Alfons Rebane
| Alfons Rebane | |
|---|---|
Alfons Rebane in the Estonian Army
|
|
| Born |
24 June 1908 Valga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire |
| Died | 8 March 1976 (aged 67) Augsburg, Bavaria, West Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Estonia Nazi Germany United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Estonian Army (1929–1940) Wehrmacht (1941–1944) Waffen-SS (1944–1945) MI-6 (1947–1961) |
| Years of service | 1929–1940 1941–1945 1947–1961 |
| Rank | SS-Standartenführer, Colonel |
| Unit | 1929, 1st Armored Train Regiment 1935, Viljandi County Territorial Regiment 1939, Lääne County Territorial Regiment 1940, Commandant of Lihula 1941, 184th Security Battalion, Wehrmacht 1943, 658th (Estonian) Ost Battalion, Wehrmacht 1944, 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) 1947 MI6 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Estonian Defence League White Cross 3rd Class Latvian Aizsargi Cross of Merit Iron Cross 2nd & 1st class Infantry Assault Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Close Combat Clasp Eastern Front Medal |
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane, known simply as Alfons Rebane (June 24, 1908 – March 8, 1976) was an Estonian military commander. He was the most highly decorated Estonian military officer during World War II, serving in various Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS units of Nazi Germany.
After World War II Rebane joined the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) where he played a key role in assisting the armed resistance to Soviet rule in Estonia and other Baltic countries. He led the Estonian portion of MI6's Operation Jungle well into the 1950s.
In 1961, Rebane retired from the British intelligence services and moved to Germany, where he stayed until his death in Augsburg in 1976. The 1999 reburial of Rebane in Estonia with state honors triggered a number of controversies.
Rebane was born in Valga in southern Estonia, then part of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. In 1920 Rebane, son of a railway official, attended the Russian secondary school in Narva. From 1926 to 1929 he attended Tartu University and graduated from the Estonian War College with first class honours. He served as an infantry officer on the armoured train "Captain Irv" of the 1st Armored Train Regiment as a second lieutenant in 1929. Married in 1931 to Agnia Soomets, they had one daughter Tiiu who died soon afterwards. On Estonian Independence Day on February 24, 1933, Rebane was commissioned as first lieutenant. From 1935 to 1939 he served as junior instructor in the Defence League Viljandi County Territorial Regiment, between 1939-1940 in the Lääne County Territorial Regiment. From January to June 1940 Rebane was the Commandant of Lihula.
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