April 25, 2017 <Back to Index>
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Hugo Viktor Österman (5 September 1892, Helsinki – 17 February 1975) was a Finnish Lieutenant General during World War II. He was commander of the Finnish Army 1933 - 1939. When the Winter War started Österman was made commander of the Army of the Isthmus, but was dismissed on 19 February 1940 after the Finnish lines had been breached. Juho Henrik Heiskanen (18 December 1889 Pielisensuu – 11 December 1950) was a Finnish Major General during the World War II. Heiskanen joined the Jaeger Movement in 1915 and trained and fought in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. In 1916, he was arrested by Gendarmerie in Jyväskylä and sent to Petrograd. Heiskanen was released next year during the October Revolution, and he returned to Finland. During the Finnish Civil War, Heiskanen fought for the Whites. Heiskanen commanded the IV Corps during first days of the Winter War. Heiskanen was removed from the office by C.G.E. Mannerheim due to failures. During the Continuation War, Heiskanen was the Commandant of Viipuri, and General Inspector of the Military Training. Johan Woldemar Hägglund (August 10, 1893 – February 12, 1963) was a Major General in the Finnish Army in the Second World War, and an early volunteer in the Finnish Jäger troops in the Finnish Civil War 1918. Hägglund went to school in Viipuri and studied civil engineering for four terms at the Helsinki University of Technology. In 1915 he was one of the first young men who volunteered to go to Germany to learn military skills to fight later for the independence of Finland from the Russian Empire. They joined the Finnish 27th Jäger Battalion Königlich Preussisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 27. He gained battle experience in the First World War on the Eastern front of Germany in battles at Lielupe River and the Gulf of Riga. Towards the end of his training Hägglund also studied in Sweden. Hägglund returned to Finland on November 17, 1917 and as a group leader smuggling explosives and weapons, which he hid in Viipuri. He trained local troops, and was in charge of the first organized military unit, which led a campaign to Karelia January 22, 1918. In the last battle of the war, the battle of Viipuri, he was the assistant to Aarne Sihvo. During the 1920's and 30's, Hägglund remained in the army and spent some years in Sweden studying in the Military academy. He eventually married and had three children, of which his youngest son Gustav Hägglund (b. 1938) became a General and Chief of Defense. In the winter war, Hägglund was the commander of Finnish IV Corps. Commanding during the Battle of Kollaa during the Winter War, General Hägglund is remembered for the quote "Will Kollaa hold? (Kestääkö Kollaa?)" which Lieutenant Aarne Juutilainen answered: "Yes it will hold, unless we are told to run." |