Equist, Harald

Young years

Harald Equist was born into the family of Professor ( December 6, 1861 , St. Petersburg - October 15, 1949 , Wolfach , Germany ). His mother is Helen Equist, nee von Collins. After graduating from high school in 1908 , Harald began his studies by entering the Imperial Alexander University and became a member of the , uniting ethnic Swedes ^[1] . In 1914, Harald Equist graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Helsingfors. In 1914, the First World War began . The Equist family was Germanophile-minded, and Harald decided to fight under the banners of William II .

World War I

Harald Equist went to Germany. In March 1915, arriving at Lockstedter Lager , he volunteered for the 27th Prussian Jäger Battalion (Königlich Preussisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 27). Many emigrants from Finland ( Finnische Jäger ) served in the battalion. Soon after, he joined the command of regimental scouts. On the "Eastern Front" (according to German terminology ^[2] ) Harald Equist participated in the positional battles of 1916 - 1917 against the troops of the Russian Northern Front in the Baltic: on the rivers Misa_ (Miss) , Lielupe (Aaioki) and on the shore of the Gulf of Riga .

Serving in Finland

Finnish Civil War

Equist returned to Finland in February 1918 along with the crews of the ships Mira and Poseidon. In the Finnish Civil War he became the head of the White Detachment. He was promoted to major and was given command of the 9th Jäger Battalion ( 9. jääkäripataljoona ). He fought near Vyborg . At the end of the civil war, Equist was sent as a teacher to the Markovill Military School ( Viipurin Markovillan Jalkaväen Aliupseerikoulu ), located on the outskirts of Vyborg. In the same 1918 he was given command of the Karelian Guards Regiment.

Career growth

In 1925, Equist graduated from the Swedish Military Academy Swede. Krigshögskolan KHS (now Försvarshögskolan ^[3] ). In the same year he was promoted to colonel and headed the 2nd division stationed in Vyborg.

The rank of major general followed in 1930 - and three years later Equist was given the post of commander of the army corps. In 1935 he was promoted to lieutenant general. The period of time before the Soviet-Finnish ("Winter") war, Equist spent in Vyborg and on the Karelian Isthmus . He became convinced of the strategic importance of the isthmus and thoroughly examined the territory.

The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940

When the Soviet-Finnish War began , Equist commanded the 2nd Army Corps ( Suomen II armeijakunta ). He believed in offensive tactics of warfare and planned numerous counterattacks during the peace period to repel attacks by the Soviet Union on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus . However, Equist hurried with the implementation of his plans at the beginning of the war. His tactics of delaying the battle cost the lives of many soldiers, about 350 soldiers died: the costly counterattack was carried out too early.

On March 2, 1940, the Soviet 7th Army launched an attack on Vyborg : a detour was carried out from the west, and the main assault took place from the north-east direction. By March 13, during a frontal assault, units of the 7th Army advanced to the city center ^[4] , however, by the time the hostilities ended, the Soviet troops managed to capture only the area east of Battery Hill . The center of Vyborg remained in the hands of the Finnish army. According to the terms of the Moscow Peace Treaty , most of the Vyborg province , including Vyborg itself and the entire Karelian Isthmus , as well as a number of other territories, went to the USSR . On the afternoon of March 13, Lieutenant General Equist took the last parade in the courtyard of the Vyborg Castle - and the Finnish flag was lowered from the tower of St. Olav, in compliance with all military ceremonies. On the morning of March 14, Finnish units left the ghost town. The Finnish population of the city was completely evacuated to Finland .

The Soviet-Finnish War of 1941-1944.

At the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish War (1941–1944) (referred to in Finnish historiography as the “continuation war”), Equist served as a liaison officer at German headquarters. In the period from March 1942 to February 1944 he commanded a corps on the Karelian Isthmus. Then, by order of the headquarters, he was transferred by the chief inspector of military training to the place of General Esterman. Instead, Lieutenant General Taavetti Laatikainen was appointed commander of the 4th Army Corps. Equist remained in his new post until November 1944, and after that was transferred to the reserve.

The equist was in bad relations with the supreme commander in chief at the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war, but the events that occurred in the winter of 1944 in the 4th Army Corps further worsened them. One of the main reasons for the hostility could be a prematurely given order to attack on the Karelian Isthmus (350 people were lost in one of the battalions).

After the war ends

Equist published his memoirs Vinterkriget 1939-40 ur min synvinkel (“The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 from My Point of View”) (“Winter War with My Eyes”), which were translated into Finnish in 1949 in Swedish ( Talvisota minun näkökulmastani ). In 1950, Equist received the title of Honorary Doctor of the University of Helsinki. In 1951, Harald Equist resigned from the army and until 1959 worked as chief of civil defense in Helsinki.

Harald Equist passed away in 1971 .

• Equist (Ohquist) Harald
• Puolustusministeriön sotahistoriallinen toimisto, Porvoo, Helsinki, 1938.
• Suomen jääkärien elämäkerrasto: I täydennysosa (Biographies of Finnish rangers: 1 additional part), Jääkäriliitto ry, 1957.
• fi: Päivi Tapola : Kenraalien kirjeet (Letters of the Generals), Tammi, 2007. ISBN 978-951-31-4012-0
• fi: Päivi Tapola : Ja Mikko Karjalainen: Mannerheimin haastaja. Kenraali Harald Öhquist (Challenger to General Mannerheim. General Harald Equist), Otava, 2013, ISBN 978-951-12-6880-2 .
• Harald Öhqvist: Vinterkriget 1939-1940 ur min synvinkel, 1949.