Battle of Varkaus

A. Ahlström Ltd. sawmill on fire

Date	19–21 February, 1918
Location	Varkaus, Finland
Result	White victory

Belligerents

White Guards

Red Guards

Commanders and leaders

Ernst Löfström

Matti Autio †

Strength

ca. 1,000

ca. 1,200 (150 armed)

Casualties and losses

12 killed

ca. 20 killed

Battle of Varkaus was a battle of the 1918 Finnish Civil War, fought 19–21 February between the Whites and the Reds in Varkaus, Leppävirta. The victory was important for the Whites, all of Northern Finland was now under their control. The battle is best known of its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed up to 180 surrendered Reds.

Varkaus was an industrial community of 3,000 people in the Leppävirta municipality of Kuopio Province. The local Red Guard was established in the autumn of 1917. During the days of the November general strike the guard took Varkaus under its control. As the Civil War broke out in late January 1918, the frontline soon formed in the southern part of Finland and Varkaus became the last remaining Red spot behind the White lines. The Whites made their first attempt to take Varkaus in 6 February but the Reds managed to hit them back. The short encounter ended up with three killed Whites and one dead Red fighter.

In 18 February, the local White Army staff met in Pieksämäki where they made final plans for the coming second attack. The White unit was composed of 1,000 men from the Savonia, Kymenlaakso and Ostrobothnia regions. It was commanded by the general Ernst Löfström with the junior officers C. W. Malm and Johan Sainio and the Austrian corporal Karl Müller as his subcommanders. The corporal Müller was a fraudster who had enlisted the White Army claiming to be the German lieutenant Karl von Zedtwitz zu Hackenbach. In reality, he was a corporal of the German infantry who had been a prisoner of war in Russia. On his way back home, Müller decided to join the Finnish Whites with a false identity.

The Varkaus Reds were strengthened by men from the nearby areas. Their total strength was about 1,200 but only 150 was armed. The lack of weaponry was a major problem for the Reds throughout the country. The Varkaus Reds even had a ″home made″ cannon, which was manufactured in the local metal works by men who had previously worked at the Putilov Gun Plant in Saint Petersburg. The Varkaus Red Guard was led by the newspaperman Matti Autio who had come to town as an agitator during the 1917 General Strike.

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Wikipedia