Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( , literally " Freedom War " ) , also known as the Estonian Liberation War , was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies , most notably the White Russian Northwestern Army , Latvia , and the United Kingdom , against the Soviet Western Front offensive and the aggression of the " Baltische Landeswehr " . It was fought in connection with the Russian Civil War during 1918 – 1920 . The campaign was the struggle of Estonia for its sovereignty in the aftermath of World War I . It resulted in a victory for the newly established state and was concluded in the Treaty of Tartu . Preface . In November 1917 , upon the disintegration of the Russian Empire , a diet of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia , the Estonian Provincial Assembly , which had been elected in the spring of that year , proclaimed itself the highest authority in Estonia . Soon thereafter , the Bolsheviks dissolved the Estonian Provincial Assembly and temporarily forced the pro - independence Estonians underground in the capital Tallinn . A few months later , using the interval between the Red Army ' s retreat and the arrival of the Imperial German Army , the Salvation Committee of the Estonian National Council Maapäev issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence in Tallinn on 24 February 1918 and formed the Estonian Provisional Government . This first period of independence was extremely short - lived , as the German troops entered Tallinn on the following day . The German authorities recognized neither the provisional government , nor its claim for Estonia ' s independence , counting them as a self - styled group usurping sovereign rights of the Baltic nobility . Course of the war . After the German Revolution with the capitulation of Imperial Germany , between the 11 and 14 November 1918 , the representatives of Germany formally handed over political power to the Estonian Provisional Government . On 16 November the provisional government called for voluntary mobilization and began to organize the Estonian Army , with Konstantin Päts as Minister of War , Major General Andres Larka as the chief of staff , and Major General Aleksander Tõnisson as commander of the Estonian Army , initially consisting of one division . Soviet westward offensive . On the northern wing of the Soviet westward offensive of 1918 – 1919 , on 28 November 1918 , the 6th Red Rifle Division attacked units of the Estonian Defence League ( consisting partly of secondary school students ) and the German Infanterie - Regiment Nr . 405 deployed in the defence of the border town of Narva . This marked the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence . The 6th Red Rifle Division captured the city on 29 November , with their 7 , 000 infantry , 22 field gun s , 111 machine gun s , an armored train , 2 armored vehicles , 2 airplanes , and the Bogatyr class cruiser " Oleg " supported by 2 destroyers . The Infanterie - Regiment Nr . 405 thereafter withdrew westwards . The 2nd Novgorod Division opened a second front south of Lake Peipus where the division had 7000 infantry , 12 field guns , 50 machine guns , 2 armored trains , and 3 armored vehicles . The Estonian military forces at the time consisted of 2000 men with light weapons and about 14 , 500 poorly - armed men in the Estonian Defence League ( Home Guard ) . The end of November 1918 saw the formation of the Baltic battalion ; primarily a mounted machine - gun company plus infantry . Estonia ' s Baltic German minority provided a sizable troop of volunteer militia . Thus , the battalion belonged to the first fighting units of the Estonian Army , demonstrated and maintained staunch allegiance and loyalty to authority vested in the Republic . This contrasts with the " Baltische Landeswehr " in Latvia . On Christmas Eve the 6th Red Rifle Division captured the Tapa railway junction , advancing to within 34 kilometers of the nation ' s capital Tallinn . Estonian Bolsheviks declared the Estonian Workers ' Commune in Narva . The 49th Red Latvian Rifle Regiment took Valga railway junction on the 18th of December and the city of Tartu on Christmas Eve . By the end of the year , the 7th Red Army controlled Estonia along the front line 34 kilometers east of Tallinn , west from Tartu and south of Ainaži . Colonel Johan Laidoner who was appointed Commander in chief of the Estonian armed forces recruited 600 officers and 11 , 000 volunteers by 23 December 1918 . He reorganized the forces by setting up the 2nd Division in Southern Estonia under the command of