Aarne Silvio Heikinheimo (March 20, 1894 – January 24, 1938) was a Finnish Major General. He is well known for his service in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

against the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

Biography

Early life

Heikinheimo was born on March 20, 1894, in

Tornio Tornio (; ; ; ) is a city and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border Twin cities, twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is wat ...

. His parents were chief forester Johan Henrik Heikel and Sally Armida Thauvón. He was married in 1919 to Sylvi Amalia Jurvelius.Biography of Finnish Jaegers 1938Biography of Finnish Jaegers 1975 Heikinheimo enrolled as a student at the Finnish Co-educational School in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

in 1913 and joined the North Ostrobothnian Association. He continued his studies at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...

in 1913 to 1914. He followed teaching at the Military Academy Commander's Course in 1925 and attended the General Department of the Military Academy from 1926 to 1927.

World War I

Heikinheimo was one of the first volunteers to aim for a Pfadfinder military training course in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the Lockstedter Lager training area in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

. He enrolled in the camp on February 25, 1915. He was placed in the 1st Company of the group. He was later stationed in the Royal, Prussian Jaeger Battalion in the 1st Company of the 27th. He took part in the fighting in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on the eastern front of Germany on the Misse, the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (, , ) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and t ...

and the Aa. He attended the motorboat driver and machine gun station courses in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in the summer of 1917 and the car course in Schaulen in August 1917 and the blasting course in Libya in the autumn of 1917.

Finnish Civil War

He arrived in Finland with the command of the oberzugführer Friedel Jacobsson on January 30, 1918, and joined the Perä-Pohjola Conservation Corps in

Tervola Tervola is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Keminmaa, Ra ...

. He was seconded as a team leader in the battles against

and

. After the conquests of Tervola and Tornio, he was appointed Commander of the City of

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

on February 7, until on March 5, he was appointed Commander of the Perä-Pohjola Battalion . He led his battalion to battles in Vilkkilä, Haavisto (Orivesi), Tervaniemi, Lempäälä, Vesilahti, Karku and Tyrvää. In the final stages of the Civil War, he was given the task of forming a regiment in Eastern Uusimaa in Lahti.

Life after the Civil War and death

After the Civil War, Heikinheimo was appointed Adjutant of the 1st Division as of July 1, 1918, and later interim Chief of Staff, from which he was transferred on 15 August 1918 as Commander of the Finnish White Guard I Battalion and further Commander on September 11, 1918, to the Vyborg Regiment II Battalion. Heikinheimo served as Chairman of the 2nd Division Court of Honor in 1920 and as Chairman of the 3rd Division Court of Honor in 1921 and 1925. He served as a member of the Bicycle Special Committee in 1922 He served as a member of the Winter Equipment Committee in 1924 and as chairman of the Field Equipment Committee from 1931 to 1934, and as chairman of the Bylaws Committee in 1934. He served as a member of the Mikkeli City Parish's extended church council from 1933 to 1934. He was promoted to commander of the Second Bicycle Battalion on April 27, 1921, and to commander of the Viborg Regiment on August 15, 1924. From August 12, 1926, he served as commander in the Jääkäri Brigade, from where he was promoted to Division 3 on June 9, and was assigned as an infantry inspector. He died accidentally in test firing at Harakka after the explosion of a grenade launcher pipe on January 24, 1938. He has been buried in Intiö Cemetery in Oulu, right next to the heroes' graves.Suomen Kuvalehti, 29.01.1938, nro 4, s. 17, Kansalliskirjaston digitaaliset aineistot
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References

Bibliography

* Publications of the Military History Office of the Ministry of Defense IV, Biography of Finnish Jaegers, WSOY Porvoo 1938. * Publications of the Department of Military Science XIV, Biography of Finnish Jaegers 1975, Vaasa 1975 ISBN 951-99046-8-9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heikinheimo, Aarne 1894 births 1938 deaths Accidental deaths in Finland Deaths from explosion Finnish military officers Jägers of the Jäger Movement People from Tornio