estonia's army

[Balrog]

i am looking for photos of estonia's army in the 1920's and 30's. also, who were the generals who commanded the army?(any photos?) is it true that mussolini helped build up estonia's army in the 1920's? or was that a different baltic army? i read a website which painted a picture of a semi fascist baltic state. was that a fair description of ANY baltic republic before ww2?

[Balrog]

one more question. was the army of estonia "ethnically pure". were russians or other ethnic minorities allowed to join? were the officers who commanded the estonian armed forces ex-czarist officers? did the estonians hire any foreign mercenaries?(czarists, cossacks, or german freicorps members)

[Reigo]

i am looking for photos of estonia's army in the 1920's and 30's. also, who were the generals who commanded the army?(any photos?) is it true that mussolini helped build up estonia's army in the 1920's? or was that a different baltic army? i read a website which painted a picture of a semi fascist baltic state. was that a fair description of ANY baltic republic before ww2?

Give me some time with the commanders and photos. I have never heard about Mussolini's help. I sincerely doubt it. There were practically no Italian weapons in the Estonian army for example.

What is the definition of semi-fascist state? Estonia was indeed a dictatorship from 1934 (a very mild one).

Can you please give the address of this website?

one more question. was the army of estonia "ethnically pure". were russians or other ethnic minorities allowed to join? were the officers who commanded the estonian armed forces ex-czarist officers? did the estonians hire any foreign mercenaries?(czarists, cossacks, or german freicorps members)

All citizens had to serve in the army (including Jews, Russians, Germans etc). The higher commanders were practically all with czarist army's background. The Estonian government tried to hire Germans in 1918 but failed. The Soviet historians for example have named the Finnish, Danish and Swedish volunteers as mercenaries. After the war several Germans and Russians served as officers in the Estonian army.

Check also this site:
http://www.geocities.com/kumbayaaa/estonia.html

Best regards,

[Reigo]

Here's one more link:
http://www.laidoner.ee/cms/english/info/estonians-defence-between-the-

[Balrog]

i believe the country mussolini helped was latvia, i know he recieved the "order of the latvian bear slayer" decoration, he was one of less than a dozen people to ever receive this award. i don't have a web page about it, i read a book about the 3 baltic republics, written in the late 20's or early thirties by an english author, and actually dedicated to il duce. thank you for the response. the estonia museum web site had quite a bit of information, but any photos of the generals or battles you could provide would be helpful.

[Docent P]

As about ethnic Russians in the Estonian Army there was the Russian Corps commanded by General Rodzyanko (transformed from the Colonel Neff's Northern Army) who were fighting the Reds being included in the Estonian Army. Later this corps became the Russian North-Western Army led by General Yudenich. After their unsuccessful raid on Petrograd their returned to Estonia where the grateful Estonians put them into prison camps with conditions not rather better than in the later Stalin's GULAG.

[Reigo]

After their unsuccessful raid on Petrograd their returned to Estonia where the grateful Estonians put them into prison camps with conditions not rather better than in the later Stalin's GULAG.

Hello,

There were no prison camps, but quarantine zones since the NW Army had massive typhus epidemy. Otherwise the epidemy would have spreaded all over the land. That the full army didn't eventually die in typhus is the result that the Estonian Army's medical service finally took the treatment over (most of the NW Armys medical corps died or were sick).

I suggest you read:
Smolin, A. Beloe dvizhenie na Zevero-Zapade Rossii. 1918 - 1920 gg. Sankt-Peterburg, 1999


It's true that the Estonians didn't like the White Russians. But what the modern Russian propagandists don't mention is that the NW Army was hostile to Estonian independence and the White Russians were so foolish that even couldn't hold their mouth shut but threatened a la "after Petrograd we take Tallinn." Also I have read intelligence reports in the archive where it is described White Russian repressions against the Estonian population on the Eastern side of the lake Peipus. And at the same time Yudenich demanded Estonian help!!! No wonder that the Estonians didn't love the Whites? My personal opinion is that this all was unfortunate tragedy since the Bolshevik victory was worse than the White victory (IMO).

You can ofcourse believe liers like Tscherkassov-Georgievski or Shambarov, but this isn't history...

Best regards,

[AJK]

Hi Joel,

Here's a starting point for you:


TABLE OF RANKS

Kindral = General
Kindralleitnant = Lieutenant-General
Kindralmajor = Major-General
Sanitaar-kindralmajor = Major-General (Medical Service)
Kontraadmiral = Rear-Admiral


Kindralleitnant Aleksei BAIOV (1871 - 1935)
Instructor, General Staff Courses

Kindralmajor Herbert BREDE (25 Apr 1888 - 6 Oct 1942)
O.C. 2. Artillery Regiment
Chief of Army Artillery
Inspector of Artillery
C.O. 1. Division
C.O. 3. Division
Commander of Artillery, XXII. Territorial Corps