Colonel Viktor Puskar , along with commando type units , such as the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion and Kalevi Malev . The national government obtained foreign assistance : on 5 December ; Finland delivered 5000 rifles and 20 field guns along with ammunition . The Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander - Sinclair arrived off Tallinn on 31 December , delivering 6500 rifles , 200 machine guns and 2 field guns . The squadron captured two Russian destroyers , " Spartak " and " Avtroil " , and turned those over to Estonia , which renamed them " Vambola " and " Lennuk " . On 2 January , Finnish volunteer units with 2000 men arrived in Estonia . Three armored trains were built in Tallinn under the command of Captain Anton Irv . Liberation of Estonian territory . By the beginning of 1919 , the Estonian Army had increased its ranks to a total of 13 , 000 men , with 5 , 700 on the front facing 8 , 000 Soviets . The strengthened Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army ' s advance in its tracks between 2 and 5 January 1919 and went on the counter - offensive on 7 January . Tapa was liberated two days later in a campaign high - lighted by the implementation of the highly successful " soomusrongid " ( armoured trains ) . This turn of events was swiftly followed by the liberaton of the sizable town of Rakvere on 12 January . In liberating Narva , a 1 , 000 - strong Finnish - Estonian force landed at Utria to the rear of the Soviet 6th Rifle Division on 17 January . In so doing , retreat eastward for the Soviet forces was precluded . The following day Narva was liberated . Consequent to this the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva river . Within 11 days , the 1st Division had advanced 200 km . In the southern sphere - of - conflict Tartu was liberated through the rapid deployment of armored trains and the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion . The 2nd Division continued to advance southwards facing increasing Soviet resistance . In the Battle of Paju , the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion and the Finnish volunteers drove the Latvian Riflemen out of Valga on 31 January . The 7th Red Army was routed outside the boundaries of contemporary Estonia ( at that time ) and the battle - front continued outwards into the ancient , historical Estonian settlement area . The second half of February saw the Estonian southward advance capture Salacgrīva and Alūksne . This advance was soon stopped by a Soviet buildup ostensibly for a new expansionist offensive into Estonia . On the first Independence Day of 24 February 1919 , the pro - independence Estonian forces on the front consisted of 19 , 000 men , 70 field guns , and 230 machine guns . Estonia had become the first country to repel the Soviet westward offensive . In the second half of February , the red armies started the new Soviet offensive to capture Estonia . To this end the Soviets established what was referred to as the new Estonian Red Army . This sizable force consisted upwards of 80 , 000 conscripts . In positions along the Narva River the Estonian 1st Division and their allied White Russian Northern Corps repelled the 7th Red Army ' s attacks . The red army heavily bombarded Narva , leaving about 2 , 000 people homeless yet ultimately failed to capture the city . The majority of Soviet forces were concentrated at and along the southern front . The so - called ' Estonian ' Red Army captured Alūksne , Setomaa , Vastseliina , and Räpina parishes by 15 March . Having received reinforcements , the Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and regained Petseri by 29 March . Subsequently , the ' Estonian ' Red Army was pushed behind the Optjok River . On 27 March , the Estonian 3rd Division was deployed along the western flank of the southern front under the command of Major - General Ernst Põdder . At Võru , the situation became critical on 22 April when the Estonian Red Army approached to within 1 . 