Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Estonia in World War II

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{Short description|Period of Estonian history from 1939 to 1945}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
[[File:EstonianMontageWWII.png|thumb|Clockwise from top left: [[Tallinn]] after the great [[Bombing of Tallinn in World War II|Soviet bombing raid]]; Platoon of Estonian [[Forest Brothers]]; Estonian commanders [[Alfons Rebane|Rebane]], [[Harald Nugiseks|Nugiseks]] and [[Harald Riipalu|Riipalu]]; Estonian armoured regiment on march in 1940; Estonian MG team in the [[Battle of Tannenberg Line]]; conscripts of the [[Estonian Legion]]]]

[[Estonia]] declared [[Neutral powers during World War II|neutrality]] at the outbreak of [[World War II]] (1939–1945), but the country was repeatedly contested, [[Occupation of the Baltic states|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.

==Background==
[[File:Hitler Stalin Pakt Geheimes Zusatzprotokoll.jpg|thumb|According to the 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] "''the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)''" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy)]] 
Immediately before the outbreak of World War II, in August 1939, [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and the Soviet Union signed the [[Nazi-Soviet Pact]] (also known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, or the 1939 German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact), concerning the partition and disposition of Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, in its [[s:Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact#Secret Additional Protocol|Secret Additional Protocol]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica |year=1993 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |isbn=978-0-85229-571-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia07ency/page/698 698] |quote=The fate of Estonia was decided by the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of August 1939 between Nazi Germany and the USSR |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia07ency |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Feldbrugge|1985|p=460}}</ref>

[[File:Northern europe november 1939.png|thumb|alt=A geopolitical map of Northern Europe where Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are tagged as neutral nations and the Soviet Union is shown having military bases in the nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.|Geopolitical status in Northern Europe in November 1939<ref name="KR2007_10">{{cite book|last1=Kilin|first1=Juri|last2=Raunio|first2=Ari|author-link1=Yuri Kilin| title=Talvisodan taisteluja|publisher=Karttakeskus|year=2007|isbn=978-951-593-068-2|ref= KilinRaunio2007|language=fi|trans-title=Winter War Battles|page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hough |first=William J.H. |title=The Annexation of the Baltic States and Its Effect on the Development of Law Prohibiting Forcible Seizure of Territory |website=DigitalCommons@NYLS |date=2019-09-10 |url=https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/journal_of_international_and_comparative_law/vol6/iss2/51}}</ref>
{{legend|#98c807|Neutral countries}}{{legend|#636466|Germany and annexed countries}}{{legend|#d13814|Soviet Union and annexed countries}}{{legend|#ef9421|Neutral countries with military bases established by Soviet Union in October 1939}}]]
The territory of until then independent [[Republic of Estonia]] was invaded and occupied by the Soviet [[Red Army]] on 16–17 June 1940. Mass political arrests, deportations, and executions by the Soviet regime followed. In the [[Summer War]] during the German [[Operation Barbarossa]] in 1941, the pro-independence [[Forest Brothers]] captured large parts of southern Estonia from the Soviet [[NKVD]] troops and the [[8th Army (Soviet Union)|8th Army]] before the arrival of the German [[18th Army (Wehrmacht)|18th Army]] in the area.{{Request quotation|date=July 2020|Please see Talk page}} At the same time, in June–August 1941, Soviet [[paramilitary]] [[Soviet destruction battalion 1941|destruction battalions]] carried out punitive operations in Estonia, including looting and killing, based on the tactics of [[scorched earth]] ordered by [[Joseph Stalin]]. Estonia was occupied by Germany and incorporated into ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]'' in 1941–1944.

Upon the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, thousands of Estonians were conscripted into the Soviet army (including the Soviet [[8th Estonian Rifle Corps]] and other units), and in 1941–1944 to the [[Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany#Estonians in German Military Units in 1941–1944|German armed forces]]. A number of Estonian men who had avoided these conscriptions were able to flee to Finland, and many of them then formed the [[Finnish Infantry Regiment 200]]. About 40% of the Estonian pre-war fleet was requisitioned by British authorities and used in [[Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic convoys]]. Approximately 1000 Estonian sailors served in the [[British Merchant Navy]], 200 of them as officers. A small number of Estonians served in the [[Royal Air Force]], in the [[British Army]] and in the [[U.S. Army]].<ref name="HW"/>

From February to September 1944, the German [[Battle of Narva (1944)#Formation of Army Detachment "Narwa"|army detachment "Narwa"]] held back the Soviet [[Battle of Narva (1944)|Estonian Operation]]. After [[Tallinn Offensive|breaching the defence]] of II Army Corps across the [[Emajõgi]] river and clashing with the pro-independence Estonian troops, Soviet forces reoccupied mainland Estonia in September 1944. After the war, Estonia remained incorporated into the Soviet Union as the [[Estonian SSR]] until 1991, although the [[Atlantic Charter]] stated that no territorial arrangements would be made.

[[World War II]] losses in Estonia, estimated at around 25% of the population, were among the highest proportion in Europe. War and occupation deaths listed in the current reports total at 81,000. These include deaths in [[Soviet deportations from Estonia|Soviet deportations]] in 1941, Soviet executions, German deportations, and victims of the [[The Holocaust in Estonia|Holocaust in Estonia]].<ref name=white>The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes. 1940–1991</ref>

==Preface==
Before World War II, the Republic of Estonia and the [[USSR]] had signed and ratified the following treaties:

===Kellogg-Briand Pact===
:August 27, 1928, [[Kellogg-Briand Pact]] "renouncing war as an instrument of national policy". Ratified by Estonia and the USSR on July 24, 1929.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/kbpact/kbpact.htm Kellogg-Briand Pact] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703013848/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/kbpact/kbpact.htm |date=July 3, 2007 }} at Yale University</ref>

===Non-aggression treaty===
:With USSR on May 4, 1932.<ref>League of Nations Treaty Series, Vol. CXXXI, pp. 297–307.</ref>

===The Convention for the Definition of Aggression===
:On July 3, 1933, for the first time in the history of [[international relations]], [[aggression]] was defined in a binding treaty signed at the Soviet Embassy in [[London]] by the USSR and among others, the Republic of Estonia.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,753798,00.html |title=Aggression Defined |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 17, 1933 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930212755/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,753798,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>League of Nations Treaty Series, 1934, No. 3391.</ref>

:Article II defines forms of aggression. "There shall be recognized as an aggressor that State which shall be the first to have committed one of the following actions":

:Relevant chapters:

:* "Second – invasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war."
:* "Fourth – a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State."

===Declaration of neutrality===
:Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania jointly declared their neutrality on November 18, 1938, in Riga, at the Conference of Baltic Foreign Ministers with their respective parliaments passing neutrality laws later that year. Estonia passed a law ratifying its neutrality on December 1st, 1938, which was modelled on Sweden's declaration of neutrality of May 29, 1938.<ref>[http://www.letton.ch/lvx_38.htm Estonian Neutrality Law of December lst, 1938]</ref>  Also importantly, Estonia had asserted its neutrality in its very first [[constitution]], as well as the [[Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Estonian)|Treaty of Tartu]] concluded in 1920 between [[Republic of Estonia]] and the [[Russian SFSR]].

===Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact===
[[File:Ribbentrop-Molotov.svg|thumb|Planned and actual divisions of Europe, according to the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], with later adjustments]]
{{Main|Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact}}
Early on the morning of August 24, 1939, the Soviet Union and [[Nazi Germany]] signed a 10-year non-aggression pact, called the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop pact]]. Most notably, the pact contained a secret protocol, revealed only after Germany's defeat in 1945, according to which the states of [[Northern Europe|Northern]] and [[Eastern Europe]] were divided into German and Soviet "[[spheres of influence]]".<ref name="mrtext">[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1939pact.html ''Text of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact''], executed August 23, 1939</ref> In the north, [[Finland]], Estonia and [[Latvia]] were assigned to the Soviet sphere.<ref name="mrtext"/> Poland was to be partitioned in the event of its "political rearrangement"—the areas east of the [[Narew|Narev]], [[Vistula]] and [[San River]]s going to the Soviet Union while Germany would occupy the west.<ref name="mrtext"/> [[Lithuania]], adjacent to [[East Prussia]], would be in the German sphere of influence, although a second secret protocol agreed in September 1939 assigned the majority of Lithuania to the USSR.<ref name="christie">Christie, Kenneth, ''Historical Injustice and Democratic Transition in Eastern Asia and Northern Europe: Ghosts at the Table of Democracy'', RoutledgeCurzon, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-7007-1599-2}}</ref>

==The beginning of World War II==
[[File:Orzel incident in Uus Eesti.jpg|thumb|left|The Orzel incident covered in the Estonian newspaper ''[[Uus Eesti]]'' (New Estonia).]]
World War II began with the [[Invasion of Poland|invasion]] of [[Poland]], an important regional ally of Estonia, by [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]. Although some coordination existed between Germany and the USSR early in the war,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Nekrich|first1=Aleksandr Moiseevich|last2=Ulam|first2=Adam Bruno|last3=Freeze|first3=Gregory L.|title=Pariahs, Partners, Predators: German-Soviet Relations, 1922–1941|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-231-10676-4|pages=130–1}}</ref> the Soviet Union communicated to Nazi Germany its decision to launch its own invasion seventeen days after Germany's invasion, as a result, in part, of the unforeseen rapidity of the Polish military collapse.<ref>Roberts, Geoffrey "The Soviet Decision for a Pact with Nazi Germany". ''[[Soviet Studies]]'', Vol. 44, No. 1 (1992), pp. 57–78</ref>

* On September 1, 1939, [[invasion of Poland|Germany invaded its part of Poland]] under the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]].
* September 3, Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand [[Phoney War|declare war on Germany]].
* September 14,  the Polish submarine [[ORP Orzeł (1938)|ORP Orzeł]] reached [[Tallinn]], Estonia.
* On September 17, the [[Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)|Soviet Union invaded its part of Poland]] under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol.<ref>[[s:Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact#Secret Additional Protocol|Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret additional protocol]]</ref> During this invasion, a close coordination of German and Soviet military activity took place.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A World in Flames: A Short History of the Second World War |last=Kitchen |first=Martin |year=1990 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-03408-2 |page=74 |quote=The joint invasion of Poland was celebrated with a parade by the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Brest Litovsk|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0t-fAAAAMAAJ&q=%22The+joint+invasion+of+Poland+was+celebrated+with+a+parade+by+the+Wehrmacht+and+the+Red+Army+in+Brest+Litovsk%22 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Stalin's Drive to the West, 1938–1945 |last=Raack |first=Richard |year=1995 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-2415-9 |page=58 |quote=The generals of the two invading armies went over the details of the prearranged line that would mark the two zones of conquest for Germany and Soviet Russia, subsequently to be rearranged one more time in Moscow. The military parade that followed was recorded by Nazi cameras and celebrated in the German newsreel: German and Soviet generals cheek by jowl in military homage to each other's armies and victories. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAdZMaWn8cIC&pg=PA58}}</ref>
* September 18, [[Orzeł incident]]; the Polish submarine escaped from [[internment]] in Tallinn and eventually made her way to the [[United Kingdom]]; Estonia's neutrality questioned by the Soviet Union and Germany.
[[File:Red Army entering into Estonia in 1939.jpg|thumb|The [[Red Army]] entering Estonia in 1939 after Estonia had been forced to sign the [[Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty|Bases Treaty]]]]
On September 24, 1939, with the fall of Poland to Nazi Germany and the USSR imminent and in light of the [[Orzeł incident]], the Moscow press and radio started violently attacking Estonia as "hostile" to the Soviet Union. Warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports, and Soviet bombers began a threatening patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside.<ref name="TM091939">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762664,00.html |title=Moscow's Week |magazine=Time |date=October 9, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153222/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762664,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>  Moscow demanded that Estonia allow the USSR to establish military bases and station 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for the duration of the European war.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Smith|2002|p=24}}</ref> The government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum signing the corresponding agreement on September 28, 1939.

