How Reola was liberated

A description of the Battle of Reola, one of the turning points in the War of Independence in January 1919, in which the Estonian forces thwarted the Red Army’s attempt to capture Tartu.

Reola Manor stands above its surroundings, its lands gradually descending towards Tartu. The manor was built from stone and enclosed with a high stone wall so that it resembled a fortress. Estonian soldiers edged their way through the open field of rye, which was partially covered in snow, towards the manor. The Bolsheviks had a dozen or more machine guns positioned in the manor’s attic and around the yard. They had copybook defensive positions, with the Estonian formations in full view. The Estonian assault on the manor was audacious, as the Bolsheviks could have taken them all down and the Estonians returning fire did nothing to those hiding behind the stone wall. It would have been much wiser to encircle the manor; it was surrounded by forests on two sides. But the commanders ordered that the attack be launched straight over the open field, with nowhere to take cover. They also lacked machine guns, being equipped with just one or two automatic rifles per unit. No wonder the Estonians lost a lot of men.