I – The Soviet offensive :
The creation of the first ever Latvian armored car unit is connected with the Soviet Latvian Riflemen Division (1st and 2nd Latvian Riflemen Brigades each with 4 Regiments), which since April 1918 became the first latvian division in the Red Army. Initially, it was planned to equip the division with airplanes, armored vehicles, etc. In the middle of September of the same year, the division received the first armored vehicles, which were initially put at the disposal of the headquarters. On November, the unit began to be officially called the 1st Armored Division of the Soviet Latvian Riflemen Division. The communist faction played an important role in the Latvian Riflemen Soviet Division, as it managed the cultural, ideological and economic life in the unit, and also had the right to appoint superiors.
At the end of 1918, the Red Army with the Soviet Latvian Riflemen Division started operations in the Baltics. The Latvian Riflemen Division was directed against Latvia. On January 03, 1919, the Red Army occupied Riga, on January 13, 1919, the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic was proclaimed. On January 31, 1919, most of Latvia was under the control of the Red Army, the Latvian government and allied German forces only control the area around Liepāja.
Armored cars :
It is known that the armored car unit of the 1st and 2nd brigades of the division had one armored car each of unknown type. That of the 2nd brigade, took part in the occupation of Strenči and Valmiera on December 21, 1918, of Limbažu on December 23 from where it soon left for Aloja where the crew was lost. In 1919, with the creation of the Soviet Latvian Army, the completion of the Latvian 1st Armored Division continues, instead of 4 expected armored vehicles, the Division had 6. According to the then existing tradition, combat vehicles were given the names: « Lāčplēsis », « Komunists », « Imanta », « b. Bērziņš », « Atriebējs » and « Latvija ». « Imanta » was a sheffield-Simplex armored car.
II – The German-Latvian counter-offensive :
On 18 February, an agreement was signed between Latvia and Estonia, starting the formation of the North Latvian Brigade on Estonian territory. On 3 March, in the Kurzeme (Courland) region, the Germans White Russians and Latvian forces began a counterattack against the Red Latvian Riflemen and the Red Army. Tukums was recaptured from the Bolsheviks on 15 March, Jelgava on 18 March and Riga on 22 May. At the same time the Estonian Army including the North Latvian Brigade started a major offensive against the Soviets in north Latvia. By the middle of June, the Soviet only controled the area surrounding Latgale.
Armored cars :
On the Soviet side, the Soviet Latvian Army was helped by the 20th and 26th Auto-Armored Platoons of the Red Army. However, because of lack of spare parts, fuel and due to their poor quality, most of their armored cars were under repair at the former Pirvica factory (Latvian machine-building factory). For example, only one Fiat armored car took part in the battles near Valka and Rūjiena on April 25 and 26, which broke down after two days of fighting and was sent to Riga. At the same time, several combat vehicles were in repair in Riga, Three of the 20th squadron vehicles (Garford, Lanchester and Russo-Balt) were in repair in Riga when they fell into the hands of the latvians in may 1919, the Lanchester and Russo-Balt were probably too damaged to be repaired. During the battle of Jelgava, the 26th Auto-Armored Platoon lost its way and was forced to evacuate to Russia.
On the Soviet Latvian side, the combat use of armored cars was often delayed by repairs, only on April 29, armored vehicles « Komunists » and « Lāčplēsis » arrived in Cēsis from Riga, and « Imanta » a day before that. On May 22, « Latvija » was engaged near Beberbeki, but was unable to stop the attack. At the same time, « Atriebējs » was actively operating in the Lecava river area but broke down and was taken for repair. Frequent repairs of armored vehicles, forced downtime and failures at the front, led to suspicions of maliciousness due to the decreasing popularity of Bolshevik ideas among the Latvian Riflemen. The general chaos and the fall of Riga left the soldiers in a depressing mood and deep confusion. In June 1919, after the liquidation of the Soviet Latvian Army, the Latvian 1st Armored Division was renamed 55th Armored Division of the Red Army.
