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Meet Carl Gustaf Mannerheim: soldier, explorer, and the unlikely leader who helped Finland survive revolution, war, and pressure from both Hitler and Stalin. Discover the bold decisions and cigar-fueled diplomacy behind a remarkable life.
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#History #Finland #WorldWarII
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@dentrolastoria
0:00 - Introducing Carl Gustav Mannerheim
1:17 - Early Life and Imperial Service
3:27 - War, Exploration, and Revolution
6:14 - Finnish Independence and Civil War
8:49 - Preparing Finland for Soviet Threats
11:13 - The Winter War
13:57 - The Continuation War and Finnish Survival
19:08 - Mannerheim’s Legacy
Subscribe for more stories from history.
Comment what you liked most about the video!
#History #Finland #WorldWarII
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@dentrolastoria
0:00 - Introducing Carl Gustav Mannerheim
1:17 - Early Life and Imperial Service
3:27 - War, Exploration, and Revolution
6:14 - Finnish Independence and Civil War
8:49 - Preparing Finland for Soviet Threats
11:13 - The Winter War
13:57 - The Continuation War and Finnish Survival
19:08 - Mannerheim’s Legacy
Category
đź“š
LearningTranscript
00:00few men embody the destiny the contradictions and the survival of their own nation few men can afford to deal
00:08with those dictators as equals in fact even coming across as superior to those very dictators few men leave their
00:17mark on history
00:17not necessarily on history as a whole but on their own country's history contributing to the survival precisely of their
00:26nation to the point of being able to come out of extremely difficult situations and with the best possible result
00:35few men today we at Dentro La Storia are embarking on a journey of discovery unlike our usual ones we
00:43are going to discover a figure who is rarely mentioned in the historiography that you find in Italian
00:47textbooks but who within European history in the history of 20th century Europe has left his mark in an indelible
00:54way a man whose life deserves a deep exploration and today we have decided to pay him this tribute a
01:03man named Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim a man who in Finland means just one word freedom so pack your bags
01:13join us as we discover this great man and this incredible story
01:17Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim was born on June 4th 1867 in the Lusail Castle in Askanen in a Finland that
01:26at the time was an autonomous grand duchy under the imperial Russian crown his family is of German origin but
01:33belongs to the Swedish nobility
01:35Finland years earlier was part of the Swedish crown and was ceded to the Tsarist empire his family is part
01:42of that cultured and ruling class which leads the administration of a territory under the Tsar
01:47the young Gustav unfortunately witnesses the financial setbacks caused by his father Count Carl Robert an extravagant man who goes
01:55overboard especially with gambling at the Tsar's court and who eventually abandons the family leaving them on the brink of
02:02bankruptcy when he is only 14 years old
02:05Gustav also loses his mother Edwig who dies these are traumas deep traumas but Gustav already shows at that moment
02:12remarkable resilience and a will of steel proud independent
02:16expelled from the Finnish military school of Amina for disciplinary reasons he had argued with some cadets the young aristocrat
02:23doesn't lose heart and decides to aim for the heart of the military elite St. Petersburg the imperial capital
02:29after having painstakingly learned Russian and already being able to speak not only Swedish but also Finnish and German a
02:36language passed down through his family in 1887 he is admitted to the prestigious cavalry school Nikola Nikolayevskaya it's the
02:45turning point of his life in 1887 he is admitted to the prestigious cavalry school Nikola Nikolaevsky
02:46the young Manheim joins the his imperial majesty's cavalry guards regiment an elite corps reserved for the highest aristocracy of
02:55the empire Manheim stands out among the cadets literally he's tall over six foot three soldierly precise determined in 1896
03:05he is selected to participate in the lavish coronation ceremony of the new Tsar Nikolas II he marches just a
03:13few steps from the sovereign everyone sees him and admires him for the next 20 years Russia is his home
03:19and the Tsar is his sovereign a sense of loyalty and a mindset worthy of the old regime that Manheim
03:24will struggle to let go of let alone break in 1904
03:28the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war gives Manheim the opportunity to prove his worth in the field he volunteers
03:36for the Manchurian front he stands out in the battle of Mukden which Russia lost for his courage and skill
03:41in tactical reconnaissance he is promoted to colonel it is the first practical demonstration on the ground of his talent
