by any side, leads to bias, distortion and decay of a society, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=183–208}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=121, 138}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=19–30}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=150–188}}, {{Harvnb|Pekkalainen|2014|pp=49–68}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Kekkonen|2016|pp=106–166, 287–356}}</ref>
===End===
After the defeat in Tampere and the German army intervention, the People's Delegation retreated from Helsinki to Vyborg on 8 April. The loss of Helsinki pushed them to Petrograd on 25 April 1918. The escape of the Red leadership imbittered Red troopers and thousands of them, without true leadership, tried to flee to Russia, but most of the refugees were encircled by the White and the German troops. The Reds in the Lahti area surrendered on 1–2 May .<ref name="Keränen et al. 1992 123–137">{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=123–137}}</ref> The long caravans of the fleeing Reds included women and children, who experienced a desperate, chaotic escape with several human losses due to the attacks of the enemy. The scene was described as a "road of tears" for the Reds, but for the Whites, the long enemy caravans heading east was a victorious moment. The Red Guards' last strongholds fell by 5 May between the Kouvola and Kotka area, after the [[Battle of Ahvenkoski]]. The war of 1918 ended on 15 May, when the Whites took over [[Fort Ino]], a Russian [[coastal artillery]] base on the Karelian Isthmus, from the Russian troops. White Finland and General Mannerheim celebrated the victory with a large military parade in Helsinki on 16 May 1918.<ref name="Keränen et al. 1992 123–137" />
The Red Guards had been defeated. The initially [[pacifist]] Finnish labour movement had lost the Civil War, several military leaders committed suicide, and a majority of the Reds were sent to prison camps. The Vaasa Senate returned to Helsinki on 4 May 1918, but the capital was under the control of the German army. White Finland had become a protectorate of the German Empire and General Rüdiger von der Goltz was called "the true Regent of Finland." No armistice or peace negotiations were carried out between the Whites and Reds, and an official peace treaty to end the Finnish Civil War was never signed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=123–137}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=144–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=11–14, 197–203}}</ref>
==Aftermath==
===Prison camps===
{{Main article|Finnish Civil War prison camps}}
[[File:Civil War Prison Camp in Helsinki.png|thumb|A prison camp for Red prisoners of war in [[Suomenlinna]], Helsinki. Around 12,500 Red prisoners of war died in such camps due to malnutrition and disease.|alt=A vantage point picture of a prison camp at the Suomenlinna Fortress in Helsinki. Around 25 Red prisoners are present in the courtyard, surrounded by a shack and a garrison building.|left]]
The White Army and German troops captured around 80,000 Red prisoners of war (POWs), including 5,000 women, 1,500 children and 8,000 Russians. The largest [[List of concentration and internment camps#Finland|prison camps]] were Suomenlinna, an island facing Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Riihimäki, [[Ekenäs, Finland|Tammisaari]], Tampere and Vyborg. The Senate decided to keep the POWs detained until each person's role was investigated; a law for a Treason Court ({{Lang-fi|valtiorikosoikeus}}) was enacted on 29 May 1918. The judicature of the 145 inferior courts led by the Supreme Treason Court ({{Lang-fi|valtiorikosylioikeus}}) did not meet the standards of [[impartiality]], due to the condemning atmosphere of White Finland. In total 76,000 cases were examined and 68,000 Reds were convicted, primarily for complicity to [[treason]]; 39,000 were released on [[parole]] while the mean punishment for the rest was 2–4 years in penitentiary. 555 people were sentenced to [[death]], of which 113 were executed. The trials revealed that some [[innocent]] adults had been imprisoned.<ref>Some of the innocent persons were White supporters or neutral Finns, taken by force to serve in the Red Guards, and unable to immediately prove their motivations in the conflict, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=140, 142}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=112}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=161–178}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=177–188}}, {{Harvnb|Pekkalainen|2014|pp=84–244}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
Combined with severe food shortage, caused by the Civil War, the mass imprisonment led to high mortality rates in the POW camps, and the catastrophe was compounded by a mentality of punishment, anger, and indifference on the part of the victors. Many prisoners felt that they were abandoned by their own leaders, who had fled to Russia. The physical and mental condition of the POWs declined rapidly in May as food supply had disrupted during the Red Guards' chaotic retreat in April, and a high number of the prisoners had been sent to the camps in Tampere and Helsinki during the first half of April. As a consequence, in June, 2,900 starved to death or died as a result of diseases caused by malnutrition and the [[Spanish flu]], 5,000 in July, 2,200 in August, and 1,000 in September. The mortality rate was highest in the [[Tammisaari prison camp|Tammisaari camp]] at 34 percent, while the rate varied between 5 percent and 20 percent in the others. In total, around 12,500 Finns perished (3,000–4,000 due to the Spanish flu) while detained. The dead were buried in [[mass graves]] near the camps. Moreover, 700 rundown POWs died soon after release from the camps.<ref>{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=114, 121, 123}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|pp=115–150}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The majority of the POWs were paroled or pardoned by the end of 1918 after a shift in the political situation. There were 6,100 Red prisoners left at the end of the year and 4,000 at the end of 1919. In January 1920, 3,000 POWs were pardoned and civil rights were returned to 40,000 former Reds. In 1927, the Social Democratic Party government led by [[Väinö Tanner]] pardoned the last 50 prisoners. The Finnish government paid [[Reparation (legal)|reparations]] to 11,600 POWs in 1973. The traumatic hardships of the prison camps increased support of communism in Finland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1973|pp=105–142}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=112}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Saarela|2014|pp=331–363}}</ref>
===War-torn nation===
The Civil War was a catastrophe for Finland; around 36,000 people, 1.2 percent of the nation's total population, perished. The war left about 15,000 children orphaned. Most of the casualties occurred outside the battlefields; in the prison camps and the terror campaigns. Many Reds fled to Russia at the end of the war and during the period that followed. The traumatic war deepened the divisions within Finnish society, many moderate-neutral Finns identifying themselves as "citizens of two nations."<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=9–13, 212–217}}, {{Harvnb|Peltonen|2003|pp=9–24, 214–220, 307–325}}, [http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/stat2 National Archive of Finland 2004],{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=32–38, 209–223}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> The conflict led to disintegration within both socialist and non-socialist factions. The shift of political power toward the right caused a dispute between conservatives and liberals on the best system of government for Finland to adopt: the former demanded monarchy and restricted parliamentarism, the latter demanded a democratic republic.<ref name="Vares 1998 38–115, 199–261">{{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–115, 199–261}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}</ref>
Both sides justified their views by political and legal grounds. The monarchists leaned on the Swedish regime's monarchist constitution from 1772, accepted by Russia in 1809, belittled the Declaration of Independence of 1917, and proposed a modernized monarchist constitution for Finland. The republicans argued that the 1772 law lost validity in the February Revolution and the authority of the Russian Czar was assumed by the Finnish Parliament on 15 November 1917 and that the Republic of Finland was adopted on 6 December. The republicans were able to halt processing of the monarchist proposal in Parliament. The monarchists responded by applying the 1772 law directly to select a new monarch for the country.<ref name="Vares 1998 38–115, 199–261" />
The 1918 war led to the breakup of the Finnish labour movement into three parts: moderate social democrats and left-wing socialists in Finland, and communists in Soviet Russia. The Social Democratic Party had the first official party meeting after the Civil War on 25 December 1918, wherein the party proclaimed a commitment to parliamentary means and disclaimed Bolshevism and communism. The leaders of Red Finland, who had fled to Russia, established the [[Communist Party of Finland]] in Moscow on 29 August 1918. After the power struggle of 1917 and the bloody civil war, the former Fennomans and social democrats, who had supported "ultra-democratic" means in Red Finland, declared to have committed to revolutionary Bolshevism–communism and to the dictatorship of the proletariat, under the control of Vladimir Lenin.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1973|pp=105–142}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=136, 149, 152, 159}}, {{Harvnb|Saarela|2014|pp=331–363}}</ref>
[[File:Rump Parliament.jpg|thumb|The [[Rump legislature|Rump Parliament]] of Finland, Helsinki 1918. German army officers stand in the left corner. Social Democrat [[Matti Paasivuori]] is on the right, representing Finnish socialists alone.|alt= Parliament is convening for the first time after the war. Whites and German soldiers dominate the picture while only one person from the opposing social democrats is present. Thus, it was sarcastically called a Rump Parliament.]]
A conservative-monarchist Senate was formed by [[Juho Kusti Paasikivi|J.K. Paasikivi]] in May 1918, and the Senate asked the German troops to remain in Finland. The 3 March Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the 7 March 1918 German-Finnish agreements bound White Finland to the German Empire's power sphere. General Gustav Mannerheim resigned his post on 25 May after disagreements with the Senate about German hegemony over Finland, and about his planned attack on Petrograd to repulse the Bolsheviks and capture Russian Karelia. The Germans opposed the plans due to their peace treaties with Lenin and other German outlines. The Civil War weakened the Finnish Parliament; it became a Rump Parliament including merely three socialist representatives.<ref>An additional German–Russian treaty was signed on 27 August 1918; the Germans promised to keep the Finnish troops out of Petrograd and Russian Karelia but planned an attack of a joint Bolshevik-White Finnish military formation against the British troops. The probable collapse of the weak Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War led to the German ''Schlussstein'' plan to seize Petrograd, {{Harvnb|Rautkallio|1977|pp=377–390}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=460–481}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=136}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=122–129}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=121}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=144–147}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=210–215, 300–310}}</ref>
On 9 October 1918, under pressure by Germany, the Senate and Parliament elected a German prince, [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Friedrich Karl]], brother-in-law of German Emperor [[William II, German Emperor|William II]], to become the King of Finland. The German leadership was able to utilize the breakdown of Russia for the geopolitical benefit of the German Empire in Fennoscandia also. The Civil War and the aftermath diminished independence of Finland, compared to the status in the turn of the year 1917-1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rautkallio|1977|pp=377–390}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=152}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=199–261}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191, 276–291}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=197–203, 287–300}}</ref>
The economic condition of Finland deteriorated drastically; recovery to pre-conflict levels was achieved in 1925. The most acute crisis was food supply, already deficient in 1917, though large-scale starvation had been avoided. The Civil War caused marked starvation in southern Finland. Late in 1918, Finnish politician [[Rudolf Holsti]] appealed for relief to [[Herbert Hoover]], the American chairman of the [[Committee for Relief in Belgium]]. Hoover arranged for food shipments and persuaded the Allies to relax their blockade of the [[Baltic Sea]], which had obstructed food supplies to Finland, and allow food in.<ref>The Finnish economy grew exceptionally fast between 1924 and 1939 despite a slow-down during the depression of 1929–1931, substantially enhancing the standard of living of the majority of Finns, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=157}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=9–13, 212–217}}, {{Harvnb|Saarikoski|2008|pp=115–131}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
===Compromise===
As the fate of Finns was decided outside Finland in Petrograd on 15 March 1917, it was decided again on 11 November 1918 in Berlin after Germany surrendered in World War I. The German Empire collapsed in the [[German Revolution of 1918-19]], caused by lack of food, war-weariness and defeat in the battles of the Western Front. General Rüdiger von der Goltz and his division left Helsinki on 16 December, and Prince Friedrich Karl, who had not yet been crowned, left his post on 20 December. Finland's status shifted from a monarchist protectorate of the German Empire to an independent democratic republic. The system of government was confirmed within the [[Constitution of Finland|Constitution Act]] ({{Lang-fi|Suomen hallitusmuoto}}) on 17 July 1919.<ref>In terms of dates in history, Finnish independence symbolically formed a triangle composed of 15 November 1917, 6 December 1917 and 11 November 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 73, 154, 171}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=11–14, 323–344}}</ref>
The first local elections based on universal suffrage in Finland were held during 17–28 December 1918, and the first free parliamentary election after the Civil War on 3 March 1919. The United States and the United Kingdom recognised Finnish sovereignty on 6–7 May 1919. The Western powers demanded the establishment of democratic republics in post-war Europe to calm down the widespread revolutionary movements. The Finno–Russian [[Treaty of Tartu (Russian-Finnish)|Treaty of Tartu]] was signed on 14 October 1920, aiming to stabilize the political relations and settle the borderline between Finland and Russia.<ref>Since 1920s, Finland gradually became a subject in international politics, instead of merely being an object, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=154, 171}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Kuisma|2010|pp=231–250}}</ref>
[[File:Finnish Civil War Memorial Antrea.jpg|thumb|The Whites' Civil War memorial in [[Kamennogorsk]], Russia|alt=A stone pedestal commemorating the Civil War with a cropped coat of arms Finland and the inscription "Sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland and freedom in 1918."|left]]
In April 1918, the leading Finnish social liberal and the eventual first President of Finland, [[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg]] wrote: "It is urgent to get the life and development in this country back on the path that we had already reached in 1906 and which the turmoil of war turned us away from." Moderate social democrat [[Väinö Voionmaa]] agonised in 1919: "Those who still trust in the future of this nation must have an exceptionally strong faith. This young independent country has lost almost everything due to the war." Voionmaa was a vital companion for the leader of the reformed Social Democratic Party, Väinö Tanner.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=223–225, 243, 249}}</ref>
Santeri Alkio supported moderate politics. His party colleague, [[Kyösti Kallio]] urged in his Nivala address on 5 May 1918: "We must rebuild a Finnish nation, which is not divided into the Reds and Whites. We have to establish a democratic Finnish republic, where all the Finns can feel that we are true citizens and members of this society." In the end, many of the moderate Finnish conservatives followed the thinking of National Coalition Party member [[Lauri Ingman]], who wrote in early 1918: "A political turn more to the right will not help us now, instead it would strengthen the support of socialism in this country."<ref>Ståhlberg, Ingman, Tokoi and [[Heikki Ritavuori]] as well as [[Miina Sillanpää]] with other moderate female politicians, tried to avoid the war in January 1918 with a proposal for a new Senate, including both non-socialist and socialist members, but they were overrun, {{Harvnb|Hokkanen|1986}}, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1986|pp=121–141}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=223–225, 243, 249}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=58, 96–99}}, {{Harvnb|Korppi-Tommola|2016|pp=99–102}}</ref>
Together with the other broad-minded Finns, the new partnership constructed a Finnish compromise which eventually delivered stable and broad parliamentary democracy. The compromise was based both on the defeat of the Reds in the 1918 war and the fact that most of the Whites' political goals had not been achieved. After foreign forces left Finland, the militant factions of the Reds and the Whites lost their backup, while the pre-1918 cultural and national integrity and the legacy of Fennomania stood out among the Finns.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=480–481}}, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1992|pp=228–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=97–99, 243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}},{{Harvnb|Haapala|2009a|pp=395–404}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009b|pp=17–23}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=174–182}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The weakness of both Germany and Russia after World War I empowered Finland and made a peaceful, domestic Finnish social and political settlement possible. The reconciliation led to a slow and painful, but steady, national unification. In the end, the power vacuum and [[interregnum]] of 1917–1919 gave way to the Finnish compromise. From 1919 to 1991, the democracy and sovereignty of the Finns withstood challenges from right-wing and left-wing political radicalism, the crisis of World War II and pressure from the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]].<ref>The Civil War interfered with and slowed down the Finnish modernization process, ongoing since the end of the 19th century as an interaction between industrialization, [[constitutional state]] formation, democratization as well as the formation of civil society and national independence. The process did not follow any long-term grand plan made by the Finns. Instead, it was the result of reacting to and solving short-term domestic and international economic, political and social questions and problems, by means of the long-term history, structure and the way of life of the northern society formed between western and eastern Europe, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1992|pp=228–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=97–99, 243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Saarikoski|2008|pp=115–131}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009a|pp=395–404}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009b|pp=17–23}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
[[File:Pohjois-Haagan veljeshauta.jpg|thumb|A grave for Red soldiers and civilians in [[Pohjois-Haaga|North Haaga]], Helsinki<ref>According to a likely incorrect tale, Estonian Vice-Prime Minister [[Jüri Vilms]] was executed by the Germans in Helsinki and buried in the tomb, {{Harvnb|Kuusela|2015|pp=42–43}}</ref>|alt=A modest tombstone, with flowers in front of it and an iron fence surrounding it, is the grave site for Red soldiers in civilians in Helsinki.]]
