Kollaa kestää (nonfiction)

Aarne Juutilainen, who famously said "Kollaa will hold, unless the orders are to run away" ("Kyllä kestää, ellei käsketä karkuun juoksemaan").

Kollaa kestää (Finnish for "Kollaa will hold") is an expression of perseverance and resolve in the face of impending difficulty or crisis.

In November 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, starting the Winter War. Juutilainen served in the Finnish army during this war, notably during the Battle of Kollaa.

Major General Woldemar Hägglund's question "Will Kollaa hold?" ("Kestääkö Kollaa?") was famously answered by Lieutenant Aarne Juutilainen: "Kollaa will hold, unless the orders are to run." ("Kyllä kestää, ellei käsketä karkuun juoksemaan.")

During his command at Kollaa in December 1939, Juutilainen negotiated with Hägglund about the strategy for the Kollaa Front. The Battle of Kollaa was strategically important. "Unless we are told to run" meant exactly that; a week earlier, he had received a regimental order to withdraw, which he disregarded.

In popular culture

The Finnish punk band Kollaa Kestää is named after the expression.

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Battle of Kollaa (nonfiction)
• Woldemar Hägglund (nonfiction) -
• Aarne Juutilainen (nonfiction) -
• Kollaa Kestää (band) (nonfiction)

External links:

• Battle of Kollaa @ Wikipedia
• Aarne Juutilainen @ Wikipedia