In Soviet times, Marshal Mannerheim was spoken of as "the reactionary statesman of Finland." It was customary to mention him mainly only in connection with the line of defense that bore his name during the Soviet-Finnish war. Meanwhile, Mannerheim's connection with Russia is limited not only to the Winter War. In Finland itself, the attitude towards his personality is ambiguous. The bearer of the contemptuous nickname "Rossi" (ie Russian) and national hero the monument to which descendants erected in the center of Helsinki is one and the same person.

Baron Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim was born on June 4, 1867 near the city of Turku in Finland, which was then part of Russian Empire(Great Finnish principality). His mother tongue was Swedish, Karl Gustav came from an old family, rooted in Holland and partly Germany. In the XVII century. his ancestors moved to Sweden, their surname Markhein began to sound like Mannerheim, and then moved to Finland. The Swedish family of Mannerheims gave Scandinavia many statesmen, scientists, military leaders

The Mannerheim family occupied a rather prominent position in society. Gustav's father Karl Robert graduated from the University of Helsingfors, collected works of art, had musical training, sang in the national opera, wrote poetry, was engaged in translations, as he spoke several languages. The mother of the future Marshal Helen von Julin was the daughter of a major Finnish tycoon. However, the baron, who loved to live on a grand scale, managed to squander both his inheritance and his wife's dowry. After 18 years of marriage, he fled to Paris with his mistress, leaving his wife and seven children without a livelihood. Unable to withstand this, Helen died a year later of a heart attack, the children were taken up by relatives.

It was decided to send Gustav to study at a cheap cadet corps near Vyborg, but he was soon expelled from it for insubordination to discipline. Relatives wanted to find him another occupation, but suddenly Gustav changed and in spite of everything decided to make a military career, choosing for this the Nikolaev cavalry school in St. Petersburg. In 1887 he was enlisted as an officer in the cavalry, in 1889 he graduated from college with the rank of lieutenant. In his memoirs, Mannerheim respectfully recalls his teachers at the cavalry school, especially General Alekseev (during the First World War - Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief). In St. Petersburg, he made friends with the Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Nicholas II, which had a beneficial effect on his future career. For two years, Mannerheim served in the "black dragoons" (15th Alexandria Dragoon Regiment, stationed in Western Poland), and then was enlisted in the cavalry regiment, the honorary commander of which was the Empress herself. To Empress Maria Feodorovna, Danish by birth, Mannerheim treated with special respect. Subsequently, after the revolution, during his trip to Europe, the baron paid a visit to the empress to express his respect (Maria Feodorovna spent her last years life in Denmark). During the coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, Mannerheim stood guard of honor.

In 1802, Gustav married the daughter of the Russian general Anastasia Arapova, but this marriage was not happy, in 1901 they separated, and officially divorced only in 1919. His wife and two daughters settled in Paris. The eldest, Anastasia, converted to Catholicism and was tonsured a nun before the First World War. She spent almost 20 years in a Carmelite convent in England, but eventually gave up the monastic life. The youngest, Sophie, will move in the 18th year with him, intending to stay permanently, but she did not like life in Helsinki. She will return to France, but will regularly correspond with her father and sometimes visit him.

During the Russo-Japanese War, where Mannerheim volunteered, he distinguished himself in battles on the territory of Manchuria. He ended the war with the rank of major. In early March 1906, Mannerheim, who had risen to the rank of colonel, received an order from the Russian General Staff to go on a scientific and reconnaissance expedition to Central Asia. The main goal of the expedition was to find out the results of the reform policy pursued in China after the defeat of the Boxing Uprising, its influence on the regions bordering on Russia. In addition, it was necessary to draw maps of the roads along which the detachment would advance, to study their possible military significance. Military reconnaissance and espionage activities were camouflaged for scientific work. It was supposed to completely keep in secret the belonging of Mannerheim to the Russian army, presenting him to Swedish subjects, who is taking part in a large research expedition of the French. Having traveled 3 thousand km on horseback, up to Beijing, the pseudo-scientist in the most difficult conditions not only completed the task, but also became interested in scientific activity. In Beijing, Mannerheim had a chance to meet with General Kornilov, then a military attaché in China. By coincidence, it was Kornilov who sent Mannerheim on an expedition two years earlier in Tashkent. Mannerheim will have a chance to meet with him later, in 1917, at that time the baron will also be among the generals who did not accept the revolution. It must be said that Mannerheim was familiar not only with Kornilov, but with practically all the leaders of the White movement.

In his diary about a trip to Asia, Mannerheim recorded what he saw and felt, observed and experienced directly, without relying on prejudices and templates. His observations, notes, maps, photographs (and there were more than one and a half thousand of them), measurements, copied rock paintings, collected ancient manuscripts, books would do honor to any researcher, because they contained information on geography, history, ethnography, anthropology, culture and other sciences. For example, a fragment of a text in one of the ancient Northern Iranian dialects bypassed all universities in European countries, and the Buddhist text written in square Mongolian script from the 13th to the middle of the 16th centuries remained unique.

Mannerheim tried to learn Chinese. In addition to a translator, he hired another Chinese to be able to train in the language (in addition to his native Swedish, Mannerheim spoke English, French, Russian, Finnish and German). Mannerheim left Beijing only once to meet with the Dalai Lama, who lived in China as a prisoner under constant supervision. “The Dalai Lama seemed to me to be a lively and intelligent person, strong spiritually and physically,” the baron wrote. His Holiness immediately asked if Mannerheim had brought him some message, probably he was waiting for news from the Tsar or the government of Russia. But the baron did not have anything with him, not even a gift for the Dalai Lama, and he gave his pistol (in his memoirs, Mannerheim, commenting on this episode, wrote: "Times are such that even a saint needs a pistol more often than a prayer"). In his memoirs, the baron, who had sympathy for the Dalai Lama, later noted with satisfaction that he managed to return to Tibet and, taking advantage of the weakening of the great powers, create an independent state.

