Alfons Rebane

Who was Alfons Rebane?

Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane, known simply as Alfons Rebane was an Estonian military commander. He was the most highly decorated Estonian military officer in the course of the Second World War, serving in various German military units against the armed forces of the Soviet Union.

After World War II Rebane joined the British Secret Intelligence Service where he played a key role in assisting the armed resistance to Soviet rule in Estonia and other Baltic countries. He led the Estonian portion of MI6's Operation Jungle well into the 1950s.

In 1961, Rebane retired from the British intelligence services and moved to Germany, where stayed until his death in Augsburg in 1976.

The 1999 reburial of Rebane in Estonia with state honors triggered a number of controversies.