Finnish Infantry Regiment 200

JR 200
Estonian volunteers in Finland during the Continuation War.
Active	1944
Allegiance	Finland
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Nickname(s)	Finnish: Suomen-pojat Estonian: soomepoisid
Motto(s)	For the freedom of Finland and the honour of Estonia
Engagements	Continuation War Combat in South Estonia, 1944

Infantry Regiment 200 (Finnish: Jalkaväkirykmentti 200, JR 200, Estonian: Jalaväerügement 200, JR 200) or soomepoisid (Finnish Boys) was a unit in the 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.

In September 1939, the Soviet Union entered World War II by first invading Poland from the east and then de facto occupying the Baltic states. In August 1940, the Republic of Estonia was officially annexed by the Soviet Union. During the following year, thousands of Estonians were arrested, executed, or sent to the Soviet 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 Russian 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 2,000 Finnish volunteers under the leadership of their Estonian commander 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.