Mannerheim personally presented the report on this expedition to the tsar, who was very interested in the baron's adventures. The audience given in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace lasted instead of the planned 20 minutes 1 hour 20. As a reward, Mannerheim received the rank of major general and regiment near Warsaw. He was very proud of his scientific work, and the report on it was finalized in 1940.

During World War I, Mannerheim became the commander of the elite 12th Cavalry Division, and three years later he already commanded an army corps and was promoted to lieutenant general. He was awarded with almost all Russian orders. In his behavior, Mannerheim was a true aristocrat. His aristocracy was manifested both in his demeanor ("posture expresses a state of mind," he used to say), and in his attentive attitude towards his subordinates: he remembered the names and surnames of many privates, where they came from, is there a family, etc. Interestingly, at the front, Mannerheim and General Denikin, the future leader of the Volunteer Army, commanded neighboring divisions. At the beginning of 1917, Mannerheim was on vacation. Arriving in St. Petersburg, he found himself in the very maelstrom of revolutionary events. Mannerheim's attitude to the revolution was hostile, and the fall of the monarchy was a terrible blow. He refused to swear allegiance to the Provisional Government, because he had already sworn allegiance to the Tsar and the Fatherland (and kept it to the end: in spite of any changes, he always kept a portrait of Nicholas II on his desk). The October coup became a personal tragedy for Mannerheim, he decides to leave Russia.

In Finland, too, everything was unsettled. By that time, two opposing military groups had already formed in the country: on the one hand, well-trained volunteer self-defense detachments "shutskor" formed by activists of bourgeois parties in case of an armed struggle against the Russian occupation forces. Shutskor and later formed the backbone of the White Army. On the other hand, the scattered detachments of workers created after the February revolution and often undergoing military training with the help of the Russian Bolsheviks: they gradually united into the Red Guard. The third, and very significant, military force there were Russian soldiers and sailors of the Baltic Fleet who were still in Finland.

Mannerheim assumed command of the units opposing the Red Army and the Finnish Red Guard. On the basis of the shutskor, the armed forces were formed, which also included volunteers from Russia and Sweden, weapons came from Germany. Mannerheim also received help from the German General Count von der Goltz, who from February 1918 commanded the 12th German Division (Eastern Naval Division). The division of General von der Goltz was originally stationed in the Baltic States, fighting there against the Red Army. By joint efforts, the White Finns and the German expeditionary corps of General von der Goltz forced the Red Guards to retreat first to the city of Vyborg (where they lost the battle on April 24), and then to the territory of Soviet Russia. in mid-May, Mannerheim hosted a victory parade: the civil war was over and the disarmed Russian troops left the country. In December 1918 Karl Mannerheim was proclaimed regent of Finland.

The losses of the whites turned out to be relatively small - about 5 thousand people. More than 20 thousand Red Finns were killed; of these, only a few thousand were in battles; the rest were executed or died of hunger and disease in concentration camps. Moreover, prisoners of war and women and children were executed and thrown into the camps, which caused outrage in Europe. It is still not clear to what extent Mannerheim was involved in this "bloody bath", as the Finns still call that time. It is known that he tried to stop the senseless bloodshed, but the situation, as almost always happens in a war situation, got out of control in many areas. In addition, at the end of May 1918, he resigned and for some time could not influence the course of events.

The attitude towards Mannerheim after the 18th year was ambiguous: many considered him to be the culprit of the White Terror and the death of tens of thousands of prisoners. On the other hand, grateful fellow citizens in 1919 collected hundreds of thousands of signatures and 7.5 million marks as a gift to Mannerheim, the liberator of the fatherland. It is known that Mannerheim offered military cooperation to the leadership of the White movement in Russia and even an offensive on Red Petrograd. But neither the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak, nor the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of southern Russia, General Denikin, agreed to such cooperation with Finland. The reason was that they both stood for a united and indivisible Russia.

On June 17, 1919, the Republic of Finland was proclaimed. In the same month, General Mannerheim voluntarily resigned from the post of regent of Finland. But he continued to be one of the country's most prominent political figures, retaining enormous personal influence over its military. In 1931, when Marshal Mannerheim was already over 60 years old, the country's government returned him to active state activities. He was appointed chairman of the State Defense Council, which was to solve military issues in the context of aggravated relations between Finland and its neighbor - The Soviet Union... For eight years (the construction of the first fortifications was started back in 1927) Karl Mannerheim supervised the construction of a powerful fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus, which went down in military history as the “Mannerheim Line”. German, English, French and Belgian fortification engineers took part in its construction. The total length of the line was 135 kilometers, and its depth was 95 kilometers. In total, there were 220 kilometers of solid wire barriers, 200 of forest heaps and 80 of privotank obstacles.