III – The battle of Cesis and the defeat of the Germans:
In the first phase of the fighting, the Latvian army did not have any armored cars. After the liberation of Riga on May 22, 1919, the soviet units retreated in great haste and left behind a lot of war materials, including armored vehicles. But these vehicles were seized by the Germans because Riga was captured on May 22, 1919, not by the Latvians but by the Germans of the Iron Division. Many of these vehicles were under repair and the Germans tried to use the workshops only for their own purposes. Since the Latvians delayed the repairs, the Germans were unable to use these trophies during the future Battle of Cēsis against the Estonians. After the liberation of Riga, the Baltische Landeswehr and Iron Division advanced north towards Cēsis. The objective of the Landeswehr and Iron Division had now clearly become the establishment of German supremacy in the Baltic by eliminating the Estonian military and Latvian national units, not the defeat of the Bolsheviks. This led in June to the battle of Cesis between German and Estonian troops which was a defeat for the Germans. Note that in these battle, the Estonians also sent their « Vanapagan », « Toonela » and « Estonia » armored vehicles against the Germans. After the defeat of the German troops in Cesis, the armored vehicles obtained from the Soviet units and in German hands were taken over by the Latvian National Army.
Armored cars :
On July 10, 1919, the 1st Armored Division of the Latvian National Army was formed. It had to combine armored vehicles and armored trains into one armored unit. The search for abandoned combat vehicles began, several armored vehicles were found in factory yards, as well as around the city, where the enemy had left them, unable to take them away during the retreat but almost all equipment captured from the enemy was unusable. Then, on the same day, the Automobile Administration Center was established, which took over all army vehicles under its control. Three repair workshops were created in the premises of former Felzer Factory, Pirvica factory and Russian Baltic Wagon factory. These workshops repaired and supplied armored vehicles, as well as military transport.
On July 12, the staff of the 1st Armored Division was approved and led to the creation of three future armored car Platoons in the division. Each of them had to have 2 armored vehicles for combat, 1 light vehicle for reconnaissance, 1 truck for supply, and 2 motorcycles for communications.
On July 14, the first order for the 1st Armored Division was issued, and the assembly of the unit started. The headquarters of the 1st Armored Division were established in Riga, at Nikolaja Street 77. The armored vehicles « Lāčplēsis » and « Zemgalietis » were the first to be repaired. A car-motorcycle company was also created which performed reconnaissance, liaison and supply tasks.
On August 14, the unit was sent to the front for the Livani operation.
On August 19, the second Platoon was created with « Kurzemnieks » and « Imanta » which was accepted just after repair. The Division had great difficulties in arming the machines.
On October 4, The division currently had 4 armored cars in full order. 3 cars were armed (« Lāčplēsis », « Zemgalietis » and « Kurzemnieks »), but the last one (« Imanta ») lacks machine guns and was therefore hold as a reserve vehicle.
IV – Bermondt-Avalov and the West Russian Volunteer Army :
After the German defeat, the Baltische Landeswehr was incorporated in the Latvian National Army and the Iron Division had to withdraw from Latvia. The Iron Division, however, did not leave Latvia. Instead Major Bischoff created a German and Russian united Legion from over a dozen Freikorps units and Russian volunteers, then he turned the units over to the West Russian Volunteer Army which was commanded by Pavel Bermondt-Avalov. In total, the Iron Division transferred over 14,000 men, 64 aircraft, 56 artillery pieces, and 156 machine guns. Six cavalry units and a field hospital were also transferred. Together with the other German units, Bermondt-Avalov had a 30 000 men army, only 6000 of whom were Russians. On October 8 the West Russian Volunteer Army started an offensive against Riga. After initial success, on November 10–11, 1919, the Latvian Armed Forces started a counter-offensive, and by early December the entire West Russian Volunteer Army got pushed out of Latvia.
Armored cars :
The Latvian army won many trophies by defeating the West Russian Volunteer Army. Among them were three armored vehicles « Max », « Moritz » and « Titanic ». In addition, in Decurabri, the English handed over 3 Mk.V tanks to the Latvian armed forces.
On December 12, 1919 the 1st Armored Division was composed of an Armored Car Company, Tank Batallion, Car-Motorcycle Company, Training Company, and Auto-Battery.
