The
White Guard (Finnish:
Suojeluskunta,
plural:
Suojeluskunnat,
Finland-Swedish:
Skyddskår, literally translated as
Protection/Defense Corps) was a voluntary
militia that emerged victorious over the socialist
Red Guard as part of the
Whites in the
Finnish Civil War of 1918. The Finnish term
Suojeluskunta has received many different approximations in English, including the literal translation
Protection Corps,
Security Guard,
Civic Guards,
National Guard,
White Militia,
Defence Corps,
Protection Guard, and
Protection Militia. They were generally known as the
White Guard in the West due to their opposition to the communist
Red Guards. In the
White Army of Finland many participants were recruits, draftees and
German trained Jägers and not part of the paramilitary as is sometimes erroneously thought.