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Battle of Tartu | |||||
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Part of Estonian War of Independence | |||||
Soldiers from the armored train near Tartu, in January 1919. | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
Soviet Russia | |||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||
Julius Kuperjanov Karl Parts Anton Irv | Aleksander Remezov Gustavs Mangulis |
The Battle of Tartu (Estonian : Tartu lahing) was fought between the 13th and 14th of January, 1919 in the Estonian War of Independence between the units of the Estonian 2nd Division and the forces of the Red Latvian Riflemen. [1] The battle was a significant battle in the Estonian War of Independence, allowing Estonian troops to liberate the rest of Southern Estonia from Soviet forces.
On January 9, the commander of the 2nd Division, Colonel Viktor Puskar, ordered the conquest of Tartu. [2] Anton Irv and Karl Parts, the commanders of the armored trains, met the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion who had reached the railway in Kaarepere and made a proposal to Julius Kuperjanov to go to Tartu together. Kuperjanov agreed and the partisans were accommodated on the train.
Before arriving in Tartu, engaged in smaller fights on the evening of January 13 in Voldi, Äksi and Kärkna. [1]
Arriving near Tartu, Armored train No. 1 sent out a group of men, which secured a bridge, allowing armored trains to safely cross the bridge and access the city. The Red Latvian Riflemen were unable to repel Estonian forces.
The city was cleared of the Soviet Forces on January 14, while the remaining Red Latvian Riflemen fled to the cities of Võru and Valga.
After Estonian troops arrived in Tartu, they found out that the Red forces had committed mass murder in Tartu, killing 19 civilians in the basement of the Tartu Credit Center at Kompanii Street 5, [1] including the first Estonian Orthodox Bishop Platon, high priests Nikolai Bežanitski and Mikhail Bleive, and Moritz Wilhelm Paul Schwartz, pastor of Tartu St. John's Congregation, and 14 other civilians of Tartu.
In 1932, a memorial to the Battle of Tartu was installed in Tähtvere Park. It was demolished by the Soviets in 1941, rebuilt in 1942, demolished again in 1944 and rebuilt in 2006.
The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the pro–German Baltische Landeswehr. The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic state of Estonia for independence in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in a victory for Estonia and was concluded in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
The Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919 was part of the campaign by Soviet Russia into areas abandoned by the Ober Ost garrisons that were being withdrawn to Germany following that country's defeat in World War I. The initially successful offensive against the Republic of Estonia ignited the Estonian War of Independence which ended with the Soviet recognition of Estonia. Similarly, the campaigns against the Republic of Latvia and Republic of Lithuania ultimately failed, resulting in the Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty and Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty respectively. In Belarus, the Belarusian People's Republic was conquered and the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia proclaimed.
The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles, refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces, Bermontians, and Poland. The wars delayed international recognition of independent Lithuania and the formation of civil institutions.
The Battle of Narva was a World War II military campaign, lasting from 2 February to 10 August 1944, in which the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus.
The Latvian War of Independence, sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles or the Latvian War of Liberation, was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.
The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on 10 July 1941, by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was incorporated as Generalbezirk Lettland, subordinated to Reichskommissariat Ostland, an administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany. Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, was killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost.
Julius Kuperjanov VR I/2, VR II/2 and VR II/3 was an Estonian military officer who was well-known in Estonia for being one of the Liberators of Tartu during the War of Independence and commander of the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion.
Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II (1939–1945), but the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and ultimately reinvaded and reoccupied in 1944 by the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Paju was fought in Paju, near Valga, Estonia, on 31 January 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence. After heavy fighting, the Tartu-Valga group of the Estonian Army pushed the Red Latvian Riflemen out of the Paju Manor. It was the fiercest battle in the early period of war. Estonian commander Julius Kuperjanov fell in the fighting.
The Battle of Cēsis, fought near Cēsis (Wenden) in June 1919, was a decisive battle in the Estonian War of Independence and the Latvian War of Independence. After heavy fighting an Estonian force moving from the north, supplemented by Latvian units, repelled Baltic German attacks and went on full counter-attack.
The Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion is a battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade. Battalion headquarters is at Taara Army Base, Võru.
The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock and 8th armies and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on the Eastern Front of World War II on 17–26 September 1944. Its German counterpart was the abandonment of the Estonian territory in a retreat codenamed Operation Aster.
Võidupüha is a public holiday in Estonia which occurs on June 23. The holiday has been celebrated since 1934 and marks the victory of Estonia and neighboring Latvia in the Battle of Cēsis against the Baltische Landeswehr on June 23, 1919.
The Omakaitse was a militia organisation in Estonia. It was founded in 1917 following the Russian Revolution. On the eve of the occupation of Estonia by the German Empire, the Omakaitse units took over major towns in the country allowing the Salvation Committee of the Estonian Provincial Assembly to proclaim the independence of Estonia. After the German Occupation the Omakaitse became outlawed.
The Tartu offensive operation, also known as the Battle of Tartu and the Battle of Emajõgi was a campaign fought over southeastern Estonia in 1944. It took place on the Eastern Front during World War II between the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front and parts of the German Army Group North.
The 2nd Division, was one of the three Estonian divisions created during the Estonian War of Independence, which was active until the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Since the restoration of independence in 1991 there are no divisions currently among the Estonian Defence Forces.
Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions were military formations of the Red Army during World War II created in 1941 and consisting primarily of ethnic Latvians.
The 2nd Infantry Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Estonian Land Forces. It is the primary military unit in Southern Estonia. The brigade headquarters is currently based at Sirgu village, Luunja Parish, Tartu County. The brigade is tasked with planning and organizing military operations, planning and organizing mobilization, ensuring the readiness and support of its subordinate units, preparing wartime reserve units and their formation, organizing the training and participation in international military operations.
The Tartu Credit Center Massacre was the mass execution of 19 people in the basement of the former Credit Center in Tartu, Estonia, on 14 January 1919.
Alice Kuperjanov was an Estonian freedom fighter and nationalist, and the wife of Estonian military leader Julius Kuperjanov. She was a well-known figure in the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence, and in women's movements after that. After the 1940 Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia during World War II, she was imprisoned, deported and executed by the Soviet authorities.