Kurt Martti Wallenius (25 July 1893 in

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

– 3 May 1984 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) was a Finnish Major General.

Jäger Movement

Wallenius was a member of the

Finnish Jäger troops Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

trained 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 ...

prior to Finnish independence. In 1915, Wallenius travelled to

where he enrolled in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. He took part in the battles on the

Misa River The Misa is a river, 108 kilometres long, in the Semigallia region of Latvia.Lielāko upju ...

Civil War

After returning to Finland, Wallenius took part 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 ...

of 1918 on the side of the

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

. He commanded a

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. In Lapland, Wallenius met reindeer herder Aleksi Hihnavaara, with whom he travelled around Lapland, and the two became good friends. Wallenius was later appointed commander of the troops around Kuolajärvi and

Kuusamo Kuusamo (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in Koillismaa, the northeastern part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality h ...

. Here, he was given the command of the northern group in the failed March 1918 Viena expedition, which tried to annex parts of East Karelia to Finland. He was also the leader of the second Petsamo Expedition in May 1920. In February 1918, Wallenius presided over the executions of five Russians, including a diplomat.

Regimental Commander

After the Civil War Wallenius commanded troops in North-Western Finland: the Salla Regiment and the 1st Border Guard Regiment of Lapland. In the 1920s, he was briefly made a military attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Lapua Movement

In 1930, Wallenius was promoted to the rank of Major General. However, he was forced to retire in that year when he was implicated in the kidnapping of Kaarlo Ståhlberg who served as the first Finnish President. Wallenius spent eight months in pretrial custody and initially received a 3-year sentence, albeit his conviction was later overturned on appeal. In the 1930s, Wallenius became involved in right-wing activities, becoming the secretary-general of the

Lapua movement The Lapua Movement (, ) was a radical Finnish nationalist, fascist, pro- German and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. Led by Vihtori Kosola, it turned towards far-right politics after its founding ...

. In this capacity, he was involved in the so-called

Mäntsälä rebellion Mäntsälä () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland, and is part of the Uusimaa regions of Finland, region. It has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. ...

. Wallenius was imprisoned for just over one year for aiding and abetting high treason.

Winter War

In the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, Wallenius commanded Finnish troops in Lapland. When the

began, the Commander-in-Chief of Finnish troops Mannerheim appointed Wallenius as the commander of the Lapland Group. The troops under his command, though outnumbered, repulsed

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops at

Salla Salla, known as Kuolajärvi until 1936, is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is ...

and Petsamo. Once the front in Lapland had stabilized, Wallenius handed the command over to Swedish volunteers under

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Ernst Linder in February 1940. Wallenius and most of his troops were sent to the southernmost point of the front to western shore of the Bay of Viipuri, where the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

had crossed the frozen gulf. Wallenius protested this new assignment, thinking he was being punished for his past sins. The situation was critical and terrain totally different from what Wallenius and his men were used to. Wallenius failed to prevent the

from gaining a foothold from the western shore of the bay, and there were reports that he was drinking heavily. Wallenius was dishonorably discharged in early March 1940, after only three days in command, and replaced by

Karl Lennart Oesch. Wallenius was removed from the Defence Forces officer lists.

Retirement

Once the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

began in June 1941, Wallenius failed to get a command. He lived in retirement in

Rovaniemen maalaiskunta Rovaniemen maalaiskunta () was a municipality of Finland. It merged with the city of Rovaniemi on January 1, 2006. It was located in the province of Lapland. The municipality had a population of 21,803 and covered an area of of which was water ...

writing books and articles.

Notes

References

* Puolustusministeriön Sotahistoriallisen toimiston julkaisuja IV, ''Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto'', WSOY Porvoo 1938. * Sotatieteen Laitoksen Julkaisuja XIV, ''Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto 1975'', Vaasa 1975 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallenius, Kurt Martti 1893 births 1984 deaths Finnish major generals Finnish fascists Finnish kidnappers Finnish military personnel of World War II Finnish prisoners and detainees Chiefs of staff (Finnish Defence Forces) Jägers of the Jäger Movement People from Kuopio People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) People acquitted of kidnapping People convicted of treason against Finland Perpetrators of the White Terror (Finland)