Between 1918 and the 1950s, mainstream literature and poetry presented the 1918 war from the White victors' point of view, such as the "Psalm of the Cannons" ({{lang-fi|Tykkien virsi}}) by [[Arvi Järventaus]] in 1918. In poetry, [[Bertel Gripenberg]], who had volunteered for the White Army, celebrated its cause in "The Great Age" ({{Lang-sv|Den stora tiden}}) in 1928 and [[V.A. Koskenniemi]] in "Young Anthony" ({{Lang-fi|Nuori Anssi}}) in 1918. The war tales of the Reds were kept in silence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}</ref>
The first neutrally critical books were written soon after the war: "Devout Misery" ({{Lang-fi|Hurskas kurjuus}}) written by the [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate]] [[Frans Emil Sillanpää]] in 1919, "Dead Apple Trees" ({{Lang-fi|Kuolleet omenapuut}}) by [[Joel Lehtonen]] in 1918 and "Homecoming" ({{Lang-sv|Hemkomsten}}) by [[Runar Schildt]] in 1919. They were followed by [[Jarl Hemmer]] in 1931 with the book "A Man and His Conscience" ({{Lang-sv|En man och hans samvete}}) and [[Oiva Paloheimo]] in 1942 with "Restless Childhood" ({{Lang-fi|Levoton lapsuus}}). [[Lauri Viita|Lauri Viita's]] book "Scrambled Ground" ({{Lang-fi|Moreeni}}) from 1950 presented the life and experiences of a worker family in the Tampere of 1918, including a point of view from outsiders in the Civil War.<ref>Runar Schildt committed suicide in 1925, partly due to the Civil War. In 1920, he wrote: "The bugle will not call me and the people of my kind to assemble. We have no place in the White and Red Guards of this life. No fanatic war-cry, no place in the column, no permanent place to stay, no peace of mind. Not for us", {{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}</ref>
Between 1959 and 1962, [[Väinö Linna]] described in his trilogy "[[Under the North Star]]" ({{Lang-fi|Täällä Pohjantähden alla}}) the Civil War and World War II from the viewpoint of the common people. Part II of Linna's work opened the larger view and the tales of the Reds in the 1918 war and had a significant mental effect in Finland. At the same time, a new outlook of the war was opened by [[Paavo Haavikko|Paavo Haavikko's]] book "Private Matters" ({{Lang-fi|Yksityisiä asioita}}), [[Veijo Meri]]'s "The Events of 1918" ({{Lang-fi|Vuoden 1918 tapahtumat}}) and [[Paavo Rintala|Paavo Rintala's]] "My Grandmother and Mannerheim" ({{Lang-fi|Mummoni ja Mannerheim}}), all published in 1960. In poetry, [[Viljo Kajava]], who had experienced the Battle of Tampere at the age of nine, presented a pacifist view of the civil war in his "Poems of Tampere" ({{Lang-fi|Tampereen runot}}) in 1966. The same battle is described in the novel "Corpse Bearer" ({{Lang-fi|Kylmien kyytimies}}) by [[Antti Tuuri]] from 2007. Jenni Linturi's multilayered Malmi 1917 (2013) describes contradictory emotions and attitudes in a village drifting to civil war.<ref>The trilogy of Väinö Linna affected history research, while many Finns began to interpret Part II as "the historical truth" for the events of 1918. Historians have shown the book's main distortions: the role of crofters is emphasized too much and the role of social liberals and other moderate non-socialists is neglected, but they have not diminished the high value of the trilogy in Finnish literature, {{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Helsingin Sanomat|2017|p=B6}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}</ref>
Väinö Linna's trilogy turned the general tide, and after it several books were written mainly from the Red viewpoint: The Tampere-trilogy by [[Erkki Lepokorpi]] in 1977, [[Juhani Syrjä|Juhani Syrjä's]] "Juho 18" in 1998, "The Command" ({{Lang-fi|Käsky}}) by [[Leena Lander]] in 2003 and "Sandra" by [[Heidi Köngäs]] in 2017. [[Kjell Westö|Kjell Westö's]] epic novel "[[Where We Once Went]]" ({{Lang-sv|Där vi en gång gått}}), published in 2006, deals with the period of 1915–1930 from both the Red and the White sides. Westö's book "Mirage 38" ({{Lang-sv|Hägring 38}}) from 2013 describes post-war traumas of the 1918 war and the Finnish pre-World War II mental atmosphere. Many of the stories have been utilized in motion picture and in theatre.<ref>{{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Helsingin Sanomat|2017|p=B6}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Commons category|Civil war of Finland}}
{{div col|colwidth=}}
* [[Eastern Front (World War I)]]
* [[Lotta Svärd]]
* [[History of Finland]]
* [[Finnish War]]
* [[Winter War]]
* [[List of Finnish wars]]
* [[Ukrainian War of Independence|Ukrainian Civil War]]
* [[Mensheviks]]
{{div col end}}
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{{Reflist|30em}}
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{{Refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
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* {{Citation|last=Ylikangas|first=Heikki|author-link=|year=1993a|title=Tie Tampereelle|place=Porvoo|publisher=WSOY|isbn=951-0-18897-2}}
* {{Citation|last=Ylikangas|first=Heikki|author-link=|year=1993b|title=Sisällissota, Historiallinen Aikakauskirja 2/1993|place=|publisher=|id=|url=http://www.uta.fi/koskivoimaa/valta/1918-40/sisallissota.htm}}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/vapriikki/albums/72157668009883972 1918] (pictures of the Civil War on [[Flickr]] uploaded by the Vapriikki Museum Centre under [[CC-BY 2.0]])
* [https://finna.fi/?lng=en-gb Finna.fi] (search service for information from Finnish archives, libraries and museums)
* [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/finnish_civil_war_1918 Finnish Civil War 1918] (part of the 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War)
*[http://www.ethesis.net/finland/swf/start_here.html The Representation of Violence in the Finnish (press-)Photography of the Civil War] (requires an [[Adobe Flash]] player)
*[http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/main?lang=en War Victims in Finland, 1914–1922] (hosted by the [[National Archives of Finland]])
{{World War I}}
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[[Category:Finnish Civil War| ]]
[[Category:Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Europe]]
[[Category:Civil wars of the Industrial era]]
[[Category:Revolution-based civil wars]]
[[Category:Wars involving Finland]]
[[Category:Wars involving Germany]]
[[Category:Russian Revolution]]
[[Category:Finland–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Finland–Russia relations]]
[[Category:1918 in Finland]]
[[Category:Subsidiary conflicts of World War I]]
[[Category:Proxy wars]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1918]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use Harvard referencing|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Finnish Civil War
| partof = [[World War I]], [[Revolutions of 1917-1923]]
| image = [[File:Tampereen taistelun aikana tuhoutunutta Tammelan kaupunginosaa (26696844330).jpg|300px]]
| caption = [[Tampere]]'s civilian buildings destroyed in the Civil War
| date = 27 January – 15 May 1918<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=01|day1=27|year1=1918|month2=05|day2=15|year2=1918}})
| place = [[Finland]]
| result = {{unbulleted list|Victory of the Finnish Whites|German [[hegemony]] until November 1918|Division in Finnish society}}
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[White Guard (Finland)|Finnish Whites]]<br> {{flag|German Empire}}<ref>Including conspirative co-operation between Germany and Russian Bolsheviks 1914–1918, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|McMeekin|2017|pp=125–136}}</ref><br>[[Swedes|Swedish]], [[Estonians|Estonian]], [[Poles|Polish]] volunteers
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Red Guards (Finland)|Finnish Reds]]<br> {{Flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Soviet Russia]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hannes Ignatius]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Ernst Linder]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Ernst Löfström]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Martin Wetzer]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Karl Fredrik Wilkama|Karl Wilkman]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} Hans von Tschirsky und von Bögendorff<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} Konrad Wolf<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Otto von Brandenstein]]<br>
{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Hugo Meurer]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hjalmar Frisell]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} Harald Hjalmarson<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} [[Hans Kalm]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Finland 1918 (state).svg|size=22px}} Stanislaw Prus-Boguslawski
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Ali Aaltonen]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Eero Haapalainen]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Eino Rahja]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Adolf Taimi]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Evert Eloranta]]<br />
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Kullervo Manner]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[August Wesley]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Hugo Salmela]]<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} Heikki Kaljunen<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} Fredrik Johansson<br>
{{flagicon image|Red flag.svg|size=22px}} [[Verner Lehtimäki]]<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} Konstantin Yeremejev<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Mikhail Svechnikov]]<br>
{{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Georgij Bulatsel]]
| strength1 = White Guards 80,000–90,000<br />[[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] 1,450<br />[[Imperial German Army]] 14,000<br />[[Swedes|Swedish]] Brigade 1,000<ref name="Strength">{{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=19–24}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993a|pp=24–93}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=107, 267–273, 377–391}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref><br />[[Estonians|Estonian]] volunteers<ref>{{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=55–63}}</ref><br>[[Polish Legion in Finland|Polish Legion]] 1,737<ref>{{Harvnb|Muilu|2010|pp=87–90}}</ref>
| strength2 = Red Guards 80,000–90,000 (2,600 women)<br />Former [[Russian Imperial Army]] 7,000–10,000<ref name="Strength"/>
| casualties1 = '''Whites''' <br>3,500 killed in action<br />1,650 executed<br />46 missing<br />4 [[POW]] deaths<br>'''Swedes'''<br>55 killed in action<br>'''Germans'''<br>450–500 killed in action<ref name="Casualties">{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=191–200, 453–460}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|}}, [http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/stat2 National Archive of Finland 2004], {{Harvnb|Roselius|2004|pp=165–176}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|Kalleinen|2004|pp=267–271}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|pp=53–72}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref><br>'''Total'''<br>5,700–5,800 casualties (100–200 neutral/"White" civilians)
| casualties2 = '''Reds''' <br>5,700 killed in action<br />10,000 executed<br />1,150 missing<br />12,500 POWs deceased, 700 acute deaths after release<br>'''Russians'''<br>800–900 killed in action<br>1,600 executed<ref name="Casualties"/><br>'''Total'''<br>32,500 casualties (100–200 neutral/"Red" civilians)
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Finnish Civil War}}
| alt = Ruinous buildings, with only the parts made out of concrete left standing, after the Battle in Tampere.
}}The '''Finnish Civil War'''<ref>Legacy includes war designations: '''Brethren War''', '''Citizen War''', '''Class War''', '''Freedom War''', '''Red Rebellion''' and '''Revolution''', {{Harvnb|Tepora|Roselius|2014b|pp=1–16}}. According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''[[Aamulehti]]'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil War 29%, Citizen War 25%, Class War 13%, Freedom War 11%, Red Rebellion 5%, Revolution 1%, other name 2% and no answer 14%, {{Harvnb|Aamulehti|2008|p=16}}</ref> (27 January – 15 May 1918; {{Lang-fi|Suomen sisällissota}}; {{Lang-sv|Finska inbördeskriget}}; {{lang-rus|Гражданская война в Финляндии|}}; {{Lang-de|Finnischer Bürgerkrieg}}) was a conflict for the leadership and control of [[Finland]] during the country's transition from a [[Grand Duchy of Finland|Grand Duchy]] of the [[Russian Empire]] to an independent state. The clashes in Finland took place in the context of [[Aftermath of World War I|the national, political, and social turmoil]] caused by [[World War I]] ([[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]) in [[Europe]]. The civil war was fought between the ''Reds'', led by the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]], and the ''Whites'', conducted by the non-socialist, [[conservatism|conservative]]-based [[Senate of Finland|Senate]]. The [[paramilitary]] [[Red Guards (Finland)|Red Guards]], composed of industrial and agrarian workers, controlled the cities and industrial centers of southern Finland. The paramilitary [[White Guard (Finland)|White Guards]], composed of peasants, along with middle-class and upper-class social strata, controlled rural central and northern Finland.
In the years before the conflict, Finnish society had experienced rapid population growth, [[industrialization]], pre-urbanization and the rise of a comprehensive [[labour movement]]. The country's political and governmental systems were in an unstable phase of [[democratization]] and modernization. The socio-economic condition of the population had gradually improved, while national-cultural feeling had also grown stronger. World War I led to the collapse of the Russian Empire and a power struggle, militarization and escalating crisis between the left-leaning Finnish labour movement and the Finnish conservatives.
The Reds carried out an unsuccessful general offensive in February 1918, supplied with weapons by [[Soviet Russia]]. A counteroffensive by the Whites began in March, reinforced by the [[German Empire]]'s military detachments in April. The decisive engagements were the [[Battle of Tampere|Battles of Tampere]] and [[Battle of Vyborg|Vyborg]] ({{Lang-fi|Viipuri}}), won by the Whites, and the [[Battle of Helsinki|Battles of Helsinki]] and [[Battle of Lahti|Lahti]], won by German troops, leading to overall victory for the Whites and the German forces. [[Political terror]] became a part of this warfare. Around 12,500 Red [[prisoners of war]] died of malnutrition and disease in [[Finnish Civil War prison camps|camps]]. Approximately 39,000 people, of whom 36,000 were Finns, perished in the conflict.
In the aftermath, the Finns passed from Russian governance to the German [[sphere of influence]] with a plan to establish a German-led [[Kingdom of Finland (1918)|Finnish monarchy]]. The scheme was cancelled with the defeat of [[Germany]] in World War I and Finland instead emerged as an independent, democratic republic. The Civil War divided the nation for decades. Finnish society was only reunited through social compromises based on a long-term culture of moderate politics and religion and the post-war economic recovery.
==Background==
[[File:General Map of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Indicating Postal Roads, Stations and the Distance in Versts Between Them- According to the Latest Verified Data in St. Petersburg in 1825 WDL353.png|alt=A map from 1825 illustrates the Grand Duchy of Finland, then part of the Russian Empire. The map has several creases from folding. Place names and legend are written in Russian cyrillic script and Swedish.|left|thumb|A general map of Russia's Grand Duchy of Finland from 1825. The map texts are in Russian and Swedish.]]
