It was awarded to those who served in the Estonian War of Independence of 1918–1920.
The medal displays on the obverse an Estonian soldier in a protecting pose in front of a woman and children by a house, and the inscription “KODU KAITSEKS” (“For Defence of Home”). On the reverse, it bears the inscription “EESTI WABADUSSÕJA MÄLESTUSEKS” (“In Commemoration of Estonian Liberation War”) and displays two crossed swords over a laurel branch and the dates ‘1918-1920’ above.
The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the Baltische Landeswehr. The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic nation of Estonia for independence in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in a victory for Estonia and was concluded in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
