Estonian War of Independence , founder and commander of the battalion
Julius Kuperjanov was a school teacher who was commissioned into the
Imperial Russian Army during
World War I and served as a commander of partisan and reconnaissance units. In 1918, he joined the
Estonian Army at the beginning of the
Estonian War of Independence. On 23 December 1918, Kuperjanov received permission from
Colonel Ernst Limberg, commander of the
2nd Division, to form a special purpose partisan unit. Kuperjanov's unit initially consisted of 37 volunteers and was based at
Puurmani manor. New volunteers continued to arrive and the unit soon grew to 600 troops, becoming Tartumaa Partisan Battalion. On 13–14 January 1919, the battalion took part in liberating
Tartu from the
Red Army. After taking back Tartu, the battalion began moving south towards
Valga. On 30 January 1919, the battalion reached Paju manor, where they met strong resistance from the Red Army. Tartumaa Partisan Battalion won the ensuing
Battle of Paju, but Kuperjanov was badly wounded during the battle and died shortly after on 2 February 1919. Following his death, the battalion was renamed Kuperjanov Partisan Battalion in his honour. Having liberated Southern Estonia from the Soviets, the battalion moved south into
Latvia against the
Baltische Landeswehr. On 25 May 1919, the battalion successfully stopped the German advance at
Rauna, and took part in defeating the German forces in the
Battle of Cēsis. On 30 September 1919, Kuperjanov Partisan Battalion took part in the unsuccessful attack against the
Krasnaya Gorka fort. In November 1919, the unit became Kuperjanov Partisan Regiment.
1992–present The unit was reconstituted as the Kuperjanov Single Infantry Battalion on 18 March 1992. Based at the
Taara Army Base in
Võru, it was the largest and the most capable battalion in the
Estonian Land Forces, known for its strict rules and
esprit de corps. In 2004, the
Ministry of Defence transformed the battalion into an infantry training unit. On 1 January 2009, the battalion was renamed Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion. It currently forms the core of the 2nd Infantry Brigade which is the principle force being raised in what used to be called the
Southern Defence District. ==Current structure==