author
Wilhelm Thesleff
1880–1941
A Finnish general and political figure whose memoirs draw on firsthand experience of World War I and the turbulent years around Finland’s independence. His writing offers a direct, personal view of military life, power, and upheaval in early 20th-century Europe.
1 Audiobook
Upplevelser under krigsåren 1914-1918
by Wilhelm Thesleff
About the author
Born in 1880, Wilhelm Alexander Thesleff was a Finnish military officer who went on to become a general, Finland’s first Minister of Defence, and for a short time commander in chief of the Finnish army. He was educated in the Hamina Cadet School and also trained in St. Petersburg, reflecting the close ties between Finland and the Russian Empire during his early career.
Thesleff is remembered not only for his military and political roles but also for his memoir writing. His book Upplevelser under krigsåren 1914–1918 draws on his own wartime experience and gives readers a personal account of the First World War era, especially from the perspective of an officer moving through moments of major change.
He died in Helsinki in 1941. For audiobook listeners, his work is especially interesting as a firsthand historical narrative: part memoir, part witness account, and deeply tied to the dramatic events that shaped Finland and Europe in the early 1900s.