Two years after the end of 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 ...

(1918-1920), the Estonian Army consisted of 3 field divisions and a number of small independent battalions and companies (1922). The Republic of Estonia consisted of 47,750 km² of territory, with a population of 1,107,000 inhabitants. The armed forces was made up of 18,000 men. In the opinion of the Lithuanian armed forces General Staff, the army was large enough to defend The Republic of Estonia. Estonia's geographical position was well-suited for military purposes - two large lakes were useful natural obstacles. Conscripts served for was 18 months in the infantry, 24 months in other parts of the army, and 36 months in the Navy. Estonian military also had 105,000 in reserve force which would have been mobilized if a war would have started.

Infantry

* 1st division **Regiment (2 battalions) **Regiment (2 battalions) * 2nd division **Regiment (2 battalions) **Regiment (2 battalions) **Detached battalion * 3rd division **Regiment (2 battalions) **Detached battalion

Infantry Organization

The army had 12 line battalions. Every battalion consisted of: * 3 line (infantry) companies of 3 platoons of 2 squads * Machine gun company * Technical company * Cavalry platoon for recognition The infantry was using Russian and English made rifles. The accoutrements and ammunition of their weapons were American made. Two battalions make a regiment in peacetime. After the mobilization, every battalion become regiment. Comparison of companies

Artillery

There were 3 regiments of light artillery of 4 batteries everyone for every Infantry division. There were 2 groups of heavy artillery like separate units. Every battery had 4 guns. Most part of the guns - 3 inches Russian guns. There were some English, French and German guns. In that time Estonia had enough guns to make artillery two times larger.

Cavalry

* Hussars regiment: ** 2 line squadrons ** Mg's squadrons The Estonian military included two regular Hussar cavalry regiments, as well as six cavalry squadrons that could be called up as part of the reserve army. Two Estonian cavalry regiments participated in the

, along with smaller cavalry formations; every infantry regiment had one reconnaissance cavalry attachment. By the end of the war, another cavalry regiment, the Cavalry Reserve Regiment, was formed in Tallinn, and functioned as a cavalry school for soldiers and officers. The Estonian 2nd Cavalry Regiment was dissolved in 1920. Despite several attempts by the Estonian Defence Forces to modernize its cavalry, the units could not keep up with the technological advances of the 1930s and the rapid development of armoured warfare. While already declining before World War II, the remaining Estonian cavalry regiments were abolished and attached to the Soviet

22nd Rifle Corps The 22nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, formed thrice. It was initially formed from the Estonian Army after the Soviet occupation of that country in June 1940. The corps was destroyed during the Baltic Operation. After large-scale de ...

on 10 September 1940.Horisont: "Estonian Cavalry regiment on horses, vheels and skiies."
/ref> There have been no cavalry units in the modern Estonian Ground Forces since Estonian independence in 1991.

Technical Formations

EST-Tanks-Mark V-Driving along Tallinn (1920)

*Armoured brigade **3 armoured trains (with light artillery guns and machine guns) **1 armoured train (narrow gauge) **Column of Armoured cars (16) **Tanks company (4 heavy and 10 light tanks) –

Mark V Mark V or Mark 5 often refers to the fifth version of a product, frequently military hardware. "Mark", meaning "model" or "variant", can be abbreviated "Mk." Mark V or Mark 5 can specifically refer to: In technology In military and weaponry * B ...

and

Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...

Armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...

s had an important role in

. They were used very effectively in supporting Latvians in fighting against Bermontians in

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

. *Technical battalion **Railway company **Engineering company **Signal company **Training company

Aviation

3 squadrons – 34 planes and hydroplanes

The Navy

*EML Lembit (former Bobr; Bieber) (gun boat; scrapped 1927) *EML Lennuk (former Avtroil) (destroyer; sold to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in 1933; later Almirante Guise) *EML Wambola (former Kapitan 2. ranga Kingsbergen; Kapitan 1. ranga Miklukho-Maklay; Spartak) (destroyer; sold to Peru in 1933; later Almirante Villar) *EML Ristna (minesweeper) *EML Suurop (minesweeper) *EML Sulev (torpedo gunboat) *EML Kalev (submarine) *EML Lembit (submarine)

Training

*Central school of NCOs. *Military technical school - Cadets (2 years) and officers (short courses). *Military school – Preparing candidates for officer corps to The Army (3 years course). Here studying young men receive the lieutenant rank after graduation. *General staff courses (from 1921) in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

- One year-long course for senior officers to prepare for work in The General Staff. It had 15 students in 1921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military History Of Estonia