Holding down the Hanko
Some 85 years ago. The siege of the Soviet naval base on Hanko Cape in occupied southwestern Finland, north of Leningrad, during the Continuation War, November 1941.
Swedish Volunteer Battalion (Svenska Frivilligbataljonen, SFB) member Erland Petrus Malmström (#872910) seen on the line with a 6.5mm Gevär m/96 Mauser and a commercial optic.
Note how he uses his thumb around the stock’s wrist to raise his view of the scope, which is mounted too far forward for a normal face-on buttstock position. Also note the puukko knife hanging from his belt and the Swedish m/37 helmets to his right. The Swedes later picked 5,300 m/96s and converted them into scoped sniper rifles (the Prickskyttegevär m/41) based on experience in Finland, though the above is not one.
The Swedes have long been a traditional enemy of the Russians, fighting a dozen wars with them between 1554 and 1809.
In the 20th Century, they proved willing on numerous occasions to rise to the occasion against the old foe when prompted.
In March 1918, a 1,000-strong Swedish volunteer brigade under Allan Winge landed in Finland to help disarm Russian troops and fight for Finnish independence.
The Swedish brigade deployed in Helsinki on May 16, 1918. Allan Winge is at the forefront.
When the Soviets invaded neighboring Finland (formerly Swedish territory) in November 1939, a Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska frivilligkåren) formed with 12,000 volunteers (including 727 Swedish-speaking Norwegians and at least a few Danes) under Lt. Gen. Ernst Linder.
Swedish Volunteer Corps poster, 1939 Finland Winter War: “Det gäller oss” translates to “It’s about us”
Only 8,260 of its men made it to Finland before the Winter War ended in March 1940.
Swedish Volunteer Corps Finland, during the Winter War, Salla, March 1940
They saw a bit of combat, with 33 killed, around 50 wounded in direct combat, and over 130 suffering frostbite before they were disbanded and sent home on the outbreak of peace.
Well-equipped Swedish Volunteer Corps ski patrol poses in Finland during the Winter War in 1940, along with a Swedish BAR (Kg m/21) and m/96s. Note the bamboo ski poles and, for dramatic effect, gas masks.
Once the Finns invaded the Soviet Union after the Axis launched Barbarossa in June 1941, the 900-strong SFB was stood up in Sweden to give it another go.
With volunteers arriving as early as 24 July, the SFB swore allegiance to the Finns as a unit on 17 August, and the battalion, simply dubbed the Hangöbataljonen, was seconded to the Finnish IR 55 on the Hanko Front.
Swedish Volunteer Battalion Hanko, Finland, August 1941, with Swedish uniforms and helmets, along with a Swedish BAR (Kg m/21) and m/96s. (SA-Kuva)
Swedish Volunteer Hangöbataljonen, Finland, August 1941, including Swedish BAR (Kg m/21), SMGs, and m/96s. Note the mix of helmets and uniforms. (SA-Kuva)
The Swedish Voluntary Battalion pioneers advancing through the deep Finnish forests, clearing bunkers with explosives (note the satchel charges on their backs) and flamethrowers, to liberate the city of Hanko under Soviet occupation. (SA-Kuva)
Fighting into December, the Hangöbataljonen was the first to march into the port after the Soviets withdrew, though they raised a Finnish flag. They suffered 25 killed and another 75 wounded in the short campaign.
After the Finns disbanded the victorious SFB and sent it home, die-hards wanting to keep fighting formed a smaller Swedish Volunteer Company (Svenska frivilligkompaniet) in February 1942 under Capt. Rickard Nilsson, which was attached to the Finnish IR 13.
Serving on the Svir Front and later fighting in the brutal Battle of Tali-Ihantala on the Karelian Isthmus in 1944, some 412 Swedes served at one time or another in this final unit, which was never stronger than 160 men at any given time. It suffered 39 dead, and 84 were wounded in its time on the line. The unit was disbanded on 26 September 1944, a week after Finland’s peace with Moscow. They apparently had no appetite for fighting the Germans. Russians only.
As for the m/96 Swedish Mauser in Finnish service, besides the 8,800 or so guns brought over by the assorted volunteer groups, Helsinki bought another 77,000 m/96 rifles and carbines directly from surplus Swedish military stocks during the Winter and Continuation War, with some 30,000 eventually repatriated with thanks. The rest were sold off as surplus in the 1950s and were generally unwanted post-war by the Finnish military because they didn’t accept the standard 7.62x54R round used by the Finnish-standard Mosins.