The pact was made for ten years:
# Estonia granted the USSR the right to maintain naval bases and airfields protected by [[Red Army]] troops on the strategic islands dominating Tallinn, the [[Gulf of Finland]] and the [[Gulf of Riga]];
# The Soviet Union agreed to increase her annual trade turnover with Estonia and to give Estonia facilities in case the Baltic is closed to her goods for trading with the outside world via Soviet ports on the Black Sea and [[White Sea]];
# The USSR and Estonia undertook to defend each other from "aggression arising on the part of any great European power";
# It was declared: the pact "should not affect" the "economic systems and state organizations" of the USSR and Estonia.<ref name="TM091939"/>

There is no consensus in Estonian society about the decisions that the leadership of the Republic of Estonia made at that time.<ref name="HW"/>

When Soviet troops marched into Estonia the guns of both nations gave mutual salutes, and bands played both the Estonian anthem and the Internationale, the anthem of the USSR, at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762736,00.html |title=Negotiator Stalin |magazine=Time |date=November 6, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930070810/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762736,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>

Similar demands were forwarded to Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. Finland resisted,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762817,00.html |title=Finnish Finish |magazine=Time |date=November 20, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224181456/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762817,00.html |archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> and was attacked by the Soviet Union on November 30.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,763007,00.html |title=36-to-1 |magazine=Time |date=December 11, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930070903/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,763007,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> Because the attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the [[League of Nations]] on December 14.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762112-2,00.html |title=Minus a Member |magazine=Time |date=December 25, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930072039/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762112-2,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> Finland held out in the [[Winter War]] until March 1940, when the [[Moscow Peace Treaty]] was signed.

The first population loss for Estonia was the repatriation of about 12,000–18,000 [[Baltic Germans]] to Germany.<ref name="HW">[http://www.historicaltextarchive.org/sections.php?action=read&artid=383 Estonia in World War II] by Hannes Walter. Historical Text Archive, Mississippi. Retrieved link on July 6th 2020.</ref><ref name="TimeOct39">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,772242-1,00.html |title=Balts' Return |magazine=Time |date=October 23, 1939 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224174813/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,772242-1,00.html |archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref>

==Soviet occupation==
{{See also|Occupation of the Baltic states}}

[[File:SovietBlockade1940.jpg|thumb|Schematics of the Soviet military blockade and invasion of Estonia in 1940. (Russian State Naval Archives)]]In the summer of 1940 the occupation of Estonia was carried through as a regular [[military operation]]. 160,000 men, supported by 600 tanks were concentrated for the invasion into Estonia. 5 divisions of the [[Soviet Air Force]] with 1150 aircraft blockaded the whole Baltic air space against Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The Soviet [[Baltic Fleet]] blockaded the operation from the sea. The Soviet [[NKVD]] was ordered to be ready for the reception of 58,000 prisoners of war.<ref name="HW"/>

On June 3, 1940, all Soviet military forces based in the Baltic states were concentrated under the command of [[Aleksandr Loktionov]].<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Petrov|2008|p=153}}</ref>

On June 9, the directive 02622ss/ov was given to the Red Army's [[Leningrad Military District]] by [[Semyon Timoshenko]] to be ready by June 12 to (a) Capture the vessels of the [[Estonian Navy|Estonian]], Latvian and Lithuanian Navy in their bases and/or at sea; (b) Capture the Estonian and Latvian commercial fleet and all other vessels; (c) Prepare for an invasion and landing in Tallinn and [[Paldiski]]; (d) Close the [[Gulf of Riga]] and blockade the coasts of Estonia and Latvia in Gulf of Finland and [[Baltic Sea]]; (e) Prevent an evacuation of the Estonian and Latvian governments, military forces and assets; (f) Provide naval support for an invasion towards [[Rakvere]]; (g) Prevent Estonian and Latvian airplanes from flying either to Finland or Sweden.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Petrov|2008|p=154}}</ref>

On June 12, 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia was given to the Soviet [[Baltic Fleet]], according to the director of the Russian State Archive of the Naval Department Pavel Petrov (C.Phil.) referring to the records in the archive.<ref>{{in lang|fi}} [http://www.mil.fi/laitokset/tiedotteet/1282.dsp Pavel Petrov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821221643/http://www.mil.fi/laitokset/tiedotteet/1282.dsp |date=21 August 2009 }} at Finnish Defence Forces home page</ref><ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.rusin.fi/publications/warinpetsamo/indexEN.html documents published] from the State Archive of the Russian Navy  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050219052823/http://www.rusin.fi/publications/warinpetsamo/indexEN.html |date=February 19, 2005 }}</ref>

On June 13 at 10:40&nbsp;am the Soviet forces started to move to their positions and were ready by June 14 at 10&nbsp;pm. (a) 4 submarines and a number of light navy units were positioned in the Baltic Sea, to the gulfs of Riga and Finland to isolate the Baltic states by sea. (b) A navy squadron including three destroyer divisions were positioned to the west of [[Naissaar]] in order to support the invasion. (c) The 1st marine brigade's four battalions on transportation ships ''Sibir'', ''2nd Pjatiletka'' and ''Elton'' were positioned for landing and invasion of Naissaare and [[Aegna]]; (d) Transportation ship ''Dnester'' and destroyers ''Storozevoi'' and ''Silnoi'' were positioned with troops for the invasion of the capital Tallinn; (e) the 50th battalion was positioned on ships for an invasion near [[Kunda, Estonia|Kunda]]. In the naval blockade participated in total 120 Soviet vessels including 1 cruiser, 7 destroyers, and 17 submarines; 219 airplanes including the 8th air-brigade with 84 [[bomber]]s: [[DB-3]] and [[Tupolev SB]] and the 10th brigade with 62 airplanes.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Petrov|2008|p=164}}</ref>

On June 14 while the world's attention was focused on the fall of [[Paris]] to Nazi Germany a day earlier, the Soviet military blockade on Estonia went into effect.  Two Soviet bombers downed a Finnish passenger airplane "[[Kaleva (airplane)|Kaleva]]" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the U.S. legations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki and over 120 kilograms of diplomatic mail by two French embassy couriers. The [[US Foreign Service]] employee [[Henry W. Antheil Jr.]], the French couriers and other passengers were killed in the crash.<ref>[http://www.afsa.org/fsj/may07/lastflight.pdf The Last Flight from Tallinn] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325013623/http://www.afsa.org/fsj/may07/lastflight.pdf |date=March 25, 2009 }} at American Foreign Service Association</ref>

[[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] had accused the Baltic states of conspiracy against the Soviet Union and [[Soviet ultimatum to Estonia|delivered an ultimatum to Estonia]] for the establishment of a government the Soviets approve of. The Estonian government decided according to the [[Kellogg-Briand Pact]] not to use war as an instrument of national policy. On 17 June 1940, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. The Red Army exited from their military bases in Estonia, some 90,000 additional Soviet troops entered the country.  Given the overwhelming Soviet force both on the borders and inside the country, not to resist, to avoid bloodshed and open war.<ref>''The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania'' by David J. Smith p.19 {{ISBN|0-415-28580-1}}</ref>

[[File:Kalevakuva 1.jpg|thumb|Kaleva airplane and its crew before the incident]]
On June 17, the day France surrendered to Germany. The [[military occupation]] of the Republic of Estonia was complete by June 21, 1940, and rendered "official" by a communist [[coup d'état]] supported by the Soviet troops.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Subrenat|Cousins|Harding|2004|p=134}}</ref>

Most of the [[Estonian Defence Forces]] and the [[Estonian Defence League]] [[Surrender (military)|surrendered]] according to the orders of the Estonian Government believing that resistance was useless and were disarmed by the Red Army.{{refn|June 14 the Estonian government surrendered without offering any military resistance; The occupation authorities began&nbsp;... by disarming the Estonian Army and removing the higher military common from power<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Ertl|2008|p=394}}</ref>|group=nb}}<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Miljan|2004|p=111}}</ref> Only the Estonian Independent Signal Battalion stationed in Tallinn at Raua Street showed resistance to Red Army, along with a Communist militia called "People's Self-Defence", ({{lang-et|Rahva Omakaitse}})<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|United States Congress|1972|p=280}}</ref> on 21 June 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vp2001-2006.vpk.ee/en/duties/press_releases.php?gid=12614 |title=The President of the Republic acquainted himself with the Estonian Defence Forces |access-date=2 January 2009 |date=December 19, 2001 |publisher=Press Service of the Office of the President |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821084112/http://vp2001-2006.vpk.ee/en/duties/press_releases.php?gid=12614 |archive-date=21 August 2009 }}</ref> As the Red Army brought in additional reinforcements supported by six [[armoured fighting vehicle]]s, the battle lasted several hours until sundown.  Finally the military resistance was ended with negotiations and the Independent Signal Battalion surrendered and was disarmed.<ref>{{in lang|et}}[http://www.mil.ee/?id=297&sisu=uudis 51 years from the Raua Street Battle] at Estonian Defence Forces Home Page</ref> There were 2 dead Estonian servicemen, Aleksei Männikus and Johannes Mandre, and several wounded on the Estonian side and about 10 killed and more wounded on the Soviet side.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.riigikogu.ee/ems/saros/0115/011510004.html |title=Riigikogu avaldus kommunistliku režiimi kuritegudest Eestis |access-date=2 January 2009 |last=784 AE |publisher=[[Riigikogu]] |language=et |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103000442/http://web.riigikogu.ee/ems/saros/0115/011510004.html |archive-date=3 November 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Alo |last=Lohmus |title=Kaitseväelastest said kurja saatuse sunnil korpusepoisid |url=http://www.postimees.ee/161107/esileht/ak/294586.php |date=10 November 2007 |access-date=2 January 2009 |language=et |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821190707/http://www.postimees.ee/161107/esileht/ak/294586.php |archive-date=21 August 2009 }}</ref> On the same day, June 21, 1940, the [[Flag of Estonia]] was replaced with a [[Red flag (politics)|Red flag]] on [[Pikk Hermann]] tower, the symbol of the government in force in Estonia.

On 14–15 July, rigged and likely fabricated<ref>Latvia's detailed election results were accidentally published in London 24 hours before the purported election was held</ref> elections were held in which only Soviet-supported candidates were permitted to run.<ref name="HDENG">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Minahan|2000|p=238}}</ref> Those who failed to have their passports stamped for voting for a communist candidate risked getting shot in the back of the head.<ref name="TM191940">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764407,00.html |title=Justice in The Baltic |magazine=Time |date=August 19, 1940 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031407/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764407,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>  Tribunals were set up to punish "traitors to the people", those who had fallen short of the "political duty" of voting Estonia into the USSR. The "parliament" so elected proclaimed Estonia a socialist republic on July 21, 1940, and unanimously requested Estonia to be "accepted" into the Soviet Union.{{citation needed|date=July 2007}} The Soviet Union annexed Estonia on August 6 and renamed the [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic]].<ref>Magnus Ilmjärv ''Hääletu alistumine'', [Silent submission], Tallinn, Argo, 2004, {{ISBN|978-9949-415-04-5}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}  The 1940 occupation and annexation of Estonia into the Soviet Union was [[Stimson Doctrine|considered illegal and never officially recognized]] by Great Britain, the [[United States]] and other Western democracies.<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/86539.htm U.S.-Baltic Relations: Celebrating 85 Years of Friendship] at U.S Department of State</ref> The annexation abrogated numerous prior treaties entered into by the Soviet Union and its predecessor, Bolshevist Russia.

