The Kalev Infantry Battalion ( et, Kalevi jalaväepataljon) is an infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

of the

Estonian Land Forces The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. It is currently the largest ...

. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade and its primary task is to train conscription-based mechanized infantry units. The battalion has been previously known as the Kalevlaste Maleva and as the Kalev Single Infantry Battalion. The battalion is currently based at

Jõhvi Jõhvi is a town in northeastern Estonia, and the administrative centre of the Ida-Viru County. The town is also an administrative centre of Jõhvi Parish. It is situated about 50 km west of the Estonia–Russia international border. ...

and is commanded by Lieutenant colonel Ain Tiidrus.

History

1918–1940

Formed as ''Kalevlaste Malev'' in the beginning of 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 ...

on 20 December 1918, the battalion was named after the multi-

sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

Kalev, whose members founded the unit. The battalion fought in the

on the Eastern front against

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and in Latvia against 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, Kalevlaste Malev was moved to

Võru Võru (; vro, Võro; german: Werro) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish. History Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, according to the wish of the Empress Cather ...

in 1920. Kalevlaste Malev continued to operate training conscripts and guarding the border. On 1 July 1922, Kalevlaste Maleva was officially renamed Kalev Battalion and added to the 10th Infantry Regiment. On 28 October 1928, 10th Infantry Regiment was disbanded and Kalev Battalion was renamed Kalev Single Infantry Battalion, and moved to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. After the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

in 1940, the battalion was disbanded.

1992–present

Kalev Single Infantry Battalion was restored on 18 March 1992, and was initially based at

Kose Kose is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Harju County, 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Tallinn, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Kose Parish and lies next to Pirita River. At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population wa ...

, but moved to Jägala Army Base in the summer. The battalion was equipped with

BTR-80 The BTR-80 (russian: бронетранспортёр, bronyetransportyor, literally "armoured transporter") is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous ...

armoured personnel carriers and

BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car used by states that we ...

armoured scout cars. In 2002, the battalion was disbanded as a part of the reforms in the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary E ...

. Majority of the troops and armoured vehicles were transferred to the

Scouts Battalion The Scouts Battalion ( et, Scoutspataljon) is a battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade and acts as its rapid response unit. The battalion is currently based at Tapa and is commanded by Lieutenant colonel ...

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

On 1 January 2009, Kalev Infantry Battalion was restored again as a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade at Paldiski. The battalion was equipped with

Sisu XA-180 The Patria Pasi (earlier known as the Sisu Pasi) is a Finnish-made six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. The first variant was produced in 1983 and serial production began in 1984. It was des ...

armoured personnel carriers and participates in training professional soldiers for international missions and conscripts for mechanized infantry reserve units. The battalion relocated to

on 1 June 2020 where they now share the army base with Viru Infantry Battalion.

Current structure

Kalev Infantry Battalion: * Battalion Headquarters ** Infantry Company ** Combat Service Support Company ** Staff and Support Company

List of commanders

* Leopold Tõnson 1918–1919 * Otto Tief 1919–1920 * Oskar Luiga 1920–1921 * Friedrich Karl Pinka 1921–1925 * Anders Linquist 1925–1928 * Jakob Vende 1928–1934 *Johannes Uuskam 1934–1936 * Olav Mullas 1936–1937 * Vassili Külaots 1937–1940 *Albert Helme 1992–1993 *

Alar Laneman Alar Laneman (born 6 May 1962) is an Estonian politician. He served as Minister of the Interior in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Jüri Ratas from 18 November 2020 to 26 January 2021. Kristian Jaani was appointed as his successor. He is a ...

1993–1994 * 1994–1995 *Margus Lillemägi 1995–1996 * Artur Tiganik 1996–2000 *Sander Keskküla 2000 *Raul Tõnnov 2000–2001 * Margus Koplimägi 2009–2012 *Hannes Alesmaa 2012–2015 *Mait Müürisepp 2015–2019 * Ain Tiidrus 2019–present

References

External links

Official website
{{Estonian Military Battalions of Estonia Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in Estonia Military units and formations established in 1992 1992 establishments in Estonia