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Invasion of Åland
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Invasion of Åland
The Invasion of Åland was a 1918 military campaign of World War I in Åland, Finland. The islands, still hosting Soviet Russian troops, were first invaded by Sweden in late February and then by the German Empire in early March. The conflict was also related to the Finnish Civil War including minor fighting between the Finnish Whites and the Finnish Reds.
As Germany took control over Åland in March 1918, Russian troops were captured and the Swedish troops left the islands by the end of the Finnish Civil War in May. The Germans stayed in Åland until September 1918. The Åland Islands dispute was then turned over to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and the League of Nations in 1920. The Åland convention was finally signed in 1921 re-establishing the demilitarised status of Åland as an autonomous part of Finland.
The Åland Islands are located in the northern Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. The population is Swedish-speaking, but after the 1809 Treaty of Fredrikshamn the islands were ceded to the Russian Empire together with a vast majority of the Finnish-speaking areas of Sweden, becoming the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. In the 1856 Treaty of Paris, settling the Crimean War, the Åland Islands were demilitarised. As World War I broke out in 1914, the Russian Empire turned the islands into a submarine base for the use of British and Russian navies. Some time in 1915 the Russians destroyed Lågskär lighthouse to prevent the Germans from using it as a landmark. In 1915-16 the Germans had already made plans and were training to land on Åland. On the night of 25 and 26 July 1916 at 23:30 the German airship LZ 58 (naval designation L 25) attacked the port of Mariehamn. 8 explosive bombs were dropped on the boats of the Russian 5th submarine squadron. One of the bombs dropped on the quay next to the submarine mothership Svjatitel Nikolai, and Salo, resulting in the death of 7 Russian sailors and a horse.
The Russian government also started building fortifications, in agreement with their allies France and Great Britain, in order to prevent the German invasion. Åland Islands were fortified with 10 coastal artillery batteries, several garrisons, docks, and three airfields. The coastal batteries were at Sålis, Kungsö, Frebbenby, Mellantorp, Korsö, Herrö, Storklobb, Kökar, Hamnö-Saggö and Boxö. The cannons were 105 mm-215 mm, the batteries had open or blasted into the rock concrete bunkers with other equipment. The batteries also sometimes had loading docks, rails for transport, power plants for headlights and other types of equipment. The air fields where at Granboda, Föglö, with support stations at Torpvik, Eckerö and Gersbäck, Saltvik. There were also several coast guard stations and the docks were used for torpedo boats, submarines and more. There were telegraph stations at Prästö, Lotsberget and Lemland, there were also many radio posts around Åland. There were also 24,000 meters of barbed wire and 6,500 meters of trenches, there were also about 1,893 mines placed around Åland. There were also several areas with towed artillery, for example Ingby. With a total of 7,000-8,000 Russian soldiers. Sweden, however, considered the structures too heavy for just defending the islands. The government feared a possible attack from Åland, and so the neutral Sweden felt pressured to join the Allied Powers. It did not however do so.
As Finland gained its independence from Russia in December 1917, a movement was launched in Åland to join the islands to Sweden. The Swedish government had an audience with a delegation from Åland who wanted annexation by Sweden. After the Finnish Civil War started in late January 1918, the Swedish foreign minister Johannes Hellner and the king Gustaf V had an audience with a delegation from Åland on 8 February. According to the delegation, a referendum had been held in Åland and a vast majority of 95% was willing to join Sweden. The delegation called for action on the cause and asked help from the Swedish government against the alleged arbitrary and disorder of the Russian troops. The Swedish newspapers also pressed for action for humanitarian reasons. Since the beginning of the war, the government had already evacuated more than 1,000 Swedish citizens from the Finnish mainland via the west coast town of Pori.
The Finnish Civil War expanded to Åland on 10 February, as a squad of 460 White Guard members, led by the captain Johan Fabritius from the Vakka-Suomi region, landed on the islands. The group had fled three days earlier from the town of Uusikaupunki and crossed the ice of the Archipelago Sea. After reaching Åland, the Whites had some minor clashes with troops supporting Lenin's Russian Government. On 12 February they took Sottunga telephone exchange, capturing 4 Russians. On 14 February, they took the Prästö telegraph station in Sund, capturing 20 Russian soldiers. The Russians, however, were not much interested in resistance. They were mostly waiting to return home.
On 13 February, Swedish government finally decided to send troops to Åland. The driving force of the Swedish Åland politics was the Social Democratic Minister for Naval Affairs Erik Palmstierna, who was a retired naval officer. Two days later, a naval detachment of the icebreaker Isbrytaren I, the coastal defense ship HSwMS Thor and the troopship SS Runeberg docked at Eckerö in the Swedish side of the islands. A small military unit landed in Åland in order to protect the people from alleged misconduct of the Russian troops as well as from the violent threat of the Finnish sides of the Civil War. The Whites incorrectly assumed the Swedes had come to join them. Encouraged by this, the Whites took the artillery batteries in Boxö and Saggö, but instead of supporting them, the Swedes started negotiations with the Russians.
The negotiation was stopped on 17 February, as 150-men Red Guard unit from Turku arrived in Åland with the icebreaker Murtaja. Their intention was to help the Russians in the presumed fight against the Swedes and the Whites. On the same day, the Whites attacked and took the village of Godby in Finström and Gölby in Jomala, but the Soviets troops were able to keep the village of Gölby and the artillery fort of Sålis. Two days later, the Reds made a counterattack against Godby but were pushed back. The Battles of Godby ended with 2 killed Whites and 3 killed Reds (one of which died in a Swedish ambush at Finström). 8 captured Reds were later executed. It remained the only Finnish Civil War battle fought in Åland.
