Harald Öhquist
Harald Öhquist (born March 1, 1891 in Helsinki ; † February 10, 1971 ibid) was a Finnish officer who was last lieutenant general in the Defense Forces .
Life
Harald Öhquist, son of the writer and art historian Johannes Öhquist and his first wife Helene Öhquist, began studying at the University of Helsinki in 1908 and graduated in 1914. During the First World War , he served from 1915 with the Finnish hunters of the Grand Duchy of Finland , who received military training in the German Empire from 1916 and subsequently deployed in the battalion association of the Royal Prussian Jäger Battalion No. 27 on the Eastern Front. As of June 1916, the Finnish soldiers were in Kurland in trench warfare on the Misse at Mitau used west of the railway line Mitau-Riga. After his mother's death, his father, Johannes Öhquist, married the translator Margarita Emilia Minna Winter , who then became his stepmother. He took part in the Finnish Civil War from January 27 to May 5, 1918 and was a major in command of the 9th Jäger Battalion (9th jääkäripataljoona) in Viipuri .
Subsequently, on September 1, 1918, Öhquist succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Lauri Arvi Sarin, commander of the Karelian Guard Regiment (Karjalan kaartin rykmentti) and remained in this post until August 20, 1925, after which Colonel Lauri Tiainen became his successor. During this time he was also promoted to lieutenant colonel (Everstiluutnantti) and took over the post of commander of the 2nd division between August 20, 1925 and July 1, 1933. At the same time, he acted from August 20, 1925 to July 1, 1933 as city commander of Viipuri. In these uses he was promoted to colonel (Eversti) on December 6, 1925 , and to major general (Kenraalimajuri) on August 14, 1930 . He was commanding general of the Army Corps between July 1, 1933 and October 14, 1939 and was promoted as such to Lieutenant General (Kenraaliluutnantti) on December 6, 1936 .
After the beginning of the Second World War , Lieutenant General Harald Öhquist became Commanding General of the II Army Corps (II armeijakunta) on October 14, 1939 , which was deployed from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940 in the Karelian Isthmus in the Winter War against the Soviet Union . He then acted as Inspector General of the Army (Maavoimat) between April 11, 1940 and June 18, 1941 and was then from June 18, 1941 to January 28, 1942 the representative of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of Finland at the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW). During the Continuation War that began during this period (June 25, 1941 to September 19, 1944) he was subsequently commanding general of the army on the Karelian Isthmus between January 28, 1942 and March 4, 1944.
Subsequently, Öhquist acted from March 5, 1944 to March 1, 1951 as general inspector for military training and additionally after the Second World War between December 5, 1945 and March 1, 1951 as inspector of the infantry. On March 1, 1951, he left active military service and retired.
Web links
- Entry in Generals of WW II
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Öhquist, Harald |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 1, 1891 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Helsinki |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 10, 1971 |
| Place of death | Helsinki |