History of the latvian independence wars

I – Formation of the Latvian state and army :

The Russian revolution of 1917 in Latvia led to the radicalization of Latvian civilians and Latvian riflemen . The majority of the riflemen supported the Bolsheviks , who dominated the revolutionary Council of Workers’ Deputies of Riga and the Provisional Land Council of Vidzeme . Based on the favorable election results, at the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks created an autonomous state formation called Iskolat , which proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power. The majority of the inhabitants of Riga, Vidzeme and Latgale supported the Bolsheviks and left social revolutionaries in free elections . In the elections of the Russian Constituent Assembly , which took place in November 1917 in Vidzeme, which was not occupied by the Germans, they won about 77% of the votes.

On August 5, 1917, a minority of moderate and nationally-minded soldiers and officers united in the National Union of Latvian Soldiers , which together with nationally-minded politicians, shortly after the October Revolution , founded the Latvian Provisional National Council on November 16, 1917 . In the German- occupied Riga, on September 23, 1917, several civic parties and social democrats created a semi-legal Democratic Bloc .

The collapse of the German Empire during the November Revolution of 1918 not only gave the opportunity for the declaration of the independence of the democratic Republic of Latvia, but also made it necessary for the government of the new country to ask for international help in the fight against the expected attack of the Bolshevik troops. With the 15th point of the Armistice of Compiegne on November 11, the Entente countries achieved the cancellation of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty by Germany. On November 13, Soviet Russia also annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

On November 17, the Latvian People’s Council was established, which declared Latvia’s independence on November 18 , 1918 , by the merger of two Latvian political representative organizations – the Latvian Provisional National Council and the Democratic Bloc. The formation of the first Provisional Government of Latvia by Kārļis Ulmanis began . Initially, the government did not have the post of Minister of Defense, as future self-defense units were expected to be created under the Ministry of the Interior. Due to the threat of Bolshevik invasion, lieutenant colonel Roberta Dambīti was appointed as the first Acting Minister of Defense on November 22 . On December 6, Jānis Zālītis, one of the founders of the rifle regiments , a former member of the State Duma of the Russian Empire , was appointed Minister of Defense , leaving Dambītis as his deputy.

Vinnigs action :

In the critical first months for the Latvian state, Augusts Vinnigs played a great role . Being a social democrat, but at the same time a defender of the empire, he supported the idea of colonization of Latvian lands. As a representative of the German Ministry of the Interior, Vinnigs arrived in occupied Latvia in September 1918 to explore the possibilities of colonization. On October 25, he was sent to Latvia again. He was not a supporter of the independence of small countries, believing that Russia’s Baltic provinces should link their future with Germany. Winnig considered the establishment of German-controlled Baltic states as his goal, which would establish close political and economic relations with Germany. While the representatives of the Latvian Peasants’ Union were strong supporters of the Entente, the Latvian People’s Party , Andrejs Krastkalns and Andrievs Niedra were ready to cooperate closely with Germany and the Baltic Germans. Winnig established good relations with the local social democrats ( Fritz Mender, etc.), who hoped for good cooperation with the new, social democratic Germany that was formed after the fall of the empire during the November Revolution .

While preparing for the conclusion of the armistice, the Entente countries realized that the immediate withdrawal of German and Austro-Hungarian troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire would lead to the establishment of Bolshevik power. To prevent this, Germany was instructed to maintain its military presence in the Baltics until the entry of the Entente troops. On the day of the signing of the Armistice of Compiegne, Great Britain recognized the previously orally recognized Provisional National Council of Latvians in writing with the Balfour Note . According to the terms of the armistice of November 11, 1918, German troops were to remain in the occupied Baltic territories and defend them against the Bolsheviks. The German 8th Army stationed here consisted of 6 infantry divisions, one cavalry brigade and 9 separate regiments. It served mainly elderly reservists who wanted to return home sooner. The revolutionary collapse began in the army, the soldiers tore off the shoulders of the officers and formed soldiers’ councils. The 8,000 sailors of the German navy stationed there were restless in Liepāja.

With the establishment of the German Republic , Winnig was appointed the plenipotentiary general of the new social democratic government in the Baltics on November 14 (envoy to Latvia on December 26). He canceled the bans on rallies and meetings introduced by the military administration, released political prisoners . Bolshevik rallies began in Riga. There was a fraternization of German and Red Army soldiers at the front, with the Germans leaving a large stockpile of weapons for the Bolsheviks. Winnig initially focused on a somewhat controlled evacuation of the German army and weapons from the Baltic, which was considered lost to the Bolsheviks. To cover the retreat, local German-Baltic and German army volunteer units began to form, which laid the foundations for the Landeswehr and the Iron Brigade .

The German troops obeyed Winnig, who on November 26 signed a declaration of recognition of the Provisional Government of Latvia (the so-called Winnig note ) on behalf of the German government , which led to the German-Baltic political project – the self-liquidation of the United Baltic Duchy on November 28, 1918. Since the possibility of the personal union of the Baltic Duchy with the German Empire was no longer feasible, Winning’s task was to build cooperation with German-supporting parties that would ensure Germany’s political influence even after the withdrawal of the troops, so he was ready to promote the declaration of Latvia’s independence, then attracting the new country with various agreements for Germany. On December 17, December 23, and January 4, Winnig gave the Provisional Government half a million marks each. In addition, he allocated 2.25 million marks for the needs of the newly formed Landeswehr. The provisional government held continuous negotiations with Winnig about the need for additional troops, as well as about the possibility of German troops holding Jelgava and Kurzemi, if Riga fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks.

Creation of the Landeswehr :

Although Winnig recognized the Provisional Government politically, he wanted to maintain military control, which led to the 7 December 1918 agreement between Winnig and the Provisional Government on the establishment of the Landeswehr , which officially established the multinational Latvian Land Guard, or Landeswehr ( German : Lettländische Landeswehr ), which was intended for 6,000 soldiers. Administratively, it was subordinated to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Latvia Zālītis, and in terms of supply and military – to the German occupation forces. On December 9, Latvia was divided into four security regions and regional chiefs were appointed – in Latgale lieutenant colonel Jānis Imaks , in Vidzeme colonel Jānis Apini , in Kurzeme colonel Mārtiņus Peniķis and in Riga German-Baltic general Freitagas-Loringhofen with captain Jorgis Zemitanas as assistant. German major Scheibert became the commander of the Landeswehr. On December 10, Minister of Defense Zālītis approved the staff of the General Staff of the Latvian Armed Forces, creating the administrative apparatus of the ministry.

Formation of Latvian units :

With the establishment of the Landeswehr, the Provisional Government issued appeals to the population, calling for volunteers to join the army. General mobilization was not announced, fearing that the newly recruited soldiers would support the Bolsheviks or desert. As the Red Army approached, mobilization was announced for former Russian Imperial Army officers up to 45 years of age and instructors up to 35 years of age in the Riga region from December 17 to 20. Around 300 people responded, most of whom formed the Latgale reserve officers’ company and the Latgale non-commissioned officers’ company , which had 130 soldiers by the end of the year. From the Russian prisoners of war released by the Germans, three companies with 200 people each were formed in Riga, which performed garrison duties. Two of these companies refused to go into battle against the Bolsheviks in the last days of December, mutinied, and were disbanded after firing by English warships.

Many Latvians joined the voluntary units of Riga, driven by hunger. Discipline was minimal. Soldiers obtained weapons by robbing German army warehouses, and clothing and food by robbing the population. Captain Aleksandrs Plensners, Acting Chief of the General Staff, reported on the situation : “Latvian volunteers, not to mention clothing and shoes, are given cold and unheated rooms, only after weeks of waiting, and not even a single country hoe is issued for cooking. The only troops of the Latvians are volunteers In Riga – walking in wooden shoes, with almost bare shins and, of course, without weapons. It goes without saying that in such conditions only extreme fanatics or those who have no other way out – an exhausted disabled person who has returned from captivity or an exhausted unemployed person – become volunteers ».

With the help of the National Union of Latvian Soldiers, the Provisional Government formed a volunteer Instructors (officers) company with 260 people under the leadership of Captain Balož (later known as Officers Company and Latvian Independence Company ) in December. In order not to have to obey the German commanders of the Landeswehr, the members of the student corporations Selonia and Talaviya created the Separate Student Company , whose 216 soldiers under the leadership of Nikolay Grundmanns obeyed only the Ministry of Defense. On December 8, the head of the Vidzeme military district, Colonel Jānis Apinis, ordered the formation of the Valka, Valmiera and Limbažu companies along with the large but poorly armed Cēsi company of around 50 soldiers , which did not happen due to the rapid attack of the Red Army. In Liepāja, where the German military administration did not allow mobilization, a company of Latvian volunteers began to form, which grew to 190 soldiers and officers, creating the 1st and 2nd Liepaja security companies, whose maintenance was undertaken by the Liepāja city council. The soldiers here had no more than 10 rifles, and on January 11, 1919, the existence of the company was terminated by the German military police. On December 28, 1918, Minister Zālītis instructed First Lieutenant Las to go from Riga to Ventspils and form a volunteer company there. 50 volunteers who fled from the Bolsheviks to Liepāja by steamboat on January 7, 1919 applied for it.

