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Pohjan Pojat (; ; ) was a Finland military brigade in 1918–1919, the second group of Finns volunteers to enlist to take part in the Estonian War of Independence and sometimes the Latvian War of Independence, closely following behind the regiment led by Colonel Martin Ekström.
Pohjan pojat fought under the command of Estonian Lieutenant Colonel Hans Kalm on the southern front in Estonia. Pohjan Pojat was the only Finnish military unit that progressed outside the Estonian national borders in the Estonian War of Independence.
Next they took over Valki on February 1. The first battalion fought on the Estonian side against a Latvian sniper battalion in Koikküla. After this, the volunteer force was tasked with remaining in the reserve in Valki, until it would be ordered to proceed to northern Latvia.
However, Kalm didn't want to wait longer and ordered the attack on 16 February 1919 on the town of Marienburg (Alūksne) in northern Latvia. The troops were not in favor to cross the border to Latvia. Despite this, the force set out on 19 February, with the exception of the protesting Väinö Havas' first company. On the evening of February 20, Finns arrived near Marienburg tired and in poor equipment. At dusk on February 21, the Finns launched an attack on Marienburg without additional support. In the evening, after a long and persistent firing, the Finns invaded the west side of the town and captured it with a bayonet attack. The losses were three officers and 15 soldiers, and a total of 40 men were killed due to illnesses. The captured Bolsheviks were shot, after which the town was looted as war booty. Estonian armored trains arrived on February 22, and the next day Estonian troops took full possession of the town.
On February 24, after the conquest parade, the Finns left Marienburg. They returned to the Estonian side in Valki on February 26.
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