27th Jäger Battalion (Finland)
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Finnish 27th Jäger Battalion (Template:Lang-de), was an elite light infantry unit in German Army 1915–1918 which consisted mainly of the volunteers of Finnish Jäger troops.
The recruitment of the Jäger volunteers from the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland had to be secret, and was dominated by Germany-influenced circles, such as university students and the upper middle class. The recruitment was however in no way exclusive. The recruits were transported across Finland's western border via Sweden to Germany, where the volunteers were formed into the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion. It was continuation and expansion to the "Boy Scout Training" (Pfadfinderkursus).
Later the Pfadfinderkursus received more permanent forms and the course was changed into a permanent training group in Lockstedt, Ausbildungs-Truppe-Lockstedt, which had given military training to Finnish volunteers eager to fight for independence. To achieve experience from war-faring the main part of the Ausbildungs-Truppe-Lockstedt became a regular jaeger battallion, the Royal Prussian Jaegerbattallion number 27 Template:Lang-de which was used with relatively modest losses to achieve experience, but also re-trained for the more technicalle demanding duties of artillery, engineers, supplies, etc. in order to establish on this expertise in the future the national army of the independent state of Finland.
More than 200 university students had participated in the so-called Boy Scout training – they dressed in Boy Scout uniforms during the training, and they became the officers of Finnish Jäger Troops. This group was expanded by extensive recruitment autumn 1915 and spring 1916. Goal was to grow the unit to 1,200 men, including artillery and pioneers. As the new recruits included working class young men and farmers as well as sailors, not so many of them knew German. So it was necessary to create military guide books in Finnish, and the commanding vocabulary was created.
On the 9th May, 1916, the Lockstedt training group (Ausbildungs-Truppe-Lockstedt) was named as the Royal Prussian Jaeger Battalion number 27 (Königlich Preussisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 27) and received new, green German jaeger uniforms. Some of the soldiers to be trained stayed in Ausbildungs-Truppe-Lockstedt and their unit preserved its name. In case the number of the recruites had increased enough Ausbildungs-Truppe-Lockstedt would have been formed again a jaeger battallion, but with the bumber 28, ie. Königlich Preussisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 28. This did not happened as there were no political initiatives for this in Finland or in Germany preparing for the separate peace with the Russian Empire in order to fight more effectively on the Western front agains France and the United Kingdom.
The Jaeger Battalion participated in the ranks of the 8th German Army from 1916 in the battles of World War I on the northern flank of the eastern front.
After the outbreak of the Civil War in Finland jaegers who intended to engage on the "White" (anti-communist) side in the war were released.
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