=== International politics ===
The main factor behind the Finnish Civil War was a political crisis arising out of World War I. Under the pressures of the Great War, the Russian Empire collapsed, leading to the [[February Revolution|February]] and [[October Revolution]]s in 1917. This breakdown caused a large [[power vacuum]] and a subsequent struggle for dominance in [[Eastern Europe]]. The Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire since 1809, became embroiled in the turmoil. [[Geopolitically]] less important than the continental [[Moscow]]-[[Warsaw]] gateway, the northerly Finnish ground, isolated by the [[Baltic sea|Baltic Sea]] was a peaceful side front until early 1918. The war between the German Empire and Russia had only indirect effects on the [[Finns]]. Since the end of the 19th century, the Grand Duchy had become a vital source of [[raw materials]], industrial products, food and labour for the growing Imperial Russian capital [[Petrograd]] (modern Saint Petersburg), and World War I emphasized that role. Strategically, the Finnish territory was the less important northern section of the Estonian–Finnish gateway and a buffer zone to and from Petrograd through the [[Narva]] area, the [[Gulf of Finland]] and the [[Karelian Isthmus]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–13, 152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The German Empire saw Eastern Europe—primarily Russia—as a major source of vital products and raw materials, both during World War I and for the future. Her resources overstretched by the two-front war, Germany pursued a policy of breaking up Russia from within by providing financial support to revolutionary groups, such as the [[Bolsheviks]] and the [[Socialist Revolutionary Party]], and to radical, separatist factions, such as the Finnish activist movement leaning toward [[Pan-Germanism|Germanism]]. Between 30 and 40 million marks were spent on this endeavour. Controlling the Finnish area would allow the [[Imperial German Army]] to penetrate Petrograd and the [[Kola Peninsula]], an area rich in raw materials for the mining industry. Finland possessed large ore reserves and a well-developed forest industry.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–13, 152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=54–64}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=15–40}}</ref>
From 1809 to 1898, a period called ''Pax Russica'', the peripheral authority of the Finns gradually increased, and Russo-Finnish relations were exceptionally peaceful in comparison with other parts of the Russian Empire. Russia's defeat in the [[Crimean War]] in the 1850s led to attempts to speed up the modernization of the country. This caused more than 50 years of economic, industrial, cultural and educational progress in the Grand Duchy of Finland, including an improvement in the status of the Finnish language. All this encouraged Finnish nationalism and cultural unity through the birth of the [[Fennoman movement]], which bound the Finns to the domestic administration and led to the idea that the Grand Duchy was an increasingly autonomous state of the Russian Empire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=13–15, 30–32}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=110–114, 150–196}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–73}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|p=397}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=81–148, 264–282}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=108–165}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In 1899, the Russian Empire initiated a policy of integration through the [[Russification of Finland]]. The strengthened, [[Pan-Slavism|pan-slavist]] central power tried to unite the "Russian Multinational Dynastic Union" as the military and strategic situation of Russia became more perilous due of the rise of Germany and [[Japan]]. Finns called the increased military and [[Administration (government)|administrative]] control, "the First Period of Oppression", and for the first time Finnish politicians drew up plans for disengagement from Russia or sovereignty for Finland. In the struggle against integration, activists drawn from sections of the working class and the Swedish-speaking intelligentsia carried out terrorist acts. During World War I and the rise of Germanism, the pro-Swedish [[Svecoman movement|Svecomans]] began their covert collaboration with Imperial Germany and, from 1915 to 1917, a [[Jäger Movement|Jäger]] ({{Lang-fi|jääkäri}}) battalion consisting of 1,900 Finnish volunteers was trained in Germany.<ref>{{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=13–85}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|pp=397}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=81–150, 264–282}}, {{Harvnb|Soikkanen|2008|pp=45–94}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Ahlbäck|2014|pp=254–293}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
===Domestic politics===
The major reasons for rising political tensions among Finns were the autocratic rule of the Russian [[Czar]] and the undemocratic class system of the [[estates of the realm]]. The latter system originated in the regime of the [[Swedish Empire]] that preceded Russian governance and divided the Finnish people economically, socially and politically. For centuries, the geographical area of the Finns had been a firm part of [[Sweden]]'s development of a major Nordic Empire. With the exception of language, the culture of the people did not differ substantially between the western and eastern part of Sweden, dominated as they were by the Swedish administration and the common Lutheran Church. Eventually the Finnish area became bilingual. Finland's population grew rapidly in the nineteenth century (from 860,000 in 1810 to 3,130,000 in 1917), and sizeable new formations of industrial and agrarian workers -as well as of propertyless peasants- emerged over the period. The [[Industrial Revolution]] was rapid in Finland, though it started later than in the rest of [[Western Europe]]. Industrialization was financed by the state and some of the social problems associated with the industrial process were diminished by the administration's actions. Among urban workers, socio-economic problems steepened during periods of industrial depression. The position of rural workers worsened after the end of the nineteenth century, as farming became more efficient and market-oriented and the development of industry was not vigorous enough to fully utilize the rapid population growth of the countryside.<ref> {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=29–35, 40–51}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–69, 90–97}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Engman|2009|pp=9–43}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The difference between Scandinavian-Finnish ([[Finno-Ugric peoples]]) and Russian-[[Slavic people|Slavic]] culture affected the nature of Finnish national integration. The upper social strata took the lead and gained domestic authority from the Russian Czar in 1809. The estates planned to build up an increasingly autonomous Finnish state, led by the elite and the intelligentsia. The Fennoman movement aimed to include the common people in a non-political role; the labour movement, youth associations and the temperance movement were initially led "from above".<ref>In contrast to developments in Central Europe and mainland Russia, the policies of the Swedish regime did not result in the economic, political and social authority of the upper-class being based on feudal land property and capital. The peasantry existed in relative freedom, with no tradition of serfdom, and the might of the pre-eminent estates was bound up with an interaction between state formation and industrialization. Forest industry was a vital sector for Finland and peasants owned a major part of the forest land. These economic considerations gave rise to the birth of Fennomania among a Swedish-speaking upper-class social layer. {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=19–39, 85–100}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=40–46}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
Due to industrialization between 1870–1916, social conditions and the self-confidence of workers gradually improved. But while the standard of living of the common people rose in absolute terms, the rift between rich and poor deepened markedly. The commoners' rising awareness of socio-economic and political questions interacted with the ideas of [[socialism]], [[social liberalism]] and [[nationalism]]. The workers' initiatives and the corresponding responses of the dominant authorities intensified social conflict in Finland.<ref>Socialism was the antithesis of the class system of the estates. {{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=73–133}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–69, 245–250}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=250–288, 416–449}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>[[File:Tammerkoski (22286032958).jpg|alt=A 2015, night picture of the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere. The Festival of Light has just opened and an old, large factory chimney is lit in warm red on the right side of the rapids and contrasts with the cool blue lighting of the trees beneath it. The array of colours is reflected wondrously by the water of the rapids. The city was a central point both ideologically and strategically during the Finnish Civil War and its build-up, such as the general strike of 1905. |thumb|Tampere in 2015. The city was among ideological centres in the 1905 general strike and strategic strongholds of the Finnish Civil War.|left]]The Finnish labour movement, which emerged at the end of the nineteenth century from [[temperance movement in Finland|temperance]], [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland#History|religious movements]] and Fennomania, had a Finnish nationalist, [[working-class]] character. From 1899 to 1906, the movement became conclusively independent, shedding the paternalistic thinking of the Fennoman estates, and it was represented by the Finnish Social Democratic Party, established in 1899. Workers' activism was directed both toward opposing [[Russification]] and in developing a domestic policy that tackled social problems and responded to the demand for [[democracy]]. This was a reaction to the domestic dispute, ongoing since the 1880s, between the Finnish nobility-[[bourgeoisie]] and the labour movement concerning voting rights for the common people.<ref>The power struggle for voting rights -1880–1905- was two-fold. It found expression in a peasant-clergy alliance against the nobility and burghers as a dispute over Swedish or Finnish language dominance and as a struggle for democracy between the labour movement and the elite. The peasant-clergy supported voting rights for the common people in the class system, as this increased the political power of the Finnish-speaking population within the estates. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=3–25}}, {{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1992|pp=227–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=218–225}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=289–309, 416–449}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–55}}, {{Harvnb|Olkkonen|2003|pp=517–521}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2009|pp=12–75}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}.</ref>
Despite their obligations as obedient, peaceful and non-political inhabitants of the Grand Duchy (who had, only a few decades earlier, accepted the class system as the natural order of their life), the commoners began to ask for and demand for their [[civil rights]] and [[citizenship]] in Finnish society. The power struggle between the Finnish estates and the Russian administration gave a concrete role model and free space for the labour movement. On the other side, due to at least a century-long tradition and experience of administrative authority, the Finnish elite saw itself as the inherent natural leader of the nation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1992|pp=227–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=218–225}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref> The political struggle for democracy was solved outside Finland, in international politics: the Russian Empire's failed [[Russo-Japanese War|1904–1905 war against Japan]] led to the [[Russian Revolution of 1905|1905 Revolution]] in Russia and to [[Russian Revolution of 1905#Finland|a general strike in Finland]]. In an attempt to quell the general unrest, the system of estates was abolished in the [[Parliament of Finland#History|Parliamentary Reform of 1906]]. The general strike increased support for the [[Social Democrats|social democrats]] substantially. As a proportion of the population, the party was the most powerful socialist movement in the world.<ref>The increasing political power of the left drew a part of the Finnish intelligentsia behind it, mainly Fennomans from the Old Finnish party: Julius Ailio, Edvard Gylling, Martti Kovero, Otto-Ville Kuusinen, Kullervo Manner, Hilja Pärssinen, Hannes Ryömä, Yrjö Sirola, Väinö Tanner, Karl H. Wiik, Elvira Willman, Väinö Voionmaa, Sulo Wuolijoki, Wäinö Wuolijoki (called the "November 1905 socialists"). {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=62–69, 90–97}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=250–288, 428–439}}, {{Harvnb|Nygård|2003|pp=553–565}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Payne|2011|pp=25–32}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The Reform of 1906 was a giant leap towards the political and social liberalization of the common Finnish people: the Russian [[House of Romanov]] having been the most autocratic and conservative ruler in Europe. The Finns adopted a unicameral parliamentary system, the [[Parliament of Finland]] ({{Lang-fi|eduskunta}}) with [[universal suffrage]]. The number of voters increased from 126,000 to 1,273,000, including female citizens. The reform led to the social democrats obtaining about fifty percent of the popular vote, but the Czar regained his authority after the crisis of 1905. Subsequently, during the more severe programme of Russification, called "the Second Period of Oppression" by the Finns, the Czar neutralized the power of the Finnish Parliament between 1908 and 1917. He dissolved the assembly, ordered parliamentary elections almost annually, and determined the composition of the Finnish Senate, which did not correlate with the Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–100, 101–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=230–232}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=450–482}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=62–78}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|Pirinen|2003|pp=372–373, 377}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=244–263}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The capacity of the Finnish Parliament to solve socio-economic problems was stymied by confrontations between the largely uneducated commoners and the former estates. Another conflict festered as employers denied [[collective bargaining]] and the right of the labour unions to represent workers. The parliamentary process disappointed the labour movement, but as dominance in the Parliament and legislation seemed to be the workers' most likely way to obtain a more balanced society: they identified themselves with the state. Thus domestic politics led to a contest for leadership of the Finnish state during the ten years before the collapse of the Russian Empire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Apunen|1987|pp=242–250}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–100, 101–127, 150–151}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=230–232}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=62–78}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=244–263}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
===February Revolution===
{{See also|February Revolution}}
==== Build-up ====
[[File:Demonstration at Helsinki Senate Square.jpg|thumb|A demonstration at [[Helsinki Senate Square]]. The mass meetings and local strikes of early 1917 escalated to a [[general strike]] in support of the Finnish state's power struggle and for increased availability of foodstuffs.|alt=Hundreds of demonstrators at the Helsinki Senate Square with the Helsinki Cathedral high in the background. The demonstrations were a prelude to the later local and general strikes.]]
The Second Period of Russification was halted on 15 March 1917 by the February Revolution, which removed the Russian Czar, [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]. The collapse of Russia was caused by military defeats, [[war-weariness]] against the duration and hardships of the Great War, and the collision between the most conservative regime in Europe and a Russian people desiring modernization. The Czar's power was transferred to the [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]] (Russian parliament) and the right-wing [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]], but this new authority was challenged by the [[Petrograd Soviet]] (city council), leading to [[dual power]] in the country.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=51–54}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=163–164}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=75–97}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=230–243}}</ref>
The autonomous status of 1809-1899 was returned to the Finns by the March 1917 manifesto of the Russian Provisional Government. For the first time in history, as a result of the February Revolution, ''de facto'' political power existed in the Parliament of Finland. The political left, consisting mainly of social democrats, covered a wide spectrum from moderate to revolutionary socialists. The political right was even more diverse, ranging from social liberals and moderate conservatives to rightist conservative elements. The four main parties were:
* The conservative [[Finnish Party]];
* the [[Young Finnish Party]], which included both [[liberalism|liberals]] and conservatives, with the liberals divided to [[social liberals]] and [[economic liberals]];
* the social reformist, centrist [[Centre Party (Finland)|Agrarian League]], which drew its support mainly from peasants with small or middle-sized farms; and
* the conservative [[Swedish People's Party (Finland)|Swedish People's Party]], which sought to retain the rights of the former nobility and the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish-speaking minority of Finland]].<ref>There were few [[Bolsheviks]] in Finland. Bolshevism became more popular among Finnish industrial workers who emigrated to [[Petrograd]] at the end of the nineteenth century. The Finnish Party and Young Finnish Party were descendants of the old Fennoman parties, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=85–132}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=56–59, 142–147}}, {{Harvnb|Nygård|2003|pp=553–565}}</ref>
During 1917, the Finns faced a detrimental interaction of a power struggle and the breakdown of society. The collapse of Russia induced a chain reaction of disintegration, starting from the government, military and economy, and spreading to all fields of society, such as local administration and individual workplaces. Citizens at all levels wanted changes and raised questions of freedom, responsibility, and morality. The social democrats wanted to retain the civil rights already achieved and to increase the socialists' power over society. The conservatives feared to lose their long-held socio-economic dominance. Both factions, trying to gain hegemony over Finns, collaborated with their equivalents in Russia, deepening the split in the nation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=109, 195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=143–149}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=11–14}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The [[Social Democratic Party (Finland)|Social Democratic Party]] gained an [[absolute majority]] in the [[Finnish parliamentary election, 1916|parliamentary elections of 1916]]. A new Senate was formed in March 1917 by [[Oskari Tokoi]], but it did not reflect the socialists' large parliamentary majority: it comprised six social democrats and six non-socialists. In theory, the Senate consisted of a broad national coalition, but in practice (with the main political groups unwilling to [[compromise]] and top politicians remaining outside of it), it proved unable to solve any major Finnish problem. After the February Revolution, political authority dispersed to the street level: mass meetings, strike organizations and worker-soldier councils on the left and to active organizations of employers on the right, all serving to undermine the authority of the state.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=221, 232–235}}, {{Harvnb|Kirby|2006|p=150}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The February Revolution halted the Finnish economic boom caused by the Russian war-economy. The collapse in business led to unemployment and high [[inflation]], but the workers in employment gained an opportunity to resolve long-term problems of their arduous working life. The commoners' call for the [[eight-hour day|eight-hour working day]], better working conditions and higher wages led to demonstrations and large-scale strikes in industry and agriculture.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=95–98, 109–114}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=155–159, 197, 203–225}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
While the Finns had specialized in [[milk]] and [[butter]] production, the bulk of the food supply for the country depended on cereals produced in southern Russia. The cessation of cereal imports from disintegrating Russia led to food shortages in Finland. The Senate responded by introducing [[rationing]] and [[price controls]]. The farmers opposed to state control: a [[black market]] -accompanied by sharply rising food prices- formed and export to the free market of the Petrograd area increased. Food supply, prices and, in the end, the fear of [[starvation]] became emotional political issues between farmers and urban workers, especially those who were unemployed. Common people, their fears exploited by politicians and an incendiary, polarized political media, took to the streets. Despite the food shortages, no actual large-scale starvation hit southern Finland before the civil war and the food market remained a secondary stimulator in the power struggle of the Finnish state.<ref>In 1917–1918, Finns were still under the shadow of the trauma of the 1867–1868 famine, in which around 200,000 people had died due to malnutrition and epidemic diseases, caused by a sudden climate change with decreased air temperatures during the growing season. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=95–98, 109–114}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=163–172}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=163–164, 192}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=155–159, 203–225}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}}, {{Harvnb|Voutilainen|2017|pp=25-44}}</ref>
====Contest for leadership====