5 km of the town . Heavy fighting continued at the southeastern front up to the first half of May . On 25 April , the Latvian Riflemen captured Rūjiena , but were soon pushed back by the 3rd Division to Salacgrīva - Seda - Gauja line . Formation of foreign units . On 5 – 7 April 1919 the Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected . The elections were won by the Left and Central parties . The 120 members of the Constituent Assembly met at the opening session on 23 April , and elected as chairman , Social Democrat August Rei . The provisional government retired , and a new government headed by Otto Strandman was formed . On 4 June the assembly adopted a temporary Constitution of Estonia . On 10 October The Land Reform Act was passed , which confiscated and redistributed the large Baltic German estates , covering more than half of the territory of Estonia . Estonia actively helped to organize White Russian , Latvian and Ingrian forces on the territory of the Republic . The White Russian Northern Corps had been organizing in Estonia since December 1918 . On 18 February , an agreement was signed between Estonia and Latvia , which allowed formation of Latvian forces under Estonian command , but using them only on the southern front . The North Latvian Brigade under the command of Jorģis Zemitāns was formed from the citizens of Latvia who had fled to Estonia . In March 1919 , an agreement was signed with the Ingrian National People ’ s Committee for the formation of an Ingrian battalion . By May 1919 , there were 6 , 000 Russians , 4 , 000 Latvians and 700 Ingrians in their respective national units . Offensives into Russia and Latvia . Although the Estonian Army had attained control over its country , its opposite red armies were still active . The Estonian High Command decided to push their defense lines across the border into Russia in support of the White Russian Northern Corps . On 13 May , the Northern Corps went on the offensive at Narva , catching the Soviets by surprise and destroying their 6th Division . The offensive was supported along the Gulf of Finland ' s coast by the British and Estonian navy and marines . With the front approaching , the garrison of the Krasnaya Gorka fort mutinied . But the 7th Red Army received reinforcements and counterattacked , pushing the White Russians back , until the front was stabilised with the support from the Estonian 1st Division on the Luga and Saba rivers . The offensive of the Estonian Petseri Battle Group began on 24 May . On the same day 1st Estonian Communist Regiment of 600 troops together with Leonhard Ritt , commander of the switched sides . Offensive destroyed the Estonian Red Army , captured Pskov on 25 May and cleared the territory between Estonia and the Velikaya River of Soviet forces . A few days later White Russian forces arrived in Pskov , but as they were unable to defend the town on their own , some Estonian forces remained in Pskov , while the rest were pulled back to the state border . The Northern Corps mobilised members of the local population in the Pskov region . On 19 June 1919 , the Estonian Commander - in - Chief General Johan Laidoner rescinded his command over the White Russians , and they were renamed the . Shortly afterwards , General Nikolai N . Yudenich took command of the troops . Simultaneously with the Pskov offensive Estonian 2nd and 3rd divisions also started southward offensive into Northern - Latvia . By end of May they had captured Alūksne and Valmiera . Due simultaneous German - Latvian offensive in Western - Latvia situation was becoming very difficult for the Soviets . On 31 May Estonian cavalry regiment led by reached Gulbene capturing large amount of rolling stock , including 2 armoured trains . Rapid offensive of 2nd Division , spearheaded by its cavalry regiment , continued and on 6 June it crossed Daugava river and captured Jēkabpils . But 3rd Division could not support advance of 2nd division any more as it was now facing new enemy : " Baltische Landeswehr " . War against the Landeswehr . The war against the Baltische Landeswehr broke out on the southern front in Latvia on 5 June 1919 . The Latvian democrats led by Kārlis Ulmanis had declared independence like in Estonia , but had been soon pushed by Soviet forces to Liepāja where the German VI Reserve Corps finally stopped their advance . The German force led by general Rüdiger von der Goltz consisted of the Baltische Landeswehr formed from Baltic Germans , the Guards Reserve Division of former Imperial German Army soldiers who had stayed in Latvia , and the Iron Division of volunteers motivated by prospects of acquiring properties in the Baltics . This was possible because under the terms of their armistice with the Western Allies , the Germans had been obliged to maintain their armies in the East to counter the Bolshevist threat . The VI Reserve Corps also included the 1st Independent Latvian Battalion led by Oskars Kalpaks , which consisted of ethnic Latvians loyal to the Provisional Government of Latvia . The Germans disrupted organization of Latvian national forces , and on 16 April 1919 , the Provisional Government was toppled and replaced