Toila is located in the northeastern part of Estonia approximately 26 miles (42km) west of the Narva River, a strategically important waterway to the extent it forms a natural boundary separating Estonia and Russia. During World War II this area experienced ferocious fighting between German and Soviet forces, particularly in 1944 as the Soviets battled hard to eject the Third Reich from Estonia. The Soviets considered this territory (in fact, all of the Baltics) their own, as detailed in the secret protocols attached to the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression treaty the two powers signed only five years earlier. While the Soviets were eventually victorious, both sides suffered tremendous casualties. The cemetery at Toila is where the German army buried 2,000 soldiers in 1944. During Soviet times, this area was not particularly important. It was only rehabilitated after the fall of the Soviet Union.

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