Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/111



In order to become incorporated in the Red Guard, the following things were required: Class feeling, a knowledge of the methods of the Social Democracy, and being a member of the Labour Party. The Guard was thus a pure class army. Every local labour association formed its own Red Guard. The result of this was small groups without number, a lot of "staffs," and a number of "commanders-in-chief." It was, of course, the intention that a homogeneous organisation should be formed—the statutes speak of brigades as well as divisions and army corps—but it never got so far. In the larger towns both companies and battalions were formed, but regiments are never mentioned. On the Russo-revolutionary model the men constituted the supreme authority. That is to say, that the orders issued by the officers were made subject to discussion at the meetings of the men, and could either be sanctioned or vetoed. In like manner, the meetings could remove unpopular chiefs and choose others instead. Any uniform or consistent system in this respect seems not, however, to have existed. At one time it is the officers, at another the men who make the decisions.

The original object of the Red Guard was plainly enough purely local operations. Each division was to take over and keep the power in its own part of the country. It was therefore an extremely unpleasant surprise when it proved that the White intended to occupy the whole northern part of the country, and that it became necessary to take the field in the middle of the winter. This would entail claims on the commissariat which it could not meet, and it also made greater demands on the men than had been intended. In spite of all the Russian help with arms and ammunition, the Red army were quite at a loss at the change of programme.