The volunteers of the Civil Guard played a significant role in achieving independence for the country and shaping its course. Without them, the Red Guards might have succeeded in their revolution. Over the course of its history, the organization had a total of 150,000 members. The average yearly count was 90,000, and membership peaked in […]

In the winter of 1934, the leaders of the Civil Guard were pondering the post-war future of the organization. Would it be feasible to bring back the core tasks of the Guards while also taking care of the remaining public duties? Perhaps additional resources could allow the full scope of their work to continue. Commander-in-Chief

CIVIL GUARD HOUSES The Guards needed facilities to base their operations in. Properties were initially rented or shared with other societies free of charge, but many Guards attained a building of their own as their activities took root.   The Civil Guard houses were versatile in function. They included offices, storerooms, and sometimes the local

MIKKELI The Mikkeli Civil Guard district comprised some 30 Guards in 13 areas. In the first few years after its founding in 1917, the district saw constant changes in the seat of local chief and little recreational activity. The district emphasized morality and good manners, using fines and suspensions to manage poor behaviour. Various courses

In the first years of the Civil Guard organization, arms were varied in style and few in number. The scarcity of weapons and rounds meant small local forces were passing one or two guns between multiple men. Old Russian soldier rifles (Mosin-Nagant M91) were refurbished to create a Finnish version with a thicker barrel, which

When the Civil Guard was founded in 1918, promoting fitness and sports was listed as one of its goals. Each district gained its own advisor when the Guard’s department of physical education was established in 1920. New instructors for various sports were constantly being trained as the popularity of athletics kept growing over the following

A regional system for the mobilization of forces was introduced in May 1934. The Civil Guards were a key part of the structure, as members of the organization formed the core cadre of the troops. The mobilization was carried out by provincial military districts. The Guards played a supporting role, relaying orders and gathering auxiliary

The right-wing movement of the early 1930s culminated in Mäntsälä in 1932. A social democratic assembly at the Ohkola people’s house was interrupted on February 27th when over 400 men surrounded the building while firing shots into the air and ground. This came as no surprise to District Chief Paavo Susitaival and Commander-in-Chief Lauri Malmberg,

In relation to the enforcement of compulsory military service, the Civil Guards provided conscription officials with statements on the character of draftees.  The goal was to prevent communists from getting military training. Having lost the war in 1918, the far left continued their operations underground. Communists gained the upper hand in the Finnish Trade Union

The first commander-in-chief of the Civil Guard was Georg Didrik von Essen in the years 1919–1921. Born into a noble family, von Essen (1864–1936) attended the Hamina Cadet School during 1877–86. He served as an executive officer in a sharpshooter battalion and later as a squadron commander in the Finnish Dragoon Regiment until 1901, after