United States:
91-721: Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Alan Thorne , was a Finnish-born soldier who fought under three flags: as a Finnish Army officer in the Winter War and the Continuation War ultimately gaining a rank of captain; as a Waffen-SS captain (under the alias Larry Laine ) of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS when he fought the Red Army on
182-450: A United States Air Force Cessna O-1 Bird Dog Forward Air Controller in inclement weather in a mountainous area of Phước Sơn District , Quảng Nam Province , Vietnam , 25 miles (40 km) from Da Nang . While one CH-34 descended through a gap in the weather to drop off the six-man team, the command CH-34 carrying Thorne and the O-1 loitered nearby. When the drop helicopter returned above
273-708: A bounty of 3,000,000 Finnish marks on his head. He was decorated with the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class on 9 July 1944. The September 1944 Moscow Armistice required the Finnish government to remove German troops from its territory, resulting in the Lapland War ; during this period, much of the Finnish Army was demobilized, including Törni, leaving him unemployed in November 1944. In January 1945, he
364-633: A communist - led government came to power. Helanen's plan was based on the support of the Germans from Estonia . He presented his plan in Tallinn on September 7, 1944, to the local SD, and possibly Cellarius was also involved. According to the plan, the leadership of the organization would be in Tallinn , and the liaison committee in Finland would handle communications, transportation and safehouses with
455-466: A Finnish officer, the Germans recognized him as an Untersturmführer . Most of Törni's reputation was based on his successful actions in the Continuation War (1941–44) between the Soviet Union and Finland. In 1943, a unit informally named Detachment Törni was created under his command. This was an infantry unit that penetrated deep behind enemy lines and soon enjoyed a reputation on both sides of
546-709: A Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport ceremony that included Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Ambassador Pete Peterson . Formally identified in 2003, his remains were buried on 26 June 2003 at Arlington National Cemetery , along with the RVNAF casualties of the mission recovered at the crash site. He was memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 02E, Line 126. He was survived only by his fiancée, Marja Kops. Finnish decorations German decoration United States Army Badges Decorations and medals Citation: The President of
637-709: A Swedish seaman aboard the SS Bolivia , destined for Caracas, Venezuela , where he met one of his Winter War commanders, the Finnish colonel Matti Aarnio , who was in exile in Venezuela after the war. Törni hid on a Swedish cargo ship, the MS Skagen , which traveled from Caracas for the United States in 1950. While in the Gulf of Mexico , near Mobile , Alabama , Törni jumped overboard and swam to shore. Now
728-579: A classified US special operations unit focusing on unconventional warfare in Vietnam, as a military advisor. On 18 October 1965, as part of the operation Shining Brass , Thorne was supervising the first clandestine mission to locate Viet Cong turnaround points along the Ho Chi Minh trail and destroy them with airstrikes . Two Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) CH-34 helicopters launched from Kham Duc Special Forces Camp and rendezvoused with
819-584: A political refugee, Törni traveled to New York City where he was helped by the Finnish-American community living in Brooklyn's Sunset Park " Finntown ". There he worked as a carpenter and cleaner. In 1953, Törni was granted a residence permit through an Act of Congress that was shepherded by the law firm of "Wild Bill" Donovan , former head of the Office of Strategic Services . Törni enlisted in
910-535: A resistance movement in accordance with the SD's plans was established under veteran organisation " Front Soldier League ". Carl Lindh was elected to lead the movement. At the same time as the SD founded its own resistance organization, Dr. Vilho Helanen , chairman of the Academic Karelia Society , developed his own plan for a resistance movement in the event that the Soviet Union occupied Finland or
1001-504: A specific wartime unit. After the end of training, the conscripts are demobilised into reserve. During regular refresher exercises and in case of a crisis, the reserve unit will be activated and deployed in the formation it trained in during conscription. Thus, the peacetime structure of the Army does not give any meaningful information about the mobilised structure or about the areas where the units would be used. Between 1809 and 1917 Finland
