Vilho Petter Nenonen

Who was Vilho Petter Nenonen?

Vilho Petter Nenonen was a Finnish general.

He received his military education in the Hamina Cadet School 1896-1901, in the Mihailov Artillery School in St Petersburg 1901-1903, and in St Petersburg Artillery Academy 1906-1909. He served in the Russian army during World War I. When the Finnish Civil War began he moved to Finland and was given the job of creating the artillery of general Mannerheim's White Army. After the war Nenonen also served as the Minister of Defence between 1923 and 1924. During the Continuation War he was a part of Mannerheim's inner circle. He was promoted to the rank of General of the artillery in 1941.

Nenonen developed the Finnish Army's artillery and tactics that proved decisive in the defensive victory in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. The trajectory calculation formulas he developed are still in use today by all modern artillery.

Nenonen received the Mannerheim Cross in 1945.

His medals and personal history is on display in The Artillery Museum of Finland.