During the Battle of Tampere, Kalevankangas was the scene of much conflict. The first goal of the White Guard had been to take Kalevankangas, the barrack area and the graveyard. The Swedish volunteers were on the right, and the Jägers were on the left. The Reds were protected by the gravestones and White veterans would later recall that it seemed nearly impossible to get to them. The Battle of Tampere was the bloodiest battle of the entire Finnish Civil War, and the bloodiest in Finnish history at that point in time. Kalevankangas Cemetery still has headstones that have been shattered, or which have bullet holes. The killed Reds and those who later died in the Tampere camp were buried in mass grave of 2,700 people.