WE WERE ESTONIAN SOLDIERS

Carl Orav

These are the stories of five Estonian officers who were classmates at the Estonian Military Technical Academy during the years of 1936 thru 1940. Their detailed memoirs start with the Soviet occupation of Estonia and the outbreak of World War II. All were commissioned 2nd lieutenants upon their graduation from the academy in 1940. Then their lives took different paths.

Dedicated to my father

Thank you for getting us out of harm’s way

Also dedicated to the Estonian soldier, past and present

May history not repeat itself

Contents

Foreword (#for)

Introduction by Mart Laar[*] (#int)

Brief Historical Background[*] (#his)

Chapter 1: End of the Cadet Years – Viktor Orav[*] (#ch01)

Chapter 2: Bits of War Memories – Hugo Kubja[*] (#ch02)

Chapter 3: My Execution Was Carried Out – Edgar Reiksaar[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 4: Guided by Fate – Viktor Orav[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5: Like Being Engulfed by Fire – Johannes Jaagus[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6: Soldier and Fate – August Võhma[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Why Did the Estonian Soldier Fight? – August Võhma[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Postcript (#litres_trial_promo)

Photo credits[*] (#litres_trial_promo)

Foreword

My father compiled four voluminous documents that are pieces of Estonian history. These are:

1. Description of the Estonian Military Technical Academy 1920 – 1923

2. Detailed description of the Estonian Military Technical Academy 1936 – 1940

3.В Memoirs of some of the graduating officers

4.В Photo album of life at the Academy and beyond

My father’s work: The basis upon which this book was written.

From the third document I have compiled and translated into English my father’s memoirs along with those of four other Estonian officers from the period 1939 through the end of World War II in 1945. Although the memoirs he wrote and collected extend past the period of the war, I have condensed and eliminated the postwar portions. Likewise, there are many names mentioned in the original manuscripts. Unless these are central to the story, I have omitted them in order to focus on the events and personal experiences. The interested student of Estonian history can read the original manuscripts at the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi, Estonia.

Many of the photographs in this book are from my father’s or Tiiu Võhmas photo albums. Others are included to convey the mood and setting of the times to give the reader a visual picture of what things were like during the war. The supplementary photographs are courtesy of the Estonian War Museum, the Estonian History Museum, The Estonian Film Archives, and Wehrmacht.pri.ee.

The five uncensored memoirs were written after the war in western countries where the former Estonian officers were free from fear of retribution for telling their stories. Other soldiers’ memoirs that were published in Estonia during the Soviet era have a very strong slant toward the righteousness of Communism and the Russian empire. I am proud to be able to publish the tales of five Estonian soldiers who I believe tell it like it really was.

I would like to thank Peep Aarne Vesilind who encouraged me to write the book and who provided material for the brief historical background of Estonia. Special thanks also to Tiiu VГµhma who provided material about her father and assisted me with the initial editing.

В В В В Carl Orav

В В В В 2011

Introduction

В В В В Mart Laar

В В В В Estonian Minister of Defense

В В В В Prime Minister of Estonia 1992-1994 and 1999-2002

Estonia suffered severely from the turmoil brought on by World War II. After achieving its independence following World War I in a hard-fought war for freedom, Estonia found itself in the middle of a conflict between two super-powers, Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, and tried in vain to retain its independence. Many of the central and eastern European countries found themselves in the same predicament. Their fate was sealed by the Molotov-Ribbentrop secret pact between Hitler and Stalin which