The acute need for soldiers led to the Provisional Government and Winnig Treaty of December 29, 1918, granting Latvian citizenship to all German citizens who will come to Latvia to fight against the Bolsheviks for at least 4 weeks. The aim of the agreement was to replenish the ranks of the Landeswehr with German volunteers. Before concluding the contract, Ulmanis asked for the acceptance of the British consul Bosenquet, who, considering the critical military situation, agreed.

Lack of public support :

The People’s Council, the Provisional Government and the small circle of its supporters were completely dependent on Germany in the first months. This greatly hampered the new country’s efforts to win the support of the German-hating, Bolshevik-supporting people. An attempt by the interim government to raise 10 million rubles through the sale of bonds failed. Expecting a quick victory of the Bolsheviks, the population’s support for the Provisional Government was minimal. The workers were hostile to it, but the civil circles were cautiously waiting for the outcome of the war. The Latvians who served in the Russian army did not see the point of a further war, did not join the Landeswehr and openly sympathized with the Bolsheviks. Even Gustavs Zemgals, a member of the Chairman of the People’s Council , offered to hand over power to the attacking Bolshevik forces. The greatest patriotic enthusiasm reigned only in the Student Company, part of whose soldiers had received training from the Russian army. Since the German army excused itself in December that it no longer had free uniforms and clothes to give to the Latvians, the Provisional Government called for donations of clothes for the soldiers, for which it received 6 pairs of gloves, 6 pairs of socks and 2 towels. The newspaper “Jaunais Laiks” wrote on December 30, 1918: “The actual state of affairs clearly and clearly shows that the masses of the people do not stand behind our Provisional Government, that at this terrible moment the Provisional Government is alone, without the masses.”

German-Baltic armed formations:

As early as November 11, 1918, the Baltic Germans (as they said then, the Baltics) began to form the Baltic Landeswehr. On November 12, the 1st Riga company was formed, which was followed by the 2nd and 3rd Riga companies in November. On November 17, there was a partially completed Strike Group ( Stoßtruppe ) with about 1,000 men. On November 29, von Raden’s company was formed in Jelgava. The von Kleist and von Tonige companies were formed in Liepāja . In German-Baltic units, German army officers often became commanders. Unlike the Latvian units, to which the German army reluctantly provided support, the Baltic Germans generously received weapons and equipment. On November 29, Winnig created the Iron Brigade from the volunteers and mercenaries of the German army . With the agreement of December 7, 1918 on the creation of the Landeswehr, these units became part of the Landeswehr. On December 8, Winnig went to Berlin, where he asked for military help.

At the beginning of January 1919, when the Provisional Government fled Riga, the Baltic Germans moved their Baltic National Committee ( Baltischer Nationalausschuss ) to Liepāja, which took care of supplying the German armed units and recruiting new volunteers throughout Germany. The mercenary recruitment office “Baltenland” expanded in Germany, with offices in Berlin, Breslau, Danzig, Dresden, Freiburg, Jena, Karlsruhe , Königsberg, Lübeck, Munich, Stuttgart, Stettin, Rostock. The Germans planned that the 30-40,000 volunteers sent to Latvia to fight would form the nucleus of a new colonization movement. While Kurzeme had 26 people per square kilometer, in East Prussia there were 55, and in Germany 127. The German nobles had previously expressed their readiness to donate 1/3 of their lands to the needs of the new colonizers. The brother of Rīdiger von der Goltz, Günther von der Goltz, was involved in the recruitment of mercenaries in Germany, who promised the mercenaries land in Latvia. Many German mercenaries came to Liepāja with the belief that they were promised land and citizenship, which later created major conflicts with the Provisional Government, as the Germans believed that they had been tricked.

At the beginning of 1919, the number of various German military units in the part of Kurzeme controlled by the German occupation administration increased rapidly. In January-February 1919, thousands of young soldiers started arriving in Liepāja by rail and sea, forming semi-autonomous free corps ( Freikorps ), which were included in the Railway Division. The 1st Guards Reserve Division was also moved from Germany to Liepāja. On February 1, 1919, all these forces were united in the 6th reserve corps , whose commander was appointed General Rüdiger von der Goltz , who had experience in Finland in the fight against the Bolsheviks.

II – Attack of the Red Army:

With the 15th point of the Armistice of Compiegne on November 11, the Entente countries achieved the cancellation of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty by Germany. This also meant the cancellation of the August 27 Berlin supplementary agreement , by which Soviet Russia had renounced the Baltic lands. After the collapse of the German Empire as a result of the November Revolution , on November 13, Soviet Russia also announced the termination of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. As German army units began a disorderly retreat to their homeland, the Red Army of Soviet Russia invaded their abandoned territories without significant resistance . In some places, the German soldiers’ councils agreed with the Bolsheviks on the terms of withdrawal, abandoning weapons and warehouses. On November 25, 1918, the Bolsheviks occupied Pskov , where the 2nd Brigade of Latvian Red Riflemen arrived on the night of December 1.

At the end of November, parallel to the invasion of Estonia and Lithuania , the Red Army’s attack on Latvia began in two main directions: from Pskov to Valkas-Valmiera-Cesis-Riga, and from Daugavpils to Jēkabpils-Bauska-Jelgavu. The invasion of Latvia was led by Jukums Vācietis . On December 8, a group of Latvian Army troops ( Russian : Армейская группа войск Латвии ) was created as part of the Red Army. In the middle of December, this group included the units of Latvian Red Riflemen sent from Russia, which in the first half of 1919 made up the majority of the troops (12,000 out of 20,000 Red Army men). The provisional government unsuccessfully issued an appeal to the Red Archers to come to the side of democratic Latvia.

The Iron Brigade, formed from German volunteers on November 29, 1918, retreated without significant resistance. On December 2, the Red Army occupied the strategically important Rēzekne railway line up to Zīlāni station . The military situation led to the December 7 Provisional Government and the Winnig Agreement for the establishment of the Landeswehr.

On December 7, the units of the Red Army that came from Pskov captured Alūksni , on December 9 Daugavpils and on December 17 Valka , where they captured the Minister of Education Kārlis Kasparsons , who had gone to Tallinn. From Valka, moving along the railway line, the Bolsheviks captured Valmiera on the night of December 22 .

Moving along the Daugavpils-Riga railway line near Koknese , on December 18, the Red Army seized an abandoned German armored train, with which they captured the Skriveru station on December 19 and entered Ogre unhindered . The platoon of the 1st and 2nd Riga German companies of the Landeswehr and the Iron Brigade under the leadership of Sergeant Major Bohm, sent from Riga , managed to repulse the attack of the Red Army armored train near the Ogre bridge and recover the Skrīveri station on December 20. A patrol of 50 men was left here, whose soldiers crossed the Daugava by boat and drove the Bolsheviks out of Jaunjelgava on December 22 . As threats from Vidzeme grew, on December 23 this unit and an armored train were sent to Līgatni.

On December 22, the Germans left Cēsis without a fight, and although they were initially determined to defend the city, on December 23 they were also followed by the Latvian Cēsis company , which arrived in Riga on the evening of December 27 via Ieriķim and Līgatni. On the night of December 25, an armed train was sent from Riga to Cēsis with Landeswehr units and a Strike Group, which drove the Bolsheviks from Līgatne station and reached Ieriķu station on December 28 , but were forced to retreat. The armored train left the battle uncoordinated, and the soldiers had to retreat to Sigulda, losing 8 dead. The Landeswehr in Sigulda was supplemented by the Iron Brigade battalion. On December 30, these forces were driven from Sigulda, and they retreated to Inčukalna, where they were supplemented by the 1st and 2nd Riga German companies of the Landeswehr sent from Riga, artillery and a train of officers’ machine gunners. Clashes with the Bolsheviks began, which developed into the Battle of Inchukalna . During the battle of December 31 – January 1, these Provisional Government forces were defeated in the battle against the 1st and 4th regiments of the Latvian Red Riflemen, losing 35 dead.

As a result of the December battles, the German Landeswehr units had suffered heavily. Most of the horses and artillery were lost at Inchukalna. Latvian companies based in Riga proved to be politically unreliable, but the fighting spirit of the Germans of the Iron Brigade was lower than expected. There were changes in the leadership of the Landeswehr – Captain von Boeckmann replaced the Chief of Staff, Captain Dietrich, who took the place of the outgoing Major Scheibert.

Loss of Riga:

Military problems were also worsened by the unstable political situation in Riga. Bolshevik supporters carried out their propaganda in the streets almost unhindered, but the Social Democrats at their conference from December 26 to 28 decided to withdraw from the People’s Council, condemning the work of the Provisional Government and announcing their neutrality in the war. English warships, which were initially ready to defend Riga, later received an order not to engage in further battles.

On December 29, rumors about the upcoming Bolshevik uprising spread in Riga. The 1st Riga Latvian Company of the Landeswehr came under their influence, the soldiers refusing to go to the front against the Red Army. Two of the three companies of the Riga garrison, which were made up mainly of Russian prisoners of war released by the Germans and volunteers from workers’ districts, were considered disloyal. The Provisional Government demanded the disarmament of the rebels, which could only be carried out by German soldiers. British naval representatives agreed to provide artillery support. Suppression of the uprising was carried out by three companies of the German Iron Brigade and the Landeswehr, together with the 3rd Latvian company of the Landeswehr, which was stationed at the same place as the 1st company – at 99 Suvorova street (now the Rīga Skolēni pils Kr. Barona street) in the premises of the Orthodox Spiritual Seminary and in the surrounding barracks.

