Suomalainen prikaati

Kirjoittajat

• Petteri Jouko

Avainsanat:

prikaati, kokoonpano, organisaatio, operaatiotaito, taktiikka ja sotakokemukset

Abstrakti

The aftermath of the Second World War saw significant changes in the Finnish Defence Forces. The evolution of the territorial defence system incorporating the action of local forces capable of guerrilla warfare, and general forces conducting conventional battle, took decades to actualise. As a part of this development, brigade replaced division as the basic formation of the Army in the early 1950s. The division was found too heavy for the tactical battle and too few of them could be mobilised in a new political environment calling neutrality. The development of the organisation of the brigade was a tedious process. It was affected by severe financial constraints, the nature of the battlefield and threat perception. The experience of the Soviet onslaught in 1944 convinced the Finnish military leadership about offensive capabilities of Soviet Union. A tactical penetration was unavoidable in the main axis of the approach chosen by the Red Army. The basic organisation of the brigade remained rather stable during 1950–1970. Four infantry battalions formed the core for operations. The most important change was the motorisation of the brigade. Horse as the main means of transportation was abandoned as late as the early 1970s when tractors, to be taken from the farms during the mobilisation, took their place in the organisation. The most important steps in the field of firepower were taken in the early 1960s. The large-scale introduction of domestic antitank weapons and the family of hand arms took place in the wartime establishments. The firepower of battalions was enhanced in the early 1970s when heavy mortar became an integrated battalion level support system and light mortar a company level system. The organisation of armoured brigade was dictated by financial factors. Only after the first large-scale procurements from the Soviet Union took place in the early 1960s, the brigade could be equipped with modern armour. Long-term plans to establish an armoured corps of two brigades did not take place due to the lack of resources. The single brigade was, however, developed into a relatively effective formation by the Finnish standards during the early 1970s. The brigade incorporated armour and mechanised infantry and was the most important single reserve formation at the disposal of the Finnish High Command. The full text is in Finnish. Artikkeli on suomenkielinen.