[[File:Russian sailors celebrating February Revolution in Helsinki.jpg|thumb|Russian soldiers in Helsinki. Prior to 1917, they sustained Finland's stability, after the [[February Revolution]], the Russian troops became a source of social unrest.|alt=A formation of Russian soldiers are pictured at the Helsinki Railway Square as a part of a parade celebrating the October Revolution. Prior to 1917, the Russian Army sustained Finland's stability, but later became a source of social unrest.|left]]
The passing of the Tokoi Senate bill called the "Law of Supreme Power" ({{Lang-fi|Laki Suomen korkeimman valtiovallan käyttämisestä}}) in July 1917, triggered one of the key crises in the power struggle between the social democrats and the conservatives. The fall of the Russian Empire opened the question of who would hold sovereign political authority in the former Grand Duchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
After decades of political disappointment, the February Revolution offered the Finnish social democrats an opportunity to govern; they held the absolute majority in Parliament. The conservatives were alarmed by the continuous increase of the socialists' influence since 1899, which reached a climax in 1917. Since the Russian administration could no longer control the social democrats, the conservatives felt it necessary to act before the socialists were able to markedly alter the political structure.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=487–524}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
The "Law of Supreme Power" incorporated a plan by the socialists to substantially increase the authority of Parliament, as a reaction to the non-parliamentary and conservative leadership of the Finnish Senate between 1906 and 1916. The bill furthered Finnish autonomy in domestic affairs: the Russian Provisional Government was only allowed the right to control Finnish foreign and military policies. The Act was adopted with the support of the Social Democratic Party, the Agrarian League, part of the Young Finnish Party and some activists eager for Finnish sovereignty. The conservatives opposed the bill and some of the most right-wing representatives resigned from Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=50}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
In Petrograd, the social democrats' plan had the backing of the Bolsheviks. They had been plotting a revolt against the Provisional Government since April 1917, and demonstrations in favour of soviet power during the [[July Days]] brought matters to a head. The Provisional Government still had sufficient support in the Russian army to survive and as the street movement waned, [[Vladimir Lenin]] fled to Karelia. In the aftermath of these events, the "Law of Supreme Power" was overruled; more Russian troops were sent to Finland and, with the co-operation and insistence of the Finnish conservatives, Parliament was dissolved and new elections announced.<ref>The weakness of Russia emphasized the significance of the Finnish area as a buffer zone protecting [[Petrograd]]. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In the [[Finnish parliamentary election, 1917|October 1917 elections]], the social democrats lost their absolute majority, which radicalized the [[labor movement|labour movement]] and decreased support for moderate politics. The crisis of July 1917 did not bring about the Red Revolution of January 1918 on its own, but together with political developments based on the commoners' interpretation of the ideas of [[Fennomania]] and socialism, the events were decisive for the goals of a Finnish revolution. In order to win power, the socialists had to overcome Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=163–194}}, {{Harvnb|Kettunen|1986|pp=9–89}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=158–162, 195–196}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1992|pp=251–267}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=35, 37, 39, 40, 50, 52}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=229–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=502–524}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008b|pp=31–44}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
The February Revolution resulted in a loss of institutional authority in Finland and the dissolution of the [[police]] force, creating fear and uncertainty. In response, both the right and left began assembling their own security groups, which were initially local and largely unarmed. By late 1917, following the dissolution of Parliament, in the absence of a politically strong government and national armed forces, the security groups began assuming a broader and more paramilitary character. The Civil Guards ({{Lang-fi|suojeluskunnat}}, lit. protection corps) and the later White Guards ({{Lang-fi|valkokaartit}}) were organized by local men of influence: conservative academics; industrialists; major landowners, and activists. The Workers' Order Guards ({{Lang-fi|työväen järjestyskaartit}}) and the Red Guards ({{Lang-fi|punakaartit}}) were recruited through the local social democratic party sections and from the labour unions.<ref>The role of the Swedish-speaking upper-class was significant, due to their long-term influence over the economy, industry, administration and the military. A battle for power arose between the most left-wing [[socialists]] and the most right-wing elements of the [[Swedish language|Swedish-speaking]] conservatives. The language issue was not as fundamental as social differences, since many Swedish-speaking workers joined the Reds. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–230}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1986|pp=166–167}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=151–167}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993a|pp=324–343}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=123–127, 237–243}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
===October Revolution===
{{See also|October Revolution}}
The [[Bolshevik|Bolsheviks']] and Vladimir Lenin's October Revolution of 7 November 1917 transferred political power in Petrograd to the radical, left-wing socialists. The German government's decision to finance the Bolsheviks and arrange safe conduct for Lenin and his comrades from exile in [[Switzerland]] to Petrograd in April 1917 (based on the idea that Lenin was the most effective weapon they could launch against Russia), was a success. An [[Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers|armistice between Germany and the Bolshevik regime]] came into force on 6 December and peace negotiations began on 22 December 1917 at [[Brest, Belarus|Brest-Litovsk]].<ref>The Bolsheviks received 15 million marks from Berlin after the October Revolution, but Lenin's authority was weak and Russia became embrioled in a civil war which turned the focus of all the major Russian military, political and economic activities inwards. {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=36}}, {{Harvnb|Pipes|1996|pp=113–149}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000|pp=86–95}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|McMeekin|2017|pp=125–136}}</ref>
November 1917 became another watershed in the 1917–1918 rivalry for the leadership of Finland. After the dissolution of the Finnish Parliament, [[Polarization (politics)|polarization]] between the social democrats and the conservatives increased markedly and the period witnessed the appearance of [[political violence]]. An agricultural worker had been shot during a local strike on 9 August 1917 at [[Ypäjä]] and a Civil Guard member was killed in a local political crisis at Malmi on 24 September.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=52, 59}}</ref> The October Revolution disrupted the informal truce between the Finnish non-socialists and the Russian Provisional Government. After political wrangling over how to react to the revolt, the majority of the politicians accepted a compromise proposal by [[Santeri Alkio]], the leader of the Agrarian League. Parliament seized the sovereign power in Finland on 15 November 1917 based on the socialists' "Law of Supreme Power" and ratified their proposals of an [[eight-hour working day]] and universal suffrage in [[local election]]s, from July 1917.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 70}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
[[File:Valkoisten konekiväärikomppania Leinolassa Tampereen valtauksen jälkeen 19.4.1918 (26970230675).jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the paramilitary [[White Guard (Finland)|White Guard]] in Leinola, a suburb of [[Tampere]]|alt=Around 30 soldiers of the paramilitary White Guard pose for the camera together with four Maxim heavy machine guns.|left]]
A purely non-socialist, conservative-led government of [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud]] was appointed on 27 November. This nomination was both a long-term aim of the conservatives and a response to the challenges of the labour movement during November 1917. Svinhufvud's main aspirations were to separate Finland from Russia, strengthen the Civil Guards, and to return a part of Parliament's new authority to the Senate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=70}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref> There were 149 Civil Guards on 31 August 1917 in Finland, counting local units and subsidiary White Guards in towns and rural communes; 251 on 30 September; 315 on 31 October; 380 on 30 November and 408 on 26 January 1918. The first attempt at serious military training among the Guards was the establishment of a 200-strong cavalry school at the Saksanniemi estate in the vicinity of the town of [[Porvoo]], in September 1917. The [[vanguard]] of the Finnish [[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] and German weaponry arrived in Finland during October–November 1917 on the ''{{Ship|SS|Equity||2}}'' freighter and the German U-boat ''{{Ship|SM|UC-57||2}}''; around 50 Jägers had returned by the end of 1917.<ref>Despite German-Russian peace negotiations, the Germans agreed to sell 70,000 [[rifles]] and 70 [[machine guns]] as well as artillery to the Whites and arrange the safe return of the Jäger battalion to Finland. The German arms were transported to Finland in February–March 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=195–263}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=59, 63, 66, 68, 98}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993b|pp=393–395}}</ref>
After political defeats in July and October 1917, the social democrats put forward an uncompromising program called "We Demand" ({{Lang-fi|Me vaadimme}}) on 1 November, in order to push for [[concession (politics)|political concessions]]. They insisted upon a return to the political status before the dissolution of Parliament in July 1917, disbandment of the Civil Guards and elections to establish a Finnish Constituent Assembly. The program failed and the socialists initiated a general strike during 14–19 November to increase political pressure on the conservatives, who had opposed the "Law of Supreme Power" and the parliamentary proclamation of sovereign power on 15 November.<ref>The socialists planned to ask the Bolsheviks for acceptance of Finland's sovereignty with a manifesto, but the uncertain situation in Petrograd stalled this plan. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=256–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=66}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
[[Revolution]] became the goal of the radicalized socialists after the loss of political control, and events in November 1917 offered momentum for a socialist uprising. In this phase, Lenin and [[Joseph Stalin]], under threat in Petrograd, urged the social democrats to take power in Finland. The majority of Finnish socialists were moderate and preferred parliamentary methods, prompting the Bolsheviks to label them "reluctant revolutionaries". The reluctance diminished as the general strike appeared to offer a major channel of influence for the workers in southern Finland. The strike leadership voted by a narrow majority to start a revolution on 16 November, but the uprising had to be called off the same day due to the lack of active revolutionaries to execute it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=64}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=152–156}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
[[File:Tampereen punakaartin komppania rintamalla (26936605946).jpg|thumb|Troops of the paramilitary [[Red Guard (Finland)|Red Guard]]'s Tampere company pictured in 1918|alt=Around 40 troops of the paramilitary Red Guard pose to the camera next to a farmer's house on a field. One of them, their apparent commander, is on a horse.]]
At the end of November 1917, the moderate socialists among the social democrats won a second vote over the radicals in a debate over revolutionary versus parliamentary means, but when they tried to pass a resolution to completely abandon the idea of a socialist revolution, the party representatives and several influential leaders voted it down. The Finnish labour movement wanted to sustain a military force of its own and keep the revolutionary road open too. The wavering Finnish socialists disappointed V.I. Lenin and in turn, he began to encourage the Finnish Bolsheviks in Petrograd.<ref>At the beginning of the October revolt, the Russian District Committee in Finland had been the first to reject the authority of the Provisional Government. Lenin's pessimistic comment on 27 January 1918 to Finnish Bolshevik Eino Rahja is well known: "No comrade Rahja, this time you will not win your campaign, because you have the power of the Finnish Social Democrats in Finland." {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=264–342}}, {{Harvnb|Ketola|1987|pp=368–384}}, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1989|pp=83–161}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=70}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
Among the labour movement, a more marked consequence of the events of 1917 was the rise of the Workers' Order Guards. There were 20–60 separate guards between 31 August and 30 September 1917, but on 20 October, after defeat in parliamentary elections, the Finnish labour movement proclaimed the need to establish more worker units. The announcement led to a rush of recruits: on 31 October the number of guards was 100–150; 342 on 30 November 1917 and 375 on 26 January 1918. Since May 1917, the paramilitary organizations of the left had grown in two phases, the majority of them as Workers' Order Guards. The minority were Red Guards, these were partly-underground groups formed in industrialized towns and industrial centres, such as [[Helsinki]], [[Kotka]] and Tampere, based on the original Red Guards that had been built up during 1905–1906 in Finland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993a|pp=324–343}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993b|pp=393–395}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=282–291}}</ref>
The presence of the two opposing armed forces created a state of dual power and divided sovereignty on Finnish society. The decisive rift between the guards broke out during the general strike: the Reds executed several political opponents in southern Finland and the first armed clashes between the Whites and Reds took place. In total, 34 casualties were reported. Eventually, the political rivalries of 1917 led to an [[arms race]] and an [[Conflict escalation|escalation]] towards civil war.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=317–342}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=151–171}}</ref>
===The independence of Finland===
The disintegration of Russia offered Finns an historic opportunity to gain national independence. After the October Revolution, the conservatives were eager for secession from Russia in order to control the left and minimize the influence of the Bolsheviks. The socialists were skeptical about sovereignty under conservative rule, but they feared a loss of support among nationalistic workers, particularly after having promised increased national liberty through the "Law of Supreme Power". Eventually, both political factions supported an independent Finland, despite strong disagreement over the composition of the nation's leadership.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 70}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=235–237}}</ref>
Nationalism had become a "civic religion" in Finland by the end of nineteenth century, but the goal during the general strike of 1905 was a return to the autonomy of 1809–1898, not full independence. In comparison to the unitary Swedish regime, the domestic power of Finns had increased under the less uniform Russian rule. Economically, the Grand Duchy of Finland benefited from having an independent, domestic state budget; its own currency (the [[Finnish markka|markka]], since 1860) and customs organization; and the industrial progress of 1860–1916. The economy, however, was dependent on the huge Russian market and separation would break up the profitable Finnish financial zone. The economic collapse of Russia and the power struggle of the Finnish state in 1917 were among the key factors that brought sovereignty to the fore in Finland.<ref>Nationalist activists aimed at a Finnish Grand Duchy ruled either by Germany or Sweden. Until 1914, Finland exported refined forest and metal products to Russia and sawmill and bulk wood products to Western Europe. World War I cut off the exports to the West and directed most of the beneficial war trade to Russia. In 1917, exports to Russia collapsed and, after 1919, Finns reorientated to the western market due to the high demand for products following the Great War. {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=89–100}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=49–73, 156–159, 243–245}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=9–10, 181–182, 203–204, 264–276}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008a|pp=15–30}}, {{Harvnb|Kuisma|2010|pp=13–81}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=108–173}}, {{Harvnb|Ahlbäck|2014|pp=254–293}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=15–40}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}} </ref>
[[File:Ven tunnustaa Suomen itsenisyyden.png|thumb|The [[Bolshevik government|Bolshevik]]'s recognition of Finnish independence. Some minutes before midnight on 31 December 1917, two men with opposite worldviews, [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud|P.E. Svinhufvud]] and [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]] shook hands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=79}}</ref>|alt=A picture of the document whereby Lenin and the Bolsheviks recognized Finnish independence on 31 December 1917.]]
P.E. Svinhufvud's Senate introduced [[Finland's declaration of independence|Finland's Declaration of Independence]] on 4 December 1917 and Parliament adopted it on 6 December. The social democrats voted against the Senate's proposal, while presenting an alternative declaration of sovereignty. The establishment of an independent state was not a guaranteed conclusion for the small Finnish nation: recognition by Russia and other [[great power|great powers]] was essential. Svinhufvud accepted that he had to negotiate with Lenin for Russian recognition. The socialists, having been reluctant to enter talks with the Russian leadership in July 1917, now sent two delegations to Petrograd to request that Lenin approve Finnish sovereignty.<ref>Svinhufvud's initial vision was that the Senate would lead Finland and the independence process with a call for a [[Regent]]; there would be no talks with the Bolsheviks, who it was believed would not set a non-socialist Finland free. The vision of the socialists, on the other hand, was that Parliament should lead Finland and that independence would be achieved more easily through negotiations with a weak Bolshevik government than with other parties of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly]], {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=73, 78}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Jutikkala|1995|pp=11–20}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}</ref>
In December 1917, V.I. Lenin was under intense pressure from the Germans to conclude [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk]] and the Bolsheviks' rule was in crisis, with an inexperienced administration and the demoralized army facing a gradually increasing number of powerful political and military opponents. Lenin calculated that the Bolsheviks could fight for central parts of Russia but had to give up some peripheral territories, including Finland in the geopolitically less important north-western corner. As a result, Svinhufvud's delegation won Lenin's concession of sovereignty on 31 December 1917.<ref>The [[Bolshevist]] [[Council of People's Commissars]] ratified the recognition on 4 January 1918. {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=79, 81}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2017|pp=13-74}}</ref>
By the beginning of the Civil War, [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Denmark]], [[French Third Republic|France]], Germany, [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and Switzerland had recognized Finnish independence. The [[United Kingdom]] and [[United States]] did not approve it; they stood by and monitored the relations between Finland and Germany (the main enemy of the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]), hoping to override Lenin's regime and to get Russia back into the war against the German Empire. In turn, the Germans hastened Finland's separation from Russia so as to move the country to within their sphere of influence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=343–382}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80, 81}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}</ref>
==Warfare==
[[File:Kenraali C. G. E. Mannerheim (26936604946).jpg|thumb|General [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]] in 1918 with an armband showing the [[coat of arms of Finland]]|alt=A studio-style picture of General Mannerheim, commander-in-chief of the White Army. He is looking away with his left shoulder turned towards the camera. On his left arm, an armband shows the coat of arms of Finland.|left]]
===Escalation===
The final escalation towards war began in early January 1918 as each military or political action of the Reds or the Whites resulted in a corresponding counteraction by the opponent. Both sides justified their activities as defensive measures, particularly to their own supporters. On the left, the vanguard of the war was the urban Red Guards from Helsinki, Kotka and [[Turku]]; they led the rural Reds and convinced the socialist leaders who wavered between peace and war to support the revolution. On the right, the vanguard was the Jägers who had transferred to Finland, and the volunteer Civil Guards of southwestern Finland, southern [[Ostrobothnia (region)|Ostrobothnia]] and [[Viipuri province|Vyborg province]] in the southeastern corner of Finland. The first local battles were fought during 9–21 January in southern and southeastern Finland, mainly to win the arms race and to control [[Vyborg]] ({{Lang-fi|Viipuri}}).<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65, 177–182}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009a|pp=92–111}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
[[File:Kullervo Manner.jpg|thumb|[[Kullervo Manner]], chairman of the [[Finnish People's Delegation]] and last commander-in-chief of the [[Red Finland|Reds]], pictured {{circa|1913–1915}}|alt=A picture of Kullervo Manner, chairman of the Finnish People's Delegation and last commander-in-chief of the Reds, looking straight at the camera with a suit and a hat on.]]
Parliament authorized the Svinhufvud Senate to establish internal order and discipline of the state on 12 January 1918. On 15 January, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a former Finnish general of the [[Imperial Russian Army]], was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Civil Guards. He placed the headquarters in the [[Vaasa|Vaasa–]][[Seinäjoki]] area. The Senate appointed the Civil Guards, called the White Guards henceforth, as the White Army of Finland. The White Order to engage was issued on 25 January. The Whites gained weaponry by disarming Russian garrisons during 21–28 January, in particular in southern Ostrobothnia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80–89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The Red Guards, led by [[Ali Aaltonen]], refused to recognise the Whites' hegemony and established a military authority of their own. Aaltonen installed the headquarters in Helsinki and nicknamed it as [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]] according to the [[Smolny Institute|Bolsheviks' headquarters]] in Petrograd. The Red Order of Revolution was issued on 26 January, and a red lantern, a symbolic indicator of the uprising, was lit in the tower of the [[Paasitorni|Helsinki Workers' House]]. The large-scale mobilization of the Reds began in the late evening of 27 January with the Helsinki Red Guard and some of the Guards located along the Vyborg-Tampere railway having activated between 23–26 January, in order to safeguard vital positions and escort a heavy railroad shipment of Bolshevik weapons from Petrograd to Finland. White troops tried to capture the shipment; 20–30 Finns, Red and White, died in the [[Battle of Kämärä]] at the Karelian Isthmus on 27 January 1918.<ref>The Reds won the battle and gained 20,000 rifles, 30 machine guns, 10 cannons and 2 armored vehicles. In total, Russians delivered 20,000 rifles from the Helsinki and Tampere depots to the Reds. The Whites captured 14,500 rifles, 90 machine guns, 40 cannons and 4 mortars from the Russian garrisons. Some Russian army officers sold their unit's weapons both to the Reds and the Whites, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=390–515}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=15–65, 177–182}}, {{Harvnb|Klemettilä|1989|pp=163–203}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=80–89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen*|1993c|pp=398–432}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> The Finnish contest for power had reached its peak and the disintegration of society began.<ref>Attempts and agreements for sustaining peace and neutrality between socialist and non-socialists were made in January 1918 at a local level, such as in [[Muurame]], [[Savonlinna]] and [[Teuva]], {{Harvnb|Kallioinen|2009|pp=1–146}}</ref>
===Opposing parties===
====Red Finland and White Finland====
[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapBegin.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|The frontlines and initial offensives at the beginning of the war in February.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{legend|maroon|Red offensive}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrating the frontlines and initial offensives of both sides at the beginning of the war. The Whites control most of Central and Northern Finland excluding minor Red enclaves; the Whites assault these enclaves. The Reds control Southern Finland and commence attacks along the main frontline.]]At the beginning of the war, a discontinuous [[front line]] ran through southern Finland from west to east, dividing the country into [[White Finland]] and [[Red Finland]]. The Red Guards controlled the area to the south, including nearly all the major towns and industrial centres, and the largest estates and farms with high numbers of [[croft (land)|crofters]] and [[tenant farmer]]s. The White Army controlled the area to the north, which was predominantly agrarian with small or medium-sized farms and tenant farmers, and where crofters were few or held a better social position than in the south. Enclaves of the opposing forces existed on both sides of the front line: within the White area lay the industrial towns of [[Varkaus]], [[Kuopio]], [[Oulu]], [[Raahe]], [[Kemi]] and [[Tornio]]; within the Red area lay Porvoo, [[Kirkkonummi]] and [[Uusikaupunki]]. The elimination of these strongholds was a priority for both armies in February 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=91–101}}</ref>
Red Finland was led by the People's Delegation ({{Lang-fi|kansanvaltuuskunta}}), established on 28 January in Helsinki. The delegation sought democratic socialism based on the Finnish Social Democratic Party's ethos; their visions differed from Lenin's [[dictatorship of the proletariat]]. [[Otto Ville Kuusinen]] formulated a proposal for a new constitution, influenced by those of Switzerland and the United States. With it, political power was to be concentrated to Parliament, with a lesser role for a government. The proposal included a multi-party system, freedom of assembly, speech and press, and the use of [[referenda]] in political decision-making. In order to ensure the authority of the labour movement, the common people would have a right to [[permanent revolution]]. The socialists planned to transfer a substantial part of [[property rights (economics)|property rights]] to state and local administrations.<ref>The "ideological father" of the socialists, [[Karl Kautsky]], disapproved the Finnish Red Revolution. Kautsky, an opponent of V.I. Lenin, supported reformist policy, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1986|pp=417–429}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=88, 102}}, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1993|pp=486–627}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=108}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009a|pp=246–269}}, {{Harvnb|Payne|2011|pp=25–32}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
In foreign policy, Red Finland leaned on [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Bolshevist Russia]]. A Red-initiated Finno–Russian treaty and peace agreement was signed on 1 March 1918, where Red Finland was called the [[Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic]] ({{Lang-fi|Suomen sosialistinen työväentasavalta}}). The negotiations for the treaty implied that as in World War I in general, nationalism was more important for both sides than the principles of [[international socialism]]. The Red Finns did not accept an alliance with the Bolsheviks and major disputes appeared, for example, over the demarcation of the border between Red Finland and Soviet Russia. The significance of the Russo–Finnish Treaty evaporated soon due to the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between the Bolsheviks and the German Empire on 3 March 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=262–265}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}</ref>
Vladimir Lenin's policy on the right of nations to [[self-determination]] aimed at preventing the disintegration of Russia during the period of military weakness. He assumed that in war-torn, splintering Europe, the [[proletariat]] of free nations would carry out socialist revolutions and unite with Soviet Russia later. The majority of the Finnish labour movement supported Finland's independence. The Finnish Bolsheviks, influential though few in number, favoured annexation of Finland by Russia.<ref>After the [[Russian Civil War]], the gradually reinforcing Russia recaptured many of the nations that had become independent in 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=255–278}}, {{Harvnb|Klemettilä|1989|pp=163–203}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=94, 106}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=276–282}}</ref>
The government of White Finland, [[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud's first senate]], was called the Vaasa Senate after relocation to the safer west-coast city of Vaasa, acting as the capital of the Whites from 29 January to 3 May. In domestic policy, the White Senate's main goal was to return the political right to power in Finland. The conservatives planned a monarchist political system, with a lesser role for Parliament. A section of the conservatives had always supported [[monarchy]] and opposed democracy; others approved [[parliamentary system|parliamentarianism]] since the revolutionary reform of 1906, but after the crisis of 1917-1918 concluded, that empowering the common people would not work. Social liberals and reformist non-socialists opposed any restriction of parliamentarianism. They initially resisted German military help, but the prolonged warfare changed their stance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–68}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–46, 56–115}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
In foreign policy, the Vaasa Senate relied on the German Empire for military and political aid. Their objective was to defeat the Finnish Reds, end the influence of Bolshevist Russia in Finland, and expand Finnish territory to [[East Karelia]], a [[Geopolitics|geopolitically]] significant home to people speaking [[Finno-Ugric languages]]. The weakness of Russia induced an idea of [[Greater Finland]] among the expansive factions of both the right and left; the Reds had claims concerning the same areas. General Mannerheim agreed on the need to take over East Karelia and to request German weapons but opposed actual German intervention in Finland. Mannerheim recognized the Red Guards' lack of combat skills and trusted the skills of the German-trained Finnish Jägers. As a former Russian army officer, Mannerheim was well aware of the demoralization of the Russian army. He co-operated with White-aligned Russian officers in Finland and Russia.<ref>The fall of the Russian Empire, the October revolt and Finnish Germanism had placed Gustav Mannerheim in a controversial position. He opposed the Finnish and Russian Reds as well as Germany together with the Russian White officers who, in turn, did not support independence of Finland, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=102, 142}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=516–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2000}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}</ref>
[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapMiddle.svg|upright=1.75|thumb|The main offensives until 6 April. The Whites conquer [[Tampere]] and defeat the Finnish-Russian Reds at the [[Battle of Rautu (1918)|Battle of Rautu]], the Karelian Isthmus.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{legend|maroon|Red offensive}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrating the main offensives until April of 1918. The Whites conquer the Red stronghold of Tampere in a decisive battle and defeat the Finnish-Russian Reds at the Battle of Rautu on the Karelian Isthmus.]]
====Soldiers and weapons====
[[File:Red_Guard_armoured_train.jpg|thumb|A Russian [[armoured train]], ''Partizan'', which assisted the Red war effort in the [[Vyborg]] area<ref>{{Harvnb|Eerola|2010|pp=123–165}}</ref>|alt=A Russian armoured train, Partizan, is pictured motionless on its tracks. The train is shown to have three cars and a weapon at its front, hidden beneath armour plating. The train assisted the Red war effort in the Vyborg area.|left]]
The number of Finnish troops on each side varied from 70,000 to 90,000 and both had around 100,000 rifles, 300–400 machine guns and a few hundred cannons. While the Red Guards consisted mostly of [[Military volunteer|volunteers]], with wages paid at the beginning of the war, the White Army consisted predominantly of [[conscription|conscripts]] with 11,000–15,000 volunteers. The main motives for volunteering were socio-economic factors, such as salary and food, as well as idealism and peer pressure. The Red Guards included 2,600 female troops, mostly girls recruited from the industrial centres and cities of southern Finland. Urban and agricultural workers constituted the majority of the Red Guards, whereas land-owning farmers and well-educated people formed the backbone of the White Army.<ref>White-supporting women demanded the establishment of female White Guards. Mannerheim stalled the plan, but some women were drafted as soldiers, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993b|pp=96–177}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=85–106}}, {{Harvnb|Lintunen|2014|pp=201–229}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref> Both armies used [[child soldiers]], mainly between 14 and 17 years of age. The use of juvenile soldiers was not rare in World War I; children of the time were under the absolute authority of adults and were not shielded against exploitation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–30, 141–152}}</ref>
Rifles and machine guns from Imperial Russia were the main armaments of the Reds and the Whites. The most used rifle was the Russian {{Convert|7.62|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} [[Mosin–Nagant]] Model 1891. In total, around ten different rifle models were in service, causing problems for ammunition supply. The [[Maxim gun]] was the most used machine gun in addition to the lesser used [[M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun|M1895 Colt–Browning]], [[Lewis gun|Lewis]] and [[Madsen machine gun|Madsen]] guns. The machine guns caused a substantial part of the casualties in combat. Russian [[Field gun|field guns]] were mostly used with [[direct fire]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=182}}</ref>
The Civil War was fought primarily along [[railways]]; vital means for transporting troops and supplies as well for using armoured trains, armed with light cannons and [[heavy machine gun]]s. The strategically most important railway junction was [[Haapamäki]], approximately {{Convert|100|km|mi}} northeast of Tampere, connecting both western-eastern and southern-northern Finland. Other critical junctions included [[Kouvola]], [[Riihimäki]], Tampere, [[Toijala]] and Vyborg. The Whites captured Haapamäki at the end of January 1918, leading to the [[Battle of Vilppula]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=177–205}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=15–21}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>[[File:FinnishCivilWarMapEnd.svg|upright=1.75|thumb|The German Army's landings on the south coast and the operations. The Whites' conclusive offensives in Karelia.{{legend|royalblue|Areas controlled by the Whites or Germans}}{{legend|white|White offensive}}{{legend|grey|German offensive}}{{legend|tomato|Areas controlled by the Reds}}{{Legend-line|black solid 2px|Railroad network}}|alt=A map illustrates the final battles of the war. The Reds do not mount any more offensives, while the Imperial German Army lands from the Gulf of Finland behind the Reds and captures the capital of Helsinki. The Whites attacks all along the front southwards.]]
====Red Guards and Russian troops====
The Finnish Red Guards seized the early initiative in the war by taking control of Helsinki on 28 January and with a general offensive lasting from February till early March 1918. The Reds were relatively well armed, but a chronic shortage of skilled leaders, both at the command level and in the field, left them unable to capitalize the momentum, and most of the offensives came to nothing. The military [[Command hierarchy|chain of command]] functioned relatively well at company and platoon level, but leadership and authority remained weak as most of the field commanders were chosen by the vote of the troopers. The common troopers were more or less armed civilians, whose military training, discipline and combat morale were both inadequate and low.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=177–205}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=227–255}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
Ali Aaltonen was replaced on 28 January 1918 by [[Eero Haapalainen]] as commander-in-chief. He, in turn, was displaced by the Bolshevik triumvirate of [[Eino Rahja]], [[Adolf Taimi]] and [[Evert Eloranta]] on 20 March. The last commander-in-chief of the Red Guard was Kullervo Manner from 10 April onwards—until the last period of the war when the Reds no longer had a named leader. Some talented, local commanders, such as [[Hugo Salmela]] in the Battle of Tampere, could perform qualified leadership, but not change the course of the war. The Reds achieved some local victories as they retreated from southern Finland toward Russia, such as against German troops in the [[Battle of Syrjäntaka]] on 28–29 April in Tuulos.<ref>Some [[Female Red Guards of the Finnish Civil War|Female Red Guard]] platoons were active in combat along the Alvettula–[[Hauho]]–Syrjäntaka–[[Lahti]] line, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=227–255}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=130–135}} {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=233–236}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=70–81}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=181–202}}</ref>
[[File:Punapäällikkö Verner Lehtimäki (26901643321).jpg|thumb|Red Guard cavalry commander [[Verner Lehtimäki]] on his horse in 1918|alt=A Red Guard cavalry commander is pictured on top of his horse from the left side during the winter. A few cottage-like houses are in the background and the commander is equipped with a white sword scabbard, clearly visible from the rest of his clothing.|left]] Around 60,000 of the former Czar's army troopers were stationed in Finland in January 1918. The soldiers were demoralized and war-weary, and the former [[serfs]] were thirsty for [[farmland]] set free by the revolutions. The majority of the troops returned to Russia by the end of March 1918. In total, 7,000 to 10,000 Red Russian soldiers supported the Finnish Reds, but around 3,000, in separate smaller units of 100–1,000 soldiers, could be persuaded to fight in the front line.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=415–422}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=265–278}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=276–291}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}},{{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The revolutions in Russia divided the Russian army officers politically and their attitude towards the Finnish Civil War varied. [[Mikhail Svechnikov]] led Finnish Red troops in western Finland in February and [[Konstantin Yeremejev]] Russian forces on the Karelian Isthmus, while other officers were mistrustful of their revolutionary peers and instead, co-operated with their former colleague, General [[Mannerheim]], assisting the Whites in disarming Russian garrisons in Finland. On 30 January 1918 Mannerheim proclaimed to Russian soldiers in Finland that the White Army did not fight against Russia, but that the objective of the White campaign was to beat the Finnish Reds and the Russian troops supporting them.<ref>Mannerheim promised the co-operating officers their personal freedom, while many of those opposing the Whites were executed. Some Red Russian officers were executed by the Finnish Reds after the bitter defeat in the Battle for Tampere, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981a|pp=154–176}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=265–278}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=89}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004b|pp=175–188}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008a|pp=188–199}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|pp=112–143}}, {{Harvnb|Muilu|2010|pp=9–86}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The number of Russian soldiers active in the Civil War declined markedly once Germany attacked Russia on 18 February 1918. The German-Russian Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 3 March restricted the Bolsheviks' support for the Finnish Reds to weapons and supplies. The Russians remained active on the south-eastern front, mainly in the Battle of Rautu on the Karelian Isthmus between February and April 1918, and defended the approaches to Petrograd.<ref>The Russian Bolsheviks declared war against White Finland after the Whites attacked Russian garrisons in Finland, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=259–262}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1993c|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|p=98}}, {{Harvnb|Manninen|1995|pp=21–32}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
====White Guards and Sweden's role====
[[File:Jääkärien paraati Vaasan torilla 26.2.1918 (26970229625).jpg|thumb|Finnish [[Jäger Movement|Jägers]] in Vaasa, Finland, on 26 February 1918. The battalion is being inspected by White Commander-in-Chief [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C.G.E. Mannerheim]].|alt=A parade of Finnish Jägers at the Vaasa town square. Spectators are gathered around the soldiers in the background. General Mannerheim is inspecting the formation in the foreground.]]