In 1939, the former general of the Russian Imperial Army with the rank of Marshal of Finland becomes the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Republic of Finland. Since the summer of 1938, Moscow has demanded lease for the four largest islands in the Gulf of Finland; Mannerheim believed that the islands should be surrendered, since their defense was still not possible. The government then did not even consider this issue. A year later, Molotov and Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact. It contained a secret protocol that placed the Baltic states and Finland at the mercy of the USSR. After the partition of Poland, demands increased - now the Russians wanted, in addition to the islands, a part of the Karelian Isthmus and a naval base in Hanko in exchange for territory in Eastern Karelia. On November 26, the so-called "Mainila incident" takes place: shelling of a border village located on Soviet territory. The Soviet Union blamed Finland for this, although it later became clear that the shots were fired from the Soviet side. On November 28, the USSR denounces the 1932 non-aggression treaty with Finland, the break of diplomatic relations follows on the 29th. the communist puppet government of Finland is created, headed by Otto Ville Kuuinen; On December 3, the Soviet side concludes a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with this "people's government." And when the USSR is expelled from the League of Nations, this gives rise to the announcement that the USSR is providing assistance to the "legitimate government elected by the working people."

The Soviet-Finnish war began with the bombing of the Finnish capital Helsinki and the city of Viipuri (present-day Vyborg). On the part of the USSR, about one million servicemen took part in the war. Beyond the ground forces fighting led the Baltic Fleet. Mannerheim, on the other hand, had an army of 300 thousand people, of which only 50 thousand belonged to the regular, regular troops. In the Finnish army that fought against the Red Army, there were many volunteers from the Scandinavian and other European states. Mannerheim's defensive tactics on the Karelian Isthmus proved to be effective. The fortifications, nearly 150 kilometers long, were an almost continuous chain of trenches and dugouts, protected by anti-tank ditches, boulders and barbed wire. The second row of fortifications was already being built in a feverish rush before the war. In general, their power was exaggerated by Soviet propaganda, as the offensive drowned. The marshal himself liked to say: "The Mannerheim Line is the Finnish soldiers." Another terrible enemy of the Russians was the cold. The ratio of casualties in this war turned out to be striking: it was approximately 1: 5, i.e. for one Finn there were 5 Red Army soldiers (the Finns lost 23 thousand killed in battle and missing).

By February, the human and technical resources of the Finns were depleted. February 21, having thrown into battle 27 army divisions with tanks and artillery Soviet troops broke through the Finnish defenses on a 12-kilometer stretch. On March 12, 1940, little Finland surrendered in order to prevent the advance of Soviet troops deep into its territory. Under the terms of the peace treaty between the USSR and the Republic of Finland, the state border on the Karelian Isthmus moved away from Leningrad beyond the line of the cities of Vyborg and Sortavala, 10% of the country went to the Soviet Union, and from there 400,000 refugees poured into the interior of the country, who needed to be given shelter and work. But still, the moral victory was on the side of the Finns - the whole world started talking about the courage and bravery of a small people who could not be conquered.

November 30 is another anniversary of the beginning of the "Finnish war", and it is appropriate to recall one of its heroes. For our fathers and grandfathers, it was an enemy who fought against the USSR.

For great-grandfathers - a dangerous troublemaker who led the white movement in Finland and expelled the Bolsheviks from the country. For the older generation, he is a military leader who has earned high awards from the Russian Empire. For the north of Europe, it is a symbol of national resilience. For Finland itself - regent, commander-in-chief, president, fighter for independence.

Baron Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim was born on June 4, 1867 in Finland. Mannerheim was 15 years old when in 1882 he entered the cadet corps of Finland. Emil was the first of three generations of Mannerheims to devote himself to the military profession. However, in the 18th century, almost all men of his family chose this particular career.

The discipline in the corps was strict. In 1886, for unauthorized absence, Mannerheim received a notice of expulsion from the corps. What else to do next young man with the only desire to serve in the army? Mannerheim goes to St. Petersburg and for a year crammed a university program to pass exams at the elite Nikolaev Cavalry School. The exam was successful, and in the spring of 1887 Mannerheim became a cadet-nikolayevets. Despite the language difficulties (Mannerheim knew Russian very mediocre), the first year of study was successful, and in 1889 the baron graduated from the school with honors. However, after being promoted to officers, Mannerheim suffered a great disappointment. There were no vacancies in the Cavalry Regiment, where he was striving so much and where the officers' meeting approved his candidacy. Mannerheim's cornet service began in the 15th Dragoon Regiment, located on the border with Germany - in the Polish city of Kalisz. The cavalry regiment, where all the horses were black, were called "suicide hussars" - in memory of the time when this regiment was an Alexandrian hussar and officers wore black dolman with silvered braids.

Life in the frontier regiment was rather monotonous, but the horses were good, and there was enough work for those who wanted to work. As the baron himself recalls: "I learned to understand and respect the Russian military discipline, which had many good qualities." After serving a year in the dragoon regiment, Mannerheim receives the long-awaited news that he is being transferred to the cavalry guards. In the Cavalry Regiment, Mannerheim is instructed to train new recruits in the first squadron. Tall, handsome, imposing, Mannerheim fit very well into the Cavalry Regiment and enjoyed success with the St. Petersburg ladies. Mannerheim sincerely loved everything connected with cavalry, and carried this love to the end of his days.

The most important event in the life of the cavalry guards in the camp was the races, which were attended by all the high command and military representatives of other countries. Being a great fan of equestrian sports, Mannerheim always enthusiastically took part in the obstacle races, which were organized in the winter in the huge Mikhailovsky arena that could accommodate the entire Cavalry Regiment. Changes took place in Mannerheim's personal life at this time: in 1892 he was married to Anastasia Arapova. Her father was Major General Nikolai Arapov, who was part of His Majesty's retinue. In the past, he also served as a cavalry guard.

