Baltic Defence Review 2/1999

Uprising of , 1924

Hannes Walter

international company, among whom the ciples. The Red Army was not just the army Russians formed an insignificant minor- of Soviet but officially “the armed 1. General ity, used Russian resources carelessly in vanguard of the world proletarians”, i.e. background their own interests. In 1922 Soviet Russia the instrument for conducting the world was renamed to the Soviet Union that revolution. The leadership and structure Starting from November 7, 1917 the officially was defined as “the homeland of the Red Army were formed according Russian Communist (Bolshevik) Party of the world proletarians”. Among 550 to that principle. In the higher command seized power in Petrograd by overthrow. members of Central Committee of the the Russians were a minority. Until 1925 The communists’ unhidden final goal was Communist Party there were only 30 the People’s Commissar of Military Af- “the world revolution” or in other words, Russians in 1922 (even the Latvians with fairs (Minister) was a Jew Lev Trotski (with - establishing supreme power in the whole 34 representatives outnumbered them). the right name Leib Bronstein) and the world. In spite of the fact that Soviet Until signing the Versailles’ peace on Supreme Commander of the Red Army a Russia became the base of communism June 28, 1919 the communist leadership Latvian Jukums Vacietis. In the structure and the party ruling the country in dic- attempted to carry out the world revolu- of the Red Army national units were tatorial manner called itself the Russian tion primarily with help of direct mili- formed from communists and their com- Communist Party, the slogans of the tary aggression using the splitting of Eu- miserates originating from different coun- “world revolution” and “internationalism” rope. Instead of the former Russian army, tries. At the point of the overthrow in were not at first the cover of Russian ex- the Red Army as a main impact force was there were 4 million for- pansion. On the contrary, a variegated formed on the basis of ideological prin- eigners in the area of the Russian empire.

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Half of them were prisoners of war. The of world revolution. Instead of direct dition a whole group of sub- and phan- other half was made up of migrate work- military aggression it was decided to use tom organisations were established.1 ers mainly from China and Persia (Iran), the way of indirect military aggression The Comintern coordinated its activi- who were brought to Russia during the where propaganda, sabotage and terror ties with almighty Soviet secret service war; and refugees from Poland, Lithua- became main means. At the moment when called Tseka until 1921; and after that (until nia, Latvia etc. Among overall disruption, society in some country was sufficiently 1934) GRU. The chief of that organisa- hunger and misery, the Red Army was in destabilized, an open seizing of power was tion was a Polish nobleman Feliks a privileged state. This fact, together with to take place with the help of an over- Dzerzinski until he died in 1926. The fierce brainwashing brought a total throw or a civil war. The Communist Comintern co-ordinated also with the amount of 300 000 foreigners to the “in- International that was established in March military intelligence, predecessor of the ternational units” of the Red Army. 1919 in , known by abbreviation later GRU, that was commanded by a The Red Army’s strategic assault to West Comintern, became the main instrument Latvian Janis Berzins (with the right name at the turn of the year 1918-1919 was un- of global subversive activity. The Peteris Kuzis). Although the international successful – the Red Army was caught in Comintern was formed as a global com- units of the Red Army were eliminated the defense of border states like Poland, munist party where the parties of differ- in 1922, educational establishments to , and others. The strategic idea of ent countries formed only sections. The train staff remained intact. the assault was a break-through to Ger- Communist Party of the Soviet Union, many, where the outbreak of communist which was financing all the activities had 2. Subversive centers revolution hung on a thread. When the naturally control over all other parties and victorious countries of the determined the leadership of the directed against and Germany reached an agreement in Comintern at its own discretion. Its first Estonia Versailles, the situation in Germany calmed chairman was Grigori Zinovjev (with the down in the course of time. The hands of right name Hirsch Apfelbaum). By the In 1918 Estonian units were formed Western countries were freed and Soviet IV Congress of the Comintern held in among the Red Army foreign units as well Russia was forced into militarily defence. December 1922, sections were established (the so-called Estonian Red Rifle Division). In a new strategic situation the com- in 58 different countries - communist sub- There were approximately 3000 men – com- munist leadership reevaluated the strategy versive network had become global. In ad- munists who had escaped from Estonia

