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Biography of Carl Gustav Emil Von Mannerheim, BaronName: Carl Gustav Emil Von Mannerheim, BaronBirth Date: June 4, 1867 Death Date: January 27, 1951 Place of Birth: Turku, Finland Nationality: Finnish Gender: Male Occupations: statesman, leader Carl Gustav Emil Von Mannerheim, Baron The Finnish military leader and statesman Baron Carl Gustav Emil von Mannerheim (1867-1951) was the father of modern Finland.Carl Gustav von Mannerheim was born on June 4, 1867, near Turku of a prominent family. He received his early military training in imperial Russia and early showed courage and adaptability to the vigorous life. He explored Central Africa, served in the Russo-Japanese War, and was commander of Russia's VI Cavalry Corps on the Romanian front in World War I. With Russia's collapse he returned to a Finland in turmoil.On Jan. 4, 1918, the president of the Finnish Senate had received from the Soviets recognition of Finnish independence in a document signed by Stalin, Trotsky, and Lenin. On January 28, however, the Red Guards, dominated by Finnish left-wing Social Democrats, seized power in most of the major cities. Members of the government, the Whites, made up of leading members of the government and those who believed …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…back as commander in chief and successfully guided Finnish defenses during the Winter War, which ended in March 1940. The relatively favorable peace settlement was violated by the Soviet Union in June 1941, and Mannerheim remained as commander in chief until peace was negotiated in August 1944. In June 1942 he was named the only marshal in Finnish history and became president of the republic in 1944. He soon retired because of ill health and died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan. 27, 1951. Controversial though he was, the bulk of the Finnish people sincerely mourned his passing. Associated Events Russo-Finnish War, 1939-1940, World War II, 1939-1945 Further Reading The best account for details is Mannerheim's Memoirs, translated by Count Eric Lewenhaupt (1954). Perhaps the best-balanced interpretation is Anatole G. Mazour, Finland between East and West (1956). Also worth consulting are Tancred Borenius, Field-Marshall Mannerheim (1940), and John H. Wuorinen, A History of Finland (1965).Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1986. |