After the 1st Company refused to surrender, at seven o’clock on the morning of December 30, British ships fired several warning shots over the town. Some shells exploded in the sparsely populated Purvciem . As some of the soldiers and rebel leaders had already fled during the night, the less than 200 remaining soldiers surrendered and were escorted to confinement in the Citadel. The Germans also detained some civilians, whom they believed to be Bolsheviks, and later misunderstood several soldiers of the 3rd Riga Latvian company, who were released in the evening, with the German commander expressing a public apology. After the surrender, the mutineers were tried by a German court-martial, with 11 mutineers sentenced to death. These events further worsened the attitude of the German occupying forces towards the weak Provisional Government.

The suppression of the rebellion and the armed involvement of the British boosted the morale of the supporters of the Provisional Government. The organization of city defense and mobilization became active. On December 31, Riga announced general mobilization and appointed lieutenant colonel Oskars Kalpak as the commander of the Latvian units of the Landeswehr . Optimism collapsed on January 1 when news arrived of the defeat at Inchukalna and the London government’s order for the British fleet not to engage in hostilities. Admiral Sinclair confirmed this order to Ullmann. Plans to defend Riga were abandoned and the organization of retreat began. Due to the turbulent situation, the Provisional Government moved from 37 Aleksandra Street to a building at the corner of Aleksandra and Pauluchi Streets .

On January 1, the artillery of the big men started shelling Riga. On the morning of January 2, 1919, part of the Provisional Government fled to Jelgava , but the families of state officials were sent to Liepāja. Some members of the government and the People’s Council evacuated abroad on English ships. An English warship and around 2,000 refugees left Riga in the steamships “Roma” and “Babilona”. The last German army units left the city and the looting of the abandoned army warehouses began. The Riga German Theater (now the National Opera) caught fire . On this day, demonstrations and disorderly shooting by Bolshevik supporters began in Riga, which assumed the character of a rebellion. The departing German army did not even try to suppress it, and the British admiral Sinclair had to establish that the Latvian soldiers armed by the British were also going over to the side of the Bolsheviks.

When Riga fell, four Latvian companies went over to the side of the bigots, but part of the soldiers deserted. Only the remnants of the Officers, Students and Cēsi companies were on the side of the Provisional Government. 190 soldiers of the separate student company, German Landeswehr units and a Russian unit of around 70 men retreated to Jelgava on the evening of January 2. The units commanded by Kalpak gathered in the Riga Latvian Society building, and at 6:00 a.m. on January 3, they began to retreat across the bridges to Pārdaugava. Kalpak took a census of soldiers here. There were 132 soldiers of the instructor reserve officers’ company, 85 soldiers of the Cēsi company and a few dozen representatives of other companies. At this moment, Kalpak and the Provisional Government could count on about 400 soldiers. The last rear guard battalion of the Iron Brigade left Riga on the morning of January 3.

On January 3, the abandoned Riga was occupied by the Red Army’s 2nd Cavalry Division, followed by the 2nd Rifle Brigade. The Socialist Soviet Republic of Latvia under the leadership of Pēteras Stučka, proclaimed on December 17, soon established itself in most of Latvia . On December 23, Soviet Russia recognized the independence of Soviet Latvia. On January 4, 1919, the Soviet Latvian Army was established .

Retreat:

On January 2, Jelgava temporarily became the capital of the Republic of Latvia. In the evening of this day, a partial meeting of the Provisional Government and some members of the People’s Council was held in Jelgava. It was decided to stay in Jelgava until the end, and then go to Liepāja, which could be held for another 2-3 weeks. After the fall of Liepāja, the Provisional Government should fight abroad for the recognition of an independent Latvia.

On the evening of January 3, the German units of the Landeswehr and the soldiers commanded by Kalpak reached Jelgava, where the local Landeswehr unit of Raden was located. The last units of the German army, which did not plan to protect Jelgava, left the city. There was a discussion between Ulmanis and Walters with Winnig, in which Ulmanis was ready to increase the area of land to be allocated to German volunteers to 100 or 120 plots. On January 4, the Separate Student Group held a farewell parade in Jelgava, and on January 5, it went to Liepāja by train with the Provisional Government. On January 5, Winnig also left Jelgava and returned to Germany. Fricis Menders , leader of the Latvian social democrats , who had good connections with the social democrats there, also went to Germany . On the evening of January 6, the train of the Provisional Government arrived in Liepaja, where the German military authorities tried to disarm the soldiers of the Student Company, but then housed them in Liepaja’s Karosta . Iskolat activist Voldemārs Ozols was also on the train , who was arrested on Walter’s order.

On January 5, in Jelgava, Kalpaks issued his first order, according to which the remaining soldiers of the six previous Latvian companies (Officer Reserve Company, Latgale Sub-Officer Company, Latgale Officer Company, Cēsu Company , as well as the 2nd and 3rd Latvian Landesvær Companies) were created 1 Latvian separate battalion with two companies. Captain Jānis Balodi was appointed as the commander of the first company , and Captain Skujiņa was appointed as the commander of the second company. Of the 100 soldiers of the Jelgava Latvian volunteer company led by Captain Arnold Artum-Hartmanis, less than 40 soldiers were left, which Kalpaks sent to Liepāja for reorganization and training. In the evening of January 5, the 1st Latvian separate battalion went to defensive positions near the Dalbe station .

The abandonment of Riga and the collapse of the plan to create a Landeswehr led to the reorganization of the armed forces. Major Scheibert left the command and was replaced by Captain von Beckmann. The existing command structure was abolished, and direct command of all units was taken over by the Landeswehr’s headquarters (Obershtab). The untrained soldiers were sent to Liepāja, but the combat-capable units had to continue resisting the Bolsheviks.

On January 5, the soldiers of the Iron Brigade and the German Landeswehr went to Vecumnieku station by train , on January 6 there was a shootout with the Bolsheviks, who drove the Iron Brigade and Landeswehr soldiers away. The commander of the unit escaped with a locomotive. The units of Landeswehr retreated to Bauska with battles , but a group of about 100 soldiers of the Iron Brigade was captured in Iecava by an armed unit of local residents.

On January 6, Hans von Manteifel-Cegi was appointed as the commander of the Strike Group instead of Captain Bohm . He was one of the commanders who believed that the Landeswehr should continue to fight against the Bolsheviks, instead of covering the retreat of the German army and guarding the East Prussian border. Since there were few soldiers, large battles should be avoided in the future, and surprise attacks should be concentrated.

On January 6, the 3rd Soviet Latvian Rifle Regiment from Baldone , Mežotne and along the Krustpils-Jelgava railway from the Garoza station began an attack on Jelgava. On January 7, the last forces of the Iron Brigade announced that they planned to retreat to Mazeikikai and later settled in the vicinity of Vaiňode . On January 7, Kalpak’s units retreated from their positions at the bridge over the Iecava River in Ozolniekos and on the morning of January 8 returned to Jelgava, which they left the same day together with the last Landeswehr units, retreating to Dobeli, which was also soon abandoned. On January 9, the Soviet Latvian army captured Jelgava and Dobela, on January 10, Tukuma. On January 12, Kalpak’s 1st Latvian separate battalion retreated to Lielauce manor. Oberstäbs, Raden’s unit and Sievert’s artillerymen were stationed in Vecauce , while the Strike Group went to Salda .

During these days, the Landeswehr units involved in the front consisted of: 220 soldiers of Kalpak’s two companies, 300 soldiers of the Strike Group, 135 soldiers of Raden’s company, 30 cavalrymen of Hahn’s division, 2 cannons of Sievert’s battery, 50 soldiers of the Russian unit. A large part of the soldiers had no previous combat experience, but the commanders were junior officers without experience in planning and leading operations.

On January 15, the Strike Group went against the Red Army with reconnaissance, leaving Salda and going to Lielblīdeni and Annenieki . On January 16, the 1st Latvian separate battalion near Lielauce repulsed the attack of the 2nd Soviet Latvian rifle regiment battalion and the cavalry squadron, after which the Bolsheviks retreated to Dobeli, while Kalpaks retreated from Pampāli to Lena manor at the natural defense line of Venta . Raden’s company was stationed in Skrunda and the Oberstäbs in Rudbärži . The shock unit retreated from Jaunpils to Kuldiga, on January 21st it reached Aizputi and on January 22nd Kalnmuiža, about 5 km from Rudbāržie. On January 22, during a night raid, Raden’s unit encountered at least three times the size of the Red Army forces and retreated from Skrunda after the battle. The Oberstab ordered the German Landeswehr to retreat to Valtaikai , and Kalpak’s battalion to Kalveni . The retreat reached its furthest point.

