Taistelu Näsilinnasta 1918 (2012) - full transcript
This film is
based on real events,
during the Finnish Civil War
in 1918,
as told by soldiers of
senior lieutenant Melin's company
I'm the youngest
of 11 children.
Oskar Backstrom, 22, worker
I lost four siblings at birth.
Father died of consumption
just a few months after my birth.
In September 1917, I joined
the Kaskinen volunteer fire brigade,
a cover for the civil guard.
I was there when the Russians
were disarmed at Kaskinen.
On March 6, we
drilled in Kristiinankaupunki,
and joined senior lieutenant Melin's
company in Vaasa.
Put fir twigs in your pocket.
- Two hand grenades, an axe...
Name, abode and company. Tie round
the neck. Fasten to the belt.
Johannes Fagerholm
29, small farmer
I'm the eldest of 13 children.
I was out of town when the Russians
were disarmed at Uusikaarlepyy,
but I joined the civil guard
after returning home.
When I returned from transporting
Russian prisoners to the border,
I was called up in Kuddnäs,
and joined the 3rd platoon
of Melin's company in Vaasa.
Put the fir twig in the pocket.
Don't forget the bars.
- Two grenades each. Fasten them to the belt.
Two might be enough,
but you can take as many as you wish.
I'm the youngest of five.
Oskar Åbb 22, farmer
In March 1916, I got married to
Selma Henrika from my home village.
In autumn 1917, I joined
the secret civil guard of Korsnäs,
and participated in
drills and patrols.
In the beginning of March,
I was called to the youth center,
from where I continued to Vaasa
and enrolled in Melin's company.
I'm the third youngest
of 12 siblings.
Edvin Häger, 25 farmer
Three siblings died at birth.
In autumn 1917, I enrolled
in the Uusikaarlepyy civil guard,
and PE teacher Böök drilled us
in the yard of the teachers' college.
They made me guard prisoners
in the prison camp at the college.
Then I got called
to military service in Vaasa,
where I was placed
in Melin's company.
Senior lieutenant
Erik Gunnar Melin
A soldier's duty is
to love God and the fatherland.
TAMPERE, Russian barracks
3 April, 1 a.m.
You die for them if necessary,
for God, when He created us,
outlined the number of our days,
as well as the form
and tasks of our lives.
Should it be God's will that we shall
fall on the battlefield,
we have no influence whatsoever
on the matter.
With God's help,
as is proper for a man,
we shall do our duty to the country
that has raised us.
28 January 1918,
civil war breaks out
in the new Republic of Finland.
The country is divided into the
bourgeois white and socialist red.
Carl Gustav Mannerheim is appointed
the commander of the White Army.
World War I
is in its fourth year.
Senior lieutenant Melin and other
jaegers return from Germany,
and disembark in Vaasa
on February 25.
On March 15,
Mannerheim's army launches an
attack on the reds in southern Finland.
Two days later, Melin's company
proceeds from Vaasa,
towards the front in the south.
The red troops retreat gradually
towards Tampere.
On March 26,
the White Army, under Mannerheim's
command has besieged red Tampere.
Colonel Ausfeld has decided
to make our company a Stosstruppe,
which will take the front.
We shall march
into the city,
go past the Russian church,
proceed over the falls,
all the way up to the Häme Museum,
the Näsilinna palace,
which we shall
seize at any cost.
Senior lieutenant Melin
Nicke Lignell
Lieutenant Holm
Petter Kevin
Jaeger Sergeant Major Boström
Anton Häggblom
Jaeger NCO Lundström
Wilhelm Grotenfelt
Soldier Oskar Bäckström
Thomas Holm
Soldier Johannes Fagerholm
Mattias Asplund
Soldier Oskar Åbb
Markus Wilson
Soldier Edvin Häger
Mike Nordlund
Soldier Oskar Nybacka
Fredrik Westholm
Scenographer:
Oskari Löytönen
Costume designer:
Elina Vättö
Editor:
Oskar Franzén
Sound designer:
Kimmo Perkkiö
Prop master:
Laura Tikkanen
Make-up:
Erja Mikkola
Cinematographer:
Pertti Mutanen
Composer: Yari
Manuscript:
CLAES OLSSON - ROBERT ALFTAN
Based on interviews
by Konrad Vestlin in 1936
Director:
CLAES OLSSON
DEAD OR ALIVE 1918
Take off the white armlets.
