Soviet Westward Offensive of 1918–1919 - Offensives - Estonian Direction

Estonian Direction

The Gdov and Yamburg Detachments of the 7th Red Army attacked the German Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405 defending the city of Narva on 22 November 1918. The 6th Red Division captured the railway junction of Tapa from the freshly formed Estonian 4th and 5th Regiments on Christmas Eve and advanced to 34 kilometers from the capital Tallinn. The local Bolsheviks declared the Estonian Workers' Commune in Narva. In South Estonia, the 49th Red Latvian Rifle Regiment took the railway junction of Valga on 17 December and the city of Tartu on December 24. The Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army's advance along the entire front on 2–5 January. Two days later, the Estonian forces began the counteroffensive to expel the Soviet forces from Estonia. A Finnish volunteer marine brigade landed in the rear of the 6th Red Division and the 1st Estonian Division captured Narva on 18 January. Subsequently, the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva River. In South Estonia, the Estonian commando-type Tartumaa Partisan Battalion drove the Red Latvian rifle regiments out of Valga on 31 January. The 7th Red Army was temporally forced out of the boundaries of Estonia. On 16 February, the red army started a counteroffensive to recapture Estonia. The newly formed Estonian Red Army gained the Setomaa, Vastseliina, and Räpina Parishes by 15 March. The Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and regained Petseri by 28 March. Similar combat took place between the Estonian Army and the Northern Group of the Latvian Red Army along the Ainaži–Strenči–Alūksne front stabilized in northern Latvia. In the positions along the Narva River, the Estonian 1st Division repelled the 7th Red Army attacks.