THE MAN WHO SAVED FINLAND FROM BOTH THE SOVIETS AND THE NAZIS

Marshal of Finland (Suomen Marsalkka) Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is the most towering figure in Finnish history—a man who was essentially a cosmopolitan Russian Imperial officer before becoming the "Father of Modern Finland."

Surprisingly, the man who saved Finland from the USSR spent 30 years as a loyal servant to the Russian Tsar. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Imperial Russian Army. He was a highly decorated cavalry officer and even participated in the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II.

When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939, Mannerheim (at age 72) was the only choice for Commander-in-Chief. He oversaw two critical conflicts:

The Winter War (1939–1940):

This war saw the iconic use of ski troops and Molla-style (Molotov cocktails). Despite a massive disparity in aircraft and armor, Finland held out for 105 days, inflicting catastrophic losses on the Red Army.

The Continuation War (1941–1944):

Finland fought alongside Germany to reclaim lost territory, but Mannerheim was careful to maintain a "separate war" stance.

He famously met with Adolf Hitler on his 75th birthday (1942). During the meeting, Mannerheim notoriously lit a cigar—knowing Hitler hated smoking—to test the Nazi leader's reaction and assert Finnish independence.

He took the presidency at the end of WWII to navigate the delicate transition of making peace with the Soviet Union while forcing German troops out of Finland (the Lapland War).

Ironically, the greatest military persona of Finland was actually expelled from the Finnish Cadet Corps, which was the primary military academy in Finland at the time. While he wasn't "rejected" during the initial application, his time there ended in a major disciplinary failure that almost ended his military career before it even began.

Because he was expelled from the Finnish academy, he was barred from serving in the Finnish military units of the time. To salvage his future, he had to take a much more difficult path. He traveled to St. Petersburg to join the Nikolaevskaya Cavalry School, one of the most prestigious academies in the Russian Empire.

Had he graduated from the Finnish academy, he likely would have remained a provincial officer in a small territorial force.

Because he was forced into the Russian Imperial system, he gained high-level experience in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, serving in the Tsar's Chevalier Guard.

This elite Russian training gave him the strategic depth and the "Big Picture" military perspective that allowed him to outmaneuver the Red Army decades later.

Mannerheim’s first language was Swedish. He didn’t learn to speak Finnish fluently until he was well into his career as a national leader.