Civil War After
Finland's declaration of independence on 6 December 1917, the
Civil Guards were proclaimed the troops of the government on 25 January 1918 and then
Lieutenant General of the Russian Imperial Army
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of these forces the next day. Fighting between the White Guards (as the Civil Guards were commonly known) and the
Red Guards had already broken out about a week before around
Viipuri, in what became known as the
Finnish Civil War. In the war, the Whites were victorious in large part thanks to the leadership of General Mannerheim and the lead by example offensive mindedness of 1,800 German-trained
Finnish Jägers, who brought with them German tactical doctrine and military culture. The post-war years were characterized by the
Volunteer Campaigns that came to an end in 1920 with the signing of the
Treaty of Tartu, which ended the state of war between Finland and
Soviet Russia and defined the internationally recognized borders of Finland.
Interwar years After winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the basic structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war. The
Air Force had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The
White Guard (
Suojeluskunta) played a key role in interwar Finnish defence policy, as they essentially served as local/territorial militia forces, and some had higher readiness and training for quick mobilization. antitank weapons walk past a destroyed Soviet
T-34 tank during the
Battle of Tali-Ihantala. The lead soldier is also armed with a
Suomi KP/-31. Finland fought in the
Continuation War alongside Germany from 1941 to 1944. Thanks to Nazi-German aid, the army was much better equipped, and the period of conscription was increased to two years, making possible the formation of sixteen infantry divisions. Having initially deployed on the defensive, the Finns took advantage of the weakened Soviet positions as a consequence of
Operation Barbarossa, swiftly recovering their lost territories and invading Soviet territory in Karelia, after settling into defensive positions in December 1941. The
Soviet offensive of June 1944 undid these Finnish gains and, while failing in its objective of destroying the Finnish army and forcing Finland's unconditional surrender,
forced Finland out of the war. The Finns were able to preserve their independence with key defensive victories over the Red Army, the
Battle of Tali-Ihantala being very significant. These conflicts involving Finland had a significant impact on the modern Finnish defence force. While other European militaries have reduced their forces, Finland has maintained a large conscript-based reserve army. As a Swedish report stated: "The reason why the FDF chose to maintain this model while its Nordic neighbors jumped on the expeditionary bandwagon is not hard to see. Sharing a 1340km border with Russia, the need for large ground forces is self-explanatory. Furthermore, memories of World War II – in which over 2 percent of the population perished in two brutal wars with the Soviet Union – are very much alive in Finland". This same aspect has been highlighted even more strongly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Finland's decision to join NATO. With quotes like; "After World War II, having thwarted the advance of the mighty Red Army in the Winter War of 1939-40 and then seeking to recapture the territory the Soviets eventually claimed, Finland had to settle for neutrality imposed by Moscow. But to almost everyone's surprise, it succeeded in this degrading task, too, building up armed forces that were highly capable and were energetically supported by civil society—while at the same time managing to maintain dialogue with Moscow.", "Finland still has compulsory military service. Finland would be in a position to mobilize an army of 280,000 soldiers. That's quite a big army in modern Europe", with similar views being expressed elsewhere as well, often referring to the fact that Finland has kept its conscript-based armed force or other readiness-related units, contrasting with other European countries that now have to re-arm, such as
Germany as an example. During the events of 2022, all this has received attention internationally as well.
Cold War The demobilization and regrouping of the Finnish Defence Forces were carried out in late 1944 under the supervision of the Soviet-dominated
Allied Control Commission. Following the
Treaty of Paris in 1947, which imposed restrictions on the size and equipment of the armed forces and required disbandment of the Civic Guard, Finland reorganized its defence forces. The fact that the conditions of the peace treaty did not include prohibitions on reserves or mobilization made it possible to contemplate an adequate defence establishment within the prescribed limits. The reorganization resulted in the adoption of the brigade -in place of the division- as the standard formation. For the first two decades after the Second World War, the Finnish Defence Forces relied largely on obsolete wartime material. Defence spending remained minimal until the early 1960s. During the peak of the
Cold War, the Finnish government made a conscious effort to increase defence capability. This resulted in the commissioning of several new weapons systems and the strengthening of the defence of
Finnish Lapland by the establishment of new garrisons in the area. From 1968 onwards, the Finnish government adopted the doctrine of territorial defence, which requires the use of large land areas to delay and wear out a potential aggressor. The doctrine was complemented by the concept of
total defence which calls for the use of all resources of society for national defence in case of a crisis. From the mid-1960s onwards, the Finnish Defence Forces also began to specifically prepare to defeat a strategic strike, the kind which the Soviet Union employed successfully to topple the government of
Czechoslovakia in 1968. In an all-out confrontation between the two major blocs, the Finnish objective would have been to prevent any military incursions in Finnish territory and thereby keep Finland outside the war.
Post-1991 The
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 did not eliminate the military threat perceived by the government, but the nature of the threat had changed. While the concept of total, territorial defence was not dropped, military planning has moved towards the capability to prevent and frustrate a strategic attack toward the vital regions of the country. The end of the
Cold War also allowed new opportunities which would have previously been seen as breaking Finland's stance of neutrality, such as participation in the
War in Afghanistan and the
Nordic Battlegroup. With the change in the European security environment brought by the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finnish government officials began voicing increasingly strong support for joining NATO, buttressed by polls showing a rapid increase in Finnish citizens' willingness to join NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg voiced his support in April 2022 for the inclusion of Finland into the Euro-Atlantic defence alliance and stated that NATO member countries would likely enthusiastically support a Finland bid for membership. On 11 May 2022, British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson and Finnish President
Sauli Niinistö signed a new mutual defence agreement "to reinforce their security and fortify northern Europe's defences, in the face of renewed threats." This has helped to address concerns within Finland that the delay between application and acceptance to NATO, during which time Finland would not yet be able to invoke
NATO Article 5 and may present an opportunity for a Russian invasion. On 12 May 2022, Niinistö and Prime Minister
Sanna Marin issued a joint statement supporting Finland's application for membership of NATO, saying "As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay." On 17 May 2022, the
Parliament of Finland voted overwhelmingly to apply for membership of NATO, with 188 votes in favour of the motion and 8 against. The following morning, the Finnish ambassador to NATO, Klaus Korhonen, formally submitted Finland's application to NATO Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg. Sweden also submitted its application at the same time. On 29 June 2022, thirty NATO countries invited Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Both countries received the status of aspiring members while attending the annual NATO summit in
Madrid as guest nations. Finland became a full NATO member on 4 April 2023. As of 2025, the Defence Forces are undergoing key procurement programmes for all the three branches. The Navy is scheduled to get its largest vessels since the WW2-era
Väinämöinen class with the new
Pohjanmaa class. The Air Force has made the decision to acquire the
Lockheed Martin F-35A to replace all
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets for €10 billion. Meanwhile, the Army is planning to complement the modernized
Patria Pasi armoured vehicles with the Finnish
Patria 6×6. The standard issue assault rifle
RK 62 is also being upgraded to a new variant. A new high altitude air defence missile system was selected in April 2023,
Rafael's David's Sling system. ==Organization==