The Armored Car Company was composed of two Armored Car Platoons, each with 52 men. Armored vehicles « Kurzemnieks », « Zemgalietis » and « Lāčplēsis » were included in the 1st Platoon, « Viesturs », « Imanta » and « Staburags » were included in the 2nd Platoon. In addition, an Auto-battery was created, which included the German trophies « Max » (renamed « Perkons ») and « Moritz » (renamed « Tālivaldis »), as well as some smaller support units. However, the creation of such a large combat unit made it too difficult to manage.
On February 25, 1920, the 1st Armored Division was dissolved into separate units (Armored Car Division, Armored Train Division, Tank Division). The Car-Motorcycle Company was incorporated into the Armored Car Division.
The Armored Car Division was established from March 9 to April 1, 1920. It was composed of the 1st Armored Car Platoon with « Kurzemnieks » and « Zemgalietis » and the 2nd Armored Car Platoon with « Viesturs », « Imanta » and « Staburags ».
In the future interwar years, the units of the Latvian armed forces experienced various changes.
V – History and details of Latvian armored cars during the war of independence :
As mentioned earlier, the first armored cars in the Latvian army were obtained after the Battle of Cēsis, when German armored cars (taken from the Soviets) were handed over to the Latvian Army. According to the Treaty of Strazdumuiža, the German troops retreating from Riga left the Latvians with the trophies they had won. Among them were armored cars and military vehicles of various brands, such as « Lanchester », « Sheffield-Simplex », « Garford », « Russo-Balt », « Fiat » and « Austin ». Of course, all this equipment needed a thorough repair. All cars were handed over to the Auto-Center for repair. The Lanchester and Russo-Balt were probably too damaged to be repaired.
The Garfords :
The two Russian « Garford » were a truly important asset for the Latvian troops, as they were equipped with a 3-inch caliber gun and adapted to the installation of several machine guns. After the fall of Riga, both of these machines were abandoned in the Jumpravmuiža district (in Daugavmala near Dole Island) by the Soviets units who were retreating, having previously damaged them. One of the Garford went from the 20th Auto-Armored Platoon, the second Garford came from the 26th Auto-Armored Platoon and was probably abandonned during the retreat of the Red Army near Riga. Both were former part of the Peter the Great sea fortress division. They were named « Lāčplēsis » and « Komunists ». Later, the machines with the names « Lāčplēsis » and « Kurzemnieks » (former « Komunists ») were included in the 1st Armored Division. The first Garford repaired was « Lāčplēsis » in the 2nd auto-workshop (former Pirvica factory), it has even its engine changed. At the end of August, it was ready to combat. « Lāčplēsis » was later captured by the Bermondt-Avalov Army during the West Russian Volunteer Army offensive on Riga on the Mitava highway. It went back to the Latvian forces when the volunteers and Iron Division left Latvia in the end of December 1919 but even if the auto-workshop worked hard, it could not be repaired. The second Garford armored car « Kurzemnieks » was overhauled in the 3rd auto-workshop (former Russian-Baltic wagon factory). « Kurzemnieks » was the first armored vehicle that participated in the parade of Latvian troops on September 12, 1919. This event was even captured on film and in photographs. In the spring and summer of 1920, Kurzemnieks participated in battles against the Red units in Latgale and after the armistice, was stationned on the border.
LACPLESIS
KURZEMNIEKS
Austin :
A 2nd serie « Austin » armored car was also captured and repaired in the 1st auto-workshop (former Felzer factory) since July 8, 1919. In total, the repairs required 926 hours. On August 6, the newly repaired armored car was driven around the factory grounds. From now on, the armored car « Austin » got the name « Zemgaleetis » (notice that it was renamed « Zemgalietis » after the war of independence). It has an interesting background. This machine served under the name « СПАРТАК » (Spartak) among the Red Army. There is reason to believe that it belonged to the 26th Auto-Armored Platoon of the Red Army, which was sent to assist the Soviet Latvian Army. It was dug for the battle in the area of Jelgava at the disposal of the 1st brigade. On March 19, 1919, when Jelgava was occupied by the German Landswehr units in a rapid attack, the armored car was found near the railway station, where it had been left by the soldiers without being able to evacuate it. At the end of May, when Riga was liberated from the Reds, the vehicle was handed over to the Felzen factory for repair. When the battles of Cēsis began, war engineer O. Hote delayed sending the machine to the Germans, who wanted to use it against the Latvian and Estonian troops. After the German defeat in Cesis, « Zemgaleetis » went to the Latvian army, the armored vehicle was very successfully used against the Bermontians. « Zemgalietis » was the only armored vehicle immortalized in the works of art, the monument to the fallen soldiers and the graphics of S. Vidberg.
