Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim - Finland's Wartime Hero скачать в хорошем качестве

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim - Finland's Wartime Hero

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the hero of Finland in the first half of the 20th century. The story of his life shows a man who would do anything for his country and her liberty. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe! Instagram:   / latemodernh.  . Twitter:   / lmh_yt   Script: Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim - was he one of the greatest military leaders of the Axis or a heroic liberator of the Finns? Well, … he was both. Mannerheim was born on June 4th, 1867 in Finland. Well, it was part of the Russian Empire at the time, but that was soon to change. In 1882, he was sent to the Hamina Cadet School where he was expelled 4 years later, just before graduation.In 1891, he joined the Russian Army. One year later, Mannerheim met the love of his life: Anastasia Arapova. They had two children then got divorced in 1919. I guess she wasn’t the love of his life… Now in the army, he was sent to Mongolia then China then Tibet where he got attacked by monks. Not long after he got back home, he was sent to fight in the Great War. He returned to Finland in 1917 just in time for the Russian Revolution! During the Revolution, he decided to break off from Russia, but couldn’t escape the Communists. A mini revolution broke out in Finland, but here, the Whites won! Mannerheim didn’t like the political division after the war, so he often went hunting in Asia (and made sure to avoid the Soviet Union). When he did get involved, he got into arguments and resigned. Often. In 1939, Soviet-Finnish relations became very bad (they invaded). Now 72 years old, Mannerheim became Commander-in-Chief of Finland. He ordered a defensive line against the Soviets and attempted to fight the invasion in November of 1939. The Winter War went very poorly for the Soviets, despite their victory. The Finns decimated the Soviet troops, inflicting three to four hundred thousand casualties to their seventy thousand. Eventually, the Soviets had more troops than the Finns had bullets, so they ceded a large chunk of their territory the following March. Finland was not happy with this. In 1941, the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union. Mannerheim saw this as the chance to take back the stolen territory. Mannerheim did NOT want to be associated with Hitler or the Nazis, so he declined Adolf’s offer of 80 thousand German troops. Mannerheim then led the country in the Continuation War. Finnish troops were able to retake lost land and even help siege Leningrad. On his 75th birthday, Mannerheim received the title of Marshal of Finland (and is still the only holder of that honour). He also got a not as good birthday present in the form of a visit from Hitler. In their meeting, Mannerheim supposedly lit a cigar simply because everyone knew how much Hitler hated smoking. To make sure he retained German support, Mannerheim knew he had to agree to the pact demanded by Ribbentrop (the Nazi foreign minister). Mannerheim refused to sign it, though, so he was able to revoke it as soon as he became president. Alas, the Red Army made a massive push in 1944. Although this time Finnish losses were at about 200 thousand, Soviet losses were around 900 thousand. Again, Finland lost to the endless Red Army. The Moscow Armistice (which ended the Continuation War) said that Germans had to be kicked out of Finland, leading to yet another war: the Lapland War. This time, Finland actually won! After World War Two ended, Mannerheim was worried he would be lumped in with the Nazis. Luckily, that never happened. Mannerheim resigned in 1946 as a hero. Not only did those loyal to Finland love him, even Finnish Communists loved him. Joseph Stalin, his arch-enemy, respected his leadership and even said that Finland owed its independence to Mannerheim. Mannerheim died on January 27, 1951. Up until his death, he wrote his memoirs, though they were mostly about Finland. Today, Mannerheim is revered in Finland and seen as a national hero. Although he sided with the wrong people during World War Two, he wasn’t remembered for his mistakes, but for his contributions to his country and her liberty. Mannerheim may in fact be the only Axis leader not worthy of being called “the bad guy”.