Paavo Talvela was one of the volunteers who served in the Finnish Jaeger battalion in Germany in 1916 to 1917. He was a battalion commander in the Finnish Civil War. In 1919 he took part in the Aunus expedition as Commander in Chief.
During the Winter War he commanded "Group Talvela" which took part in the Battle of Tolvajärvi. In 1941, during the Continuation War, he commanded the Finnish III Corps on the Karelian Isthmus.
He was awarded the Mannerheim Cross in 1941.