On behalf of the emperor, on behalf of the fatherland : Finnish officers and soldiers of the Russian Imperial Life-Guard on the battlefields of Poland, 1831 / by Jussi Jalonen.

Includes bibliographical references(pages 325-350 and index.

Introduction: The cultural history of warfare and Finnish military history; Modern war experience and Finnish soldiers in the Tsarist Russian Army; Emotions and mentality, experience and narratives; Nationalism and war in the 19th century; The Polish November Rising and its historiography; A word on the sources and contents of this book -- The battalion as a society -- The onset of war -- The battles in Mazovia, April-May 1831 -- The noble enemy : the war as a trans-national experience -- Combat, glory and captivity : Finnish officers and soldiers in the summer of 1831 -- Destitution and triumph : the closing stages of the campaign -- Home and hearth : Finnish society and the Polish Campaign -- After the war : the legacy of the Polish Campaign -- The final reckoning : total casualties and journeys home -- Conclusion: Loyalty, fatherland and forgotten sacrifices.

"Jussi Jalonen's On Behalf of the Emperor, On Behalf of the Fatherland approaches the Russian suppression of the Polish Uprising in 1830-1831 from a new transnational perspective. The Russian mobilization involved people from the farthest reaches of the Empire, and one notable group was the Finnish Battalion of the Imperial Guard. For the Finnish elites, the war was a demonstration of loyalty to the Tsar, and the service of young Finnish gentlemen in the Russian Guards produced a sense of militarized patriotism. Relying on a rich variety of original sources, this study places the campaign in Poland in the context of the development of Finnish national awareness, providing a unique portrayal of 19th century war experience and nationalism"--Provided by publisher.