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 Bolshevik westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the Baltische Landeswehr. The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic nation 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.
Kronstadt, also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, near the head of the Gulf of Finland. It is linked to the former Russian capital by a combination levee-causeway-seagate, the St Petersburg Dam, part of the city's flood defences, which also acts as road access to Kotlin island from the mainland.
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
Naissaar is an island in Estonia. It is situated in the Gulf of Finland, northwest of the capital city Tallinn, and is administratively part of the Viimsi parish. The island covers an area of 18.6 square kilometres. It is 8 kilometres long and 3.5 kilometres wide, and lies about 8.5 kilometres from the mainland. The highest point on the island is Kunilamägi, which is 27 metres above sea level. The island consists predominantly of coniferous forest and piles of stones and boulders. In 2020, the island had a population of 17; in 2011 the island had 35 or so permanent residents and some summer residents. Administratively the island is divided into three villages: Lõunaküla (Storbyn), Tagaküla (Bakbyn), and Väikeheinamaa (Lillängin).
Johan Laidoner was an Estonian general and statesman. He served as Commander‑in‑Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces during the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence and was among the most influential people in the Estonian politics between the world wars.
The Estonian Navy are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces.
Johan Pitka, VR I/1, was an Estonian entrepreneur, sea captain and a rear admiral (1919). He was the Commander of the Estonian Navy in the Estonian War of Independence.
The Commune of the Working People of Estonia was an unrecognised government claiming the Bolshevik-occupied parts of Republic of Estonia as its territories during the Estonian War of Independence and the Russian Civil War.
The Estonian Air Force is the aviation branch of the Estonian Defence Forces. The air force traces its history to 1918, and was re-established in its current form in 1991.
Peter the Great's Naval Fortress or the Tallinn-Porkkala defence station was a Russian fortification line, which aimed to block access to the Russian capital Saint Petersburg via the sea. The plans for the fortress included heavy coastal artillery pieces along the northern and southern shores of the Gulf of Finland. The emphasis was put on the defenses of the gulf's narrowest point, between Porkkala, and Tallinn,. This was a strategic point, as the two fortresses of Mäkiluoto and Naissaar were only 36 kilometers apart. The coastal artillery had a range of about 25 kilometers and could thus "close" the gap between the shores, trapping enemy ships in a crossfire. Furthermore, a new major naval base was constructed in Tallinn.
The British campaign in the Baltic 1918–1919 was a part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The codename of the Royal Navy campaign was Operation Red Trek. The intervention played a key role in enabling the establishment of the independent states of Estonia and Latvia. It failed to secure the control of Petrograd by White Russian forces, which was one of the main goals of the campaign.
The Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, also called Juminda mine battle, Tallinn disaster or Russian Dunkirk, was a Soviet operation to evacuate the 190 ships of the Baltic Fleet, units of the Red Army, and pro-Soviet civilians from the fleet's encircled main base of Tallinn in Soviet-occupied Estonia during August 1941. Near Juminda peninsula Soviet fleet ran into minefield that had been laid by the Finnish and German navies, and were repeatedly attacked by aircraft and torpedo boats, suffering massive losses.
The British Mark V Composite tank, a development of the Tank Mark I saw service with the Estonian Army in the Estonian War of Independence from 1919 to 1920.
15th Artillery Battalion of the 1st Infantry Brigade, formerly the Artillery Group, is an artillery battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces, based out of Tapa Army Base. The unit is part of the Estonian Land Forces. It is tasked with supporting combat units with indirect fire during war-time.
The Estonian Defence Forces are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Estonian Defence League. The national defence policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the integrity of its land area, territorial waters, airspace and its constitutional order. Its main goals remain the development and maintenance of a credible capability to defend the nation's vital interests and development of the defence forces in a way that ensures their interoperability with the armed forces of NATO and European Union member states to participate in the full range of missions for these military alliances.
Arsenal Crossley was an Estonian armored car that was operated between 1926 and 1940. At the time it was introduced the Arsenal Crossley was one of the most modern armored vehicles in the Estonian Army. The vehicle's name is the combination of the two factories that contributed to its production. The car was manufactured in Estonia's Arsenal factory, while the engine was provided by the British company Crossley Motors Ltd and the armored plates were ordered from Sweden.
The Krepost Sveaborg was an Imperial Russian system of land and coastal fortifications constructed around Helsinki during the First World War. The purpose of the fortress was to provide a secure naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet and to protect Helsinki and block routes to Saint Petersburg from a possible German invasion. Krepost Sveaborg was part of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, a coastal fortification system protecting access to Saint Petersburg by sea. The central part of Krepost Sveaborg was the old fortress of Suomenlinna where the fortress headquarters were located. Due to technological advances in artillery the old fortress was no longer capable of providing a sufficient protection, and a new main defensive line was built well beyond the old fortress boundaries. New coastal artillery guns built on outlying islands protected Krepost Sveaborg from the sea, while fortified lines constructed around Helsinki were intended to stop any attacks on land. The primary coastal guns were 10 in (254 mm) model 1891 guns and 6 in (152 mm) model 1892 Canet guns. Older 11 in (279 mm) model 1877 guns were also used. In summer 1917 the fortress had two hundred coastal or anti-landing guns, of which 24 were 10-inch guns in six batteries, 16 were 6-inch Canet guns in four batteries and twelve were 11-inch guns in three batteries. The artillery used in land fortifications included older coastal guns, old fixed carriage guns and newer light field guns. In March 1917, Krepost Sveaborg had a total of 463 guns, although many of them were obsolescent. Krepost Sveaborg was still partly incomplete in 1917 when the February Revolution halted most of the construction work. Some further construction work was carried out during the remaining year, but all work halted during the October Revolution. Following the Finnish Declaration of Independence, parts of the land fortifications were used in the Finnish Civil War. The coastal fortifications were later taken over by Finland to protect Helsinki, while the land fortifications were mostly abandoned and disarmed.
The Naval warfare in the Winter War was the naval part of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 30 November 1939 to 13 March 1940. Overall, the level of naval activity was low. However, Finland had coastal artillery batteries which took part in battles along its coast.
The Meredessantpataljon, was a short-lived Estonian marine infantry battalion during the Estonian War of Independence of the Estonian Defence Forces subject to the Estonian Navy. The battalion was created from the crews of the Estonian surface warships, students and Finnish volunteer soldiers. The battalion was created and later disbanded in Tallinn after it had fulfilled its military objectives in 1919.
The 6 inch 35 caliber naval gun 1877 was a 152 mm naval gun used by the Russian Empire. The gun was used from 1887 as battleship secondary armament and cruiser armament. The gun was mostly replaced by newer 6 inch 45 caliber Canet gun 1892 at the time of the Russo-Japanese War, but was still used on some ships. During the First World War fourteen guns were used as a coastal guns on Gulf of Finland in the Peter the Great's Naval Fortress and were taken over by Finland after Finland's Declaration of Independence in 1917. The guns were used by Finland in the Second World War. Russian model year 1877 refers to rifling system, not gun adoption.