I'm not hungry.
Shall we write "Melin's company" here?
- Yes.
Let's have a look at the ruins
the reds have left in their wake.
They burned farms and left
thousands of people without a home.
We must be brave,
go to the battle,
and save our
country from bandits,
who tried to declare their freedom
with violence and swords.
Anyone weakened by sickness
or bad nerves,
should step forward.
Take him away.
We must despise death.
Our mission is difficult, hut
we shall get promotions afterwards.
Just how many
will come back alive!
Are there others
who want to go home?
The barracks are here.
We'll proceed towards the railway,
cross it, and continue towards
the Russian church.
We'll pass the church from the south,
move up north to Hämeensilta bridge,
over the falls,
towards Läntinen katu street,
and then straight up north
towards Näsilinna palace.
To my dear family hack home.
I'm sending
my love to you all.
We're in the village,
but we'll probably leave at night.
I guess we'll storm the city at night
or in the morning.
That's why I wanted to write you
a line or two.
So far I've been healthy,
or lucky enough not to be wounded,
but you never
know what's to come.
I don't mind too much,
come what may,
but you may
feel worse about this.
Let's hope that
everything goes well.
We just need to get there,
and cleanse Tampere for good.
I'm sending
you some money:
505 Finnish marks
and 17 German reichsmarks.
I gave the money
to Uno Björndal from Vaasa,
and should I fall in battle, he'll
deliver the letter and the money.
I finish the letter in thanks
and love to all of you at home.
Johannes.
Say hello to
everyone I know,
and all the girls hack home.
RUSSIAN BARRACKS
3 a.m. the same night
Start running!
Forward, march!
Short gaps!
March, march!
On the ground! Take cover!
Forward!
Forward, forward!
Go round the
church from the south!
From the south side!
Stop! Turn around, damned butchers
are trying to get in the city!
Damn it!
Who are you?
Are you a red!
Forward!
Let's cross here.
Axes!
Down!
On your knees.
Damn it.
We can't cross the bridge.
They have machine guns
and chevaux-de-frise.
Can we cross
further in the south?
Lieutenant Melin! Machine guns
and medics have fallen behind,
and 20 men are missing.
- Give me a rifle, and I'll shoot him.
There you go.
No, no!
This way.
You'll get through from here.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Make way.
Boys! Out of the way.
Don't worry.
It's alright.
No, not there!
- Show us.
Don't go up there.
The reds' machine gun is there.
Go towards Hallituskatu street,
it's on the right from the gate.
Got it.
Hands up!
Ruki verh! Hände hoch!
Are you a red?
- I'm just a horseman.
Forward!
Vorwärts! Vorwärts!
Vorwärts!
God damn it!
At 5 a.m. on Maundy Thursday
we received an order,
to fortify the reserve battalion,
to extend the flank to the left.
We had to replace
3rd company from Oulu.
Captain Bonsdorff
threatened with a Mauser.
A well-equipped soldier
from Oulu said:
"If the Swedes won't go to the front
line, neither will the Finns."
I was bayoneted.
In the evening we found our way
back to our company,
and told the men from Oulu
to go back.
Holm shot two men
who refused the order.
Get up and
move forward!
LÄNTINEN KATU STREET
4 a.m. - after an hour of attacking
This is the half-way point.
Did you get bread'!
- First thing in the morning.
I hoarded as there
was so much this time.
Did you desert?
- Go back to the front!
Butchers!
- Are you butchers?
Go home, girl!
NÄSILINNA PALACE
5 a.m. - two hours after the start
Grenades!
I'm going in.
Surrender!
Stop!
- Don't shoot, we are whites, too!
I'm not a soldier.
I work here. I'm not a soldier.
Captain! My name is Jörgen Johansson.
I'm a coppersmith from Stockholm.
I work here.
I'm not involved in the war.
We were told
not to take prisoners.
Captain, please,
I speak Swedish like you.
Captain! Captain!
We all speak Swedish.
Captain!
Hold your head up high.
15 men,
take your positions.
Ready! Aim!
Fire!
You bloody butchers,
can't you shoot? Shoot!
Shoot!
We reached the final point.
Give me two reds.
Two men check the cellar.
Boström, check the roof.
Holm!
Oh, well. Here we have
some fine womenfolk of Tampere.
