Background
Mannerheim, Karl Gustav Emil, Baron was born in 1867.
Mannerheim, Karl Gustav Emil, Baron was born in 1867.
Finnish leader of Swedish extraction. When Finland was part of the Russian Empire, served in the Russian Army, 1889-1917, rising to the rank of lt.-general. During the Civil War, as head of the Finnish Army, defeated the Red Army in Finland.
During the Soviet-Finnish war, 1939 -40, as commander-in-chief of the Finnish forces, managed to stem the Soviet advance. Ally of Germany, 1941-1944. President of Finland, 194446.