===Soviet terror===
{{See also|Soviet deportations from Estonia}}
[[File:Victims of Soviet repressions in Kuressaare, Estonia, 1941.jpg|thumb|Claimed that these people were massacred by USSR during period from June to September 1941 in Kuressaare, Estonia. The source states: "No culprits found".]]
Having seized control over Estonia, the Soviet authorities rapidly moved to stamp out any potential opposition to their rule.  During the first year of the occupation (1940–1941) over 8,000 people, including most of the country's leading politicians and military officers, were arrested. About 2,200 of them were executed in Estonia, while the rest were removed to prison camps in Russia, from whence very few returned alive [no source].  On July 19, 1940, the [[Commander-in-chief]] of the [[Estonian Army]] [[Johan Laidoner]] was captured by the [[NKVD]] and deported together with his spouse to the town of [[Penza]]. Laidoner died in the Vladimir Prison Camp, Russia on March 13, 1953.<ref>[http://www.laidoner.ee/index.php/lang/eng/category/general-johan-laidoner General Johan Laidoner] at The Estonian War Museum  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718081110/http://www.laidoner.ee/index.php/lang/eng/category/general-johan-laidoner |date=July 18, 2007 }}</ref> [[President of Estonia]], [[Konstantin Päts]] was arrested and deported by the Soviets to [[Ufa]] in Russia on July 30; he died in a [[psychiatric hospital]] at Kalinin (currently [[Tver]]), Russia in 1956.  In all about 800 Estonian officers were arrested, about half of whom were executed, arrested or starved to death in [[Gulag|prison camps]] [no source].

When Estonia was proclaimed a Soviet Republic (SSR), the crews of 42 Estonian ships in foreign waters refused to return to their homeland (about 40% of the pre-war Estonian fleet). These ships were requisitioned by the British powers and were used in Atlantic convoys. During the war, approximately 1000 Estonian seamen served in the British merchant marine, 200 of them as officers.  A small number of Estonians served in the [[Royal Air Force]], in the [[British Army]] and in the [[US Army]], altogether no more than two hundred.<ref name="HW"/>

===Soviet repression of Russian emigres===

Immediately after the Soviet takeover, local Russian institutions (societies, newspapers etc.) were closed down. The cultural life that had developed during Estonia's independence was destroyed. Almost all of the leading Russian emigres were arrested and later executed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Estonia Remembers Soviet Deportations |url=https://estonianworld.com/life/estonia-remembers-the-soviet-deportations/ |publisher=Estonian World |access-date=22 May 2021}}</ref>

Some of the Russian White emigres had already been arrested before 21 June 1940 by the Estonian political police, probably in order to avoid "provocations" during the Red Army's invasion, and those arrested were consequently handed over to the NKVD torture chambers after the Communist takeover.<ref>С.Г.Исаков Очерки истории русской культуры в Эстонии. Таллинн, 2005, с. 394–395.</ref>

===Historical Soviet sources===
Up to the reassessment of Soviet history in the USSR that began during [[Perestroika]], before the USSR had condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries including Estonia,<ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=%221939+secret+protocol%22&btnG=Search The Forty-Third Session of the UN Sub-Commission] at Google Scholar  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019082434/http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=%221939+secret+protocol%22&btnG=Search |date=2015-10-19 }}</ref> the events in 1939 according to the pre-Perestroika Soviet sources were as following: in a prior province of the [[Russian Empire]], the [[Governorate]] of Estonia (Russian: Эстляндская губерния), Soviet power was established in the end of October 1917. The [[Estonian Soviet Republic]] was proclaimed in [[Narva]] on November 29, 1918, but fell to counter-revolutionaries and the [[White movement]] in 1919. In June 1940 Soviet power was restored in Estonia as workers had overthrown the fascist dictatorship in the country.<ref name="Symb">{{in lang|ru}}[http://www.statesymbol.ru/sovietsymbol/20050419/39595176.html State Symbols – Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic]</ref><ref name="RB">Endel Vanatoa, Estonian SSR, a Reference Book, Perioodika Publisher, 1985, p.11, [https://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22where+on+November+29%2C+1918%2C+the+Estonian+Working+People%27s%22 available at Google Print]</ref><ref name="GSE">{{GSEn|127240|Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика}}</ref>
[[File:Stalin Lenin jk.jpg|thumb]]
The [[Government of the Soviet Union]] suggested that the [[Government of the Republic of Estonia]] conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the two countries. The pressure from Estonian working people forced the Estonian government to accept this suggestion. On September 28, 1939, the Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed<ref>{{in lang|ru}}[http://oldgazette.ru/lib/propagit/20/03.html 1939 USSR-Estonia Mutual Aid Pact (full text)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211029/http://oldgazette.ru/lib/propagit/20/03.html |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of [[Red Army]] units in Estonia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Estonian government policies "that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Estonian government" and political orientation towards Nazi Germany led to a revolutionary situation on June 16, 1940. A note from the Soviet government to the Estonian Government suggested that they stick strictly to the Pact of Mutual Assistance. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact additional military units entered Estonia, welcomed by the Estonian workers who demanded the resignation of the Estonian government. On June 21 under the leadership of the [[Estonian Communist Party]] political demonstrations by workers were held in Tallinn, [[Tartu]], [[Narva]] and other cities. On the same day the fascist government was overthrown, and the People's government led by [[Johannes Vares]] was formed. On July 14–15, 1940 elections for the [[Riigikogu]] the Estonian Parliament were held. The "Working People's Union", created by an initiative of the Estonian Communist Party received with 84.1% electorate participation 92.8% of the votes.<ref>[http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=970391757&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=970391757.pdf Politics, Migration and Minorities in Estonia, 1918–1998] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711183727/http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=970391757&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=970391757.pdf |date=2007-07-11 }}, pdf, p.79</ref><ref name="GSE"/> On July 21, 1940, the State Assembly adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Estonia and proclaimed the [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic]]. On July 22 the declaration of Estonia's wish to join the [[USSR]] was adopted and the [[Supreme Soviet of the USSR]] was addressed accordingly. The request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 6, 1940. On July 23 the State Assembly proclaimed all land to be People's Property while banks and heavy industry were nationalized. On August 25 the State Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Estonian SSR, renamed itself the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR and approved the [[Council of People's Commissars]] of the Estonian SSR.<ref name="GSE"/>

==Summer War==
{{Main|Summer War}}
[[File:Kirov 1941.jpg|thumb|Soviet cruiser ''Kirov'' protected by smoke during evacuation of [[Tallinn]] in August 1941.]]
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched their [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]]. On July 3, [[Joseph Stalin]] made his public statement over the radio calling for a [[scorched earth]] policy in the areas to be abandoned. In North Estonia, the [[Soviet destruction battalion 1941|Soviet destruction battalions]] had the greatest impact, being the last Baltic territory captured by the Germans. Pro-independence [[Forest Brothers]], numbering 12,000,<ref name=kaasik/> attacked the forces of the NKVD and the [[8th Army (Soviet Union)|8th Army]] (Major General Ljubovtsev). The fight against Forest Brothers and the implementation of the scorched earth tactics were accompanied by [[terrorism|terror]] against the civilian population, which was treated as supporters or shelterers of the insurgents. Destruction battalions burnt down farms and some small boroughs.<ref name=paavle>{{Cite book|author=[[:et:Indrek Paavle|Indrek Paavle]], Peeter Kaasik|year=2006|pages=469–493|chapter=Destruction battalions in Estonia in 1941|editor=[[:et:Toomas Hiio|Toomas Hiio]] |editor2=Meelis Maripuu |editor3=Indrek Paavle |title=Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the [[Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]]|location=Tallinn}}</ref> In turn, the members of the extermination battalions were at risk of reprisals by the anti-Soviet partisans.<ref>[http://www.estonica.org/eng/lugu.html?kateg=43&menyy_id=99&alam=61&leht=2 1940–1992. Soviet era and the restoration of independence.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610022001/http://www.estonica.org/eng/lugu.html?kateg=43&menyy_id=99&alam=61&leht=2 |date=June 10, 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Tallinn defence1941.jpg|thumb|Battles on the outskirts of Tallinn in August 1941.]]
Thousands of people including a large proportion of women and children were killed, while dozens of villages, schools and public buildings were burned to the ground. In August 1941, all residents of the village of Viru-Kabala were killed including a two-year-old child and a six-day-old infant. In the [[Kautla massacre]], twenty people, all civilians, were murdered — many of them after torture — and tens of farms destroyed. The low toll of human deaths in comparison with the number of burned farms is due to the [[Erna long-range reconnaissance group]] breaking the Red Army blockade on the area, allowing many civilians to escape.<ref>[http://kultuur.elu.ee/ke486_liim.htm Jüri Liim: Kautla lahingud]</ref><ref>[[Mart Laar]]: [http://www.postimees.ee/160807/esileht/arvamus/277366.php Tavaline stalinism] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827075510/http://www.postimees.ee/160807/esileht/arvamus/277366.php |date=August 27, 2009 }} [Common [[Stalinism]]] In Estonian. [[Postimees]] 16 August 2007</ref> Occasionally, the battalions burned people alive.<ref>Mart Laar, ''War in the Woods'', The Compass Press, Washington, 1992, p. 10</ref> The destruction battalions murdered 1,850 people in Estonia. Almost all of them were partisans or unarmed civilians.<ref>Eesti rahva kannatuste aasta. [The year of sufferings for the Estonian people]. In Estonian. Tallinn, 1996, p. 234.</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B08041, Reval, Besuch General Georg v. Küchler in.jpg|thumb|left|German general [[Georg von Küchler]] in Tallinn in August 1941.]]
After the German [[18th Army (Wehrmacht)|18th Army]] crossed the Estonian southern border on July 7–9, the Forest Brothers organized themselves into bigger units. They took on the [[8th Army (Soviet Union)|8th Army]] units and destruction battalions at [[Antsla]] on 5 July 1941. The next day, a larger offensive happened in [[Vastseliina]] where the Forest Brothers prevented Soviet destruction of the town and trapped the extermination battalion chiefs and local communist administrators. On July 7, the Forest Brothers were able to hoist the Estonian flag in Vasteliina. [[Võru]] was subsequently liberated and by the time the 18th army arrived, the blue-black-white flags were already at full mast and the Forest Brothers had organised into the [[Omakaitse]] militia.<ref>[[Arthur Võõbus]]. ''The Tragedy of the Estonian People: The Mortal Struggle of an Outpost of European Culture, the Nation of Estonia''. Stockholm 1985.</ref>

The battle of Tartu lasted for two weeks and destroyed a large part of the city.<ref name=kaasik>{{Cite book|author1=Peeter Kaasik |author2=Mika Raudvassar |year=2006|pages=496–517|chapter=Estonia from June to October, 1941: Forest brothers and Summer War|editor1=Toomas Hiio |editor2=Meelis Maripuu |editor3=Indrek Paavle |title=Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the [[Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]]|location=Tallinn}}</ref> Under the leadership of Friedrich Kurg, the Forest Brothers drove the Soviets out of Tartu, behind the [[Pärnu River]] – [[Emajõgi]] line and secured southern Estonia under Estonian control by July 10.<ref>[http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin/docs/bdreview/bdr-2003-9-13.pdf Tartu in the 1941 Summer War] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319135222/http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin/docs/bdreview/bdr-2003-9-13.pdf |date=March 19, 2009 }}. By Major Riho Rõngelep and Brigadier General Michael Hesselholt Clemmesen  (2003). Baltic Defence Review 9</ref><ref name=hiio1941>{{Cite book|author=Toomas Hiio|year=2006|pages=413–430|chapter=Combat in Estonia in 1941|editor1=Toomas Hiio |editor2=Meelis Maripuu |editor3=Indrek Paavle |title=Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the [[Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]]|location=Tallinn}}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=July 2020|Please see Talk page}} The [[NKVD prisoner massacre in Tartu|NKVD murdered 193 people in Tartu Prison]] on their retreat on July 8.

