Karl Parts
Estonian military commander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl Parts VR I/1, VR II/2, VR II/3 (15 July 1886 in Palupera Parish, Estonia – 1 September 1941 in Kirov, Soviet Union) was an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence.
Karl Parts | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 15 July 1886 |
| Died | 1 September 1941 (aged 55) |
| Allegiance |  Estonia |
| Branch | Estonia |
| Service years | 1914–1917 Imperial Russian Army 1918–1925 Estonian Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Estonian Army |
| Conflicts | World War I Estonian War of Independence |
| Awards | Cross of Liberty |
| Other work | Farmer |
In 1915, he graduated from Peterhof Military School, and participated in World War I. In July 1917, Parts joined the Estonian national units. During the German occupation in 1918, he organized the underground Estonian Defence League. In the Estonian Liberation War, Karl Parts led and organized the armoured trains, and in December 1918, became the commander of the Armoured Trains Division. He commanded in the biggest armoured conflict of war that resulted in the capture of Pskov.[clarification needed] After the war, Parts served as commander of the Armoured Trains Brigade from 1921 to 1923, and later as inspector. He actively participated in defeating the 1924 coup attempt. In 1925, he retired and became a farmer. In 1940, Soviet occupation authorities arrested Parts, and he was shot in imprisonment the year after. Six weeks before his death, a Soviet destruction battalion doused his son Emil-Mauritius (1912–1941) with acid and killed him.[1][2]
