Paju Vabastamine [Estonia, Finland, Latvia]

[Estonia]

January 31, 1919. Paju, Estonia

Another freezing winter day, Estonia thought as he observed across the long field covered in snow. At the end of the field was a small hill, and on top of that hill was the Paju manor. Yesterday, he and the men of the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion were in control of the manor and the hill. However, they had been forced to retreat behind this tree line, three kilometers away from Paju. He and the 300 or so men of the battalion had suffered heavy casualties in the initial fighting. To be honest, he wondered how Raivis had been able to gather at least four times the number of troops her had. Not only that, but an armoured train and twice the number of artillery pieces he had! Not only that, but he also destroyed railway bridge in Sangaste! Completely outnumbered, outgunned, and without armoured train to support his troops, all seemed hopeless for the Estonians.

“Damn it, Raivis, how could you betray me like that?” he murmured to himself, “Why would you cling to Russia like that? He’s the one who’s giving you all those guns and equipment, isn’t he?” he continued to mutter. Meanwhile, all he had was a German Luger that he got when the war between Germany and Russia was still raging, and an officer’s sabre. His men only had a dozen of machineguns and two guns. The artillery had begun to fire upon the manor a few minutes ago, shelling the enemy position to hopefully ‘soften’ it up before the imminent assault. It was a classic strategy, but it also ruined any chances of surprise (not that there were any chances of surprise by now, anyways). All he could hope is that the artillery will cause as much damage as possible, which couldn’t be difficult considering how many communist Latvians were cramped into such a relatively small estate. He kept watching the manor from behind the tree line, safe in the cover of the trees and the mound separating the farmlands as the artillery shells exploded over the Latvian positions.

As he carefully watched the show of the artillerymen, he didn’t notice that Leitnant Julius Kuperjanov, the commander of the Tartumaa Partisans, was now standing by him. “Kolonel von Bock?” he said, saluting him as Eduard turned towards the Lieutenant after snapping out of his thoughts, returning the salute.

“Is something out of order, Leitnant?” Estonia asked. Honestly, it wasn’t hard to deduce what the commander wanted to tell him, but it wasn’t a good idea to make assumptions yet.

Kuperjanov pointed at the manor being shelled. “We will try to retake the manor today. I’ll be leading an assault in a couple of minutes.” the commander replied, grabbing his rifle off his shoulder.

Estonia raised an eyebrow. “Already? Shouldn’t we wait until the guns go silent?” he asked, “Also, shouldn’t we wait for Ti- for the Finnish volunteers to arrive? It would double our numbers and I really can’t say no to more artillery…” Eduard continued. Honestly, he was afraid that a frontal assault would cause more casualties.

“The men will start advancing under the cover of the artillery. The guns will go silent when we get close enough. They will be able to fire on us when the shelling stops, but we should be close enough when they start peeking out of the manor.” Kuperjanov explained, “If we can recapture the manor before our Finnish brothers can arrive, we will have the fresh troops we need in order to take back the town of Valga.”

Eduard nodded. He didn’t really have any more objections. However, he still had some doubts. Not only were the Latvians superior in numbers, but they were the one defending and had a great defensive position. It was a really reckless plan, but then again, waiting for the Finns would give more time for the Latvians to prepare their defenses and to get additional reinforcements, which would make the situation much worse than it already is. “Alright, get the men ready, Leitnant.” he ordered. The commander left and rallied the other officers. A couple of minutes later, the orders were given and Leitnant Kuperjanov stood on the tree line, the artillery still firing.

“Fix bayonets, men! Today, we kick the blasted Red scum out of Paju. Tomorrow, we’ll kick the bastards out of Valga!” he cheered, raising his fist, “For Freedom! For Estonia! Forward!” he ordered, leading the battalion out of the tree line first. The Estonian soldiers cheered before they followed the commander onto the snowy fields. Eduard was smiling as he couldn’t help but feel so proud of his men. Quickly, Eduard found himself marching forward alongside the partisans.

The Estonian partisans continued to advance through the snow-covered field, Paju still in sight. He could see that it was still being shelled by the artillery. They slowly marched towards the hill and the manor. They were getting closer and closer and eventually, they were close enough for the Latvian riflemen to be able to hit them. The Estonians were at around 400 meters from Paju now as the Estonian artillery went silent. Eduard felt his heart stop; it was now only a matter of seconds before actual battle would begin...

