Ants Kurvits or Hans Kurvits (14 May 1887 – 27 December 1943) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n military commander, reaching rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. He participated in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

and later became the founder and long-time leader of the

Estonian Border Guard The Estonian Border Guard ( et, Eesti Piirivalve) was the national security agency responsible for the border security of Estonia. It was subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The Border Guard also assisted with Search and Rescue missions ...

. Kurvits also served briefly as

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Early life

Ants Kurvits was born on 14 May 1887 in Mihkli-Aadu farm in Äksi,

Tartu County Tartu County ( et, Tartu maakond or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% ...

, Estonia, then part of the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. He was the fifth child in the family. Kurvits received his early education in

Hugo Treffner Gymnasium Hugo Treffner Gymnasium ( et, Hugo Treffneri Gümnaasium; abbreviated as HTG) is a secondary school in Tartu, Estonia with special emphasis on science education. Founded by Hugo Treffner, it was the only large secondary school in 19th-century Est ...

. After graduating in 1911, he went to the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

, where he studied law until the breakout of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914.

Career

On 1 November 1914, Kurvits joined the Imperial Russian Army. In 1915, after passing a short officer course in Vladimir Military School in St Petersburg, he was promoted to the rank of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. In the First World War he participated in fighting on the Polish front, becoming company commander by 1917. With the formation of Estonian national units, Kurvits was assigned to the 1st Estonian Infantry Regiment on 8 July 1917, first as company and later as battalion commander. In February 1918, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. On 16 November 1918, after the end of the Imperial German Occupation in Estonia, Kurvits became commander of the

Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League ( et, Eesti Kaitseliit) is the name of the unified paramilitary armed forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Defence League is a paramilitary defence organization whose aim is to guarantee the preservation of the indep ...

. On 25 December, he started forming the Viljandi Volunteer Battalion. On 5 February 1919, Kurvits was assigned to head the 2nd Infantry Regiment, which he led during fighting on the

Petseri Pechory (russian: Печо́ры; Estonian and Seto: ') is a town and the administrative centre of Pechorsky District in the Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in ...

front. Briefly in late 1919 and early 1920, while major fighting was ongoing, he served as garrison commander of

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...

and aide to the commander of the 1st division. After the end of the war, Kurvits served as commander of the 2nd and later the 7th infantry regiments until his retirement in October 1921. On 1 November 1922, Kurvits was recalled to service and made head of the newly forming

, becoming its first commander. In 1924, he briefly served as

in the government of

Friedrich Akel Friedrich Karl Akel ( in Kaubi Manor, Kaubi Parish (now in Pornuse village, Mulgi Parish) – 3 July 1941 in Tallinn) was an Estonian diplomat and politician, a member of the International Olympic Committee, and Head of State of Estonia ...

. After that he returned to head the Border Guard, holding this position up to 1939. In February 1928, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, and in February 1932 to

. As head of the border guard, Kurvits made official visits to Latvia,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Head of Border Guard was subordinate to the High Commander of the defence forces, holding rights equal to a division commander. By May 1923, the Border Guard had taken over from Defense Forces guarding of the whole Estonian border. Border Guard guarded 1,159 km of sea border at north and west, 276 km of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

border at east and 365 km of Latvia border at south. During period of 1923–1939 the Border Guard exposed 4,491 cases of smuggling and caught 4,651 illegal border crossers. While subordinate to the Minister of Internal Affairs, border guards were all professional military personnel. General Kurvits retired on 22 December 1939.

Death

After the start of

Soviet Occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

in 1940, Kurvits's family lost their flat in Tallinn and moved back to Mihkli-Aadu farm. On 14 June 1941, Kurvits and his wife Anna were deported as part of first Soviet mass deportation from the Baltic states. Kurvits was moved to Kirov prison camp in Sosva, Sverdlovsk oblast. On 27 December 1943, he died in Soviet imprisonment.

Honors

During his lifetime Kurvits received numerous awards from

, Latvia,

and

, including Estonian Cross of Liberty 1st grade 2nd class, Russian Order of St. George 4th class and Latvian Order of Lāčplēsis 3rd class. In May 2012, a new multi-purpose ship of the Estonian

Police and Border Guard Board The Police and Border Guard Board ( et, Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) is a unified national governmental agency within the Estonian Ministry of Interior and is responsible for law enforcement and internal security in the Republic of Estonia. The ...

, was named after General Kurvits.

Personal life

Kurvits married with his wife Anna Ariva on 26 December 1917. They had three daughters. After Kurvits became head of the border guard, his family moved to Tallinn, where they lived up to Soviet Occupation period. The home farm at Mihkli-Aadu remained the family's summer home.

References