Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Chapters: Finnish military personnel of World War II, Aksel Airo, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Lauri Törni, Simo Häyhä, Karl Lennart Oesch, Felix Kersten, Hjalmar Siilasvuo, Kurt Martti Wallenius, Kyösti Karhila, Aarne Juutilainen, Adolf Ehrnrooth, Paavo Talvela, Erik Heinrichs, Aladár Paasonen, Matti Aarnio, Oiva Tuominen, Woldemar Hägglund, Olli Puhakka, Hannu Hannuksela, Martti Aho, Harald Öhquist, Lauri Malmberg, Paavo Berg, Lauri Tiainen, Sulo Kolkka, Juho Heiskanen, Aarne Sihvo, Eino Kuvaja, Lauri Nissinen, Hugo Österman, Wiljo Tuompo, Jaakko Valtanen. Excerpt: Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (Swedish pronunciation: ) (4 June 1867 - 27 January 1951) was the Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces, Marshal of Finland and a politician. He was Regent of Finland (1918-1919) and the sixth President of Finland (1944-1946). Mannerheim was born in the Grand Principality of Finland, a territory of Imperial Russia, into a family of Swedish-speaking nobles settled in Finland since the late 18th century. His paternal German ancestor Marhein had emigrated to Sweden during the 17th century. His maternal ancestry has its roots in Södermanland, Sweden. He made a career in the Russian army, rising to general. He also had a prominent place in the ceremonies for Tsar Nicholas II's coronation and later had several private meetings with the Russian Tsar. After the Bolshevik revolution, Finland declared its independence but was soon embroiled in a civil war along class lines. The workers overwhelmingly held a socialist ("Red") creed; whereas the bourgeois, farmers, and businessmen held a capitalist ("White") creed. Mannerheim was pointed to be the military chief of the Whites. Twenty years later, when Finland was at war with the Soviet Union from 1939-1944, Mannerheim was appointed commander of the country's armed forces. The Mannerheim family descends from a German businessman and mill owner from Hamburg, Hinrich Marhein (1618-1667), who emigrated to Gävle in Sweden and changed his name to Henrik. His son Augustin Marhein changed his surname to Mannerheim, and was raised to the nobility in 1693. His son, an artillery colonel and a mill supervisor, Johan Augustin Mannerheim, was raised to the status of Baron at the same time as his brother in 1768. The Mannerheim family came to Finland, then an integral part of Sweden, in the latter part of 18th century. (It was long believed that Hinrich Marhein had emigrated to Sweden from the Netherlands, but recent studies have shown this belief to be erroneous). Mannerheim was also of Scottish anc