In 1901, Mannerheim accepted a very flattering offer to go to serve in the imperial stables. In addition to a passion for horses, for a poor and family young officer great importance also had the salary of a colonel and own apartment in one of the most prestigious areas of the capital. During one of his trips to Germany, Mannerheim is seriously injured. The Emperor's personal physician, Professor Bergman, shook his head in sorrow. The kneecap from the horse's hoof split into five parts, and the leg at the knee could no longer bend, but the doctor consoled Mannerheim: “Although it will be difficult for you to lead the squadron, you will still be perfectly able to command a regiment, and nothing will prevent you from becoming a general! ". Thanks to rubbing and exercise, the knee gradually healed, but it remained weak for life. Of the 13 cases when Mannerheim broke his bones, this incident was the most difficult ...

Despite all his love for horses, Mannerheim's main goal was a real military career. Shortly after being promoted to captain in 1903, he wrote a report on the transfer back to the army. Mannerheim was assigned to the Officer Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, where he became the commander of the so-called exemplary squadron. It was indeed an honorable position, since the squadron commander had an almost independent position, and the rights and salaries were like a regiment commander.

The service in the school was interrupted by the Russian-Japanese war, to which Captain Mannerheim volunteered. The Russo-Japanese War was the first of Mannerheim's five wars. He went to her to test his strength in military affairs, and this hope came true. As commander of two separate squadrons, Mannerheim takes part in many reconnaissance and skirmishes with the Japanese. Because of the strong rheumatism acquired in the war, the baron received a long leave, and, to his great joy, he had the opportunity to travel to his homeland. However, the stay in Helsinki ended too quickly. Mannerheim receives an invitation to come to the General Staff in St. Petersburg, where he is entrusted with a difficult task - to play the role of a military intelligence officer. It is necessary to travel on horseback through all of Central Asia - from Russian Turkestan to the capital of China. The entire trip was given two years. The path ran through Chinese Turkestan and the Tien Shan mountains to the region of the Ili River, and then through the Gobi Desert in the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan and Shanxi. It was necessary to collect both military and statistical information, check the existing road maps and draw up new ones. Mannerheim took short courses in photography and topography, received full equipment, and on July 6, 1906, left St. Petersburg. The exciting and difficult journey ended only by the end of July 1908.

Arriving in St. Petersburg, Mannerheim reports to Emperor Nicholas II on the results of his mission and is appointed commander of the 13th Vladimir Uhlan regiment, located in Novo-Minsk in the center of Poland. Mannerheim raised the regiment's combat training to such high level that two years later he was offered to accept the regiment of His Imperial Majesty's Life Guards Lancers stationed in Warsaw, which was regarded as a significant increase. Mannerheim greets the start of the First World War with a Major General.

The successful actions of the regiment nominated Mannerheim already in the first year of the war to the post of commander of the 12th Cavalry Division, with which he participated in 1916 in the famous Lutsk breakthrough of the Southwestern Front of General Alexei Brusilov, fighting valiantly on the Romanian front. The beginning of the revolutionary bacchanalia of 1917, the baron could observe in Petrograd, when he was returning from vacation to his division, as well as in Kiev, where the monument to Pyotr Stolypin was decorated with a red scarf ... In mid-June 1917, Mannerheim was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed commander 6- 1st Cavalry Corps. However, the process of decomposition by the Bolsheviks of the army and navy assumed rampant proportions, and Mannerheim left the army. Not seeing a real armed force in Russia itself, which would stand in the way of the Bolsheviks, Mannerheim comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to save Finland itself from the red plague, which by that time had become an independent state. At the request of friends, he is a member of the Military Committee of Finland, gathers volunteers and secretly conducts their training. Some of the weapons are purchased in Germany, some - from the morally decayed soldiers of the Russian army. Letters are sent to Finnish officers, self-defense units are formed.

At the end of January 1918, Mannerheim begins hostilities against the Finnish Red Guard and disarms parts of the Russian army. Fierce fighting is taking place in some cities. The war of liberation, as Mannerheim himself calls it in his memoirs, was at first a partisan character. However, as the territory was liberated from the Reds, Mannerheim began to create a regular Finnish army and its General Staff. On his initiative, on February 18, 1918, the Senate passed a law on universal conscription, based on the 1878 Law on Military Service. From now on, all men between the ages of 21 and 40 were required to serve in the army. Heavy defensive battles gave way to the offensive of the whites. All general management of operations lay with the commander-in-chief, General Mannerheim. Soon the German infantry division arrived to the aid of the Finns, which helped liberate the capital of the country - Helsinki and a number of other cities. By the evening of April 26, 1918, the last Red stronghold was taken - the city of Vyborg. Members of the rebellious government and dictator Manner fled to Petrograd and left their troops to fend for themselves. On May 16, the combined units, which represented all the units that took part in the liberation war, marched in honor of the victory through the streets of the capital. In his order for the army, Mannerheim greeted them with the following words: “You were just a handful of poorly armed people who did not fear the numerous enemy and began the liberation struggle in Pohyanmaa and Karelia. guns and foreign aid will not help if every man does not realize that he is the guardian of the country. Let the men of Finland remember that without unanimity it is impossible to create a strong army and that only a strong people can safely create their future. Soldiers! May it be in your honor our unsullied banner flutters high, our beautiful white banner, which united you and led to victory! "

However, the joy of victory was very soon overshadowed. The Finnish government entrusted the formation and training of the Finnish army to the Germans. Mannerheim categorically disagreed with this and was forced to leave the post of commander-in-chief. He signs his farewell order and, together with his closest aides and combat friends, leaves for the Swedish capital, Stockholm. Here the Baron was honored when King Gustav V invited Mannerheim to his name day on June 6 and presented the Order of Merit to Sweden during the War of Liberation.

