Battle of Helsinki

Battle of Helsinki
Part of the Finnish Civil War in the Eastern Front of World War I
German troops in the Kamppi district
Date 12–13 April 1918 (1 day) Location Helsinki, Finland Result German and White victory
Belligerents
German Empire Finnish Whites	Finnish Reds
Commanders and leaders
Rüdiger von der Goltz Hugo Meurer Carl Voss-Schrader	Fredrik Johansson (POW) Edvard Nyqvist (POW)
Units involved
Baltic Sea Division German Navy Helsinki White Guard	Helsinki Red Guard
Strength
6,000 Germans 2,000 Whites	1,500–2,000 in the combat units
Casualties and losses
54 Germans killed 23 Whites killed	c. 400 killed or executed 4,000–6,000 captured

The Battle of Helsinki was a 1918 Finnish Civil War battle, fought on 12–13 April by the German troops and Finnish Whites against the Finnish Reds in Helsinki, Finland. Together with the battles of Tampere and Vyborg, it was one of the three major urban battles of the Finnish Civil War. The Germans invaded Helsinki despite the opposition of Finnish White Army leader Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim who wanted to attack the capital city with his own troops after Tampere had fallen on 6 April. However, the Germans had their own interest in taking Helsinki as quickly as possible and then moving further east towards the Russian border. The city had been under Red control for 11 weeks since the beginning of the war.

The German Baltic Sea Division landed in Finland on 3 April and entered the Helsinki area eight days later. In the city centre, the defending Reds did not have defensive lines or barricades but were fighting inside single buildings and blocks, which the Germans then had to take one by one. During the battle, life in Helsinki went on as usual. The shops and restaurants were open, the public transportation functioned and factories were running. Curious spectators were wandering so close that the Germans had to tell them to move back. The White supporters considered the Germans liberators and handed them flowers as well as tea, coffee and snacks to eat.

Nearly 500 people were killed in the battle. The number includes about 400 Red Guard fighters who were killed in action or executed after capitulation, 54 Germans and 23 White Guard members. The number of executed Reds is unclear, but it is estimated between 20 and 50.^[1] After the battle, from 4,000 to 6,000 Red Guard members or supporters were arrested.