130 Baltic Defence Review 2/1999 in and the Russian Estoni- telligence-sabotage bias. The 3rd Interna- underground activities combined with ans. The share of in the group- tional Military School operated in legal activities through phantom organi- ing of the Red Army by the end of the Petrograd (Leningrad) during the years zations. Through latter, the communists War of Independence had grown to 160 1921-1928 to provide military training for reached the hundred-seat Parliament get- 000 men in the Estonian front line. Mas- the Estonian and Finnish communists. The ting 5 seats in the elections of 1920 and sive deserting of men who were forcibly chief of the school was an Estonian divi- 10 seats in the elections of 1923. mobilized from the areas of temporarily sion commander Aleksan-der Inno. Mili- The political cadre both for subver- occupied Estonia and particularly large tary leadership of the December 1 uprising sive activities and for future leadership coming over in , headed by di- came predominantly from that school. in the annexed neighboring countries was vision commander Leonid Ritt made Es- The main force in the subversive ac- prepared in special educational establish- tonian Red Army soldiers highly unreli- tivities against the Estonian Republic was ments in the Soviet Union. The commu- able in the eyes of supreme command and the Estonian Communist Party. During nist refugees of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, they were removed from the Estonian the War of Independence Estonian com- Lithuania, Poland and Romania were front to the Ukraine. Division was dis- munists belonged to the Russian Com- trained in the Western Communist Uni- embodied according to the conditions of munist Party since the goal of the war versity of Minorities. Its center was in the Peace Treaty in . was to annex Estonia to the Soviet Rus- Moscow but the department for the Finns But a considerably large number of Esto- sia. After the defeat transition to hidden and the Estonians was in Petrograd (Len- nians went on serving in the Red Army tactics was required and on November 5, ingrad). The establishment operated be- amongst whom some reached very high 1920 the Estonian Communist Party was tween the years 1921-1936. positions (August Kork became the Chief formally established. The Estonian Com- of Moscow Military District). munist Party joined the Comintern and In order to train national military its ruling organizations were the under- cadre for operating against the neigh-bor- ground in the Soviet Union and in Esto- 3.Global assault of ing countries, international military nia. According to the information of the the Comintern schools were established in the Soviet Communist Party itself the number of Union. Those were the educational estab- members grew from 700 to 2000 during On the basis of the Russian Revolu- lishments for infantry officers with an in- 1920-1924. The party conducted wide tion and the Civil War scientific strategy

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and tactics of overthrows and civil wars communist agency started uprisal on Feb- the communists organized a was developed in the Soviet Union. It was ruary 12, “military- commit- wave of terror in Ruhr and Vogtland, in published in an elaborate form in 1930 tee” was established on February 16 that 1921 in Central Germany, Ruhr and Ham- as a book in Russian called “The Armed requested help from Moscow and on Feb- burg. On October 23, 1923 the commu- Uprising”. The author of the book is said ruary 25 the Red Army occupied capital nists made another attempt in , to be A. Neuberg. Actually the book was city Tbilisi. 40 people were killed and 150 were in- put together by a working group that In the countries that were out of reach jured. By the way, the Hamburg uprising included the Chief of Staff of the Red of the Red Army, guerilla war of a local was headed by the officials of the Soviet Army Tuhhatsevski, 2IC of GRU communist agency in rural areas or ter- Commerce Mission Karl Radek (with the Unschlicht, party official Pjatnitski and rorism in towns was planned that would right name Sobelsohn) and Otto the professional (an Ital- wear out the strength of legal government Marquart. Massive and provocatively open ian Togliatti and a Vietnamese Ho Chi and lead to overall chaos. Uprising in misuse of diplomatic status by the Soviet Minh). Generally, it may be said that in Bulgaria in is a typical representatives was typical in those years. the countries bordering with the Soviet example of the tactics of the Comintern As a conclusion to the above it may be Union, unexpected rebellion was pre- in an agrarian country. The rebellions in stated that the uprising of December 1, ferred against legal power with the help Germany, on the other hand, are classics 1924 was in no way exceptional, but a of impact detachments prepared under- of the Comintern in an industrial coun- typical episode of global aggression of the ground. Declaration of a counter-govern- try. As a result of a lost war Germany was Comintern/the Soviet Union. ment and its request for help to the So- both in extreme economic and moral dis- viet Union would follow that. Having a tress that created favorable conditions for pretense for assault by this, the Red Army communism. As said above, in 1919 Ger- 4. On the eve was supposed to carry the main weight in many was on the verge of anarchy. Uprisals of the uprising occupying a neighboring country, which broke out all over the country: in Berlin, would then be followed by annexation Bremen, Hamburg, Willemshaven, and Anti-state subversive activities in Esto- according to political scenario conducted Ruhr conurbation. In April and May nia began already during the War of In- by the Communist Party. In a similar way street battles lasted for a month in Mu- dependence and more expressive examples Soviet Russia annexed Georgia in 1921: a nich and demanded 927 dead victims. In of this was the rebellious attempt in

