Memorial to the White Soldiers of the War of Independence
During the War of Independence, no actual battles were fought in Kuhmo, but people from Kainuu did participate in the fighting, for example with the Kajaani Guerilla Regiment. Of the 582 men from Kainuu who took part in the war, 30 were from Kuhmo. The most famous of the Kainuu people was Urho Kekkonen from Kajaani, the eighth president of Finland.
Information about the memorial
The yard of the Kuhmo Church holds the memorial to the white soldiers of the War of Independence from 1918. The memorial bears the names as well as the dates of birth and death of ten men from the Kuhmoniemi parish (Kuhmo from 1937 onwards) who died in April 1918 in Vyborg or the Vyborg rural municipality. Nine of them were conscripted and one volunteered. Next to the memorial is the war grave of these ten young men. The funeral service was held on 19 May 1918, and the memorial was erected on 5 October 1925.
The War Victims in Finland Between 1914 and 1922 (Suomen sotasurmat 1914-1922) database contains 21 names of people who died in 1918 and were registered in Kuhmoniemi (https://sotasurmat.narc.fi/en/).
War of Independence in Kainuu and Kuhmo
Established at the end of January 1918, the Kajaani Guerilla Regiment was the first military unit in Kainuu in the history of the independent Finland. The Kainuu Civil Guards operated independently in their home area, but at the front, their units were part of the regiment. However, it took part in battles only in the form of detached companies and platoons. On 21 April 1918, two companies and a machine gun unit that had been at the front were attached to the 1st Battalion of the North Savo Regiment. The training unit for conscripts in Kajaani was the Kajaani Guerilla Jaeger Battalion, where most of the Kainuu conscripts were stationed during the March 1918 conscription. Trained conscripts were deployed to the 3rd and 6th Jaeger Regiments at the front. From March 1918 onwards, the activities in Kajaani were led by the Central Staff of the Kajaani Region, with the North Savo and Kajaani Military District Staff in Kuopio as the higher level of command.
Emil Haverinen at the Battle of Vyborg
Private Eemil Haverinen from Kuhmo served as a runner for Jaeger Captain Bertil Paulig in the 2nd Company of the 5th Jaeger Battalion, 3rd Jaeger Regiment. The unit was involved in the Battle of Tampere, among others. Bertil Paulig fell during the capture of Vyborg while leading his troops into the Reds’ gunfire. Almost half of the company’s men were killed in the daring attempt.
Eemil Haverinen was also wounded in the attack and wrote a short letter to the family of his fallen captain, informing them about the captain’s death with comforting words. He also attempted to estimate the reasons that had led to the captain’s demise: ‘I’ll say a little bit more, I think it was a bit ambitious, that it was too bold.’
The site is easily accessible. The memorial is located next to the church and there are parking spaces nearby, for buses as well. Address: Kirkkotie 11, 88900 Kuhmo, Finland.