03:47for understanding the dynamics of the objective and the enemy's movements but it doesn't end here
03:52Manheim returns to Asia between 1906 and 1908 it is a special espionage mission the Russian general staff during that
04:01period is concerned about British expansionism and the instability of China where soon the celestial empire will disappear forever with
04:09the establishment of the republic
04:11Manheim is entrusted with a top secret high-risk mission a military and scientific reconnaissance expedition through Russian Central Asia
04:19Chinese Turkestan and Western China all the way to Beijing formally this journey is part of a scientific research project
04:27also financially supported by the French embassy in reality Manheim has to map invasion routes assess the loyalty of local
04:35minorities and gather any information that could help intelligence on horseback Manheim covers about
04:4014,000 kilometers in two years he crosses the Taklamakan desert climbs the icy passes of Tien Shan and visits
04:50isolated communities he meets local leaders Buddhist monks including a young Dalai Lama who was then in exile the mission
04:57turns out to be a triumph he not only produces topographic maps and extremely detailed military reports for the czar
05:03but it also proves to be an exceptional scientific achievement Manheim collects thousands of fragments of ancient manuscripts
05:09archaeological artifacts and takes ethnographic photographs and takes ethnographic photographs photos that are now in the LC museum Manheim is
05:16almost like Indiana Jones his reputation not only as a soldier but also as a determined and trustworthy person keeps
05:22growing more and more when World War One breaks out in 1914 he is called back to service as a
05:28colonel in command of the Imperial troops on the Romanian front he is given command of a cavalry brigade receives
05:35the cross of St. George and is promoted to lieutenant general he doesn't fully realize it yet
05:39but the world he is known the one he grew up in and was shaped by is about to change
05:44forever
05:44Manheim knows and recognizes the value of the Romanian soldiers but he criticizes both the Romanian government's decision to enter
05:50the war and the czarist government's choice to support the Romanian effort with troops
05:54When the October Revolution of 1917 arrives which sweeps away the czarist state Manheim a staunch monarchist and firm opponent
06:03of Bolshevism suddenly finds himself in an army that is melting away like snow in the sun under the onslaught
06:09of communist propaganda
06:10Branded as a reactionary he is removed from command by the new authorities Manheim realizes that Russia is now lost
06:16and decides to return to Finland which in the meantime on December 6 1917 declares its independence
06:23taking advantage of the chaos that has erupted following the revolution
06:29The newborn Finnish Republic is a country split in two the social tensions between the working class and the property
06:36owning bourgeoisie the so-called whites explode in January 1918 in a fierce civil war
06:42The provisional white government appoints General Manheim as commander in chief of the newborn but disorganized Finnish army
06:49In this task which is not only that of a commander but also of inspector and guide
06:54Manheim demonstrates an extraordinary energy from scratch disarming the Russian garrisons that remained in the territory
07:00Organizing the peasant militias of the white guard and taking advantage of the training of the Finnish volunteers trained in
07:09Germany the so-called Jaeger to form the first regiments while reluctantly accepting the German support for the whites
07:16A dangerous interference with national sovereignty and it won't be the only one
07:21Manheim leads the offensive that results in the capture of Tampere and finally the victory parade at elba helsinki on
07:28may sixteenth nineteen eighteen the white victory is decisive
07:32Even though it is tainted by a ruthless repression thousands of Finnish Bolsheviks die
07:38Manheim although he ordered an end to the summary executions remains for years a divisive figure within the new Finland
07:45some revere him as a national hero and others disparagingly call him the white general
07:52Aware of these deep wounds in the soul of his country Manheim resigns as commander in chief shortly after the
07:58end of the war and the birth of Finland
08:00He disagrees with the pro-German line of the government and even here it won't be the first time nor
08:07the only one
08:08He is later recalled as the temporary regent of the state a political coordinating role that he reluctantly accepts
08:14But only to obtain thanks to a status as a recognized war hero the recognition of Finnish independence by the
08:22great powers starting with Great Britain and the United States
08:25From that moment on Mannerheim prefers to retire to private life after losing the race in the first presidential elections
