The Scouts Battalion ( et, Scoutspataljon) is a

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 are ...

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 acts as its rapid response unit. The battalion is currently based at

Tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

and is commanded by Lieutenant colonel Eero Aija.

History

Estonian War of Independence

In November 1918,

Estonian American Estonian Americans ( et, Ameerika eestlased) are Americans who are of Estonian ancestry, mainly descendants of people who left Estonia before and especially during World War II. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, around 29,000 Amer ...

entrepreneur and

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 ...

enthusiast Henry Reissar returned to Estonia and turned to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

(then Ministry of War) with a proposition of forming a voluntary military unit, financed by himself, in order to help defend Estonia. Having received such permission, the unit was formed on 21 December 1918, in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

, where the first volunteers took their oaths in the ruins of Viljandi Castle, and Friedrich-Karl Pinka was appointed commander of the newly formed unit. On 3 January 1919, the company-sized unit was sent to the front against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. On 23 January 1919, a 43-man unit of Scouts captured the Pikksaare Train Station, defended by 524 Red Army troops. The Scouts fought mostly alongside

armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a faci ...

units and acquitted themselves well in combat, manifesting greater morale than the regular conscript units. The Scouts took part in several major battles including the attack against the

Krasnaya Gorka fort Krasnaya Gorka (Красная Горка meaning Red Hill) is a coastal artillery fortress in Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Kotlin Island and the Baltic Flee ...

in October 1919 and the Battle of Krivasoo in November – December 1919. On 1 December 1919, the Scouts Regiment ( et, Scoutspolk) was formed as a part of the Armoured Train Division.

1920–1940

After the signing of the Peace Treaty of Tartu, many servicemen were demobilized and returned to civilian life. From 1921-28, the Scouts unit was reduced in size and continued to serve as a part of the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 10th Infantry Regiment. On 1 October 1928, the unit was renamed Scouts Single Infantry Battalion. The battalion was based at

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 '' ...

, from where it was moved to Uuemõisa in 1932. 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.

2001–present

The Scouts Battalion was restored on 29 March 2001, as a fully professional unit. The Scouts Battalion has actively participated in international operations together with other

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

member states, including the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

. The battalion is currently equipped with

Combat Vehicle 90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90; Sw. ''Stridsfordon'' 90, Strf90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (''Försvarets Materielverk'', FMV), Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s to e ...

infantry fighting vehicles and

Patria Pasi 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.

Current structure

Scouts Battalion: * Battalion Headquarters ** A Infantry Company ** B Infantry Company ** C Infantry Company ** Combat Support Company ** Staff and Support Company

List of commanders

* Artur Tiganik 2001–2004 * Indrek Sirel 2005–2006 * Aivar Kokka 2006–2009 *

Vahur Karus Vahur Karus is an Estonian military personnel. Since 1993 he has worked for Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces ...

2009–2013 *

Andrus Merilo Andrus Merilo (born 2 June 1973) is an 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 ...

2013–2016 *Tarmo Kundla 2016–2019 *Eero Aija 2019-present

References

External links

Official website
{{Battalions of Estonia Military history of Estonia Estonian War of Independence Battalions of Estonia Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in Estonia