Vilho Johannes "Ville" Koskela is a fictional character inVäinö Linna's 1954war novelThe Unknown Soldier and theUnder the North Star trilogy (1959–1962). InThe Unknown Soldier, Koskela's military rank is initially that of asergeant major, but he later rises tolieutenant. According to Väinö Linna, Vilho Koskela's role model wasNilsiä-born Einari Kokkonen.[1][2][3] Another officer who provided material for Koskela's character was a lieutenant named Niemelä, who fell in the aftermath of the Battle of Pertjärvi, and whom Linna also valued as a leader.[4]
Vilho Koskela is an almost 30-year-old sub-lieutenant when theContinuation War breaks out. The soldiers serving under him are more understanding of Koskela than of the other squad leader, Lieutenant Lammio (who later, as an active officer, will succeed Captain Kaarna as company commander). Koskela is quiet, calm and friendly, and therefore manages to gain the trust of his soldiers. Because of his reticence, he is nicknamed Ville Vaitelias ("Quiet Ville"). Koskela is quite modest and often more of a soldier than an officer. Koskela dies during the defensive battles of the summer of 1944; he is shot with a machine gun while destroying an enemy tank with asatchel charge, and his attempt to prevent the Finnish line from breaking apart is wasted.
Koskela's background is revealed more inUnder the North Star, and his first appearance occurs in thesecond volume of the trilogy. He was born in the Pentinkulma village ofTavastia in 1913, and he is the firstborn son of Akseli Koskela, a farmer andRed Guard officer, and Elina Kivivuori. Vilho's three uncles die in the 1918Finnish Civil War, and two of his three younger brothers later fall in theWinter War.
At school, Vilho is a quiet and reserved student, a fairly easy student for the teacher. His main wish for school is for it to end soon.[5] His teacher, Pentti Rautajärvi, is impressed by Vilho's gold medal in the parish boys'skiing competition. Even after finishing school, he is interested in sports, but knows on the other hand that his father will not let him "play sports on theCivil Guard's field".
Vilho is serving his military service in Hennala in theTampere Regiment, where his father, a former Red Guard, was imprisoned there at the end of the Civil War. In the ranks, Vilho "learns everything easily", and he continues on to theNCO school. The assignment there is considered somewhat special because of his family's "Red connections": his father and uncles fought on the Red side in the Civil War, and Uncle Janne is a staunchSocial Democrat. The primary reasons for the assignment to the NCO school are Vilho's success incross-country skiing competitions and other "physical training" as well as his excellent marksmanship.[6]
Pentikulma's pastor Lauri Salpakari, who often clashes with Vilho's father Aksel, respects Vilho: "He is an honest boy... You can see something of the best of this nation in him..." Salpakari believes that Vilho and his brothers have made amends for their father's "bad deeds" to the nation.[7]
After the Winter War, Koskela is ordered to an officer's school, and he remains in the army as a sub-lieutenant on additional pay. On his first vacation in Pentinkulma during theInterim Peace in the spring of 1941, his old teacher made a first name basis trade with him: "Since we are fellow officers here. From now on, Pentti."[8] While on his second vacation in the autumn of 1942, Vilho, in a discussion with his father, made pessimistic assessments of the outcome of the war and considered Germany's defeat possible – long before theBattle of Stalingrad.[9]
In the1955The Unknown Soldier film, directed byEdvin Laine, Koskela was played byKosti Klemelä. In the 1970 filmAkseli and Elina, based on thethird volume of the trilogy, he was played byIsmo Vehkakoski [fi]. In thesecondThe Unknown Soldier version from 1985, directed byRauni Mollberg, Koskela was played byRisto Tuorila. In the 2009Under the North Star II, directed byTimo Koivusalo, Koskela was played bySampo Sarkola [fi]. In thethirdThe Unknown Soldier version from 2017, directed byAku Louhimies, Koskela was played byJussi Vatanen.[10]
