Ohvitseri päevaraamat

Colonel Ants Matsalo (1895–1945) shared a life path typical of an Estonian officer of his era. He was born into a large farm family in Mulgimaa, received his general education at the Viljandi city school, was mobilised into the First World War, completed officer training and was sent to the front. He participated in the Estonian War of Independence, earning the Cross of Liberty and an award farm, obtained higher military education, and advanced both in rank and in positions of responsibility. In 1940 he was unwillingly incorporated into the Red Army, arrested during the June deportations, and perished in the Gulag. What makes his case truly exceptional is that Ants Matsalo kept a diary which is, as far as is known, the only ego-document of its kind written by a senior officer of the Republic of Estonia, making it a genuine rarity.

Matsalo’s diary from 1931–1940 forms the core of this book. In addition, the volume includes his memoirs of the War of Independence and his graduation thesis from the Higher War School.