's "Home Guard" detachment on the day of its formation, August 1, 1941 The Soviet Union occupied and annexed Estonia,
Latvia, and
Lithuania in 1940. From then on, former statesmen and soldiers hid in the forests, as they would otherwise have been executed or deported by the new regime. Many went into hiding after the mass deportation in June 1941.
The Summer War When war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, many Estonians escaped into forests to aid the liberation of Estonia from Soviet occupation. During the Summer War, the Forest Brothers liberated various cities and towns in Estonia. The largest battles took place around
Timmkanal, as well as
Tartu, where the Forest Brothers repelled the Soviet forces on July 10, 1941.
After 1944 By November 25, 1944, the territory of Estonia was completely occupied by the
Red Army. By the autumn of that year, thousands of Estonian soldiers, former
Wehrmacht officers, and members of the
Omakaitse had taken refuge in the forest. Former employees of the Soviet administration and people evading
conscription into the Red Army hid alongside them. Their uniforms combined elements of the uniforms of the former Estonian army, the Wehrmacht, and civilian clothing. They were armed mainly with infantry weapons that the Germans left behind when they were pushed back. Groups of Forest Brothers consisted of five to ten people, with whom several dozen accomplices in the local population were associated. The Soviet command and the government of the
Estonian SSR created forces to fight underground resistance movements. The 5th Infantry Division of the Internal Troops of the
NKVD, stationed in Latvia under the command of Major General Pyotr Leontiev, extended its operations to Estonia. Estonian
destruction battalions (comprising 5,300 men) were also formed.
Arnold Veimer received a petition from the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Estonian SSR to evict the families of "traitors to the Motherland, traitors, and other hostile elements". In August 1945, 407 civilians, most of them of
German descent, were transferred from Estonia to
Perm Oblast. An additional 18 families (51 persons) were transferred to
Tyumen Oblast in October, 37 families (87 persons) in November, and 37 families (91 persons) in December. In 1945, NKVD troops and destruction battalions killed 432 Estonian freedom fighters and arrested 584 people, including 449 supporters of the partisans. At the same time, 56 policemen, soldiers, and officers of the NKVD troops; 86 fighter squad members; and 141 pro-Soviet activists were killed. The anti-Soviet partisan war in Estonia continued until 1953. Up to 30,000 people joined the Forest Brothers.
Ants Kaljurand Forest Brother
Ants "The Terrible" Kaljurand served as the local leader of the
RVL, a partisan organization founded by
Endel Redlich. Kaljurand was arrested in 1949 and executed in March 1951.
Forest Brothers of Võrumaa The Forest Brothers of Võrumaa were sent to destroy large Soviet KGB units, leading to several battles between the KGB forces and the Forest Brothers. Although losses were borne by both sides, most battles resulted in greater losses for the Soviet forces. == Substantial battles ==