Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion, also colloquially known as the Finnish Guards, was a Finnish unit that existed from 1829 to 1905, based in Helsinki. Continuing the legacy of the Finnish Training Battalion (1817), it was part of the Imperial Russian Army and the only Finnish unit of the Russian Imperial Guard. For the most of its history, the battalion also functioned as the only operational Finnish military unit. Because of its status as both a national showpiece and as a part of the Imperial Guard, it had a visible role in Finland.
The Finnish Guards' Battalion participated in four campaigns outside Finland. Two of these included actual combat: first in 1831 during the Polish November Uprising and for the second time, on the Balkan front of the Russo-Turkish War. The most famous of the battles it participated in was the battle of Gorni Dubnik in 1877. The unit was also deployed in 1849 to assist in quelling the Hungarian Uprising and later during the Crimean War to guard the western border of Russia. However, it did not engage in combat during these deployments. During peace time, the battalion was responsible for guard duty in Helsinki and participated in the Russian military exercises held annually in Krasnoye Selo.Ekman 2006, s. 60, 63.
The neighbourhood of Kaartinkaupunki in Helsinki has been named after the battalion, as it is where the Guards' Barracks () was based in. The modern Guard Jaeger Regiment considers the Finnish Guard as a part of its official lineage.Historia ja perinteet. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
Early history The military of the Grand Duchy of Finland was established by an imperial order on 18 September 1812 by Alexander I of Russia, which became the anniversary of the battalion. As per the imperial order, Finland had to form three rifle units, consisting each of two battalions of 600 men, totaling 3600 men. The Governor-General of Finland Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt and many other officials in Finland found it important that in addition to the Russian troops stationed in Finland there was also a domestic military force to respond to any possible future uncertainties. These units were formed of willing recruits as well as pressed vagabonds. The intention was to use these units only within Finnish territory and in defense of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, not for conflicts outside of Finnish borders. The units were to be financed by crowd-sourcing, but the collected funds did not come close to matching the need. Finally it was decided that the Russian state was to bear the capital cost of weapons and other military hardware, while the Senate of Finland bore the maintenance costs. Soldiers were paid 60 Russian rubles for their entire 6 year military contract, as well as one and a half barrels of rye annually.Ekman 2006, s. 23–27.
The first of these three regiments to begin operations was the 3rd regiment, also known as the Viborg regiment. Its first assignment was to undertake guard duties in Saint Petersburg between 31 March 1813 and 31 August 1814, while the majority of the Russian Army was tied in Western and Central Europe in the battles against Napoleon.Ekman 2006, s. 27–29. By the summer of 1813, two other regiments had also been formed; the first consisting of the battalions in Turku and Hämeenlinna and the second of battalions in Heinola and Kuopio. This military force consisting of a few thousand men, however, had little significance to Finnish defense. The force suffered from a lack of artillery, cavalry and technical branches. Furthermore, only the unit in Vyborg was in service continuously, as the enlisted personnel of the other regiments only gathered once per year for a four week military exercise, in addition to the officers who gathered for meetings in the six weeks prior to these exercises.Ekman 2006, s. 35–36. Two of the regiments were changed to regular infantry regiments, while the third held its designation as a rifle regiment.Backström 1996.
In the autumn of 1817, the Vyborg regiment was split into two battalions, one of which was moved to Vasa. A part of this new battalion was further separated into a special command of 274 men, left to Hämeenlinna under the command of staff captain Nils Gylling. This became the basis for the Finnish Training Battalion and started operations in the summer of 1818. The battalion was assigned to Helsinki and named The Battalion of Helsinki. The first command was assigned to lieutenant colonel Herman Wärnhjelm. Because there were no suitable preexisting facilities in Helsinki at the time, the battalion remained for training in Hämeenlinna until the Kaartin kasarmi building, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, was completed in 1822 and the Training Battalion moved in on 23 December 1824.Ekman 2006, s. 37–38, 40, 44. The name of the battalion was changed to the Helsinki Training Battalion in 1819 and then to the Finnish Training Battalion in 1824.
The Finnish military force was re-organised into six rifle battalions by an imperial order in March 1827. The Helsinki Battalion was renamed to the Finnish Training Rifle Battalion and its size was increased from 400 men to 500. Within two months of this change, recruitment for the other Finnish units was ceased and they were ultimately disbanded in 1830. After this, the Helsinki Battalion was the only remainder of the military force formed in 1812.Ekman 2006, s. 50, 68. Until the end of the 1870s, the battalion was manned by volunteer Finns, most of whom were part of the Finnish lower classes.Ekman 2006, s. 363, 365–367.