The 18th Army resumed their advance in Estonia by working in cooperation with the Forest Brothers. The joint Estonian-German forces took Narva on 17 August.<ref name=hiio1941/> By the end of August, Tallinn was surrounded, while in the harbor was the majority of the [[Baltic Fleet]]. On August 19, the final German assault on Tallinn began. The joint Estonian-German forces took the Estonian capital on August 28. The [[Soviet evacuation of Tallinn]] carried heavy losses. On that day, the Red flag shot down earlier on [[Pikk Hermann]] was replaced with the flag of Estonia. After the Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German troops disarmed all the Forest Brother groups.<ref name=hiio1941/><ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Lande|2001|p=188}}</ref> The Estonian flag was replaced shortly with the flag of Germany.

On September 8, German and Estonian units launched [[Operation Beowulf]] to clear Soviet forces from the [[West Estonian archipelago]]. There were a series of diversionary attacks to confuse the Soviet defenders. The operation had achieved its objectives by 21 October.

===Damages===
[[File:Victims of Soviet NKVD in Tartu, Estonia, 1941 - 001.jpg|thumb|Victims of NKVD in [[Tartu]], [[Estonia]], July 1941.]]
2,199 people were killed by the Soviet state security agencies, the destruction battalions, the Red Army and the Baltic Fleet, among them 264 women and 82 minors.<ref name=kaasik/> Grave damage was caused to the Estonian Co-operative Wholesale Society, the Estonian Meat Export Company and the Central Association of Co-operative Dairies.<ref name=kaasik/> 3,237 farms were destroyed. Altogether, 13,500 buildings were destroyed.<ref name=kaasik/> The data of the 1939 livestock and fowl differed from the 1942 by the following numbers: there were 30,600 (14%) fewer horses, 239,800 (34%) fewer dairy cattle, 223,600 (50%) fewer pigs, 320,000 (46%) fewer sheep, and 470,000 (27.5%) fewer fowl.<ref name=kaasik/> The following equipment was evacuated to the Soviet Union: those of the Tallinn Engineering Works "Red Krull", radio factory "Radio Pioneer", and the Northern Pulp and Paper Mills. The dismantling of the [[Oil shale in Estonia|oil shale industry]] also began. Additionally raw materials, semi-manufactured products and finished production were evacuated. Altogether, 36,849&nbsp;[[Soviet rouble|Rbl]]s worth of industrial equipment, 362,721&nbsp;Rbls worth of means of transport, 82,913&nbsp;Rbls worth of finished products and 94,315&nbsp;Rbls worth of materials were carried out.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} Added to the [[inventory]], semi-manufactured products and foodstuff, a total of 606,632&nbsp;Rbls worth of assets were evacuated.<ref name=kaasik/>

In the fires of 12 and 13 July, the headquarters of the [[Estonian Defence League]], the campus of the Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture of the [[University of Tartu]] and more university buildings were burnt down. Several libraries of the university and 135 major private libraries were destroyed, totalling 465,000 books, many archive materials and 2,500 pieces of art lost. Among them were the libraries of Aino and [[Gustav Suits]] and Aurora and [[Johannes Semper]].<ref>Hillar Palamets (1982). Ülikool Suure Isamaasõja aastail (University in the years of Great Patriotic War. In Estonian). In: Karl Siilivask, Hillar Palamets (Comp.). Tartu Ülikooli ajalugu pp. 169–187. Eesti Raamat, Tallinn</ref>

==German occupation==
{{Further|Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany}}
Most Estonians greeted the Germans with relatively open arms and hoped for restoration of independence. In Southern Estonia pro-independence administrations were set up, led by [[Jüri Uluots]], and a co-ordinating council was set up in Tartu as soon as the Soviet regime retreated and before German troops arrived.{{refn|In some areas of southern Estonia, pro-independence administrations were already in place by the time German troops arrived. Jüri Uluots set up a co-ordinating council in Tartu, yet stopped short of declaring a provisional government.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Smith|2001|pp=34,35}}</ref>|group=nb}} The Forest Brothers who drove the Red Army from Tartu made this possible.{{refn|Often the guerrillas were able to liberate towns before the Germans arrived&nbsp;... The relative slowness of the German advance allowed about 12,000 Estonian "Forest Brothers" to organize in small local units. The Forest Brothers attacked Soviet garrisons, forcing part of the Red Army to retreat into Latvia, liberating towns and villages and occupying key installations.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Jurado|Thomas|Pavlović|2002|p=6}}</ref>|group=nb}} This was all for nothing since the Germans disbanded the provisional government and Estonia became a part of the German-occupied [[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]. A [[Sicherheitspolizei]] was established for internal security under the leadership of [[Ain-Ervin Mere]].<ref>By 1942, Sandberger had his own Estonian Security Police, organized under the Estonian Major Ain-Ervin Mere, with criminal police and political police Perpetrators victims bystander By Raul Hilberg, p 97</ref><ref>{{lang-de|Ain-Ervin Mere-Leiter der estnischen Sicherheitspolizei}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=c1ppAAAAMAAJ&q=Ain-Ervin+Mere,+geboren+1903+in+Uus-V%C3%A4ndra;+...+vom+Mai+1942+bis+M%C3%A4rz+1943+Leiter+der+estnischen+Sicherheitspolizei%22 Vom Hitler-stalin-pakt bis zu Stalins Tod by Olaf Mertelsmann, p. 133]</ref>
[[File:Generalplan Ost map.tiff|thumb|250px|Europe, with pre-war borders, showing the extension of the ''[[Generalplan Ost]]'' master plan.]]
In April 1941, on the eve on the German invasion, [[Alfred Rosenberg]], Reich minister for the Occupied Eastern territories, a [[Baltic German]], born and raised in Tallinn, Estonia, laid out his plans for the East. According to Rosenberg a future policy was created:
# Germanization (Eindeutschung) of the "racially suitable" elements.
# Colonization by Germanic peoples.
# Exile, deportations of undesirable elements.
Rosenberg felt that the "Estonians were the most Germanic out of the people living in the Baltic area, having already reached 50 percent of Germanization through Danish, Swedish and German influence". Non-suitable Estonians were to be moved to a region that Rosenberg called "Peipusland" to make room for German colonists.<ref name="EAE">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Raun|2001|p=161}}</ref> The removal of 50% of Estonians was in accordance with the [[Generalplan Ost]], however the plan did not envisage just their relocation, the majority would be worked and starved to death.<ref name="PBBG">{{cite book |first=Prit |last=Buttar |title=Between Giants |date=21 May 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781780961637}}</ref>{{rp|54–55}}

The initial enthusiasm that accompanied the liberation from Soviet occupation quickly waned as a result and the Germans had limited success in recruiting volunteers. The draft was introduced in 1942, resulting in some 3400 men fleeing to Finland to fight in the [[Finnish Army]] rather than join the Germans. [[Finnish Infantry Regiment 200]] (Estonian: ''soomepoisid'') was formed out of Estonian volunteers who had fled the 1943–1944 forced mobilization into the German forces in Estonia. The unit fought the Red Army on the [[Karelian Front]].<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Miljan|2004|p=275}}</ref>
In June 1942, political leaders of Estonia who had survived Soviet repressions held a meeting hidden from the occupying powers in Estonia where the formation of an underground Estonian government and the options for preserving continuity of the republic were discussed.<ref name="EIHC">[http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/pdf/tables/chronology.pdf Chronology] at the EIHC  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609224537/http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/pdf/tables/chronology.pdf |date=June 9, 2007 }}</ref>
On January 6, 1943, a meeting was held at the Estonian foreign delegation in [[Stockholm]]. In order to preserve the legal continuation of the Republic of Estonia, it was decided that the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, had to continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister.<ref name="EIHC"/>
In June 1944, the elector's assembly of the Republic of Estonia gathered in secrecy from the occupying powers in Tallinn and appointed Jüri Uluots as the prime minister with responsibilities of the President. On June 21 Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief as deputy prime minister.<ref name="EIHC"/>
With the Allied victory over Germany becoming certain in 1944, the only option to save Estonia's independence was to stave off a new Soviet invasion of Estonia until Germany's capitulation. By supporting the German conscription call Uluots hoped to restore the Estonian Army and the country's independence.{{refn|In Estonia, the pre-war Prime minister Uluots switched his stand on mobilization in February 1944 when the Soviet Army reached the Estonian border. At the time the Estonian units under German control had about 14,000 men. Counting on a German debacle, Uluots considered it imperative to have large numbers of Estonians armed, through any means.&nbsp;... Uluots even managed to tell it to the nation through the German-controlled radio: Estonian troops on Estonian soil have "a significance much wider than what I could and would be able to disclose here". The nation understood and responded: 38,000 registered. Six border-defense regiments were formed, headed by Estonian officers, and the SS Division received reinforcements, bringing the total of Estonian units up to 50,000 or 60,000 men. During the whole period at least 70,000 Estonians joined the German army, and more than 10,000 may have died in action. About 10,000 reached the West after the war ended.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=piLpC4EEtzQC&pg=PA60 Misiunas, p. 60]</ref>|group=nb}}

===The Holocaust===
{{Main|History of the Jews in Estonia|The Holocaust in Estonia}}

The first records of Jews in Estonia date back to the 14th century.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XKWRct15XfkC&pg=PA273 Miljan p. 273]</ref> The permanent Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the nineteenth century, when in 1865 the Russian Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] granted Jews with university degrees and merchants of the third guild the right to enter the region.{{refn|Alexander II permitted Jews with university degrees and merchants of the third guild to settle anywhere in Russia, and several hundred settled in Estonia.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jsoTAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Alexander+II+permitted+Jews+with+university+degrees+and+merchants+of+the+third+guild+to+settle+anywhere+in+Russia,+and+several+hundred+settled+in+Estonia%22 Baltic History p. 228 by Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, University of Toronto]</ref>|group=nb}}
[[File:Holocaust Memorial in Estonia.jpg|thumb|left|Holocaust memorial at the site of the former Klooga concentration camp, opened on 24th July 2005]]
The creation of the Republic of Estonia in 1918 marked the beginning of a new era for the Jews. Approximately 200 Jews fought in combat for the creation of the Republic of Estonia and 70 of these men were volunteers.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk80AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22approximately+200+Jews,+70+of%22&pg=PA217 Eesti juutide katastroof 1941 by Eugenia Gurin-Loov, p.217]</ref>
On 12 February 1925 the Estonian government passed a law unique in inter-war Europe pertaining to the cultural autonomy of ethnic minorities. {{refn|The Estonian Cultural Autonomy Law of 1925 was unique in inter-war Europe, and elicited much attention internationally. Under its terms, representatives of Estonia's Russian, German, and Swedish minorities (and other nationality groups numbering at least 3,000) were given the possibility of establishing their own cultural self-governments.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PSNML8BlGkUC&pg=PA211 The Baltic States and Their Region by David James Smith, p. 211]</ref>|group=nb}}
The Jewish community quickly prepared its application for cultural autonomy. Statistics on Jewish citizens were compiled. They totaled 3045, fulfilling the minimum requirement of 3000. In June 1926 the Jewish Cultural Council was elected and Jewish cultural autonomy was declared.<ref>Jewish cultural autonomy was promulgated on 26 June 1926.[https://books.google.com/books?id=lPxtAAAAMAAJ&q=in+February+1925,+the+Cultural+Autonomy+Act+of+the+Republic+of+Estonia+was+passed,+and+Jewish+cultural+autonomy+was+promulgated+on+26+June+1926 The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe: 2 Volumes – Page 1835]</ref>
Jewish cultural autonomy was of great interest to the global Jewish community. The Jewish National Endowment presented the [[Government of the Republic of Estonia]] with a certificate of gratitude for this achievement.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Estonia.html Estonia] at Jewish Virtual Library</ref>

