Wikipedia

Erna Raid

Erna Raid (Estonian: Erna retk) was an annual international military exercise and competition, one of the longest and most difficult in the world, held every August from 1995 to 2011 in Estonia. It was organized by the Erna Society and commemorates the actions of the long-range reconnaissance group 'Erna' in the summer of 1941. [1]

Competitors conducting a beach landing exercise

Background edit

Main article: Erna long-range reconnaissance group

The competition is named after the Erna long-range reconnaissance group (Estonian: Erna luuregrupp) and themed after its activities in the summer of 1941. In 1993, a group of enthusiasts followed the historical route of the Erna group of 1941 and came up with the idea of organizing a commemorative competition. A first try with only Estonian participants was held in 1994. In the autumn of 1994, the Erna society was founded, and in 1995, the first annual international competition was held.

Competition edit

The traditional parts of the competition were:

  • landing, in rubber boats, onto a "hostile" shore;
  • cross-country tactical movement and navigation, without night camp down, over a distance of around 150 kilometers while avoiding and escaping from "hostile" security forces;
  • various (and varying over the years) minigames during the competition. These may involve grenade throwing, combat first aid, and other military skills.

Foreign teams were always welcome to partake in the competition. In 2007, 28 teams from nine different countries participated: Estonia (18 teams), the Czech Republic (one), Denmark (one), Finland (two), Germany (one), Norway (two), Portugal (one), Sweden (one), and the United States (one), of which Portugal and the Czech Republic are newcomers. Teams from the United Kingdom have participated in earlier years (most recently, a British Territorial Army team in 2006), but only observed in 2007. A team from Cyprus also observed. Teams from the People's Republic of China have been traditionally successful in the competition and took 1st and 2nd place in 2002. Other successful teams have come from Finland and Norway.

Due to the home advantage attributed to the intimate knowledge of the terrain by the local teams, changes to the competition were discussed in 2011. [2]

In 2013, the competition was renamed the Admiral Pitka Recon Challenge after the Estonian War of Independence hero Johan Pitka and is now held in different locations throughout Estonia each year. [3]

Past results edit

The table below records the final results for the year's competition. It does not include retired and disqualified teams. DL is the acronym for the Defense League.

Position 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
1st   Scouts Battalion   DL Põlva   DL Tartu 1   DL Tartu 2   Reserve Officers   Reserve Officers   Scouts Bat. 1   Scouts Bat. 2   Finland 2   China 2   DL Järva   Border Guard   Border Guard
2nd   Kirde KRK   Scouts Battalion   DL Tartu 2   Reserve Officers / DL Tallinn   DL Tartu   Scouts Bat. 1   Recce Bat.   Reserve Officers   Scouts Bat.   China 1   Finland 2   Norway   Kalev Inf. Bat.
3rd   DL Harju 1   DL Tartu 2   Military Academy 2   Kuperjanovi Single Infantry Bn   Finland 2   Military Academy   Military Academy   Scouts Bat. 1   DL Järva   DL Harju   Border Guard   DL Harju   DL Pärnu
4th   Military Academy   Military Academy 1   Kuperjanovi Single Inf Bn   Border Guard   Police   DL Järva   Finland 1   Military School   Recce Bat.   Security Police   Logistics Bat.   AA Battery   China 2
5th   Border Guard   DL Järva 1   DL Tallinn 2   DL Tallinn 1   DL Järva   Scouts Bat. 2   China 2   DL Pärnu   China 2   Military Academy   China 2   Logistics Bat.   Finland 1
6th   DL Järva 2   DL Järva 2   DL Järva 1   Military Academy   Border Guard   DL Tartu   China 1   DL Järva   Military Academy   DL Järva   Reserve Officers   Finland 1   Guard Bat.
7th   DL Põlva   Border Guard   Military Academy 1   EDF Logistics Centre   Viru Bat.   Police   Air Defence Div.   Denmark 1   Border Guard   DL Tallinn   AA Battery   Reserve Officers   DL Võru
8th   DL Pärnu 2   DL Tartu 1   DL Põlva   DL Tartu 1   DL Tallinn / Reserve Officers   DL Tallinn   Sweden   Finland 2   China 1   Lithuania   China 1   Kalev Inf. Bat.   Denmark
9th   Finland 3   NE Territorial Defence District   DL Harju   DL Valga   Pärnu Bat.   Germany   Germany   Lithuania   Denmark   Reserve Officers   Guard Bat.   EDF HQ   DL Järva
10th   DL Pärnu 1   Kuperjanovi Inf Bn   Finland 2   Germany   Finland 1   Border Guard   Reserve Officers   Recce Bat.   DL Harju 2   Scout Bat.   Security Police   Security Police   Norway 1
11th   Nth. Guard Bat.   DL Tallinn Nõmme   DL Järva 2   DL Järva   Germany   EDF HQ   DL Järva   Logistic Bat.   DL Tallinn 2   Border Guard   Rescue Service   Finland 2   Military Academy
12th   Finland 2   DL Harju 1   EDF Log Centre CS Training Centre   Viru Single Infantry Bn   DL Harju   Canada   Guard Bat.   China 2   DL Tallinn 1   Finland   DL Tallinn   Military Academy   Reserve Officers
13th   Denmark 2   DL Tallinn 2   Finland 1   Reserve Officers 2   Scouts Bat.   Guard Bat.   DL Tartu   Air Defence Bat.   DL Võrumaa   Military School   Norway 1   Sweden   DL Põlva
14th   DL Tartu   DL Harju 2   Border Guard   DL Pärnu   Guard Bat.   Finland 1   Denmark 2   Military Academy   DL Pärnumaa   DL Võrumaa   Norway 2   Norway 2   China 1
15th   DL Tallinn 2   Lithuania   DL Women’s Corps Saaremaa   Lithuania   USA   Viru Bat.   DL Tallinn   Denmark 2   DL Harju 1   Norway 1   Signal Bat.   DL Võru   Sweden
16th   DL Järva   Belgium   DL Võru   DL Alutaguse Women’s Team   Denmark   Finland 2   Finland 2   China 1   Reserve Officers   Norway 2   Military Academy   Germany   United Kingdom
17th   DL Tallinn Nõmme   DL Pärnu   Denmark 1   Denmark 1   Military Academy   DL Valgamaa   Scouts Bat.   DL Võru   Austria   Romania   DL Põlva   DL Tallinn   Norway 2
18th   DL Pärnu 3   Military Academy 2   Denmark 2   DL Tallinn 2 (Toompea subunit)   Norway 1   USA   DL Võru   Finland 1   Engineering School   AA Battalion   Finland 1   Denmark 1   Italy 2
19th   Lithuania   Sweden 1   DL Tallinn 1   Denmark 3   Sweden   Denmark 1   Denmark 1   Sweden   Military School   Denmark 1   Sweden   China 1   Women's DL
20th   DL Harju Männiku   DL Harju 3   DL Women’s Corps Võru   Single Guard Bn   Women's DL   Great Britain   Pärnu Bat.   Germany   Finland 1   Finland 2   DL Harju   DL Järva   UK
21st   DL Tallinn Kalevi   DL Alutaguse Women's Team   DL Tallinn 3   Denmark 2   DL Võru   Belgium   USA   Guard Bat.   Lithuania   Sweden   EDF HQ   China 2
22nd   DL Harju 2   Sweden 2   USA   Norway 2   Artillery Group   DL Pärnu   Belgium   Police   text   Denmark   Rescue Service
23rd   Belgium   Finland 2   Belgium   Portugal   Women's DL Võru   Belgium   DL Tallinn   Rescue Service   Italy   USA Maryland   Italy 1
24th   Finland 4   Denmark   DL Women’s Corps Rapla   Denmark 3   Women's DL Võru   Romania   Sweden   EDF HQ   United Kingdom   United Kingdom
25th   Denmark 1   Norway 1   Latvia   Italy   Turkey   Guard Bat.   Rescue Service   Women's DL   Women's DL
26th   Prison Service   Denmark 2   Women's DL   United Kingdom   Women's DL   Lithuania   Italy 1
27th   Finland 1   USA   Poland   United Kingdom   Recce Battalion
28th   1.Infantry Bde Logistics Bat   United Kingdom   United Kingdom
29th   Georgia

