The war bit

As promised on Sunday, here is 'the war bit' from my recent sojourn on the Baltic. The second week of the hols was based in Helsinki, and much of the time was taken up with seeing friends and family of the Margravina. Lovely people, but by Friday I felt that I'd imposed enough on folks' willingness to talk in English, so rather than accompany the ladies of the Household on another familial visit, I elected selflessly to go to Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna is a fortress on a small collection of four islands (not sure it warrants the appellation 'archipelago') that guards the approaches to Helsinki from the sea. For facts, take a look here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomenlinna

For eye candy:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/583/

And for the official site:

https://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/

I pootled down to the city centre on the tram and walked down to the harbour by 'Kauppatori' (a waterfront market square, which is a pleasant trip in its own right). The buses are just as efficient but trams appeal to the little boy in me. Incidentally, if you're ever that way, download the HSL app (the metropolitan transport authority). Tickets cover all modes pop public transport in the greater Helsinki area, including trains, metro, trams, buses and water buses. Usefully, the location of the apartment and the Suomenlinna island were both covered by Zone A (€2.80 for the trip). At the fortress there are museums that have entry charges, but you can wander round the fortress for free. Which I did on my first trip years ago, and got mistaken by some American tourists as a tour guide with exceptional English!

I made a beeline for the Sotamuseo (War Museum) - third visit again (although 20 years ago it was on the mainland). It's not a big museum by any means. Forget the Imperial War Museum or the National Army Museum, but it is very interesting. It's predominantly about the 20th century, from WW1 to the Arctic War via the Civil War, Winter War and Continuation War. Unfortunately there are no displays of Hakkapeliitta or other warriors of the Swedish period.  I understand there is a large archive somewhere that you can arrange to see, but I have no idea how or if you need to have 'credentials'.

After the War Museum I visited the Toy Museum (a private venture on the island). Again, a small museum but with many things of interest to the sort of people reading this blog. By the time I'd finished there the caffs on the island were closing up and I needed sustenance if I was to tramp around the fortress. Accordingly I took the ferry back to town and met the ladies of the house near the apartment with impeccable timing. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Part the First - Approach - in which our traveller avoids shocking the readers' sensibilities

Looking back to the Kauppatori. The big white building at the back is the Lutheran cathedral. The yellowish one on the right is the Presidential Palace where the impressive Sauli Niinistö sits.

The Orthodox cathedral dating from the period of Russian rule 1809-1917. 

One of the bastions on the approach to Suomenlinna 's ferry jetty

One of a sequence of massive gun barrels by the garrison church (human a few meters behind for scale). I had to edit this pic because inadvertently the photo had captured a woman in a very short skirt, and this isn't that type of website.

Garrison church

I never knew this...the pic above shows the original form of the church (built in the Russian period) which was later trimmed down to suit the Lutheran design ethic, after independence.

Part the Second - War Museum - early 20th Century

Regimental colour of the Prussian Jäger unit made up of Finnish nationalist emigres during WW1. The style is still very much like those of the Frederician period. Finnish lion shield in the centre. These Jägers went on to form the core of the White Army during the Civil War, and were regarded as the elite infantry of the WW2 period. 

I think this was a WW1 Russian cavalry officer.

Uniforms of the White Army from the civil war (1918)

The Reds (losers of the Civil War). I think more were killed by execution or in prison than in the actual fighting. One of my former tutors said that ill-feeling extended into the late 20th century in her home area of Tampere (a Red stronghold), although the Winter War did much to unite the country.

Maxim gun on carriage wheels!

Probably speaks for itself - these guys leant a hand to the Whites during the Civil War

Part the Third - the Soviet Wars

Fabulous 1:100 scale model of an infantry position in the Winter War

Cutaway from the above. Captions going from top left to right, then below: sleeping quarters for 20 men; observation cupola; machine-gun post; entrance; place for second machine-gun.

