Estonia has a tranquil feel outside of the towns – traffic is sparse, even when driving on main roads carved through the forests that form half of this small Baltic state.
It is a picturesque place that has become a destination on the tourist trail over the last few decades. Yet this quiet country would almost certainly be a flashpoint if a war in Europe was to erupt.
Perched on the border of a belligerent Russian Federation that has already demonstrated a capacity for assassinations, cyber strikes and outright military invasion, it is an obvious target.
But in these woodlands, any advancing force would find themselves met with a wall of steel. In the first line of defence, Nato troops stand ready to meet any incursion head on and demonstrate the cold realities of collective defence.
“It is a very different environment to the UK,” Maj Lance Morris of 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment Battlegroup tells Soldier as his troops embark on two weeks of Exercise Hedgehog, a rehearsal of Estonia’s defence.
“The terrain is flatter and the wood blocks are not like anything you find on home turf – we are also digging our trenches through a tough, sandy ground but are working together well and joining with service personnel from other countries.”
The presence of the infanteers – standing ready alongside colleagues from 11 other allied nations including France, Poland and the United States – certainly guarantees a bitter time for any opposing force carrying out an incursion. Working within the Estonian defence plan – a national blueprint which requires rapid reinforcement of Nato forces already in situ – the exercise has seen troops travel from all points of the compass to take up positions across the state.
The British battlegroup – under the 4th Light Brigade Combat Team – have hot-footed across Europe by road, rail and air. Within 48 hours they have shovels in their hands and are digging into positions as part of a 17,000-strong multinational force.
“In my case, we travelled by coach to Paderborn in Germany before taking a flight to Estonia,” Kgn Amelia McCauley (Lancs, left) explains as the exercise begins to ramp up. “We didn’t stop overnight – although the journey was okay as I had my pillow and managed to sleep for most of it.
“I think the key thing for me personally is seeing how troops from other armies do things – how they tackle different situations,” the 19-year-old former Army Foundation College student, who recently became the second female infanteer to complete the NCO cadre, continues.
“We also have some new equipment in the shape of the Android Team Awareness Kit (Atak), which gives us a picture of what is happening around us – it has recently been refined and we are looking at how it works out here in Estonia.”
While this is an exercise, there is a definite feeling of gritty realism.
As commanders from the host nation take the lead, thousands of troops from the reserve Estonian Defence League have been called up and are assuming positions following the mock alert. They, of all people, know the stakes. In the capital Tallinn, monuments to old Soviet triumphs such as the 1980 Olympic Games serve as reminders that this state has already seen Russian occupation. Its people were under the heel of the Kremlin for nearly five decades after the Second World War.
It is not lost on their Nato allies that, if the Exercise Hedgehog scenario were to play out for real, it would be their comrades’ way of life on the line.
Based at Camp Reedo in the south-east of the country, the 1 Lancs troops and their augmentees remain resolute. Diverse operational taskings, which have included peacekeeping duties in Cyprus and resettling eligible Afghan nationals on Op Lazurite, has demonstrated their battalion’s versatility.
The unit has also been tested in the UK during exercises such as Wessex Storm and they will remain on high readiness as part of Nato’s Forward Land Forces reinforcement when they return home.
“There are a real mix of soldiers on Hedgehog – some younger and others more experienced,” Maj Morris – who is commanding Burma Company – points out.
“However, we have a keen learning culture and we are all focused on the chief of the general staff’s recent mandate to enhance fighting power.
“When we are back in the UK we will remain at readiness to deploy at five-to-ten days’ notice for the next two years.” It would be a critical task in the opening days of a full-scale conventional war in Europe. But soldiers assert the training package is fit for the ask.
“We have been ramping up to Hedgehog for a little while now – we were, for example, in Brecon at the beginning of the year,” says drone operator LCpl Connor Morgan (Lancs, shown left).
“The difference in Estonia is that we are working with many other Nato nations and their equipment – it’s also an opportunity to test the new situational awareness gear that we have alongside all the other allied countries.”
Medic LCpl Ollie Swales (RAMS) is equally enthusiastic about the manoeuvres. Like Kgn McCauley she was also a Harrogate student and, aged just 21, has racked up significant experience during her six-year military career. The exercise is an opportunity to experience a full on multinational outing.
“As a medic, you already have the chance to see different parts of the army and Hedgehog builds on this,” she adds. “There are a fair few young soldiers like me out here and this is a chance to see Nato working up-close. “I’m at the regimental aid post for the exercise – it is my first time in this role and I am responsible for dealing with any real-life injuries that might occur.”
This outing is a huge collective effort. It also complements the wider Op Razoredge initiative – a series of Nato manoeuvres taking place in six European states.
The training in Estonia is key, however, and is as much about deterrence as it is a rehearsal for war. Like its animal namesake that raises its spines when threatened, Exercise Hedgehog demonstrates that bristling foes are usually best left undisturbed.
