Editing Finnish Defence Forces (section)

===Interwar years===
After winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the basic structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war. The [[Finnish Air Force|Air Force]] had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The [[White Guard (Finland)|White Guard]] (''Suojeluskunta'') played a key role in interwar Finnish defence policy, as they essentially served as local/territorial militia forces, and some had higher readiness and training for quick mobilization.<ref name=":0" />

The new government instituted conscription after the Civil War and also introduced a mobilization system and compulsory refresher courses for reservists. An academy providing basic officer training (''Kadettikoulu'') was established in 1919, the founding of a General Staff College (''Sotakorkeakoulu'') followed in 1924, and in 1927 a tactical training school (''Taistelukoulu'') for company-grade and junior officers and NCOs was set up. The requirement of one year of compulsory service was greater than that imposed by any other Scandinavian country in the 1920s and the 1930s, but political opposition to defence spending left the military badly equipped to resist an attack by the Soviet Union, the only security threat in Finnish eyes.