While the conflict has been called by some "The War of Amateurs", the White Army had two major advantages over the Red Guards: the professional military leadership of General Mannerheim and his staff, which included 84 Swedish volunteer officers and former Finnish officers of the Czar's army, and 1,450 soldiers of the 1,900-strong, elite Jäger battalion. The Jägers were trained in Germany during 1915–1917 and battle-hardened on the Eastern Front. The main part of the unit arrived in Vaasa on 25 February 1918.<ref name="Upton 1981 62–144">{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=151–160}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> On the battlefield, the Jägers provided strong leadership that made disciplined action by the common White soldiers possible. The White troopers were similar to those of the Red Guards with brief and inadequate training. At the beginning of the war, the leadership of the White Guards had little authority over volunteer White Guard platoons and companies, which obeyed only their dominant, local leaders. In the end of February, the Jägers started rapid training of six conscript regiments.<ref name="Upton 1981 62–144" />
The Jäger battalion was politically divided too: 450 mostly socialist Jägers remained stationed in Germany as they could have chosen the Red side in the conflict. White Guard leaders faced a similar problem with drafting young men to the army in February 1918: 30,000 obvious supporters of the Finnish labour movement never showed up. It was also uncertain whether common troopers drafted from the small-sized and poor farms of central and northern Finland had strong enough motivation to fight the Finnish Reds; the Whites' propaganda promoted a nationalist war against [[Bolshevist]] Russians, and belittled the significance of the Red Finns.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=9–50}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=40–51, 74–77}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993b|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=90–92}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=264–291}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}</ref> Social divisions appeared both between southern and northern Finland and within rural Finland. The economy and society of the north had modernized more slowly than that of the south. There was a more pronounced conflict between [[Christianity]] and [[socialism]] in the north, and farmland had a major [[social status]]; ownership of even a small parcel of land instilled a motivation to fight against the Reds.<ref>Economy of Ostrobothnia declined, due to weak industrialization after the end of commercial [[tar]] production and grain export to Sweden. The fall led to political and religious conservatism, and emigration to the United States after rapid population growth, {{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=9–50}}, {{Harvnb|Alapuro|1988|pp=40–51, 74–77}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1993|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993b|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=90–92}}</ref>
Sweden declared neutrality during World War I and the Finnish Civil War. The general opinion, in particular among the Swedish elite, was divided between supporters of the Allies and the [[Central powers]], Germanism being somewhat more popular. Three war-time priorities determined the pragmatic policy of the Swedish liberal-social democratic government: sound economics, with export of [[iron-ore]] and foodstuff to Germany, sustaining tranquility of the Swedish society, and geopolitics. The government accepted participation of Swedish volunteer officers and soldiers in the Finnish White Army in order to block expansion of revolutionary unrest to [[Scandinavia]].<ref>The Swedish Germanism included an idea of "Greater Sweden" with plans to take over the Finnish area, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lindqvist|2003|pp=705–719}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
A 1,000-strong paramilitary [[Swedish Brigade]], led by [[Hjalmar Frisell]], took part in the battles of Tampere and in the area south of the town. In February 1918, the [[Swedish Navy]] escorted the German naval squadron transporting Finnish Jägers and German weapons and allowed it to pass through Swedish territorial waters. The Swedish socialists did not aid the Finnish Reds but tried to open peace negotiations between the Whites and the Reds. The weakness of Finland gave Sweden a chance to take-over the geopolitically vital Finnish [[Åland islands|Åland Islands]], located east of [[Stockholm]], but the German army's Finland-operation stalled the plan.<ref>On 31 December 1917, the people of Åland proclaimed by a 57% majority their will to integrate the islands to the [[Kingdom of Sweden]]. The question of controlling Åland became a dispute between Sweden and Finland after World War I, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=990–120}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=79, 97}}, {{Harvnb|Klinge|1997|pp=483–524}}, {{Harvnb|Lindqvist|2003|pp=705–719}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009b|p=130}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2014|pp=216–250}}</ref>
====German intervention====
[[File:SaksalaisiaHelsingissa.jpg|thumb|German soldiers with an [[Maschinengewehr 08|MG 08]] machine gun in Helsinki after the surrender of the Red Guard headquarters [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]]|alt=Seven soldiers of the German Army are stationed at a street corner in Helsinki after the surrender of the Red Guard headquarters Smolna. One of them is on his knee while two are relaxing against a railing or on a chair. MG 08, a heavy machine gun rests in front of them.|left]]
The German Empire intervened in the Finnish Civil War on the side of the White Army in March 1918. The Finnish activists leaning on Germanism had been seeking German aid in freeing Finland from Russian hegemony since late 1917, but the Germans did not want to jeopardize their armistice and [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)#Peace negotiations|peace negotiations]] with Russia because of the pressure they were facing at the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. The German stance changed after 10 February when [[Leon Trotsky]], despite the weakness of the Bolsheviks' position, broke off negotiations, hoping revolutions would break out in the German Empire and change everything. The German government promptly decided to retaliate, and as a pretext for aggression invited "requests for help" from the smaller countries west of Russia. Representatives of White Finland in [[Berlin]] duly requested help on 14 February; on 13 February, the German leadership made the decision to send troops to Finland.<ref>On 7 March, the representatives E. Hjelt and R. Erich signed disadvantageous German-Finnish agreements and promised to pay costs of the German military assistance, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=108}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=117}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=41–70}}</ref>
The [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] attacked Russia on 18 February. [[Operation Faustschlag|The offensive]] led to a rapid collapse and retreat of the Russian troops and to the signing of the first Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by the Bolsheviks on 3 March 1918. Finland, the Baltic countries, [[Poland]] and [[Ukraine]] were transferred to the German sphere of influence. The Finnish Civil War opened a straight access with low costs to [[Fennoscandia]], where the [[geopolitical]] status was altered as a British Naval squadron [[North Russia Intervention|invaded]] the Russian harbour of [[Murmansk]] by the [[Arctic Ocean]] on 9 March 1918. Leader of the German war effort, General [[Erich Ludendorff]], wanted to keep Petrograd under threat through the Vyborg-Narva area and install a German-led monarchy in Finland.<ref>The Murmansk–Petrograd [[Kirov Railway]] was deployed in 1916, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=62–144}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=108}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=41–70}}</ref>
On 5 March, a German naval squadron landed on the [[Åland|Åland Islands]], which the Swedish military expedition took over in mid-February and departed from in May. On 3 April 1918, the 10,000-strong [[Baltic Sea Division]] ({{Lang-de|Ostsee-Division}}), led by General [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]], launched the main attack at [[Hanko]], west of Helsinki. It was followed on 7 April by Colonel [[Otto von Brandenstein|Otto von Brandenstein's]] 3,000-strong [[Detachment Brandenstein]] ({{Lang-de|Abteilung-Brandenstein}}) taking the town of [[Loviisa]] east of Helsinki. The main German formations advanced eastwards from Hanko and took Helsinki on 12–13 April, while Detachment Brandenstein overran the town of [[Lahti]] on 19 April. The main German detachment proceeded northwards from Helsinki and took [[Hyvinkää]] and [[Riihimäki]] on 21–22 April, followed by [[Hämeenlinna]] on 26 April. The efficient performance of the German units contrasted strikingly with that of the demoralized Russian troops. The final blow to the cause of the Finnish Reds was dealt when the Bolsheviks broke off the peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, leading to the German eastern offensive in February 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=369–424}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=41–44}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=97}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=117}}, {{Harvnb|Lackman|2009|pp=48–57}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=117–196}}</ref>
===Decisive engagements===
====Battle of Tampere====
{{Main article| Battle of Tampere}}
[[File:Punaisten ruumiita Kalevankankaan hautausmaalla Tampereen taistelun jälkeen (26365985413).jpg|thumb|Unburied bodies of the Reds at [[Kalevankangas Cemetery|Kalevankangas cemetery]] after the [[Battle of Tampere]]|alt=Unburied and clothless bodies of the Reds lay in the foreground at the Kalevankangas cemetery after the Battle of Tampere. On the right, around five crosses can be seen, while black silhouettes of people are visible against the sky in the background.]]
In February 1918, General Mannerheim weighed on where to focus the general offensive of the Whites between the two strategically vital enemy strongholds: Tampere, Finland's major industrial town in the south-west or Vyborg, Karelia's main city. Although seizing Vyborg offered major advantages, his army's lack of combat skills and the potential for a major counterattack by the Reds in the area or in the south-west made it too risky.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}</ref>
Mannerheim decided to strike first at Tampere. He launched the main assault on 16 March, at [[Längelmäki]] {{Convert|65|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-east of the town, through the right flank of the Reds' defence. At the same time, the Whites attacked through north-western frontline [[Vilppula]]–[[Kuru, Finland|Kuru]]–Kyröskoski–[[Suodenniemi]]. Some Red Guard units collapsed and retreated in panic under the weight of the offensive, while some detachments defended their posts relentlessly, and were able to slow the advance of the White troops, which were unaccustomed to offensive warfare. Eventually, the Whites lay siege to Tampere. They cut off the Reds southward connection in [[Lempäälä]] on 24 March and westward in Siuro, [[Nokia, Finland|Nokia]], and [[Ylöjärvi]] on 25 March.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}</ref>
The Battle for Tampere was fought between 16,000 White and 14,000 Red soldiers. It was Finland's first large-scale [[urban warfare|urban battle]] and, along with the battles of Helsinki, Vyborg and Lahti, one of the four most decisive military engagements of the war. The fight for the area of Tampere began on 28 March, on the eve of Easter 1918, later called the "Bloody [[Maundy Thursday]]", in the Kalevankangas cemetery. The White Army did not achieve a decisive victory in the fierce combat, with more than 50 percent losses in some of the White units. The Whites had to re-organize their troops and battle plans, and they raided the town centre in the early hours of 3 April.<ref name="Ahto 1993 180–445">{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=144–148, 156–170}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008b|pp=96–161}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
After a heavy concentrated [[Barrage (artillery)|artillery barrage]], the White Guards began advancing from house to house and street to street, as the Red Guards retreated. In the late evening of 3 April, the Whites reached the eastern banks of the [[Tammerkoski]] rapids. The Reds' attempts to break the siege of Tampere from the outside along the Helsinki-Tampere railway failed. The Red Guards lost the western parts of the town between 4 and 5 April. The [[Tampere City Hall]] was among the last strongholds of the Reds. The battle ended 6 April 1918 with the surrender of Red forces in the [[Pyynikki]] and [[Pispala]] sections of Tampere.<ref name="Ahto 1993 180–445"/>
The Reds, now on the defensive, showed increased motivation to fight during the battle. General Mannerheim was compelled to deploy some of the best-trained Jäger detachments, initially meant to be conserved for later use in the Vyborg area. The Battle of Tampere was the bloodiest action of the Civil War. The White Army lost 700–900 men, including 50 Jägers, the highest number of deaths the Jäger battalion suffered in a single battle of the 1918 war. The Red Guards lost 1,000–1,500 soldiers, with a further 11,000–12,000 captured. 71 civilians died, mainly due to artillery fire. The eastern parts of the city, consisting mostly of wooden buildings, were destroyed completely.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=317–368}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=180–445}}, {{Harvnb|Ylikangas|1993a|pp=103–295, 429–443}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=92–97}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2008b|pp=96–161}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
====Battle of Helsinki====
{{Main article|Battle of Helsinki}}
After peace talks between Germans and the Finnish Reds were broken off on 11 April, the battle for the capital of Finland began. At 5 a.m. on 12 April, around 2,000–3,000 German Baltic Sea Division soldiers, led by Colonel Hans von Tschirsky und von Bögendorff, attacked the city from the north-west, supported via the [[Rantarata|Helsinki-Turku railway]]. The Germans broke through the area between [[Munkkiniemi]] and [[Pasila]], and advanced on the central-western parts of the town. The German naval squadron led by Vice Admiral [[Hugo Meurer]] blocked the city harbour, bombarded the southern town area, and landed [[Seebataillon|''Seebataillon'']] marines at [[Katajanokka]].<ref>The Russian Navy in Helsinki harbour remained neutral during the battle and the fleet sailed to Kronstadt during 10–13 April due to the 5 April German-Russian Hanko agreement. At first, the Reds agreed to surrender and Colonel von Tshirsky intended to send a minor unit with a marching band and a movie group to symbolically free Helsinki, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2012|pp=7–47}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
Around 7,000 Finnish Reds defended Helsinki, but their best troops fought on other fronts of the war. The main strongholds of the Red defence were the [[Helsinki Workers' Hall|Workers' Hall]], the [[Helsinki railway station]], the Red Headquarters at [[Smolna, Helsinki|Smolna]], the [[Government Palace (Finland)|Senate Palace]]–[[Helsinki University]] area and the former Russian garrisons. By the late evening of 12 April, most of the southern parts and all of the western area of the city had been occupied by the Germans. Local Helsinki White Guards, hidden in the city during the war, joined the battle as the Germans advanced through the town.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=100–102}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
On 13 April, German troops took over the [[Market Square, Helsinki|Market Square]], the Smolna, the Presidential Palace, and the Senate-[[Ritarihuone]] area. Toward the end, a German brigade with 2,000–3,000 soldiers, led by colonel Kondrad Wolf joined the battle. The unit rushed from north to the eastern parts of Helsinki, pushing into the working-class neighborhoods of [[Hermanni (Helsinki)|Hermanni]], [[Kallio]] and [[Sörnäinen]]. German artillery bombarded and destroyed the Workers' Hall, and put out the red lantern of the Finnish revolution. The eastern parts of the town surrendered around 2 p.m. on 13 April—a white flag was raised in the tower of the [[Kallio Church]]. Sporadic fighting lasted until the evening. In total, 60 Germans, 300–400 Reds and 23 White Guard troopers were killed in the battle. Around 7,000 Reds were captured. The German army celebrated the victory with a military parade in the centre of Helsinki on 14 April 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=174–184}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=44–61}},{{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=384–399}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=100–102}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=76–94}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2013|pp=124–392}}</ref>
====Battle of Lahti====
{{Main article|Battle of Lahti}}
Detachment Brandenstein took over the town of Lahti on 19 April. The German troops advanced from east-southeast; via [[Nastola]], through Mustankallio graveyard in [[Salpausselkä]] and the Russian garrisons at [[Hennala]]. The battle was mild but strategically important as it cut the connection between the western and eastern Red Guards. Local engagements broke out in the town and the surrounding area between 22 April and 2 May 1918 as several thousand western Red Guards and Red civilian refugees tried to push through on their way to Russia. The German troops were able to hold major parts of the town and halt the Red advance. In total, 600 Reds and 80 German soldiers perished, and 30,000 Reds were captured in and around Lahti.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=194–201}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=61–70}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=399–410}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|pp=104–105}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2004|pp=165–176}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=89–91}}</ref>
====Battle of Vyborg====
{{Main article|Battle of Vyborg}}