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#17327873986251092-412: A suspected Viet Cong stronghold. Due to the extreme hazards attending this mission, including weather and enemy action, Major Thorne volunteered to accompany submission aircraft during the introduction of the patrol in place of the assigned individual. After delivering the patrol to the landing zone, Major Thorne remained with one aircraft in the immediate area to receive an initial report from the patrol on
1183-558: A volunteer unit from Finland. A detachment of Finnish SS men was formed in Major Otto Skorzeny 's regiment Jagdregiment in Neustrelitz . The detachment was intended to be trained for special missions, but there was no time to begin training until the war was over. There was also a small group of about twenty volunteers from those Finnish women who had moved to Norway and Germany with German troops and were recruited to
1274-570: Is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces . The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery , anti-aircraft artillery, engineers , signals , and materiel troops. The commander of the Finnish Army since 1 January 2022 is Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki . The duties of the Finnish Army are threefold. They are: In addition to these tasks,
1365-644: Is the wartime organisation of the Finnish army from 1.1.2008 Operative forces: Territorial forces: Major weapon systems used by the army include: Pro-German resistance movement in Finland The Pro-German resistance movement in Finland was set up during the latter stages of the Second World War after the Moscow Armistice by Nazi Germany and the extreme right in Finland , who prepared for armed struggle against
1456-536: The 21st and 23rd Divisions and sent to the front on 19 December. The 2nd Replacement Division was deployed as individual regiments to Northern Finland. Finland ceded 9% of its territory via the Moscow Peace Treaty , but prevented the Soviets from annexing the whole country. Four delaying groups, named for their location, were stationed immediately by the border on the isthmus. The Army of Karelia
1547-701: The Eastern Front in World War II; and as a United States Army Major (under the alias "Larry Thorne") when he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War . Törni died in a helicopter crash that occurred on October 18, 1965, during a covert mission in Laos amidst the Vietnam War. Serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces, Törni was involved in operations conducted by MACV-SOG when
1638-757: The Karelian Isthmus , most importantly Viipuri , a major city, and was forced to retreat from Eastern Karelia. However, in the decisive Battle of Tali-Ihantala , the Soviet advance was halted. The Soviet Union concentrated its forces on the battles in Central Europe, and Finland made a separate peace in September 1944. The Lapland War (Finnish: Lapin sota ) was the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While
1729-633: The Soviet Navy . The Army is organised into eight Peacetime brigades. Two of these brigades, the Army Academy and the Utti Jaeger Regiment do not have subordinate regional offices. The six other brigades have one or more subordinate regional offices and a deputy commander. During a crisis, the regional offices form provincial local battalions and the brigade headquarters form the regional command level. During normal operation,
1820-699: The Tịnh Biên District and assigned to operate Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) encampments at Châu Lăng and later Tịnh Biên . During a fierce attack on the CIDG camp in Tịnh Biên, he received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star Medal for valor during the battle. Thorne's second tour in Vietnam began in February 1965 with 5th Special Forces Group ; he then transferred to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV–SOG),
1911-711: The U.S. Army in 1954 under the provisions of the Lodge-Philbin Act and adopted the name Larry Thorne. In the U.S. Army, he was befriended by a group of Finnish-American officers who came to be known as "Marttinen's Men" (fin. Marttisen miehet ). With their support, Thorne joined the U.S. Army Special Forces . While in the Special Forces, he taught skiing , survival, mountaineering, and guerrilla tactics . In turn he attended airborne school , and advanced in rank to sergeant. Receiving his US citizenship in 1957, Thorne attended Officer Candidate School , and
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#17327873986252002-817: The Young Guard Battalion, the Finnish Guards . During the Crimean War , 1854, Finland set up nine sharpshooter battalions based on a rota system. Conscription was introduced in Finland in 1878. The Finnish Guard took part in fighting to suppress the 1830 November Uprising in Poland and participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , after which it gained the status of Old Guard of the Russian Emperor. The Finnish army
