Battle of Vilppula

The first clashes The first clash in Vilppula occurred on 31 January, as 200 Reds attacked the industrial community of Mänttä which was held by the local White Guard. The conflict was solved with the help of the village priest, and both sides were disarmed. On the next day, the White Guard from nearby Keuruu entered the scene, and the Reds were forced to retreat to the railway station of Lyly, about 15 kilometers south of Vilppula. Later the same day, a White unit led by the prominent warlord Matti Laurila, later killed in the Battle of Länkipohja, advanced towards Lyly, but was stopped by a demolished railway bridge. By chance, a train carrying the staff of the Romanian embassy evacuated from Saint Petersburg arrived to the other side of the bridge and the Whites were able to continue by commandeering their train. Finally, the Whites had to turn back before reaching Lyly, as the Reds had broken the railway track in several places. The Whites now settled to the Vilppula railway station, while the Reds gathered their troops in Lyly. == Battle in Väärinmaja ==

As the Reds were not able to reach Vilppula by the northbound railway, they decided to attack from southwest along the road connecting Ruovesi and Vilppula. The Reds now had to break through the White lines in the village of Väärinmaja, located 13 kilometres southwest of Vilppula. The Reds gathered their troops of 1,000 men to the village of Hyyrylä, about 4 kilometres south of Väärinmaja. The troops commanded by Mikko Kokko included elite units like the Helsinki Red Guard A-company and the Porttu Battalion, which was composed of the workers of the Katajanokka naval shipyard in Helsinki. The Reds also had a 100 men cavalry unit from Turku, under the command of the revolutionary brothers Verner and Jalmar Lehtimäki. The Whites in turn had 600 men in Väärinmaja, commanded by the lieutenant Carl Nordensvan and the volunteer Swedish captain Martin Ekström. The Reds launched their first attack on 21 February by pounding Väärinmaja and the nearby villages of Seppälä and Enoranta with artillery fire. They took Enoranta, but three days later, the Whites launched a counterattack and took the village back. The second attack was made on 10 March, but this one also failed. The final attempt on 13 March was again preceded by heavy artillery fire, but Väärinmaja remained in White control. Two days later, the Whites launched a major offensive against Tampere and the Red front collapsed in just a couple of days. The Reds left Vilppula area on 18 March and joined the Battle of Tampere. The total casualties in Väärinmaja were 23 killed Whites and at least 50 killed Reds. == References ==