08:33in the following years
08:34Mannerheim stays away from active politics
08:36He devotes himself to philanthropy presides over the Finnish Red Cross creates the Mannerheim League for the welfare of children
08:41Basically acts as a nobleman in a republic noble not only by birth not only by title, but also in
08:47spirit
08:47In 1931 faced with the rise of totalitarianism
08:52He agrees to return to a role as inspector of the armed forces as president of the National Defense Council
08:59At this moment Mannerheim realizes that despite widespread pacifism and a desire to cut the state budget regarding defense
09:07The risks for Finland are enormous
09:09He himself forces the government to increase spending on army armaments and to build a fortified line on the Corellian
09:18Isthmus
09:18The natural access route for a possible Soviet invasion
09:22It's a system of trenches
09:24There are no reinforced concrete bunkers nor machine guns
09:28It's incomplete because the lack of funds doesn't allow it to be finished
09:33It's the Finnish Maginot actually
09:35The Mannerheim line is named in his honor
09:37And it's a line that a few years later will play a leading role
09:40Between March and April of 1939
09:44Strong signals arrive in Helsinki from Moscow
09:48Stalin, who saw Hitler take first Austria, then the Sudetenland, then all of Bohemia and Moravia
09:54And finally Memel on the northern Baltic coast
09:57He is worried
09:58He is worried about Leningrad
10:01He fears that Leningrad could one day be crushed by a terrible siege if the Germans were to land on
10:06the Corellian Isthmus
10:07And perhaps ask for Finnish help
10:10Stalin demands that Finland cede territory around Vyborg, the largest border city, right there on the Corellian Isthmus
10:16But Stalin doesn't rely solely on force
10:19In fact, he asks Finland for concessions in exchange for other concessions
10:22Even offering a tract of land in Soviet Corellia farther north, twice the size of the territory Finland would cede
10:29He also asks for the use of a naval base
10:31He asks for a promontory near Petsamo in the north
10:34These are demands that the Finnish government rejects with indignation
10:38And there is only one dissenting voice
10:40It is that of Marshal Mannerheim
10:42He knows that the Red Army, despite being weakened by the purges and appearing backward
10:48Has an overwhelming numerical advantage over Finland's small but well-trained army
10:54Mannerheim begs the government to accept Stalin's proposals
10:57But the negotiations that begin at the end of April 39
11:01And continue until the beginning of November of the same year
11:04Lead to nothing
11:05They only lead to a dead end
11:07And at the end of November 1939
11:10They lead to the Soviet aggression
11:13On November 30, 1939
11:15The Red Army launches a massive attack along the entire border with Finland
11:20Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim
11:22Who could easily be enjoying his retirement
11:24Is urgently called back to service
11:27And appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces
11:29The odds are desperate
11:31A country with less than 4 million inhabitants
11:34Has to defend itself against the immense Red Army
11:38The whole world believes that Finland will be defeated in a few days
11:42Even though support is mobilized from many places
11:44France, Great Britain, even fascist Italy send reinforcements
11:49Battalions of volunteers arrive from Sweden
11:51Everyone sympathizes at that moment with little Finland
11:54And then a small miracle happens
11:56In the so-called Winter War
11:58Under the charismatic leadership of Mannerheim
12:00The Finns fight
12:02Everyone fights side by side
12:04With a unique spirit
12:05The spirit of the homeland
12:07But there's more
12:08Mannerheim had trained the Finns in the previous decades
12:11To fight in extreme conditions
12:13Even at 40 degrees below zero
12:16With exceptional equipment
12:17Thermal tents and coats
12:19And giving all the soldiers the opportunity
12:22To move quickly with skis and sleds
12:25Something the Red Army had never considered
12:27This equipment, this training
12:28The flexible guerrilla tactics
12:32Like at Sumosami
12:34With sudden ambushes that paralyze and annihilate
12:37The Soviet motorized columns
12:39And the birth of the so-called Molotov cocktail
12:43The bottle
12:44Filled with diesel or other flammable material
12:48Used exactly as an explosive device
12:51They become the symbols of Finnish resistance
12:53A resistance that, however, cannot last forever
12:56After months and months of fighting
12:59The Soviets find a way to break through the defenses
13:01The collapse is inevitable
13:02The overwhelming numerical superiority
13:05Of armored vehicles, aviation, and artillery
13:08Makes itself felt
13:09Stalin gives up the possibility
13:10Of occupying the entire country
13:12And installing a communist puppet government
13:14That had already been essentially legitimized by Moscow
