Estonian War of Independence - Foreign Assistance

Foreign Assistance

Substantial British involvement in the struggle in the Baltic region in 1918–1919 as part of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War took several forms:

  • British naval and air forces in December 1918, after lobbying in London by Estonian politicians, brought needed military equipment, training and also artillery support from Royal Navy ships;
  • British protection of the Estonian left flank by naval action in the Gulf of Finland. Among other operations, British motor torpedo boats in conjunction with RAF aircraft conducted the first combined air/sea assault in history on the Bolshevik fleet in Kronstadt torpedoing several Bolshevik warships at the cost of 3 boats. British officer Augustus Agar won a Victoria Cross for sinking a Soviet cruiser and then a DSO for leading a second attack that sank two major warships;
  • Equipment supplied by the British to the White Russian Northwestern Army included six tanks together with their volunteer crews, who were the only British troops to fight alongside the Northwestern Army. British tank crews pushed to within 12 miles of downtown Petrograd (formerly Saint Petersburg) in the autumn of 1919. All six tanks survived the battle, despite having developed some mechanical problems.
  • 2,000 Finnish volunteers participated as part of the Kinship Wars units Pohjan Pojat and I Suomalainen Vapaajoukko.
  • The Swedish volunteer unit to support the Republic of Estonia in the Estonian War of Independence under the command of Carl Mothander was formed in Sweden in early 1919. In March 1919, 178 volunteers took part in scout missions in Virumaa. In April, the company was sent to the Southern front and took part of the battles near Pechory.
  • A Danish volunteer unit of 200 men was formed under the command of Captain Richard Gustav Borgelin. The regiment took part in battles against Bolsheviks in Latvia and near Pskov. R. G. Borgelin was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and awarded a manor for his services.

While the British navy provided considerable support, the historian William Fletcher concludes that "the British naval force would have had little effect on the outcome of Baltic affairs had not the Estonians and Latvians provided a vibrant and disciplined land and sea force".

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