2093-616: The "Sven Kornie" (or Captain Steve Kornie) main character in the first chapter was based on Thorne. In the 1990s, Törni's name became better known, with numerous books being written about him. He was named 52nd in the Suuret Suomalaiset listing of famous Finns; in the 2006 Suomen Sotilas ( Soldier of Finland ) magazine listing, he was elected most courageous of the Mannerheim Cross recipients. In Finland,
2184-512: The Army is responsible for conscription and personnel management of reserve. Because Finland is not under direct military threat, the current Army is, as it has been since the end of Second World War , in peacetime training formation. This means that its brigades (Finnish: joukko-osasto ) are not meant to be operational combat units but training formations. According to the "troop production" doctrine (Finnish: joukkotuotanto ), peacetime units will train each batch of conscripts they receive for
2275-746: The Commander of the Norwegian Army, General Olaf Helset , and the US Military Ombudsman in Oslo. The military ombudsman reported to the U.S. that the resistance movement had 100,000 infantry weapons and some grenade launchers. The movement would be ready for action with three weeks' notice. Neither party promised support to the Finns. The secret police ValPo was convinced of the organization's existence from an early stage. In January 1945,
2366-541: The Finnish people, especially during the strikes during and after the Russo-Japanese War. There were socialist Red Guards and conservative, anti-socialist Protection Guards (or White Guards). Also, during the First World War activists secretly travelled to Germany to receive military training and to be trained as Jäger troops (Finnish: jääkärit , Swedish: jägare ). After independence and
2457-539: The Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the Second World War. A peculiarity of the war was that the Finnish army was forced to demobilise their forces while at the same time fighting to force the German army to leave Finland. The German forces retreated to Norway, and Finland was, therefore, able to uphold its armistice promise to
2548-663: 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. During the Napoleonic Wars three 1200-man regiments were formed in Finland and Topographic Corps in Hamina . In 1821 the Topographic Corps was transformed into the cadet officers school. In 1829 one of the training battalions was transformed into
2639-807: The Lapland War. A trial in October and November resulted in a six-year sentence in January 1947. Imprisoned at the Turku provincial prison, Törni escaped in June, but was recaptured and sent to the Riihimäki State Prison. President Juho Paasikivi granted him a pardon in December 1948. In 1949, Törni, accompanied by his wartime executive officer Holger Pitkänen, traveled to Sweden , crossing
2730-873: The Larry Thorne Award to the best Operational Detachment-Alpha in the command. The Special Forces Association Chapter 33 in Cleveland, Tennessee is named after him. In 2010 he was named as the first Honorary Member of the United States Army Special Forces Regiment and in 2011 he was inducted into the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Commando Hall of Honor. In their 2013 book Tuntematon Lauri Törni [ Unknown Lauri Törni ], authors Juha Pohjonen and Oula Silvennoinen write that Törni's conviction for treason
2821-548: The Remote Patrol Department. In addition, there were plans to recruit high-ranking officers. Lieutenant General Paavo Talvela , Major General Kaarlo Heiska or Colonel Matti Aarnio were planned to be the commander of the military wing. Safehouses were built to Sweden with the help of a network of liaison officers. Two of the routes passed through the country to Norway , the others to the port cities of Gothenburg , Malmö and Trelleborg . In addition to
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2912-436: The SD resistance movement. Bross's assistant Aarne Runolinna was the propaganda manager. The liaison was journalist Karl Jansson, from May 1945 Lieutenant Colonel Fabritius. The organizer was long-distance patrolman Arthur Björklund , later lieutenant Seppo Veli Heikkilä . Nationwide, the organization was divided into eight districts, each of which was to have local leadership. Underground activities would be organized according to
3003-516: The Soviet Union. During the Cold War, Finland was neutral but maintained close ties to the Soviet Union. The Finnish Army was in a difficult situation as it bordered the Soviet Union. Porkkala was a Soviet naval base taken from Finland in 1944. Construction for it finished in 1945 and became a naval base. It was handed back to Finland in 1956, for Kaliningrad had become a better place for
3094-674: The United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Major (Infantry), (then Captain) Larry Alan Thorne (ASN: 0-2287104), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight on 18 October 1965 in the Republic of Vietnam. Major Thorne was operations officer responsible for launching a small, combined reconnaissance patrol on an extremely hazardous mission into