13:16In March 1940, Finland agrees to end the war
13:20And to cede 11% of its territory
13:23Including the Vipuri area
13:25Which becomes Viborg
13:26But Mannerheim, even in what is not a victorious war
13:29But a losing one, remains the hero
13:31The 1940 piece, however, is a fragile and painful truce
13:35Finland is isolated, both territorially and politically
13:39Around it are neutral Sweden
13:42Finland, the Soviet Union, which has incorporated the Baltic states
13:45And the eastern part of Poland
13:46And then Nazi Germany, which has conquered almost everything
13:49It has conquered Norway
13:50It has conquered Denmark
13:51It has conquered the main part of Poland
13:53Finland is alone
13:55It has also been abandoned by the Western democracies
13:57And when Germany launches the attack
13:59With Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union
14:03It's June 22, 1940
14:05Finland, pushed by President Risto Ritty
14:08Decides to challenge the Soviet Union once again
14:10This is the so-called Continuation War
14:12The revenge for what had happened before
14:14For the Winter War
14:15Mannerheim knows it's not easy
14:17But he manages this kind of co-belligerence with the Germans
14:21With extreme caution and with a detachment
14:23That we could call aristocratic
14:24He makes it clear from the very beginning
14:26That Finland is not an ideological ally of Nazism
14:30He rejects, for example, the idea
14:32That comes through the German emissaries
14:34Of adopting a racial policy
14:36And handing over the Finnish Jews
14:38The Jews in Finland remain part of Finnish society
14:41No one lays a finger on them
14:43But that's not all
14:44Mannerheim categorically refuses to place his troops
14:47All his divisions under a joint German command
14:50He also rejects the proposals
14:53Coming from the German high command
14:55To launch a decisive attack against besieged Leningrad
14:58Or to cut the railway leading to Murmansk
15:01Which is vital for Anglo-American supplies
15:03Being sent by the Soviets
15:04This strategic caution is not cowardice
15:07It's foresight
15:08In this way, Great Britain and the United States
15:10Consider Finland an enemy
15:12Yes, but not an irreconcilable one
15:15Behind the scenes, Finland through neutral Sweden
15:18Is still in talks with the Allies
15:19But there is an episode in the story of Carl Gustav
15:22Emile Mannerheim
15:23That definitely needs to be told
15:25It's June 4th, 1942
15:27It's Mannerheim's birthday
15:29His 75th
15:31And that day, unexpectedly
15:33Adolf Hitler arrives by plane in Finland
15:36He wants to wish the Marshal and the Count a happy birthday
15:39And put pressure on them from a military standpoint
15:41Mannerheim doesn't fall into the trap
15:43He's too clever
15:45Too experienced
15:46To be deceived
15:47So he makes sure that meeting doesn't turn into a kind of political submission
15:51And how does he do that?
15:52With a few subtle diplomatic tactics
15:54First of all, the location of the meeting
15:56Not military high command headquarters
15:58And not the presidential palace either
16:00Or the defense ministry building
16:02A private railway car
16:05Near Emot
16:06In the Lai region
16:07But it doesn't work
16:08During the meeting
16:09During the meal
16:10Mannerheim not only has meat dishes served to him
16:12Something that usually enrages Hitler
16:14But he even lights a cigar
16:16In the presence of the German dictator
16:18Fully aware that Hitler hates the smell of smoke
16:22That gesture
16:22Which may seem like a foolish challenge
16:25Is actually a calculated move
16:26Mannerheim wants to make it clear to Hitler
16:28Who is the host
16:29And who is setting the rules at that moment
16:31Hitler understands
16:33And he leaves in the afternoon
16:35A bit annoyed
16:36But he can't say anything else
16:37He leaves it to his generals
16:39To keep pressuring Mannerheim
16:40And the Finnish government
16:41But they don't give in
16:43In fact, they stand firm
16:45And stay the course
16:46And they're right to do so
16:47Because in June 1944
16:50Two years later
16:51The Red Army
16:52Which has now taken Slahn
16:54Is preparing for the offensive
16:55In the Karelian Isthmus
16:57The Red Army launches
16:58A massive counter-offensive
17:00To finally break Finland
17:02The Finnish defensive lines
17:03Are overwhelmed
17:04One after another
17:05The Soviet firepower superiority
17:07Is clear
17:07It is a moment of greatest danger
17:10Just as ancient Rome did
17:11Invoking the dictator
17:13And suspending the laws of the republic
17:15Finland does the same
17:17President Ruti resigns
17:18And entrusts all power
17:20To Karl Gustav Mannerheim
17:21Who also becomes
17:23President of the republic
17:24Through a special law
17:25There is only one task
17:26To detach Finland
17:27From the alliance
17:28With a Germany
17:29That is heading toward collapse
17:30And to negotiate
17:32A difficult peace
17:32With the Soviet Union
17:33And also with the allies
17:34Mannerheim accomplishes
17:36A true diplomatic