with the pro - German puppet Provisional Government of Latvia led by Andrievs Niedra . Ulmanis took refuge aboard steamship " Saratow " under Entente protection . The VI Reserve Corps pushed the Soviets back capturing Riga on 23 May , and continued advance to northwards and demanded that the Estonian Army end the occupation of parts of northern Latvia . The real intent of the VI Reserve Corps was to annex Estonia into a German - dominated puppet state . On 3 June , General Laidoner issued an ultimatum which demanded that the German forces must pull back southwards , leaving the broad gauge railway between Ieriķi and Gulbene under Estonian control . When Estonian armoured trains moved out on 5 June to check compliance with the Estonian demand , the Baltische Landeswehr unsuccessfully attacked them . On the next day , the Baltische Landeswehr captured Cēsis , the Estonian counterattack on 8 June was repelled . First clashes demonstrated that the VI Reserve Corps was stronger and better equipped than the Soviets . On 10 June , ceasefire was made with Entente meditation . Despite the Entente demand for the German force to pull behind the line demanded by the Estonians , von der Goltz refused and demanded Estonian withdrawal from Latvia , threatening to continue fighting . On 19 June , fighting resumed with Iron Division assault on positions of the Estonian 3rd Division near Limbaži and Straupe , starting the Battle of Cēsis . At that time , the 3rd Estonian Division , including the 2nd Latvian Cēsis regiment under Colonel Krišjānis Berķis , had 5990 infantry and 125 cavalry . Intensive German attacks on Estonian positions continued up to 22 June without achieving breakthrough . On 23 June , the Estonian 3rd Division counterattacked recapturing Cēsis . The anniversary of the Battle of Cēsis ( " Võnnu lahing " in Estonian ) is celebrated in Estonia as the Victory Day . The Estonian 3rd Division continued their advance towards Riga . On 3 July , when the Estonian forces were at the outskirts of Riga , a ceasefire was made on the demand of the Entente and the Ulmanis government was restored in Riga . The German forces were ordered to leave Latvia , the Baltische Landeswehr was put under the command of the Latvian Provisional Government and sent to fight against the Red Army . However , to circumvent Entente ' s orders , the troops of the disbanded VI Reserve Corps , instead of leaving , were incorporated into the West Russian Volunteer Army , officially hired by the German puppet Government of Latvia and led by Pavel Bermondt - Avalov . In October , fighting restarted when the West Russian Volunteer Army attacked Riga . Following the Latvian request to help , Estonia sent two armoured trains to aid repelling the German attack . Estonian army also remained to support the defence of Latvia against Soviets by defending the front north of Lake Lubāns . Final battles and peace negotiations . Soviet Russia had been attempting to conclude a peace since the spring of 1919 . On 25 April 1919 , Hungarian Communists offered to mediate a settlement between the Bolsheviks and the Estonians , but Admiral Cowan threatened withdrawal of support to the Estonians unless they rejected the Hungarian offer . The Russians then publicly broached the subject of peace talks in a radio broadcast on 27 and 28 April . On 5 June the Estonian Commune was abolished . A subsequent broadcast by the Russians on 21 July led to the British journalist Arthur Ransome sounding out the Commissar for Foreign Relations Georgy Chicherin on the subject of peace talks . As a result the Soviet government made a formal offer for negotiations on 31 August 1919 . The Estonians accepted on 4 September , and delegations started talks on 16 September . Estonia then proposed to stop the negotiations until Latvia , Lithuania and Finland have agreed to participate in joint negotiations . In the autumn , the Northwestern Army launched operation White Sword , a major effort to capture Petrograd . With the arms provided by Britain and France , and the operational support by the Estonian Army , Estonian Navy , and Royal Navy , the Northwestern Army began the offensive on 28 September 1919 . Estonia supported the Northwestern Army due to the demands of the Entente . The Estonian forces made joint naval and land attack against the Krasnaya Gorka fort , while the Estonian 2nd Division attempted to destroy bridges over the Velikaya River and the Estonian 3rd Division attacked towards Pytalovo . The Northwestern Army approached to 16 kilometres ( 10 miles ) from Petrograd , but the Red Army repulsed the