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Invasion of Åland
The Invasion of Åland was a 1918 military campaign of World War I in Åland, Finland. The islands, still hosting Soviet Russian troops, were first invaded by Sweden in late February and then by the German Empire in early March. The conflict was also related to the Finnish Civil War including minor fighting between the Finnish Whites and the Finnish Reds.
As Germany took control over Åland in March 1918, Russian troops were captured and the Swedish troops left the islands by the end of the Finnish Civil War in May. The Germans stayed in Åland until September 1918. The Åland Islands dispute was then turned over to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and the League of Nations in 1920. The Åland convention was finally signed in 1921 re-establishing the demilitarised status of Åland as an autonomous part of Finland.
The Åland Islands are located in the northern Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. The population is Swedish-speaking, but after the 1809 Treaty of Fredrikshamn the islands were ceded to the Russian Empire together with a vast majority of the Finnish-speaking areas of Sweden, becoming the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. In the 1856 Treaty of Paris, settling the Crimean War, the Åland Islands were demilitarised. As World War I broke out in 1914, the Russian Empire turned the islands into a submarine base for the use of British and Russian navies. Some time in 1915 the Russians destroyed Lågskär lighthouse to prevent the Germans from using it as a landmark. In 1915-16 the Germans had already made plans and were training to land on Åland. On the night of 25 and 26 July 1916 at 23:30 the German airship LZ 58 (naval designation L 25) attacked the port of Mariehamn. 8 explosive bombs were dropped on the boats of the Russian 5th submarine squadron. One of the bombs dropped on the quay next to the submarine mothership Svjatitel Nikolai, and Salo, resulting in the death of 7 Russian sailors and a horse.
The Russian government also started building fortifications, in agreement with their allies France and Great Britain, in order to prevent the German invasion. Åland Islands were fortified with 10 coastal artillery batteries, several garrisons, docks, and three airfields. The coastal batteries were at Sålis, Kungsö, Frebbenby, Mellantorp, Korsö, Herrö, Storklobb, Kökar, Hamnö-Saggö and Boxö. The cannons were 105 mm-215 mm, the batteries had open or blasted into the rock concrete bunkers with other equipment. The batteries also sometimes had loading docks, rails for transport, power plants for headlights and other types of equipment. The air fields where at Granboda, Föglö, with support stations at Torpvik, Eckerö and Gersbäck, Saltvik. There were also several coast guard stations and the docks were used for torpedo boats, submarines and more. There were telegraph stations at Prästö, Lotsberget and Lemland, there were also many radio posts around Åland. There were also 24,000 meters of barbed wire and 6,500 meters of trenches, there were also about 1,893 mines placed around Åland. There were also several areas with towed artillery, for example Ingby. With a total of 7,000-8,000 Russian soldiers. Sweden, however, considered the structures too heavy for just defending the islands. The government feared a possible attack from Åland, and so the neutral Sweden felt pressured to join the Allied Powers. It did not however do so.
As Finland gained its independence from Russia in December 1917, a movement was launched in Åland to join the islands to Sweden. The Swedish government had an audience with a delegation from Åland who wanted annexation by Sweden. After the Finnish Civil War started in late January 1918, the Swedish foreign minister Johannes Hellner and the king Gustaf V had an audience with a delegation from Åland on 8 February. According to the delegation, a referendum had been held in Åland and a vast majority of 95% was willing to join Sweden. The delegation called for action on the cause and asked help from the Swedish government against the alleged arbitrary and disorder of the Russian troops. The Swedish newspapers also pressed for action for humanitarian reasons. Since the beginning of the war, the government had already evacuated more than 1,000 Swedish citizens from the Finnish mainland via the west coast town of Pori.
The Finnish Civil War expanded to Åland on 10 February, as a squad of 460 White Guard members, led by the captain Johan Fabritius from the Vakka-Suomi region, landed on the islands. The group had fled three days earlier from the town of Uusikaupunki and crossed the ice of the Archipelago Sea. After reaching Åland, the Whites had some minor clashes with troops supporting Lenin's Russian Government. On 12 February they took Sottunga telephone exchange, capturing 4 Russians. On 14 February, they took the Prästö telegraph station in Sund, capturing 20 Russian soldiers. The Russians, however, were not much interested in resistance. They were mostly waiting to return home.
On 13 February, Swedish government finally decided to send troops to Åland. The driving force of the Swedish Åland politics was the Social Democratic Minister for Naval Affairs Erik Palmstierna, who was a retired naval officer. Two days later, a naval detachment of the icebreaker Isbrytaren I, the coastal defense ship HSwMS Thor and the troopship SS Runeberg docked at Eckerö in the Swedish side of the islands. A small military unit landed in Åland in order to protect the people from alleged misconduct of the Russian troops as well as from the violent threat of the Finnish sides of the Civil War. The Whites incorrectly assumed the Swedes had come to join them. Encouraged by this, the Whites took the artillery batteries in Boxö and Saggö, but instead of supporting them, the Swedes started negotiations with the Russians.
The negotiation was stopped on 17 February, as 150-men Red Guard unit from Turku arrived in Åland with the icebreaker Murtaja. Their intention was to help the Russians in the presumed fight against the Swedes and the Whites. On the same day, the Whites attacked and took the village of Godby in Finström and Gölby in Jomala, but the Soviets troops were able to keep the village of Gölby and the artillery fort of Sålis. Two days later, the Reds made a counterattack against Godby but were pushed back. The Battles of Godby ended with 2 killed Whites and 3 killed Reds (one of which died in a Swedish ambush at Finström). 8 captured Reds were later executed. It remained the only Finnish Civil War battle fought in Åland.
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