Army uniform - not sure of the rank, I didn't note it at the time - and Civil Guard

Lotta Svärd - the voluntary women's auxiliary organisation. The Lotta Svärd dates back to the 1920s and was originally for nice gels, but war time expansion led to a more 'democratic' membership. Lottas performed just about every non-frontline function. Some near the front were armed for self-protection. An incredibly important organisation. Banned after the War as a supposedly 'Fascist' organisation under the accords with the Soviets. More a cross between the WI and WRACS than Aufseherin.

See explanatory text in next picture.

Amongst Molotov's claims, was that the Soviets were coming to liberate Finnish workers and make sure they had enough to eat. It seems that amongst other things, the Soviets liberated the Finnish workers from their homes. So as well as Molotov cocktails, the Winter War gave us Molotov Breadbaskets. "Witty chap Johnny Finn!"

The war also gave us a number of jaunty ditties including the one this recent Ukrainian effort was based on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXmVAtaMlw

The original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl2_0OCwNbg

Think this was a Swedish poster calling for volunteers

Uniform and medals of Simo Häyä (Belya Smert or 'the White Death'). Evidently not a big man physically, but as a sniper Häyä was responsible for c.500 hits - in a war lasting only 100 days! Mostly over open sights, with an old Moisin-Nagant or a Suomi SMG. Danish volunteers' flag in the background.

(1) Molotov Cocktail; (2) Finnish-made stick grenade; (3) Satchel Bomb; (4)  Explosive from 2?

Soviet AT gun with a chunk out of the shield!

AA gun(s)

Sled mounted LMG

Another model. This time of a position by a lake. Sorry about the poor quality - it was difficult to capture without glare. The position included 4 Vickers tanks/T26 dug in as pill boxes.

Ship mounted AA gun. This is massive > 2m long.

One of a series of cartoons. My favourite of the bunch!

I found this one very poignant. He looks not much older than my 16 year olds. There was a picture on a rolling display of Soviet troops, and one of those looked literally 14 years old. The rolling display on a large screen was one of my favourite exhibits. Lots of old (black and white) photos.

German radar at Malmi airfield. Top is a Freya, bottom a 'Dora'.  Malmi is still an active airport, just a few km from Helsinki's main airport at Vantaa.

No prizes for guessing what this is.

Mobile field kitchen. Whilst there were never enough of these, mobile field kitchens, along with saunas, are credited with keeping the Finnish troops going. The horse was covered in a white sheet for camouflage!

Soviet invasion map

Soviet junior officer

I like this one. The colour came out pretty true to life.  Cheap, but practical Soviet blouson. It was clear from the other displays that the Finnish uniforms were of a similar 'design ethic'.

Finnish tanker, complete with throat mike

Panzerfaust. Vital weapon in 1944

Panzerschreck. Ditto!

For the uninitiated that swastika ('hakatristsi') is an ancient, pre-historic even, symbol. The Finnish military adopted it after being gifted an aircraft by a Swedish countess c 1919 - her family had the crooked-cross as a family symbol.

Vickers Light Tank. Only about 6 tonnes. Bought by Finland in the 30s, they couldn't afford to buy them with the guns fitted, and they installed locally sourced weapons! They were already obsolete by the outbreak of the war in 1939, and were later used dug in as pill boxes.

The Big Man's service uniform. Mannerheim was a tall guy!  Must have been pushing on for 2 metres judging by this. A surprisingly plain outfit for a former (Russian Imperial) Guards Cavalry General.

Uniform of Infantry General, Axel Erik Heinrichs, Chief of Staff to Mannerheim. Heinrichs succeeded Mannerheim as CiC of the FDF in 1945.

