Estonian partisans

Estonian partisans, also called the Forest Brothers (Estonian: Metsavennad) were partisans who engaged in guerrilla warfare against Soviet forces in Estonia from 1940 to 1941 and 1944 to 1978.

This article is about Anti-Soviet partisans in Estonia. For Soviet partisans, see Soviet partisans in Estonia.

Armed Resistance in Estonia (Forest Brothers)
Part of Guerrilla war in the Baltic states and Occupation of the Baltic States

Group of Estonian partisans between 1945–1950
DateAugust 6, 1940 – June 22, 1941
July 1, 1944 – March 29, 1953
Location
Estonian SSR
Result

Soviet victory

  • Defeat of Estonian pro-independence partisans
Belligerents
Estonian Partisans

Soviet Union

NKVD (until 1946)
Strength
30,000 (total throughout 1944–1953) Unknown
Casualties and losses
>2,200 891 (Soviet estimate)

When the USSR occupied and annexed Estonia in 1940, former civilians, soldiers, and real and perceived opponents to the Kremlin were threatened with arrest and repression. People sought refuge in the forest after the mass deportation on June 14, 1941.

The largest organization of the Forest Brothers was the Armed Combat Union (RVL), which operated from 1946 to 1949. The most important RVL leaders were killed in the summer of 1949. Large battles between the Forest Brothers and KGB units ended in Estonia in 1953, although minor conflict continued until 1957.

The last Forest Brothers to be arrested were Hugo and Aksel Mõttus, who were captured in Võru County in the summer of 1967. August Sabbe remained at large until 1978, when he was either killed in Võru County by the KGB or drowned attempting to escape them.

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