---

(( I'm terribly sorry to have taken so long to start this, but I finally did. I remember that we had agreed on the following posting order: Estonia, Latvia, Finland. I don't think Finland will join Eesti on the battlefield until the Estonians have reached the hillside of the manor, though. ))

[latvia]

Latvia sat, back the wall, shaking. He always did that, but at this time it was not so bad...that would come later. He didn't want to look out a window, much less fire the gun he clenched tightly in his hands. It was ice cold, and clenching the gun hurt, but Latvia's mind was pre-occupied. Again the white snow wouldn't be so pure looking as it was supposed to look. The trembling made it look like he was cold, that was 50% of the problem, but there was more.

"E-Estonia...."

How did he get into this mess, it happened so fast. It felt like the occurrences lately had all joined together and bulled him over. He wanted to be free, but why did so many not want him to have this one wish. What was worse, was now he was barricading someone else's desire for liberty, and his brother at that. In all reality, the Young Latvians the movement for his entire identity started in Tallinn, where he learned about himself. He had just taken whatever was given to him before...but now, he wanted what he knew he deserved! Of course, the Germans ruled, and then the Russians, then Germans, Russians Germans...it was dizzying. When he learned about communism, it sounded amazing. So many people in his land, oppressed and poor, ruled by foreigners with gems on their fingers; they could all be free! But he had no idea he'd just be a puppet for Russia. He wasn't even just that, he was still being ruled by the Baltic Germans, and by the Freikorps...more Germans. He thought communism would make everything better.

Disappointment clouded everything he thought about. He wish he could do it, push them all out. Tell them what was going to happen and how. Even if he had to thrash them to do it...but...it seemed so impossible. Such a large task, for so small a boy. he wasn't strong enough. Russia had made it clear that the Estonians must not get a hold of the railroads. He made it clear that Latvia would wish he could mortally die like his men if he did not hold back the Estonians. Fighting them broke Latvia's heart, but his cowardice ruled over all. He just decided to bend to their will, and he hated himself for it.

The mansion shook and shattered as artillery shot out of the woods, towards Paju manor. Men yelled and and scurried. Clicks and other various sounds filled the young nations ears. But he just st there, staring at his gun as if it might kill him. Suddenly he was shaken fiercely, but not by his own fear or artillery.

"Hey! Boy! Snap out of it!" He heard a voice.

He turned his head up to see a young man of 23 or so speaking loudly (so he could hear him over the gun fire) with his hand on Raivis' shoulder.

"Be alert little one, don't be afraid! I already know you have much courage...volunteering to fight like this... you truly must love your homeland of Latvia!" he said, with an uneasy smile creasing his face. Latvia stared, his eyes filled with some sort of wonder. Well, he did love his people yes...but this war did nothing for them! Who...had told him that!?

"A-ah...W...well" Latvia started. An explosion. Gunfire.Screaming. "Actually-"

"Sorry I have to run! Stay strong!"

And with that he ran into the dust and smoke. Latvia put his hand up, but to no avail. He was gone. "Perhaps I should have been more forceful." Latvia thought, gulping a bit. Of course, seeing as he was considered a young volunteer...he probably wouldn't have listened to him anyway. His Boss knew that they could not explain Raivis being a commander in any way. He simply looked to small. As of now he looked 12, and it didn't help that he was naturally naive anyway. He hadn't volunteered though, this was simply forced upon him. He and Estonia had never been super close, no. It was Finland that Estonia felt close to. Latvia admitted he was a little jealous, he always wanted a nice big family...well with he way things were going...he'd never get one. Why would Estonia even want to talk to him after this? He sighed and looked down at his gun, round tears falling to the ground.

"It's not my....I didn't want...this...it this way..." he said softly, as if his brother could hear him.

Suddenly he realized how quiet it was. The Estonians had ceased firing. Latvia honestly did not think he could win...had he? He had pushed them back but...

