Aarne Mustasalo

author

Aarne Mustasalo

1887–1947

Best known in Finland as the lyricist of the patriotic "Jäger March," he also wrote adventure-filled books for younger readers under the pen name Aarne Mustasalo. Behind that pseudonym was Heikki Eliel Nurmio, a soldier, teacher, and military historian whose life stretched from the late Russian Empire through Finland’s independence era.

2 Audiobooks

Jokikylän pojat

Jokikylän pojat

by Aarne Mustasalo

Jääkärin päiväkirja

Jääkärin päiväkirja

by Aarne Mustasalo

About the author

Born in 1887, Heikki Eliel Nurmio was a Finnish teacher, military officer, and writer who used Aarne Mustasalo as his pen name for youth fiction. He studied history and languages, worked as a teacher, and later became known as a military historian as well as a colonel linked to Finland’s Jäger movement.

Nurmio took part in the Finnish Jäger training in Germany during World War I and is especially remembered for writing the words to the famous "Jääkärimarssi". Alongside his military and teaching work, he published books for younger readers under the Mustasalo name, including titles such as Jääkärin päiväkirja and Jokikylän pojat.

He died in 1947. As Aarne Mustasalo, he left behind writing that connects patriotic history, youthful adventure, and the turbulent years in which modern Finland was taking shape.