ZEMGALEETIS
Fiat :
A total of two armored cars « Fiat » were obtained as trophies. One of them, formerly German and named « Nürnberg » was either captured from the Soviet units or property of Bermondt-Avalov’s forces was taken after the defeat of the bermontians forces and was handed over to the 2nd auto-workshop for overhaul, the repairs were completed on November 16, 1919, when the fighting against Bermondt-Avalov’ Army was in full swing. The machine was registered by the 2nd car department of the 1st Armored Division under the name « Staburags ». The Latvian Army tried to use it in the battles against the Bermontians, but unsuccessfully. The following year, it was successfully used on the Eastern Front against the Red Army.
The other Fiat, first named « Latvija » was part of the Latvian Riflemen Division, it was captured on May 23, 1919, during an attack at Daugavgriva near Riga and went to Prince Anatole von Lieven’s unit which at that time, was part of the Baltische Landeswehr allied to the Latvian army. The machine was repaired in the 2nd auto-workshop until June 28. The vehicle was given a new name « России » (Russia). The armored car was subsequently used successfully on the North-Western Front against Petrograd. After the defeat of Yudenich’s Army, the armored car went to repair in Revelë (now Tallinn). The Latvian government, considring the armored car as its property, demanded the armored car to be returned to Latvia, but the Estonian government refused. Later, this armored car was renamed Wambola and remained in the Estonian Army.
STABURAGS
Sheffield-Simplex :
The « Sheffield-Simplex » armored car was first part of the Soviet Latvian forces and was engaged against the Estonian Army in the Vidzeme region. Then, the engine of the vehicle stalled and it was simply abandoned. As a result, it ended up in the hands of the Republican Latvian Army and was overhauled on September 24, 1919 in the 2nd auto-workshop. From now on, the machine was known by the name « Imanta ». It took part in the battles against Bermondt Avalov’s Western Volunteer Army. However, due to technical reasons, it was not able to successfully fight. In the battles of Smärde, the machine even fell into the hands of the Bermontians, but after a successful counterattack, it was recovered. The machine’s failures can be explained by the fact that the Sheffield-Simplex company originally built the machine for the city’s police needs. The repair workshop to the 1st Armored Division stated that the machine’s construction was too light and unsustainable to the weight of the armament.
IMANTA
The rest of the heavily damaged trophy armored cars, such as « Russo-Balt » and « Lanchester » were intended to be converted into heavy trucks.
Titanic, Max and Moritz :
In addition, in the battles against Bermontians, the Latvian army won three trophy armored vehicles: « Titanic », « Max » and « Moritz ».
« Titanic » was a heavy armored vehicle designed by Pierce-Arrow. There were all in all two copies of this vehicle and the two were previously part of the Armored Artillery Division of the land defence of the Sea Fortress of Emperor Peter the Great in Revel and were captured in the summer of 1917 by the German Army. One was sent to Berlin but the other remained in Latvia. At first, the armored car belonged to the German Iron Division but in early 1919, with the German and Republican Latvian area reduced to Liepaja, the armored car division of the province of Liepaja was formed and included in the Baltische Landeswehr. It included the « Titanic » and « Nurnberg », an Izorsky Fiat captured from the Soviet Latvians. On April 16, 1919, « Titanic » participated in the overthrow of the Provisional Government of Latvia in Liepāja. In September 1919 the Armored Car Division was included in the Iron Division together with « Max » and « Moritz » and operated on October 8 in the area of the Jelgava highway, and also took part in the battles near Livbērze on November 20, 1919 during the West Russian Volunteer Army offensive on Riga. On November 23, during the Latvian counter-offensive, the 8th Regiment reached Dobeli, and captured « Titanic ». It was overhauled from December 9 to 24 by the workshop of the 1st Division. In 1920, the armored car was included in the composition of the 1st Armored Division and received a new name, « Viesturs ».