Map case 'liberated' by Mauno Koivisto from a dead Soviet soldier. Koivisto was later Finland's first Social Democratic president, leading a very interesting life along the way. He was greatly mourned when he passed away in 2017, a few months short of the centenary of independance. During the war Koivisto served in Jäger Detachment Törni. Törni was something of a revelation as a leader in the war of raids. A dedicated anti-Communist, Törni joined the Wafer SS after Finland's surrender and became wanted by the Finnish government as a war criminal, before turning up in the US and becoming a leading light of the US Special Forces. Maj. Larry Thorne (as Törni became known in the US) was supposedly the inspiration behind John Wayne's character in the Green Berets, and died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam in 1965. I'm not sure about that - I vaguely remember another character in the film who was a trainer of the Green Berets, who seems the more likely candidate.

Odd, but sad story this. In the map case were some embroidered handkerchiefs, maybe hand-stitched by  some beloved family member of the Soviet officer. I'll leave it there.

*********************************************

Let me know if you want to see some old toys next.

Back from the Summer Break

We got back home this evening after two weeks in Finland. This was the first time since the twins started school that we were able to go in the real summer time. Normally we have to wait until nearly August and Summer is definitely waning up there by then. Due to GCSE exams finishing a month earlier than normal school terms, we were able to get away earlier this year.

The holiday was split in two parts: one week in a mökki (cabin) on the coast in the south west; and one week in Helsinki. Not much happened in the first week, which is what I was hoping for. Weather was mostly sunny and warm (low 20s). The cabin was on a narrow inlet on an island at the start of the SW archipelago. The 'sea' was almost like freshwater, as the Baltic is almost a lake and the inlet (Drägsfjärd*) was long and narrow. 

* Cunning linguists out there will note the Scandi name. This was a predominantly Swedish speaking part of the country. There wasn't even a Finnish version of the name. Most folk on hearing how my wife and mother-in-law pronounced "hei/hej" (hey or hi) would however switch to Finnish.

At 22-24 degrees, the water was lovely to swim in, and given the long days (sunset at 23:30) you could swim in the light very late! Or very early, as it was full daylight again by 3AM. Even after sunset it was still light enough to walk around outside. In fact it makes sleeping a bit difficult without blackout blinds! And this was down in the far south, imagine what it was like in the Arctic Circle. 

I only ventured out of the immediate surrounds a couple of times the whole week. No need to!

The camera makes everything seem darker than it was. I took some photos to show how bright it still was when the sun when down, but the sky looks darker than reality.

Lovely stuff. The cabin itself was a recent build and had all 'mod cons' (including AC but without a sauna). The downside was that there were several of these cabins close together, making it a little more like a holiday camp (but without the hi-de-hi announcer. Not ideal, but we left it late to book due to long waits for passports, and my unwillingness to be within 50km of the eastern border this year!

Not a shipping container - Chez Nundanket was however, cosy.

Whilst out walking one evening we came across a communal mat cleaning facility. Finns don't do carpets (it's a dirty Anglo-Saxon custom), preferring mats which they can take out and clean. 

On our one trip out we drove to a former iron working town on the south of the island (Dalsbruk/Tahlintehdas). This is now a picturesque harbour town with a marina.

Pretty old house, that is now an antiquarian bookseller. Unfortunately it was closed.

Quaint bus stop

In a shop window I spotted evidence of the now peaceful activities of Trädgårdland.

Have they gone soft? Actually the crate might have been for something other than cleansing lotions.

And also something that you might find renowned blogger, and Général de Division, Max Foy engaged in.

On the shelves of a local supermarket I spotted this, which looks very like the Commando comics many of us read. At 260 pages it's a bit chunkier though.

High Voltage
Hits like a million volts
Death Defying
Four fierce war adventures!

To wrap up the week, some local delicacies:

Wild strawberries, picked by the Margravina. These taste very different from the 'domestic' version. Nice, but I couldn't eat a lot of them.

Truly the best crisps I've ever tasted!

Washed down with a can of this imaginatively named beverage.

I promise I'll get to some military stuff in the next post (I went to the War Museum). Nähdään!