Russian accusations of glorifying Nazism edit

See also: Erna long-range reconnaissance group § Aftermath

Since the competition's initiation, sectors of the Russian media have claimed the competition's namesake was an attempt to glorify collaboration with Nazi Germany. [1] [2] [3] [4] In 2007, high-ranking government officials sharply criticized the competition, calling it "the glamorization of Nazism" and expressing outrage over NATO members participating in the competition. [5][6] Estonian officials attribute this recent development to the ongoing campaign for the 2008 Russian presidential election. [7] Russian officials claim that the commemoration of the Erna group today is part of alleged efforts by the Estonian authorities to glorify the Nazi past (other parts of it being the relocation of a memorial to Red Army invaders and an official greeting from the Minister of Defense to veterans of a unit of Estonians conscripted into a division organized within the Waffen SS to defend Estonia). [5]

An analyst of the US-based think tank Jamestown Foundation believes this view follows Soviet and post-Soviet Russia's official logic on two counts: first, that resistance to the Red Army was inherently illegitimate and conflatable with "fascism" in an occupied country or one targeted for occupation; second, that Estonia should be criticized for remembering an act of national resistance and its casualties. [8]

Estonia's Minister of Defense, Jaak Aaviksoo, called the accusations "regrettable" and recalled that the Erna group saved the lives of many civilians from the vengeful Soviet paramilitary units, and specifically pointed out cases of burning farmers alive along with their farms in Kutla. [9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ British Embassy in Tallinn August 5, 2006: ERNA RAID 2006 1–5 August Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "This Year's Erna Endurance Event Could Be Last in Current Location". ERR. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  3. ^ "Erna Raid Renamed After Admiral Pitka". ERR. 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  4. ^ Об участии эстонского легиона СС в военных преступлениях в 1941-1945 гг. и попытках пересмотра в Эстонии приговора Нюрнбергского трибунала Archived 2012-07-30 at archive.today (in Russian)
  5. ^ a b "Поход Эрна-2007". Часть истории или популяризация нацизма? (in Russian)
  6. ^ Russia complains about military competition
  7. ^ Eesti Päevaleht 7 August 2007: Paet: süüdistused on osa Vene valimiskampaaniast
  8. ^ "PACE Chairman bending to the Kremlin wind against Estonia". Jamestown Foundation. 2007-08-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  9. ^ "Erna Raid and NKVD Destruction Battalions". Estonian Ministry of Defence. 2007-08-09. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  10. ^ "Aaviksoo: Erna retk ei möödunud ilma Venemaa laimukampaaniata" (in Estonian). Postimees. 2007-08-09. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2007-08-09.

External links edit

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