Finnish Infantry Regiment 200

JR 200
JR 200
	Tartu Offensive

Infantry Regiment 200 (

Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany

.

Background

In September 1939, the

concentration camp system in Russia. After war broke out between the Soviet Union and Germany on June 22, 1941, the Soviet authorities in occupied Estonia, in violation of the international law, coerced about 30,000 Estonians into service in the retreating Red Army

. Although initially the Germans were perceived as liberators by most Estonians, it was soon realized that they were but another occupying power. However, with the Soviet atrocities fresh in mind, during the early stages of German occupation many young Estonian men volunteered for the Estonian units within the German Army to fight against the Soviet Union. In 1944, Estonia, along with Latvia, became one of only two non-German speaking countries occupied by Germany where a general conscription-mobilization was carried out by the occupational authorities.

Against this background, joining the armed forces of Finland, a kindred nation, appeared a reasonable alternative for those who wished to fight for the freedom of Estonia and against the advancing Red Army, but who for ideological reasons or historical grievances were unwilling to do it in the German uniform. During the Estonian War of Independence, some 4,000 Finnish volunteers—including the 1st Finnish Volunteer Corps [fi] regiment under leadership of Colonel Martin Ekström and Pohjan Pojat (“Sons of the North”) brigade under leadership of Colonel Hans Kalm—had at a crucial moment helped to turn the tide of the war and rout the invading Red Army. The Estonian volunteers in the Finnish Army, to indicate a debt of honor, picked “For the freedom of Finland and the honor of Estonia” as their motto.

Service in the Finnish armed forces

While there had been many Estonian volunteers in the Finnish Army already during the

Erna, also made up of Estonian volunteers, in the early days of Operation Barbarossa

.

On February 8, 1944, Finnish

Bay of Viipuri. The regiment became known as "The Finnish Boys" (Finnish: Suomen-pojat, Estonian

: soomepoisid).

JR 200 in Estonia

In August 1944, the Germans began their withdrawal from Estonia. The war in Finland was nearly over, and the men of Infantry Regiment 200 wished to return to Estonia and continue their fight. The regiment had been withdrawn from the front and had been following the developments south of the water anxiously. On August 1, 1944, it was broadcast over the

Yleisradio that the Finnish government and President Ryti were to resign. On the next day, Aleksander Warma announced that the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia

had sent a telegram, which stated: "Estonians return home!" On the following day, the Finnish government received a letter from the Estonians. It had been signed in the name of "all national organisations of Estonia" by Captain Karl Talpak, minister Aleksander Warma and several others. In the letter, the Finnish government was asked to send the Estonian volunteer regiment back to Estonia fully equipped.

It was then announced that JR 200 would be disbanded and that the volunteers were free to return home. An agreement had been reached with the Germans, and the Estonians were promised amnesty if they were to return. The men wanted to return armed and as a unit, but if their wishes would be followed was another question. The uncertainty of situation made the decision difficult, but 9 out of 10 decided to return. As soon as they landed, the regiment was sent to perform a counter-attack against the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front, which had managed a break-through at the

Tartu front and was threatening the capital Tallinn

.

Notable 'Finnish boys'

Ivar Grünthal (1924–1996), Estonian writer
Ilmar Jaks (1923–2019), Estonian writer
Ülo Jõgi (1921–2007), Estonian soldier and war historian
Ottniell Jürissaar (1924–2014), an Estonian poet and conductor
Ain Kaalep (1926–2020), Estonian poet, playwright, literary critic, and translator
Raimond Kaugver (1926–1992), Estonian writer
Henn-Ants Kurg (1898–1943), Estonian military colonel and diplomat
Juhan Ross (1925–2002), Estonian atmospheric physicist
Endel Ruberg (1917–1989), Estonian artist, naturalist, and humanitarian
Vello Salo (1925–2019), Estonian Catholic cleric, essayist, and translator
Ilmar Talve (1919–2007), Estonian writer and ethnologist
Arved Viirlaid (1922–2015), Estonian writer

References

Jowett, Philip; Brent Snodgrass; Raffaele Ruggeri (2006). Finland at War 1939-45. Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–30.
ISBN 978-1-84176-969-1.^{[permanent dead link}
]

Miljan, Toivo (2004). Historical Dictionary of Estonia. Scarecrow Press. p. 275.
ISBN 978-0-8108-4904-4
.

Uustalu, Evald (1977). For Freedom Only: The Story of Estonian Volunteers in the Finnish Wars of 1940-1944. Northern Publications.
ISBN 978-0-920458-00-6
.

External links

"Suomen-pojat" (in Finnish). Suomen-poikien perinneyhdistys. Retrieved 2008-10-18.