17:37And military masterpiece
17:39First of all
17:40He takes advantage
17:40Of a series of brilliant
17:41Defensive counter-attacks
17:43To contain and stabilize
17:44The front
17:45In the summer of 1944
17:47By doing so
17:48He shows Stalin
17:49That a military occupation
17:50Of Finland
17:51Would result in a bloodbath
17:52For the Red Army itself
17:53Meaning a diversion
17:55Of men and resources
17:56From the crucial race
17:57Toward Berlin
17:58Thanks to a very strong
18:00Defensive position
18:01On the front
18:01Mannerheim is able
18:02To break the agreements
18:03With the Germans
18:04And sign the armistice
18:05In Moscow
18:06On September 19, 1944
18:09The conditions imposed
18:10By the Kremlin
18:11Are extremely harsh
18:12In addition to
18:13The territorial losses
18:14Of 1940
18:15Finland has to give up
18:16The entire Petsamo area
18:18On the Arctic Sea
18:19Commit to paying
18:20Large war reparations
18:22And lease an entire
18:23Naval base
18:24To the Soviet Navy
18:25Rent-free
18:25And immediately expel
18:27From its territory
18:28The German troops
18:29Stationed in Lapland
18:30This marks the beginning
18:31Of the so-called
18:32Lapland War
18:33The Finnish army
18:34Ambushes its former
18:36German allies
18:37Who retreat
18:38While destroying
18:38Everything they find
18:39Including the city
18:41Of Rovaniemi
18:41As they try to make
18:43Their way back to Norway
18:43But Finland
18:44By doing so
18:45Following Mannerheim's
18:47Resolute lead
18:47Is the only European country
18:49Bordering the Soviet Union
18:50That was not occupied
18:52By Soviet troops
18:53Nor did it fall
18:54Under a communist regime
18:55That would change
18:56The country's fate
18:57In the immediate
18:58Post-war period
18:59Mannerheim is now
19:00An old man
19:01Worn out by life
19:02He has seen it all
19:03He has served
19:05Many governments
19:05And many states
19:06This last effort
19:08Has worn him out
19:09In the post-war period
19:10Finland still had to
19:11Undergo the scrutiny
19:12Of the Allied Control Commission
19:14Whose work in Finland
19:15Was led by a stern
19:16Soviet representative
19:17Andrei Zhidanov
19:18Then there were the trials
19:20For those responsible
19:20For war crimes
19:21Trials demanded by Moscow
19:23But Mannerheim however
19:25Was never indicted
19:26Or put on trial
19:27He is a living shield
19:28For Finland
19:29And no one
19:30Neither from the east
19:31Nor the west
19:31Dares to say anything
19:33Against him
19:33In March 1946
19:35With his health
19:37Seriously compromised
19:38By stomach ulcers
19:39And after decades
19:40Of hard work
19:41Mannerheim resigns
19:42As president of the republic
19:43Leaving the leadership
19:45Of the state
19:45To Juho Kusti Pasekivi
19:47The man who will
19:48Inaugurate the policy
19:49Of pragmatic neutrality
19:51Toward the USSR
19:52Mannerheim therefore
19:53Decides to spend
19:54The last years of his life
19:55At the Valmont Sanatorium
19:56In Montreux, Switzerland
19:58A quiet place
19:59Where he dedicates himself
20:00To writing his memoirs
20:01A fundamental document
20:03For understanding
20:03The complex
20:04European geopolitical history
20:06Of the first half
20:07Of the 20th century
20:08Carl Gustav Mannerheim
20:10Passes away in Luzon
20:11On January 27, 1951
20:14At the age of 83
20:15The news of his death
20:17Deeply affected Finland
20:18His body is brought
20:19Back to his homeland
20:20And he receives
20:22A solemn state funeral
20:23In Helsinki
20:24With an enormous
20:25Turnout of mourners
20:26In the Ateniemi
20:27Military Cemetery
20:28There is his grave
20:29Surrounded by other graves
20:30Those of the soldiers
20:32Who fell in the conflicts
20:33In which he himself
20:34Had fought
20:34Just think that
20:35In 2004
20:36More than 50 years
20:38After his passing
20:39A major national radio
20:41And television poll
20:42In Finland
20:43Officially and formally
20:44Recognized Carl Gustav Gustav Mannerheim
20:47As the greatest Finn
20:49Of all time
20:50A head of artists
20:51And athletes alike
20:52The figure of Mannerheim
20:54Remains an extraordinary
20:55Example of pragmatic leadership
20:57A man
20:58A son of the 19th century
20:59Raised in the old regime
21:01Raised in the shadow
21:02Of the Tsar
21:03With his discipline
21:04His sense of duty
21:05His iron will
21:06His cold political clarity
21:08And his pragmatism
21:09He was able to guide
21:10A small modern nation
21:11Through many storms
21:12That of the Bolshevik revolution
21:14That of the totalitarianisms
21:16Of the 20th century
21:17That of the second world war
21:19And throughout all this work
21:21A single principle
21:22Guided Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim
21:24A single value
21:25The value called freedom
21:27A value that Finland
21:28Still appreciates today
21:30And for which I thank him
21:31That man
21:32Descended from German
21:33And Swedish nobility
21:35Who had dedicated
21:36His entire life
21:37To defending
21:37What he held
21:38Most dear in the world