TITANIC - VIESTURS
« Max » and « Moritz » were named after the famous miscreants from the popular story of the German poet Wilhelm Busch. Max was a special Daimler chassis with a Krupp 77 mm anti-aircraft gun. Moritz was also a Daimler chassis but with a Rheinmetal 77 mm AA gun. These machines, called armored platforms, were specially designed to fight against aviation and aerostats, but were later also successfully used against armored vehicles, artillery and tanks. The armored platforms had a remarkable speed for those times (up to 80 km/h) and maneuverability with front and rear traction wheels. « Moritz » was captured by the Latvian army on November 19, 1919, during the Latvian counter-offensive on the West Russian Volunteer Army, when the Cēsi Infantry Regiment occupied the Katrīna manor near Jelgava. It was repaired from December 3, 1919 to February 23, 1920 in the workshop of the 2nd division. It was registered in the 2nd Auto Platoon of the Armored Car Division under the name « Tālivaldis ». It was successfully used in the battles of 1920 on the Eastern Front against the Soviets. The second armored platform « Max » was taken when the West Russian Volunteer Army left Latvia at the end of December 1919 and was repaired from March 19 to August 18, 1920 in the workshop of the 1st division. The completely damaged original engine was replaced with a Benz one. The installation of the repaired cannon was delayed, and the machine did not returned to the front. The car was registered in the 1st car department of the Armored Car Division under the name « Pērkons ».
MAX - PERKONS / MORITZ - TALIVALDIS
VI – The Latvian Army after the War of Independence :
After the end of the War of Independence on August 11, 1920 and the conclusion of a peace treaty with Soviet Russia, there were 52,940 servicemen in the army of Latvia. There were four armored trains, six armored cars, eight tanks, 23 aircraft, 138 artillery pieces and other weapons. In the interwar years, the units of the Latvian armed forces experienced various changes. On April 1, 1921, the Armed Forces of Latvia completely switched over to the peacetime staff. In the years of peace, all the mentioned armored vehicles were practically the only ones in the Latvian armed forces.
In the spring of 1921, when the Latvian army moved to peacetime conditions, all military vehicles began to be combined into one unit.
On March 15, 1921, the Armored Car Division was transformed into the Auto Division.
In April, it included a Tank Platoon, an Armored Car Company and a Motorcycle Park Company. At this time, the armored cars equipment of the Auto Division was composed of the 1st Armored Car Platoon with « Kurzemnieks », « Zemgalietis » « Imanta » and « Perkons » and the 2nd Armored Car Platoon with « Viesturs », « Talivaldis », and « Staburags ».
On June 01, 1922, the Auto Division was renamed the Auto-Tank Division.
On September 29, 1926, the Auto-Tank Division was renamed as a Regiment, and « Sargs » was included. Although in the twenties the possibility of increasing the number of armored vehicles by purchasing new ones was considered, the choice eventually fell in favor of light tanks. In the twenties, the armored vehicles were stationed in the barracks on Slokas Street, but as the Tank Regiment expanded, the vehicles were moved to the Riga Citadel.
In May 1931, the Armored Company was divided into separate Armored Car and Tank Platoons. The armored car company had two armored cars platoons, three vehicles in each platoon: 1st platoon with « Kurzemnieks », « Staburags » and « Zemgalietis ». 2nd platoon with « Viestur », « Sargs » and « Imanta ». Each platoon had one gun and two machine-gun armored vehicles. Big changes took place on March 1, 1940, when the Regiment was renamed the Auto-tank Brigade. Soon after the occupation of Latvia in June 1940, the Auto-Tank Brigade was forced to leave its location and at the beginning of September 1940, the Latvian Army was subordinated to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and incorporated in the 24th territorial Rifle Corps of the Red Army. The newly created battalion, which was stationed in Sloka, had an Armored Tank Company, which included tanks and three armored vehicles (« Imanta », « Sargs » and « Zemgalietis »). At the beginning of the WWII, at the end of July 1941, while moving to Gulbeni, the battalion came under German fire. Two armored vehicles from this column were shot or abandoned (« Zemgalietis » and « Sargs »), but the third (« Imanta ») managed to escape. This is so far the only testimony about the use of combat equipment in the Latvian armies in World War II. The future fate of the armored vehicles is unknown.
