Item Description
Original item Only One Available. This is a restored and functional Finnish WWII Military Issue Bicycle. It is comprised of with 90% original components (also the wheels/tires are new). Similar frame design to the Swedish M42 this model Finnish bike was used by the Finnish Army well into the 1970s. This example is of the earlier WW2 style with early style seat.
By the outbreak of the First World War, all of the competing powers were using bicycles for everything from scouting and recon to troop transport and communications. Even the evacuation of the wounded became bike-borne.
During the First World War, the British formed an entire bike-mounted army group named the Cycle Division, while the Italian Bersaglieri light infantry used bicycles throughout the conflict. In addition, the German army had up to 80 Radfahr-Bataillonen of bicycle battalions by war’s end.
Military cycling continued to flourish in the post war era. The fuel-pressed Japanese relied heavily on bikes in their invasion of China in 1937. Four years later, when the Imperial Japanese Army descended onto Malaysia, the plan called for the widespread use of bicycles. In this instance however, the Japanese army didn’t bring its own bikes along; the battle plan called for the army’s systematic appropriation of civilian bicycles at the invasion’s outset. Using their seized bikes, the Japanese quickly swept across the Malaysian peninsula, in some cases cutting off the defenders’ line of retreat.
Germans, Finns and Soviets all used bicycles as well during the Second World War, as did the British and American forces (albeit to a less extent).
By the outbreak of the First World War, all of the competing powers were using bicycles for everything from scouting and recon to troop transport and communications. Even the evacuation of the wounded became bike-borne.
During the First World War, the British formed an entire bike-mounted army group named the Cycle Division, while the Italian Bersaglieri light infantry used bicycles throughout the conflict. In addition, the German army had up to 80 Radfahr-Bataillonen of bicycle battalions by war’s end.
Military cycling continued to flourish in the post war era. The fuel-pressed Japanese relied heavily on bikes in their invasion of China in 1937. Four years later, when the Imperial Japanese Army descended onto Malaysia, the plan called for the widespread use of bicycles. In this instance however, the Japanese army didn’t bring its own bikes along; the battle plan called for the army’s systematic appropriation of civilian bicycles at the invasion’s outset. Using their seized bikes, the Japanese quickly swept across the Malaysian peninsula, in some cases cutting off the defenders’ line of retreat.
Germans, Finns and Soviets all used bicycles as well during the Second World War, as did the British and American forces (albeit to a less extent).
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