four rifles, some pistols and hand grenades. Three messengers were appointed to keep in touch with other groups and the headquarters. The communist gunmen started to move on December 1, 1924, at 5:00 a.m. At the time there were 450 cadets, non-commissioned officers and officers in the military college. The officer on duty was Lieutenant Joosep Lääne, assisted by a cadet. The three-member guard had just returned to the building after their patrol. When the gunmen reached their target, they attacked the dormitory of cadets, throwing hand grenades into windows and shooting sleeping cadets on the ground floor. Three guardsmen assisted by four artillery cadets who had managed to get 9 mm semi-automatic pistols from the armory blocked the way to the first floor and opened fire on the attackers. This gave the cadets on the first floor time to get their guns from the armory and launch a counterattack, forcing the attackers to retreat. At the same time a smaller group of insurgents had attacked the cadets' mess, which was empty as the officer on duty and his assistant had left the building. A patrol of cadets stopped a car coming from the city. Seeing armed cadets, the driver tried to escape, but he and his companions were caught and brought to the military academy. Two of them turned out to be brothers of an insurgent, Rudolf Vakmann, who had been sent to bring weapons from the academy. A court-martial composed of three officers was formed. After a quick investigation it sentenced all seven defendants to death. The sentence was carried out late that night. Nine cadets were wounded during the uprising. Cadets Arnold Allebras, Aleksander Teder, Aleksander Tomson and August Udras were killed. Another strike team of communists attacked the Toompea Castle, where the offices of the State Elder, Riigikogu and the Government were located. A third group entered the apartment of the State Elder behind the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The State Elder, Friedrich Akel, managed to escape through the back door. The communists were successful in capturing the military airfield and barracks of the air division in Lasnamäe, where some soldiers joined them. However, the additional units that soon arrived forced the attackers to retreat. Two air force lieutenants were court-martialled for their collaboration with the attackers and sentenced to death. Seeing their failure, the attackers hijacked two military aircraft and tried to escape to the Soviet