White Russian troops back to the Narva river . Distrustful of the White Russians , the Estonian High Command disarmed and interned the remains of Northwestern Army that retreated behind the state border . The 7th and 15th Soviet Armies advancing behind collapsing White Russian forces continued to attack the fortified positions at the state border near Narva . First clashes took place on Luga River on 16 November , starting the conclusive battles with 120 , 000 Soviets facing 40 , 000 Estonians . After repeated attacks , the 7th Red Army managed to achieve some limited success . At the end of November situation on front calmed as the Soviets needed to replenish their forces . In order to pressurise Estonia in the peace talks , intensive Soviet attacks restarted on 7 December . On 16 December , the situation became critical as forward units of the 15th Red Army crossed the Narva River . On the next day , an Estonian counterattack pushed the Soviets back . The Estonian high command actively reinforced the 1st Division at Narva during the battles , sending in the headquarters of the 3rd Division . General Tõnisson became commander of the Viru Front . After suffering 35 , 000 casualties in heavy battles , the Red Army was completely exhausted by the end of December . On 19 November new government of Jaan Tõnisson had decided to restart talks with Soviet Russia even without participation of other Baltic States . Negotiations started on 5 December , with main point of dispute being territorial issues . Talks continued through December with both sides pressing their territorial demands while heavy fighting continued at Narva . The peace treaty was finally concluded on 31 December 1919 . A ceasefire came into effect on 3 January 1920 . Foreign assistance . Foreign assistance , mostly from the United Kingdom and Finland , played a very important role during the early stages of war . British naval and air forces arrived in December 1918 , after lobbying in London by Estonian politicians . The British squadron delivered 6500 rifles , 200 machine guns , 2 field guns , also two Soviet destroyers were captured near Tallinn and turned over to Estonia . A Royal Navy squadron continued to provide artillery support on the coast and also protected the Estonian flank against the Russian Baltic Fleet . The United Kingdom remained Estonia ' s main supplier of arms and equipment during the war . While the British navy provided considerable support , the historian William Fletcher concludes that " " the British naval force would have had little effect on the outcome of Baltic affairs had not the Estonians and Latvians provided a vibrant and disciplined land and sea force " " . Finland provided 5000 rifles and 20 field guns by 12 December . Finland also sent 3500 volunteers . Pohjan Pojat led by Hans Kalm fought at the Southern Front , including at the Battle of Paju , while I Suomalainen Vapaajoukko led by Martin Ekström fought at the Viru Front , including at the Battle of Utria . Finnish volunteers returned to Finland on March – April 1919 , having lost 150 men . A Danish volunteer unit of 200 men was formed under the command of Captain Richard Gustav Borgelin in April 1919 . The company took part in battles against Bolsheviks in Latvia and near Pskov and 19 men were killed by the time their contract ended in September . R . G . Borgelin was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given Maidla manor in gratitude for his services . The Swedish volunteer unit under the command of Carl Mothander was formed in Sweden in early 1919 . In March 1919 , 178 volunteers took part in scout missions in Virumaa . In April , the company was sent to the Southern front and took part of the battles near Pechory . In May , the company was disbanded with some volunteers joining other units and the rest returning to Sweden . Tartu Peace Treaty . On 2 February 1920 , the Peace Treaty of Tartu was signed by the Republic of Estonia and RSFSR . At this point , the Bolshevist regime had not been recognized by any Western power . The terms of the treaty stated that Russia renounced in perpetuity all rights to the territory of Estonia . The agreed frontier corresponded roughly with the position of the front line at the cessation of hostilities . In particular , Estonia retained a strategic strip to the east of the Narva river ( " Narvataguse " ) and Setumaa in the southeast , areas which were lost in early 1945 – shortly after Soviet troops had taken control of Estonia , when Moscow transferred the land East of the Narva River and most of Petseri County to the RSFSR .