However, at home they did not forget about Mannerheim, and he received an offer to act in the diplomatic field in the interests of Finland. The Baron accepts the offer and goes on a voyage to several European countries, but as ... a private person. Nevertheless, his activities were more than successful, and on December 12 he received a telegram that after the resignation of the head of government, he was elected regent of the Finnish state. In Helsinki, at the very station from which Mannerheim left as a private person seven months ago, without having heard a single good word from the government, now he was greeted by high-ranking officials of the state and warmly greeted by the residents of the capital. They filled the square in front of the train station and all the adjacent streets.

The hard work began at the highest public office... Mannerheim seeks further recognition of Finland as a sovereign state, helps Estonia with weapons and volunteers in the fight against the red occupation, opens the first military school, improves local self-defense units - shutskor. On April 1, 1919, a decree was issued to end state crimes trials, and a decree issued in June declared a general amnesty. In accordance with these decrees, all participants in the mutiny were released, with the exception of those who were guilty of murder, arson and other grave crimes. On July 17, 1919, Mannerheim also approved a new Constitution. It was then that the Constitution, adopted in 1772, during the reign of Gustav III, ended.

The first presidential elections were held on July 25, 1919. Mannerheim received 50 votes against 143 for Professor Kaarlo Stolberg. The baron was offered to lead the armed forces, he agreed, but on one condition: the new government should give him the opportunity to fully be responsible for defense issues. He never received a clear answer ...

Mannerheim is clearly aware of the Bolshevik threat to the whole world and openly speaks about this to his government. Seeing the successes of General Anton Denikin, the Baron stands for a united anti-Bolshevik front, in which he sees Finland's place as well. He directly offers the government to liberate Petrograd with Finnish troops. On these and other issues, Mannerheim meets with Winston Churchill, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Georges Clemenceau, Marshal Jozef Piłsudski.

In 1931, the powers of the next president ended, and as a result of the elections, Senator Per Evind Svinhufvud, the former chairman of the "Senate of Independence" during the liberation war, became the head of state. Mannerheim immediately receives the post of chairman of the Finnish Defense Council, and in case of war - automatically becomes commander-in-chief. The baron uses the broad powers of the chairman of the Defense Council to maximize the strengthening of the Finnish armed forces and draws Special attention to the Karelian Isthmus - the castle of Finland. Constantly overcoming the lack of understanding by the parliament of the country of the problems of its defense capability, Mannerheim has been doing everything possible for the development of all branches of the armed forces and the purchase of new equipment and weapons in eight years. And the war was already knocking at the door - after a provocation on the border, Soviet troops on November 30, 1939, with superior forces, began operations on land, at sea and in the air. Now it became clear to everyone that the Finnish people are facing a life-and-death struggle. Mannerheim is immediately approved by the commander-in-chief.

The small Finnish army was in all respects weaker than the Red Army. Through the efforts of Soviet historians, we are used to believing that the "Mannerheim Line" on the Karelian Isthmus was a network of powerful defensive structures. In fact, only 66 concrete pillboxes stood along the defensive line about 140 kilometers long, of which 44 firing points were built in the twenties and are already outdated, and their placement left much to be desired. The rest of the pillboxes were modern, but too weak for heavy artillery fire. Recently built barriers from barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles did not fully meet their function. Time did not allow the defense to be echeloned in depth, and its leading edge, as a rule, was at the same time the main line of defense. The only fortified structures worth mentioning were coastal artillery forts, which covered the flanks of the main defensive line on the shores of the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga.

Already the first weeks of the fighting showed the Soviets that their plans for a blitzkrieg had completely failed. The Finnish soldier, despite the huge numerical superiority of the Red Army in all respects and the frost, sometimes reaching 46 °, showed amazing combat effectiveness. The enemy suffered terrible losses, and several divisions were almost completely destroyed. A huge amount of military equipment, tanks, vehicles, guns and mortars were taken as trophies. One commander of a tank unit, who fled to the Finnish side, said that he had surrendered, being no longer able to "answer for the losses incurred." Both in the infantry and in the tank forces of the Red Army there were cases of refusals to go into battle, and, judging by the testimony of the prisoners, many death sentences were carried out. Finnish partisans also did not give the enemy peace, day or night.

Using a huge numerical superiority, units of the Red Army in February 1940 began to displace the Finnish army from their positions. Some hopes for help from European countries did not materialize, although we must pay tribute to the 11,500 hero volunteers from 26 countries who came to help Finland. In the training centers in the rear, there were 14 battalions - the last forces of the Finnish army ...

On March 13, 1940 at 11:00, after a continuous 105-day struggle, Mannerheim signed the following order addressed to the army, but in fact it was an appeal to the entire people of Finland, an order that was broadcast by radio and hung on the walls of all the churches of the country: "Soldiers of the glorious armies of Finland! A harsh peace was concluded between our country and Soviet Russia, which handed over to the Soviet Union almost every battlefield on which you shed your blood in the name of all that is dear and sacred to us. You did not want war, you loved peace, work and progress, but you were forced to fight, and you did a huge job, which will be written in golden letters in the chronicle of history. More than 15,000 of those who went to fight will no longer see their home, but how many have lost their ability to work forever! ... ! I fought in many fields, but I have not yet seen warriors who could compare with you ... I am equally proud of the sacrifices that a simple guy from a peasant and zby, a factory worker and a rich man ... The destruction of more than 1,500 Russian tanks and more than 700 aircraft speaks of heroic deeds that were often performed by individuals. I feel joy and pride in thinking of the glorious Lottasvärd women and their contributions to the war, their dedication and tireless work in many areas, which has freed thousands of men for the front. ... When the history of this war is written, the world will see what heroic work we have done. "

