24 December. The Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army's advance along the entire front on 2–5 January 1919. Two days later Estonian forces began the counteroffensive to completely expel the Soviet forces from Estonia. A Finnish volunteer marine brigade landed in the rear of the 6th Red Division, and the 1st Estonian Division captured Narva on 18 January. Subsequently, the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva river. In south Estonia, the Estonian commando-type Tartumaa Partisan Battalion drove the Red Latvian rifle regiments out of Valga on 31 January. The 7th Red Army was temporally forced out of the boundaries of Estonia. On 16 February the Red Army started a counteroffensive to recapture Estonia. The Soviet forces, including units of so-called Estonian Red Riflemen, captured the areas of Setomaa, Vastseliina and Räpina by 15 March. The Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and recaptured Petseri by 28 March. Similar combat took place between the Estonian Army and the Northern Group of the Latvian Red Army along the Ainaži–Strenči–Alūksne front stabilised in north Latvia. In the positions along the Narva river, the Estonian 1st Division repelled 7th Red Army attacks. Polish direction The Red Army entered Polotsk on 21 November, Drissa and Rahachow on 22 November, Zhlobin on 24 November, Babruysk on 28 November, Barysaw on 3 December, Slutsk on 8 December and Igumen on 9 December. On 10 December 1918, the Red Army entered Minsk almost unopposed, putting an end to the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic. On 1 January 1919, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB) was proclaimed in Smolensk. On 8 January, the SSRB government relocated to Minsk. At the same time, Polish and Belarusian self-defence units sprung up across western Belarus. Ill-equipped and composed mostly of local recruits, they were determined to defend their homes from what the newspapers described as a "Red menace". Similar Bolshevik groups were operating in the sector and a series of skirmishes ensued. The Polish-Soviet struggle over Vilna in the first week of 1919 was a sign of things to come, as the Polish militia was forced to withdraw after the first organised units of the Soviet Western Army entered the city. In response, the Polish Army started sending units eastwards to help the self-defence units, while the Soviets did the same but in the opposite direction. Open conflict seemed inevitable. On January 12 Soviet High Command declared the goal of its "Target Vistula"