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TheJäger Movement (Finnish:Jääkäriliike) consisted of volunteers fromFinland who trained inGermany asJägers duringWorld War I. Supported by Germany to enable the creation of a Finnish sovereign state, the movement was one of many means by which Germany intended to weakenRussia and to cause Russia's loss of its western provinces and dependencies.
The recruitment of volunteers from theGrand Duchy of Finland was clandestine and dominated by German-influenced circles, such as university students and the Finnish upper middle class. The recruitment was however in no way exclusive.[citation needed] In all, over 1,100 volunteers are estimated to have "slipped off" to train in Germany.[1]
The recruits were most often clandestinely transported across Finland's western border viaSweden to Germany, where they were formed into the RoyalPrussian27th Jäger Battalion. The Jäger Battalion fought in the ranks of the German Army from 1916 in the battles on the northern flank of the eastern front.
After the outbreak of theCivil War in Finland the Jägers were engaged on the "White" (non-communist) side in the war and formed the nucleus of the new Finnish Army. In Finland, these 2,000 volunteers were simply called the Jägers (Finnish pl. Jääkärit).
Their contribution to the White victory was crucial, not least through improving morale. Having been professionally trained in Germany, many were also the best candidates to assume command over the untrained troops of the Civil War.
Immediately after the Civil War, they were allowed to use the wordJäger in their military ranks. Many of the Jägers continued their military careers. In the 1920s a long feud between officers with Jäger-background and Finnish officers who had served in the Russian Imperial army was concluded in favor of the Jägers. Most of the commanders of army corps, divisions, and regiments in theWinter War were Jägers. TheJäger March composed byJean Sibelius for the words written by Jäger Heikki Nurmio, was the honorary march of many army detachments.
The Jäger conflict derived from rising tensions (short of armed conflict) between German-influenced Jägers and politicians who looked to Germany as their ally on one side, and the faction centered on former Russian General and Finnish Commander-in-Chief BaronGustaf Mannerheim on the other side. The Mannerheim side was oriented towards an alliance with Sweden, which remained neutral during the war but which was opposed to Russia, and with which Finland shared its history up to 1809. Mannerheim, who was from aFinland Swedish family, was respected among Finns, Russians, and Swedes alike. Baron Mannerheim and some of the Swedish-speaking officers of the Finnish army left Finland as a direct consequence of this conflict, as the Finnish senate elected a German prince asKing of Finland and would have madeFinland a monarchy. However, the kingdom was never realized beyond this election; and when World War I ended and the German Kaiser fled, the nascent Finnish monarchy was replaced by a republic, whereupon Baron Mannerheim returned.[citation needed]
At the present time,infantry in theFinnish Army are designated either as infantry or Jäger troops, specificallymechanized infantry ormotorised infantry usingAPCs or vehicles such asSisu Nasu. Mechanized infantry usingIFVs are calledpanssarijääkäri or Armoured Jäger. Several other variations exist, includingFinnish Navy Coastal Jäger (Marine), Guard's Jäger of theGuard Jaeger Regiment, in special forces (Para) Jäger,Special Jäger, and in theBorder Guard border jäger and special border jäger.
