List of wars involving Estonia

Below is a list of military conflicts in which Estonians participated or took place on Estonian territory.

Ancient Estonia

 * 380–1227, a series of raids and counter-attacks against the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic vikings.
 * 8th century, Battle of Brávellir, on the side of the Swedes, against the Danes.

The Middle Ages
Estonia remained one of the last corners of medieval Europe to be Christianized. In 1193 Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against pagans in Northern Europe. The Northern Crusades from Northern Germany established the stronghold of Riga. With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Letts, the crusaders initiated raids into part of what is present-day Estonia in 1206.
 * 1003–1217, a series of defence battles and counter campaigns against Kievan Rus', Novgorod and Pskov;
 * 1206–1227, the Livonian Crusade against Livonian Brothers of the Sword, Denmark and Sweden;
 * 1213–1329, a series of Lithuanian raids against Estonians;
 * 1220–1557, a series of civil wars on the Estonian part of Medieval Livonia:
 * 1220–1238, a conflict between Denmark and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, later the Livonian Order;
 * 1236–1241 and 1260–1261, rebellions on Saaremaa;
 * 1343–1345, the St. George's Night Uprising against Denmark and the Livonian Order.

The Reformation Period
By the late 1550s, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation had caused internal conflicts in Livonian Confederation, while its Eastern neighbour Russia had grown stronger after defeating the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. The conflict between Russia and the Western powers was exacerbated by Russia's isolation from sea trade. Neither could the tsar hire qualified labour in Europe.
 * 1558–1582, the Livonian War
 * 1600–1629, the Polish-Swedish War
 * 1600–1611, the war of 1600–1611
 * 1617–1618, the war of 1617–1618
 * 1621–1625, the war of 1621–1625
 * 1700–1721, the Great Northern War

Russian rule (1721-1918)
After the Great Northern War, the territory of Estonia was officially handed over to the Russian Empire in 1721. Soldiers were conscripted among Estonians since 1796. At first, the term of service was 25 years, but was lowered to 20 years plus 5 years of reserve in 1834 and to 12 years plus 3 years of reserve in 1855. Estonians served in several wars involving the Russian Empire:
 * 1904–1905, the Russo-Japanese War;
 * 1914–1918, World War I against the Central Powers.

Conflicts that occurred in Estonia during that era:
 * 1905–1906, the Russian Revolution of 1905 between local revolutionaries and the Russian Army;
 * 1917, Russian Revolution:
 * 1917, March Revolution between local revolutionaries and the Russian Army;
 * 1917, October Revolution between Bolshevik revolutionaries and Estonian officials;
 * 1917–1918, World War I between the Russia and German Empire.

Independent Estonia (1918-1940)
Estonia declared independence on 24 February 1918. After a brief German occupation in World War I, Estonia regained independence and was subsequently invaded by the Red Army. A series of conflicts followed:
 * 1918–1920, the Estonian War of Independence against the Soviet Russia
 * 1919, the Battle of Punapargi against retreating German soldiers of World War I.
 * 1919, the Latvian War of Independence in alliance with Latvia against both German and Soviet Russian forces;
 * 1919, the Landeswehr War against the Baltische Landeswehr.

Estonians also took part of the Estonian War of independence on the Soviet Russian side. They formed the puppet state Commune of the Working People of Estonia (1918-1919) in an effort to show the conflict as an Estonian civil war.

Other conflicts with Estonian volunteers:
 * 1918, the Finnish Civil War mostly on the side of whites against the reds and Soviet Russia.
 * 1917–1922, the Russian Civil War, mostly on the side of the Bolsheviks, following their defeat in the Estonian War of Independence.

World War II (1940-1944)
Estonia declared its neutrality in 1938, but was forced to allow Soviet military bases on its territory in 1939 and was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. World War II brought a number of sub-conflicts:
 * 1940–1944, World War II:
 * 1940, the Soviet occupation of Estonia;
 * 1941, the Summer War;
 * 1944, the Soviet re-occupation of Estonia:
 * 1944, the Soviet offensive in Estonia;
 * 1944, the Estonian attempt to restore independence.

Other sub-conflicts of World War II with Estonian volunteers:
 * 1939–1940, the Winter War on the Finnish side and against the Soviet Union.
 * 1941–1944, the Continuation War on the Finnish side and against the Soviet Union.

Soviet occupation (1944-1991)
After the Soviet recapture of Estonia, many Estonians went into hiding and waged a low intensity resistance to the Soviet regime:
 * 1944–1956/1978, the Forest Brothers guerrilla movement against the Soviet Union.

During the Soviet occupation, many Estonians were conscripted to the Soviet Armed Forces and were recruited to fight in several wars wars involving the Soviet Union:
 * 1945–1956/1978, against the Forest Brothers guerrilla movement in the Baltic SSRs;
 * 1950–1953, in the Korean War against the United Nations and allied forces;
 * 1956, in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 against Hungarian revolutionaries;
 * 1968, in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia against Czechoslovakia and its allies;
 * 1979–1989, the Soviet–Afghan War, against the Sunni Mujahideen.

On the same time, many émigré Estonians also fought for Western nations, most notably for the United States, Canada, Australia and for the United Kingdom.
 * 1950–1953, in the Korean War against North Korea and its allies, including the Soviet Union;
 * 1964–1973, in the Vietnam War against the communist forces, including the Soviet Union.

Independent Estonia (1991-onwards)
Independent Estonia has taken part in several conflicts:
 * 2003–2009, the Iraq War as part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I);
 * 2003–2014, the War in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Estonia has also taken part in several peacekeeping missions:
 * 1995, as part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Croatia;
 * 1996–1997 and 2015–onwards, as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
 * 1996–2011, in Bosnia & Herzegovina:
 * 1996, as part of the Implementation Force (IFOR);
 * 1996–2004, as part of the Stabilization Force (SFOR);
 * 2004–2011, as part of the European Union Force Althea (EUFOR Althea);
 * 1999–onwards, as part of the Kosovo Force (KFOR);
 * 2010–2013, as part of the Operation Atalanta (EU-NAVFOR-ATALANTA) in Somalia;
 * 2013, as part of the Operation Active Endeavour (OAE) in the Mediterranean Sea;
 * 2014, in the Central African Republic conflict as part of the European Union Force RCA (EUFOR RCA).