There were, at the time of the Soviet occupation in 1940, approximately 4000 Estonian Jews. Many Jewish people were deported to Siberia along with other Estonians by the Soviets. It is estimated that 500 Jews suffered this fate. {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

The Jewish community was amongst the first to be rounded up in accordance with the [[Generalplan Ost]] which required the removal of 50% of Estonian citizens. With the invasion of the Baltics, it was the intention of the Nazi government to use the Baltic countries as their main area of mass genocide. {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

Consequently, Jews from countries outside the Baltics were shipped there to be exterminated. Out of the approximately 4,300 Jews in Estonia before the war, between 950 and 1,000 were entrapped by the Nazis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eja.pri.ee/history/Estonian_institute.html |title=EJA - History |website=eja.pri.ee |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012003951/http://eja.pri.ee/history/Estonian_institute.html |archive-date=2007-10-12}}</ref> An estimated 10,000 Jews were killed in Estonia after having been deported to camps there from elsewhere in Eastern Europe.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Estonia.html Estonia at] Jewish Virtual Library</ref>
There have been [[Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia|7 known ethnic Estonians]]—Ralf Gerrets, [[Ain-Ervin Mere]], Jaan Viik, Juhan Jüriste, [[Karl Linnas]], Aleksander Laak, and Ervin Viks—who have faced trials for crimes against humanity.
Since the reestablishment of Estonian independence, the [[Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]] has been established.<ref>[http://www.historycommission.ee/ historycommission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301072406/http://www.historycommission.ee/ |date=2013-03-01 }} at www</ref> Markers were put in place for the 60th anniversary of the mass executions that were carried out at the Lagedi, [[Vaivara concentration camp|Vaivara]]<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Vaivara.html Vaivara] at Jewish Virtual Library</ref> and [[Klooga concentration camp|Klooga]] (Kalevi-Liiva) camps in September 1944.<ref>[http://www.heritageabroad.gov/projects/estonia1.html Holocaust Markers, Estonia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823093224/http://www.heritageabroad.gov/projects/estonia1.html |date=2009-08-23 }} at US CFPAHA</ref>

In May 2005, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip gave a speech while visiting Klooga:
:"Although these murderers must answer for their crimes as individuals, the Estonian Government continues to do everything possible to expose these crimes. I apologise for the fact that Estonian citizens could be found among those who participated in the murdering of people or assisted in the perpetration of these crimes."<ref>[http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_140/5402.html?arhiiv_kuup=arhiiv Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Address by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip in Klooga, Estonia. May 8, 2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210857/http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_140/5402.html?arhiiv_kuup=arhiiv |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

Estonia (together with Austria, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Syria and Ukraine) has been given the grade Category F: "Total Failure" ("countries, which refuse in principle to investigate, let alone prosecute, suspected Nazi war criminals") by the [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] Status Report on Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals for 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Wiesenthalreport06.html |title=Wiesenthal Center Status Report on Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals (2006) |access-date=6 July 2014 |archive-date=9 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609162953/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Wiesenthalreport06.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=245494&ct=3761331 |title=Wiesenthal Center Status Report on Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals (2007) (Broken link) |access-date=22 August 2007 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104457/http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=245494&ct=3761331 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Estonian military units in 1941–1943==
[[File:Jüri Uluots.jpg|thumb|left|Jüri Uluots]]

===Estonian units in German forces===
In 1941, it was announced in Germany that additional Combat Support Forces, the [[Waffen-SS]] units would be raised from non-German foreign nationals. The goal was to acquire additional manpower from occupied nations. Some of these formed foreign legions included volunteers from [[Belgium]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Norway]], and the [[Netherlands]]. {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
Up to March 1942, drafted Estonians mostly served in the rear of Army Group North security. On August 28, 1942, the German powers announced the legal compilation of the Estonian Legion within the Combat Support Forces, the [[Waffen SS]] [[Verfügungstruppe]] units. [[Oberführer]] [[Franz Augsberger]] was nominated the commander of the legion. As of October 13, 1942, 500 volunteers had appeared. In the spring of 1943, additional men were drafted from the police and the number rose to 1,280.<ref>Estonia and the Estonians (Studies of Nationalities) {{ISBN|978-0-8179-2852-0}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}

The battalion "Narwa" participated in the battle of the [[Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket]]. Retreating through the escape route called ''The Hell's Gate'', the battalion came under heavy Soviet fire with little cover. The battalion lost almost all of its equipment during the carnage while most of the troops escaped encirclement.<ref>Terasest tugevamad: pataljon Narva ajalugu.</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}
[[File:Estonian Legion recruiting point.jpg|thumb|Registration point for the volunteers of the [[Estonian Legion]], September 1942]]
In March 1943, the German occupying powers turned to mobilization by conscripting men born in Estonia between 1919 and 1924. Until August 1943, 5300 men were drafted for the Estonian Legion and 6800 for support service (Hilfswillige) to the German Wehrmacht. A mobilization in October 1943 called up men born in 1925–1926. On May 5, 1943, the [[3 Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade]] was formed and sent to the front near [[Nevel (town)|Nevel]]. A consequence of the 1943 mobilizations was the wave of an estimated 5,000 Estonian men fleeing to Finland in order to avoid the German draft. Over half of these men volunteered for service in the Finnish armed forces. About 2,300 joined the army and 400 the navy. {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

===Estonian Rifle Corps in the Red Army===
In June 1940, while the Estonian army was integrated into the Soviet military structure, where in June 1940 there were 16,800 men, it was changed into the "[[22nd Rifle Corps|22nd Territorial Rifle Corps]]". 5,500 Estonian soldiers served in the corps during the first battle. 4,500 of them went over to the German side. In September 1941, when the corps was liquidated, there were still 500 previous Estonian soldiers. {{refn|The Estonian Army, where in June 1940 there were 16,800 men, was changed into the "22nd Territorial Rifle Corps", which was totally russified at the beginning of the war (only 9,000 previous Estonian soldiers stayed compared to 20,000 Russians). Thousands of men escaped from the corps when sent to Russia at the outbreak of the war. 5,500 Estonian soldiers served in the corps during the first battle. 4,500 of them went over to the German side. In September 1941, when the corps was liquidated, there were still 500 previous Estonian soldiers.<ref name="HW"/>|group=nb}}

Having mobilized some 33,000 Estonians as the Soviets were evacuating in the summer of 1941, no more than half of those men were used for military service; the rest perished in [[Gulag]] concentration camps and [[labour battalion]]s, mainly in the early months of the war.{{refn|During the German attack in June 1941 all three Territorial Corps suffered mass desertions to the Germans; The Soviet High Command transferred them deep into Russia before disbanding them at the end of 1941, and hundreds of officers subsequently died in Gulag labour-camps while the other ranks were transferred to military labour duties. Last-minute Soviet attempts to mobilise Baltic civilians were largely unsuccessful.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Jurado|Thomas|Pavlović|2002|p=5}}</ref>|group=nb}}

Estonian military units within the Red Army began to be formed in January 1942, from among ethnic Estonians living in the USSR. A Soviet source suggests that in May 1942 there were nearly 20,000 Estonians in the national units. The [[8th Estonian Rifle Corps]], as these units came to be called after September 1942, reached the front in [[Velikie Luki]] in December 1942 and suffered heavy losses in battle as well as the defection of about 1,000 men to the German side. After Velikie Luki the Rifle Corps was replaced with other nationalities from the USSR. The corps' major activity in the latter part of the war was participation in the battles for Estonia.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Raun|2001|p=160}}</ref>

==Battles in 1944==
{{Further|Battle of Narva (1944)|Battle for Narva Bridgehead}}
[[File:Narva 1944.jpg|thumb|Soldiers defending the Estonian bank of the [[Narva River]], with the fortress of [[Ivangorod]] on the opposite side.]]
In January 1944, the Soviet [[Leningrad Front]] (the Soviet [[army group]] in the [[Leningrad Oblast|region of Leningrad]]) forced the [[Battle of Narva (1944)#Formation of Army Detachment "Narwa"|Sponheimer Group]] back to the former Estonian border. On January 31, the [[Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany#Estonian Self-Administration|Self-Administration]] ([[puppet government]] of Estonia) announced a general conscription-mobilisation.<ref name="EE">[http://www.estonica.org/eng/lugu.html?menyy_id=99&kateg=43&alam=61&leht=4German mobilisation in Estonia] estonica.org  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131101150/http://www.estonica.org/eng/lugu.html?menyy_id=99&kateg=43&alam=61&leht=4German |date=January 31, 2009 }}</ref> [[Jüri Uluots]], the last constitutional prime minister of the republic of Estonia,<ref>[http://www.president.ee/en/estonia/heads.php?gid=81975 Jüri Uluots] at president.ee  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202843/http://www.president.ee/en/estonia/heads.php?gid=81975 |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> the leader of the Estonian [[Estonian government-in-exile|underground government]] delivered a radio address on February 7<ref name="EIHC"/> that implored the able-bodied men born in 1904–1923 to report for military service. Before this, Uluots had opposed Estonian mobilisation as illegal under the [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)|Hague Conventions]].<ref name="mälksoo3">{{Cite book|year=2006|author=Lauri Mälksoo|title=The Government of Otto Tief and Attempt to Restore the Independence of Estonia in 1944: A Legal Appraisal. In: Toomas Hiio, Meelis Maripuu, Indrek Paavle (Eds.). Estonia 1940–1945: Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity|location=Tallinn}}</ref> Uluots hoped that by engaging in such a war Estonia would be able to attract Western support for the cause of independence from the USSR.<ref>The Baltic States: The National Self-Determination of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
Graham Smith p.91 {{ISBN|978-0-312-16192-7}}</ref> The mobilisation drew wide support among Estonians and 38,000 men were drafted.<ref>Resistance! Occupied Europe and Its Defiance of Hitler by Dave Lande on Page 200 {{ISBN|978-0-7603-0745-8}}</ref> After the mobilisation there were some 50,000–60,000 Estonians under arms in Estonia.<ref name="EE"/> The volunteer [[Estonian Legion]] created in 1942 was forced under the [[Waffen-SS]] in 1944 and expanded into the [[20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian)]] as other Estonian units that had fought on various fronts on the German side were rushed to Estonia.<ref name="EE"/> In addition, six border defence battalions were formed.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120904004052/http://www.narochnitskaia.ru/cgi-bin/main.cgi?item=1r450r050304034325 ОНИ О НАС / 1944: Трагический Год В Истории Эстонии. 60 Лет Эстонской Трагедии. Материалы Министерства Иностранных Дел Эстонии]</ref> In autumn 1944, it is estimated that there was the same number of Estonians under arms as at the time of the [[Estonian War of Independence]], in total about 100,000 men.<ref name="HW"/> Volunteers from [[Norway]], [[Denmark]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]] were also deployed in Estonia within the [[Battle of Narva (1944)#Formation of Army Detachment "Narwa"|Sponheimer Group]].