3185-478: The White Guards, which became a voluntary organization , and the Finnish army, which was a cadre army based on conscription. However, Jägers gained important positions in the army, and German tactics and military principles were adopted. The Finnish Army consisted of 9 field divisions, 4 brigades and a number of small independent battalions and companies at the beginning of the Winter War in 1939. The Army
3276-521: The area. Major Thorne's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army. General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 33 (July 26, 1967) Action Date: October 18, 1965 Finnish Army German Waffen-SS United States Army In the 1965 book The Green Berets by Robin Moore ,
3367-422: The areas lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and pushed deep into Soviet territory in Eastern Karelia . In winter 1942, the Finnish political leadership ended offensive action and the front stagnated for over two years. The relatively inactive period of stationary war ended abruptly in June 1944, as the Soviet Union started its Fourth Strategic Offensive . As a result, the Finnish Army lost large areas of
3458-406: The beginning of April, meetings were held in Lohja , Helsinki and Tampere. The organisation sought to become independent of the Germans. On the other hand, there were still fears of a Soviet occupation, and the focus of action was on plans to get as many patriotic-minded people as possible into the movement and smuggled into Sweden. Contact with the Germans was maintained still in April 1945. After
3549-406: The beginning of the Finnish Civil War the White government declared the White Guards as government troops, and the war was fought between the Red Guards , assisted by Communist Russians, and White Guards added with the Jägers 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
3640-473: The border from Tornio to Haparanda (Haaparanta), where many inhabitants are ethnic Finns. From Haparanda, Törni traveled by railroad to Stockholm where he stayed with Baroness von Essen , who harbored many fugitive Finnish officers following the war. Pitkänen was arrested and repatriated to Finland. In Sweden, Törni fell in love with a Swedish Finn , Marja Kops, and was soon engaged to be married. In order to secure employment, Törni traveled under an alias as
3731-404: The cache is known to have fetched currency on at least two occasions, totaling more than 650,000 euros. Weapons, radio equipment and money received from Germany and Sweden were hidden in Närpes , Vaasa , Helsinki and Hämeenlinna . A lot of material had been placed in various caches in Vaasa . After the Germans left Southern Finland in the first week of September 1944, Sonderkommando Nord
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3822-409: The cloud cover, both the CH-34 and the O-1 had disappeared. Rescue teams were unable to locate the crash site. Shortly after his disappearance, Thorne was promoted to the rank of major and posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit and Distinguished Flying Cross . In 1999, Thorne's remains were found by a Finnish and Joint Task Force-Full Accounting team and repatriated to the United States following
3913-442: The defeat of Germany, the resistance movement continued to operate. Finland was not occupied, so the plan for armed struggle was not implemented. Activities focused on safehouses. In 1948, representatives of the resistance movement, Major General Harald Roos and Professor Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala traveled to Norway to inquire about support for the movement in the event that the Soviet Union occupied Finland. They were in contact with
4004-443: The destruction of the encircled Soviet divisions in Lemetti . His performance during these engagements was noticed by his commanders, and toward the end of the conflict, he was assigned to officer training where he was commissioned as a Vänrikki ( 2nd lieutenant ) in the reserves. After the Winter War, in June 1941, Törni went to Vienna, Austria for seven weeks of training with the Waffen-SS , and returned to Finland in July; as
4095-416: The establishment of a resistance operation at the German chief of staff. The situation was favorable due to the division of opinions caused by the ceasefire. In addition to the resistance movement , SD also had other secret activities in Finland. SD Lieutenant Hans Seidl and Finnish Lieutenant Kai Laurell established several radio stations and weapons caches in northern Finland. Until the spring of 1945,
4186-421: The expected Soviet occupation. Germany funded the activities and provided the necessary training. The project was separate from the plans drawn up by Finnish chief of staff officers in the summer of 1944 for the transition to guerrilla warfare. When there was no occupation, propaganda and smuggling hundreds of people out of Finland became the principal activity of the organization. After the defeat of Germany ,
