This article is about battle of the Finnish Civil War. For about battle of the Great Northern War, see Battle of Helsinki (1713).
Battle of Helsinki
Part of the Finnish Civil War in the Eastern Front of World War I
German troops in the Kamppi district
Date
12–13 April 1918 (1 day)
Location
Helsinki, Finland
Result
German and White victory
Belligerents
German Empire Finnish Whites
Finnish Reds
Commanders and leaders
Rüdiger von der Goltz Hugo Meurer Carl Voss-Schrader
Fredrik Johansson (POW) Edvard Nyqvist (POW)
Units involved
Baltic Sea Division German Navy Helsinki White Guard
Helsinki Red Guard
Strength
6,000 Germans 2,000 Whites
1,500–2,000 in the combat units
Casualties and losses
54 Germans killed 23 Whites killed
c. 400 killed or executed 4,000–6,000 captured
v
t
e
Finnish Civil War
Kämärä
Vilppula
Oulu
Ruovesi
Tornio
Antrea
Åland
Varkaus
Rautu
Tampere
Länkipohja
Lempäälä
Ahvenkoski
Helsinki
Hyvinkää
Lahti
Viipuri
Hämeenlinna
Syrjäntaka
The Worker's House on fire
The Battle of Helsinki was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought in 12–13 April by the German troops and Finnish Whites against the Finnish Reds in Helsinki, Finland. Together with the battles of Tampere and Vyborg, it was one of the three major urban battles of the Finnish Civil War. The Germans invaded Helsinki despite the opposition of Finnish White Army leader Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim who wanted to attack the capital city with his own troops after Tampere had fallen on 6 April. However, the Germans had their own interest in taking Helsinki as quickly as possible and then moving further east towards the Russian border. The city had been under Red control for 11 weeks since the beginning of the war.
The German Baltic Sea Division landed in Finland on 3 April and entered the Helsinki area eight days later. In the city centre, the defending Reds did not have defensive lines or barricades but were fighting inside single buildings and blocks, which the Germans then had to take one by one. During the battle, life in Helsinki went on as usual. The shops and restaurants were open, the public transportation functioned and factories were running. Curious spectators were wandering so close that the Germans had to tell them to move back. The White supporters considered the Germans liberators and handed them flowers as well as tea, coffee and snacks to eat.
Nearly 500 people were killed in the battle. The number includes about 400 Red Guard fighters who were killed in action or executed after capitulation, 54 Germans and 23 White Guard members. The number of executed Reds is unclear, but it is estimated between 20 and 50.[1] After the battle, from 4,000 to 6,000 Red Guard members or supporters were arrested.
^"Saksalaiset käyttivät ihmiskilpiä Helsingin valtauksessa 1918". Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). 14 April 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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Global Information
German Empire
Finnish Whites
Finnish Reds
Hugo Meurer