So, the "Winter War" ended with a difficult peace treaty for Finland, according to which it lost a significant part of its territory. However, the main thing she defended - her independence. It defended thanks to its small heroic army under the leadership of Mannerheim. Before the outbreak of hostilities between Germany and the USSR in 1941, Finland was balancing on the brink of war and peace, fulfilling new and new requirements of the USSR. Mannerheim strenuously prepared the army for new tests. At the same time, he was an ardent opponent of any military alliances with the Germans. In particular, when the Finnish SS volunteer battalion was being formed to be sent to Germany, he made a statement that all the manpower reserves were needed by Finland itself. Meanwhile, the presence of a grouping of Soviet troops on the border with Finland left no choice but to declare partial mobilization. The first order concerning the reservists of the covering forces was signed on June 9, 1941. On June 13, the Soviet government denied all military rumors, but nevertheless there were reliable reports of major military preparations on the other side of the border, and there was lively activity in the Gulf of Finland and in Hanko. This forced the Finns to begin mobilizing the entire field army on June 17. The troops were ordered to avoid any action that might give the Russians a pretext for provocation. Information that Germany intends to start military operations against the Soviet Union came to the Finns only on the evening of June 21. On the morning of June 22, 1941, the Russians began bombing and shelling Finnish targets.

To clarify Finland's position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day sent out a circular telegram to foreign representatives, including those working in Moscow and Berlin, indicating that Finland wanted to remain in a position of neutrality, but would defend itself if it was attacked by the Soviet Union. Further actions of the Soviet troops did not leave hope for peace ... In accordance with the plan, the military actions of the Finnish troops in the following months were divided into three main stages: first, the liberation of Ladoga Karelia, then the return of the Karelian Isthmus, and then advance into the interior of Eastern Karelia. The Liberation Army of the territories seized by the Soviets was called Karelian. The last paragraph of the order indicated that the final line of the operation would be the Svir River and Lake Onega. The Karelian army launched an offensive on July 10. Already on August 29, units of the 4th Army Corps entered Vyborg. On that day, the flag was again hoisted over the old Vyborg fortress, which was lowered on March 13, 1940. The moment long awaited by all the people has come, and the joy and pride in the liberation of the capital of Karelia were enormous. The mood was darkened only by the great destruction that the enemy had inflicted both in the city itself and in its environs. On September 2, the Finns reached the old state border. As a result of an offensive operation that lasted a whole month, the entire Karelian Isthmus was returned, five enemy divisions were defeated, and a large number of prisoners and trophies. After that, operations on the isthmus turned into a protracted positional war, which ended three years later. The Finnish government has repeatedly received insistent proposals from the Germans to launch an offensive on Soviet Leningrad, but they refused. On the occasion of his 75th birthday - June 4, 1942 - Mannerheim was awarded the title of Marshal of Finland. He also met with Hitler, who arrived in Finland, and received personal congratulations from him.

In the summer of 1944, as always, with an overwhelming superiority in artillery, tanks and infantry, Soviet troops began to oust the Finns from the Karelian Isthmus. After two months of fighting, which required inhuman stress, the enemy's advance was finally stopped. Mannerheim himself, recalling the reflection of the Soviet hordes, will call it a miracle that the Finnish soldiers performed. Believing in the possibility of stabilizing the situation and that this could open the way to peace negotiations, the state leadership rejected the Soviets' demand for unconditional surrender, and the troops stood unshakably and continued to fight stubbornly.

On July 28, 1944, the incumbent President of Finland, Risto Ryti, arrived at Mannerheim's Headquarters to announce his decision to resign and persuade him to accept the post of head of state. On August 4, Mannerheim took a solemn oath in parliament that, acting as president, he would respect the Finnish Constitution and laws, and would give all his strength to the progress of the Finnish people. Negotiations with the USSR on Finland's withdrawal from the war were resumed. For the second time, this small and heroic people had to accept the world on unfavorable terms, but there was no other way out. Under the leadership of its marshal, the Finnish army emerged from the war undefeated. Mannerheim did his best for his country, but age and illness took their toll. On March 4, 1946, he sent a letter to the government, enclosing a doctor's certificate, in which he announced his decision to leave office due to a sharp deterioration in health.

Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim died on January 27, 1951. Of the 83 years he lived for almost 70 years, he wore a military uniform ...

For our fathers and grandfathers, it was an enemy who fought against the USSR. For great-grandfathers - a dangerous troublemaker who led the white movement in Finland and expelled the Bolsheviks from the country. For an even older generation, he is a military leader who has earned high awards from the Russian Empire. For the North of Europe, it is a symbol of national resilience. For Finland itself - regent, commander-in-chief, president, fighter for independence.

Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim lived a long life. He was born on June 4, 1867 and died on January 27, 1951. Of the 83 years he lived, almost seventy was a military man. As Mannerheim himself writes: “I turned 15 when in 1882 I entered the Finnish cadet corps. I was the first of three generations of Mannerheims to devote myself to a military career. "

When Finland was in danger, Mannerheim ardently stood up to her defense. When the danger receded, he left high posts - always voluntarily, or, as it happened at the end of his life, for health reasons. He was a proud man.

Mannerheim took part in major wars of the first half of the century: in the Russo-Japanese and World War I (naturally, on the side of Russia), in the war for independence of Finland in 1918 (against the Reds), in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. (against the aggression of the Soviet Union), in the Second World War (on the side of Germany - against the USSR).