Critical situation in Liepāja:

Liepāja, protected by the German army, became the center of political events of the new country in the first half of 1919. The Provisional Government fled here. The Baltic-German National Committee operated here , which continued its efforts to implement the idea of a Baltic state , as it was revealed during the February Štrik conspiracy . As a result of the German November Revolution , a soldiers’ council was established in the German garrison, but the Liepāja city council, controlled by the left social democrats, operated semi-independently from the power of the occupation forces. Although the leadership of the German 8th Army had evacuated to East Prussia , Liepāja was still controlled by the military governor of the German occupation forces, who imposed restrictions on meetings and movement, as well as suppressed the carrying of weapons by Latvian military units. A part of the German units in Liepāja obeyed the revolutionary soldiers’ council, refusing to go to the front, which was held by the Landeswehr with about 685 soldiers, 30 horsemen and 2 cannons. Both German and Latvian units revolted in Liepāja, one Latvian company had to be disbanded.

After arriving in Liepāja on January 7, the Provisional Government settled in the bank building at Lielaja Street 8 and held a meeting. It became clear that the majority of Liepāja residents sympathized with the bigots and that the city could only be protected with the help of the Entente, as there was no hope for the Germans. Interior Minister Miķelis Valters emphasized that the Provisional Government must ensure order in Liepāja, or leave the city immediately and go into exile. Defense Minister Zālītis reported that Latvian armed units are ready to defend the city only if their evacuation is guaranteed in case of defeat. After the meeting of the Provisional Government, Ulmanis met with the People’s Council, where he supported the opinion that the People’s Council should go to defend Latvia’s interests abroad. He equated Latvia to Montenegro , Serbia and Belgium , which were occupied in the war, whose statehood existed even after the loss of territory.

On January 8, the steamer “Maiga” arrived in Liepāja from Riga with several members of the People’s Council . Therefore, the following members of the People’s Council were in Liepāja:

from the Latvian Farmers’ Union: 1. Ernests Bauers , 2. Eriks Feldmanis , 3. Edmunds Freivalds , 4. Vilis Gulbis , 5. Ādolfs Klīve , 6. Pēteris Murītis , 7. Oto Nonācs , 8. Artūrs Žers , 9. Kārlis Vanags ;
from the Social Democratic Workers’ Party: 10. Pauls Kalniņš , 11. Klara Kalniņa , 12. Valdemārs Kalniņš, 13. Fricis Menders . The Social Democrats did not participate in the activities of the People’s Council at that time;
from Latgalians: 14. Adams Turkopols ;
from the Latvian Democratic Party: 15. Jānis Bergsons , 16. Erasts Bite , 17. Eduards Kiršfelds;
from Latvian radical democrats: 18. Juris Bebris , 19. Juris Zankevics;
from the National Democrats: 20. Jānis Akuraters , 21. Jānis Bankavs (replacing Kārli Skalbi), 22. Kārlis Blodnieks, 23. Atis Ķeniņš ;
from Republicans: 24. Oskars Valdmanis ;
from the Latvian Independence Party: 25. Jānis Eikerts;
from the German Progressive Party: 26. Wilhelm Schreiner .

Evacuation options for soldiers loyal to the Provisional Government created problems. The Germans prevented them from forming combat units, but at the same time forbade men aged 18-45 to leave Liepāja. To ensure the evacuation of Latvian soldiers, the Ministry of Defense nationalized the steamer ” Saratov ” on January 8 , with the owners promising to return it to the port of Liepāja or Copenhagen within two months at the latest.

On January 8, Oto Nonāc was appointed as the editor of the new “Provisional Government Herald” . Only one issue of the newspaper came out because Nonac was sent to Stettin in Germany. On January 9, fellow ministers Rudolf Bēnus , Alfred Birznieks , Pēteris Juraševskis , Liepāja head Andrejs Bērziņš , Liepāja district trustee Ādolfs Kuršinskis , etc. left Liepāja by ship. At that time, the first major port in Germany where refugee ships from Liepaja docked was Szczecin, where the Provisional Government was established center that coordinated the further action in Europe. Otto Nonac and Wilhelm Schreiner were sent to Stettin. Appointed representatives in Berlin, Switzerland and Paris. Leaving Liepāja was made more difficult by the fact that first permission had to be obtained from the soldiers’ council of the German garrison. Čakste and Zemgals were already in Stockholm. On January 9, the Provisional Government made a decision to send Ulman, as well as Ministers Purina and Goldman, abroad. Ulmanis returned to Liepāja only on March 1, until then Valters assumed the leadership of the government.

After fleeing from Jelgava to Liepāja, the independent state of Latvia seemed close to collapse. January marked a critical stage in Liepāja, when the Provisional Government had almost ceased to exist, any government activities in Liepaja had to first receive the permission of the German occupation forces. German-Baltic ministers left the government. When some of the members of the People’s Council tried to evacuate to Germany, they were not allowed on the ship because they had not received permits from the Germans. The general staff and some remaining employees of the Ministry of Defense were led by Captain Aleksandrs Plensner , while Minister Zālītis did nothing for almost a week. The passport department was the only institution of the Provisional Government that continued the work of issuing foreign passports to soldiers and other supporters of the Provisional Government, as they prepared to leave Latvia in the event of a complete victory for the bigwigs. Officers were advised to join Denikin’s White Army. Such a choice was common, because the leaders of the armies of the White Movement were the future generals Rūdolfs Bangerskis , Kārlis Goppers , Eduards Aire , Pēteris Radziņš and other Latvian officers.

The darkest phase lasted about a week, on January 21, with the support of the government, Arturs Kroders started publishing the newspaper ” Latvijas Sargs “, which was engaged in positive propaganda, raising morale. On January 29, the German mission in Liepāja granted a loan of more than a million marks to the Provisional Government. On February 12, the ministers Valters, Zālītis and Hermanovskis who remained in Liepāja decided to declare martial law, thereby subjecting the civilians to another (in addition to the German) military administration. On February 27, Goldmanis announced the creation of the State Land Fund to provide the landless with land. The Land Fund took over former crown estates and state lands. The fund contained only 10% of Latvian land, while German nobles owned over 48%. The land was first promised to be given to those who fought in the army, and not as property, but as a lease. In order to ensure police functions, the Protection Organization was founded on March 20.

III – Preparing a counterattack:

On January 15, Prince Anatols Līvens began to form a Russian company subordinate to the Landeswehr from a few dozen volunteers in Liepāja. Lieven’s unit was joined by former officers and soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army who wanted to fight against the Bolsheviks, but did not want to serve in German-commanded units. The response of the soldiers of the outgoing German army to join the Iron Brigade was small, in January 1919 there were 450 soldiers and officers in it. On January 17, the command of the Iron Brigade was taken over by Major Josef Bischoff , who arrived from Germany , and quickly built it into a significant military force. German officers in Liepāja conducted Landeswehrist training and also began to create a unit supply system. At the beginning of January, Kleista’s unit was formed in Liepāja, which was supplemented by refugees from Kuldīga. Captain Malmede created the 2nd Baltic Battalion and Bart’s Artillery Battery from the soldiers of the Riga Company, which went to the front in February, where he also sent a cavalry unit led by Otto Goldfeld . The strike group and Bart’s battery received two light guns each. Volunteers from Germany began to flow into the Baltic German units.

On January 23, the Oberstab ordered the recapture of Rudbärži and Kalnmuiža . On January 25, the Cēsi group drove the bigots from Lena manor and the next day from Rudbāržie. The strike group recaptured Kalnmuiž, and after receiving news that the Red Army had arrested many Baltic Germans in Kuldīga , on January 26, a unit of the Strike Group of more than 50 soldiers went to the city, stormed the town and freed the prisoners. Since Kuldiga’s unit was too far from the main forces in Aizpute , they had to leave Kuldiga in the evening of the same day and return to Aizpute.

On January 28, a cavalry unit of the Landeswehr Drachenfell under the command of the Iron Division repulsed a Red Army attack, killing 35 opponents and capturing two machine guns, ammunition, horses and a sleigh. On the morning of January 29, Kalpak’s battalion, together with Lieven’s company and the soldiers of the Strike Group, recovered the Skrunda manor , refreshing the big men across the Venta. All frontline units began to receive new reinforcements from Liepāja, which allowed them to hold their ground along Venta and in the vicinity of Aizpute. 50 soldiers who fled from Ventspils to Liepāja by sea took part in the counter-attack.

On January 30, 500 soldiers and 300 horsemen of the Soviet Latvian Army with 4 cannons attacked Ventspils, which was defended by around 120 German soldiers. Unable to hold on, they surrendered after negotiations and a promise that they would be allowed to return to Germany. However, almost 100 captured Germans were shot by the bigwigs. The three wounded survived and waited for the liberation of Ventspils with the help of local residents. In order to protect Liepāja from an unexpected attack, the Oberstaff sent about 65 soldiers of Lieven’s company to Sakaslej and Pāvilost on January 31.

The capture of Ventspils was the last victory of the Red Army, because the largest part of the Soviet Latvian army had to be transferred to the Estonian front , where the Estonian troops won the battle near Paju and occupied the town of Valka .

