Erna Raid

The 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 since 1995 to 2011 in Estonia. It is organised 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

The competition is named after the Erna long-range recce 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 international competition was held, and has been so annually since then, growing in size and the number of participants over time.

Competition

The traditional parts of the competition are:

  • landing, in rubber boats, onto a "hostile" shore;
  • cross-country tactical movement and navigation, without night campdown, over a distance of around 150 kilometres 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 have always been welcome to partake in the competition. In 2007, 28 teams from nine different countries participated: Estonia (18 teams), 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

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 Defence 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

Since the competition's initiation, sectors of the Russian media claimed the competition's namesake was an attempt to glorify collaboration with Nazi Germany.[4][5][6][7] In 2007, high-ranking government officials sharply criticized the competition, calling it "glamorization of Nazism" and expressing outrage over NATO members participating in the competition.[8][9][10] Estonian officials attribute this recent development to the ongoing campaign for the Russian presidential election of 2008.[11] Russian officials claim that 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 Defence to veterans of a unit of Estonians conscripted into a division organized within the Waffen SS to defend Estonia).[8]

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.[12]

Estonia's Minister of Defence, 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 Kautla.[13][14]

References
  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. Хоть кровь из носу, но до цели дойдем Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  5. Эстонские власти вновь признались в любви к Гитлеру (in Russian)
  6. В Эстонии играют в гитлеровцев (in Russian)
  7. 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)
  8. "Поход Эрна-2007". Часть истории или популяризация нацизма? (in Russian)
  9. "Russia's FM: Countries participating in Erna Raid taint cherished memory of their own soldiers". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  10. Russia complains about military competition
  11. Eesti Päevaleht 7 August 2007: Paet: süüdistused on osa Vene valimiskampaaniast
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. "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.
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