After the defeat in Tampere, the Red Guards began a slow retreat eastwards. As the German army seized Helsinki, the White Army shifted the military focus to Vyborg; 18,500 Whites raided against 15,000 defending Reds. General Mannerheim's war plan was affected by the Battle for Tampere, the civilian industrial town. He aimed to avoid new bloody city combat in Vyborg, an old military fortress. The Jäger detachments tried to bind and destroy the Red force outside the town and conquer it in a mild battle. The Whites were able to cut the Reds' connection to Petrograd and weaken the troops on the Karelian Isthmus on 20–26 April, but the decisive blow remained to be dealt in Vyborg. The final attack began on late 27 April with a heavy, concentrated Jäger artillery barrage. The Reds' defence collapsed gradually, and eventually, the Whites conquered Patterinmäki—the symbolic last stand of the Reds—in the early hours of 29 April 1918. In total, 400 Whites died, and 500–600 Reds perished and 12,000–15,000 were captured.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980b|pp=486–512}}, {{Harvnb|Lappalainen|1981b|pp=201–226}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=391–400, 424–442}}, {{Harvnb|Ahto|1993|pp=411–437}}, {{Harvnb|Aunesluoma|Häikiö|1995|p=112}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2006|pp=139–147}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2009c|pp=199–223}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=232–309}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
===Red and White terror===
[[File:Kaksi punaista teloitetaan Kiviniemessä Karjalan kannaksella 11.4.1918 (26364614704).jpg|thumb|A White firing squad executing two Red soldiers in [[Losevo, Leningrad Oblast|Kiviniemi]], the Karelian Isthmus|alt=A firing squad of the Whites is executing two Red soldiers with rifles in wintry field against a small hill. The leader of White unit is standing behind the firing squad.|left]]
The Whites and the Reds carried out political violence, called White terror ({{Lang-fi|valkoinen terrori}}) and Red terror ({{Lang-fi|punainen terrori}}), through executions. The threshold of political violence was crossed by the Finnish activists during the First Period of Russification. Large-scale terror operations were born and bred in Europe during World War I, the first [[total war]]. The February and October Revolutions initiated similar violence in Finland; at first by Russian army troopers executing their officers, later between the Finnish Reds and Whites.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1980|pp=219–243}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=52}}, {{Harvnb|Uola|1998|pp=11–30}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The terror was divided into two parts: a calculated part of general warfare, and local, personal murders and corresponding acts of revenge. In the former, the commanding staff planned and organized the action and gave orders to the lower level; at least a third of the Red terror and most of the White terror was centrally led. The Red and White governments officially opposed political violence, but the operational decisions were made at the military level.<ref name="Tikka 2006 69–138">{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=69–138}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The main goals of the terror were to destroy the command structure of the enemy, clear and secure the areas governed and occupied by armies, and create shock and fear among the civil population and the enemy soldiers. Likewise, the common troopers' paramilitary nature and lack of combat skills drove to use political violence as a military weapon. The terror achieved some of its objectives but also gave additional motivation to fight against an enemy perceived to be inhuman and cruel. Red and White propaganda used the opponent's actions effectively, increasing the spiral of revenge.<ref name="Tikka 2006 69–138"/> Most of the terror was undertaken by [[cavalry]] units consisting of 10 to 80 soldiers aged 15 to 20 under the absolute authority of an experienced adult leader. The detachments were specialized in [[search and destroy]] operations and [[Death Squad|death squad]] tactics.<ref>No order by the less organized highest Red Guard leadership to implement Red terror has been found. The paper was "burned" or the command was oral. In February 1918, the White troops were given ''Instructions for Wartime Judicature'', later called [[Shoot on the Spot Declaration]] and a ''Desk of Securing Occupied Areas'' acted in the highest White staff, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=19–38, 69–100, 141–158}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
[[File:Viipurin lääninvankila 1918.jpg|thumb|Red terror in April 1918; the Vyborg county jail massacre, where 30 White prisoners were killed<ref>{{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=290–301}}</ref>|alt=Around eight bodies are laying around hallway after the Vyborg county jail massacre, an example of Red terror. 30 White prisoners were killed by the Reds.]]
The Red Guards executed Whites with socioeconomic power, including politicians, major landowners, industrialists, police officers, civil servants, teachers as well as leaders and members of the White Guards. Ten priests of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|Evangelical Lutheran Church]] and 90 moderate socialists were killed. The number of executions varied over the war months; they peaked in February during the period of securing power, but March saw low counts because the Reds could not seize new areas outside the original frontlines. The numbers rose again in April as the Reds aimed to leave Finland. The two major terror centres were Toijala and Kouvola, where 300–350 Whites were executed between February and April 1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=183–208}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=105}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–32, 69–100, 141–146, 157–158}}, {{Harvnb|Huhta|2009|pp=7–14}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The White Guards executed Red Guard and party leaders, common Red troopers, socialist members of the Finnish Parliament and local Red administration, and those active in Red terror. The numbers varied over the months as the Whites conquered southern Finland. Comprehensive White terror started with the general offensive of the Whites in March 1918, increased constantly, culminated at the end of the war, and declined and ceased after the enemy troops had been transferred to prison camps. During the peak of the executions, between the end of April and the beginning of May, 200 Reds were shot per day. White terror was decisive against Russian soldiers who assisted the Finnish Reds, and several Russian non-socialist civilians were killed in the [[Vyborg massacre]], the aftermath of the Battle of Vyborg.<ref>Around 350 Red females, mainly troopers, were executed with 200 of them in Lahti. [[Sexual violence]] against women, Red females in particular, is a long-term [[taboo]]. The number of reliable literary sources is negligible, while the number of unreliable oral sources is high, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=121, 138}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=25–32, 69–81, 103–138, 141–146, 157–158}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Keskisarja|2013|pp=312–386}}, {{Harvnb|Lintunen|2014|pp=201–229}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Hoppu|2017|pp=269–274}}</ref>
In total, 1,650 Whites died in Red terror, while around 10,000 Reds perished in White terror, which turned into [[Political cleansing of population|political cleansing]]. White victims have been recorded exactly, while the number of Red troopers executed immediately after battles remain unclear. Together with the prison camp treatment of the Reds during 1918, the executions inflicted the deepest scars on the Finnish population, regardless of their political allegiance. Some of those, who carried out the killings were seriously traumatized, a phenomenon that was later to become well-documented.<ref>56 "Red" children, 11 girls, and 7 "White" children, 2 girls, were executed outside battles. After 1918, a historical myth was created: the victors' overall acts were legal, while those of the defeated faction were illegal. Modern historians assert that justification of civil war violence on a lawful and moral basis, by any side, leads to bias, distortion and decay of a society, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1966|pp=183–208}}, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1967|pp=}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=121, 138}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=59, 91}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|p=15}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=19–30}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=150–188}}, {{Harvnb|Pekkalainen|2014|pp=49–68}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}, {{Harvnb|Kekkonen|2016|pp=106–166, 287–356}}</ref>
===End===
After the defeat in Tampere and the German army intervention, the People's Delegation retreated from Helsinki to Vyborg on 8 April. The loss of Helsinki pushed them to Petrograd on 25 April 1918. The escape of the Red leadership imbittered Red troopers and thousands of them, without true leadership, tried to flee to Russia, but most of the refugees were encircled by the White and the German troops. The Reds in the Lahti area surrendered on 1–2 May .<ref name="Keränen et al. 1992 123–137">{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=123–137}}</ref> The long caravans of the fleeing Reds included women and children, who experienced a desperate, chaotic escape with several human losses due to the attacks of the enemy. The scene was described as a "road of tears" for the Reds, but for the Whites, the long enemy caravans heading east was a victorious moment. The Red Guards' last strongholds fell by 5 May between the Kouvola and Kotka area, after the [[Battle of Ahvenkoski]]. The war of 1918 ended on 15 May, when the Whites took over [[Fort Ino]], a Russian [[coastal artillery]] base on the Karelian Isthmus, from the Russian troops. White Finland and General Mannerheim celebrated the victory with a large military parade in Helsinki on 16 May 1918.<ref name="Keränen et al. 1992 123–137" />
The Red Guards had been defeated. The initially [[pacifist]] Finnish labour movement had lost the Civil War, several military leaders committed suicide, and a majority of the Reds were sent to prison camps. The Vaasa Senate returned to Helsinki on 4 May 1918, but the capital was under the control of the German army. White Finland had become a protectorate of the German Empire and General Rüdiger von der Goltz was called "the true Regent of Finland." No armistice or peace negotiations were carried out between the Whites and Reds, and an official peace treaty to end the Finnish Civil War was never signed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=123–137}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=144–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=11–14, 197–203}}</ref>
==Aftermath==
===Prison camps===
{{Main article|Finnish Civil War prison camps}}
[[File:Civil War Prison Camp in Helsinki.png|thumb|A prison camp for Red prisoners of war in [[Suomenlinna]], Helsinki. Around 12,500 Red prisoners of war died in such camps due to malnutrition and disease.|alt=A vantage point picture of a prison camp at the Suomenlinna Fortress in Helsinki. Around 25 Red prisoners are present in the courtyard, surrounded by a shack and a garrison building.|left]]
The White Army and German troops captured around 80,000 Red prisoners of war (POWs), including 5,000 women, 1,500 children and 8,000 Russians. The largest [[List of concentration and internment camps#Finland|prison camps]] were Suomenlinna, an island facing Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Riihimäki, [[Ekenäs, Finland|Tammisaari]], Tampere and Vyborg. The Senate decided to keep the POWs detained until each person's role was investigated; a law for a Treason Court ({{Lang-fi|valtiorikosoikeus}}) was enacted on 29 May 1918. The judicature of the 145 inferior courts led by the Supreme Treason Court ({{Lang-fi|valtiorikosylioikeus}}) did not meet the standards of [[impartiality]], due to the condemning atmosphere of White Finland. In total 76,000 cases were examined and 68,000 Reds were convicted, primarily for complicity to [[treason]]; 39,000 were released on [[parole]] while the mean punishment for the rest was 2–4 years in penitentiary. 555 people were sentenced to [[death]], of which 113 were executed. The trials revealed that some [[innocent]] adults had been imprisoned.<ref>Some of the innocent persons were White supporters or neutral Finns, taken by force to serve in the Red Guards, and unable to immediately prove their motivations in the conflict, {{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=140, 142}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=112}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=161–178}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=177–188}}, {{Harvnb|Pekkalainen|2014|pp=84–244}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
Combined with severe food shortage, caused by the Civil War, the mass imprisonment led to high mortality rates in the POW camps, and the catastrophe was compounded by a mentality of punishment, anger, and indifference on the part of the victors. Many prisoners felt that they were abandoned by their own leaders, who had fled to Russia. The physical and mental condition of the POWs declined rapidly in May as food supply had disrupted during the Red Guards' chaotic retreat in April, and a high number of the prisoners had been sent to the camps in Tampere and Helsinki during the first half of April. As a consequence, in June, 2,900 starved to death or died as a result of diseases caused by malnutrition and the [[Spanish flu]], 5,000 in July, 2,200 in August, and 1,000 in September. The mortality rate was highest in the [[Tammisaari prison camp|Tammisaari camp]] at 34 percent, while the rate varied between 5 percent and 20 percent in the others. In total, around 12,500 Finns perished (3,000–4,000 due to the Spanish flu) while detained. The dead were buried in [[mass graves]] near the camps. Moreover, 700 rundown POWs died soon after release from the camps.<ref>{{Harvnb|Paavolainen|1971}}, {{Harvnb|Eerola|Eerola|1998|pp=114, 121, 123}}, {{Harvnb|Westerlund|2004a|pp=115–150}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref>
The majority of the POWs were paroled or pardoned by the end of 1918 after a shift in the political situation. There were 6,100 Red prisoners left at the end of the year and 4,000 at the end of 1919. In January 1920, 3,000 POWs were pardoned and civil rights were returned to 40,000 former Reds. In 1927, the Social Democratic Party government led by [[Väinö Tanner]] pardoned the last 50 prisoners. The Finnish government paid [[Reparation (legal)|reparations]] to 11,600 POWs in 1973. The traumatic hardships of the prison camps increased support of communism in Finland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1973|pp=105–142}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|p=112}}, {{Harvnb|Suodenjoki|2009b|pp=335–355}}, {{Harvnb|Saarela|2014|pp=331–363}}</ref>
===War-torn nation===
The Civil War was a catastrophe for Finland; around 36,000 people, 1.2 percent of the nation's total population, perished. The war left about 15,000 children orphaned. Most of the casualties occurred outside the battlefields; in the prison camps and the terror campaigns. Many Reds fled to Russia at the end of the war and during the period that followed. The traumatic war deepened the divisions within Finnish society, many moderate-neutral Finns identifying themselves as "citizens of two nations."<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=9–13, 212–217}}, {{Harvnb|Peltonen|2003|pp=9–24, 214–220, 307–325}}, [http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/stat2 National Archive of Finland 2004],{{Harvnb|Tikka|2006|pp=32–38, 209–223}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|Tikka|2013|pp=72–84}}, {{Harvnb|Tikka|2014|pp=90–118}}</ref> The conflict led to disintegration within both socialist and non-socialist factions. The shift of political power toward the right caused a dispute between conservatives and liberals on the best system of government for Finland to adopt: the former demanded monarchy and restricted parliamentarism, the latter demanded a democratic republic.<ref name="Vares 1998 38–115, 199–261">{{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=38–115, 199–261}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}</ref>
Both sides justified their views by political and legal grounds. The monarchists leaned on the Swedish regime's monarchist constitution from 1772, accepted by Russia in 1809, belittled the Declaration of Independence of 1917, and proposed a modernized monarchist constitution for Finland. The republicans argued that the 1772 law lost validity in the February Revolution and the authority of the Russian Czar was assumed by the Finnish Parliament on 15 November 1917 and that the Republic of Finland was adopted on 6 December. The republicans were able to halt processing of the monarchist proposal in Parliament. The monarchists responded by applying the 1772 law directly to select a new monarch for the country.<ref name="Vares 1998 38–115, 199–261" />
The 1918 war led to the breakup of the Finnish labour movement into three parts: moderate social democrats and left-wing socialists in Finland, and communists in Soviet Russia. The Social Democratic Party had the first official party meeting after the Civil War on 25 December 1918, wherein the party proclaimed a commitment to parliamentary means and disclaimed Bolshevism and communism. The leaders of Red Finland, who had fled to Russia, established the [[Communist Party of Finland]] in Moscow on 29 August 1918. After the power struggle of 1917 and the bloody civil war, the former Fennomans and social democrats, who had supported "ultra-democratic" means in Red Finland, declared to have committed to revolutionary Bolshevism–communism and to the dictatorship of the proletariat, under the control of Vladimir Lenin.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1973|pp=105–142}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=136, 149, 152, 159}}, {{Harvnb|Saarela|2014|pp=331–363}}</ref>
[[File:Rump Parliament.jpg|thumb|The [[Rump legislature|Rump Parliament]] of Finland, Helsinki 1918. German army officers stand in the left corner. Social Democrat [[Matti Paasivuori]] is on the right, representing Finnish socialists alone.|alt= Parliament is convening for the first time after the war. Whites and German soldiers dominate the picture while only one person from the opposing social democrats is present. Thus, it was sarcastically called a Rump Parliament.]]