Kindralmajor Otto HEINZE (11 Mar 1877 - 8 Jun 1968)
C.O. 1. Division
C.O. 2. Division
O.C. 1. Infantry Regiment

Kindralmajor Nikolai HELK-TSHISTJAKOV (25 Jan 1886 - 14 May 1941)
President of the Supreme Military Tribunal

Kindralmajor Aleksander JAAKSON (29 Jan 1892 - 2 Oct 1942)
Chief of the General Staff
Deputy Chief of Military Training
Chief of Military Training
Minister of Education

Sanitaar-kindralmajor Martin-Volmer JERVAN (Gross) (13 May 1891 - 15 Oct 1942)
Chief of the Army Medical Service

Kindralleitnant Gustav JONSON (7 Jan 1880 - 15 Nov 1942)
C-in-C of the National Army (1940)
Deputy Chief of the General Staff
C.O. 3. Division
Commandant, Tallinn Garrison
Chief of Military Training
Inspector-General of Cavalry
O.C. 1. Cavalry Regiment

Kindralmajor August KASEKAMP (21 Jan 1889 - 5 Oct 1942)
Deputy Chief of the General Staff
O.C. 7. Infantry Regiment

Kindralleitnant Hugo-Eduard KAULER (2 Oct 1893 - 22 Sep 1942)
O.C. 1. Artillery Regiment
Inspector-General of Artillery
C.O. 3. Division

Kindralmajor Jaan KRUUS (27 Feb 1884 - 15 May 1942)
C.O. 2. Division
Acting C.O. 1. Division
Commander, Valga Military District
O.C. 6. Infantry Regiment
O.C. 7. Infantry Regiment
O.C. 10. Infantry Regiment
C.O. 182. Territorial Division

Kindralmajor Gustav KUNNOS (29 Jun 1878 - 17 Aug 1926)

Kindralmajor Ants Hans KURVITS (14 May 1887 - 27 Dec 1943)
O.C. 2. Infantry Regiment
O.C. 7. Infantry Regiment
Deputy C.O. 1. Division
Chief of the Borderguard
Minister of Defense

Kindral Johann LAIDONER (12 Feb 1884 - 13 Mar 1953)
C-in-C of the Armed Forces

Kindralmajor Andreas LARKA (5 Mar 1879 - 10 Dec 1942)
Chief of the General Staff
Minister of War
Deputy Minister of War
Chief of the Army Reserve
Garrison Commander, Tallinn

Kindralmajor Dmitri LEBEDEV (28 Jul 1872 - 8 Jan 1935)
Instructor, General Staff Courses

Sanitaar-kindralmajor Hans LEESMENT (13 Feb 1873 - 26 Aug 1944)
Chief of the Army Medical Service

Kindralleitnant Paul Adolf LILL (25 Jan 1882 - 13 Mar 1942)
Minister of War
Deputy Minister of War
Acting Chief of the General Staff

Sanitaar-kindralmajor Arthur LOSSMANN (5 Oct 1877 - 1 Aug 1972)
Chief of the Army Medical Service

Sanitaar-kindralmajor Aleksander PALDROCK (1871 - 1944)

Kontraadmiral Johan PITKA (12 Feb 1872 - 25 Sep 1944)
C-in-C of the Navy

Kindralmajor Ernst PÖDDER (10 Feb 1879 - 24 Jun 1932)
C.O. 3. Division
C.O. 2. Division
Commander-in-Chief of the Army (1918)

Kindralmajor Aleksander-Voldemar PULK (29 Sep 1886 - 20 Aug 1941)
C.O. 1. Division

Kindralmajor Ludvig PUSSEP (3 Dec 1875 - 19 Oct 1942)

Kindralleitnant Nikolai REEK (1 Feb 1890 - 8 May 1942)
O.C. 5. Infantry Regiment
Chief of Staff to the C-in-C, Vir Front
Inspector of Military Schools
Minister of War
Chief of Staff, 3. Division
Chief of Staff, 1. Division
Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Army
C.O. 2. Division
Acting Deputy Minister of War
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Commander-in-Chief of the Army

Kindralmajor Rudolf REIMAN (18 Jan 1884 - 16 Sep 1946)
Chief of Army Supplies

Kindralmajor Voldemar-Viktor RIEBERG (Riiberg) (12 May 1886 - 21 Sep 1952)

Kindralmajor Johannes ROSKA-ORASMAA (3 Dec 1890 - 20 Dec 1942)
Chief of the National Guard
O.C. 2. Artillery Regiment
O.C. 2. Armored Train Regiment
Deputy C.O. Armored Train Division
Acting C.O. Armored Train Division
C.O. Armored Train Brigade
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Chief of Coastal Fortifications

Kindralmajor Tönis ROTBERG (9 Sep 1882 - 24 Jul 1953)
Chief of Army Supplies

Kontraadmiral Hermann Aleksander Eduard Parun SALZA (16 Apr 1885 - 24 Jan 1946)
Chief of Naval General Staff
C-in-C of the Navy

