[The content of this article is based on authoritative historical data, and there are citations at the end of the article, please be aware.] 】
Since its pursuit of independent development, Finland has often been coerced by the foreign policies of the eastern and western powers due to geographical factors, and domestic autonomy and peace and neutrality are the persistent goals of modern Finland.
Mannerheim, who rose from the afterglow of the declining Tsarist Empire, walked through the revolutionaries of China, and finally dedicated the rest of his life to his homeland. He saved Finland in the arena of great powers and is still celebrated today as the "father of modern Finland".
Loyalty to Tsarist Russia - Rise in War and Life Turn
Finland has been included in the territory of Tsarist Russia since the Napoleonic Wars, and the Grand Duchy of Finland was established, which enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy while being under the de facto control of Tsarist Russia.
Against this backdrop, Mannerheim was born in 1867 into an aristocratic family in Finland, but he did not enjoy much of the blessings of his ancestors, and his father eventually went bankrupt and his mother died after that, and he was raised by his uncle.
In 1887, Mannerheim successfully entered the Nikolai Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, where he made a name for himself because of his extraordinary looks and knowledge. After graduating, he served in the Horse Guards, where he met Nicholas II, the last emperor of Tsarist Russia, and the two formed a friendship that gave Mannerheim the opportunity to enter the inner circle of the Russian court.
Since then, Mannerheim has served in the royal family for a long time, and has frequent contact with members of the court. In 1904, when the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Mannerheim was appointed lieutenant colonel and sent to the front. Because the center of gravity of Russia's strategic deployment has long been biased toward the west, there is a certain gap between Russia and Japan in terms of the quality of its army and its maritime power.
In the face of the unfavorable situation, Mannerheim showed military courage and fought to the death, repeatedly organizing his troops to launch charges, in stark contrast to the incompetence of other troops who frequently retreated.
However, history is hard to stop for one person, and even if the twilight Russian government wanted to keep the fruits of its expansion intact, it was ultimately defeated by the invading forces of Japan, which was booming in industrialization. The war was so infuriating that Nicholas II was dismissed from his post that Mannerheim was promoted to colonel for his bravery in battle.
Trans-China – Ideas of Aggression and Revolution
In 1906, China's feudal politics was trying to save itself from its impending decline through the New Deal. In that year, Mannerheim was ordered to set foot in China again after the war.
His mission focused on conducting field investigations in Northwest China, and systematically understanding the local history, political tendencies, transportation conditions, economic construction, and military disposition in order to serve the possible future expansion actions of Tsarist Russia.
In order to conceal the motive of aggression, the Russian government packaged Mannerheim as an explorer from Russian Finland, greatly reducing the vigilance of Qing officials. Throughout the expedition, Mannerheim made a fairly comprehensive analysis of China's geographical situation, and obtained a wealth of investigative materials through transcription and photography.
He traveled across many provinces in China, adhered to the attitude of seeking benefits for Tsarist Russia, and carried out the strategic concept of invading China by force. It is worth mentioning that Mannerheim is very popular with the locals, and Yuan Hongyou specially gave him the name "Madahan" with deep meaning and wide knowledge.
In 1908, Mannerheim returned home after completing his mission, and was warmly summoned by Nicholas II, and the two talked for a long time. Apparently, the Tsar was pleased with Mannerheim's performance, and from the time he was appointed commander of the cavalry regiment, Mannerheim was repeatedly promoted. In 1910, Mannerheim was made a major general by the Tsar.
Soon after, when World War I broke out, Mannerheim went to the front to command the battle, and he was as brave and undaunted as ever, and the soldiers admired him. In 1917, Mannerheim was promoted to lieutenant general. By this time, however, there was turmoil in Russia, and the Tsar to whom he had been loyal had been overthrown, and the clamor for democracy had finally been reduced to the dust of history.
At the same time, Lenin's Bolshevik Party had gained the upper hand, and the October Revolution finally broke out. Mannerheim, whose many contributions to Tsarist Russia had led him to be branded as an "accomplice of the old forces", could not identify with the actions of the Red Revolutionaries for the realization of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and class limitations and patriotic feelings collided in his heart.