The 24th Territorial Rifle Corps :
After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in June 1940, the annihilation of the Latvian Army began. The Army was first renamed the People’s Army of Latvia and in September–November 1940 the Red Army’s 24th Territorial Rifle Corps. The Corps comprised the 181st and 183rd Rifle Divisions. In September the Corps contained 24,416 men but in autumn more than 800 officers and about 10,000 instructors and soldiers were discharged. The arrests of soldiers continued in the following months. In June 1940, the entire Territorial Corps was sent to Litene camp. Before leaving the camp, Latvians drafted in 1939 were demobilised, and replaced by about 4,000 Russian soldiers from the area around Moscow. On June 10, the corps’ senior officers were sent to ‘officer courses’ in Moscow, where they were arrested and most of them were shot. On June 14, the camp was surrounded by NKVD Troops – around ten soldiers were shot, and at least 430 officers were arrested and sent to Gulag camps in Norilsk. After the German attack against the Soviet Union, from June 29 to July 1 more than 2080 Latvian soldiers were demobilised, fearing that they might turn their weapons against the Russian commissars and officers. Simultaneously, many soldiers and officers deserted and when the Corps (in fact only the 183rd Rifle Division) crossed the Latvian border into the Russian SFSR only about 3,000 Latvian soldiers remained. After completing a fighting retreat to Staraya Russa and beyond, the corps was dissolved in September 1, 1941.
VII – History and details of Latvian armored cars after the war of independence :
During the interwars years, combat vehicles were used in maneuvers and regularly participated in national holiday parades. The armored vehicles were repeatedly repaired, repainted and rebuilt and kept in good combat condition until 1940.
From time to time the machines were repaired and completely rebuilt. In he last years of independence, armored vehicles were repaired and modernized in the joint-stock company Ford-Vairogs in Riga.
« Lāčplēsis » was never repaired and was probably scrapped. « Kurzemnieks » was modernized In the late 20s with a new Wisconsin engine which required a redesign of the front end, an additional protection on the rear at the bottom of the turret and a searchlight on the roof of the middle compartment. In 1921, it returned to Riga. Kurzemnieks was in service until the 30s and then stored in the Riga fortress. It was captured by a german photographer in 1941.
KURZEMNIEKS
« Zemgalietis » also went under several modernizations, in 1926, it received a new Benz chassis and 42 HP engine and in the 1933 it was again modernized with a Fordson chassis purchased from a Danish company and a Ford V-8 cylinder engine with a capacity of 65 hp changing the external appearance of the car, the modernization ended in 1936. Other sources stated that « Zemgalietis » received in the late thirties a chassis and motor of a Ford-Vairog 917T whose production started in 1937 at the Riga plant.
The armored vehicle was included in the 113rd reconnaissance battalion of the 181 Rifle Division of the 24th Territorial Corps of the Red Army in early September 1940; « Zemgalietis » ended its life in July 1941 while retreating from Riga towards the Estonian border, the armored car column either came under attack from from German aviation and the vanguard of German tank units on July 2, 1941 and abandoned its damaged vehicles.
ZEMGALIETIS
FORD-VAIROG ZEMGALIETIS
« Staburags » went as it through the 20s and 30s and was planned for a modernization in the Vairog plant in 1940 but the Soviet invasion came before anything could be done. Its furthr fate is unknown.
STABURAGS
« Imanta » was sent in 1940 to the Ford-Vairog plant for modernization, a new 1939 Ford V8 chassis and engine was adapted, the steering was moved to the right side, a reversible gearbox was installed, a second control was added, and the armored hull was reinforced. The vehicle was returned to the Army in Augus 1940, The Red Army was already in Latvia. After the Soviet invasion in 1940, « Imanta » was included in the 181st Division of the Red Army as part of the 24th Territorial Rifle Corps. At the beginning of the war, in July 1941, Imanta, as part of the 181st Rifle Division, was retreating to the east. Not far from the former border with the USSR (Liepna, 04.07.1941), the 36th Rifle (Motorized) Division of the Wehrmacht cut off their road and « Imanta » was blown up.
