Viena Expedition - Northern Group

Northern Group

The expedition was made up of two groups. One group was Finnish Jäger troops led by Lieutenant Kurt Martti Wallenius. Initial operations in Northern Finland were successful and the Red Finns were forced to withdraw to Eastern Karelia. He and his light infantry crossed the border at Kuusamo but got bogged down in fighting the Finnish Red Guards. Low level of training and the low morale of the conscripted troops made any advance impossible and only withdrawal of the defending Red Finns allowed the White Finns to advance a small distance until the troops again mutinied at the goals of the operations having passed the state border. In the end the force was withdrawn back within Finnish borders and performed only small incursions into East Karelia.

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