Mannerheim Cross
The Mannerheim Cross ( Finnish Mannerheim-risti , Swedish Mannerheim Corset ) is a military award from the Finnish state .
It was founded on December 16, 1940 by ordinance of the Finnish President Kyösti Kallio and named after the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces , Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim . The Mannerheim Cross was an additional decoration to the order of the Freedom Cross, which was re-established in 1940 . It can be awarded to a Finnish soldier “in times of war, regardless of military rank, for special bravery, for decisive deeds in battle and for honorable leadership”.
The Mannerheim cross had two classes: the first was a neck decoration and the second was a plug-in cross . The medal of the 1st class was a narrow paw cross , which was enamelled black and the arms of which carried a straight golden swastika ; in the middle medallion was the symbol of the Finnish white rose. The medal hung on an oval golden oak wreath, from which two curved arms with swords emerged on both sides, and was carried on a red ribbon with a white stripe on each side. The second class cross had the oak wreath as a frame for the medallion in the middle. The only difference between the Mannerheim Cross and the Order of the Freedom Cross was the color of the enamel: the Freedom Cross was enamelled in white or blue, and in the classes: the Freedom Cross had four classes and could be awarded without the oak wreath.
The Mannerheim Cross 1st Class was awarded only twice: to Mannerheim himself (1941, at the same time he received the 2nd class with marshal's baton as a special decoration) and to the infantry general Axel Erik Heinrichs (1944). The Mannerheim Cross II. Class was awarded a total of 191 times up to 1945; four soldiers have been honored twice. Major General Aaro Olavi Pajari (commander of an infantry division), Colonel Martti Johannes Aho (commander of an infantry regiment), staff sergeant Eino Ilmari Juutilainen (fighter pilot) and captain Hans Wind (fighter pilot) were honored twice.
At the second award, crossed marshal's baton was given as an additional decoration. With the award of the order, the award winner was allowed to describe himself as a knight of the Mannerheim Cross Order ( Mannerheim-ristin ritari ) and also received 50,000 Finnmarks .
Other well-known bearers of the Mannerheim Cross
- Aksel Airo , Lieutenant General , Chief of Operations in the General Staff
- Adolf Ehrnrooth , Colonel, commander of an infantry regiment
- Vilho Petter Nenonen , Artillery General, Artillery Inspector
- Ruben Lagus , colonel, commander of an infantry division
- Karl Lennart Oesch , Lieutenant General, commander of the isthmus troops
- Paavo Talvela , major general, commander of a corps
- Lauri Törni , lieutenant , commander of an infantry company
- Rudolf Walden , Infantry General , Minister of Defense of Finland
- Hjalmar Siilasvuo , lieutenant general, commander of a corps
- Erkki Raappana , colonel, commander of an infantry division
literature
- Paul Hieronymussen: Orders, Medals and Decorations of Britain and Europe in Color. Blandford Press, London 1967.
Web links
- Information about the decoration (Mannerheim Cross.fi)
- List of all bearers of the Mannerheim Cross