The establishment of the Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion
In July 1829 the Finnish Training Battalion was suddenly ordered to join the imperial life-guards' exercise camp in Krasnoye Selo, south-west of Saint Petersburg. After inspecting the battalion, Nicholas I of Russia announced that it would be promoted to the rank of Young Guard. In the order of the day for the following day, the name of the battalion was given as "Finnish life-guards' rifle battalion" and it was attached to the 4th brigade, 2nd infantry division of the imperial life guards. Anders Edvard Ramsay continued as the battalion commander. Although the battalion was now a part of the imperial life-guard and under the jurisdiction of its inspector, it also fell under the command of the Governor-General of Finland, who commanded all of the forces located in Finland. The costs of the Finnish Rifle Battalion were still paid from the accounts of the Senate of Finland. Along with the new name and rank, the battalion received new uniforms and a colour, which was consecrated and presented to the battalion on 17 September 1829.Ekman 2006, s. 51, 54–56, 69.
As the battalion gained a higher standing, its strength was also increased to 600 guardsmen. At the same time, it was specified that only men taller than 5 feet and 6,5-inches (168 cm) could be recruited. The Helsinki Training Battalion had only had two permanent officers; a commander and his adjutant, and any other officers were temporarily assigned on secondment from other units of the army. With its promotion to a guard unit, the battalion received 17 permanent officers. Furthermore, the battalion still had to accept all the qualified Finnish noblemen willing to enter military service as non-commissioned officers, as long as they could pay their own living costs until a vacancy for a commissioned officer opened up and they were promoted to commissioned officers. As a result, the battalion became a career shortcut for young noblemen wanting to become officers.Ekman 2006, s. 58. In 1829, the command language of the battalion was changed to Russian, replacing the former Swedish. However, the orders of the day and correspondence were still nonetheless written in Swedish for the battalions entire operational history. Additionally, during the last years of the unit, a parallel diary was also kept in Finnish language.Ekman 2006, s. 50–51.
In Russia, the Guard referred to the guard of the sovereign, the Russian emperor. For this reason, the Finnish Rifle Battalion also participated in public duties in Saint Petersburg, including those pertaining to the protection of the emperor as the commander in chief of the army and navy. Just like elsewhere in the world, the Russian guard regiments held a clearly more esteemed social position in comparison to regular line infantry. As a result, the units of the Guard enjoyed special privileges; the members of the Imperial family served as honorary commanders of guards' units and officers assigned from the Guard to the normal line-regiments received an automatic promotion to the next rank. In Finland, the guard battalion received special appreciation from the public because it represented Finland's part in the defense of the Russian Empire.
The Polish Uprising 1831 The first combat deployment of the battalion was to the campaign to defeat the Polish November Uprising in 1831. In Finland, the mobilization of the battalion was met in the press and within the battalion with positivity and pride. Sending Finnish forces outside of the borders, or taking part to crush the Polish Uprising was no cause of scruples for Finns. The battalion left Finland on the 12 of January with a force of 746 men, marching by foot to Saint Petersburg and, in March, all the way to Poland. The battalion received its baptism of fire in the beginning of the April, together with other imperial forces and Finnish soldiers quickly got a reputation as good marksmen. The mission of the battalion was to evict Polish forces from the area between the Bug and Narew rivers, at the same time as the main Russian Forces were fighting in the south. During May the battalion had to execute a fighting retreat as a result of the effective Polish counter offensive, all the way to Białystok. After that, it joined the Russian Army in Ostrołęka, which marched the long way from the west in order to cross over the Vistula and to attack Warsaw from the west. From 6 to 8 September 1831 the guards riflemen joined the Imperial forces that took Warsaw.Ekman 2006, s. 84, 86–87, 90–91, 94, 98–100, 104–105, 109–111, 116.
The battalion spent the winter of 1831–32 in Biržai in Lithuania, before returning to Helsinki. They lost only ten men in combat, including one officer. However, as many as 399 men died due to illnesses and epidemics on the front. After the November Uprising, on 18 December 1831, Russian emperor Nicholas I presented the battalion with the Saint George's Guards Colour with the honorific "In honour of the defeating the Polish uprising in 1831" surrounding the emblem of the battalion in honor of the services rendered in the campaign. The same flag was in use until its disbandment.
During times of peace The battalion was from its inception in a visible position in the Grand Duchy of Finland as it was based in the center of the capital city of Helsinki. With time, it became a national symbol, despite its small size, as it highlighted the special status Finland enjoyed within the Russian Empire. The battalion participated in state ceremonies and from 1863 onwards, one of its companies was always present during the opening ceremony of parliament. During the 19th century, the numerous Russian and Finnish troops based in Helsinki and their frequent parades gave the capital quite a militaristic tone, with various incidents caused by the soldiers becoming a part of the normal life of the city. The Finnish Guards' Rifle battalion had responsibility for general guard in Helsinki every Saturday.