IMANTA
« Viesturs » underwent no changes between the wars and its fate is unknown.
« Tālivaldis » and « Pērkons » were included in a Heavy Artillery Battalion After the end of the War of Liberation and later in Armored Car Platoons. In 1923, the supply of ammunition for 77 mm guns « Krupp » was only about 350 shells per gun. The fuses due to dampness have deteriorated. The command decided to remove the worn-out, repeatedly repaired autocannons from the armament and transfer them to the reserve. In 1936 they were bought by Alexander Pavlovich Klyagin, an arms dealer who lived in France for 20,000 lvls. Note that the well-known Alexander Pavlovich Klyagin, the owner of the A. Klaguine company registered in France and Belgium, was engaged in « recycling » the military property of the former armies of the White Movement and actively supplied various weapons, including to Latvia. His customers were also Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Persia, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and other countries. With the help of Klyagin, Latvia was selling its obsolete weapons. Presumably, « Tālivaldis » and « Pērkons » were sold to Spain. Both armored vehicles were sold in 1937.
Sargs :
In 1926, the Latvian Automobile Club presented an armored vehicle to the Auto-Tank Regiment. The armored vehicle was ceremoniously presented to the regiment on October 22 in Riga, at Esplanade Square. The ceremonial presentation ceremony was also attended by the President of the Republic, Jānis Čakste. The armored vehicle was included in the 2nd Platoon of the Armored Company of the Motorized Tank Regiment, because the platoon lacked a light armored vehicle and therefore this armored vehicle was very much needed to complete the Armored Company. The armored vehicle cost more than 2000 LVLS, part of the funds were also provided by the Latvian Defense Society. The painting, assembly and other work on the armored vehicle were carried out in Riga, in the workshops of the Auto-Tank Regiment, which cost an additional 1000 LVLS. The chassis and 35 hp engine of the armored car were built at the Fiat factory in Italy. The armor was made by the English company « Beardmore ». The armored car had two diagonally placed, rotating turrets, and was armed with two machine guns, after the unification of armament for combat vehicles it was equipped with 2 « Vickers » 0.303″ (inch) machine guns in the turrets, each machine gun was operated by 1 person, only « Mills » hand grenades were used to throw grenades from the car. In the thirties, the armored car was rebuilt in the army Arsenal workshops, adapting it to a V8 Ford engine. The crew consisted of 5 people – a commander, driver, assistant driver, and two machine gunners. The armored vehicle was the only one of all armored vehicles that had its own emblem painted on it – the emblem of the donor Latvian Auto Club. The armored vehicle was included in the 24th Territorial Corps of the Red Army in early September 1940. In the famous photograph, which usually refers to the appearance of the Latvian Austin Zemgalietis, which is in the foreground, an abandoned Sargs is behind the Ford-Vairogs truck. While retreating from Riga towards the Estonian border, the armored car company came under attack from a German unit and was routed or simply abandoned its vehicles.
SARGS
A-7 :
Because there were few armored vehicles and all of them were prepared and maintained for the needs of a possible war, in 1930 the Regiment had its own training armored car « A-7 » (until 1938 it was designated as « A-11 »). This armored car had only one rotating turret adapted for one machine gun. The chassis and engine were a « Ford » AA ones with a power of 12/40 hp. The armor probably came from the vairogs works and was probably very thin for a training vehicle. Armament was a .303 Vickers.