Arrival of General von der Goltz:

In January 1919, the “Spartacian” uprising took place in Berlin, there was a real danger that revolutionary Germany would also fall into the hands of the communists. The Entente decided to create a “sanitary cordon” in Eastern Europe – further military support was provided to the new countries of the region, which had to protect the eastern borders of Europe against the Bolsheviks, preventing the Russian revolution from reaching Germany. The Second Republic of Poland, an ally of France, received especially great support . Unstable and defeated in the war, in which a civil war actually took place, with the support of the Entente created the Eastern Border Defense Front, whose northern sector in Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania was entrusted to the 6th Reserve Corps . General Riediger von der Goltz , who had previously commanded the German Baltic Sea Division in the Finnish Civil War , successfully defeating the Bolsheviks, was appointed as its commander. In his memoirs, von der Goltz wrote: “I have to fight against four fronts: against the army of bigots, against the German Radical-influenced Liepāja (German) Soldiers’ Council and thus also against revolutionary factors in my troops, against the German-hating semi-magnanimous Provisional Government and against the Allies (Entente ).” Von der Goltz cherished big plans for the future. He believed that the Germans, together with the Russian White movement, must defeat the Bolsheviks, and then the German-Russian alliance could turn against the Entente.

On February 1, von der Goltz arrived in Liepāja, assumed the post of war governor, and on February 3 became the commander of the 6th reserve corps of the German army, which commanded all the armed forces in Kurzeme and northern Lithuania. The Iron Brigade commanded by Bischoff and the Baltic Landeswehr, commanded by German Major Alfred Fletcher from February 6 , also came under his command, appointing German officers to leading positions. The 1st Guards Reserve Division consisting of 2 regiments (about 32,000 soldiers) arrived in Kurzeme from Germany. Soldiers of the 1st Guards Reserve Division arrived in Liepāja in the second half of February, and were immediately placed on the flank of the Iron Division, and prepared for the recovery of Kurzeme.

Von der Goltz gradually liquidated the revolutionary soldiers’ council of the Liepaja German garrison. He appointed a new commander for the three German battalions of the garrison, who focused on restoring discipline. On April 3, von der Goltz planned to send the revolutionary battalions back to Germany, since enough new German forces had arrived in Liepāja. The military council tried to stop this evacuation by arresting some officers and trying to arrest von der Goltz as well. This resistance failed, the revolutionary battalions were sent home, and the soldiers’ council ceased to exist.

The nearly disbanded Iron Brigade was supplemented with new volunteers from Germany and transformed into an Iron Division . Von der Goltz soon had an army of around 9,000-10,000 men. He limited the activities of the Provisional Government and the formation of the Latvian army in various ways. Some of his demands were:

so that armed Latvian soldiers are not on duty near the buildings of the Provisional Government,
Only 300 Latvian soldiers to be trained, who must not be armed, can be present in Liepāja’s Karosta at the same time.
cartridges may be issued to soldiers sent to the front only 15 km from Liepāja.

Since the number of Latvian volunteers in the vicinity of Liepāja was small, from January 20 to 30 in Liepāja and Grobiņa district, the Provisional Government mobilized officers and non-commissioned officers (recruiting 146 men), which was followed by general mobilization in the vicinity of Liepāja from February 9 to 11. Only 43 men responded to this mobilization. The interim government responded by declaring martial law and introducing compulsory military service. From February 21 to 23, a mobilization was carried out in Rudbāržu, Lēne and Tāšu-Padure parishes, to which 175 people responded. From March 1 to 3, a new mobilization took place in Liepāja district, which resulted in another 583 people. In Liepāja, taking into account the great influence of the Bolsheviks among the population, mobilization was not carried out at all. On March 11 and 12, the mobilization of officers and instructors took place in Kuldīga and Aizpute districts, which resulted in 92 people. At the end of March and the beginning of April, a couple more mobilizations took place, which increased the number of Latvian soldiers to 1,370. In Kurzeme, disobedience to the mobilization was threatened with the death penalty, and recruits were searched from house to house. Considering that such forced mobilizations only increased support for the Bolsheviks, and new recruits often deserted, von der Goltz banned further mobilizations until the end of May. He based his decision on Latvian sympathies for the Bolsheviks and insisted on creating only volunteer units. In Liepāja, on February 26, the formation of a volunteer national guard unit resumed, which at the beginning of April exceeded 200 people. On February 9, the ships of the English navy gave the Latvian units 50 light hand machine guns and 5,000 rifles. On April 10, the English fleet provided another 300 rifles and some grenades. However, already on April 16, during the April Putsch, the Germans disarmed many Latvian units.

On February 17, the Separate Student Company was added to the Kalpak Battalion as the 3rd company , and at the end of February – the Latvian Separate Cavalry Unit . At the end of February, there were approximately 650 men in the Latvian battalion of Kalpak. On February 28, Kalpak was promoted to colonel, Balodi and Zemitanas to lieutenant colonels, Cēsi company commander Purina to first lieutenant.

At the beginning of February, the defensive battles in Kurzeme subsided, even though the Venta was frozen and easy to cross. The total strength of the Landeswehr front at this time was around 2,200 soldiers, most of whom were Baltic Germans:

Kalpak Latvian battalion, 3 infantry companies and 1 cavalry division.
The Strike Group led by Manteifelas-Cēges, 2 infantry companies, a cavalry squadron, 1 machine gun company and 1 battery.
Hauptmann’s Malmède division, 3 infantry companies, 1 machine gun company, 1 battery.
Rotmistress Count Eilenburg’s division, 2 infantry companies (Räden and Kleist), a cavalry division and the 1st battery.
Lieven’s Russian division, 2 infantry companies, 1 cavalry division.
the cavalry squadrons of Baron Engelhard-Schönheyden and Otto Goldfeld , which operated as part of the Iron Division and the German Landeswehr.

In February, the Iron Division commanded by Bischof fought in the vicinity of Mažeikai , where it formed a front near Tirkšli, Žeimele , Grieze and Nīgrande . The 1st Guards Reserve Division sent from Germany was stationed in the vicinity of Priekule and Skrunda .

At the beginning of March, the Iron Division grew to 4,000 warriors, and the Landeswehr to 4,500 soldiers, most of whom were Baltic Germans. Volunteers recruited in Germany were paid by the German and Latvian governments. In addition to the basic salary of 30 marks, they had an allowance of 150 marks and bonuses of 20-50 marks from Germany, while Latvia paid them 120 rubles a month.

IV – Liberation of Kurzeme and Zemgale:

On February 13, units of the German Landeswehr and regular German troops, moving from Apikai along the Venta, and Lieven’s unit, which came from Labrag , occupied Kuldiga . Here, the Landeswehrs shot at least 136 civilians, mostly Latvians, starting the White Terror. On February 18, the Red Army tried to recover Kuldiga. After the infantry attack was repulsed, the city began to be shelled by artillery. In order to ease the situation of the defenders of Kuldīga, the 1st division of the Malmede unit together with the cavalry attacked the enemy near Skrunda on February 18, but were repulsed, losing two fallen. On February 21, the Red Army again unsuccessfully tried to capture Kuldiga.

Already on February 8, English warships had shelled Ventspils, causing the Bolsheviks to flee the city for a while. On February 23, Fletcher ordered the Landeswehr units based in Kuldīga to go to Ventspils and recapture it. Despite the island, the road to Ventspils was made on a fast hike. Near Zūras, Manteifel’s group clashed with the Red Army, most of whom were killed and Zūras were captured. Fletcher also took part in these clashes and was slightly injured. Ventspils was reached on the morning of February 24; units of Raden, Hahn and Kleist stormed the city. The enemy left Ventspils in a northerly direction along the railway, which Kleist had failed to block. Rochers, Malmedes and a unit of German soldiers also disembarked from Liepāja in Ventspils port, but their help was no longer needed. During the liberation of Ventspils, seven Landeswerists fell. At least 200 civilians were shot here in the following weeks.

On February 25, a part of Malmede’s 2nd unit near Skrunda tried to force Venta, but retreated, losing 9 dead and 17 wounded. On February 26, the Bolsheviks were driven out of Đola , Užava , Zūru parishes and Piltene parishes. Considering the Landeswehr’s concentration on Ventspils, on the morning of February 28, the Red Army tried to capture Kuldiga again in a strike, but the units commanded by Cu Dona managed to hold the city. The attack ended on March 1, when reinforcements from the Landeswehr approached the city from Ventspils.

Attack from Venta to Lielupe:

At that time, the largest forces of the Soviet Latvian Army were concentrated on the northern front against the Estonians. On March 1, 1919, there were 9,466 Red Army soldiers, 711 horsemen, 126 machine guns, 37 cannons, 2 armored trains, 2 armored cars and 8 airplanes on the Estonian front from Ainaži to Alūksne , a total of 14,062 Red Army men. On the Kurzeme and Northern Lithuania front in the Popes – Šiauliai – Panevėžys sector, there were 3,836 soldiers, 285 horsemen, 100 machine guns, 15 cannons, 6 aircraft, a total of 7,859 Red Army men. At the beginning of March, these troops planned a new attack to recapture Kuldiga, Ventspils and approach Liepāja again.

In order to push back the Bolsheviks from the borders of East Prussia , the German troops led by von der Goltz launched an offensive in Lithuania (see Lithuanian freedom struggles ) and Latvia. The attack was launched by the forces of the 1st Guards Reserve Division and the Iron Division, while the Landeswehr units remained in Kuldīga and Ventspils. The Iron Division and the 1st Guards Reserve Division reached Mazeiki on March 2, which they captured on March 5. A cavalry unit from Drachenfell also took part in this attack.

