and sent back to his regiment. In the following year, he was appointed to the General Staff and was dispatched to serve for one year as company commander in the 1st Caucasus Rifle Regiment. He then served at the Staff of the Caucasus Military District. World War I At the outbreak of World War I, Laidoner served as staff aide of the 3rd Caucasus Army Corps. On 26 November 1914, he was promoted to captain. In March 1915, Laidoner was appointed to the senior staff of the 21st Infantry Division of the same corps. In October 1915, he was made aide to the commander of the intelligence department of the Staff of the Western Front and on 15 August 1916, Laidoner was promoted to the rank of Podpolkovnik (lieutenant colonel). From March to September 1917, he served as staff commander of the 1st Caucasus Grenadier Division and from October to November 1917, as staff commander of the 62nd Infantry Division. On 5 January 1918, Laidoner was appointed commander of the newly formed 1st Estonian Division. On 18 February 1918, the negotiations over the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk broke down and German forces, who had already captured Estonian islands, landed on the mainland. On the following day, Laidoner resigned from his post as division commander and left for Russia. On 24 February 1918, Estonia declared independence, but was subsequently occupied by Germany. Estonian War of Independence On 4 April 1918, the Estonian Provisional Government promoted Laidoner, then still residing in Petrograd, to the rank of Polkovnik (colonel). Following the German capitulation on 11 November 1918, the Soviet Red Army invaded Estonia on 28 November, marking the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence. On 30 November, Laidoner left Petrograd and arrived in Tallinn on 8 December. The provisional government first appointed him chief of staff on 14 December, and then on 23 December, commander-in-chief of the Estonian Armed Forces. On 1 January 1919, the Estonian Army had just over 13,000 men, with 5,700 of them facing 8,000 Soviets on the Viru Front. In the first days of January, the Estonian forces managed to halt the Soviet advance at the Valkla-Kehra line and on 3 January, Laidoner launched a counter-offensive with 1st Division, supported by Finnish volunteers and armoured trains. Within 11 days, the 1st Division advanced 200 kilometres east, while the 2nd Division moved against the Soviet forces in Southern Estonia. Following