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Finnish Defence Forces

Components Air Force Army Navy Other Border Guard Ranks Finnish military ranks

The Finnish Army (Finnish: Maavoimat, Swedish: Armén) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces.

Contents 1 Army branches 2 History of the Finnish Army 3 Organization 3.1 Wartime organization 4 Equipment 4.1 War-time strength 4.2 Major weapon systems used by the army 5 References 6 See also

The Army is further divided into six branches:

• infantry
• field artillery
• anti-aircraft artillery
• engineers
• signals
• materiel

See also: Military of the Grand Duchy of Finland

Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. Between 1881 and 1901 the Grand Duchy had its own army. Before that several other military units had also been formed while Finland belonged to Sweden.

The Grand Duchy inherited its allotment system (ruotujakolaitos) from the Swedish military organization. However, for several decades, Russian rulers did not require military service from Finland - operations and defence were mostly taken care by Russian troops based in the Grand Duchy. As a result, officer benefits of the allotment system became practically pensions, as payment was based on passive availability, not on actual service.

The Finnish lantdag made a pact with Tsar Alexander I; Finland paid a tax to Russia as compensation and military service was not called. This lasted until the Crimean War, 1854, during and after which Finland set up some sharpshooter battalions based on rote system. These participated on the Russian side in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Russo-Japanese War^{[citation needed]} and World War I^{[citation needed]}.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Russian empire was weakening, and this was reflected in a reduced capacity of the Russian troops to keep public order. Voluntary defence organizations disguised as fire brigades were formed by the Finnish people. There were socialist Red Guards and conservative, anti-socialist Protection Guards (or White Guards). Also, activists secretly travelled to Germany to receive military training and became elite Jaeger troops (jääkärit). After independence, the government declared the Whites government troops, and the Finnish Civil War was fought between the Reds, assisted by Communist Russians, and White Guards added with the Jaegers and assisted by the German empire. After the war in 1919, the Protection Guards became a separate organization. Therefore, strictly speaking, there is no continuity between the White Guards, which became a voluntary organization, and the Finnish army, which was a cadre army based on conscription. However, Jaegers gained important positions in the army, and German tactics and military principles were adopted.

The Army is organised into three commands: western, eastern and northern. The commands are responsible for the defence and planning in their areas. The commands are further divided into twelve military provinces which are responsible for conscription, mustering of troops in wartime, organizing the local defence and aiding the voluntary defence organizations. The Army is commanded by Ilkka Aspara, who succeeded Olli-Matti Multamäki on January 1 2007.

Western Command

Guard Jaeger Regiment (Helsinki)

Armoured Brigade (Parola)

Häme Regiment (Lahti)

Signals Regiment (Riihimäki)

Pori Brigade (Säkylä) (Readiness brigade)

Artillery Brigade (Niinisalo)

Engineer Regiment (Keuruu)

Eastern Command

Karelia Brigade (Vekaranjärvi) (Readiness brigade)

Reserve Officer School (Hamina)

North Karelia Brigade (Kontiolahti)

Northern Command

Kainuu Brigade (Kajaani) (Readiness brigade)

Jaeger Brigade (Sodankylä)

Lapland Air Defence Regiment (Rovaniemi)

The Defence Forces command organization is slated to be changed on 1 January 2008.

The Utti Jaeger Regiment which trains Para Jägers and Special Jaegers is directly under the Defence Staff. Since 1998 the Uusimaa Brigade is part of the Finnish Navy.

In wartime, the army is composed of Jaeger, Infantry and Armoured Brigades. Jaeger and infantry brigades serve different wartime purposes, jaegers being more mobile while infantry brigades being equipped with older equipment. Three of the Jaeger brigades are special Readiness brigades with rapid reaction capability. They are more mobile and more heavily armed than the ordinary jaeger brigades, and have a higher proportion of regular to reservist personnel; there is one readiness brigade for each of Finland's 3 territorial commands.

Wartime strength of the Army is 237 000, of which 61 000 are in Operational Units and 176 000 are in Regional Units.

Main articles: Equipment of the Finnish Army and Former equipment of the Finnish Army

Operational units:

• 3 Readiness Brigades (Jaeger Brigade 2005 type)
• 2 Jaeger Brigades (Jaeger Brigade 90 type)
• 2 Mechanized Battle Groups
• 1 Helicopter Battalion
• 1 Special Forces Battalion (Erikoisjääkäripataljoona)
• 1 Anti-Aircraft formation

Regional units:

• 6 Infantry Brigades (Infantry Brigade 80 type)
• 14 Independent Battalions and Battle Groups
• 28 Local Defence units and Volunteer reserve units (Maakuntajoukot)

• 124 MBTs
• 392 IFVs
• 270 APCs (tracked)
• 424 APCs (wheeled)
• 2,058 mortars
• 684 artillery pieces (towed)
• 90 artillery pieces (self-propelled)
• 58 MRLS
• 13 Helicopters
• 11 UAVs

• Military of the Grand Duchy of Finland
• Finnish Army (1939)
• Ski warfare

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