Wait....his men were still shooting though... what was going on. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if he hoped it would all go away if he did. Since it didn't, he opened them, and then dashed down the hall, towards where the shooting was, his huge helmet flopping from side to side as he went. He ducked down and peeked out of a window. The Estonians! They were getting so close!

"U-Using the artillery fire as a cover? Ah! Only my brother!" he said, laughing nervously. Latvia was never one for battle tactics, though he wasn't totally bad at thinking battles . He just didn't like doing it. He greatly admired Estonia's wit and intelligence though.

Now was the time for action...they were in range of fire...and Latvia was supposed to rain hell upon them. Again his gun was clenched hard as he stared at the soldiers approaching. He must do it. His quivering a long the with amount of grip on the rifle made the smaller parts rattle and shake. He had to do it.

Latvia raised the gun shakily, closed one eye and prepared to fire. But there was no way he could aim, what with him shaking like a rattlesnakes tail. Several shots were heard, from his side. They had already started.

"I...I must...!" he yelled and then pulled the trigger. The kick hurt like hell, but the fact he had actually fire on them, on his brother, hurt just as much. He brought his knees and gun close to his body, shut his eyes and tried to erase the memory and feeling...so he could do it again.

[Finland]

The sound of footsteps against frozen cement and stone thundered loudly into the otherwise still January morning as The Sons of the North marched towards Valga. There came no complaints from the troops of the cold weather or aching feet, though it stood to reason that both of these things were obviously present.

Tino’s eyes were set hard against the snowy horizon and the dark road leading into it. A chilling breeze pushed back against his face, but if he felt it, he was making no indication. His mind was focused on but one thing – helping Estonia escape the heavy hand of the Russian Communists.

Only a month ago had the troops arrived in Tallinn, ready and willing to defend their brothers. Only a year ago had the Finns, themselves, become independent.

After attaining his own freedom in December of 1917, Tino’s people had suffered a sharp division in interest. For five months, the Suojeluskunta, a collection of draftees and Jägers, pitted themselves against the socialist Punakaarti. The future of Finland rode on this tense, bloody battle. When it ended, the White Guards proved victorious and Finland ceased to be a communist nation, pushing all Red influences away.

Still, the tensions remained even months later. Tino’s people and the nation-spirit, himself, had been traumatized by the civil war. Many of the casualties had been mere children, no older than Tino himself. Dozens of supporters of the Red cause emigrated to Russia. A bitter air of loathing and fear settled over the new nation. The nation remained divided.

Admittedly, Tino was proud of Eduard for finally wanting to shed Russia’s rule. They’d spent many years together under the man’s rule and the Finn knew Ivan could bring no good. He was a tyrant if ever a tyrant existed. His mind was so twisted that the Finn wasn't sure if he even had a moral compass anymore.

Even so, despite the bold support with which the Finn showered his Estonian brother, a tiny voice screamed from somewhere in the recesses of his mind that You need Russia. You’ll falter and lose your way without him. You – you and your brother – cannot stand on your own.

The Finn adjusted the bayonet-equipped rifle against his shoulder, doing his best to suppress such ideas from further bubbling up in his mind.

“Sotilasmestari Väinamöinen,” Colonel Hans Kalm addressed him, giving a sharp salute. Tino returned the gesture, stepping out of line to let the soldiers march on as he talked to his commander.

“Eversti Kalm?” His voice came out as a tired grumble, the constant marching from Tallinn to Valga having very little to do with this.

“The Reds have taken Paju Manor. Latvian riflemen, mostly. They’ve pushed the Estonian partisans back across an expanse of open field about three kilometers from the manor. Luutnantti Kuperjanov is moving to recapture it by the end of the day, but the Estonians are severely outmatched in terms of artillery and armour. We are to assist them immediately. As it is, we should be able to reach the manor within the hour.”

Tino gave a sharp, “Sir!” and another salute before doing an about face towards the three hundred men marching in file to relay his commander’s message, ordering that they pick up the slack in their marching.

If there was anything he could do to help his brother, Finland would see that such measures were taken. Fighting Latvia, such a young, misguided nation, held little appeal, but the poor child had dared to threaten Estonia. He'd been foolish to side with Russia even as his people were struggling for their own independence. There was nothing Finland could do but retaliate.

“Hold on, Eduard,” he whispered to himself.

