5 May 1941

120 Finnish SS-volunteers board the SS Adler in Turku. They arrive in Danzig on the 8th of May.

Germany wanted to send SS-Standartenführer Paul Dahm to handle the recruitment as he had done in Norway and Netherlands, but the Finnish Foreign Ministry insisted on handling it internally.

Chief of the EK (modern day SUPO i.e. internal security police) Esko Riekki was picked to organize the recruitment. "Engineering office 'Gear'" was set up as a front for the recruitment. When a batch of Finns would leave to Germany, they would be given "work orders", instead of any sort of official political or military orders.

Of the 1900 applicants, 1408 were accepted. Large number of these 1408 men, some 79%, were members of the White Guard.

One of the notable persons to serve in the volunteer SS battalion was Lauri Törni (better known as Larry Thorne in America).

Riiight, that guy!
Quite some resume.

Yup, he really got stuck in 'WAR' gear.

Oddly, he is sort of a forgotten figure in Finland. Most people know about him, but he rarely is mentioned in documentaries etc. :doh:

7 May 1941

Foreign Minister of Sweden Christian Günther visits Helsinki.

President Ryti assures him that Finland does its best to try and keep out of the war raging in Europe.

Günther's proposition of forming a Defense Alliance is dismissed by Ryti.

http://i.imgur.com/nkng9bSl.jpg
Remembrance Day. Hietaniemi, Helsinki.

20 May 1941

German ambassador Karl Schnurre arrives to Finland to discuss Finland's role in a possible new war with Soviet Union.

24 May 1941

Finnish Air Force conducts a photo-reconnaissance flight over the Karelian Isthmus.

The flights continue on 25/5 and 11/6.

25 May 1941

Finnish military delegation led by Chief of the General Staff, General Erik Heinrichs meet with General Alfred Jodl's delegation in Salzburg.

The discussion revolves around Finland's future military actions alongside Germany in the East.

26 May 1941

The President accepts Paasikivi's (ambassador to Moscow) request for resignation.

28 May 1941

Heinrichs' delegation returns to Finland.

In essence, Germany has proposed Finland to take part in an offensive war in the East.

1 June 1941

J.K. Paasikivi complains to Sweden's Moscow ambassador that his warnings have not been listened.

^ since you mentioned the SS further north, there were Germans, Americans and English fighting at Finland's side, some of them also in the SS.
I also read about finnish volunteers fighting as partisans behind russian lines during the war, and there were also US soldiers as a part of those special SS units (this idea later used in the Gladio scenarios after a soviet invasion). I do not think it is all made up, however.. have you heard about more info or evidence, about those WW2 units?

Hey Catfish,

The only SS unit I can think of that fought in Finland was the SS-Division 'Nord'. It took part in Operation Arctic Fox, some sources also state that it fought on the Karelian front as well, but as far as I know that is not true.

Only two German units fought in Southern Finland:
- Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 303, which took part in the battles of Summer '44
- 163. Division, which took part in the initial Finnish offensive in the South in '41

Finnish Army used long-range recon & sabotage units extensively during the Continuation War, these are the only special units I can think of that match your description.

Hello Dowly,
^ thanks, something i did not know.

Short search brought up this:
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war...ght-in-ss.html
https://books.google.de/books?id=RtP...nnland&f=false

Will look if i find it again.

You're welcome. :salute:
Yes, Lauri Törni fought in the SS before heading off to the US. The important bit is the fact that he was a Finn fighting in the SS, not American.
I'm not sure what you're going for with this one. I didn't see any mention of Americans in Finland or the SS. :hmmm:

It is true that plenty of Finns volunteered to the SS, as I have mentioned previously in this thread.

Please do. :yep: