When the nine Rifle Battalions of the newly created Army of the Grand Duchy of Finland were raised in 1881 the most obvious choice for arming them was the Berdan II (Model 1870) which had been adopted by the Russian army in 1870's. The rifle was designed by famous American firearms inventor Hiram Berdan in 1868. The rifles (both the Berdan I and II) became the standard Russian small arm from 1870 to 1891, where it saw itself replace by the Mosin-Nagant line of rifles. However, despite this, it still saw service in the Russian army up to the Revolution of 1917. The Model 1870 was a single s ..read more

We have now moved the blog to..... finlandatwar.com Come check us out there for continued updates and articles ..read more

On the 23rd August 1939 the two totalitarian powers, the German Reich (more commonly known as The Third Reich or Nazi Germany) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (more colloquially called the Soviet Union), signed a Non-aggression pact which shocked the world. At the signing of the Treaty. From left to right: Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs; Boris Shaposhnikov, Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army; Richard Schulze-Kossens, Waffen-SS officer; Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Minister of Foreign Affairs; Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union; Vladimir ..read more

Finland, like every other country, has a plethora of decorations that can be awarded to individuals. One of the oldest of these is the Liberation War Medal. Kenraaliluutnantti (Lieutenant General) Hannes Ignatius wearing his full regalia in 1937. The second medal on the row is a Liberation War Medal with two bars. Source:- finna.fi Institution The Finnish Senate decided to recognise the actions of the many soldiers and civilians who supported the Governmental ‘White’ forces during the Finnish Civil War. On the 10th September 1918 the Vapaussodan Muistomitalit (commonly translated to Commemor ..read more