Antti Isotalo (Jäger)
Antti Isotalo (13 January 1895 – 17 March 1964) was a Finnish
Later, after spending three years as a migrant worker in
Early life
Isotalo was born into a farming family in
In the Jäger Movement
Isotalo was introduced to the
After a month of training at Lockstedt, Isotalo was ordered to recruit more men from his native region,
The first attempt at arresting Isotalo was made in December 1915. He was armed with a handgun and intimidated the police into backing down.[5] He continued recruiting; among his possible recruits at this point was Taavetti Laatikainen, later a general in World War II.[7] Another attempt at arrest was made on 9 July 1916. After a long shootout in which a policeman was wounded and the coastal guard was called in, Isotalo managed to escape, hid for a week, returned to Germany and was sent to the Eastern Front. The Jäger Battalion reached its membership goal during the seven months Isotalo was active as a recruiter.[8]
After serving roughly a month on the Eastern Front, Isotalo was again assigned to special operations in Finland in September 1916. This time, the intention was to attack the Russian regime's military police and their collaborators in the country. After a plan to bomb a house belonging to the military police in Jakobstad was canceled after the explosives were not delivered in time and the attempted murder of informant Nikolai Syynimaa failed,[9] Isotalo retreated to Sweden at the end of September.[10] He returned to Finland in late November with a plan to assassinate Axel Fabian af Enehjelm, the governor of Oulu, whom the Jägers accused of wrongfully executing Taavetti Lukkarinen (a man who had assisted German prisoners of war). The plan was called off, and Isotalo and another Jäger named J. W. Snellman instead shot and killed Matti Palomäki, a police officer from Tervola who had been involved in Lukkarinen's capture.[11] A report by Isotalo indicated that Snellman was the one to pull the trigger, although some contemporaries questioned this.[12]
By late 1916 and early 1917, Isotalo was one of the most wanted men in Finland.
Finnish Civil War, tribal wars, World War II and later life
Isotalo arrived in Vaasa, Finland along with the main body of Jägers on 25 February 1918. He was assigned to lead a platoon and participated in the Battle of Tampere––the largest battle in Nordic military history at the time––but his service was cut short when a bullet pierced his thigh on Maundy Thursday, 28 March, and he was unable to keep fighting.
Isotalo was on sick leave and unable to take part in the first tribal expedition in the summer of 1918 due to the wounds he received in the civil war. He resigned from the army in November 1918 and recruited volunteers for the Estonian War of Independence in early 1919. The same year, he joined a group of Finnish volunteers in the Aunus expedition, the largest expedition of the tribal wars, where he led his company to victories early on and had a major role in the conquest of Olonets (Aunuksenkaupunki).[16] His actions during this time inspired a popular song (Kuularuiskulaulu), but his victories had no long-term impact as the expedition eventually ended in defeat, partly due to a lack of support from the Finnish government.
Soon after the Aunus expedition ended, Isotalo joined the defense of
In December 1921, Isotalo joined the
Isotalo lived and worked in
A severe
Sources
- ISBN 978-951-746-979-1. (in Finnish)
- Antti Isotalo. Kansallisbiografia. (in Finnish)
- Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto 1975 (in Finnish)
References
- ^ Niinistö, p. 20
- ^ Niinistö, p. 23
- ^ Niinistö, p. 27–31
- ^ Niinistö, p. 31
- ^ a b c Niinistö, p. 33
- ^ Niinistö, p. 36
- ^ Niinistö, p. 35
- ^ Niinistö, p. 39
- ^ Niinistö, p. 43–44
- ^ Niinistö, p. 46
- ^ Niinistö, p. 49
- ^ Niinistö, p. 50
- ^ Niinistö, p. 39, 46
- ^ Niinistö, p. 52
- ^ Niinistö, p. 71
- ^ Niinistö, p. 96–105
- ^ Niinistö, p. 122–124
- ^ Niinistö, p. 132–136
- ^ Niinistö, p. 148