Ulrich von Coler was an Oberleutnant in the Imperial German Army during World War I and an Oberst in the Finnish White Guard and Wehrmacht Heer in World War II. During the Finnish Civil War, he was one of 38 German officers in Finland and commanded the in Hanko. He was assigned command of a Feldgendarmerie unit, Feldkommandantur 810, and oversaw and perpetrated war crimes in Poland and the Crimea.