The fate of Alexander Stebel, the battery commander.
The fate of the legendary battery commander, Alexander Stebel, is overshadowed by a veil of mystery.
According to the official version, he was imprisoned by the Germans and executed in the Valga prison camp. This could be done in a particularly cruel way: Stebel poured water at minus degrees and he froze to death. According to the second version, the politicians imprisoned in Sõrve, disguised as ordinary soldiers, started a fight in the prison camp, during which Stebel died. A few decades ago, wartime cattle boys were still alive, according to which politicians killed Stebel, a popular boy, before fleeing from Mentus because the latter did not want to abandon his men. His body was buried in the stone garden of Karuste village. It seems the least likely to be heard that Stebel went into captivity to cooperate with the Germans, survived the war and died a natural death.
Tõnu Veldre's conversations with local residents 1998-2000
Related objects
The Coastal Battery No 315 command post (Stebel)
This Coastal Defence Battery Command centre is situated in a now deserted part of the village of Sääre.
The coastal defence battery was named after its commander, Captain Aleksandr Stebel. Construction began in May 1940 and the battery was completed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The battery deterred German marines in Lõu Bay and provided covering fire for the Red Army’s Lõpe-Kaimri defensive line. The artillery was destroyed during the Red Army retreat in October 1941, after which the lower levels of the barbettes were flooded. The complex comprised two artillery barbettes mounting two 180-mm guns, a command centre, a fire control tower in the shape of a windmill, a generator and a heating plant.
Unfortunately, these intriguingly engineered battery positions are situated on private property and are difficult to locate. As such, anyone interested will have to make do with viewing the command centre from the outside, as its lower level is submerged. The centre was drained in 2010, but had filled up with water again just a few months later.
