Paavo Juho Talvela (born Paavo Juho Thorén; 19 February 1897 – 30 September 1973) was a Finnish general of the infantry and a member of the Jäger movement. He commanded major formations during the Winter War and the Continuation War, leading Finnish forces to victory at the Battle of Tolvajärvi in December 1939, and was the second person ever to receive the Mannerheim Cross. From 1942 to 1944 he served as the Finnish army's representative at the German high command. Talvela had earlier participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War and the Finnish Kinship Wars.
Outside the army, Talvela was active in radical nationalist politics during the interwar period, being involved in the founding of the Academic Karelia Society and in the Lapua Movement, for which he organized the Peasant March of 1930. He also held senior positions in Finnish business, including as deputy director of the state alcohol monopoly Oy Alkoholiliike Ab and as director of the transport company Pohjolan Liikenne. He resigned from active military service four times during his career — to volunteer in the Kinship Wars or to take civilian positions — and has been described as "Finland's most senior reserve officer".
Early life and Jäger Movement
Paavo Juho Talvela (originally Thorén) was born on 19 February 1897 to farmer parents Johan Fredrik Thorén and Helena Uino in Helsingin maalaiskunta. One of eleven children, Talvela enrolled in secondary education, but became involved in the Jäger Movement, where Finnish volunteers received military training in Germany, leaving for Germany in 1916. While in Germany, the Finnish volunteers formed the 27th Royal Prussian Jäger Battalion, fighting for the Imperial German Army on the Eastern Front of World War I. During this time, Talvela saw combat in battles in the regions of Misa and Gulf of Riga, but was sent to Sweden and Finland for "special tasks" in 1917. He was arrested at the border between Finland and Sweden and detained by Swedish authorities for several months. In late 1917, Talvela was able to enter Finland by traveling to Turku via Åland. In December 1917, Talvela moved from Turku to Vimpeli, where he would act as a military instructor.
Civil War and Kinship Wars
During 1918, Talvela took part in the Finnish Civil War on the side of the Whites under the pseudonym Strömsten. During the war, Talvela was promoted directly from the rank of jäger to lieutenant in the Finnish Army.
Promoted to major after the civil war, Talvela briefly commanded a battalion and a regiment before resigning in 1919 to serve as a regimental commander in the Kinship Wars of the 1920s. He became commander-in-chief of the Aunus expedition and a member of its short-lived provisional government,
On 16 July 1944, the Aunus Group was disbanded and Talvela was ordered to return to Germany. Talvela died on 30 September 1973 in Helsinki. He is buried in the Kulosaari Cemetery in Helsinki.
Awards
During his career, Talvela was granted several awards. The most notable of these is the Mannerheim Cross, which Talvela was the second to receive. He also received the Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose. He also received the German Iron Cross (both 1st and 2nd class), German Cross in Gold and the Order of Merit of the German Eagle; the Swedish Order of the Sword and Order of Vasa; the Order of the Crown of Italy; and the Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
Character and legacy
Described as having a difficult personality and ambitious as a soldier, Talvela frequently came into conflict with his superiors, colleagues and subordinates. His relationship with Mannerheim, however, was always impeccable. Originally regarded as an Anglophile, he was nevertheless able to work effectively with the Germans despite not subscribing to Nazi ideology. In his later decades, Talvela was known as virtually the only Jäger general to maintain good relations with President Urho Kekkonen, who otherwise generally avoided promoting Jäger officers; it was Kekkonen who in 1966 promoted Talvela to general of the infantry.