4277-400: The first course, morse code and cryptography training was given to SS men. The trainees for the courses were obtained from various sources; for example, there were Finnish prisoners of war enlisted from German prison camp and other volunteers who joined the Germans. The base came from the German-occupied Kongsvinger fortress in Norway, where Finnish SS men had been trained as group leaders for
4368-400: The front for its combat effectiveness. One of Törni's subordinates was future President of Finland Mauno Koivisto . Koivisto served in a reconnaissance company under Törni's command during the Battle of Ilomantsi , the final Finnish-Soviet engagement of the Continuation War, during July and August 1944. Törni's unit inflicted such heavy casualties on Soviet units that the Soviet Army placed
4459-471: The ground. This report was mandatory since only the vaguest information was available about enemy disposition near the landing zone. If the patrol were immediately confronted by a superior force, Major Thorne would land and extricate the patrol under fire. This was done with total disregard for the inherent dangers and with selfless concern for the ground forces. In so doing, he exposed himself to extreme personal danger which ultimately led to his disappearance and
4550-566: The helicopter he was on crashed under unclear circumstances. The crash site was difficult to locate due to the rugged terrain and adverse weather conditions, delaying recovery efforts. Törni's remains, along with those of other soldiers aboard, were eventually found three decades later. Christened Lauri Allan Törni, he was born in Viipuri , Viipuri Province, Finland , to ship captain Jalmari (Ilmari) Törni, and his wife, Rosa Maria (née Kosonen). He had two sisters: Salme Kyllikki Rajala (b. 1920) and Kaija Iris Mikkola (b. 1922). An athletic youth, Törni
4641-420: The last stages of World War II and eventually returned to Finland in June 1945 after escaping a British POW camp in Lübeck, Germany . As his family had been evacuated from Karelia , Törni sought to rejoin them in Helsinki but was arrested by Valpo , the Finnish state police. After escaping, he was arrested a second time in April 1946, and tried for treason for continuing to serve in the German military during
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#17327873986254732-411: The loss of his aircraft. He had, however, guaranteed the safe introduction of the patrol into the area, the successful accomplishment of this mission and had positioned himself to react to any immediate calls for assistance from the patrol. Due to Major Thorne's efforts, the mission was accomplished successfully and contributed significantly to the overall mission of interdicting Viet Cong activities within
4823-437: The men of the resistance movement. The ship returned to Heringsdorf without difficulty, and Fabritius and Runolinna prepared a memorandum on the situation in Finland for the headquarters of Sonderkommando Nord. He was also transported to Berlin to present the memorandum first to Dr. Scheffer, then directly to Kaltenbrunner. After returning to Heeringsdorf, Fabritius received a quick training in parachuting, and on February 20 he
4914-414: The movement did not disintegrate but operated in Finland for several more years. Some members of the movement were caught, and 11 were convicted of treason in 1946 . During Finland's participation on the Eastern Front , two German intelligence organizations operated in Finland: the SS intelligence service SD and the military intelligence service Abwehr under German chief of staff. The SD's Finnish arm
5005-450: The occupier’s communication and maintenance connections. The resistance would bind as many occupying forces as possible until they retreat to isolation in large cities. The ultimate goal was to conquer the whole of Finland and also East Karelia. However, the plan was conditional on German troops remaining in Estonia and northern Finland , which made it impossible to implement. The withdrawal from northern Finland had already begun, and there
5096-408: The organization was presented to a select group of Finns in August 1944 at a meeting convened by Bross, which was attended by, among others, Colonel Ragnar Nordström , Lieutenant Colonels Carl Lindh and Johan Christian Fabritius , Counselor Petter Forsström and Dr. Erkki Osmonsalo . Aarne Runolinna, working as Bross's assistant, had prepared the structure draft of the organisation. At the meeting,
5187-455: The practical arrangements for underground operations. The organization also kept in touch with Finnish army officers who moved to Sweden and wartime military intelligence chiefs. Former intelligence chief Colonel Aladár Paasonen was present, Harri Paarma (formerly Paatsalo), Director of the intelligence gathering and sabotage unit "Remote Patrol Department", in charge of Northern Finland's intelligence, and Major Pauli Marttina , Second Director of