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Thanks for being so patient with me, guys! Sorry this post is a bit short; I'll be able to write more once Fin gets onto the battle scene.[/size]

[Estonia]

The smoke caused by the exploding artillery shells barely had dissipated when the Latvians opened fire on the battalion. Around him, Eduard could see many of his men falling. Damn it, they hadn’t even reached the hillside and they were getting such heavy casualties! They needed to keep moving. If they reached the hillside, they would be covered from most of the enemy fire, most importantly the Latvian machine guns that were now wreaking havoc on the Estonians. Eduard stopped for a moment, looking at the frightened men behind him. “Don’t stop running! Charge! For the Fatherland!” he ordered, relaying his orders with his hands as if his men could not hear him. The Estonian soldiers, with renewed morale, yelled as they began to charge towards Paju. Estonia turned around and, with a boost of adrenaline, charged alongside his troops.

The Estonians continues to run across the field, trying to reach the hillside despite being under heavy machine gun and rifle fire. Eduard tried his best to ignore the dying soldiers as they fell near him. Although it was traumatic to see some of his people being killed so quickly, the adrenaline rush given by the atmosphere of the battlefield made sure that he could keep running for the last few meters until the hillside.

However, only a few meters away from the bottom of the small hill, he notices that Leitnant Kuperjanov was kneeling down, trying to help one a wounded soldier. Suddenly, a bullet pierces through the Leitnant’s chest. Shocked, Eduard watched helplessly as Kuperjanov clutched his chest where his wound was, as if desperately trying to stop the bleeding. In an instant, Estonia ran to where Leitnant Kuperjanov was. By the time he arrived, the Leitnant had fallen on his side and the soldier he was tending to a moment ago was dead. Eduard kneeled by the dying officer. “L-Leitnant! H-Hold on!” he managed to stutter before moving behind him, holstering his pistol before taking hold of the Leitnant’s shoulders. Estonia managed to drag him across the last few meters before reaching the somewhat-safe hillside, leaving a long trail of blood behind.

After calling for help, a couple of soldiers began to tend to the Leitnant. Honestly, Eduard thought that the wound was too serious and that he wasn’t going to make it. Suddenly, though, the battalion was now leaderless as Kuperjanov had been incapacitated. Estonia now felt enormous pressure on his shoulders. He had now less than 300 men pinned down by a hillside as the Latvians continued to fire on them. He took a few deep breaths; he wasn’t going to let panic take over him! It was hard not to, however, considering that the enemy outnumbered them so greatly and he didn’t know when the Finnish volunteers would arrive. He could wait for Tino and his men to arrive, but it was possible that they would be forced out once more. He clenched his fists; he wasn’t going to be defeated! He just had to think of something…

Eduard took another couple of deep breaths, trying to picture the map of the area in his head. Just how many Latvians were packed on the small hill and in the manor? They were outnumbered, but were the Latvians even aware of their superiority? If they did, the partisans needed to do something before the Latvians started to take advantage of it. Estonia quickly thought up of a plan: They were outnumbered, he needed to keep the Latvians from counter-attacking and potentially be surrounded by the more numbering Reds. Therefore, he needed to move some of his troops around the Latvian’s flank. This would force the Latvians to shift some of its soldiers to their flank, spreading their troops around and relieving some pressure from the front. This could also create some confusion about the number of Estonians the Reds thought there were at first. If such confusion was achieved, the Finnish reinforcements would have a much greater impact on the morale of the Latvians. Then, they would be shaken and the combined Estonian and Finnish forces could push out the confused and perhaps even demoralised Latvians out of Paju. It all depended on how quickly the Finns would arrive and how much impact the diversionary flanking attack would have.

When Estonia snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed that the other officers leading the different squads had gathered near him, awaiting his orders. Eduard nodded. “2nd Company will move and attack the manor from the north. Be sure to stay in cover while you move, it’ll be better if we can get some element of surprise against the Latvian flank. 1st and 3rd Companies will stay here and keep the pressure on the front. Everyone will stay in cover until the Finnish volunteers arrive, then we’ll begin to final assault on the manor.” The officers nodded, but Eduard pointed at one of them: Leitnant Johannes Soodla. He was the most experienced officer, perhaps more experienced than Kuperjanov himself. He had fought in all the battles of the war so far. “Leitnant Soodla, you’re in command of the Battalion while Lt. Kuperjanov is wounded.” Lt. Soodla saluted as the officers dispersed, relaying Eduard’s orders to their men.