===Formation of bridgeheads in Narva===
[[File:Narva Feb10 Apr23 44.jpg|thumb|300px|Soviet map of the beginning of Estonian Operation, February – April 1944]]
{{Main|Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive }}
The Soviet Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive reached the [[Narva River]] on February 2. Forward Soviet units of the [[2nd Shock Army]] and the [[8th Army (Soviet Union)|8th Army]] established several bridgeheads on the west bank to the north and south of the city of Narva. On February 7, the 8th Army expanded the bridgehead in the Krivasoo Swamp south of Narva cutting the Narva–Tallinn Railway behind the [[III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps]]. The headquarters of the Leningrad Front were unable to take advantage of the opportunity of encircling the smaller German army group. The Sponheimer Group held its ground in the complicated situation. At the same time, the Soviet 108th Rifle Corps landed its units across [[Lake Peipus]] and established a bridgehead around the village of Meerapalu. By a coincidence, the Estonian Division headed for the Narva Front reached the area at the time. In the battle on February 14–16, the I. Battalion, SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 45 ''Estland'' (1st Estonian) and a battalion of the 44th Infantry Regiment (consisting in personnel from [[East Prussia]]) destroyed the landed Soviet troops. The Mereküla Landing was conducted simultaneously, as the 517-strong Soviet 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade landed at the coastal borough Mereküla behind the Sponheimer Group lines. However, the [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] unit was almost completely annihilated.<ref name=laar2>{{Cite book|title=Estonia in World War II |last=Laar |first=Mart |year=2005 |publisher=Grenader| author-link=Mart Laar|location=Tallinn}}</ref>

===Narva Offensives, February and March===
{{Main|Narva Offensive (15–28 February 1944)|Narva Offensive (1–4 March 1944)|Narva Offensive (18–24 March 1944)}}
[[File:TLA 1465 1 973 Varemetes Harju tänav, vasakul Kuld Lõvi varemed 1944.jpg|thumb|The old town of Tallinn after [[Bombing of Tallinn in World War II|bombing by the Soviet Air Force]] in March 1944.]]
The [[2nd Shock Army]] launched the new Narva Offensive on February 15<ref name=glantz2>{{Cite book|author=[[David M. Glantz]]|location=Glemson, South Carolina|url=http://www.strom.clemson.edu/publications/sg-war41-45.pdf|publisher=Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University|year=2001|title=The Soviet-German War 1941–1945: Myths and Realities|access-date=2009-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617094931/http://www.strom.clemson.edu/publications/sg-war41-45.pdf|archive-date=2011-06-17|url-status=dead}}</ref> simultaneously from the bridgeheads north and south of the city of Narva aimed at encircling the [[III SS (Germanic) Panzer Corps]]. After ferocious battles, the exhausted Soviet army halted its operation on February 20. Since the beginning of January, the Leningrad Front had lost 227,440 men as wounded, killed or missing in action, which constituted more than half of the troops who participated in the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive.

The pause between the offensives was used for [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Reinforcements|bringing in additional forces]] by both sides. On February 24 ([[Estonian Declaration of Independence|Estonian Independence Day]]), fulfilling their first task at the Narva Front, the fresh SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiments 45 and 46 (1st and 2nd Estonian) counterattacked to break the Soviet [[bridgehead]]s. The assault by the 2nd Estonian Regiment [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Destruction of Soviet bridgeheads north of Narva|destroyed the Soviet Riigiküla bridgehead]]. The attack of the 1st and 2nd Estonian Regiments commanded by [[Standartenführer]] Paul Vent liquidated the Siivertsi Bridgehead by March 6.

By early March, the leadership of the Leningrad Front had drawn nine corps against seven German divisions and one brigade defending Narva. The Soviet Narva Offensive (1–4 March 1944) began to the southwest of Narva aiming to outflank and surround the [[citadel]]. The rifle corps of the 59th Army encircled the 214th Infantry Division and the Estonian [[658th Eastern Battalion|658th]] and 659th Eastern Battalions which kept resisting. This gave the [[Battle of Narva (1944)#Formation of Army Detachment "Narwa"|army detachment "Narwa"]] command enough time to move in all available units and repulse the offensive.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

A Soviet air raid [[Bombing of Narva in World War II|leveled the historical town of Narva]] on March 6, 1944. The attack of the 2nd Shock Army infantry followed at the Ivangorod Bridgehead on the east bank of the river on March 8. Simultaneously, pitched battles took place in the north of the town, where the Soviet 14th Rifle Corps supported by the artillery of the [[8th Estonian Rifle Corps]] attempted to break through the German defence held by the Estonian regiments. The attacks were repulsed with great losses for the Soviets.<ref name=hiio/>

Soviet [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Soviet air assaults at civilians|air assaults against civilians]] in Estonian towns aimed to force the Estonians away from supporting the German side against the Soviet offensive. The Soviet [[Long Range Aviation]] [[Bombing of Tallinn in World War II|assaulted Tallinn]] on the night before March 9. Approximately 40% of the housing space was destroyed in the city as 25,000 people were left without a shelter and 500 civilians killed. The result of the air raid was the opposite to the Soviet aim as the Estonians felt disgusted by [[Soviet war crimes|Soviet atrocities]] and more men answered the German conscription call.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The six divisions, armoured vehicles and artillery of the Soviet 109th Rifle Corps and the newly brought 6th Rifle Corps initiated the Narva Offensive (18–24 March 1944) aimed towards Auvere railway station. The weakened German [[61st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|61st Infantry Division]] held their defensive positions. The [[Kampfgruppe]] [[Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz|Strachwitz]] [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Strachwitz offensive|annihilated the Soviet]] 8th Army shock troop wedge on March 26 at the western end of the Krivasoo Bridgehead. The kampfgruppe destroyed the eastern tip of the bridgehead on April 6. The Kampfgruppe Strachwitz inspired by their success tried to eliminate the bridgehead as a whole but was unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for its tank squadron. By the end of April, the parties at Narva had mutually exhausted their strengths. [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Narva Offensives, May and June|Relative calm settled on the front]] until late July 1944.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

===Sinimäed Hills===
{{Further|Narva Offensive (July 1944) |Battle of Tannenberg Line}}
[[File:Tannenberg1944.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Battle of Tannenberg Line]], 26–29 July 1944]]
The Soviet 8th Army launched the initial attack of the Narva Offensive at Auvere Railway Station. The 44th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Estonian Regiment [[Battle for Narva Bridgehead#Battle of Auvere|repulsed it]] inflicting heavy losses to the Soviets. The III SS Panzer Corps were evacuated from Narva and the front was settled on the Tannenberg Line at the [[Sinimäed Hills]] on July 26.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The Soviet advance guard [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#July 26|attacked the Tannenberg Line]] conquering a part of the Lastekodumägi, the easternmost of the three hills. The Soviet attempts to conquer the rest of the hills [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#July 27|failed on the following day]]. [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#July 28|The German counterattack on July 28]] subsequently collapsed under the defence of the Soviet tank regiments. The forces of the III Army Corps dug themselves into their new positions at the Grenaderimägi, the central of the three hills.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Battles for Grenaderimägi, July 29|the Soviet attack on July 29]]. The Soviet shock units [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Advance guards|suppressed the German resistance]] at the Lastekodumägi, while the [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Attack of Soviet main forces|Soviet main forces]] suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenaderimägi. The Soviet tanks [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Soviet encirclement|encircled the Grenaderimägi]] and the westernmost Tornimägi. At the same time, SS-[[Obergruppenführer]] [[Felix Steiner]] sent out the remaining seven German tanks which [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#German re-capture of the Tornimägi|hit the surprised Soviet]] armoured forces back. This enabled the multi-national combat unit to [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Germans capture the Grenadier Hill|re-conquer the Grenaderimägi]] into German hands. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the Narva Operation, July 1944, [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Casualties|a few thousand had survived]] and the Soviet tank regiments were demolished.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

With the aid of [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Soviet reinforcements in August|swift reinforcements]], the Red Army [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#30–31 July|continued their attacks]]. The [[Stavka]] demanded the army detachment "Narwa" destroyed and the town of [[Rakvere]] conquered by no later than August 7. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troopers by August 2 while their [[Battle of Tannenberg Line#Combat|numerous attempts]] pursuing unchanged tactics failed to break the "Narwa"'s defence. Govorov terminated the Soviet offensive on August 10.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

===Southeastern Estonia===
{{Further|Tartu Offensive}}
When the Estonian Operation failed in the Sinimäed, the [[Combat in South Estonia, 1944|combat was carried to the south]] of Lake Peipus. The main thrust of the Soviet [[Tartu Offensive]] Operation was aimed at the town of [[Petseri]]. On 10 August, the Soviet 67th Army broke through the defence of the [[XXVIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXVIII Army Corps]]. The 43rd Rifle Division captured the town of Võru on August 13,<ref name=hiio/> forcing the troops of the 18th Army to the banks of the [[Gauja]] and the [[Väike Emajõgi]] Rivers. The German units supported by the local [[Omakaitse]] civil defence battalions fortified their positions along the Väike Emajõgi and repelled the numerous Soviet attempts until 14 September.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The Army Group North subjected the defence of the city of [[Tartu]] to the Kampfgruppe [[Jürgen Wagner|Wagner]], which lacked sufficient troops to man the line. On August 23, the 3rd Baltic Front launched an artillery barrage at the positions of the II. Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment in the village of [[Nõo Parish|Nõo]] southeast of Tartu. The Soviet 282nd Rifle Division, the 16th Single Tank Brigade, and two self-propelled artillery regiments passed the defence and captured the strategically important Kärevere Bridge across the Emajõgi River to the west of Tartu. On August 25, three Soviet rifle divisions with the support of armoured and artillery units conquered the town and established a bridgehead on the north bank of the Emajõgi River.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

[[Aleksander Warma]], Estonia's Ambassador to Finland, had announced that the National Committee of the Estonian Republic had sent a telegram on 1 August which stated: "Estonians return home!". It was then announced that the [[Finnish Infantry Regiment 200]] would be disbanded and that the volunteers were free to return home. An agreement had been reached with the Germans, and the Estonians were promised amnesty if they were to return. The I. Battalion of the Finnish Boys, Estonian Police Battalions No. 37 and 38 and a tank squadron destroyed the bridgehead of two Soviet divisions west of the town by August 30 and captured Kärevere Bridge. On September 4, an operation commanded by Rebane, Vent and [[Oberstleutnant]] [[Meinrad von Lauchert]] attempted to re-capture Tartu. The attack was repulsed by units of the 3rd Baltic Front.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

