Battle of Paju

Battle context

The Battle of Paju, fought near Valga on 31 January 1919, was described as the fiercest engagement of the early period of the Estonian War of Independence. The Tartu-Valga group of the Estonian Army drove Red Latvian Riflemen, numbering approximately 1,200, from Paju Manor after heavy fighting, securing a contested position in the border region between Estonia and Latvia. The battle carried a particular cost for the Estonian side: commander Julius Kuperjanov was killed during the engagement, a significant loss among the Estonian officer corps at a critical stage of the independence war.