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Tallinn in and the upris- gether with the weapons discovered it must be considered as a catastrophe. The ing on Saaremaa in . Dur- proved without a doubt the transition circles of the Estonian Communist Party ing the war subversive work done in the from words to actions. had a completely wrong picture of both rear area had an importance of assisting The failures in 1924 caused panic their own forces and the opposition. Own the front. After the Tartu Peace Treaty it among the Comintern officials. Deserted forces were overrated ten times and the became Moscow’s main weapon in top Soviet spy V.Krivitski wrote in his opposition was thought to be unreason- destabilizing the Republic of Estonia. The memoirs that after great failures in Ger- ably weak. The hope that a part of the statistics of captured and condemned many and in conditions where fierce strug- army and majority of the workers would agents paint a certain picture of the in- gle for power took place after Lenin’s join uprising was completely pulled out tensity of activities of the Soviet Agency. death, the commander of the Comintern of thin air. They totally lacked the plan There were 195 of them in Estonian pris- Zinovjev needed a victory at any cost. A for the possible failure of uprisal. ons by the end of 1920, by the end of victory was necessary for the whole the Professor Dr. Hain Rebas gives a de- 1922 there were already 332 prisoners. The Comintern apparatus where thousands of structible assessment to the communists’ situation became acute unexpectedly in emigrants lead a pleasant life on the ex- plans but he poses an irritable question, 1924 when the Estonian counterintelli- pense of the Soviet Communist Party but “why the Estonian authorities allowed the gence received definite information that had no results to show. The attack was uprising to happen having known every- the Comintern was planning a public directed against Estonia with the initia- thing so precisely?” Taking into account uprising. The secret state police arrested tive of Estonian communists. that in the course of uprising the com- 257 enemy agents during the raids all over The leaders of the Comintern and of munists murdered 25 Estonian citizens, Estonia conducted in January and Sep- the Estonian Communist Party had no the answer offered here is cynical though tember. Discovered documents showed that idea that the Estonian Communist Party right in the opinion of the author. With- the sums paid to agents had greatly risen. If had been thoroughly infiltrated by the out a failed uprising it would have never a regular agent received 5000-8000 Marks a Estonian Secret State Police and that the been possible in the democratic Estonian month from the Soviet intelligence in 1922, Estonian Counter-Intelligence knew prac- Republic to shoot nearly 200 communists then in 1924 it was already 20 000-30 000 tically everything about the planned up- in a few days and actually physically elimi- and the leading officials received up to 90 rising, except of the precise time of rebel- nate the Communist Party and the dan- 000 Marks instead of 15 000 Marks.2 To- lion. In spite of that, the uprising plan ger of communism altogether. Thus, the

