Erna Raid (Estonian: Erna retk) was an annual international military exercise and competition, one of the longest and most difficult in the world, held every August from 1995 to 2011 in Estonia. It was organized by the Erna Society and commemorates the actions of the long-range reconnaissance group 'Erna' in the summer of 1941. [1]
See main article: Erna long-range reconnaissance group.
The competition is named after the Erna long-range reconnaissance group (Estonian: Erna luuregrupp) and themed after its activities in the summer of 1941. In 1993, a group of enthusiasts followed the historical route of the Erna group of 1941 and came up with the idea of organizing a commemorative competition. A first try with only Estonian participants was held in 1994. In the autumn of 1994, the Erna society was founded, and in 1995, the first annual international competition was held.
The traditional parts of the competition were:
Foreign teams were always welcome to partake in the competition. In 2007, 28 teams from nine different countries participated: Estonia (18 teams), the Czech Republic (one), Denmark (one), Finland (two), Germany (one), Norway (two), Portugal (one), Sweden (one), and the United States (one), of which Portugal and the Czech Republic are newcomers. Teams from the United Kingdom have participated in earlier years (most recently, a British Territorial Army team in 2006), but only observed in 2007. A team from Cyprus also observed. Teams from the People's Republic of China have been traditionally successful in the competition and took 1st and 2nd place in 2002. Other successful teams have come from Finland and Norway.
Due to the home advantage attributed to the intimate knowledge of the terrain by the local teams, changes to the competition were discussed in 2011. [2]
In 2013, the competition was renamed the Admiral Pitka Recon Challenge after the Estonian War of Independence hero Johan Pitka and is now held in different locations throughout Estonia each year. [3]
The table below records the final results for the year's competition. It does not include retired and disqualified teams. DL is the acronym for the Defense League.
| Position | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | ||
| 1st |  Scouts Battalion | DL Põlva | DL Tartu 1 | DL Tartu 2 | Reserve Officers | Reserve Officers | Scouts Bat. 1 | Scouts Bat. 2 |  Finland 2 |  China 2 | DL Järva | Border Guard | Border Guard | ||
| 2nd | Kirde KRK | Scouts Battalion | DL Tartu 2 | Reserve Officers / DL Tallinn | DL Tartu | Scouts Bat. 1 | Recce Bat. | Reserve Officers | Scouts Bat. | China 1 | Finland 2 |  Norway | Kalev Inf. Bat. | ||
| 3rd | DL Harju 1 | DL Tartu 2 | Military Academy 2 | Kuperjanovi Single Infantry Bn | Finland 2 | Military Academy | Military Academy | Scouts Bat. 1 | DL Järva | DL Harju | Border Guard | DL Harju | DL Pärnu | ||
| 4th | Military Academy | Military Academy 1 | Kuperjanovi Single Inf Bn | Border Guard | Police | DL Järva | Finland 1 | Military School | Recce Bat. | Security Police | Logistics Bat. | AA Battery | China 2 | ||
| 5th | Border Guard | DL Järva 1 | DL Tallinn 2 | DL Tallinn 1 | DL Järva | Scouts Bat. 2 | China 2 | DL Pärnu | China 2 | Military Academy | China 2 | Logistics Bat. | Finland 1 | ||
| 6th | DL Järva 2 | DL Järva 2 | DL Järva 1 | Military Academy | Border Guard | DL Tartu | China 1 | DL Järva | Military Academy | DL Järva | Reserve Officers | Finland 1 | Guard Bat. | ||
| 7th | DL Põlva | Border Guard | Military Academy 1 | EDF Logistics Centre | Viru Bat. | Police | Air Defence Div. |  Denmark 1 | Border Guard | DL Tallinn | AA Battery | Reserve Officers | DL Võru | ||
| 8th | DL Pärnu 2 | DL Tartu 1 | DL Põlva | DL Tartu 1 | DL Tallinn / Reserve Officers | DL Tallinn |  Sweden | Finland 2 | China 1 |  Lithuania | China 1 | Kalev Inf. Bat. | Denmark | ||
| 9th | Finland 3 | NE Territorial Defence District | DL Harju | DL Valga | Pärnu Bat. |  Germany | Germany | Lithuania | Denmark | Reserve Officers | Guard Bat. | EDF HQ | DL Järva | ||
| 10th | DL Pärnu 1 | Kuperjanovi Inf Bn | Finland 2 | Germany | Finland 1 | Border Guard | Reserve Officers | Recce Bat. | DL Harju 2 | Scout Bat. | Security Police | Security Police | Norway 1 | ||
| 11th | Nth. Guard Bat. | DL Tallinn Nõmme | DL Järva 2 | DL Järva | Germany | EDF HQ | DL Järva | Logistic Bat. | DL Tallinn 2 | Border Guard | Rescue Service | Finland 2 | Military Academy | ||