When Mannerheim was not at war, he built the country's defense. In 1931-1938, under his leadership, the famous "Mannerheim Line" was erected. The commander himself speaks of it very modestly: “... the defensive line, of course, was, but it was formed only by rare long-term machine-gun nests and two dozen new bunkers built at my suggestion, between which trenches were laid. The people called this position the "Mannerheim Line". Its strength was the result of the steadfastness and courage of our soldiers, and not the result of the strength of the structures. "

In fact, the "Mannerheim Line" was a serious fortification intended to defend the country from an attack from the southeast, but the characteristics given to it by Mannerheim is very indicative: as befits a real commander, he is proud not of his technology, but of his sons - ordinary soldiers ...

Memories of Mannerheim is an interesting document of the era. Assessment and interpretation historical facts they often differ from those generally recognized, but it should be recognized that the author, who was a direct participant in the events, had the right to do so. One should not look for the beauties of the literary style in his "Memoirs": the narrative language is dry and laconic, sometimes it resembles military reports and, nevertheless, it is a living history, a kind of soldier's diary, which records events rather than colors them. At the same time, in the texts of the orders of the commander-in-chief, appeals to the army and the people, of which there are many in the book, a high pathos suddenly breaks through, and it becomes clear that these lines were written by a deeply feeling person who suffered for the fate of his homeland and was proud of the role of the liberator that fell on his share.

"Memoirs" of Marshal Mannerheim were published after his death, in 1952, were translated into many languages. Now this book is becoming the property of Russian readers. The publishing house made significant reductions in Memoirs - they contain a lot of details and insignificant facts that would complicate the perception of the book by a wide readership. However, the main thing has been preserved - the author's close attention to military history and politics, his personal attitude to the events in which he was a participant.

My service in the tsarist army of Russia began with an incident that had a decisive influence on my life. I mean expulsion from the cadet corps in Finland and admission to the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg.

In the modest armed forces that the Grand Duchy of Finland could support after joining the Russian Empire, the cadet corps in Hamina occupied a special place. Only in 1878 was a law on universal military duty issued, on the basis of which, in addition to the already existing Guards Rifle Battalion, eight more rifle battalions were created in 1881 and later a Dragoon regiment. In their homeland, these compounds were very popular, and in the empire, the Finnish arrows enjoyed an excellent reputation for many years. Officers for these formations were trained in a reputable educational institution, which was founded under the Swedes, and since 1821 was called the Finnish Cadet Corps. Many inmates of the corps have earned deep respect for serving their homeland. Some, after passing the final exams, switched to civilian service, but the main part continued their studies in three-year special courses in order to continue military service in Finland or, if they wanted it, in the tsarist army, in which many former cadets showed themselves on the best side. ...

I turned 15 when in 1882 I entered the cadet corps in Finland. I was the first of three generations of Mannerheims to devote myself to a military career. However, in the eighteenth century, almost all men of my family chose this career.

The cadet corps was characterized by hard work and iron discipline. The slightest deviations from the rules were suppressed by draconian measures, primarily by the deprivation of freedom for the cadets. Discipline in the lower grades also depended on the comrades' court, which was created from students in the two senior grades with the right to impose punishments. Each junior cadet also had a so-called guardian who was responsible for overseeing his studies and behavior. But the atmosphere in the corps was excellent, and the companionship that arose within it remained strong in any vicissitudes of fate.

The specificity and special position of the Finnish armed forces, including the cadet corps, had an undeniable impact on training. The teaching staff changed very rarely, and many mentors were distinguished by their originality. For many years, the head of the corps was General Neovius, who came from a very gifted family, a good educator and administrator, distinguished, however, at times by a very belligerent temperament. In the estate representation of the city of Hamina, he expressed the interests of the bourgeoisie, and the Cadets called him "the bourgeois general."

When, in 1885, General Neovius was replaced by General Karl Enkell, a tough and stern soldier who had served at General Skobelev's headquarters for Turkish war, the winds of change blew in the building. The cadets had to get acquainted with new teaching manners. As a result, for two months I could not take a step outside the body - the reason for this was minor sins and violations of the routine, which, in the opinion modern educators, can be considered just trifles. This arrest was intolerable for me, and one Easter evening in 1886 I decided to disregard the ban. Having built a very believable, in my opinion, doll out of my military uniform, I put it on the bed and went AWOL. I went to spend the night with a clerk who lived nearby - his bald head, thick beard and mighty, like from the underworld, bass are still stored in my memory. Early the next morning I slept at his house on a wide bed, next to him, on the night table, was a glass of milk, and then the corps sergeant-major woke me up to take me back to the barracks. The doll was found on my bed and it caused a lot of noise.

Mannerheim Karl Gustav Emil (1867-1951), Finnish Marshal (1933), statesman and military leader, President of Finland (August 1944 - March 1946).

He graduated from the Helsingfors Lyceum (now in Helsinki), the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg and made a brilliant career in Russian army... During the year of hostilities in Manchuria (1904) he was three times awarded military awards, promoted to colonel. After the Russo-Japanese War, in the direction of the General Staff, he went on a military scientific expedition to the countries of Central Asia, became an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society.

In 1911, with the rank of Major General, he headed the Cavalry Regiment. During the First World War, he fought in Galicia (the historical name of the Western Ukrainian and Polish lands) and Romania. With the beginning of the 1917 revolution in Russia, he returned to Finland, which proclaimed independence.

In January 1918, having gathered parts of the Volunteer Army, Finnish and Swedish volunteers, he began to fight against the Red Army units stationed in Finland. After the failure of the election of the German prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse as King of Finland, Mannerheim from December 1918 to July 1919 acted as regent.