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uprising that had to end in a failure was “Tsentrosojuz”, organizations that dealt in as a shock to majority of them and in in the interest of Estonia in every way foreign trade. Necessary weapons and spite of guarding 17 revolutionaries man- and justified the moderate number of money was brought to Estonia partly with aged to escape the convening locations. victims. the help of agents, who crossed the bor- The supreme commander of the upris- der illegally, partly with the soviet cargo ing was Jaan Anvelt, 40. He was leader of 5.Forces and leaders ships in ports of . In the course of the puppet government that operated suppression of the uprising, the Estonian during the War of Independence in areas of the uprising authorities found 5 Colt-Thompson sub- occupied by the Soviet Russia. His unre- machineguns of the U.S. origin, 55 rifles, alistic picture of the situation in Estonia Instead of the planned 2000 members 150 handguns and revolvers of different was one of the main reasons why hopeless of the impact detachments all over Esto- types. The rebels used and were deprived rebellious attempt was tried. Trying to nia on December 1, only 279 armed com- 65 hand grenades and 8 melinite-hand munists rebelled in Tallinn. Approximately copy the Georgian model he foresaw seiz- 100 people out of them had come from bombs in total. ing power for 24 hours, so that the “war- the Soviet Union just before the upris- The members of the impact detach- revolution committee” headed by an un- ing. About half of them were citizens of ments who came from the Soviet Union distinguished party soldier Valter Klein, Estonia who were wanted by the police were actual power of the uprising. The 32, could request help from the Red in Estonia. They were hiding in the So- element recruited locally was predomi- Army. The plans concerning purely mili- viet Union and had crossed the border nantly uncertain. After a signal, less than tary part of the uprising were compiled illegally. The rest of them were citizens of 10% of men showed up in the secret apart- by staff officers educated in the Academy the Soviet Union, a part of them had ments, although they were not informed of the General Staff of the Red Army, crossed the border legally. Out of the cap- about the real purpose of the convening. Harald Tummeltau, 25, and Karl Rimm, tured rebels – citizens of the Soviet Un- When men were together, the agents who 33. Plan in itself was a professional and ion – 6 possessed a diplomatic passport had come from the Soviet Union took to determined conquering of strategic junc- and worked in the embassy of the Soviet guard of the exits and no one was allowed tions in Tallinn by a sudden assault by Union in Tallinn; 33 had come to Tallinn to leave. Only then the reason on con- impact detachments in its first phase. In as the Soviet workers of “Dobroflot” and vening was announced to them. It came the second phase the conquered locations

134 Baltic Defence Review 2/1999 had to be held with the help of additional ous injuries. Taking advantage of a mo- personnel resources and weapons until the 6. The course of the mentary confusion private Keng dodged invasion of the Red Army. The authors from fire into the sentry room. A mo- of the plan were not to blame that basic uprising ment later the terrorists threw three hand data given to them was incorrect, i.e. the grenades and one bomb along the corri- available force in the first phase was smaller The impact detachments started their dor towards the quarters of the guard by magnitude and there were no reserves activities more or less at the same time at platoon and duty officer and destroyed altogether because the units did not go 5.30 in the morning. doors, windows and made a hole in the over and the workers did not join in. floor. Part of the intruders stormed to The Red Army and the Baltic Navy were The Ministry of War the first floor where according to their combat ready on the borders of Estonia (misleading) information there had to be on the eve of the uprising but the assault The building of the Ministry of War the military communication center. The was cancelled as the uprising failed. was attacked at 5.25 by a group of 23 ter- other half rushed towards the rooms of As to the leading of uprisal, there was rorists at the moment when the duty of- the guard platoon. But Sergeant Major no actual central lead. Both Anvelt and ficer Captain Hermann Vunn (VR I/3), Aaman, Corporal Richard Brücker, 22 his military second in command – a Red 30, was on his control round in the build- and Private Keng were there to meet them Army staff officer August Lillakas, 30 – ing. Duty NCO Sergeant Major Rudolf and held the enemy in one spot by fire were together with the impact detach- Aaman, 23, was in the sentry room and until the guard platoon got dressed and ments. Rimm was a chief of staff by name, the guard platoon was asleep in its quar- arranged itself. During this time, Corpo- but “staff” that at first was situated in a ters. Private August-Mihkel Keng, 19 was ral Brücker was injured in the head by a secret apartment at Kadaka Road and later on sentry. The terrorists dressed in the bomb fragment and was losing blood. The in Tonismäe, actually consisted of 17 ter- Estonian Army uniforms entered and decisive resistance made the terrorists es- rorists in reserve who ran away when they opened fire from their revolvers on the cape. Now Sergeant Major Aaman together heard of defeat. All members of the im- doorway at Private Keng but missed prob- with Private Leppik hurried into the pact detachments operated on their own ably because of being nervous. Private courtyard and opened fire from a light- after leaving the secret apartment. Keng jumped at the intruders and hit the machinegun at the windows of the first first one with his bayonet causing seri- floor. The terrorists escaped in a great

