Nicknamed the General of Three Armies, Kaarlo Edvard Kivekäs was a Finnish-born general who served in the Russian Imperial Army, Ukrainian People’s Army and Finnish Defence Forces.

His early years and service in the Russian Army

Kaarlo was born in Valkeala, Southern Finland on 6th December 1866. He attended Hamina Cadet School, graduating in 1890. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in a Turkestan Mountain Horse-Artillery Battery, it was clear that he was a talented officer and it wasn’t long before he was given the task of forming an independent Cossack mountain artillery battery. It was whilst commanding this unit that he saw his first action. In 1893, General M.E. Ionov led a detachment of troops to expel Afghan soldiers in the Pamir Mountains. Kivekäs’ battery was seconded to the Ionov’s artillery division and supported operations throughout the campaign. For his service, Kaarlo was promoted to Lieutenant and upon his return to his original unit, he was made head of the training school.

He would continue serving in the Turkestan Military District until 1909, seeing several skirmishes with Afghan troops and tribesmen. During this time, he saw several promotions and appointments, including the commander of the Pamir detachment, which was the front line against the tribesmen and warlords of the region.

In January 1909, now Lieutenant Colonel Kivekäs was sent to the Artillery Officers’ Staff School, where he completed the 9-month-long course with honours. He was promoted to full colonel and put in charge of the 2nd Horse Artillery Regiment in the Vilna Military District, Lithuania. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, he became Commander of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment.

The First World War and Revolution

When Russia mobilised its military in August 1914, Colonel Kivekäs and his regiment were sent to be part of the offensive into East Prussia. In November 1914 they were assigned to the Carpathian Mountains, where the plan was to strike into Austrian-Hungarian territory in the south. For his bravery during the fighting in that year, he was awarded the Saint George Sword. In December 1915 he was to form the 113th Field Artillery Brigade as part of the Odessa Military District Artillery Command, he was then appointed commander of the Artillery command in March 1916. In September 1916 he was promoted to Major General and made commander of the 41st Army Corps’ artillery. He saw intense fighting against Austrian troops in Galicia, on the Zolotoja Lipa and the Tsenjovka Rivers, and participated in the retreat battles of Brezeznai. He was promoted to command the 113th Infantry Division in September 1917, which after the October Revolution was transferred to the Ukrainian government. He led the Division during clashes with both Bolsheviks and Germans in the Volynian region. The Division was demobilised in April 1918 and Kivekäs resigned his commission in both the Russian and Ukrainian Armies and attempted to return to Finland.

Return to Finland

At first, the Germans put a stop to Kivekäs’ return to Finland but the Finnish Ambassador to Germany, Edvard Hjelt, helped to arrange passage for Kivekäs and 16 other Finns to get back. They arrived in Helsinki on the 26th of July, after the Finnish Civil War had come to an end. Kivekäs wanted to help his newly independent country and enlisted as a Major General in the Finnish Army on 5th August 1918, and was initially appointed Commander of the Guard Battalions. He then transferred to Commander of the Coastal Artillery in October of the same year and then in February 1919 was made Inspector of Artillery. He was also made Acting Chief of Staff from June 1919 to September. Kivekäs played a crucial role in the Presidential election of 1919, he ensured that the army was neutral in the political game that was unfolding, despite protests from many of his officers and men. Major General Johannes Ignatius, a loyal supporter of Mannerheim, demanded that Kivekäs persuade Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency. When Kivekäs refused, Ignatius threatened with a coup but Kivekäs was still undeterred and took steps to halt any moves taken by rogue factions of the military. He was replaced as Chief of Staff by Major General Karl Fredrik Wilkama and assigned to Commander of the Finnish Coast Guard. He pushed through modernisation programs that strengthened the old Tsarist fortresses as well as fortifying the Ladoga coast, which was vitally important during the Winter War. The mid-1920s saw many of the older former-Tsarist officers being sidelined or discharged by German-trained Jaeger officers, due to this Kivekäs was made Commandant of the Suomenlinna Garrison in 1925, followed by appointment as Commandant of the Helsinki Garrison in 1926. He resigned from the Army in 1928 with the rank of Lieutenant General but remained in the employ of the Ministry of Defence.

He was appointed munitions inspector at the Department of Defence’s Military Equipment Department. Here he worked alongside Artillery General Vilho Nenonen to improve upon the country’s artillery and usage. Together they created several new tactics which were proven effective during the Winter War, as well as pushed through a comprehensive artillery training programme. He retired in the mid-1930s and moved to the border village of Terijoki. As tensions between Finland and the Soviet Union increased in late 1939, Kivekäs was evacuated, along with the rest of the village. When war broke out on the morning of 30th November 1939, General Kivekäs sent a message to Mannerheim’s Headquarters offering his services. The reply came back that he would be notified immediately if his services were needed, he died on 19th February 1940 without ever being called up. Many believe this was due to Mannerheim, who had taken a dislike to Kivekäs during the Election crisis in 1919.

He is buried in Hameenlinna. While his name may not be as remembered as other Finnish generals, in Tajikistan there is the Kivekäs Foundation which has the goal of remembering this man. It has gotten a street in the town of Khorugh named after him and has plans to create a museum dedicated to the General of Three Armies.

Sources

Kivekäs, Karl Edvard. Finnish generals and admirals in the Russian military forces 1809–1917. Biography Centre, Finnish Literature Society.
Lieutenant General Kaarlo Kivekäs is not well known in Finland, but for the Tajiks he is a Finnish hero. Kouvolan Sanomat 18.7.2017.
Loikkanen, Jarmo – Harjula, Mirko: Kaarlo Kivekäs: General of Three Armies . Docendo 2017. ISBN 978-952-291-410-1
The Finnish Defence Forces: Chiefs of Defence (in Finnish)
Kaarlo Kivekäs – General of the Three Armies