5278-412: The radio station of the Helvar radio factory was revealed, and Valpo arrested Thoralf Kyrre. The resistance movement arranged for Kyrre to flee to Sweden in March. In early 1946, Valpo tracked down the organization and arrested its leaders during the spring, such as Fabritius on April 12. Karl Jansson , Arthur Björklund and Ragnar Nordström fled to Sweden. Eleven people were convicted in a treason trial, and
5369-434: The refugee government. Fabritius refused both projects, and eventually the Germans agreed with him. At the end of the negotiations, Jansson was sent ashore with equipment, money and weapons. Seppo Heikkilä, who had received intelligence training from Germany and was the former commander of the Navy's Liinahamari patrol ship, took part. Heikkilä had to support the resistance movement and report on Finnish conditions. Based on
5460-409: The regional offices are responsible for conscription, organising voluntary national defence work and planning crisis-time activities. The brigades are: Army logistics is part of the joint Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command. During war time the army is organised operative forces which consists of approximately 61 000 men and territorial forces which consist of 176 000 men. The following list
5551-463: The reports, it would be decided when it would be time to send troops and material with special training from Germany to Finland. Fabritius stayed in a submarine to travel to Germany. He had a report with the Germans on the new organization of the Finnish army and the Soviet troops in the country. Captain Lauri Törni and Lieutenant Solmu Korpela , who had arrived from Finland, also stayed on board, and had been recruited to train in Germany as trainers for
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#17327873986255642-416: The resistance movement transported Finnish Nazis and fascists, officers and intelligence personnel, Estonian and East Karelian refugees and German citizens out of the country. Hundreds of people were assisted in Sweden, including more than a hundred German prisoners of war who had fled the Finns. Transport to Germany took place after the September 1944 break in German submarines, smuggling hundreds of people. At
5733-407: The resistance movement was established in Närpes . Motorboats purchased for the cover company were placed in Närpes. The area also served as a loading bay for German submarines. The organization bought a detached house in Närpes, and houses and farms were acquired for accommodation. Transport between Helsinki and Närpes was handled by two cars acquired for this purpose. Through the safehouse routes,
5824-429: The right-wing populist Finns Party argued that Törni's training was actually motivated by patriotism towards his native country, and accused Pohjonen and Silvennoinen of stirring up hatred in order to promote sales of their book while disregarding "the fact that in Finland there was a genuine fear that Russia would occupy Finland." Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish : Maavoimat , Swedish : Armén )
5915-469: The safehouses, the Finnish leader of the Swedish operations had assistants in Stockholm , Luleå and Gothenburg , two in each. The leader himself worked in Boden and co-operated with the Swedish military intelligence: Swedish Major Danielsson arranged passports and other assistance. The Swedish organisation's contacts with the Germans were handled either by the German military ombudsman Edmund Sala via Stockholm or directly to Berlin. The courier to Helsinki
6006-433: The same detachment for message training. In January 1945, Major Bross, his political advisers Aarne Runolinna and Cellarius traveled by submarine from Heringsdorf to the coast of Finland in front of Kristinestad to negotiate with the Finnish leadership of the resistance movement. On January 17, Johan Fabritius, the practical organizer of the movement, and Karl Jansson, a liaison officer and journalist, were transported to
6097-413: The same time Organisation brought refugees from Germany to the Finnish coast, sometimes in several submarines at the same time. They were transported along the safe house route to Sweden and further from there. During his trip to Germany in January-February, Fabritius had become convinced that the situation in Germany was hopeless and that no further help to the resistance in Finland could be expected. At
6188-495: The ship. The nominal leaders of the movement, Carl Lindh and Vilho Helanen, who were invited to the meeting, did not arrive to the chagrin of the Germans. A meeting was held on the submarine, during which Jansson explained the situation in Finland to the Germans. Bross suggested that a refugee government be established for Finland and that sabotage activities in the war reparations industry be started . The Germans had planned to take Professor Toivo Mikael Kivimäki to Sweden to lead