A conservative-monarchist Senate was formed by [[Juho Kusti Paasikivi|J.K. Paasikivi]] in May 1918, and the Senate asked the German troops to remain in Finland. The 3 March Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the 7 March 1918 German-Finnish agreements bound White Finland to the German Empire's power sphere. General Gustav Mannerheim resigned his post on 25 May after disagreements with the Senate about German hegemony over Finland, and about his planned attack on Petrograd to repulse the Bolsheviks and capture Russian Karelia. The Germans opposed the plans due to their peace treaties with Lenin and other German outlines. The Civil War weakened the Finnish Parliament; it became a Rump Parliament including merely three socialist representatives.<ref>An additional German–Russian treaty was signed on 27 August 1918; the Germans promised to keep the Finnish troops out of Petrograd and Russian Karelia but planned an attack of a joint Bolshevik-White Finnish military formation against the British troops. The probable collapse of the weak Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War led to the German ''Schlussstein'' plan to seize Petrograd, {{Harvnb|Rautkallio|1977|pp=377–390}}, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=460–481}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=136}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=122–129}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|Hentilä|Nevakivi|1999|pp=121}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191}}, {{Harvnb|Kolbe|Nyström|2008|pp=144–147}}, {{Harvnb|Roselius|2014|pp=119–155}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=210–215, 300–310}}</ref>
On 9 October 1918, under pressure by Germany, the Senate and Parliament elected a German prince, [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Friedrich Karl]], brother-in-law of German Emperor [[William II, German Emperor|William II]], to become the King of Finland. The German leadership was able to utilize the breakdown of Russia for the geopolitical benefit of the German Empire in Fennoscandia also. The Civil War and the aftermath diminished independence of Finland, compared to the status in the turn of the year 1917-1918.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rautkallio|1977|pp=377–390}}, {{Harvnb|Arimo|1991|pp=8–18, 87–92}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=152}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=199–261}}, {{Harvnb|Jussila|2007|pp=190–191, 276–291}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=197–203, 287–300}}</ref>
The economic condition of Finland deteriorated drastically; recovery to pre-conflict levels was achieved in 1925. The most acute crisis was food supply, already deficient in 1917, though large-scale starvation had been avoided. The Civil War caused marked starvation in southern Finland. Late in 1918, Finnish politician [[Rudolf Holsti]] appealed for relief to [[Herbert Hoover]], the American chairman of the [[Committee for Relief in Belgium]]. Hoover arranged for food shipments and persuaded the Allies to relax their blockade of the [[Baltic Sea]], which had obstructed food supplies to Finland, and allow food in.<ref>The Finnish economy grew exceptionally fast between 1924 and 1939 despite a slow-down during the depression of 1929–1931, substantially enhancing the standard of living of the majority of Finns, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|p=157}}, {{Harvnb|Pietiäinen|1992|pp=252–403}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=9–13, 212–217}}, {{Harvnb|Saarikoski|2008|pp=115–131}}, {{Harvnb|Siltala|2014|pp=51–89}}</ref>
===Compromise===
As the fate of Finns was decided outside Finland in Petrograd on 15 March 1917, it was decided again on 11 November 1918 in Berlin after Germany surrendered in World War I. The German Empire collapsed in the [[German Revolution of 1918-19]], caused by lack of food, war-weariness and defeat in the battles of the Western Front. General Rüdiger von der Goltz and his division left Helsinki on 16 December, and Prince Friedrich Karl, who had not yet been crowned, left his post on 20 December. Finland's status shifted from a monarchist protectorate of the German Empire to an independent democratic republic. The system of government was confirmed within the [[Constitution of Finland|Constitution Act]] ({{Lang-fi|Suomen hallitusmuoto}}) on 17 July 1919.<ref>In terms of dates in history, Finnish independence symbolically formed a triangle composed of 15 November 1917, 6 December 1917 and 11 November 1918, {{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=447–481}}, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=67, 73, 154, 171}}, {{Harvnb|Jyränki|2014|pp=18–38}}, {{Harvnb|Hentilä|Hentilä|2016|pp=11–14, 323–344}}</ref>
The first local elections based on universal suffrage in Finland were held during 17–28 December 1918, and the first free parliamentary election after the Civil War on 3 March 1919. The United States and the United Kingdom recognised Finnish sovereignty on 6–7 May 1919. The Western powers demanded the establishment of democratic republics in post-war Europe to calm down the widespread revolutionary movements. The Finno–Russian [[Treaty of Tartu (Russian-Finnish)|Treaty of Tartu]] was signed on 14 October 1920, aiming to stabilize the political relations and settle the borderline between Finland and Russia.<ref>Since 1920s, Finland gradually became a subject in international politics, instead of merely being an object, {{Harvnb|Keränen|Tiainen|Ahola|Ahola|1992|pp=154, 171}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Kalela|2008c|pp=95–109}}, {{Harvnb|Kuisma|2010|pp=231–250}}</ref>
[[File:Finnish Civil War Memorial Antrea.jpg|thumb|The Whites' Civil War memorial in [[Kamennogorsk]], Russia|alt=A stone pedestal commemorating the Civil War with a cropped coat of arms Finland and the inscription "Sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland and freedom in 1918."|left]]
In April 1918, the leading Finnish social liberal and the eventual first President of Finland, [[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg]] wrote: "It is urgent to get the life and development in this country back on the path that we had already reached in 1906 and which the turmoil of war turned us away from." Moderate social democrat [[Väinö Voionmaa]] agonised in 1919: "Those who still trust in the future of this nation must have an exceptionally strong faith. This young independent country has lost almost everything due to the war." Voionmaa was a vital companion for the leader of the reformed Social Democratic Party, Väinö Tanner.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=223–225, 243, 249}}</ref>
Santeri Alkio supported moderate politics. His party colleague, [[Kyösti Kallio]] urged in his Nivala address on 5 May 1918: "We must rebuild a Finnish nation, which is not divided into the Reds and Whites. We have to establish a democratic Finnish republic, where all the Finns can feel that we are true citizens and members of this society." In the end, many of the moderate Finnish conservatives followed the thinking of National Coalition Party member [[Lauri Ingman]], who wrote in early 1918: "A political turn more to the right will not help us now, instead it would strengthen the support of socialism in this country."<ref>Ståhlberg, Ingman, Tokoi and [[Heikki Ritavuori]] as well as [[Miina Sillanpää]] with other moderate female politicians, tried to avoid the war in January 1918 with a proposal for a new Senate, including both non-socialist and socialist members, but they were overrun, {{Harvnb|Hokkanen|1986}}, {{Harvnb|Rinta-Tassi|1986|pp=121–141}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=223–225, 243, 249}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|1998|pp=58, 96–99}}, {{Harvnb|Korppi-Tommola|2016|pp=99–102}}</ref>
Together with the other broad-minded Finns, the new partnership constructed a Finnish compromise which eventually delivered stable and broad parliamentary democracy. The compromise was based both on the defeat of the Reds in the 1918 war and the fact that most of the Whites' political goals had not been achieved. After foreign forces left Finland, the militant factions of the Reds and the Whites lost their backup, while the pre-1918 cultural and national integrity and the legacy of Fennomania stood out among the Finns.<ref>{{Harvnb|Upton|1981|pp=480–481}}, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1992|pp=228–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=97–99, 243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}},{{Harvnb|Haapala|2009a|pp=395–404}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009b|pp=17–23}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Meinander|2010|pp=174–182}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
The weakness of both Germany and Russia after World War I empowered Finland and made a peaceful, domestic Finnish social and political settlement possible. The reconciliation led to a slow and painful, but steady, national unification. In the end, the power vacuum and [[interregnum]] of 1917–1919 gave way to the Finnish compromise. From 1919 to 1991, the democracy and sovereignty of the Finns withstood challenges from right-wing and left-wing political radicalism, the crisis of World War II and pressure from the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]].<ref>The Civil War interfered with and slowed down the Finnish modernization process, ongoing since the end of the 19th century as an interaction between industrialization, [[constitutional state]] formation, democratization as well as the formation of civil society and national independence. The process did not follow any long-term grand plan made by the Finns. Instead, it was the result of reacting to and solving short-term domestic and international economic, political and social questions and problems, by means of the long-term history, structure and the way of life of the northern society formed between western and eastern Europe, {{Harvnb|Piilonen|1992|pp=228–249}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|1995|pp=97–99, 243–256}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2008|pp=255–261}}, {{Harvnb|Saarikoski|2008|pp=115–131}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009a|pp=395–404}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2009b|pp=17–23}}, {{Harvnb|Vares|2009|pp=376–394}}, {{Harvnb|Haapala|2014|pp=21–50}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
[[File:Pohjois-Haagan veljeshauta.jpg|thumb|A grave for Red soldiers and civilians in [[Pohjois-Haaga|North Haaga]], Helsinki<ref>According to a likely incorrect tale, Estonian Vice-Prime Minister [[Jüri Vilms]] was executed by the Germans in Helsinki and buried in the tomb, {{Harvnb|Kuusela|2015|pp=42–43}}</ref>|alt=A modest tombstone, with flowers in front of it and an iron fence surrounding it, is the grave site for Red soldiers in civilians in Helsinki.]]
Between 1918 and the 1950s, mainstream literature and poetry presented the 1918 war from the White victors' point of view, such as the "Psalm of the Cannons" ({{lang-fi|Tykkien virsi}}) by [[Arvi Järventaus]] in 1918. In poetry, [[Bertel Gripenberg]], who had volunteered for the White Army, celebrated its cause in "The Great Age" ({{Lang-sv|Den stora tiden}}) in 1928 and [[V.A. Koskenniemi]] in "Young Anthony" ({{Lang-fi|Nuori Anssi}}) in 1918. The war tales of the Reds were kept in silence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}</ref>
The first neutrally critical books were written soon after the war: "Devout Misery" ({{Lang-fi|Hurskas kurjuus}}) written by the [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate]] [[Frans Emil Sillanpää]] in 1919, "Dead Apple Trees" ({{Lang-fi|Kuolleet omenapuut}}) by [[Joel Lehtonen]] in 1918 and "Homecoming" ({{Lang-sv|Hemkomsten}}) by [[Runar Schildt]] in 1919. They were followed by [[Jarl Hemmer]] in 1931 with the book "A Man and His Conscience" ({{Lang-sv|En man och hans samvete}}) and [[Oiva Paloheimo]] in 1942 with "Restless Childhood" ({{Lang-fi|Levoton lapsuus}}). [[Lauri Viita|Lauri Viita's]] book "Scrambled Ground" ({{Lang-fi|Moreeni}}) from 1950 presented the life and experiences of a worker family in the Tampere of 1918, including a point of view from outsiders in the Civil War.<ref>Runar Schildt committed suicide in 1925, partly due to the Civil War. In 1920, he wrote: "The bugle will not call me and the people of my kind to assemble. We have no place in the White and Red Guards of this life. No fanatic war-cry, no place in the column, no permanent place to stay, no peace of mind. Not for us", {{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}</ref>
Between 1959 and 1962, [[Väinö Linna]] described in his trilogy "[[Under the North Star]]" ({{Lang-fi|Täällä Pohjantähden alla}}) the Civil War and World War II from the viewpoint of the common people. Part II of Linna's work opened the larger view and the tales of the Reds in the 1918 war and had a significant mental effect in Finland. At the same time, a new outlook of the war was opened by [[Paavo Haavikko|Paavo Haavikko's]] book "Private Matters" ({{Lang-fi|Yksityisiä asioita}}), [[Veijo Meri]]'s "The Events of 1918" ({{Lang-fi|Vuoden 1918 tapahtumat}}) and [[Paavo Rintala|Paavo Rintala's]] "My Grandmother and Mannerheim" ({{Lang-fi|Mummoni ja Mannerheim}}), all published in 1960. In poetry, [[Viljo Kajava]], who had experienced the Battle of Tampere at the age of nine, presented a pacifist view of the civil war in his "Poems of Tampere" ({{Lang-fi|Tampereen runot}}) in 1966. The same battle is described in the novel "Corpse Bearer" ({{Lang-fi|Kylmien kyytimies}}) by [[Antti Tuuri]] from 2007. Jenni Linturi's multilayered Malmi 1917 (2013) describes contradictory emotions and attitudes in a village drifting to civil war.<ref>The trilogy of Väinö Linna affected history research, while many Finns began to interpret Part II as "the historical truth" for the events of 1918. Historians have shown the book's main distortions: the role of crofters is emphasized too much and the role of social liberals and other moderate non-socialists is neglected, but they have not diminished the high value of the trilogy in Finnish literature, {{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Helsingin Sanomat|2017|p=B6}}, {{Harvnb|Häggman|2017|pp=157-217}}</ref>
Väinö Linna's trilogy turned the general tide, and after it several books were written mainly from the Red viewpoint: The Tampere-trilogy by [[Erkki Lepokorpi]] in 1977, [[Juhani Syrjä|Juhani Syrjä's]] "Juho 18" in 1998, "The Command" ({{Lang-fi|Käsky}}) by [[Leena Lander]] in 2003 and "Sandra" by [[Heidi Köngäs]] in 2017. [[Kjell Westö|Kjell Westö's]] epic novel "[[Where We Once Went]]" ({{Lang-sv|Där vi en gång gått}}), published in 2006, deals with the period of 1915–1930 from both the Red and the White sides. Westö's book "Mirage 38" ({{Lang-sv|Hägring 38}}) from 2013 describes post-war traumas of the 1918 war and the Finnish pre-World War II mental atmosphere. Many of the stories have been utilized in motion picture and in theatre.<ref>{{Harvnb|von Bagh|2007|pp=15–55}}, {{Harvnb|Varpio|2009|pp=441–463}}, {{Harvnb|Tepora|2014|pp=390–400}}, {{Harvnb|Helsingin Sanomat|2017|p=B6}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Commons category|Civil war of Finland}}
{{div col|colwidth=}}
* [[Eastern Front (World War I)]]
* [[Lotta Svärd]]
* [[History of Finland]]
* [[Finnish War]]
* [[Winter War]]
* [[List of Finnish wars]]
* [[Ukrainian War of Independence|Ukrainian Civil War]]
* [[Mensheviks]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
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{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/vapriikki/albums/72157668009883972 1918] (pictures of the Civil War on [[Flickr]] uploaded by the Vapriikki Museum Centre under [[CC-BY 2.0]])
* [https://finna.fi/?lng=en-gb Finna.fi] (search service for information from Finnish archives, libraries and museums)
* [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/finnish_civil_war_1918 Finnish Civil War 1918] (part of the 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War)
*[http://www.ethesis.net/finland/swf/start_here.html The Representation of Violence in the Finnish (press-)Photography of the Civil War] (requires an [[Adobe Flash]] player)
*[http://vesta.narc.fi/cgi-bin/db2www/sotasurmaetusivu/main?lang=en War Victims in Finland, 1914–1922] (hosted by the [[National Archives of Finland]])
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