Kindralmajor Aleksander-Heinrich SILBERG (1869 - 1926)
Commandant of the Army Arsenal

Kindralmajor Jaan SOOTS (12 Mar 1880 - 6 Feb 1942)
Chief of the General Staff
Minister of War

Kindralmajor Otto STERNBECK (24 Dec 1884 - 23 Jun 1941)
O.C. 3. Infantry Regiment
O.C. 8. Infantry Regiment
Inspector of Infantry
Minister of Transport

Kindralmajor Richard TOMBERG (6 Sep 1897 - 25 May 1982)
C-in-C of the Air Force
Minister of War

Kindralmajor Aleksandr TÖNISSON (17 Apr 1875 - 30 Jun 1941)
C.O. 1. Division
Minister of War

Kindralmajor Juhan TÖRVAND (25 Nov 1883 - 12 May 1942)
Chief of the General Staff
Minister of War
Deputy Minister of War

Kindralmajor August TRAKSMAA (27 Aug 1893 - 16 Jul 1942)
O.C. 1. Armored Regiment
C.O. 2. Division
Ambassador to the USSR
Chief of Defense Department, Tartu University
Deputy Minister of Defense

Kindralmajor Johann UNT (24 Mar 1876 - 7 Apr 1930)
Chief of the National Guard
O.C. 2. Infantry Regiment
Deputy C.O. 1. Division
Garrison Commander, Tallinn
Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Chief of Coastal, Air & Internal Defense Forces
C.O. 3. Division

Sanitaar-kindralmajor Werner ZOEGE von MANTEUFFEL (13 Jul 1857 - 14 Mar 1926)
Chief of the Army Medical Service

I look forward to other postings on this subject.

AJK

[tyskaorden]

The Swedish army captain Carl Georg von Heijne who served as an "exchange officer" with the Estonian 7th Infantry Regiment based in Petseri (1st bn) and Vöru (2nd & 3rd bns) in 1934, made some interesting notes about the Estonian Army. The Estonian soldier von Heijne wrote "was tought, enduring, well disciplined and with small demands. He shows great will to serve but generally is bit of a slow learner."

Captain von Heijne also writes about the high esteem the Armed Forces was held in by the Estonian public: "the Officer and the Military in general seems to be very popular and are highly regarded by the public. On all public celebrations the Military are always present in strenght."

The Captain also noticed a few curiosities about the Officers Corps. When a Officer was about to be married, the bride to be had to be approved by a regimental committe. The retirement age was tied to the Officers' command position von Heijne noticed, thus a platoon commander had to retire at the age of 46, a company commander at 48, a battalion commander at 50, a regimental commander at 56 and so on. The average age of the Estonian Officer Corps was comparatively low, thus the Colonel and chief of the 7th Infantry Regiment was 39 years old and Captain von Heijne was 41!

Best regards,
Marcus Karlsson a.k.a. tyskaorden

[Balrog]

i was reading about baltic generals, and it seems most were executed by the soviets in in 1941 or 42. i noticed on the list of estonia generals, a otto hienze, his death is listed as 1968. did he escape the soviets and die in the west? or did he die in a gulag. thank you for all theinformation. does anyone have any photos of the estonia army, it's generals, or the dictator that took over in 1934?

[tyskaorden]

Official Photo of Konstantin Päts (1874-1956), Estonian Head of State (Elder of State) with interuptions 1921-1934. Prime Minister in the duties of the Head of State 24 Jan 1934 to 3 Sep 1937. Protector of State 3 Sep 1937 to 24 Apr 1938 and President 24 Apr 1938 to 17 Jun 1940.

He was arrested by the NKVD on 30 Jul 1940 and deported to Russia. Lived in captivity until his death in Burashevo (Tver province, Russia) on 18 Jan 1956. On 21 Oct 1990 Konstantin Päts was reburied at Metsakalmitsu in Tallinn.

[Reigo]

This page also includes many photos about the Estonian Republic military and the captions are all in English:
http://www.okupatsioon.ee/english/photos/index.html

Here are very low quality pictures of the Estonian generals and admirals:
http://www.hot.ee/eestikindral/tahestik.htm

This is a page about the Estonian holders of the St. George's Cross and some pictures are also from the Estonian Republic period:

http://www.eha.ee/georgi/html/eestlased.html

[Reigo]

i was reading about baltic generals, and it seems most were executed by the soviets in in 1941 or 42. i noticed on the list of estonia generals, a otto hienze, his death is listed as 1968. did he escape the soviets and die in the west? or did he die in a gulag. thank you for all theinformation. does anyone have any photos of the estonia army, it's generals, or the dictator that took over in 1934?

Otto Heinze was a German. He came over to the Estonian army in December 1918 from the White Russian Northern Army. In 1941 Heinze went to Germany.

[Reigo]

Some photos from the War of Independence:

[Reigo]

Commander in Chief Gen Maj Johan Laidoner in conquered Pskov. Summer 1919.