Eventually, Mannerheim did not insist on the restoration of the royal family as the traditional diehards did, and he resigned, giving up all the glory he had received in the old days and returning to Finland.
To Finland – through ups and downs and ultimate glory
After the Russian Revolution, Finland gained independence. However, at this time, Finland faced a rivalry between two forces, and sharp clashes broke out between the Red Guards and the White Guards supported by Soviet Russia. In this civil war, Mannerheim eventually led the Whites to victory. After the war, Mannerheim was valued by parliament for his many years of prestige, making him chairman of the Finland Military Commission and commander-in-chief of the Self-Defense Forces.
However, he eventually resigned due to disagreements with senior Finland officials on foreign policy and opposition to the White Army's excessive arrest of the Red Guards. Soon after, the Lapua movement, stimulated by the West and whose main goal was anti-communism, emerged, and fanatics tried to infiltrate Finland's authority figures, launch a political charge, and change the existing situation.
During this time, they made frenzied overtures to Mannerheim, promising to support him in establishing a military dictatorship if they received his help. At that time, Mannerheim lost the presidential election, and it was the time to admire power, and he should have been tempted. However, Mannerheim did not accept this conspiracy because of his own disagreement with communism and self-interest, but chose to wave his hand at power.
In the 30s, the severe disaster caused by the economic crisis caused the expansion of fascist forces, the ensuing extremist forces in Finland, and the rise of the Soviet Union also made Finland seriously anxious about its own security, and Finland's long-standing policy of neutrality was at risk of bankruptcy.
In this context, Mannerheim was reappointed in 1931 as Chairman of the Finland Defence Council, and soon after was given the title of Field Marshal of Finland and Commander-in-Chief of the Finland Defence Forces.
Mannerheim was well aware of the situation, and the geostrategic risks from the Soviet Union led him to build large defenses in Karelia, on the Finnish-Soviet border, to prevent a possible invasion by Soviet troops.
On the other hand, with the Soviet-German division of Poland and the direct border between the two countries, the Soviet Union increasingly needed to build Finland as a strategic buffer zone in order to avoid a multi-directional German attack. However, the Soviet Union's excessive demands for territorial replacement made it difficult for Finland to accept, and a Soviet-Finnish war was inevitable.
At the beginning of the war, although the Soviet Union had a huge military advantage, under the command of Mannerheim, the Finland army, which was at an absolute disadvantage, still relied on favorable terrain to effectively block the Soviet army and won the first victory, and the defensive works ordered by Mannerheim made it difficult for the Soviet army to advance, which was later called the "Mannerheim Line".
However, with the Soviet Union's large-scale military investment at any cost, Finland was finally unable to stop it, and was forced to agree to the Soviet Union's strategic demands and cede part of the land.
After that, Finland's hostility towards the Soviet Union increased, and Germany issued an invitation in World War II to obtain Finland's assistance, but Mannerheim exercised restraint and only made efforts to recover his homeland when the Soviet Union was in an unfavorable situation, refusing to invade the Soviet mainland with all its might, which paved the way for Finland not to suffer a full liquidation of the Soviet Union in the later stages of the war.
After the end of World War II, in order to avoid the resentment of the Soviet Union, Mannerheim voluntarily went into exile and died of illness in 1951. The Finland government held a state funeral for him, and former rival parties also observed a moment of silence for him, demonstrating his high status in the hearts of Finland.
Objectively speaking, even Mannerheim is limited by the influence of power circles and class attributes, and is resistant to the great cause of proletarianism. But as a patriot who has fought for the country all his life, he is still worthy of our recognition.
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Bibliography:
[1] Farah· Harriman, Zhou Zhonghua. Finland strongman Mannerheim[J].English World,2018,37(03):81-85.)
[2] Zhou Xuan. Correspondence between officials in the Western Regions expedition of Baron Mannerheim (Madahan) of Russian Finland[J].Western Regions Studies,2008,(02):29-34+130.DOI:10.16363/j.cnki.xyyj.2008.02.010.
[3] Xu Delong, Chen Congyang. Finland and Soviet-Finnish War[J].Journal of Guangxi Wuzhou Normal College,1999,(01):67-72.)