White Guard ( Finland ) The White Guard ( Finnish : Suojeluskunta , plural : " Suojeluskunnat " , Finland - Swedish : " Skyddskår " , literary translated as " Protection / Defense Corps " ) was a voluntary militia that emerged victorious over the socialist Red Guard as part of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918 . The Finnish term " Suojeluskunta " has received many different approximations in English , including the literal translation " Protection Corps " , " Security Guard " , " Civic Guards " , " National Guard " , " White Militia " , " Defence Corps " , " Protection Guard " , and " Protection Militia " . They were generally known as the White Guard in the West due to their opposition to the communist Red Guards . In the White Army of Finland many participants were recruits , draftees and German trained Jägers and not part of the paramilitary as is sometimes erroneously thought . Their central organization was named Suojeluskuntajärjestö , and the organization consisted of local chapters in municipalities . The Russian revolution of 1905 led to social and political unrest and a breakdown of security in Finland , which was then a Grand Duchy under the sovereignty of the Russian Czar . Citizen militias were formed as a response , but soon these would be transformed along political ( left - right ) lines . The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent independence of Finland also caused conflicts in the country . On January 27 , 1918 , the Finnish government ordered the disarmament of all remaining Russian garrisons with the forces of the White Guard , and on the same day the Reds proclaimed revolution , leading to a bloody civil war . White Guards , led by Gen . C . G . E . Mannerheim , constituted the bulk of the victorious White Army during the Finnish Civil War ( 1918 ) . After the war the Finnish Defence Forces and a regular police service were founded . From 1919 – 1934 White Guards were considered a voluntary part of the army , and separate Guard formations were in the reserve , but in 1934 all defence was consolidated into the regular army and the Guard became a voluntary defence training organization only . Politically it was neutral , although unofficially it was anti - leftist , clearly anti - Communist and conservative and largely rejected by the labor movement and the political left . However , units of it formed the main forces of the Lapua Movement ' s abortive coup d ' état , the Mäntsälä Rebellion in 1932 . White Guardsmen served in the regular army during the Second World War . The White Guard was disbanded according to the terms of the Finno - Soviet peace treaty after the Second World War . Similar militia s existed in Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania , lands that , like Finland , were under Russian sovereignty until the end of World War I . These militias remained in existence until World War II , evolving somewhat into home guard militias . The phenomenon should be distinguished from the Freikorps established in Germany after its defeat in World War I , although some similarities exist . Historical context . During the first years of the 20th century , Russia had been working on the abolition of Finland ' s autonomous status . As a result , there was strong discontent in Finnish society . In 1905 Russia lost the Russo - Japanese War . This stunning and unexpected defeat led to the Russian Revolution of 1905 . In Finland the unrest was expressed in the Finnish general strike of 1905 . During the strike Finnish police forces were effectively disbanded , as they had been closely associated with the occupying Russian authorities . Municipal , mostly unarmed , security guards were spontaneously organised by individuals associated with the constitutional and Social Democratic parties . At first all political groups were able to work together , but towards 1906 the civil guards of large towns had become divided along party lines . The first violent clash between Red and White Guards occurred in July 1906 in Helsinki , but after the return of Finnish autonomy the moderate Social Democrats and the whole constitutional party withdrew from military activities . However , the radicalized Red Guard of Helsinki did not disband , despite an order from the Social Democratic leadership to do so , and took part in the mutiny at Viapori fortress alongside revolutionary , anti - imperial Russian soldiers . In the ensuing fighting Czarist Russian troops destroyed the Red Guard as an organisation . The February Revolution in Russia in 1917 caused the collapse of Russian political and military power in Finland . Again , the Russian - associated Finnish police were effectively disbanded , while the largely undisciplined Russian troops engaged in violence , mostly towards their own officers . During the summer of 1917 paramilitary groups were formed for protection and to preserve order . Although the founding of these " fire brigades " was often done in a non - partisan manner , they often split into two opposing factions during the autumn of 1917 . The initially unarmed Red and White Guards strove to obtain weapons . The Red Guards usually were able to get arms from revolutionary Russian military units , while the White Guards got theirs from Swedish and German supporters abroad . At the same time , political tensions between socialists and non - socialists escalated . Inside the Social Democratic party , the official leadership was derailed while the executive committee of the Red Guards and the labour unions gained more power . The White Guards in the Civil War . The Senate , led by Pehr Evind Svinhufvud , proposed a Declaration of Independence , which the Parliament adopted on December 6 , 1917 . Declaring independence was one thing , but exercising control over the territory was another . Svinhufvud ' s " White Senate " had nothing but the White Guards to rely on as yet . There were 42 , 500 Russian soldiers in Finland . Although the Imperial Russian Army was slowly disintegrating and had already