page_title: Johan Laidoner
section_title: Estonian War of Independence
hierarchical_section_title: Johan Laidoner / Estonian War of Independence
caption_attribution_description: Estonian Army High Command in 1920, from upper left: General Major Ernst Põdder, Dr. Arthur Lossmann, General Major Aleksander Tõnisson, Colonel Karl Parts, Colonel Viktor Puskar, Colonel Jaan Rink. From bottom left: General Major Andres Larka, General Major Jaan Soots, Commander in chief General Lieutenant Johan Laidoner, Admiral Johan Pitka and Colonel Rudolf Reiman
context_page_description: Johan Laidoner was an Estonian general and statesman. He served as Commander‑in‑Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces during the Estonian War of Independence and was among the most influential people in Estonian history between the world wars.
  Born in Viiratsi, Governorate of Livonia, Laidoner joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1901 and fought in World War I. Following the October Revolution, he commanded the Estonian national units of the Russian army. In 1918, the Estonian Provisional Government appointed him commander-in-chief of the armed forces in the Estonian War of Independence.
  After the war, he served as a member of the Riigikogu from 1920 to 1929. He was once again appointed commander-in-chief during the 1924 Communist coup attempt, and then again from 1934 to 1940, during the authoritarian regime of Konstantin Päts. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, he was arrested and deported to Russia, where he died in prison in 1953.
context_section_description: On 4 April 1918, the Estonian Provisional Government promoted Laidoner, then still residing in Petrograd, to the rank of Polkovnik (colonel). Following the German capitulation on 11 November 1918, the Soviet Red Army invaded Estonia on 28 November, marking the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence. On 30 November, Laidoner left Petrograd and arrived in Tallinn on 8 December. The provisional government first appointed him chief of staff on 14 December, and then on 23 December, commander-in-chief of the Estonian Armed Forces. On 1 January 1919, the Estonian Army had just over 13,000 men, with 5,700 of the them facing 8,000 Soviets on the Viru Front. In the first days of January, the Estonian forces managed to halt the Soviet advance at the Valkla-Kehra line and on 3 January, Laidoner launched a counter-offensive with 1st Division, supported by Finnish volunteers and armoured trains. Within 11 days, the 1st Division advanced 200 kilometres east, while the 2nd Division moved against the Soviet forces in Southern Estonia. Following the liberation of Tartu and Narva, he was promoted to the rank of major general on 20 January 1919. On Estonia's first independence day on 24 February 1919, Laidoner reported that the Soviet forces have been driven out of Estonia, as well as capturing over 6,000 men and 40 guns.
  Laidoner had a crucial role in organizing and training the army in a very short time as well as establishing an effective command structure within the armed forces. Learning from his experience with trench warfare in World War I and due to the limited size of the forces available to him, Laidoner chose to achieve crucial victories – capturing strategically important roads and railway stations – with smaller and more mobile battalion- and company-sized units, supported by armoured trains and armoured cars. After the end of the war, Laidoner was promoted to lieutenant general on 21 March 1920, before resigning as commander‑in‑chief and retiring from active service on 26 March 1920.
caption: Laidoner with senior commanders of the Estonian Armed Forces in 1920. From upper left: General Major Ernst Põdder, Dr. Arthur Lossmann, General Major Aleksander Tõnisson, Colonel Karl Parts, Colonel Viktor Puskar, Colonel Jaan Rink. From bottom left: General Major Andres Larka, General Major Jaan Soots, Commander in Chief General Lieutenant Johan Laidoner, Admiral Johan Pitka and Colonel Rudolf Reiman
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