War & Peace

If you have a spare 7 hours, the Soviet version has been released in full on YouTube. I’ve only ever seen the Hollywood version (better than I expected), the fairly recent BBC version and snippets of the BBC series from 50 years ago that Chandler worked on.*

This is supposed to be the best.

https://www.openculture.com/2022/07/watch-the-hugely-ambitious-four-part-soviet-adaptation-of-war-and-peace-free-online-1966-67.html

Good timing by Mosfilm!

* like millions of others, I never finished the book.

Frederician journey for €9!

https://amp.theguardian.com/travel/2022/jul/04/rail-route-of-the-month-from-bohemia-towards-the-baltic-coast

Germany looks a good bet this Summer. €9 for a month’s travel on public transport, including into neighbouring countries. Bargain!

The French are coming!

Heroics & Ros have their SYW and Marlborough Wars ranges back on sale, so I placed my long planned order for enough French to do Rossbach. This is phase 1.  I intend to expand the numbers when I have painted and based the first batch.

Phase 2 will be to build up enough for Fontenoy, which will give me the excuse to get some redcoats. Then all being well, Phase 3 will be the additional amount needed for Minden. Of course I'll have to sort out some Dutch too for Fontenoy. Prussians will stand in for the minor German states at Minden and Rossbach (as well as 'playing themselves'). Austrians will be, well, Austrians, and any white coated Reichsarmee (if there were any at Rossbach).

Most but not all of the 6mm range

I've mainly ordered SYW Austrians for the French, but have included some Marlburian period French for variety. I especially want the dragoons in those 'bedcap' style forage hats. Just because I like them. The Marlborough and Staff pack has been ordered because I want the Frenchies to be more fancy looking than the Germanic types.

Maybe it's mad doing another white army at this scale - it probably won't be easy telling the difference from the Austrians. But at least the French army included red-coated Swiss (Rossbach) and Irish (Fontenoy) and light-blue-coated Germans.

As a special treat, because I've been disciplined all these years, I've ordered myself a pack of Bosniaken (the Prussian fake Balkan lancers). Their track record as a unit was rubbish, but they look good!

Update #2 - State of the Nation Q2 Report

Three months ago I laid my soul bare on my health related plans and targets. The plan was to swim 20km, walk 50km each month and lose 10kg over the year. Like General Browning after Market-Garden I can report that the first two objective areas have gone, errr swimmingly, but the third target was a Bridge Too Far. (Bulge Too Fat surely?).

	Target	Actual
Swim (km)	120	130.65
Walk ((km)	300	420
Weight (kg)	-5	0

The first 3 months of the year saw a drop of 2kg but that all went back on, especially around times of watching football. Or more precisely, the social activities around watching football. To extend the Bulge Too Far analogy even further, it was my own personal 'Groesbelly Heights'.

You'll notice how easily the walking target was exceeded, I can crank it up to 75km a month for the second half year. The swimming target was exceeded by a lower percentage. I'd like to push it up to 25km a month, but am less optimistic on that.

The weight. Hmm. Will have to see about that.

On matters wargaming, I'd have failed even more abysmally if I'd set targets to exceed the first quarter. 3 games in Q1 v 2 games* in Q3. No models made or painted either. But it's purely a hobby, so no targets are going to be set. Hopefully the end of the month will see the return of face-to-face gaming. Of that more anon.

* 

Mollwitz

Prague

Update #1 - Duffy Festschrift

We're now into July and it's time to report the result of the Duffy Festschrift ticket giveaway. The honour of representing the Horse and Musket Gaming community 😉 will go to the Ragged Soldier himself, David in Suffolk. 

David won out against intense competition of one. He even offered up his place to anyone else who came forward who was 'more qualified' than himself. That in itself shows he was gentleman enough to enter the portals of the Cavalry & Guards Club on Piccadilly. Well done sir!

Dr Duffy has been a constant source of inspiration and knowledge for yours truly over the last 43 years, and I'm kicking myself for missing the opportunity to see the great man. Family commitments prevent that.

Hope you enjoy the evening David.