===Baltic Offensive===
{{Further|Tallinn Offensive}}
[[File:Baltic-islands-2.jpg|thumb|Soviet offensive on [[Saaremaa]] in October–November 1944.]]
As Finland left the war on September 4, 1944, according to the peace agreement with the Soviets the defence of the mainland became impossible and the command of Army Group Narwa started preparing an evacuation from Estonia. The three Soviet Baltic Fronts launched their [[Riga Offensive Operation]] on 14 September along the entire length of the German 18th Army front stretching from [[Madona]] town in Latvia to the mouth of the Väike Emajõgi river. In the Estonian segment from [[Valga, Estonia|Valga]] railway junction to Lake Võrtsjärv, the 3rd Baltic Front attacked. In fierce battles, the German XXVIII Army Corps and the ''Omakaitse'' battalions held their positions against the overwhelming Soviet armies.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The Soviet Tallinn Offensive of the [[2nd Shock Army]] commenced in the early morning of 17 September.<ref name=hiio/> After the artillery barrage of 132,500 shells and grenades fired at the German II Army Corps,<ref name=laar4>{{Cite book|author=[[Mart Laar]]|title=Emajõgi 1944: Teise Maailmasõja lahingud Lõuna-Eestis (Emajõgi River 1944: Battles of World War II in South Estonia. In Estonian)|location= Tallinn|publisher= Varrak}}</ref> the [[8th Estonian Rifle Corps]], the 30th Guard Rifle Corps, and the 108th Rifle Corps crossed the Emajõgi in the 25&nbsp;km wide front segment eastwards from Tartu and went on the offensive with armoured and air support.<ref name=hiio/> The defence of the II Army Corps was breached. Only "Rebane" Battle Group placed near Tartu successfully held their front segment. [[Alfons Rebane]] extricated his troops with heavy losses.<ref name=hiio/> Army Group Narwa and the XXVIII Army Corps, the northernmost elements of Army Group North were at risk of being encircled and destroyed.<ref name=mitcham>{{Cite book|author=Mitchum, S.|title= German Defeat in the East 1944–45|publisher= Stackpole|year= 2007}}</ref> Schörner ordered Army Group Narwa to abandon the defences of the Emajõgi line and the Narva front to be evacuated from mainland Estonia.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The fighters of the Estonian Rifle Corps murdered their compatriot soldiers fallen prisoner in the [[Battle of Porkuni]], and the wounded soldiers sheltering in the [[Avinurme Parish]] church.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

The three German divisions in the [[West Estonian archipelago]] (Moonsund archipelago) [[Moonsund Landing Operation|resisted until 23 November]] 1944.<ref name=laar2/><ref name=hiio/>

According to Soviet data, conquering the territory of Estonia cost them 126,000 casualties, from all causes. The battles at the Narva front probably added 480,000 to the figure.<ref name=laar3>{{Cite book|author=Mart Laar|title=Sinimäed 1944: II maailmasõja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimäed Hills 1944: Battles of World War II in Northeast Estonia)|publisher= Tallinn: Varrak|year= 2006|language=et}}</ref> On the German side, their own data shows 30,000 dead which is most likely underrated; a more realistic figure would be 45,000.<ref name="HW"/>

==Attempt to restore independence==
{{Main|National Committee of the Republic of Estonia}}
[[File:RiigiTeataja20091944.jpg|thumb|The September 18, 1944, proclamation of [[Government of Estonia]] in [[Riigi Teataja]]]]
As the Germans retreated, on September 18 [[Jüri Uluots]] formed a government led by the Deputy Prime Minister, [[Otto Tief]]; earlier Uluots tried to restore independence by appealing to the Nazis to allow him to form a government<ref>{{Cite book|author=Neil Taylor|year=2020|title=Estonia: A Modern History|page=103}}</ref> and supported the military conscription of Estonians by the Nazis.<ref>M. Laar. Estonia in World War II (2005). p. 30</ref> The Nazi German flag on [[Pikk Hermann]] was replaced with the flag of Estonia two days later; it was agreed with the German military authorities that on the next day, September 21, the flag of Estonia would be raised alongside the Nazi Navy flag; the Nazi flag was bigger than the one of Estonia.<ref name="p">{{cite news |author=Berit-Helena Lamp |title=
Lahkus Eesti lipu heiskaja Evald Aruvald |url=https://www.postimees.ee/73400/lahkus-eesti-lipu-heiskaja-evald-aruvald|agency=[[Postimees]]|date=2009-01-23|access-date=2024-01-14}}</ref> On September 21 the Estonian national government was proclaimed. Royal Institute of International Affairs wrote back then that Estonian forces seized the government buildings in [[Toompea]] and ordered the German forces to leave,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V4siAAAAMAAJ&q=Otto+Tief By Royal Institute of International Affairs. Information Dept. Published 1945]</ref> but according to a later publication, both Nazi and Estonian flags were raised in the presence of the Nazi guard of honor, and that the Nazis weren't forced to leave. The Red Army took Tallinn on September 22 and the both flags on Pikk Hermann were replaced with the Red flag.<ref name="p"/> After the evacuation of the German forces, the Estonian military units under the command of [[Rear Admiral]] [[Johan Pitka]] continued to resist the Red Army. The Estonian troops were defeated by the Soviet advance units in the battles held on September 23 west of Tallinn near [[Keila]] and [[Risti Parish|Risti]].<ref name=hiio>{{Cite book|author=Toomas Hiio|year=2006|title=Combat in Estonia in 1944. In: Toomas Hiio, Meelis Maripuu, Indrek Paavle (Eds.). Estonia 1940–1945|publisher=[[Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]]|location=Tallinn}}</ref>

The Estonian underground government, not officially recognized by either Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, fled to [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] and operated in exile until 1992, when [[Heinrich Mark]], the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia in duties of the President in exile,<ref>[http://www.president.ee/en/estonia/heads.php?gid=81981 Heinrich Mark] at president.ee  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204656/http://www.president.ee/en/estonia/heads.php?gid=81981 |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> presented his credentials to the newly elected President of Estonia [[Lennart Meri]]. On February 23. 1989 the flag of the Estonian SSR was lowered on [[Pikk Hermann]], and was replaced with the flag of Estonia on February 24, 1989.

==Soviet return==
Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in the autumn of 1944 after fierce battles in the northeast of the country on the Narva river (see [[Battle of Narva (1944)|Battle of Narva]]) and on the [[Battle of Tannenberg Line|Tannenberg Line]] (Sinimäed). In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Red Army, 80,000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Finland and Sweden, becoming [[war refugee]]s and later, [[expatriate]]s. 25,000 Estonians reached Sweden and a further 42,000 Germany. During the war about 8,000 Estonian Swedes and their family members had emigrated to Sweden. After the retreat of the Germans, about 30,000 [[Forest Brothers]] remained in hiding in the Estonian forests, to prepare for a massive guerrilla war. Commander of 46. SS Grenadier Regiment, Friedrich Kurg, stood with most of his men in the Estonian forests.

In 1949 27,650 Soviet troops still fought a war against the Forest Brothers. Only the 1949 mass deportation (see [[Operation Priboi]]) when about 21,000 people were taken away broke the basis of the insurgent movement. 6,600 Forest Brothers gave themselves up in November 1949. Later on, the failure of the Hungarian uprising broke the resistance morale of the 700 men still remaining under cover. According to the Soviet data, up to 1953, 20,351 insurgents were disarmed. Of these, 1,510 perished in the battles.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} During that period, 1,728 members of the Red Army, NKVD and the militia were killed by the Forest Brothers. [[August Sabbe]], one of the last surviving Forest Brothers in Estonia, was discovered by KGB agents and drowned himself in 1978.<ref name=woods>{{Cite book| author=[[Mart Laar]]|year=1992|title=War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944–1956| isbn= 978-0-929590-08-0|publisher=The Compass Press|location = Washington}}{{page needed|date=May 2022}}</ref> After him there were few insurgents alive in the Estonian forests. Many of them died because of their age in the next 15 years.

[[File:Estlandssvenska flyktingar.jpg|thumb|left|[[Estonian Swedes]] fleeing the Soviet occupation to Sweden in 1944.]]
During the first post-war decade of Soviet regime, Estonia was governed by Moscow via Russian-born Estonian governors. Born into the families of native Estonians in Russia, the latter had obtained their Red education in the Soviet Union during the Stalinist repressions at the end of the 1930s. Many of them had fought in the Red Army (in the Estonian Rifle Corps), and few of them had mastered the Estonian language.<ref>Biographical Research in Eastern Europe: Altered Lives and Broken Biographies. Humphrey, Miller, Zdravomyslova {{ISBN|978-0-7546-1657-3}}</ref>

Although the United States and the United Kingdom, the allies of the USSR against Germany during [[World War II]], recognized the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by the USSR at the [[Yalta Conference]] in 1945 ''de facto'', the governments of the rest of the western democracies did not recognize the seizure of Estonia by the USSR in 1940 and in 1944 ''de jure'' according to the [[Sumner Welles]]' declaration of July 23, 1940.<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/86539.htm Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State] at U.S Department of State  [https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/86539.htm]</ref><ref>The Baltic States and their Region: New Europe or Old? by David J. Smith on Page 48  {{ISBN|978-90-420-1666-8}}</ref><ref>Post-Cold War Identity Politics: Northern and Baltic Experiences by Marko Lehti on Page 272: "Soviet occupation in Baltic countries – a position supported by the fact that an overwhelming majority of states never recognized the 1940 incorporation de jure." {{ISBN|978-0-7146-8351-5}}</ref> Such countries recognized Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in many countries in the name of their former governments. These aging diplomats persisted in this anomalous situation until the ultimate restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991.<ref>Diplomats Without a Country: Baltic Diplomacy, International Law, and the Cold War by James T. McHugh, James S. Pacy, Page 2. {{ISBN|978-0-313-31878-8}}</ref>

[[File:Baltic states borders.jpg|thumb|Border changes of Estonia after World War II.]]
The Russian Federation, the successor state to the Soviet Union, subsequently ended its military presence in the Republic of Estonia by withdrawing its last troops in August 1994,<ref name="GLBS">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/vo-baltic.htm Baltic Military District] globalsecurity.org</ref> and relinquishing its control of the nuclear reactor facilities in [[Paldiski]] in September 1995.<ref>[http://vp1992-2001.president.ee/eng/k6ned/K6ne.asp?ID=9336 President of the Republic in Paldiski on 26 September 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309011500/https://vp1992-2001.president.ee/eng/k6ned/K6ne.asp?ID=9336 |date=9 March 2021 }} [[Lennart Meri]], the president of Estonia (1992-2001). 26 September 1995.</ref><ref>[http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9984&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=209 "Last Russian Military Site Returned to Estonia"]. [[The Jamestown Foundation]]. 27 September 1995.</ref>

==Controversies==
Views diverge on the history of Estonia during World War II:

===The position of the European Court of Human Rights===
{{Further|European Court of Human Rights cases on Occupation of Baltic States}}

The Court notes, first, that Estonia lost its independence as a result of the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact"), concluded on 23 August 1939, and the secret additional protocols to it. Following an ultimatum to set up Soviet military bases in Estonia in 1939, a large-scale entry of the Soviet army into Estonia took place in June 1940. The lawful government of the country was overthrown and Soviet rule was imposed by force. The totalitarian communist regime of the Soviet Union conducted large-scale and systematic actions against the Estonian population, including, for example, the deportation of about 10,000 persons on 14 June 1941 and of more than 20,000 on 25 March 1949. After the Second World War, tens of thousands of persons went into hiding in the forests to avoid repression by the Soviet authorities; part of those in hiding actively resisted the occupation regime. According to the data of the security organs, about 1,500 persons were killed and almost 10,000 arrested in the course of the resistance movement of 1944–1953. Interrupted by the German occupation in 1941–1944, Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until its restoration of independence in 1991.

