Battle of Paju 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 . The Estonian commander Julius Kuperjanov fell in the fighting . Background . In early January 1919 , Estonian forces had started a full scale counterattack against invading Soviets . Their main objective was liberating north Estonia including Narva , which was achieved by 17 January . They then started to advance into south Estonia . On 14 January , the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion , organised and led by Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov , and armoured trains liberated Tartu . At that time the only working railway connection to Riga , which the Red Army had captured on 3 January , passed through Valga , so defending it had strategic importance for Soviet Russia . Among other units , a large part of the elite Latvian Riflemen were sent to stop the Estonians . Commander - in - chief , Johan Laidoner reinforced the Estonian advance in the south , including Finnish volunteers , The Sons of the North , led by colonel Hans Kalm . Finnish general Paul Martin Wetzer became the commander of the southern front . Battle . To liberate Valga it was necessary to capture Paju Manor . On 30 January Estonian partisans had captured it , but were soon pushed out . With his 300 men , 2 guns and 13 machineguns , Kuperjanov decided to recapture Paju on 31 January . Armoured trains were unable to support , due to the destruction of Sangaste railway bridge . The Latvian Riflemen had about 1 , 200 men with 4 guns and 32 machineguns . They were supported by an armoured train and armoured car s . Tartumaa Partisan Battalion attacked the manor directly over open fields . At 400 metres Bolshevik troops opened fire inflicting heavy casualties . Kuperjanov led the attack personally , as usual , and was fatally wounded , dying two days later . When he was hit , Lt Johannes Soodla took command of the battalion . Later Finnish Sons of the North units with about 380 men arrived , bringing with them 4 guns and 9 machineguns . They also assaulted the manor in a frontal attack which caused heavy losses . In the evening the Estonians and Finns finally pushed into the park of the estate where heavy hand - to - hand combat started , which resulted in capturing the manor . Retreating Latvian Riflemen were taken under heavy fire . Next day the Estonians marched into Valga without resistance . Aftermath . The bloody Battle of Paju resulted in the liberation of Valga the next day . The victory cut off the Soviets ' railway supply line and denied them the use of armoured trains . Soon almost all southern Estonia was liberated and Estonian troops advanced into northern Latvia . To honour Julius Kuperjanov who died of wounds on 2 February , Tartumaa Partisan Battalion was renamed Kuperjanov ' s Partisan Battalion . The current Estonian Defence Force still includes the Kuperjanov Battalion . The battle is commemorated by a granite monument on a three – step pyramid of earth , which was reopened by the Estonian President Lennart Meri in 1994 on the 75th anniversary of the battle .