Aksel Fredrik Airo

Aksel Fredrik Airo (1940)

Aksel Fredrik Airo (born February 14, 1898 in Turku ; † May 9, 1985 in Heinola ) was a Finnish lieutenant general of the army and politician of the National Collection Party (Kansallinen Kokoomus) , who was chief of the general staff between 1944 and 1949 and from 1958 to 1966 was a member of the Reichstag .

Life

Military training and time until World War II

Aksel Fredrik Airo, son of Otto Fredrik Airo and Amanda Vilhelmine Grönlund, graduated from high school (Ylioppilastutkinto Suomessa) in 1917 and took part in the Finnish Civil War (January 27 to May 5, 1918). He began training as an ensign (Vänrikki) at the artillery school in 1918 . This was followed initially as an officer in the field artillery regiment 1 (Kenttätykistörykmentti 1) and from 1918 to 1920 in the field artillery regiment 2, where he was promoted to lieutenant (Luutnantti) in 1919 . He then graduated from the Saint-Cyr Military School (École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr) between 1920 and 1921 and was promoted to captain (Kapteeni) after graduation . He then stayed in France and graduated from 1921 to 1923 from the École supérieure de guerre , after which he received his promotion to major (Majuri) in 1923 .

After his return, Airo was a staff officer and, most recently, head of the operations section of the General Staff since summer 1925. As such, he received his promotion to lieutenant colonel (Everstiluutnantti) in 1927, and from 1928 to 1930 he was involved in building a regional defense system, which was to be used particularly in times of war. Subsequently, he was commander of the bicycle battalion 2 (Polkupyöräpataljoona 2) stationed in the Karelian isthmus between January 8, 1930 and September 24, 1931 and again head of the operations section of the General Staff from 1931 to 1933, before he was from July 1, 1933 to December 4, 1939 Head of the Operations Department of the General Staff in Helsinki and thus a close associate of the Chairman of the Defense Council (Suomen puolustusneuvosto) Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim . In this function, he was promoted to colonel (Eversti) on December 6, 1933, and he continued to deal with the reorganization of the army in the following years .

Second World War, Chief of the General Staff and member of the Reichstag

During the Second World War , Aksel Fredrik Airo was Quartermaster General (Päämajoitusmestari) between December 4, 1939 and December 7, 1944 and was promoted to Major General (Kenraalimajuri) on February 26, 1940 . He was instrumental in the implementation of the Soviet-Finnish War (November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940). From May 16, 1940 to December 7, 1944, he was also deputy chief of the general staff, and on June 3, 1942 he was promoted to lieutenant general (Kenraaliluutnantti) . In his uses he played a key role in planning and conducting the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union (June 25, 1941 to September 19, 1944), which ended after the Soviet victory with the armistice of Moscow on September 19, 1944. Most recently he was Chief of the General Staff between December 7, 1944 and March 11, 1949, and in this role he was responsible for the implementation of the Lapland War against the German Wehrmacht (September 1944 to April 1945). In 1949 retired from active military service. For his services he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross and the Finnish Order of the White Rose , among others .

In the elections on July 6th and 7th, 1958 , Airo was elected a member of the Reichstag for the National Assembly Party (Kansallinen Kokoomus) and belonged to it after his re-election in the elections on February 4th and 5th, 1962 until the elections on May 20th. and March 21, 1966 .

His daughters Aila and Anja Airo emerged from his marriage to Aino Vilhelmiina Vuori in 1924.

Background literature

• Tauno Kuosa: AF Airo, legenda jo eläessään. Päämajoitusmestari kenraaliluutnantti AF Airo operaatioiden johtajana 1939-1945 , Porvoo 1979, ISBN 951-0-09591-5
• Juhani Ruutu: AF Airo. Vahva vaikuttaja , Lahti 1987, ISBN 951-99869-7-9
• Martti Turtola: Aksel Fredrik Airo. Taipumaton kenraali , Otava 1997, ISBN 951-1-13835-9
• Päivi Tapola: Kirjeiden kirjoittajat. AF Airo, Erik Heinrichs, KL Oesch., KA Tapola, Harald Öhquist , Helsinki 2007, ISBN 978-951-31-4012-0

Web links

• Entry in Kuka kukin on Aikalaiskirja (Who's who in Finland), Volume 1, p. 35, 1978 (online version)
• Entry in Generals of WW II
• Bibliography on the homepage of the Parliamentary Library Eduskunnan Kirjasto