On March 3, the Kurzeme attack, or operation “Thaw” ( German : Tauwetter ), began. Kalpak’s Latvian battalion had to attack in the direction of Saldus, leaving the front from Kuldīga to Ventspils to Baltic German units. On March 3, a large force of about 9,000 soldiers, consisting of 3,500 soldiers of the 1st Guards Reserve Division, 2,500 of the Iron Division, 600 of Kalpak’s battalion, 200 of Lieven’s company and 1,800 of the German-Baltic soldiers, went on the attack. This force was supported by two armored trains and several aircraft.

On March 6, Oskars Kalpaks, commander of the Separate Student Company captain Nikolajs Grundmanis , senior lieutenant of the cavalry unit Pēteris Krievs and lieutenant Šrinders of the seconded German artillery half-battery were killed in an accidental exchange of fire between the Latvian and German Borha battalions while leading the attack of the Cēsa company and the Separate Student Company. The Borkha battalion of the Iron Division lost 9 casualties in the shooting. After the death of Kalpak, the command of the battalion was entrusted to captain Jānis Balodis . Kalpak was buried on March 11 in Liepāja, and on September 18 he was reburied in his native Meirān Visgali cemetery. In January 1920, Grundmani’s ashes were transferred from Liepāja to the Riga brothers’ cemetery .

In the course of the operation “Eisgang” ( Eisgang ), on March 10, the Latvian battalion together with the seconded Goldfeld’s cavalry occupied Salda. In order to get to know the Latvian troops, Minister of Defense Zālītis and British representative Kīnans arrived in Saldus on March 14, in whose honor a parade was held in the town’s market square, and Balodi was promoted to colonel. On March 16, the student group occupied Jaunpili and on the morning of March 17, Biksti manor .

The right wing of von der Goltz’s attack in Lithuania took Kuršenes on March 8 and Šaulias on March 11 . On March 12, the Iron Division occupied Vecauci and on March 13, Bēni . Due to fierce resistance, the attack on Dobele stopped.

Following the advance of the German units, the main forces of the Landeswehr were to launch their attack on 11 March. On March 10, news arrived about a significant concentration of Red Army forces north of Ventspils. Landeswehr’s units went to Ventspils, but the information turned out to be incorrect, and the soldiers returned to Kuldīga. Two days were thus lost. In order to protect Ventspils, Rosher’s unit went to Ugali on March 11 , ran into a Bolshevik armored train that was fleeing, leaving 35 dead. Rocher’s unit lost 3 casualties in the skirmish.

On March 13, the main forces of the Landeswehr in three columns launched an attack from Kuldīga. The column of the right wing – Lieven’s Russian unit went through Varma to Škėda , which was captured after a three-hour battle. Middle column – Eilenburg’s unit occupied Griķi and Kabila . Left wing – Strike group and Malmède unit drove the enemy from Graudupe , Renda and Sabile . On March 14, Lieven ‘s column went to Weinschenken , while Eilenburg’s column occupied Zemītis after a fierce battle .

Liberation of Tukuma and Jelgava:

After capturing Kandava on March 14, Fletcher continued his rapid offensive, capturing Tukuma and Irlava on March 15 . The Red Army men, retreating from Tukum, took many prisoners with them. After a 20-kilometer chase, the cavalry of the Strike Group managed to free 108 prisoners. With the capture of Tukum, the Landeswehr had fulfilled the part of the attack assigned to it. The north of Kurzeme was still in the hands of the Bolsheviks, whose forces were concentrated in Sloka.

Based on the desire to save the prisoners in the Bolshevik prisons (mainly Baltic Germans), Fletcher decided to make a previously unapproved attack on Jelgava. Leaving small forces for the defense of Tukuma, on March 17 the Landeswehr went to Jelgava. In the afternoon of March 18, the entrance to Jelgava was reached. The Landeswehr began to be shelled by a Red Army armored train, which retreated after the Landeswehr’s artillery fire, but continued to fire at the attackers from afar. The strike group attacked the city from the north-west, the Malmede unit from the west, Eilenburg from the south-west. In the course of the battle, hundreds of prisoners will be freed and a lot of spoils of war will be obtained. Particularly fierce fighting took place near the railway station, where the existing Red Army trains were forced to surrender. On the evening of March 18, liberated Jelgava was deep in Bolshevik territory. During the rapid attack, the Landeswehr had bypassed many undefeated units of the Red Army. About 30 kilometers away, in Dobele, there were several strong units of the Red Army, which had stopped the attack of the Iron Division. The small forces of the Landeswehr decided to create a corridor to the 40 kilometers distant Joniški , where the reserve division of the German 1st Guards was stationed. On March 20, Eilenburg’s unit (without Raden’s unit) reached the Tervete-Bauska highway and clashed with large Red Army forces retreating from Dobele near Skurstenei . Eilenburg ordered the small unit to return to Jelgava, which was attacked by the Red Army. The strike group’s mortars and Raden machine guns managed to repulse the attack, which involved an armored train and armored vehicles. The next day, the Red Army crossed Lielupi in the vicinity of the city and tried to attack Jelgava from several sides. At this moment, the forces of the Iron Division reached the city, which went to Jelgava from the vicinity of Dobele and helped protect it. The Malmède battalion launched a counterattack, chasing the enemy to Iecava .

On March 23, the Iron Division took over the defense of Jelgava, and the Landeswehr (without Raden’s unit) went back to the threatened Tukuma. On March 22, Tukum was attacked by the Red Army. The Landeswehr forces left in the city lost 13 casualties in the defensive battles and left the city on March 23. Since the Red Army did not take the opportunity to enter the city, the main forces of the Landeswehr from Jelgava returned to Tukum without a fight on March 24, which managed to protect it from further attacks.

Operation of other units:

The forces commanded by von der Goltz were deployed on a 230 km long front from Ventspils to the north of Lithuania and on March 16, this army consisted of 34 battalions, 12 squadrons, 21 artillery batteries. In total, around 12-14 thousand soldiers, 1150 cavalrymen, 610 machine guns and 84 cannons. Against them, Soviet Latvia was able to mobilize the 1st and 3rd brigades of the 2nd Latvian Division, the 1st Brigade of the 1st Latvian Division with 6,900 soldiers, 184 machine guns, 487 cavalrymen and 22 cannons.

On March 19, Baloza’s forces occupied Livbērzi , while the Iron Division occupied Dobeli. In order to support Fletcher’s small forces in Jelgava, which had to repel Bolshevik counterattacks, on March 20 von der Goltz ordered the Iron Division to go there, and the 1st Guards Reserve Division to Bauska and Staļģeni , where river bridges were important. On March 23, the units of Count York and Brandis occupied Bauska.

Lieven’s unit approached Kalnciems , but also decided to go to Jelgava, liberating Valgundi on March 23 .

On March 20, two companies (300 men) were added to the Latvian battalion. On March 21, 1919, the Latvian battalion was reformed into the 1st Latvian Separate Brigade , the companies were transformed into battalions – 1st Independence Battalion, 2nd Cēsi Battalion, 3rd Student Battalion. These forces were united and named the Southern Group of the Latvian Army (more often called the Southern Latvian Brigade). It was reinforced by 2 cavalry squadrons, an artillery battery, cyclist-reconnaissance men and Vesumi soldiers. The numerical composition of the brigade increased to 1,000 soldiers and cavalrymen.

Fletcher’s Jelgava maneuver left the northern flank of the front uncovered, and the Latvian battalion had to regroup to the north. The Southern Latvian Brigade was given the task of crossing the Lielupi, and it went on the attack in the direction of Kalnciems and Slokas , where on March 22, a relatively bloody Battle of Batera took place against the 10th Soviet Latvian Rifle Regiment. Both sides retreated after a two-hour firefight, but as a result of the battle, the attempt of the Soviet Latvian Army to launch a counterattack on Jelgava, which the Landeswehr managed to hold with the support of the Iron Division, was thwarted. On March 24, parts of the Southern Latvian Brigade occupied Kalnciems and Ķemeri , and on March 25, the Student Battalion crossed Lielupi and occupied Klīves manor. On March 26, the Independence Battalion, with the support of the Malmède Battalion, occupied Sloka, reaching the planned Lielupe line, where the attack of the German and Latvian units stopped. On March 30, the Malmé unit in Sloka repelled a strong Red Army attack. On April 5, a new attack on Sloka and the Kaugurs began, which they managed to repulse again, losing 8 fallen Landeswehrists. At the same time, the Red Army launched an attack near Jelgava, which was repelled from Tukum to Jelgava by sending Raden’s unit and a part of the Shock Unit.

Although the Lielupe was crossed in several places and it was possible to launch an attack on Riga, further attacks stopped for almost two months. A wide neutral zone was formed between the two sides, where regular skirmishes took place, which did not change the state of the front as a whole. The Baltic German units of Landeswehr were pulled back from Lielupe to Tukuma and Talsie, but later back to Liepāja. On April 1, the front marched along the Sloka-Kalnciem-Jelgava-Bauska-Paneveža line. The front line of the Southern Latvian Brigade stretched along the Kauguru-Slokas-Ložmetējkalnas-Kalnciems line. The Valgunde – Livbirze line was held by Lieven’s company, which consisted of 250 soldiers. The Lielupe line was occupied by the Iron Division in the vicinity of Jelgava, while the 1st Guards Reserve Division occupied the vicinity of Bauska. They repelled regular Red Army counterattacks, easing the situation in the Jelgava sector. In the battles near Bauska, Brandis’ German volunteer free corps stood out.

