Alfons Rebane: Difference between revisions
Petri Krohn (talk | contribs) Ooops, wrong version! |
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[[Category:People from Valga]] |
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[[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross]] |
[[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross]] |
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[[Category:Nazi collaborators]] |
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[[et:Alfons Rebane]] |
[[et:Alfons Rebane]] |
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Revision as of 14:15, 13 June 2007
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane (born June 24, 1908, in Valga, Estonia; died March 8, 1976, in Augsburg, Germany) was an Estonian military commander.
Rebane served as an officer in the Estonian army in the 1930s until the Soviet troops occupied the country in 1940. In 1941 he led an anti-Soviet guerilla unit in Northern Estonia. After Germany had taken control of Estonia, he joined the Wehrmacht and went on to fight against the Soviets in Northwestern Russia, subsequently becoming commander of the 658th (Estonian) Ost Battalion. In early 1944 Major Rebane's unit was allowed to transfer back to Estonia, however it was merged into the newly-formed 20th (Estonian) Division of the Waffen-SS. The Estonian division played a significant role in the battles of Narva and Tannenberg line, holding back the Soviet invasion of Estonia until 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 western allies for surrender.
Rebane became one of Estonia's most decorated soldiers. During the war he was promoted up to SS-Standartenführer (colonel), and awarded with the Knight's Cross and the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves for extreme bravery in the battlefield. Soldiers who fought in units under his command were often colloquially referred to as the "Fox cubs" (Rebane translates to "fox" in Estonian).
In 1947 Rebane moved to England and joined the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). There he played a key role in directing anti-Communist resistance movements in Soviet-occupied Estonia and other Baltic countries. He led the Estonian portion of MI6's Operation Jungle well into the 1950s.
In 1961 Rebane moved to Germany and stayed there until his death in 1976. Rebane's ashes were returned to Estonia and reburied with honours in 1999.