started to withdraw its units from Finland , the demoralized , poorly trained and undisciplined Russian military forces in the country posed a substantial challenge to Finnish authority . In parliament the question on forming a new security force was hotly debated . On January 13 , 1918 , the non - socialist majority gave authorization to the Senate ( Finnish cabinet ) to organize a police force of the White Guard . Soon the Senate asked General Mannerheim to form a new Finnish army on the basis on the White Guard militia . In southern Karelia the White and Red Guards clashed in small - scale engagements as both sides attempted to secure the railway to St . Petersburg . During the night of January 27 – 28 , 1918 , the White Guards started to disarm and arrest the Russian garrisons in Ostrobothnia . During the night the executive committee of the Red Guards declared the Finnish Socialist Workers ' Republic in Helsinki . The Civil War of Finland had begun . Neither the Red nor the White Guard were trained for combat . Structures had to be built in extreme haste by both parties . The White Army had a better foundation for this , as it received the Finnish Jaeger troops , some 2 , 000 men trained by Germany since 1915 . These soldiers were able to act as instructors and officers , forming the officer and NCO corps of the new conscript army . In addition , the White side had 1 , 200 volunteers from Sweden , many of whom were officers ) , and a significant number of Finnish officers who had previously served in the imperial Russian Army but returned home after the revolution . Although in the beginning of the war the White Guard formed the bulk of the White army , the conscript units very soon matched the White Guard units in number . These troops , which were much better disciplined and trained than the volunteer Guards , proved to be crucial for the outcome of the war . The Red side never accomplished conscription , which was one of the reasons for its demise . After four months of bitter fighting , the Red Guards were defeated and the White Guards were recognized as one of the key agents in the victory , downplaying for political reasons the role of the German intervention units and the German - trained 2 , 000 Jaegers . The Civil War was portrayed as a liberation from Russian control after a 20 year long Russification programme , with the Whites stressing the links of the Reds to the Russian Bolshevik regime . However the White victory was achieved with assistance from the Germans . German influence after the war was so strong that the independence of Finland was greatly in question until the end of World War I . There were reparations in the aftermath of the Civil War . As the Reds had murdered some 1 , 100 people in their zone of control ( the so - called " Red terror " ) , the Whites retaliated ruthlessly , executing some 7 , 370 people after the recapture of the Red areas ( the so - called " White terror " ) . Approximately 4 , 000 Whites and 4 , 500 Reds were killed in action . The famine of 1918 claimed another 20 , 000 lives . Of those who perished , some 13 , 000 died in the prison camps . Because of their ruthlessness and eagerness to retaliate , the White Guards earned the title " Lahtarikaarti " ( Butcher Guard ) among the Reds . The White Guards after the Civil War . After the Civil War the function of the White Guards was unclear . In some municipalities the local White Guard was understood to be a part of the municipal administration . In others , the organisation was considered to have a primarily political role in safeguarding the result of the war . The organisation was given a legal basis on August 2 , 1918 by a decree of the Finnish Council of State . Changes to the decree were made later , refining the organisation ' s structure . From the beginning , the White Guard was considered to be a voluntary part of the Finnish military . The local White Guards ' function in the following 20 years — up to the Winter War — was a mixture of Veteran Corps and Home Guards . After 1921 the White Guard organisation consisted of the General Staff , White Guard districts and local White Guard chapters . Every municipality had at least a single chapter , which in part acted as an NGO ( non - governmental organization ) but in military affairs was part of the national chain of command . In an economical sense , each chapter was responsible for its own funding , although it received a minor grant from the state budget . The White Guard was active in numerous areas of Finnish life . It organised sports activities , especially cross - country skiing , shooting , orienteering and Finnish baseball . For fundraising , the chapters organised numerous informal events and lotteries . It is estimated that about one - fifth of all get - togethers in Finland were organised by the White Guard . To this end , the White Guard chapters had several hundred choirs , orchestras and theatre groups . The Chief of the White Guard and the district chiefs were selected by the President of Finland . From 1921 until the organisation ' s demise , this post was occupied by Gen . Lauri Malmberg . Usually , the district chiefs and most officers in the district headquarters were from the regular army . Only able - bodied males between 17 and 40 years of age could be full members of the White Guard . Every member was required to attend a specified amount of training on pain of losing membership . The members were required to buy their own equipment and rifle , but the local chapters helped their members if the chapters had funds for it . Until 1934 the White Guard would have formed a division in the full - scale mobilisation . In 1934 the Finnish mobilisation system was changed . The new system was based on military districts acting as the local mobilization centers . In practice , the military districts coincided with the White Guard districts . In case of mobilisation these two would be unified to act as a single home front district . After the change , the White Guard members formed