Mannerheim was bullied into being Hitler’s friend and killing Finnish communists!
Fun fact: During Russian Civil War, Mannerheim tried to ally with Kolchak even after Kolchak in no uncertain words told counterevolutionary Finnish government he does not recognize any independent Finland and they should prepare to rejoin Russian Empire. This cooled even those bloodthirsty fuckers and they stopped Mannerheim who fortunately had not even close the power he had in the 40’s, because if Finland joined Yudenich offensive on Petersburg (which according to Lenin was the most dangerous moment of entire Civil War), Whites could quite possibly win.
Fun fact: During Russian Civil War, Mannerheim tried to ally with Kolchak even after Kolchak in no uncertain words told counterevolutionary Finnish government he does not recognize any independent Finland and they should prepare to rejoin Russian Empire. This cooled even those bloodthirsty fuckers and they stopped Mannerheim who fortunately had not even close the power he had in the 40’s, because if Finland joined Yudenich offensive on Petersburg (which according to Lenin was the most dangerous moment of entire Civil War), Whites could quite possibly win.