Day of remembrance of the fighters of the War of Liberation in Estonia (03/01)

Every year January 3 is celebrated in Estonia as the Day of Remembrance of the War of Liberation fighters.

The war for the liberation and independence of the state was waged by the Estonian people against Soviet Russia from November 28, 1918 to January 3, 1920.

On November 28, the Red Army, consisting of two divisions, crossed the border into Estonia. The size of the army was about 12 thousand people. The Red Army marched through the largest Estonian cities of Tartu and Narva. At the beginning of 1919, the army was already located 40 kilometers from Tallinn.

By the end of 1919, the size of the Estonian army was already 85 thousand people. Then a truce was proposed, with which the Soviet authorities agreed. The truce began on January 3, 1920 at 10.30 am.

After this, on February 2, 1920, the Tartu Armistice Treaty was concluded, according to which Russia renounced any claims against the Estonian state.

It should also be noted that in this war, Estonian troops were forced to hold two fronts, fighting not only Soviet Russia, but also the Germans — with the troops of the Landeswehr, which consisted of Germans born in the Baltics and former soldiers and officers of the German army that had already capitulated in the First World War. Their goal was to restore German control in the region and create a German-dependent Baltic Duchy on the territory of Latvia and Estonia. However, this plan was not destined to come true — On June 23, 1919, the Estonian and Latvian armies defeated the Landeswehr troops in the battle of the city of Võnnu (now — Cesis in Latvia).

In total, more than six thousand Estonian soldiers died in this War of Liberation. Every year on January 3, heroes who gave their lives for the independence of the Motherland are remembered throughout the country. In Tallinn, a memorial ceremony takes place at the Victory Monument in the War of Liberation, in which representatives of government and the public, senior military officials and clergy traditionally take part.

On February 2, Estonia celebrates the Day of the Treaty of Tartu.

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