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hurry. Only one of them who had hid in Regiment and Oskar-Martin Punnison who were shot on the spot, others escaped a closet was late and was discovered in the from the Signals Battalion in their sleep. in panic. Schaurup was decorated with search of the building. The officers did not have apartments in the Cross of Freedom. Warding off the attack showed high Tallinn yet and they stayed in the mess. level of training and morals of the Esto- But the activities ended with those mur- The Transport-Tank Division nian Army. The matter was decided by ders. The clerk guarding in the staff emp- fearless actions of Private Keng who be- tied his weapon at the rebels who got in- In the Tank Company of Division, longed to the post-war generation. It also timidated by that and escaped firing oc- located in the same building with Signals became obvious that in a critical situa- casional shots in return. The clerk was Battalion training company, was NCO tion an NCO could command a sub-unit slightly wounded. The regiment barracks Loorents who was recruited by the com- also without an officer. Keng, together were not attacked. munists. At the moment of attack of the with the veterans of the War of Independ- group of terrorists of 30 men Loorents grabbed a weapon from the sentry and ence Aaman and Brücker, received the The Signals Battalion Cross of Freedom for their brave actions. broke into garage and destroyed the en- gines of all tanks except of one. Loorents After warding off the attack officers A group of 15 terrorists broke into started the tank that was in order and started gathering in the Ministry of War the staff of the Signals Battalion that was drove into courtyard where an attack to and naturally it became the center of sup- situated in the same building with the th the crew room was happening. But Ser- pressing the uprising. 10 Regiment and killed the duty officer geant Major Rudolf Kaptein, 26, with the military official Adolf Eller. However, he experience of the War of Independence The 10TH Infantry Regiment managed to raise alarm and sergeant ma- woke up the crew by firing a shot to the jor of the Training Company, August ceiling from his revolver and together The regiment staff and officers’ mess Schaurup, 22, who had taken part in the with a junior NCO Alfred Klemmer, 19, in Juhkentali was attacked by an impact War of Independence, arranged a who belonged to the post-war generation, detachment of 27 men. The terrorists counterblow. Senior NCO Turi together took the unit to counter attack. The com- broke into the casino and murdered 2nd with junior NCOs Ehrenpreis and munists escaped into the garage but Lieutenants Harald Busch from Border Sternfeld were the first to storm out of Kaptein together with junior NCO Guard and Helmut Viiburg from the 10th the building and captured two terrorists Madisson and Private Tinn kicked them

