FOUR HELMETS OF STEEL

OVERVIEW

Just before the Second World War the two dictators, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin made a deal. This deal, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, meant that both Nazi Germany and Communist Russia would be free to invade their neighbours without interference from each other as long as the spheres of influence agreed upon would be honoured.

Soviet Pressure and Occupation

In the autumn of 1939 representatives of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland were called to Moscow for negotiations. Stalin claimed he wanted concessions from these countries in order to increase the defensive potential of the Soviet state. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, seeing no viable option, gave in to the demands and threats and deemed themselves forced to allow Soviet military bases in their territory. Stalin and his foreign minister Molotov assured that the Soviets would not not interfere with the internal affairs of these states. Finland did not accept the proposals; this led tothe Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union.

Within the Estonian army there was some opposition to the treaty, but the threat of war and the fact that a political decision had been made forced them to submit. The soldiers' mistrust of the Soviets proved to be well founded, since the Red Army sent to the bases more troops than allowed in the treaty.

During the Winter War there was much sympathy for the Finns in Estonia although the official government line was forced to a policy of strict neutrality. Much anxiety, fear and and anger was caused by the fact that the Soviet air force flew bombing missions against Finland from their new bases in Estonia. These flights were, of course, a violation of the treaty between Estonia and Soviet Union. Dozens of Estonians made their way clandestinely to Finland in order to join the fight against the common antagonist.

In the summer of 1940 Soviet Union applied more pressure on Estonia. They demanded that a new, more friendly government be formed. Again, the Estonian government saw no alternative but to yield. The situation was even worse than in the preceding year, since there now were Soviet forces stationed in Estonia. The numbers of these forces exceeded the strength of Estonian army.

The new government was quickly formed without heeding to the directives stated in the Estonian constitution. This, formally illegal puppet government decided to request that it would be allowed to join the Soviet Union as a member state. At this stage all resistance was hopeless, but some small-scale fighting did occur. Most notable of these incidents was a firefight where Estonian soldiers of the signals battalion opposed the taking over of its barracks by Red Army troops.

Thus began the first Soviet occupation of Estonia. The new Soviet citizens were gradually introduced to all the proven methods of oppression. The terror reached its climax in the June of 1941. The occupying army arrested and transported to Russia about 14 000 people of all social classes. The arrests caused thousands of Estonians to take refuge in the forests, where units of active resistance were soon formed. These units were called the Brethren of Forest.

In addition to the guerilla units there were also Estonians abroad preparing to fight the Soviet menace. Hundreds of estonians, mainly of German origin, had joined the German army and the Finnish army had trained an Estonian unit known by the code-name Erna. The Erna group was intended for reconnessaince duties behind the Soviet lines.

German Occupation

When the German invasion of Soviet Union began in the June of 1941, only a week after the mass arrests and transportations in Estonia, there was considerable sympathy for the germans in the country. This did not rise from any particular love for the Germans, but was caused by the assumption that estonian independence could be regained with German assistance. It was in this spirit that the guerilla units started the fight. Considerable success was gained locally and in some Southern Estonian towns it was the blue-black-white Estonian flag that greeted the advancing German forces. The guerilla units were in in many cases led by officers of the Estonian army and the soldiers considered that they belonged to the armed forces of the republic of Estonia. German troops were welcomed as allies, not as a new occupying army.

Estonian hopes were soon crushed. Most of the guerilla units were disarmed and only a small part of the soldiers took part in the last battles in Estonian territory. The Germans had taken over.

Although the Germans had disbanded the local forces, were they soon compelled to admit that they needed local troops for guard and anti-partisan duties. The new troops were recruited by several different organisations, in keeping with the complicated administrative usages of the Third Reich.

First, it was the army. They recruited six battalions with the individual men committing themselves to 12 months of service. After this period there were not enough men willing to renew their agreement to maintain the six battalions so three were disbanded and the men formed to three new battalions.

Second, it was the police. They recruited men for the duration of the war. More than 20 police battalions were formed and given only light equipment meant to rear-area police-type duties. Many of these battalions were, however, taken to front-line duties which caused considerable ill-will among the troops themselves and among the Estonian civilian population.

Third of the recruiting organisations was Omakaitse, a force recruited under the auspices of the Estonian puppet government for local home guard -type duties. Omakaitse used Estonian army uniforms or civilian clothes with armbands.