On July 17, 1919, Finland was proclaimed a republic, but Mannerheim was defeated in the presidential elections.

In 1931 he was appointed chairman of the Defense Council, in 1937 he achieved the adoption of a seven-year plan for the rearmament of the army, from 1933 he created border fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus (Mannerheim Line).

Construction was carried out sluggishly and intensified only in the fall of 1938. During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940), which ended in the defeat of Finland, Mannerheim was the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army.

In June 1941, Finland declared war on the USSR, but the hostilities were limited to the return of the territory seized by the Soviet Union in 1940 and the capture of Petrozavodsk by the Finns.

On June 9, 1944, the President of Finland R. Ryti signed an agreement with Germany and received military assistance. On August 4, 1944, Mannerheim became president; the agreement with Germany was terminated.

In September of the same year, Mannerheim concluded a separate peace with the USSR, having managed to achieve the preservation of Finland's sovereignty.

In 1946, 78-year-old Mannerheim retired.

On September 1, the authorities of St. Petersburg confirmed the illegality of installing the plaque to Mannerheim, the Finnish military and statesman... The memorial plaque was unveiled on June 16 in the center on the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University. Three days later, unknown persons poured paint on her. The reason for the vandalism lies in the controversial personality of Mannerheim, who became both a hero and an anti-hero for history.

- Who is Mannerheim?

Karl Mannerheim - famous military leader, officer of the Russian army and President of Finland in 1944-1946. During the Second World War, Mannerheim was an ally of Hitler, but Stalin himself saved him from the trial of those guilty of the war.

- Hitler's ally? And for what services was a memorial plaque erected to him?

- Mannerheim took part in the Russo-Japanese War of 1903-1905. And during the year of hostilities, he was awarded military awards three times and, moreover, was promoted to colonel. And during the First World War, he commanded various parts of the Russian army. In general, throughout the war, Mannerheim was in the army, he mainly fought on the fronts against Austria-Hungary and in Romania. Moreover, at the very beginning of the war for merit, he was awarded the long-desired George cross... The initiators of the installation of the board speak about this.

- Why was the board installed in St. Petersburg? And remind me where exactly?

- The board was installed on the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University (Zakharievskaya str., 22), where the Church of Saints and Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth was located before the revolution,on the same territory were located the barracks and the arena of the Cavalry Regiment, in which Mannerheim served.

- And who initiated the installation of the board?

The Military Historical Society, and their initiative was supported by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

- Who is dissatisfied with the fact that the board was installed? Why was she doused with paint several times?

The public is dissatisfied, which believes that Mannerheim does not deserve any memorial zone, because he was a supporter of Hitler. Indeed, three days after the installation, unknown persons poured paint on the board, and after another 10 days, other unknown persons washed it. True, on August 2, the activists of the "Other Russia" the memorial sign was again poured with red paint. Interestingly, nFor some reason, the guards who were on duty at the scene did not interfere with the conduct of the action, and the police officers who arrived there did not detain anyone. Later, the board was again cleaned of paint.

Even the translator Dmitry Puchkov (Goblin), who is a member of the public council of the Ministry of Culture, criticized the initiative to install the board: “I can congratulate those who make such decisions. This means that we are confidently moving towards neo-Nazism. a memorial plaque must be installed in the city of Leningrad, whose inhabitants he killed. The next step is to erect a monument to Hitler in Moscow. "

- Why are these unknowns unhappy? Is it true that Mannerheim is a controversial figure? What are his atrocities?

When the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, Mannerheim left for Finland, where during Civil war led the White Finns.In 1918, the White Finns brutally shot soldiers of the old Russian army for refusing to go over to their side or not wanting to surrender their weapons to them. Moreover, in Vyborg there were massive repressions by the White Finns against the Russian population. In 1939-1940, Mannerheim commanded troops during the Soviet-Finnish war. Aalso during World War II he led Military establishment Finland in the war against the USSR and allowed German troops to settle on Finnish territory, thus becoming an ally of Hitler. Already in November 1941, the Finnish army threatened a double blockade of Leningrad: it attempted to establish a second ring in order to interrupt the Road of Life on Lake Ladoga. But they failed to do this. But during this time about 24 thousand people local population were sent to Finnish concentration camps, where 4 thousand of them died of hunger.

- Wow! What do the installers say?

Medinsky said that the board in honor of Mannerheim is another attempt by the Russian military-historical society to overcome the tragic split in our society. A r Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia Sergei Ivanov said at the opening ceremony of the plaque: “As they say, you cannot erase words from a song. and served in Russia longer than he served and lived in Finland. "

- And in the same place someone else filed a lawsuit with a request to recognize the installation of the board as illegal?

That's right! One of the Petersburgers filed a lawsuit with the Smolny Court: he believes that the government illegally installed a memorial plaque to Mannerheim, and demands to dismantle it. By the way, the administration of St. Petersburg has already confirmed the illegality, and all due to the lack of title documents. It turns out that the RVIO board was installed arbitrarily.

- And what do those responsible for the board say now?

They keep silent. AND Executive Director of the Russian Military Historical SocietyVladislav Kononov stated thatno one approached them about dismantling the board: “We know nothing about this. details ".

And on September 1, Vladimir Medinsky shared with the press his plan to write an article about the Finnish marshal and publish it in some all-Russian newspaper. According to the minister, the article will be interesting "for many people who do not have complete information on this issue."

The media write that the board must be dismantled by September 8th. On this day will mark 75 years since the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad by fascist troops. N and on this day the authorities of St. Petersburg agreed to a rally against Mannerheim's board.