6279-456: The ships were driven to secret loading bays around the city, where the men of the organization were ready. Some of the smuggled men were delivered to Sweden from the north over the Tornio river . Access to Europe was opened through the Swedish safehouse network. The resistance movement in Blacknäs , Vaasa , had three large fishing vessels at its disposal, which were well suited for the smuggling of refugees to Sweden. The most important stage of
6370-612: The stations kept in touch with the German military intelligence service Sonderabteilung Lappland (Special Department Lapland). Wilhelm Laqua , head of SD's Kirkenes office and commander of Einsatzkommando Finnland , founded Karesuvanto radio station that operated in October 1944. The station was later transferred to the Swedish side and communication was maintained by couriers from Norway. In Norway, Laqua also had radio, postal and flight connections to Finland. The Germans also organized weapons caches in northern Finland and built safehouses. Carl Lindh and Vilho Helanen were appointed to lead
6461-410: The support of the Germans. Landing areas for German aircraft and landing areas for ships would be established in advance. The actual armed activity would be carried out by a regional resistance movement, for which the weapons would be obtained from the Germans and in connection with the possible disarmament of the Finnish army . After a possible occupation, a partisan war would be waged by first hitting
6552-876: The survivors, friends, and families of Detachment Törni formed the Lauri Törni Tradition Guild. The Infantry Museum (Jalkaväkimuseo) in Mikkeli, Finland , has an exhibit dedicated to Törni, as does the Military Museum of Finland in Helsinki. Even before his death, Thorne's name was legendary in US Special Forces. His US memorial is the Larry Thorne Headquarters Building, 10th SFG(A), Fort Carson , Colorado . 10th Group honors him yearly by presenting
6643-641: The three-cell system inherited from the Communists. Members of the Front Soldier League, Patriotic People's Movement and different Nazi organisations were recruited. The resistance movement had good connections to various parties: several people from Valpo were involved, such as detective Urho Rantala and detective Arvid Ojasti , who moved to Norway. Arno Anthoni , former head of the Central Detective Police advised on
6734-432: The units a Field Replacement Brigade (Finnish: Kenttätäydennysprikaati , KT-Pr) of nine battalions was formed. But due to the severity of the Soviet attack the battalions had to be used as combat troops. Also three Replacement Divisions or Home Replacement Divisions (1.Koti.TD – 3.Koti.TD) were formed from the available reservists. As the situation became more alarming the 1st and 3rd Replacement Divisions were reformed into
6825-736: Was an autonomous state ruled by 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 (Swedish: indelningsverket ; Finnish: 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
6916-489: Was an early friend of future Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Sten Suvio . After attending business school and serving with the Civil Guard , Törni entered military service in 1938, joining Jaeger Battalion 4 stationed at Kiviniemi ; when the Winter War began in November 1939, his enlistment was extended and his unit confronted invading Soviet troops at Rautu . During the battles at Lake Ladoga , Törni took part in
7007-430: Was businessman Arne Blom. Funding for the activities of the resistance movement came mainly from the Germans. For the initial organization, the organization is known to have received an equivalent amount of € 350,000 (based on 2007 value) from Cellarius. At least the shipowner, Colonel Ragnar Nordström, and Councilor Petter Forsström also funded the organization by purchasing motorboats for its use. Funding from Germany
7098-586: Was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Signal Corps . He later received a Regular Army commission and a promotion to captain in 1960. From 1958 to 1962, he served in the 10th Special Forces Group in West Germany at Bad Tölz , from where he was second-in-command of a search and recovery mission high in the Zagros Mountains of Iran , which gained him a notable reputation. When he
7189-598: Was dropped off in Finland. The organization built a network of radio stations in Finland for communication and promotion. In addition to one mobile radio station, there were stations in Helsinki at the Helvar radio factory and in Huopalahti , Hämeenlinna , Tampere , Turku , Vaasa , the Raahe region and Närpes . Thoralf Kyrre , a Danish engineer, was recruited as a technical expert. The most significant form of action
7280-592: Was established as the governing body of the Finnish resistance movement. The department was directly subordinated to Ernst Kaltenbrunner , head of the Reich Security Main Office . Bross was appointed head of the department. A base was established for the department on the German Baltic coast on the island of Usedom in the spa town of Heringsdorf , owned by the German navy, to which German intelligence services in Finland moved. The crew
