Mannerheim

Mannerheim by Jonathan Clements profiles Baron Gustaf Mannerheim, one of the most significant figures of the twentieth century and the only man to be decorated by both sides during the Second World War.

As a Finnish officer in Russian service, Mannerheim witnessed the coronation of the last Tsar. He was reprimanded for foolhardiness and decorated for bravery during the Russo-Japanese War. His two-year undercover mission in Asia for the 'Great Game' saw him posing as a Swedish anthropologist. Mannerheim crossed China on horseback, even taking time to instruct the 13th Dalai Lama in pistol shooting, while spying on the Japanese navy on his return journey.

In 1917, he narrowly escaped the Bolsheviks, arriving in newly-independent Finland just in time to lead the anti-Russian forces during a local revolt and civil war. During Finland's darkest hour, Mannerheim led the country's defence against overwhelming odds in the Winter War.

This major new biography of Gustaf Mannerheim, the first to be published in over a decade, offers fresh historical insights, including previously unearthed details from Mannerheim’s time in China.