The fallen:

Many of the Kurzeme battles can be regarded as shootings and skirmishes, which is indicated by the small number of casualties. According to Latvian data, 17 officers and 42 soldiers fell during the liberation of Kurzeme. Von der Goltz mentions in his memoirs that the 1st Guards Reserve Division lost 1 officer and 47 soldiers killed, 5 officers and 82 soldiers wounded, 1 officer and 10 soldiers missing. Iron Division respectively 3 fallen officers and 25 soldiers, 5 wounded officers and 82 soldiers, and 10 soldiers missing. The German and Latvian units of Landesvær lost a total of 1 fallen officer and 13 soldiers, 1 wounded officer and 18 soldiers, as well as 1 missing officer and 3 soldiers. [ 48 ] The number of casualties mentioned in Landeswehr’s memoir is higher.

V – April 16 coup in Liepāja:

Already in February, with the discovery of Štrik’s conspiracy in Liepāja, relations between the Provisional Government and the Germans deteriorated. At that time, the conflict was averted as a result of pressure from the Entente. The head of the British mission, Major Keenan , arrived in Liepāja on March 1 . The military success in Kurzeme and the support of Great Britain restored the self-confidence of the Provisional Government of Latvia. This caused dissatisfaction among German political and military leaders. Von der Goltz slowed down the rapid attack on Riga wanted by the provisional government with various reservations. He refused the British navy’s offer to help, on the pretext that the spring mud made further attack impossible. Von der Goltz did not want to liberate Riga in order to hand over British support to the Provisional Government of Ulmanis. Before the liberation of Riga, he decided to create a government of Latvia obedient to Germany, which he achieved with the creation of the April Putsch and the Niedras government .

After several days of increasing political and military disagreements between the German occupying power and the Provisional Government, on 16 April German armed units led by Hans von Manteifel-Zege and Franz Pfeffer von Salomon overthrew the Provisional Government. At first, the putschists established a Provisional Government led by Oskar Borkovski , which was followed by the Niedra Government on May 10 . The coup gave the Germans a reason to disarm many of the Latvian armed units in Liepāja and Kurzeme. There was a risk that this could lead to the disbandment of the Southern Latvian Brigade led by Balož , which had 1,580 soldiers on May 22. The food of the Southern Latvian brigade was provided by the common landeswehr intendant, but after April 16, the food supply deteriorated. Latvian soldiers were forced to requisition food from the population.

On April 16, Ulmanis took refuge in the premises of the English mission, where it was not convenient to stay for a long time, so around May 1, he moved to the merchant steamer ” Saratov ” under the protection of British warships. Here he met with British representatives Alfred Keenan and Herbert Grant Watson. If Ulmanis perhaps hoped that the Entente would land its landing force in Kurzeme and conquer the rest of Latvia, this did not coincide with the Entente’s plans for the restoration of a united Russia, which is why they supported the White Movement . The representatives of the Entente, especially the head of the US mission Green, tried to convince him of the need for a broader coalition government, which would also include Baltic Germans. When these negotiations failed, the Niedra government was formed on May 10. In order to maintain its claim to the status of the only Provisional Government, Niedra’s government supported plans for the faster liberation of Riga from the Bolsheviks, who managed to kill at least 3,483 people in Riga during their rule.

Great Britain complained several times to the German government about von der Goltz’s behavior in Latvia, demanding his recall. On May 4, British Foreign Minister Balfour requested Germany to remove von der Goltz from his post, to which the German government responded with a note on May 6, not recognizing von der Goltz’s involvement in the events of April 16, as well as considering everything that happened as an internal matter of Latvia. Germany stated that it refuses to place its troops under the subordination of the Latvian government, because such a government does not really even exist, and it has not received the diplomatic recognition of the Entente. Germany also threatened to withdraw its troops completely from the Baltic, which would mean that it would be occupied by the Bolsheviks, or that Entente troops would have to be brought in there. Thus secured with German support, Niedra announced his new government on 10 May. Although Great Britain wanted to blockade Liepāja port, US representative Green did not agree to this, insisting on the need to continue supplying the German units.

On May 5, the German government decided to end the mercenary recruitment points and summoned von der Goltz to give a personal account in Berlin of what was happening in Kurzeme. The general denied his involvement in the April 16 coup and was left in office. On May 26, the German government decided that those German mercenaries who want to acquire land must accept Latvian citizenship. Although such a procedure was provided for in the agreement of December 29, 1918, no list of applicants for citizenship was submitted to the Provisional Government. Only five Germans applied for citizenship to the Niedra government, and two were granted it.

After the coup, Latvian soldiers dispersed in Kurzeme reached Karosta in small groups, from where 300 soldiers were sent to the Balož brigade on May 21. At the end of May, von der Goltz ordered all Latvian forces to leave Karosta, and they went to Jelgava on May 28.

The critical situation, when the Niedras government supported by the Germans, which did not recognize the legitimacy of the People’s Council, came to power, forced the Social Democrats to announce their return to the People’s Council on May 12. On May 12, a meeting of the People’s Council was held in the premises of the Liepāja City Council, which the prefect of the German occupation unsuccessfully tried to interrupt. The meeting was attended by 66 representatives of the People’s Council, who condemned the April 16 coup and expressed their support for the Ulmanis Provisional Government.

VI – The situation before the liberation of Riga:

The loss of Kurzeme caused panic in Riga, with the Soviet authorities already preparing to flee. It seems that von der Goltz postponed an immediate attack on Riga in March in order to first overthrow the Ulmans government and prevent the Latvian brigades of North Latvia and South Latvia from uniting. His freedom of action was also limited by the increasingly noticeable political and military involvement of Entente representatives in Baltic events. They had finally managed to stop the arrival of new army reinforcements from Germany. The 1st Guards Reserve Division had been ordered back to Germany, and its positions were taken over mainly by the Iron Division.

On May 16, 1919, there were 2,065 soldiers in Baloža’s Southern Latvian Brigade, of which 1,890 were in their units in the Bauska battalion after 22-24. the April mobilization had 300 soldiers, but it was subordinate to the city’s German commandant. In the middle of May, machine gun companies began to be formed in Latvian battalions. The German units of the Landeswehr numbered 3,500 soldiers, many of whom were German citizens. Lieven’s Russian unit had 400 soldiers. Thus, the entire Landeswehr had around 6,000 soldiers with 17 cannons, 84 machine guns, 72 hand machine guns and 11 mortars. Landeswehr’s Oberstab was located in Tukum.

The state of Soviet Latvia:

In April 1919, the strategic position of Soviet Latvia began to be negatively affected by the attack of Polish troops in Lithuania, where the forces of Soviet Lithuania and Belarus defended themselves unsuccessfully. After the initial Soviet Russian offensive had died down, the German and Red Army fronts in Lithuania had stabilized in the center of the country. This stability was disrupted by the attacking Poles, who occupied Vilnius on April 21 and began to threaten the direction of Daugavpils . The Poles wanted to restore the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth within the borders of 1772, which meant that they could lay claim not only to the strategically important Daugavpils, but to the whole of Latgali. On April 30, Soviet Latvian forces had to send around 3,000 soldiers to the front deep in Lithuania, from Panevėžys to Švenčonii , thereby significantly weakening the defense of Riga. Soviet Latvia was now threatened from three sides – the Estonians in the north, the Germans in the west and the Poles in the south. There was a risk that if the Poles and Estonians attacked in concert, all the Soviet Latvian troops could be surrounded in a huge cauldron. In order to reduce this risk, the forces of the Red Army launched unsuccessful attacks on Estonians in the direction of Verava (Vera) and Valka in the middle of April .

Clashes on the Kurzeme front:

Throughout April, there were skirmishes and reconnaissance raids between the two sides, resulting in the capture of prisoners and weapons. On April 28, the Bolsheviks launched a strong attack on the positions of the German 1st Guards Reserve Division from the Staļženes bridge to Bauska , but after initial success and the threat of taking Bauska, they were pushed back.

On May 18, the attack of the Soviet Latvian army began on the flanks of the front – in the direction of Sloka and at the Lithuanian border. Two regiments of the Soviet army, with the support of Lielupe ships’ artillery, attacked the 2nd company of the Student Battalion commanded by Paul Zolts in Kaugurciem , as well as the 2nd company of the Cēsi Battalion near Sloka and the 3rd company of the Independence Battalion in Sloka and Pavasari Muiža . Zolt’s poorly trained and armed company launched a bayonet counterattack, in which Zolt himself fell, but forced the enemy to flee, killing some 30-50 soldiers in the battle. From May 18 to 21, there were active attacks on Brandis’s positions near the Bauska-Lithuanian border, where both sides fought with variable success. When the attack on Riga began on May 22, Brandis’s units also went on the attack, the main target of which was Kemjani Manor in Lithuania. On May 23, the giants began retreating in the direction of Jaunjelgava and Jēkabpils .