===The position of the Estonian government===
[[File:PlaqueMemorizingEstonianGovernment.jpg|thumb|Plaque on the building of the [[Government of Estonia]], [[Toompea]], commemorating government members killed by communist terror]]
According to the Estonian point of view, the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union lasted five decades, only interrupted by the Nazi invasion of 1941–1944.<ref>[http://newsfromrussia.com/cis/2005/05/03/59549.html Moscow celebrations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120952/http://newsfromrussia.com/cis/2005/05/03/59549.html |date=September 29, 2007 }} at newsfromrussia</ref> Following the events of the [[Bronze night]] in 2007, the national conservative [[Union for Europe of the Nations|UEN group]] of the [[European Parliament]] made a motion for a resolution acknowledging the 48 years of occupation as a fact.<ref name=EPmotion>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-0214&language=EN|date=2007-05-21|access-date=2010-03-05|title=Motion for a resolution on the Situation in Estonia|quote=Estonia, as an independent Member State of the EU and NATO, has the sovereign right to assess its recent tragic past, starting with the loss of independence as a result of the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939 and including three years under Hitler's occupation and terror, as well as 48 years under Soviet occupation and terror,}}</ref> The final version of the resolution of European parliament, however, only acknowledged Estonia's loss of independence lasting from 1940 to 1991 and that annexation of Estonia by Soviet Union was considered illegal by Western democracies.<ref name="EPResolution">{{cite web|url = http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P6-TA-2007-0215&language=EN&ring=B6-2007-0214|title = European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2007 on Estonia| date = 2007-05-24|access-date = 2010-03-05|quote=Estonia, as an independent Member State of the EU and NATO, has the sovereign right to assess its recent tragic past, starting with the loss of independence resulting from the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939 and ending only in 1991, the Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltic States was never recognised as legal by the Western democracies}}</ref> A motion by the left-wing [[European United Left–Nordic Green Left|GUE/NGL Group]] for a resolution condemning the relocation by the Estonian Government of the World War II memorial fell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-0216&language=EN|title=European Parliament resolution on the relocation of the World War II memorial in Tallinn and relations between Estonia and Russia|date=2007-05-27|access-date=2010-03-06|quote=Condemns the removal by the Estonian Government of the World War II memorial; takes the view that this act by the Estonian Government reflects a regrettable lack of sensitivity to the seriousness of Nazi crimes and an unacceptable lack of respect for all those who fought against fascism; Expresses its concern that at the same time the Estonian authorities have shown their indifference to the crimes committed by Estonian Nazi collaborators, in particular their participation in crimes against the Jewish population, and annual demonstrations by neo-fascist organisations which reappeared after Estonia became independent; insists that the problem of non-citizenship affecting thousands of people in the Baltic countries should be resolved;}}</ref>

===The position of the Russian government===
The Russian government and officials continue to maintain that the Soviet annexation of the [[Baltic states]] was legitimate<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4517683.stm Russia denies Baltic 'occupation'] by [[BBC News]]</ref> and that the Soviet Union liberated the countries from the Nazis.<ref name="BDSD">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4521663.stm Bush denounces Soviet domination] by [[BBC News]]</ref> They state that the Soviet troops had entered the Baltic countries in 1940 following the agreements and with the consent of the governments of the Baltic republics. They maintain that the USSR was not in a state of war and was not waging any combat activities on the territory of the three Baltic states, therefore, the argument goes, the word ''occupation'' can not be used.<ref>[http://www.newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/05/05/59601.html Russia denies] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215005004/http://www.newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/05/05/59601.html |date=December 15, 2007 }} at newsfromrussia</ref><ref>[http://www.newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/05/05/59605.html the term "occupation" inapplicable] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929110744/http://www.newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/05/05/59605.html |date=September 29, 2007 }} at newsfromrussia</ref> "The assertions about [the] 'occupation' by the Soviet Union and the related claims ignore all legal, historical and political realities, and are therefore utterly groundless." (Russian Foreign Ministry)

===Positions of the veterans===

Estonian national Ilmar Haaviste, head of an association of Estonian veterans who fought on the German side: “Both regimes were equally evil – there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning”. Estonian national [[Arnold Meri]] who fought on the Soviet side and was later charged with [[genocide]] for his role in the deportations: "Estonia's participation in World War II was inevitable. Every Estonian had only one decision to make: whose side to take in that bloody fight – the Nazis' or the anti-Hitler coalition's."
Russian national Viktor Andreyev who fought on the Soviet side in Estonia answering the question: "How do you feel being called an 'occupier'?" — "Half believe one thing, half believe another. That's in the run of things."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6637895.stm When giants fought in Estonia] [[BBC News]]</ref>

In 2004 the controversy regarding the events of World War II surrounded the [[Monument of Lihula]]. In April 2007 the diverging views on the history caused the [[Bronze Soldier of Tallinn]] protests.

===Position of other scholars===
Historian [[:fi:Martti Turtola|Martti Turtola]] argues in two of his books that [[Konstantin Päts]] and [[Johan Laidoner]] consciously led Estonia to non-resistance and thinking Estonia was an ally of the Soviet Union, via treaties such as [[Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty]]. With both Laidoner and Päts readily agreeing to such agreements and not making any defensive preparations for a possible invasion or occupation by the Soviet Union or suspecting the Soviets might break their treaties with Estonia. Laidoner even clamped down on potential officers in the Estonian Army that might want to resist the Soviets. Estonia even purchased military equipment, such as [[Ilyushin Il-16|Il-16]] (that did never arrive) from the Soviet Union. This ultimately backfired when both Päts and Laidoner ended up in prison and Estonia occupied. Päts and Laidoner had hoped for some positions within Soviet Estonia. These views and Turtola's research are controversial, considering Turtola paint Päts and Laidoner as traitors or collaborators, without actually going so far as to say it out loud. Turtola also often compares Estonias 1939-1940 experience with [[Finland in World War II#Winter War|Finland's experience]] during the same period, where Finland resisted the Soviets and survived as an independent nation, while Estonia didn't. Turtola states in his book about Päts that Estonia could have mobilized 120,000 troops for a defense, in theory Estonia could have resisted at least for a while. With Finland lasting for three months in the [[Winter War]], even when losing the war, didn't lose their independence. He later argues in the book about Laidoner that the potential resistance would still have been hard, since the above mentioned steps taken by Laidoner to remove officers that would be willing to fight and replaced them with officers more open to cooperation with the soviets. 
The book about Konstantin Päts sold widely in Estonia when it was released.<ref>Audiobook: Kenraali Johan Laidoner ja Viron tasavallan tuho 1939-1940. https://www.adlibris.com/fi/sv/e-bok/kenraali-johan-laidoner-ja-viron-tasavallan-tuho-1939-1940-9789511441038</ref><ref>Audiobook: Presidentti Konstantin Päts: Viro ja Suomi eri teillä. https://www.adlibris.com/fi/sv/e-bok/presidentti-konstantin-pats-viro-ja-suomi-eri-teilla-9788728275658</ref>

==Notes==
;Footnotes
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
;Citations
{{Reflist}}

==References==
<!--This list needs to be ordered alphabetically.-->
{{Refbegin|25em}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania|last=Smith|first=David James|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-0-415-28580-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YaYbzQQN97EC}}
* {{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Soviet Law |last=Feldbrugge |first=Ferdinand |year=1985 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-247-3075-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7gBESqTciYC&q=%22The+fate+of+the+Baltic+States+had+already+been+decided+in+the+German-Soviet%22&pg=PA460 }}
* {{Cite book |title=Estonia: independence and European integration |last=Smith |first=David James |year=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-26728-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lx-UmTnLJv0C }}
* {{Cite book |title=Estonia and the Estonians |last=Raun |first=Toivo |year=2001 |publisher=Hoover Press |isbn=978-0-8179-2852-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQ1NRJlUrwkC }}
* {{Cite book|title=Estonia: Identity and Independence|last1=Subrenat|first1=Jean J|last2=Cousins|first2=David|last3=Harding|first3=Alexander|year=2004|publisher=Waterhouse|isbn=978-90-420-0890-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBZlHdp7tdcC}}
* {{Cite book|author=Estonian State Commission on Examination of Policies of Repression|url=http://www.just.ee/orb.aw/class=file/action=preview/id=12709/TheWhiteBook.pdf|publisher=Estonian Encyclopedia Publishers|title=The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes. 1940–1991|year=2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114130824/http://www.just.ee/orb.aw/class%3Dfile/action%3Dpreview/id%3D12709/TheWhiteBook.pdf|archive-date=2013-01-14}}
* {{Cite book |title=Germany's Eastern Front allies (2): Baltic forces |last1=Jurado |first1=Carlos Caballero |first2=Nigel |last2=Thomas |first3=Darko |last3=Pavlović |year=2002 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-193-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rv4B9984gXcC }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of Estonia |last=Miljan |first=Toivo |year=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-4904-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKWRct15XfkC&pg=PA111 }}
* {{Cite book |title=The history of the Baltic States |last=O'Connor |first=Kevin |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32355-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3b5nU4bnw4C }}
* {{Cite book |title=One Europe, many nations |last=Minahan |first=James |year=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-30984-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NwvoM-ZFoAgC }}
* {{Cite book |title=Punalipuline Balti Laevastik ja Eesti 1939–1941 |last=Petrov |first=Pavel |year=2008 |publisher=Tänapäev |language=et |isbn=978-9985-62-631-3 |url=http://www.tnp.ee/raamat?id=717 }}
* {{Cite book|title=Resistance! Occupied Europe and Its Defiance of Hitler|last=Lande|first=Dave|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7603-0745-8|url=https://archive.org/details/resistanceoccupi00land}}
* {{Cite book |title=Toward an Understanding of Europe |last=Ertl |first=Alan |year=2008 |publisher=Universal-Publishers |isbn=978-1-59942-983-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9PGRaZt-zcC&pg=PA394 }}
* {{Cite book |author=United States Congress |title=Baltic States: A Study of Their Origin and National Development, Their Seizure and Incorporation Into the U.S.S.R |publisher=W. S. Hein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LRAAAAAIAAJ&q=Rahva+Omakaitse |year=1972 |isbn=978-0930342418 }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.memento.ee/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Memento-Raamat-9.pdf Eestlased Vene sõjaväes 1940–1945] (Estonians in Russian armed forces in 1940–1945), Persons mobilized to serve in labour battalions Part 1 (A–L), by the Estonian Memento Union, Tallinn, 2008, {{ISBN|978-9985991404}}
* [https://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/nlib-digar:259938|Eestlased Vene sõjaväes 1940–1945. Teine osa, (M–Sel)] (Estonians in Russian armed forces in 1940–1945. Part 2, (M–Sel)), 2009,  {{ISBN|978-9985991428}} ([https://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/et/download/189065 pdf])
* [https://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/et/download/189066 Eestlased Vene Söjaväes 1940–1945 Kolmas osa (Selmet–Üüde) ] (Estonians in Russian Armed Forces in 1940–1945 Part 3 (Selmet–Üüde)), by the Estonian Memento Union, Tallinn 2011, {{ISBN|978-9985991442}}

{{Holocaust Estonia}}
{{Nazi Germany occupations}}
{{Soviet occupation}}
{{WWII history by nation}}
{{Estonia topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Estonia in World War II| ]]
[[Category:Military history of Estonia during World War II| ]]
[[Category:Eastern European theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:1940s in Estonia|World War II]]
[[Category:Jewish Estonian history|World War II]]
[[Category:Military history of Estonia|World War II]]
[[Category:Wars involving Estonia|World War II]]
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