19 Facts About Oskar Gripenberg

Oskar Ferdinand Gripenberg was a Finnish-Swedish general of the Russian Second Manchurian Army during the Russo-Japanese War.

Oskar Ferdinand Gripenberg was born in Ikaalinen, Grand Duchy of Finland, the son of Uddo Sten Casimir Gripenberg and Maria Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ladau.

The Gripenberg Family was granted nobility in the Swedish Empire in 1678.

Oskar Gripenberg's brother, Carl was an admiral in the Imperial Navy.

Oskar Ferdinand Gripenberg married Hedvig Ida Angelique Lundh in 1874.

Oskar Gripenberg began his military career in 1854 as a cadet in the ranks of the Russian Crimean Army.

Oskar Gripenberg was assigned to the Turkestan Military District, where he was assigned to command a line battalion of infantry from Orenburg and was promoted to major in 1866.

Oskar Gripenberg then commanded the 5th Turkestan Battalion, participating in numerous battles in the Turkestan War, including the conquest of the Emirate of Bukhara and the storming of the fortress of Ura-Tube.

Oskar Gripenberg was further awarded the Order of St Stanislav and Golden Sword of St George with the inscription "For Bravery" in 1869.

Oskar Gripenberg was made commander of the 17th Infantry Battalion in 1872 and promoted to colonel.

In 1890 Oskar Gripenberg became commander of the prestigious First Division of the Moscow Life Guards and was promoted to lieutenant general.

Oskar Gripenberg lost this position in 1898 after criticizing heavy-handed Russian actions in Finland.

Oskar Gripenberg was eventually promoted to general of infantry in 1902, reassigned to command the Russian 6th Army Corps in 1900, and in 1904 was honored with the title aide-de-camp to Nicholas II.

Oskar Gripenberg was assigned to command the Russian 2nd Manchurian Army during Russo-Japanese War, arriving at Mukden on 28 November 1904.

Oskar Gripenberg was extremely critical of the war of attrition tactics adopted by commander-in-chief General Aleksey Kuropatkin, who had hoped to draw the Imperial Japanese Army deep into Manchuria, where its supply lines would be overextended as part of a delaying tactic until the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway would bring overwhelming Russian reinforcements.

Relations between the two officers had been strained from the beginning and Oskar Gripenberg asked to be relieved of his command of the 2nd Manchurian Army on 29 January 1905, only a day after the battle ended.

Oskar Gripenberg lost no time in publicly blaming Kuropatkin for Russia's defeats, which sparked a war of words between the two men in the press.

Oskar Gripenberg spent his final days in continuing his campaign against Kuropatkin in the newspapers, pamphlets and books, blaming him for the Russian defeat at the Battle of Mukden and for the loss of the war in general.

Oskar Gripenberg died on 7 January 1916 in Petrograd and was buried in the Tsarskoselsky Cemetery.