There was also an Estonian Staffel Of the Luftwaffe used for sea patrols over the Gulf of Finland. In addition, there were individual Estonians serving in various branches of the German armed forces.

In 1942 a new recruiting drive was started. This time they were needed for the so-called Estonian Legion the Germans intended to set up. At first, it was hoped that this form a nucleus for an Estonian army. Soon it became evident, however, that the new Legion would be a part of theWaffen-SS, which made it clear no true national aspirations would be allowed. Moreover, the SS and the police were both ultimately subordinated to Himmler's command and therefore the Legion was associated with the mismanaged police battalions.

The Soviets Advance

Although thousands of Estonians had served with the Germans, the volunteer movement never gained a truly widespread popularity. German arrogance, harsh occupation rule and insensitivity to the national aspirations of Estonians had alienated the Estonians who had, as an independent state, looked towards England or France when in need of allies and therefore felt no close affinity to Germans in matters of national security. In this phase of the war, it was not uncommon to have adopted a negative attitude towards both of the main combatants in the Eastern front. With this in mind, it must be stressed that the Soviet power was seen as a direct threat to the very existence of Estonians as a nation and therefore the bigger of the two evils. Nevertheless, as long as the frontlines remained well to the east of Estonia, the majority of people tried to get on with their daily lives as well as the war and occupation allowed.

With the pressure increasing in the Eastern front during 1943, the Germans called to arms all Estonian men born in the years 1919-1924. The men were allowed to choose between labor service, the army and the SS. In reality the Germans did their best to pressure new recruits into the Estonian SS-Legion. The mobilization was extremely unpopular and only a part of those eligible were in fact recruited. A few thousand men fled to Finland, where many of them joined the Finnish army.

In the beginning of 1944 the Red army had broken the siege of Leningrad and had advanced to Estonian borders. At this stage Estonian national leadership started negotiations vith the Germans. A sort of agreement was reached which resulted in a new mobilization drive in February. this time the effort was supported by Jüri Uluots, the prime minister of the last constitutionally formed Estonian cabinet. This made a difference. Over 70 000 men answered the call which was far more than the Germans were prepared to accept partly because they did not fully trust the Estonians and partly beecause it would have been difficult to equip such a large body of men. In the end the Germans accepted 45 000 men who were used to expand the Legion to divisional size. Six border protection regiments, several battalions and local defence units were also formed.

This time the Germans kept their promise and the troops were kept in the part of the front were the Soviet onslaught was a direct threat to Estonian territory. Also the units deployed in other parts of the front were brought home including the Estonian regiment in the Finnish army. This meant that there were about 90 000 Estonian soldiers deployed in the defence of their homeland, although under German command.

Then, in september 1944 the Germans were forced to retreat. This was the situation the Estonian national leadership had tried to prepare for. If, after German retreat, Estonian territory could be taken over by indigenous forces, the Soviet Army would be fighting against an army of a sovereign state. This, the leadership calculated, would force Soviet Union's western allies to pressure Stalin to recognize Estonian independence in the peace talks after the war. In the light of post-war development, it is probable that these aspirations would not have prevailed, but much the same had happened in 1918 when Estonia gained her independence and it was seen as the only way to actively influence Estonia's fate.

There were some attempts by Estonian troops to take over which resulted in clashes with the retreating Germans, but in the chaos it was not possible to gather the troops under a unified command and a large part of Estonian forces retreated with the Germans. Many Estonian soldiers remained in hiding forming guerilla units which continued to harass the Soviet occupier for years.

In Germany all the Estonian soldiers were gathered into the reformed Estonian Legion. The end of the war saw the Legion deployed in the front, although a large reserve unit was stationed in Denmark.

Estonians in the Red Army

In 1940 when the Soviets annexed Estonia, the Estonian army was incorporated into Red Army as a territorial corps. Most of the Estonian officer corps was sent to retraining to Soviet Union. Little more than rumors of them reached Estonia until 1990´s when it was finally confirmed that their fate was similar to the Polish officers found in the forest of Katyn.

When the Germans launched their assault in 1941, the main thrust in the Baltic area was directed towards Leningrad in part through Southern parts of Estonia but bypassing the northern areas. This gave the Soviets a chance to mobilize Estonians into their army. Thus augmented Estonian corps suffered from poor morale and many surrendered to the advancing Germans. The corps was not trusted by the Soviets and saw little action before the final Soviet onslaught.