7371-555: Was formed on 29 June 1941 soon after the start of the Continuation War . There were seven Finnish corps in the field during the war: the I, II, III , IV, V, VI and VII. During the war the Finnish Army was responsible for the front from the Gulf of Finland to Kainuu . The front in Northern Finland was the responsibility of the German AOK Norwegen . During summer and autumn 1941, the Finnish Army re-conquered
7462-754: Was gradually broken up during the " oppression years " just after the turn of the century. As Finnish conscripts refused to serve in the Russian Imperial Army, conscription ended in Finland and it was replaced with a tax paid from the Finnish Senate to the Imperial treasury. At the end of the 19th 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
7553-493: Was in Germany, he briefly visited his relatives in Finland. In an episode of The Big Picture released in 1962 and composed of footage filmed in 1959, Thorne is shown as a lieutenant with the 10th Special Forces Group in the United States Army. Deploying to South Vietnam in November 1963 to support Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces in the Vietnam War , Thorne and Special Forces Detachment A-734 were stationed in
7644-529: Was justified because the Waffen-SS training he received at the end of World War II was provided to help achieve a National Socialist coup in Finland. This view has been challenged by Törni Heritage Guild members Markku Moberg and Pasi Niittymäki, who acknowledge that Törni faced pressure from the war and alcohol consumption, but contend that he did not support Germany. Furthermore, Finnish historian and later Minister of Defence (2015–2019) Jussi Niinistö of
7735-565: Was led by Sturmbannführer (Major) Alarich Bross , the Abwehr's by Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Alexander Cellarius . In February 1944, the organizations were merged under the SD, and in August, Bross, who had good relations with Finland's extreme right circles, was appointed head of Germany's intelligence efforts in Finland. Bross was immediately tasked with forming a resistance movement in Finland that would serve German interests. The plan for
7826-581: Was obtained from Finnish SS men and prisoners of war from the German withdrawal from Finnish Lapland who defected to the German side. Contacts with Finland were handled by radio messages and submarines. Contact with the Finns lasted at least until April 1945, although the leadership of the resistance movement was already disengaging from German control at that time. The German military surrendered on 8 May 1945. In February 1945, Sonderkommando Nord began training Finns for reconnaissance in Heringsdorf . In
7917-537: Was only a week left for the Estonian evacuation order. Helanen joined the SD resistance movement, where he was named the organization's second leader. He returned to Finland in a German motor torpedo boat with the task of attracting politicians behind the movement. The SD resistance project was not the only one of the Germans. On 5 September 1944, the 20th Mountain Army Commander, Lothar Rendulic , proposed
8008-694: Was organised into three corps. The II and III Corps were organised into the Army of the Isthmus which was located on the Karelian Isthmus , the likely location for the main Soviet attack. The IV Corps defended the area north of Lake Ladoga . The defence of the rest of the border up to Petsamo by the Arctic Ocean was given to the North Finland Group which consisted of a handful of independent battalions. In order to organize replacements for
8099-529: Was provided, directly by SD's Major Bross, partly through a cache located in Sweden near the Norwegian border, from which Finns were allowed to apply for the amount with Bross's permission. There is conflicting information about the size of the cache, according to one information, the currency of the various countries would have been worth a total of 65 million euros (according to the 2007 monetary value). In 1945,
8190-524: Was recruited by the Pro-German resistance movement in Finland and left for saboteur training in Germany, with the intention of organizing resistance in case Finland was occupied by the Soviet Union. The training was prematurely ended in March, but as Törni could not secure transportation to Finland, he joined a German unit to fight Soviet troops near Schwerin, Germany . He surrendered to British troops in
8281-410: Was to smuggle out those who wanted to leave the country to Germany and Sweden for various reasons. For this purpose, a safehouse network was built in Finland and the cover company " Great fishing cooperative " was established. In Finland, safehouse routes were provided by a 50-70-man maritime transport organization. In Sweden, the target was the small town of Härnösand in western Norland . From Finland,
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