Artemi Kapanen
Grand Marshall Artemi Kapanen OL, OWRT | |
|---|---|
 Grand Marshall Kapanen, 1946 | |
| Birth name | Artemi Matti Rasmus Kapanen |
| Nickname(s) | "The Black Eagle of the Motherland" |
| Born | October 16, 1880 Skudenesstrøm, Glyra, Kingdom of Talvistova |
| Died | December 10, 1947 (age 67) Ljustad, Osta, Kingdom of Talvistova |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Talvistova |
| Service/ | Royal Talvistovan Army |
| Years of service | 1902-1947 |
| Rank |  Grand Marshall |
| Commands held | 2nd Lord's Cavalry, Guards of Bedrosia |
| Battles/wars | First Great War, Second Great War |
| Awards |
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| Memorials | Kapanen Military College |
| Spouse(s) | Lumi Mesikämmen |
| Signature |  |
Grand Marshall Artemi Matti Rasmus Kapanen was a Talvistovan military leader. Kapanen served as an officer in the First Great War and then went on to serve as supreme commander of all Talvistovan Forces during the Second Great War.
In a military historical society survey 50 years after his death in 1997, he was rated as the greatest military leader in Talvistovan history, and the greatest talvistovan of all time, next to king Juren II. He is the only man in Talvistovan history to ever hold the ceremonial rank of Grand Marshall.
Early Life
Kapanen was born in the small town of Skudenesstrøm, in the province of Ostra, to Jemina & Emil Kapanen, as the youngest of 5 children. As a young man, Artemi showed promise as a marksman and soldier, as he won several provincial shooting contests as his youth, and his renowned skill hunting in the woods surrounding his home town. Due to this, in combination with his love of history and his ability in the youth corps (a JROTC equivalent), he earned an appointment to the Ostra Provincial Military academy, where he would study in order to be commissioned as a Junior Lieutenant in the Royal Talvistovan Army
Education and Early Military Career
Artemi was enrolled in the Ostra Provincial Military Academy at the age of 18 in 1898, where he would compete on the academy riflery team as well as it's wrestling team.
During his freshman year, Kapanen found several issues with his fellow students, due to his lack of family lineage, as it was wildly uncommon for anyone to gain entrance into a military academy without the a previous family member having attended it, as well as being from a tiny fairly irrelevant village in the mountains.
This regularly found him in the campus brig, where he met a female cook named Lumi Mesikämmen, who he would marry later that year in 1898, and stay with until his death in 1947.
Instead of being thrown out do to his penchant for fighting, the Headmaster of the Academy, one Admiral Julius Jokinen, who would later go on to be the namesake of the only carrier in service with to Royal Talvistovan Navy, decided that the fury and grit he displayed could serve as useful as a leader in future military conflicts, and allowed him to continue to study. This decision would go on to pay off massively, as 3 years later, in 1902, would graduate as the salutatorian of his class, an honor he would hold in very high regard up until his death, and once remarked, "That damned ring was the hardest thing I've ever had to get."