WE WERE ESTONIAN SOLDIERS. Carl Orav

newly selected military commanders.

Chapter 2

      Bits of War Memories

      Hugo Kubja

      Orientation map of Lt. Hugo Kubja’s war experience:

      1. Military Academy, 1936 – 1940

      2. Pärnu, 1940

      3. Petseri, 1940

      4. Irboska, 1941

      5. Haystack, 1941

      6. Petseri, 1941

      7. Battle of Tartu, 1941

      8. Leningrad front, 1942

      9. Tallinn, 1943

      10. Petseri, 1943

      11. Escape from Saaremaa, 1944

      Hugo Kubja was born on February 23, 1913, in Pala, Tartumaa, Estonia. He graduated from the Tartu Real High School and joined the army, graduating as an Ensign from the Estonian Officers Candidate School in 1933. He was accepted to the Estonian Military Technical Academy in 1936 and promoted to Second Lieutenant upon graduation in 1940.

      After graduation from the Estonian Military Technical Academy, I chose the 9th Infantry Battalion at the town of Pärnu as the place to start my military career. There I was assigned to be the leader of one of the units of the 1^st Company. The Academy had strongly recommended that new officers entering the service should act very humbly and conservatively and concentrate on observing the professionals. So, I tried. The activities here were very mundane and boring – marching, learning songs, and singing.

      Eventually, we were required to elect political committees that were associated with the Red Army. There was to be a political recitation at a large military social event and I was assigned the task of making the preparations for it. Everything went well during the rehearsals, but we failed miserably at the main event. Right about this time, they started looking for political leaders for all the military units. Younger officers were part of this search and were interviewed for their suitability from the socialistic viewpoint. When I stated that my father had a 750 acre farm near Tartu, they found me unfit for the assignment. Likewise a schoolmate of mine, Second Lt. Linsi, also failed. The interviews for our unit soon ended since an Estonian, Major J. Ein, showed interest for this political position. Our relationship with the major immediately deteriorated. He showed his dislike for us, presumably because we were considered unfit as Communists.

      One day the top brass of the division came for an inspection, but they could not find Major Ein. Non-commissioned officers were sent out to find him but failed. The battalion commander asked me to notify Major Ein of the need for his presence at a top level military meeting. That evening I took my wife to the officers’ mess for dinner and encountered Major Ein. When I notified him of the meeting, he burst out cussing and swearing at me. I couldn’t stand it and reminded him that it was inappropriate to carry on in this manner in front of other officers and their wives. My response took him off guard. He then proceeded with an apology that dragged out for some time because of his inebriated condition. I found out later that he had not forgotten this incident. He became the 9^th Battalion’s true, energetic, political leader and a Red Army loyalist.

      On September 10, 1940, the 3^rd, 6^th, and 9^th Battalions were ordered to Petseri on the Russian border to form the 171^st Rifle Regiment. The people of Pärnu became very curious when we pulled out. Nobody knew where we were heading. When all the troops were on board the train at the station there was a mass of people there to send us off. We received gifts of flowers, wine, and other items.

      Farewell packages for the Estonian troops.

      Major Ein was responsible for our transport, and I was made his security officer. The air was electrified when people joined in with a very patriotic Estonian song. This, of course, rubbed our political leader Major Ein the wrong way. He shrieked at me to demand an end to the singing since I was the security officer. I replied that all troops on the train were orderly and that the singers are civilians who I did not have any authority over. I suggested that he, as our leader, might be able to stop it. Instead he stormed off to his wagon, presumably to be with his wine bottle.

      Later, I found that Major Ein was in charge of preparing reserve officers for mobilization to Russia. He did not go there with the men and was arrested when the Germans arrived. I was questioned regarding the major’s background and was obligated to report on his enthusiasm for the Communist cause.

      Major J. Ein escaped to the west at the end of the war. I know that there were at least two other Estonian majors with the name Ein and I do not wish to cast a shadow on the reputation of the others.

The 171st Rifle Regiment and Deserting the Red Army

      In May of 1941, the regiment was relocated from Petseri to Camp Värska. This was in a beautiful natural setting among fir trees adjacent to Lake Ersava. After we arrived, there was an order issued for all senior officers to report for further training in Russia at the Frunze Academy. Our regiment’s commander, Major Tuvikene, received such an order. Tuvikene was a hard working and patriotic officer. He had to give up his pistol upon leaving. I was responsible for arms and ammunition at the camp, and he told me, when he relinquished his weapon, that we would probably never see each other again. Later I heard that he had deserted and found a hiding place with relatives in Valga. Unfortunately these relatives were on the deportation list, and the major was found there when the troops came knocking.