Staff Ride to Saaremaa

In order to commemorate a historical event and to support the curriculum, a staff ride to Saaremaa was organised by Department of Management and Leadership Studies for the students both from Joint Command and General Staff Course 2017/2018 and Civil Servants’ Course 2017.

Staff ride ’Operation ALBION’ was a study trip, dedicated to the naval landing, rather brilliantly planned and executed by German Imperial Army and Navy one hundred years ago during the final stage of the First World War. ALBION was, in fact, the very first joint military operation in the history of warfare.

Ten students from both courses together with faculty members did an excessive theoretical research, followed by the terrain recce on the actual landing site as well as on the other relevant places in Saaremaa.

During two days, staff ride run through Saaremaa visiting various historical places. First stop after visiting Kuressaare was in Sõrve peninsula. Sõrve was the real centre of gravity for the whole Operation ALBION. More precisely, the coastal defence battery there, defending the Irbe strait and minefields. The students got a clear picture of the terrain on the peninsula as well as the sea areas around it.

The ride continued to another site related to maritime operations but connected with the battles in 1944, where Soviets made an attempt to outflank German defences at the narrowest point of Sõrve peninsula by an amphibious assault. Action ended with complete defeat and rather disastrous results for the men of the assault party.

In the afternoon the Operation ALBION main landing site at Tagalaht (Tagga Bay) was visited on the northern coast of Saaremaa. Everybody got a clear idea what the main concerns of the planners of Operation ALBION were and why it was so successful in the end. The evening ended with a visit to the medieval episcopal castle in Kuressaare, built in the 14th Century. Kuressaare castle is, in fact, one of the preserved castles in Estonia.

The last day, Sunday was return trip to Tartu. As the weather deteriorated, the sea was rough and gave a pretty good idea of the challenges, related to all naval operations in the Baltic Sea at this time of the year.