Battle of Tampere

The Tammela neighborhood after the battle

Date	15 March – 6 April 1918
Location	Tampere, Finland
Result	Decisive White victory

Belligerents

Whites

Swedish Brigade

Reds

Commanders and leaders

C. G. E. Mannerheim

Hjalmar Frisell

Hugo Salmela †

Verner Lehtimäki

Strength

16,000
400 Swedish volunteers

14,000

Casualties and losses

820 killed

2,000 killed
10,000 - 11,000 captured

The Battle of Tampere was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in Tampere, Finland in 15 March – 6 April between the Whites and the Reds. It is the most famous and the heaviest of all the Finnish Civil War battles. Today it is particularly remembered of the bloody aftermath as the Whites executed hundreds of capitulated Reds and took 11,000 prisoners placed in the Kalevankangas camp.

In the 1910s, Tampere was the third largest town in Finland with a population of approximately 60,000, including the suburbs. It was the most industrialized town in Finland which was considered as the capital of Finnish labour movement. Tampere had played a key role of the 1905 general strike and the town was a stronghold for the trade unions and the Social Democratic Party.

As the Civil War started in late January 1918, the Reds targeted the important railway junction of Haapamäki, 100 kilometres north of Tampere. The frontline was soon established 50–60 kilometres north of Tampere and Tavastia Front became the major theatre of the war. The large working-class population and the railway connections made Tampere the main base for Red Guards, although the Red government was working in Helsinki. Tampere Red Guard had more than 6,000 members, including 300 women.

As the Red offensives failed in late February and early March, the Whites launched their operation against Tampere on 15 March. The aim was to encircle the Red forces in the Tavastia Front and then invade Tampere. Heavy fighting occurred in Jämsä, Orivesi, Ruovesi and Vilppula. The most fierce were the Battle of Länkipohja in Jämsä 16 March and the Battle of Orivesi two days later. The Red front collapsed and the troops withdraw towards Tampere where the Reds now had about 15,000 fighters. Instead of capitulation, the Red staff decided to defend the city as long as possible. The Whites reached Tampere in 23 March and besieged the city with 17,000 men in the largest military operation of the war. Related battles were fought in the areas of Ylöjärvi, Pirkkala, Messukylä, Aitolahti, Lempäälä, Vesilahti and Tottijärvi, as well as further west in the Satakunta Front in Karkku and Hämeenkyrö.

...
Wikipedia