Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion

Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion
Henkikaartin 3. Suomen Tarkk’ampujapataljoona
Active	1829–1905
Country	Russian Empire
Size	400–600
March	Suomi-marssi
Engagements	November Uprising Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Crimean War Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion (Finnish: Henkikaartin 3. Suomen Tarkk’ampujapataljoona, Swedish: Livgardets 3:e finska skarpskyttebataljon, Russian: Лейб-гвардии 3-й стрелковый Финский батальон, romanized: Leib-gvardii 3-j strelkovyi Finski bataljon), colloquially known as just Finnish Guards (Finnish: Suomen kaarti, Swedish: Finska gardet) was a Finnish military unit during 1829–1905 based in Helsinki. Continuing the legacy of the Finnish Training Battalion (1817), it was part of the Imperial Russian Army and the only Finnish unit of the Russian Imperial Guard. For the most of its history, the battalion also functioned as the only operational Finnish military unit. Because of its status as both a national showpiece and as a part of the Imperial Guard, it had a visible role in Finland.

The Finnish Guards' Battalion participated in four campaigns outside Finland. Two of these included actual combat: first in 1831 during the Polish November Uprising and for the second time, on the Balkan front of the Russo-Turkish War. The most famous of the battles it participated in was the battle of Gorni Dubnik in 1877. The unit was also deployed in 1849 to assist in quelling the Hungarian Uprising and later during the Crimean War to guard the western border of Russia. However, it did not engage in combat during these deployments. During peace time, the battalion was responsible for guard duty in Helsinki and participated in the Russian military exercises held annually in Krasnoye Selo.^[1]

The neighbourhood of Kaartinkaupunki in Helsinki has been named after the battalion, as it is where the Guards' Barracks (Finnish: Kaartin kasarmi) was based in. The modern Guard Jaeger Regiment considers the Finnish Guard as a part of its official lineage.^[2]