Vilho Petter Nenonen (6 March 1883 – 17 February 1960) was a Finnish

general of the Artillery General of the Artillery is/was a general officer of artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to ...

. Nenonen was born 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 ...

. He received his military education in the Hamina Cadet School 1896–1901, in the Mihailov Artillery School in St Petersburg 1901–1903, and in St Petersburg Artillery Academy 1906–1909. He served in the

Imperial Russian army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during

World War I 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 ...

. When 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 ...

began, he moved to Finland and was given the job of creating the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

of general Mannerheim's

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. After the war, Nenonen also served as the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

between 1923 and 1924. During 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 ...

, he was a part of Mannerheim's inner circle. He was promoted to the rank of ''General of the artillery'' in 1941 and remains the only person to have held the rank. As Finnish Defence Forces' Inspector of the Artillery, Nenonen played a large role in developing the Finnish artillery's training, equipment, and tactics. For example, the Fire Correction Circle developed in 1943 proved decisive in the defensive victory in the

Battle of Tali-Ihantala A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

in 1944 and was made standard equipment of the Finnish artillery by an order issued by Nenonen in July 1943. The trajectory calculation formulas he developed are still in use today by all modern artillery. Nenonen received the

Mannerheim Cross The Mannerheim Cross (, ), officially Mannerheim Cross of the Cross of Liberty (, ) is the most distinguished Finnish military honour. A total of 191 people received the cross between 22 July 1941 and 7 May 1945, with six of the recipients receiv ...

in 1945. His medals and personal history are on display in

The Artillery Museum of Finland The Artillery Museum of Finland (''Suomen Tykistömuseo'' in Finnish) is a special military museum dedicated to the history of the artillery from the 15th century to the present day. It was located in Niinisalo from 1977 to 1997. In 1997 it was ...

. Nenonen is buried at the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery (, ) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state funeral services and is owned by the Evangelical Luthe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nenonen, Vilho Petter 1883 births 1960 deaths People from Kuopio People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish generals Military personnel of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Finnish military personnel of World War II Knights of the Mannerheim Cross Ministers of defence of Finland