A-7
VIII – Armored cars crew, driving procedures, paint and insignas :
An armored car was the smallest combat unit in a platoon, its crew consisted of 5 or 7 soldiers: a commander, a driver, an assistant driver, two machine gunners and two gunners (for a gun armored car). Each armored car’s soldier knew the construction, maintenance and driving of his car and was able to eliminate the simplest mechanical malfunctions, as well as he was well versed in sapper work (making explosives, damaging bridges and railways, destroying enemy vehicles, etc.). After the unification of the armament, the armored vehicles were equipped only with Vickers 0.303″ (inch) machine guns and 3″ guns. The machine gun was operated by one soldier and the gun by two. Only Mills (« Mills ») hand grenades were used for throwing grenades from cars. For active air defense, it was planned to use reserve machine guns, placing them on supports. In addition to armored cars, the command had motorcycles for the successful completion of the task – communications and heavy vehicles for transporting ammunition, fuel and other goods. Standing in a column, the vehicles stood one behind the other at a distance of 5 m. When driving, the distance was 50m. Usually the column moved in the following order: motorcycle, armored vehicles and heavy vehicles. The armored cars were guided by two control flags (for daytime) as well as two signal lights (for nighttime), white for control, red for danger. The flag measures 50 cm long and 40 cm wide, the base was attached to a metal pole. The rank of the commander was determined by the colors of the control flag: a green flag with a white 10 cm wide horizontal stripe for the company commander, a red flag with a white 10 cm wide horizontal stripe for the platoon commander, a simple red flag for the armored car commander. The yellow flag was used to indicate obstacles and dangers. In battles, communications with other vehicles or infantry were maintained by a crew member assigned for this purpose, usually a machine gunner or a driver.
From the black and white photographs, it is difficult to judge the paintwork of the combat vehicles of that time. Also, almost no written evidence has been preserved. Even the few living witnesses are unable to explain. The postcard sets « Latvija Valsts Svētkos » published in 1991, which are the only known pictures of that time, could give us a certain idea. Armored vehicles of the Imperial Russian army were painted in one protective color. It could be dark green-gray or gray. Such a color was also preserved in the Latvian army in the first years. In the early twenties, combat vehicles began to be painted in different shades. The first known written instruction about this can be found in the third order of the Inspector of Troops of January 1924: « Kurzemnieks » had to be painted in one color, « Imanta » in 3 colors and « Viesturs » in 5 colors. Since the Latvian army did not adopt a specific pattern of coloring at the beginning, the number and shades of colors was different. Thus, the armored cars were usually painted in the four-color paint scheme of the Auto-Tank Regiment workshop (brown, gray, green and yellow spots framed by a black line). On the other hand, in the 1930s, only three colors were used for military equipment (brown, green and yellow spots framed by a black line). The contour line was probably abandoned shortly before the war.
In addition to names, numbers and emblems were painted on the combat vehicles, During the war of independence, the 1st Armored Division had two variants of emblems, crossed flags in the national colors with the abbreviated inscription: « 1 Bruņ div. », or just the shield of the national colors. On the other hand, in the Armored Car Division, armored cars were painted with the emblem typical of the unit with the abbreviated inscription: « Brun auto diw. ». When the Army moved to peacetime conditions, the emblems were no longer worn on the armored car, but only the names were left. Only the armored car « Sargs » had the emblem of the Latvian Auto Club from the donors. The combat vehicles of the auto-tank unit had their own black flag (330×220 mm) with the national colors of the storm flag (120×80 mm) included in it and the emblem specific to the Auto-tank regiment (brigade).
IX – Soldier’s uniforms :
At the beginning of the war of independence, the troops did not have a specific uniform. The soldiers of the Armored Division were dressed like the soldiers of other Latvian units: in Russian, German, English and American army uniforms. Due to the lack of uniforms, soldiers were often dressed in private clothes. Sometimes black leather jackets and leather hats (nagenes) were also worn. This clothing was already introduced in the army of tsarist Russia in its final stage and was intended for motorized and technical units. Black-colored clothing was introduced to hide the stains caused by frequent contact with oily machinery. The leather suit also protected against wind, rain and cold, especially when driving in open vehicles. At the beginning of 1920, service insignia on shoulders were approved for technical troops. The Armored Car Division also had its mark. In July 1922, the Latvian army approved a new, independently worn uniform. The Auto-Tank Division got black uniforms with red insignia. Soldiers also wore French helmets, In 1929, the uniforms of the Latvian Army were changed. The uniform of the soldiers of the Auto-Tank Regiment kept the black basic color characteristic of them, but with red borders and a new shoulder badge, a car wheel crossed with a tank and two machine guns. Since 1927, the personal weapons of the crew were mostly 1903 Belgian « Brauning » pistol (9 mm caliber), which could be used as a sling if necessary.
Source : modris esserts - latvian armored cars and tanks
