Taavetti Laatikainen
Taavetti Laatikainen | |
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Nickname(s) | "Pappa"[1] |
Born | Haukivuori, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire | 27 July 1886
Died | 27 April 1954 Mikkeli, Finland | (aged 67)
Buried | Harju cemetery, Mikkeli |
Allegiance |
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Service/ |
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Years of service | 1916–1948 |
Rank | General of Infantry (1948) |
Commands held |
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Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Taavetti Laatikainen (27 July 1886 – 15 April 1954) was a
Early life and Jäger Movement
Born to
In January 1916, Laatikainen became involved with the
Before the Winter War
In 1918, during the Finnish Civil War, Laatikainen returned to Finland as a jäger lieutenant and took part in the civil war on the side of the Finnish Whites. He saw action in the Battle of Kämärä on 27 January 1918 and the Battle of Viipuri that was fought between 24–29 April 1918. He also saw combat in Lempäälä. He was made a member of the Order of the Cross of Liberty in 1918.[2]
In 1919, Laatikainen married Julia Emilia Grönroos (1888–1967) with whom he had three children. The youngest, Esko Armas Laatikainen (born 1920) would later die during the Continuation War in 1942. His two other children were Marjatta Laatikainen (later Toivakka, born 1925) and Erkki Antero Laatikainen (born 1928), the latter of whom would reach the rank of lieutenant general in the Finnish Army.[2]
Following the end of the civil war, he continued his military career commanding first a company and then a battalion, being promoted to the rank of
During this time, Laatikainen also served as a member of the Hamina city tax board from 1925 to 1926 and as a member of the Huopalahti municipal council from 1928 to 1930. He also continued to be active in the Jäger affairs, serving on the board of Jääkäriliitto (lit. Jäger Union), the Jäger heritage society from 1926 to 1930. He received the Danish Order of the Dannebrog Knight 1st Class in 1933 and the Estonian Order of the Cross of the Eagle 3rd class in 1936.[2]
During the Winter War and the Interim Peace
At the start of the Finno-
Laatikainen was given command of the I Corps on 21 February 1940, just a few weeks before the end of the war on 13 March 1940.[2][7] He would keep this command after the end of the war, leading efforts to improve the Finnish defences in the area of Lake Kivijärvi and Saimaa.[2] He was also a Finnish representative in the Finno-Soviet border negotiations of 1940–41.[2]
During Continuation War
In the lead-up to the Continuation War in 1941, Laatikainen's peace-time I Corps was renamed V Corps.[8] The corps was position near the Karelian Isthmus, between the IV Corps and the II Corps.[9] On June 29 1941, the Finnish General HQ ordered the creation of the Army of Karelia.[10] As part of this reorganization, the V Corps was disbanded by transferring its only division, the 10th Division, to the IV Corps and transferring the headquarters personnel to other formations.[10] As part of this reorganization, Laatikainen was given command of the II Corps[11] which participated in the Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus by occupying the Khiytola–Elisenvaara area and thus severing the Soviet land connection north of Lake Ladoga.[12][13] For his actions on the Karelian Isthmus, he was given the Mannerheim Cross of Liberty 2nd Class.[2]
The corps was then moved to
In addition to the Finnish Mannerheim Cross, Laatikainen also received several foreign awards. He received the Iron Cross 2nd class in 1941, followed by an Iron Cross 1st class in 1942. In 1944, he received the German Cross in Gold. Finally, he was also the recipient of the Order of the Star of Romania.[2]
After the war
Laatikainen continued his military career after the Continuation War both as a divisional and corps commander. From 1947 to 1948, he served as the Inspector of Infantry, retiring finally in 1948 after being promoted to the rank of General of Infantry. In his retirement, Laatikainen continued to be active in heritage organizations for both the Finnish Jägers and the veterans of the Winter and Continuation Wars. In his later years he lived in Mikkeli, where he died on 15 April 1954. He is buried in the Harju cemetery in Mikkeli.[2]
Notes
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 704.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Myllyniemi 2005.
- ^ Palokangas 2008, p. 188.
- ^ Palokangas 2008, p. 108.
- ^ Raunio 2018, p. 25.
- ^ Edwards 2006, pp. 197–200.
- ^ Raunio 2018, p. 33.
- ^ Sotatieteen laitos 1988, p. 99.
- ^ Sotatieteen laitos 1988, pp. 178.
- ^ a b Sotatieteen laitos 1988, pp. 227.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 125.
- ^ Jouko 2012, p. 141.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, pp. 140–141.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 145.
- ^ a b Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 347.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 796.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 932.
- ^ Leskinen & Juutilainen 2005, p. 941.
References
- Edwards, Robert (2006). White Death: Russia's War on Finland 1939–40. London: Weidenfel & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-84630-2.
- Jouko, Petteri (2012). "Niin sodit kuin koulutat – Arvioita kenttäarmeijan koulutustasosta Jatkosodan hyökkäysvaiheessa" [You fight like you train – Estimates of the field army's level of training during the offensive phase of the Continuation War]. Tiede ja ase (in Finnish) (70). Suomen sotatieteellinen seura ry.
- Leskinen, Jari; Juutilainen, Antti, eds. (2005). Jatkosodan pikkujättiläinen (in Finnish). Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. ISBN 951-0-28690-7.
- Myllyniemi, Urho (2005). "Laatikainen, Taavetti (1886–1954)". Kansallisbiografia. Studia Biographica (in Finnish). Vol. 4. The Finnish Literature Society. ISSN 1799-4349. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- Palokangas, Marko, ed. (2008). Suomen puolustusvoimien joukko-osastoperinteet [Unit traditions of the Finnish Defence Force]. Sotamuseon julkaisuja (in Finnish). Vol. 1/2008. Jyväskylä: Gummerrus Kirjapaino Oy. ISSN 1239-551X.
- Raunio, Ari (2018). "Suomen puolustusvoimien ensimmäinen vuosisata". In Karjalainen, Mikko (ed.). Suomen puolustusvoimat 100 vuotta [The first century of the Finnish Defence Force] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Edita. ISBN 978-951-37-7271-0.
- Sotatieteen laitos, ed. (1988). Jatkosodan historia 1 [History of the Continuation War, part 1]. Sotatieteen laitoksen julkaisuja XXV (in Finnish). Vol. 1. Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. ISBN 951-0-15327-3.