Page "Finnish Civil War" Paragraph 61

The first serious local battles were fought during 9 – 21 January in southern and southeastern Finland, mainly to win the race for weapons and for control of the vital southeastern town of Viipuri.

The White order to engage was issued on 25 January, and the Red Order of Revolution was issued on 26 January 1918.

On the same day all the Worker's Guards united to form the Red Guard of Finland and a red lantern, a symbolic indicator of the coup d ' état, was lit in the tower of the Helsinki Workers Hall.

In order to gain weapons and to secure a major power base in the Vaasa-Seinäjoki area the Whites continued disarmament of Russian garrisons, initiated locally in western and eastern Finland during 21 – 23 January, followed by a major operation in Ostrobothnia during the early hours of 28 January.

The large scale mobilization of the Red Guards began in the late evening of 27 January.

The Helsinki Guard, the strongest Red unit with its crucial strategic position in the capital of Finland had already become active on 23 – 25 January, aiming to secure a major power base for the Reds.

In order to gain weaponry, some of the Red Guards located along the Viipuri-Tampere railway had been alerted beforehand, on 23 – 26 January, to safeguard Russian trains carrying a heavy shipment of weapons to the Finnish Reds, as agreed between Ali Aaltonen and V. I.

Lenin on 13 January.

A 250-strong Finnish Red unit escorted the trains from Petrograd to Viipuri.

White troops in the Viipuri area tried to capture the trains ; 50-60 Finns, Red and White, died in the " Battle of the Rahja Trains " in the Karelian Isthmus on 27 January 1918.