A Finnish general at the boundary of war and diplomacy
Erik Heinrichs was a Finnish military commander who worked closely with Mannerheim across battlefield command and general-staff planning. After directing the defence of the Karelian Isthmus in the Winter War, he helped coordinate military cooperation with Germany in 1941 and then led the Army of Karelia in Finland’s offensive. The Weapons Cache Case ended his postwar command career, but he remained active as a military expert, taking part in the 1948 Moscow negotiations and writing a major two-volume biography of Mannerheim.
Career Timeline
- 1915–1918Trained in Germany as a Finnish Jäger and fought on the Eastern Front
- 1918Commanded the 7th Jäger Battalion in the Finnish Civil War
- 1931–1938Commander of the 1st Division
- 1939–1940Commanded III Corps and the Army of the Karelian Isthmus in the Winter War
- 1940–1941Chief of the General Staff and participant in military talks with Germany in 1941
- 1941–1942Commander of the Army of Karelia during the offensive in East Karelia
- 1942–1944Chief of the General Staff, overseeing wartime coordination with German forces
- 1945Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, resigning after the Weapons Cache Case