After a moment, the 2nd Company was moving towards their right flank while making sure to stay in cover. Eduard hoped that they wouldn’t notice the movements or, at least, wouldn’t realise the diversion until they opened fire. As the men made their way, the 1st and 3rd Companies returned fire on the front. Eduard himself took out his pistol and started firing at the manor as well. Two minutes later, Estonia could hear that the 2nd Company had opened fire up north. He hoped that his men were still in cover from where they attacked; they suffered enough casualties as it is. All he could do now is wait and hope that Raivis and his men would take the bait and that Tino was nearly there. If the diversion made its desired effect, then perhaps victory, against all odds, was not as unlikely as he first thought.

---

[latvia]

The Latvians continued firing, and the Estonians continued to thin out. Latvia felt victory, but not a sweet one. This wasn't anything to him but a huge dilemma. He felt so stressed, sitting behind that wall, barely moving a muscle(unless he was shaking of course.) When he heard the murmurs of the enemy losing he sighed; at least it was close to over.

The men began to slow down, after all, why shoot at nothing. Most of the Estonians seemed to have either fled or died. Latvia stood up, still cautious, but at least now he felt more at ease. A small part of him wanted to order his men to scout the area a bit more for any stragglers , but Latvia really didn't want to kill any more Estonians.

"Be...Besides...They're...they... they have already l... lost. I'm n...not like... I'm not like the ... the others. I don't want to kill people if I don't have to... " he paused looking down at his feet, as if he were talking to them. " I l-l-l love my... my brother. I do..." Tears welled up in his violet grey eyes and he once again plopped onto the floor, bawling his heart out. He repeated the words over and over, that he really did love his brother. He thought of how Estonia felt. He had been betrayed, he probably hated Raivis so much right now. And no matter what Latvia said, he just knew Estonia would never like him ever again. Latvia wanted to blame Russia, he made him do it! But he knew that blaming him was just his way of trying to forgive himself. No he...should have done more.

Latvia stood up. he would go out looking for his brother! Maybe if no one was looking, he could help him if he was wounded or at least say sorry. He sped past his comrades at a quick walking pace. If they were close to any part of the manor, it would be the garden. He ran down some steps and through a few doors. Finally, the door to the garden. some guards were near it but he simply walked past them. They wanted to stop him, but something told them not to. Latvia gave them a small smile, but then looked towards the door. Why did this one look so much more foreboding than all the other doors?

He gulped a bit and pushed it open, walking out as if he had won, not to show off, but to show himself that he wasn't afraid. What hit him first was the blinding light. the snow reflected it in full and he had to shield his eyes with his arm at first. He looked around. Not too many people here. A few of his soldiers were here. However, as the main stream of Estonian offensives was said to be on the Northern side most of the soldiers had been stationed there. Latvia sighed a little bit. He supposed he wouldn't get to see his brother in the calm after all. But he liked the place, the pillars and bushes along with the sparkling snow made it a little more peaceful than the rest of the mansion. He kept walking around and looking for Estonian soldiers. There weren't any and what he did hear seemed to be coming from down the hill or very far away. But he decided he'd wait here. He'd wait for his brother.

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(( sorry this is so incredibly late! ;A;

for some reason i remember hearing about them clashing in a garden...but now I can't find it anymore... XD;;; if something isn't right with my post please tell me so i may fix it.

I tried putting Latvia in a place where he would meet/fight Fin and Estonia. ))

[Finland]

Tino silently willed his troops to move faster as they marched on. He knew well that they were human and not able to keep up with a pace he would have been able to easily set, but it was a struggle to move at what, to him, was such a slow clip, knowing that Eduard needed his help. Already since he’d received word of their orders to assist at Paju, nearly half an hour had been wasted in simply walking. It couldn’t be helped, of course. The Finns were already marching at double time and Tino couldn’t expect them to sprint to the manor.

