Finland Army
Soviet-built SA-3 GOA low- to medium-altitude antiaircraft
missiles in use by Finnish Defense Forces
Courtesy General Headquarters, Finnish Defense Forces
Finland's defense doctrine foresaw that the army
(Maavoimat)
would bear the brunt of repelling an invasion or any
violation of
Finnish territorial integrity during a period of
hostilities.
Consequently, maintenance of sufficient peacetime
readiness of
ground forces enjoyed high priority. The importance
assigned to
territorial defense was reflected in the command
structure, which
integrated army headquarters with general headquarters.
Navy and
air force headquarters were on a lower level, parallel
with the
seven military area commands.
As of 1988, the active-duty ground forces consisted of
30,000
troops, of which 22,300 were conscripts. They were
organized into
8 brigades, each with a reduced peacetime strength of
1,500 to
2,000, together with 7 independent infantry battalions
with
strengths of up to 500 each, supported by artillery,
antiaircraft, engineer, special forces, signals, and
transport
units of varying sizes. Under peacetime conditions, the
brigade
was the basic ground forces unit; there were no divisions
or
corps. In wartime, 2 or more brigades plus a number of
detached
battalions could be combined to form a corps of 15,000 to
30,000
tailored to a particular operation.
Upon mobilization, the first-line army forces,
numbering
about 130,000 and including younger reservists with recent
training, would be deployed initially. In accordance with
a
fifteen-year (1981-96) modernization program, the best
equipped
of these units were known as Brigade 90 forces. The
program
provides for an eventual ten to fifteen brigades. The
remaining
first-line units, known as Brigade 80 forces, were
believed to
number ten to fifteen brigades when mobilized. They were
similarly organized, but they had less advanced equipment.
Although details were lacking, analysts believed that no
more
than one or two brigades met Brigade 90 standards as of
late
1988.
In the north, the Brigade 90 forces would be jaeger
(ranger)
brigades equipped with tracked all-terrain vehicles, such
as the
Finnish-built NA-140. In central Finland, the jaeger
brigades
would have many Finnish A-180 Pasi wheeled armored
personnel
carriers and other light armored vehicles. Armored Brigade
90s in
the south would have the T-72 main battle tank, while
Brigade 80
elements would have modernized T-55 tanks; both are Soviet
built
(see
table 22, Appendix A).
A jaeger Brigade 90 consisted of four battalions, each
with a
complement of about 1,000 troops and each possessing some
artillery and antitank capabilities. A battalion comprised
four
rifle companies. In addition to small arms, its principal
weapons
were 81mm and 120mm mortars, recoilless antitank rifles,
and
shoulder-fired antitank missiles. The Brigade 90 antitank
company
was equipped with truck-mounted, wire-guided missiles. A
brigade
also included two artillery battalions, one equipped with
twelve
122mm howitzers and the other with twelve 155mm howitzers,
all
towed by tracked vehicles. The brigade air defense
battalion
consisted of Soviet SA-14 shoulder-fired missiles and 23mm
antiaircraft guns, supported by low-level radar and by
armored
fire control systems. The brigade was supported by an
engineering
battalion with a strong minelaying unit, and headquarters,
signals, and support companies.
Two coast artillery regiments and three independent
battalions occupied ten principal hardened gun positions,
known
as "fortresses," protecting key shipping lanes of the
southern
coast. These fixed positions, with batteries of
turret-mounted
100mm and 130mm guns, had been blasted out of granite
cliffs.
They were supported by mobile coast artillery battalions
to
which, in 1988, were being added mobile Swedish RBS-15
antiship
missiles mounted on all-terrain trucks.
Antiaircraft defenses were the responsibility of the
army,
closely coordinated with the air force. The principal
weapon was
the Soviet SA- 3 Goa truck-mounted surface-to-air missile.
In
1988 negotiations were reportedly underway with France for
the
purchase of Crotale missile launchers and fire control
systems to
be mounted on the A-180 Pasi armored vehicle for
medium-range
point defense.
In peacetime, trained garrison forces that could be
formed
into operational units within hours totaled about 10,500
(8,000
army and 2,500 RVL). In an emergency, the existing
brigades and
independent battalions could be brought up to a wartime
strength
of some 70,000 within 12 to 24 hours. In the event of an
acute
crisis or an attack on the country, planners anticipated
that the
Fast Deployment Forces--consisting of the most mobile and
powerful army elements, together with almost all navy, air
force,
and RVL units, and key local force units in border
areas--would
be mobilized. The army complement of the Fast Deployment
Forces
amounted to about 130,000 and could be activated in two to
three
days.
Details on the organizational pattern of the fully
mobilized
army were not made public. Tomas Ries, a specialist in
Nordic
security, has estimated that the army's share of the
general
forces, that is, the most powerful elements of the Defense
Forces, numbered perhaps 200,000. In combat these troops
would be
organized into 20 to 25 brigades; about 70 independent
light
infantry, artillery, antitank, and other specialized
battalions
averaging 800 personnel each; and some additional
specialized
forces, mostly of company strength. Many of these units
would be
equipped with older, less sophisticated weapons, and would
include higher age-groups that had not undergone recent
training.
The army's share of local forces would consist of about
250
light infantry battalions, as well as smaller specialized
units,
numbering up to 250,000. They would serve the functions of
local
defense, surveillance, and guard duty. An important
function of
the local forces would be to lay antivehicular mines to
block the
limited road network. These forces would be armed with
modern
basic infantry weapons, supplemented by older light
antitank
weapons, mortars, and vehicles, including some
commandeered from
the civilian sector.
Support troops formed a separate category, normally
operating
in rear areas, and would not be expected to take part in
combat.
They would carry out service, support, and logistical
tasks.
Their mobilized strength would be about 100,000.
Data as of December 1988
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