Karl Lennart Oesch
| Lennart Oesch | |
|---|---|
Lennart Oesch in 1918
|
|
| Born |
8 August 1892 Pyhäjärvi, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Died | 28 March 1978 (aged 85) Helsinki, Finland |
| Buried at | Hietaniemi Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire (1915–1918) Finland (1918–1945)
|
| Service/branch |
Imperial German Army Finnish Jäger troops Finnish Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1945 |
| Rank |
Oberzugführer (Germany) Lieutenant General (Finland) |
| Commands held |
II Corps IV Corps III, IV, and V Corps in Tali-Ihantala |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Mannerheim Cross |
| Other work | Writings of Military History |
Karl Lennart Oesch (8 August 1892 – 28 March 1978) was one of Finland's leading generals during World War II. He held a string of high staff assignments and front commands, and at the end of the Continuation War fully two-thirds of the Finnish ground forces were under his command. Oesch earned a reputation of being able to deal with difficult situations, a trait that Mannerheim used fully.
Oesch, who used Lennart as his first name, was born to parents of Swiss origin, who had moved to Finland before his birth. Oesch himself held dual Finnish-Swiss citizenship until 1920. He attended school in Sortavala and studied in the Department of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Helsinki from 1911 to 1915.
Oesch joined the Jaeger Movement in 1915 and trained and fought in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. When the Jaegers returned to Finland in February 1918, he was commissioned a captain in the Finnish Army. During the Finnish Civil War Oesch commanded an infantry battalion.
Oesch returned to Finland with the main group of Jaegers in February 1918. He was ordered to mobilize and train the 8th Jaeger Battalion on 4 March.
While Oesch was busy accomplishing this mission, the Civil War was progressing along the Karelian Isthmus front. This sector was under the overall command of Lieutenant-Colonel Aarne Sihvo and consisted of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Karelian Regiments totaling some 7000 troops. The Red forces had failed to make any substantial gains against Sihvo's energetic defense so they enacted a change in their tactics. The Reds planned to use the Petrograd railway, that remained under their control, to transport approximately 3000 reinforcements from Petrograd to Rautu. The reinforcements would then be used to turn Sihvo's left flank by crossing the Vuoksijoki River at Kiviniemi. Fortunately for the White Finns, local intelligence picked up on the Red's intentions and alerted the local commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Georg Yrjo Elfvengren of the 1st Karelian Regiment. Elfvengren deployed 500 troops and destroyed two rail bridges and one water tower south of the frontier. However, an attack against the Raasuli rail station failed in large part due to the Reds deploying an armored train. This train traveled frequently between Raasuli and Rautu rail stations carrying supplies to the isolated Rautu station. Elfvengren now called for reinforcements. On 30 March, Captain Oesch was ordered to the Karelian front with his newly formed 8th Jaeger Battalion in support of Elfvengren's operations.
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Wikipedia