We only stayed
a few days in Vaasa.
A one-day drill in the market square
and a one-day shooting drill.
Then it was on to Haapamäki
and from there to Keuruu,
where we had
another tough drill.
In Keuruu, we lived
at the association house.
Our Chief Warrant Officer,
Jaeger Johannes Huuhtanen,
shot himself in
the parsonage sauna.
It was said that lieutenant Ilander
had told Huuhtanen off,
for being too slow.
To top it all, they said Huuhtanen
had two brothers who were red.
It's a nice view to the lake.
- Yes.
There are no
other companies in sight.
We did well.
- We sure did.
Can I have a light?
We're alive, though bullets swished
past our ears and legs.
And we shot.
I shot.
I was there when we executed
16 Russians at Uusikaarlepyy.
Granath fell at Messukylä,
Hugo and Verner got off unscathed.
We slaughtered a pig and ate
pancakes that were made of chalk.
Now our job is done,
and we can relax.
Damn it!
- There's no-one else here.
Let's take it over there.
9 a.m.
This is a good place.
Pull the legs out.
We have to secure our position.
You two go to the east side.
You two go
to the western end.
You three go to the north
and you two to the south.
The lever.
What?
The safety catch.
- What?
Release the safety catch.
Hey, take him inside.
Company commander Melin! What shall we do?
- Shut the door!
What is it?
What shall we do?
When will the other companies arrive?
If we don't hold our positions,
we'll get shot as well!
I wish the
help would arrive.
I still want to peel
pitwood in Korsnäs.
I'm going to promenade
on the Esplanadi in Helsinki.
Save ammunition.
Can I have a drag?
1 p.m.
Come here!
Damn it.
Load, load!
God damn it, they'll pepper us dead!
Reinforce...
How dare you leave your position?
On whose order? Go back!
Isn't there anyone else?
- Go back!
Shoot before
they load the cannon.
Don't shoot!
We're looking for our boys.
Don't shoot!
We're looking for our boys.
- Don't shoot!
We're looking for our boys.
- Don't shoot!
Should we shoot?
- I don't know.
Lieutenant Holm!
Shall we shoot?
Don't shoot.
- Shall we let them through?
Let them through.
We're looking for our boys.
- Our brothers.
Do you reckon we'll get help?
- I don't think so.
The help should arrive soon, if
we want to make it out of here alive.
6 p.m.
What is it?
Something's wrong.
Stay low! Damn it.
Are you hurt?
- Yes.
Shoot before they get close enough
to throw grenades!
Is it better to fall in battle
or get shot against the wall?
Take cover, Söderman!
- Not now. I've got him in my sights.
He's behind the tree.
Söderman says he has shot
at least 121 Russians.
He's one hell
of a butcher, literally.
Exhale. God damn it,
you had to get shot.
Hang in there.
Medic! Medic!
Medic!
- Come upstairs, Åbb. Nordling is wounded.
Medic!
Medic!
Hang in there, Oskar.
Down! Down!
You'll be fine.
On the front, you get
so used to seeing bodies,
you pretty much
start to ignore them.
Unless it's someone
you know, of course.
There was a body
on the doormat of our lodgings,
in Järvensivu,
a suburb of Tampere.
No-one bothered
to move the body.
Everyone had to step over it
to get in and out.
Stop, get back inside!
- Stop!
Stop, get back inside!
Get back!
Hold the positions!
Get in the window, boys!
Save ammunition!
Give up? Not a chance.
Surrender? No way in hell.
We won't surrender,
but save one bullet for yourselves!
Save one
bullet for yourself.
I'd rather shoot myself
than surrender.
Korsbäck!
All fairest beauty
Heavenly and earthly
Are you holding up?
- Sure.
Do you have cartridges left?
- A few.
Are you wounded?
- No, I'm still alive.
Was it bad?
Get up.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come...
I got a bayonet through the middle
finger in a combat drill in Keuruu.
The boy who stabbed me
was from Uusikaarlepyy.
He fell when we
were guarding the hospital.
I don't remember his name.
Lieutenant Melin said
I'm not to tell the wounded,
that the company
will break out of here in an hour.
The boys are weary,
and there's no ammunition left.
Our only chance is to go up north
towards the Näsijärvi lake.
Fine.
Lieutenant Melin decided
we shall leave. Wait for the signal.