Relax, he told himself, adjusting the heavy rifle again. Relax. Eduard is capable of handling himself until we get there. It’s only Latvia.

Another voice interjected, But it’s not. It’s Russia, too, and against Russia, he is weak, just like you.

“Turpa kiinni!” the Finn ordered in a low, dangerous growl, warranting a concerned stare from the soldier marching beside him. The blond quickly shook his head, signaling that everything was fine. His eyes remained hard set on the cold road stretching ahead of him, leading him to the battle that was already raging on under the bleak January sky.

At long last, there came the sounds of gunfire, muffled by the distance between the Finns and their brethren.

“Seis!” came a barked order from the Colonel, bringing the company to rest. Kalm motioned for Tino and a few other higher-ranking officers to follow him to a spot just ahead of the others.

“From our direction, we’ll be directly approaching the manor’s front,” Kalm explained. “Even with the Estonians, we’ll be outnumbered by more than five hundred bodies. Our best bet will be to take them in a head-on assault. Väinämöinen?”

“Sir?” the Finn responded.

“I want you to locate his body and take him out personally if it hasn’t yet been accomplished.”

The nation’s breath hitched at hearing the task. Though Kalm hadn’t specified the name of the target – he knew Finland well enough to know that the man hated having his and the others’ identity as nations revealed – Tino knew exactly who he meant. Latvia. Nations killed each other frequently enough. After all, they were centuries old and had fought in more wars than even the oldest veterans alive. Many of them had been at war with one another long enough to have built up personal grudges.

But Tino had never had a grudge against Latvia. At least not before this – not before Raivis had decided to attack Eduard. Even now, he’d rather not kill the kid. But orders were orders.

“Understood,” he responded less than enthusiastically.

“There will be a tree line we must cross before we reach the field where the battle is taking place,” the colonel continued. When we get to it, we’ll have the troops spread out. The Reds will mow us down if we stay in ranks. From the tree line, we’ll take stock of the situation. Understood?”

“Understood,” Finland responded in unison with the other soldiers.

There came another stiff order as the message was relayed and the Sons of the North were, once again, moving across the frozen earth. The trees were becoming denser and they left the road to move across what was once a grassy area – now just another stretch of snowy white.

Once at the tree line, the company was ordered to halt. The soldiers fanned out as directed and dropped down under the cover to await further orders. Guns were wheeled into position and last minute preparations were made. A few hasty prayers were whispered before the safety of the tree cover was no more.

Soon, now, Viro, Tino thought, or perhaps whispered, to himself.

Again, Kalm approached the nervous nation-spirit. “It appears they’ve been driven back from the manor and are holding down near the base of the hill,” he explained. “On my mark, we’ll strike. Rifles, guns, bayonets – use whatever you have. Being so outnumbered, we’ve got one shot at this. The Estonians are positioned between us and the Latvians, so aim carefully.”

“I understand, sir,” the nation complied. His eyes were wide and fixed on what little of the battle he could make out from between the wintery branches of the trees.

There was no build-up, no emotionally rousing pre-attack speech. Such trivialities were not necessary. The Finns knew they were here to aid their brothers. All was quiet amongst the Sons of the North, the only sounds coming from the battle before them. And then came the order.

“Charge!”

Before he had time to comprehend how it had happened, the scenery was whizzing past Finland in a blur of brown and grey and white. The cracks of rifles being fired came like a peal of thunder. Tino couldn’t tell who had fired first as the tree line began to disappear behind them. Three hundred and eighty Finns hammered across the open field, closing in on the Reds like a spreading wildfire.

As the manor came closer, and also the Estonians and Latvians, Tino’s eyes scanned the line for his brother. Every time he was forced to hurdle a soldier fallen from a fatal shot, he prayed it was not Eduard whose blood was soaking into the ground.

Once mingled in line with the Estonians, the noise from the gunfire was terribly loud, but Tino hardly heard it. The Finn had a job to do and he was not going to be distracted. He squeezed the trigger and watched a Latvian fall. He wasn’t sure if it was his bullet or someone else’s that had hit him but thought little of it as he sighted his next target.

Find Raivis, he reminded himself as he fired another shot. And Eduard.

____________________

Fin’s still a little crazy. Just a little~