the cadre of all wartime units , but no specific guard units were planned for mobilisation . On the other hand , the separate wartime White Guard units were removed from the mobilisation plans . The aim of the White Guard was no longer to provide ready fighting units but to act as a voluntary training organisation for reservists . Only the Guard chapters immediately adjacent to the eastern border had responsibility for starting the initial defence against invasion . This effectively ended the role of the White Guard as a separate , political armed force . During the war the Guard membership mostly served at the front . In the home area the Guard districts formed the local headquarters for the military districts and the oldest and youngest Guard members served in guard and anti - aircraft duties . After the Continuation War , the Finnish White Guards were disbanded in 1944 , as demanded by the Soviet Union . However , the military district system as the basis for mobilisation was retained , now fully as an army structure . In the Winter War the White Guard was responsible for the carrying out of the mobilisation . A quarter of the manpower of the field army consisted of Guard members . This contribution proved important , as Guard members were the best trained and equipped personnel in an army which lacked even basic supplies . Relations with politicians . The frosty relations between White Guards and Socialists started to ease during the 1930s . During the 1920s Socialists had demanded the White Guards be demobilised , but as the Guard leadership and the overwhelming majority of the members remained loyal to the government during Mäntsälä rebellion , the demands were changed to making the Guards an official part of the army . The political rift between the White Guard and the labour movement was ultimately healed during the Winter War , when leadership of the Guard and the Social Democratic Party issued a joint statement February 15 , 1940 , in which the Guard leadership recommended local Guards to recruit Socialists and the Party leadership recommended to its members that they join the Guards . At the same time , the employers ' associations conceded to collective - bargaining agreements with the trade unions . The White Guards ' relations towards non - socialist parties were mostly warm . The Guard did not distinguish between any non - socialist political views and received the support of all non - socialist parties . Only during the Mäntsälä rebellion did these relations detoriorate , as some more radical parts of the Guard were linked with the extreme right - wing . Heritage . One of the chapters of the Treaty of Paris ( 1947 ) was disbandment of all " fascist - oid organizations " . The Soviet Union considered that the White Guard and Lotta Svärd were fascist organizations , and they were disbanded . The disbanding of the White Guard effectively ended all Finnish voluntary military training for the next several decades . The sports activities of the Guard were taken over by ordinary civilian sports associations , while the psychological work of instilling a national defence spirit was continued by the reservists ' associations . However , the Guard itself is a contentious issue , which still divides the people along political lines . After the collapse of the Soviet Union , Finland unilaterally renounced the military articles of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 . Following this , the NGOs working in fields with connections to total defence formed the National Defence Training Association of Finland ( ) , which started to organise supplemental voluntary training primarily for Finnish Defence Forces reservists in conjunction with the Defence Forces . The legal basis for the activities was given by changing the Act on Defence Forces in 1994 . More accurate basis was given by the Act on Voluntary Defence Work of 2007 , which will make the Association a nominally independent public organization under political state control . As the heritage of the White Guard in Finland is very mixed , the National Defence Training Association does not consider itself to be the successor of the White Guard . In 2007 formation of local defence troops was started , a volunteer military organization composed of reservists . Some political groups have criticized formation of these units , saying that they are too close to White guards that were abolished as fascist organization in 1944 . Dress and insignia . The first " ad hoc " symbols were a white armband and a small , three - branched shoot from a spruce branch , placed into the hat . The basic insignia was an embroidered badge with a white " S " topped by three single shoots of spruce branches . The badge and the " S " were embroidered with a gold - colored border . The symbol worn by General C . G . E . Mannerheim had a blue field , but in the provinces , the field was divided ( party per sinister ) , with two or three colors representing each province . The white armband also bore the name of the municipality . Each chapter had its own flag , but generally it was a symmetric variant of the modern State Flag of Finland where the cross was extended with small swastika arms , the " S " symbol in the canton and local symbols instead of the coat of arms . The rank insignia was rather different from modern Finnish insignia . In principle , the enlisted did not have a rank system , and there was only one officer rank ( " suojeluskuntaupseeri " ) , marked by a single metal spruce branch worn on the collar . However , task - specific insignia was used instead . Underofficer s wore a chevron pointed downwards , and chiefs of local chapters wore 1 – 4 horizontal bars , the number depending on the size of the chapter . It must be kept in mind that " Suojeluskunnat " were a civilian organization and many members did not have formal military training . Those members who had served in the military held a separate rank in reserve . Uniforms were Swedish and German - style and in " field gray " ( " Feldgrau " ) color .