We'll leave on Melin's signal.
- I'm coming with you.
We'll leave on my signal.
Wait for the signal!
Oskar, Oskar.
Lieutenant Melin said
we are leaving Näsilinna.
The wounded
must be left behind.
I can't leave you here,
not in that condition.
You'll get shot if you
don't leave. I'll be okay.
No, Oskar,
I'm not going without you.
They're leaving now.
Go, so we won't both die.
You just rest.
I'll come and get you.
Will they leave us here?
Let's get out.
Forward, forward.
Don't leave us here!
Don't leave us here!
Do you hear me?
Don't leave us here!
9 p.m. - 18 hours from the start
♪A mighty fortress is our God♪
♪A bulwark never failing♪
♪Our helper he amid the flood♪
♪Of mortal ills prevailing♪
♪For still our ancient foe♪
♪Doth seek to work us woe♪
♪Arise, ye workers♪
♪from your slumber♪
♪Arise, ye prisoners♪
♪of want♪
♪For reason in♪
♪re volt now thunders♪
♪And at last♪
♪ends the age of Kant♪
♪Away with all your superstitions♪
♪Servile masses, arise, arise♪
After dark, comrades slid
away one after another.
I tried to follow, but saw seven reds
walking on the tracks towards me.
I hid between the
timber piles.
Later, I tried to sneak away again,
but met a Russian soldier.
Stop!
- Don't shoot.
Sit down!
I'm a regular man.
He was hiding, too.
I didn't dare shoot, as there
were no other shots heard.
So instead I shouted:
Sit down, I'm not a bad man.
I'm not a soldier,
nor an officer.
6 a.m. next morning
Don't shoot!
Take the Germans out!
Stop! What did you say?
He's not German,
he speaks Swedish.
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will he done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Water...
Your name is Oskar, right?
- Have you seen Johannes, my brother?
No, unfortunately not,
but everything will be alright.
Look at me
and listen to my voice.
The worst is over. There's
an ambulance for you. -My brother...
Does it hum.
-The bullet hit me in the back and came out my stomach.
9 a.m. the same morning
Don't shoot!
Red bastards!
Take them against the wall.
Don't shoot.
We're from Melin's company.
2nd Jaeger regiment,
6th battalion, 1st company.
I was shot in the stomach.
Stop!
- Don't shoot!
I'm one of yours.
2nd Jaeger regiment,
6th battalion, 1st company.
Lieutenant Melin's company.
Messukylä?
That way.
My son Albert Nygård wrote home
to his friend Albert Vik,
and told Albert to tell us
not to grieve over his dead body,
because should he fall,
he'd fall for law and justice.
And Vik was not to show
the letter at home,
before the body
had been sent home.
My son was shot.
The bullet hit his left eye and
came out of the back of his head.
Like he'd
been hit with an axe.
When his body was found, his watch, 500-600 marks and shoes were gone.
Albert was buried
in a soldier's grave in Esse.
On April 6, the White Army
conquers Tampere.
In the assault through the city
and in the battle of Näsilinna,
26 men of senior lieutenant
Melin's company fell
48 were wounded,
3 of them mortally.
On April 12, the company arranges
a parade for colonel Ausfeld.
Three days later, the company takes a train to the Karelian isthmus.
On 3 August 1918,
the company is discharged
Oskar Bäckström
follows the company to Karelia.
He's discharged from
his military service in April 1919.
In September,
he gets married,
and has 6 children,
of whom two die at birth.
Oskar Bäckström dies
at the age of 45 in 1941.
Johannes Fagerholm is wounded in the arm during the battle of Näsilinna.
After the war, he is transported
to the Vaasa Reserve Hospital.
Johannes gets married
and has one son.
The son dies
at the age of 22 in 1942.
Johannes is an invalid,
but he receives no financial support
nor pension until 1950.
Johannes Fagerholm
dies at the age of 76 in 1965.
Oskar Åbb goes to Karelia
with Melin's company.
He's released
from the army in July 1918.
Oskar Åbb has 5 children
and dies at the age of 78 in 1972.
Edvin Häger goes to Karelia
with Melin's company.
He's released from the army
in June 1918.
Edvin gets
married in 1921,
and raises 10 children
in a one-bedroom cottage.
Edvin Häger dies
at the age of 48 in 1941.
Rip & edit by
JimmyBG28