Ernst Põdder VR I/1 (February 10, 1879 Aleksandri Parish, Võrumaa, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 - June 24, 1932 Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

) was a famous Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n military commander in the Estonian War of Independence.

In 1900 Põdder graduated from the Vilnius Military Academy. In the Russo-Japanese war

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 he achieved the rank of Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, and in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 became Polkovnik

Polkovnik

Polkovnik is often a military rank in Slavic countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states. However, in the Ukraine, polkovnyk was an administrative rank similar to a governor...

 (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

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

. 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

3rd Division (Estonia)

The 3rd Division of the Estonian Army, was one of the four Estonian divisions created during the Estonian War of Independence, which was active till the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Since the restoration of independence in 1991 there are no divisions currently among the Estonian Defence...

, where his main achievement was victory over the Baltische Landeswehr

Baltische Landeswehr

Baltische Landeswehr was the name of the unified armed forces of the Couronian and Livonian nobility from 7 December 1918 to 3 July 1919.- Command structure :...

.

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

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

. Ernst Põdder was the only honorary member of the League of Liberators

League of Liberators

Vaps Movement, the Union of Participants in the Estonian War of Independence was originally an Estonian association of veterans of the Estonian War of Independence , later also non-veterans were accepted as its members. The organisation was founded in 1929, emerged as a mass anti-socialist and...

. Põdder is recipient of the Latvian military Order of Lāčplēsis

Order of Lacplesis

The Order of Lāčplēsis, the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of the Commander of Latvian Army, during the Latvian War of Independence, Jānis Balodis. The Lāčplēsis Order is awarded in the first, second and third class. Initially, a holder of...

, 2nd class.

See also

• Estonian War of Independence
• Battle of Wenden
• Freikorps in the Baltic
  Freikorps in the Baltic
  After 1918, the term Freikorps was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around the German Empire, including in the Baltic states as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I...