136 Baltic Defence Review 2/1999 out of there as well. Then Kaptein jumped and unsighted fire of sub-machineguns rorists used to fetch weapons from Tondi. onto the tank and killed the traitor at sleeping cadets. Cadets Arnold Allebras, Terrorists were captured. Loorents firing his revolver into the tank Aleksander Tedder, Aleksander Tomberg through shutter. Kaptein and Klemmer and August Udras were killed, 9 cadets The Flight Division received the Cross of Freedom. were injured (Dreimann, Eckbaum, Terrorists also attacked the Division Hanni, Jakobson, Mikk, Mölder, Saulep, The Flight Division in Lasnamäe was Training Company in Gilde Street but Stamm and Steinbick). Noise woke up the the only military object that was tempo- here the company Commander Major second cadet company on the first floor. rarily taken over by an impact group of Johan Mahlapuu was present himself. He Headed by a 21-year old cadet with no 13 men. The reason for that was a re- quickly arranged defense and a few war experience, Albert Pessor the cadets cruited motorist Kaat who aided the at- machinegun bursts were enough to make ran to meet the communists on stairway. tack from inside and malevolent inactiv- the rebels escape. Cadet Pessor killed one and injured an- ity of two junior officers present (2nd Lieu- other terrorist, got injured himself and tenants Fleischer and Rätsepp). Both of- The Military Joint Educational fell. Cadets Paas and Johanson stormed ficers were shot according to the decision Establishments over him into hand-to-hand fight. An- of drumhead court-martial. Base was re- other rebel was killed. The communists occupied by the aircraftsmen under the The hand-weapon stores of the Food became frightened and escaped. 9 of them command of Majors Karl Haas (VR I/3) and Supplies Office were also under de- were captured at once. Cadet Pessor re- and Juhan-Karl Fischer and supported by fence of the educational establishments ceived the Cross of Freedom. an armored vehicle. One terrorist was that were located in Tondi and that made Captain Eduard Margusson (VR II/3) killed, the others escaped. The com- it the main target for rebels. 56 terrorists took a group of cadets and by following mander of the group forced a pilot- armed with submachineguns participated rebels reached their staff in the “Reimann motorist Päev to take him to Russia but in the attack. The attack began at 5.27 with house”. It was surrounded and the peo- Päev fooled the terrorist and landed on throwing grenades into the windows of ple inside it were captured. The rest of Estonian side. Kaat, however, managed barracks and the mess. Then the terrorists the terrorists staff team now escaped to to get to Russia by plane, the aircraft dressed in Estonian uniforms broke into Tõnismäe. At the same time cadet was returned. the quarters of cadets on the ground floor Schwalbe caught a patrol car that the ter-

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to Tondi in order to arm them. When the arrived in Toompea supported by an The Police Cavalry Reserve message of a failure in Tondi reached the armored vehicle. The communists escaped impact detachment, they gave up the at- in terror, those trapped in the castle The Cavalry Reserve in Lennuki Street tempt to free their comrades and scattered. jumped out of the windows into the was attacked by 37 terrorists in three Schnelli pond. Majority of them was groups that arrived at different times. The Toompea caught by a commando of Lieutenant Johannes Ambos. first group threw three grenades into the Three terrorists tried to attack also the windows but the grenades bounced back 17 terrorists were directed to attack the government buildings in Toompea. The house of a former Minister of Interior and exploded on the street. A bomb flew guard team of the Toompea castle put up Karl Einbund at 1 Kaevu Street. Grenade in a window but the terrorists had for- an energetic resistance. Private Jaan thrown into the window bounced back gotten to activate it and it did not ex- Bergson was killed, senior NCO Alksander and exploded on the street. It scared the plode. The policemen immediately opened Int was mortally wounded. The watch com- communists who escaped firing occasional fire from the windows and the rebels es- mando retreated while firing into the shots. caped tugging along also the groups that Parliament rooms. The terrorists hesitated had arrived with a delay. The communists to follow them but they killed a cleaning Balti Railway Station scattered delivering occasional cover fire. woman Marta Grünberg who had arrived The policemen who had ran out at once to work. At the same time house of the Balti Railway Station together with the th killed two rebels on the spot. Prime Minister was attacked. At the very 5 Police Department was conquered by same time the principal of Toomkooli a group of 16 rebels including Jaan Anvelt The Pre-Trial Prison School Eduard Grünwaldt drove to work who murdered Constable Mihkel Nutt and was killed together with his driver with his own hands. The district chief A group of 12 men was to conquer the Heinrich Burmeister. That was the limit Herman Ubin was killed there as well. Pre-Trial Prison and release recently con- of the communist achievements. General When the station was in the communists’ victed 149 undergrounders kept in there. Ernst Põder (VR I/1), Colonel Karl Parts hands the Minister of Transport Karl Kark They were planned to be the first reinforce- (VR I/1, II/2, II/3) and Colonel Oskar arrived. As three saboteurs had tried to ment to the rebels and a car had been sent Raudvere (VR I/3) impact detachments blow up Mustjõe bridge in Aegviidu and

