Ranar 27 ga Janairu, 1918, Finland ta shiga cikin yaƙin basasa
, kamar yadda tsohuwar Grand Duchy na Daular Rasha ta canza zuwa wata ƙasa mai zaman kanta. An yi yakin basasa tsakanin Reds, wanda wani bangare na Social Democratic Party ya jagoranci, da kuma White, wanda Majalisar Dattijan da ke da ra'ayin mazan jiya da kuma Sojojin Jamus na Jamus suka gudanar. Sojojin Red Guards, wadanda suka hada da ma'aikatan masana'antu da aikin gona, sun mallaki garuruwa da cibiyoyin masana'antu na kudancin Finland. Sojojin White Guards, wadanda suka hada da manoma, tare da matsakaitan matsakaitan zamantakewa, sun mallaki yankunan karkara na tsakiya da arewacin Finland. A ƙarshe yaƙin ya ƙare a ranar 15 ga Mayu, lokacin da Finland ta fito a matsayin jamhuriya mai zaman kanta, ta dimokiradiyya.