| 12th | Finland 2 | DL Harju 1 | EDF Log Centre CS Training Centre | Viru Single Infantry Bn | DL Harju |  Canada | Guard Bat. | China 2 | DL Tallinn 1 | Finland | DL Tallinn | Military Academy | Reserve Officers | ||
| 13th | Denmark 2 | DL Tallinn 2 | Finland 1 | Reserve Officers 2 | Scouts Bat. | Guard Bat. | DL Tartu | Air Defence Bat. | DL Võrumaa | Military School | Norway 1 | Sweden | DL Põlva | ||
| 14th | DL Tartu | DL Harju 2 | Border Guard | DL Pärnu | Guard Bat. | Finland 1 | Denmark 2 | Military Academy | DL Pärnumaa | DL Võrumaa | Norway 2 | Norway 2 | China 1 | ||
| 15th | DL Tallinn 2 | Lithuania | DL Women’s Corps Saaremaa | Lithuania |  USA | Viru Bat. | DL Tallinn | Denmark 2 | DL Harju 1 | Norway 1 | Signal Bat. | DL Võru | Sweden | ||
| 16th | DL Järva |  Belgium | DL Võru | DL Alutaguse Women’s Team | Denmark | Finland 2 | Finland 2 | China 1 | Reserve Officers | Norway 2 | Military Academy | Germany | United Kingdom | ||
| 17th | DL Tallinn Nõmme | DL Pärnu | Denmark 1 | Denmark 1 | Military Academy | DL Valgamaa | Scouts Bat. | DL Võru |  Austria |  Romania | DL Põlva | DL Tallinn | Norway 2 | ||
| 18th | DL Pärnu 3 | Military Academy 2 | Denmark 2 | DL Tallinn 2 (Toompea subunit) | Norway 1 | USA | DL Võru | Finland 1 | Engineering School | AA Battalion | Finland 1 | Denmark 1 |  Italy 2 | ||
| 19th | Lithuania | Sweden 1 | DL Tallinn 1 | Denmark 3 | Sweden | Denmark 1 | Denmark 1 | Sweden | Military School | Denmark 1 | Sweden | China 1 | Women's DL | ||
| 20th | DL Harju Männiku | DL Harju 3 | DL Women’s Corps Võru | Single Guard Bn | Women's DL | Great Britain | Pärnu Bat. | Germany | Finland 1 | Finland 2 | DL Harju | DL Järva | UK | ||
| 21st | DL Tallinn Kalevi | DL Alutaguse Women's Team | DL Tallinn 3 | Denmark 2 | DL Võru | Belgium | USA | Guard Bat. | Lithuania | Sweden | EDF HQ | China 2 | |||
| 22nd | DL Harju 2 | Sweden 2 | USA | Norway 2 | Artillery Group | DL Pärnu | Belgium | Police | text | Denmark | Rescue Service | ||||
| 23rd | Belgium | Finland 2 | Belgium |  Portugal | Women's DL Võru | Belgium | DL Tallinn | Rescue Service | Italy | USA Maryland | Italy 1 | ||||
| 24th | Finland 4 | Denmark | DL Women’s Corps Rapla | Denmark 3 | Women's DL Võru | Romania | Sweden | EDF HQ | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | |||||
| 25th | Denmark 1 | Norway 1 |  Latvia | Italy |  Turkey | Guard Bat. | Rescue Service | Women's DL | Women's DL | ||||||
| 26th | Prison Service | Denmark 2 | Women's DL | United Kingdom | Women's DL | Lithuania | Italy 1 | ||||||||
| 27th | Finland 1 | USA |  Poland | United Kingdom | Recce Battalion | ||||||||||
| 28th | 1.Infantry Bde Logistics Bat | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| 29th |  Georgia |
Since the competition's initiation, sectors of the Russian media have claimed the competition's namesake was an attempt to glorify collaboration with Nazi Germany. [1] [2] [3] [4] In 2007, high-ranking government officials sharply criticized the competition, calling it "the glamorization of Nazism" and expressing outrage over NATO members participating in the competition. [5] [6] Estonian officials attribute this recent development to the ongoing campaign for the 2008 Russian presidential election. [7] Russian officials claim that the commemoration of the Erna group today is part of alleged efforts by the Estonian authorities to glorify the Nazi past (other parts of it being the relocation of a memorial to Red Army invaders and an official greeting from the Minister of Defense to veterans of a unit of Estonians conscripted into a division organized within the Waffen SS to defend Estonia). [8]
An analyst of the US-based think tank Jamestown Foundation believes this view follows Soviet and post-Soviet Russia's official logic on two counts: first, that resistance to the Red Army was inherently illegitimate and conflatable with "fascism" in an occupied country or one targeted for occupation; second, that Estonia should be criticized for remembering an act of national resistance and its casualties. [9]
Estonia's Minister of Defense, Jaak Aaviksoo, called the accusations "regrettable" and recalled that the Erna group saved the lives of many civilians from the vengeful Soviet paramilitary units, and specifically pointed out cases of burning farmers alive along with their farms in Kutla. [10] [11]