Ernst-Johannes Põdder VR I/1 (10 February 1879 – 24 June 1932) was a famous

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n military commander in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

. In 1900 Põdder graduated from the Vilnius Military Academy. In the

Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

he achieved the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, and in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

became

Polkovnik ''Polkovnik'' (russian: полковник, lit=regimentary; pl, pułkownik) is a military rank used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states and oberst in several German-speaking and Scandin ...

(Colonel). In July 1917 he joined the Estonian national units as commander of the 3rd and 1st Estonian regiments. In 1918 Põdder was promoted to the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. During the German occupation of 1918, he was one of the main founders of the underground Defence League. At the beginning of the Estonian Liberation War, Põdder was Chief of Internal Security. On April 4, 1919, he became Commander of the 3rd Division, where his main achievement was a victory over the

Baltische Landeswehr The Baltic Landwehr or ("Baltic Territorial Army") was the name of the unified armed forces of Couronian and Livonian nobility from 7 December 1918 to 3 July 1919. Command structure The Landeswehr was subordinated to the German VI Reser ...

. After the war, Põdder commanded the 3rd Division and, after 1921, the 2nd Division. He actively participated in defeating the 1924 coup attempt. In 1926 he became a permanent member of the war council, as well as an active organizer of

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

. Ernst Põdder was the only honorary member of the

League of Liberators The Vaps Movement ( et, Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Keskliit, later ''Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Liit'', ''vabadussõjalased'', or colloquially ''vapsid'', a single member of this movement was called ''vaps'') was an Estonian political organization. Fou ...

. Põdder was a recipient of the Latvian military

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during ...

, 2nd class.

References

Kindralmajor Ernst Põdder
*

Ülo Kaevats Ülo Kaevats (29 September 1947 – 30 January 2015) was an Estonian statesman, academic and philosopher. In 1972, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Tartu with a qualification from a physicist and a rese ...

et al. 2000. ''Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14''. Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, {{DEFAULTSORT:Podder, Ernst 1879 births 1932 deaths People from Tartu People from Kreis Dorpat Members of the Vaps Movement Estonian major generals Imperial Russian Army officers Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class I Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class

See also

References