138 Baltic Defence Review 2/1999 the Minister, having heard that, planned him. The station was taken back and four Having sawed two telephone poles in halves to go there himself. As soon as the Minis- rebels were captured alive. Rossländer was the rebels escaped with no obvious reason. ter stepped out of the car, the terrorists’ decorated posthumously with the Cross Near Russalka’s monument the ter- bullets hit him and he fell down dead on of Freedom. rorists killed a border guard member the pavement in front of the station. Anvelt escaping from the station acci- Johannes Kruusmann by shooting him The communists who had conquered dentally met Lieutenant Commander Karl in the back. The rebels devastated the 2nd the station agitated the railway workers Stern (VR II/3) and shot him on the spot. Police Department at Road and to join them but the latter refused. There- killed a senior duty constable Jaan Holts after, the furious communists murdered The Main Post Office and Constable Johannes Kumel, and left Edmund Mikker and Priidik Hoov. When after that in a hurry. young railway-trainees Kristov Tiik and The center of civilian communication Artur Fogt tried to run away in shock, in Vene Street was attacked by 12 terror- 7. Conclusion they were shot in cold blood. ists who rapidly took over an object that At the time when the communists were was not guarded. But soon General Põdder The uprising failed completely. At 12.45 busy murdering Estonian workers, the arrived with five men, an armored vehi- an official announcement was published platoons from the NCO School headed cle and a platoon from the Training Bat- in which, among other things, it was said: by Lieutenant Colonel Hermann talion of the NCO School. Two terror- In the capital there is complete order. Offices are Rossländer surrounded the station. At ists were shot and 8 were captured. doing their everyday work. Outside Tallinn all 8.15 he personally took the men to storm over the country there is peace According to since at the same moment Anvelt escaped The Main Station of Narrow- the decision of the government there is estab- from his detachment in a great hurry. The Gauge Railway Line lished martial law and Lieutenant General J. terrorists fought in despair among the Laidoner is appointed the Supreme Commander dead bodies that they had murdered. Lieu- The Station of Tallinn-Väike was con- of the Armed Forces with the powers of the Su- tenant Colonel Rossländer was killed. quered by 5 terrorists who killed the preme Commander. Major Karl Ainson (VR I/3) took over stationmaster’s assistant Johannes Laanus Already at 11.00 the Supreme Com- the leadership; 2nd Lieutenant Järv assisted and senior constable Hendrik Lossmann. mander issued Order No 1 in which he

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said among other things: Every rebellion cold feet before the uprising and did not against a lawful regime must be suppressed in come to the collecting locations but were the most decisive way I command to bring turned in by their comrades. 199 man- everyone rebelling against the lawful regime to aged to cross the border, including Anvelt the court martial. In his order half an hour and Rimm. The Communist Party in Es- later the Supreme Commander gave the tonia did not get on its feet again and in Governor General authority to the divi- 1930 there was not even an underground sion commanders in posts. center in Estonia. In 1938 the members In the course of the uprising 26 Esto- of the Estonian Communist Party were nian citizens were killed and 41 were in- counted 130, including the ones in jured. Out of the dead, 12 were military prison. people and 5 were police officials, out of the injured, the corresponding figures are 1 Communist Youth International and the 25 and 3. 14 rebels were killed with weap- Organization of War Veterans, Red Trade ons in hand. After the uprising two more Union International (Profintern); Children’s- shootings took place – on in , Women’s-, Peasants’-, Blacks’- and Sports’ Internationals, International Red Aid and Tupsi farm and in Rakfeld Worker Aid, Union of Friends of the Soviet apartment – where a total of 6 terrorists Union, International anti-imperialistic League were killed. 3 were shot when they at- and the Proletarian League of Freethinkers, tempted to escape. According to the deci- Revolutionary Union of Writers and Artists sion of a drumhead court-martial 155 ter- and World Committee to Fight War and Fas- rorists were shot. It included Lillakas, who cism. was captured in Aegviidu in Bogdanov 2 Mark at that time equals approximately apartment. Estonia in all got rid of 178 half a Crown today. enemy agents and 209 were sentenced to prison. Among 387 agents who were ren- dered harmless were also those who got

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