Alfons Rebane
From Metapedia
| Alfons V. R. Rebane | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Alfons Rebane in February 1944 | |||
| Born | 24 June 1908 Valga, Estonia | ||
| Died | 8 March 1976 (aged 67) Augsburg, Germany | ||
| Nationality | Estonian | ||
| Occupation | Officer | ||
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane (June 24, 1908 – March 8, 1976) was an Estonian military commander. During World War II, he commanded several Estonian units attached to Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, among them 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. He was awarded with Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, what has been frequently alleged as the highest military decoration that an Estonian has ever received.
Early life and career
Rebane was born in Valga in southern Estonia. In 1920 Rebane, son of a railway official, attended the secondary school in Narva. From 1926 to 1929 he attended the Estonian War Collegeand graduated it with first class honours. He served as an infantry officer on the armoured train "Captain Irv" of the 1st Armored Train Regiment as a second lieutenant in 1929. Married in 1931 to Agnia Soomets, they had one daughter Tiiu who died soon afterwards. On Estonian Independence Day on February 24 1933, Rebane was promoted to first lieutenant. From 1935 to 1939 served as junior instructor in the Defence League Viljandi County Territorial Regiment, between 1939-1940 in the Lääne County Territorial Regiment. From January to June 1940 Rebane was the Commandant of Lihula.
World War II
Rebane served as an officer in the Estonian Army until the Soviet troops occupied the country in 1940. The Soviets disbanded the Estonian Army and arrested and executed the entire Estonian high command. More junior officers, such as Rebane, were dismissed due to their lack of "political reliability" and were liable to be deported. For a while, Rebane worked on constructions, then fled into the forests when the Soviets began mass deportations in 1941. He established and led an anti-Soviet Forest Brothers unit in Northern Estonia in May 1941.
After German units had reached Northern Estonia, Rebane joined the German Wehrmacht and went on to fight against the Soviets in Northwestern Russia, subsequently becoming the captain of the 184th Security Battalion, then Major of the Estonian 658th Eastern Battalion. In February 1944 Major Rebane's unit was transferred to the Narva Front and attached to the Wehrmacht's 26th Army Corps on March 2. On April 27, 1944, the unit was released from the Wehrmacht and Rebane was reluctantly drafted into the newly-formed 20th (Estonian) Division of the Waffen-SS, eventually becoming colonel of the 47th Waffen-Grenadier Regiment. The Estonian division played a significant role in the Battle of Narva and the Battle of Emajõgi, holding back the Soviet re-occupation of Estonia until the September 1944 while suffering heavy casualties. Rebane's unit was then evacuated to Germany for refitting and saw more action on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. Despite being encircled several times, Rebane was amongst a small group of Estonian soldiers who in the final days of the war evaded capture by the Soviets and managed to reach the Americans to surrender. Soldiers who fought in units under his command were often colloquially referred to as the "Fox cubs" (Rebane translates to "fox" in Estonian). Rebane was nicknamed "Estonian Rommel" for his leadership and tactical skills.
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