VII – Liberation of Riga:

In order to capture Riga, von der Goltz and the German government played theater similar to the April 16 putsch, organizing events but officially staying on the sidelines. This was the last chance for the German army to more or less openly participate in the battles in the Baltics. On May 7, the Entente countries submitted a draft Treaty of Versailles to Germany , giving two weeks to sign it. Article 433 of the treaty provided for the withdrawal of German forces from the Baltic provinces and Lithuania, prohibited the introduction of new German units to these countries, and also prohibited German troops from interfering in these countries.

In May, von der Goltz went to Berlin to get permission to capture Riga, where he was told that it should be done by the Landeswehr without the overt involvement of German forces. For this reason, the attack was carried out by the Landesveer, which allowed to position what was happening as an internal matter of Latvia. The capture of Riga in a siege movement through Iecava and Ikškil, as it happened during the 1917 Riga operation , was not supported by the government, because its implementation would require the use of the 1st Guards Reserve Division. The government also restricted the movement of military units – German troops were not allowed to go beyond Riga, the Landeswehr only to the Jugla line, but the headquarters were allowed to move from Liepāja to Jelgava. The German government gave von der Goltz freedom of action, officially distancing itself from the attack on Riga.

Meanwhile, von der Goltz already planned that the capture of Riga would be followed by the liberation of Vidzeme, and the capture of Petrograd together with Estonian and White Guard forces. At the beginning of May, the Estonian military representative in Liepāja informed von der Goltz that the Estonian forces planned to occupy Vecgulbeni and perhaps even the important Krustpils railway junction, thereby liberating Vidzeme from the Bolsheviks. Along with the Estonians, the Poles started an attack towards Daugavpils in the middle of May. Thus, holding Riga for the Red Army became militarily more and more difficult. On April 23, the leader of the Red Army, Yukums Vācietis, reported to Lenin that the decisive battles of the Russian Civil War were currently taking place on the eastern and southern fronts, to which all reinforcements should be sent, while what was happening on the western front was of less importance.

Plan of attack:

Using one last opportunity to use his full military power and save the prestige of the Niedra government, von der Goltz ordered an attack on Riga, led by Landeswehr commander Alfred Fletcher . The attack plan called for the Southern Latvian Brigade and the German units of the Landeswehr to attack from positions in Kalnciem and Sloka. The Iron Division had to go from Jelgava to Riga by highway and provide rear support for the attacking units. The York Division and the Bauska Battalion stationed in Bauska were to provide the right wing, while the 1st Guards Reserve Division remained in reserve on the Lithuanian border.

The attack on Riga was planned for May 12, but it was interrupted by the kidnapping of Niedra by officers loyal to Ulmani’s government. After Niedras managed to escape from captivity on May 17, the attack was postponed to May 22. At this time, the attack of the White Army on Petrograd also unfolded, on May 21 the Whites reached Krasnoye Selo . Soviet Latvia not only did not receive additional reserves, but its existing forces were sent to more threatened sectors of the front. Thus, the loss of Riga without a fight in Soviet history was explained by the strategically unfavorable situation at the front, in which it was not even intended to hold Riga.

Opposing forces:

According to Soviet sources, on the eve of the fall of Riga, Soviet Latvia had a 600 km long front against Estonians, Germans, Latvians and Poles. On May 1, there were 28,180 soldiers, 1,827 cavalrymen, 605 machine guns, 98 cannons, some mortars, 12 aircraft on this front. Officially, there were 45,000 soldiers in the army, but in reality there were much less, diseases and hunger were rampant in the army. Meanwhile, von der Goltz’s 6th Reserve Corps, deployed on a 170 km long front, numbered 40,000 soldiers.

The number of officers and soldiers of both sides is known approximately. The number of German and Iron Division soldiers involved in the fighting is not clearly known, as many of the units, following government restrictions, performed only rear support functions.

In the attack in the direction of Sloka-Kalnciems, the Landeswehr had 8 battalions, 6 squadrons and 4 batteries. 3700 people in three German battalions, 1580 people in three Latvian battalions, 400 in Lieven’s Russian battalion and 400 in von Medem’s battalion. Total 663 officers, 5405 soldiers, 84 machine guns, 72 hand machine guns, 17 cannons. The Red Army opposed here five battalions of the 1st Division and 2nd Division, a total of 1,784 soldiers, 57 machine guns, 6 light and 2 heavy guns. A total of 3,610 people were in these units.

In the Iron Division attacking Riga from the direction of Jelgava, which played a supporting role, 9 battalions with 4,500 soldiers, 420 cavalrymen, 110 machine guns, 202 hand machine guns, 28 light and 8 heavy guns took part in the battles. Against them, the Red Army put forward 8 battalions with 2540 soldiers, 54 machine guns, 6 light and 4 heavy guns, one armored train. A total of 4,512 men. Soviet historians calculated that up to 15,000 Landeswehr and Iron Division soldiers attacked Riga, while a maximum of 8,127 Soviet soldiers and officers defended it.

When a broad attack began on the Lielupe front from present-day Jūrmala to Jelgava on the night of May 22, 663 officers and 5405 soldiers with 17 cannons, 72 light and 84 heavy machine guns, 8 mortars and 3 grenade launchers, 2062 horses fought on the side of the Landeswehr. On the side of Soviet Latvia were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th and 16th rifle regiments, the 1st Daugavgrīva fortress regiment, 2 sapper companies, 4 squadrons. 2 heavy and 1 howitzer battery, 1 armored train, 2 armored cars, the total Bolshevik forces are exaggeratedly estimated at 10-14,000.

Progress of the attack:

Fletcher divided his troops into three groups. The first group was commanded by himself. It included an Assault Battalion with an artillery half-battery, a Mēdem unit, a sapper unit, an Engelhard unit, one Latvian company, one Latvian cavalry squadron and a Malmēde battalion. At 1:30 am on May 22, this group started an attack from Kalnciems along Grabe’s houses, Skangalai, Komandieru road in the direction of Dzilnuciems .

The second group, commanded by Balodis, consisted of Eilenberg’s battalion, an artillery half-battery, Drachenfeld’s cavalry unit, Lieven’s unit and the 1st battalion of the South Latvian Brigade and one company from the 3rd battalion. At 4:30 in the morning, this group started an attack near the Ogļi houses ( near Tīreļi ) and moving along the southern shore of Lake Babīte , through Pietinių, Bļodnieki, Dzilnā, along Ložmetējkalnu and Krievu mountain, went in the direction of Piņki and Pupa (Babīte).

The third group was led by captain Jānis Puriņš . It included two companies and one cavalry squadron of the Southern Latvian Brigade, as well as the 2nd Cēsi Battalion left in reserve . It was supported by 4 Lielupe boats and two ferries equipped with machine guns and cannons. This group moved from Sloka and Kauguri through the whole of Jurmala and along the northern shore of Lake Babīte, reaching Priedaine station .

The Soviet Latvian army showed resistance in the fortifications between Sloka and Asari , which was overcome around 11 o’clock. Around the same time, Fletcher’s and Balož’s columns joined near Dzilnuciem. Here also came the order for the Latvian and German units to continue their attacks separately. The German units went to Riga without delay, the road to which was unprotected, while Baloža first ordered the Latvian units to occupy Piņkis, Pūpi and to connect with the Puriņa group at the Bulduri bridge, blocking the way of retreat of the Bolshevik units fleeing from Jūrmala. This reorganization led to the fact that the Bolsheviks managed to gain a foothold in the Pinki manor, the cemetery and the church. After a longer shooting, they retreated to Pūpa and from there to Daugavgriva , where they moved to the right bank of the Daugava. The dove column welcomed May 23 at Pinkai. The column led by Puriņas liberated Jurmala in street battles, occupying Priedaines station and Bulduri bridge around 18.00 on May 22. During the course of the attack, Fletcher used several aircraft that not only fired on the Bolshevik forces, but also carried out reconnaissance and relayed situational reports to the commanders.

The Iron Division began its attack in the morning, after an hour and a half of artillery fire. After the capture of Olaine around noon, a small part of it went to Ķekava, while the main forces went to Riga.

Meanwhile, the corps of Fletcher’s column, Walter von Medem , and the Strike Group under the leadership of lieutenant Hans von Manteifel-Cege , took Zasulauka already in the morning as a result of a rapid attack , reached the Daugava bridges around 11:00 and tried to invade Old Riga. The fighting at the bridges continued for almost two hours. By 13:30 the situation at the bridges and railway embankment was critical, but then the rest of the forces of Fletcher’s column and the vanguard of the Iron Division arrived. Von Manteifel-Zege fell while the strike group was trying to capture the Citadel with the aim of freeing the prisoners held there. The biggest street fights took place at the intersections of the present Brivibas Street with Gertrudes Street and Miera Street , where the fighting ended around 19:00. While retreating, the bigots managed to shoot about 60 prisoners, mostly German nobles and priests, in the Central Prison (which was liberated by the Iron Division at around 19:30). Around 18:00, Līven’s department arrived in Riga and was sent to the north of Riga, in the direction of Mangaļsala. Landesvær reported his 11 dead, but the total number of dead in Riga is not precisely known. Kārlis Ziediņš, the head of the Maritime Administration of the LSPR , who had participated in the capture of the Winter Palace during the October Revolution , also fell in the battles . The fallen Manteifeli-Cēgi was taken out of the Cathedral Church and buried in the cemetery of his native Kazdanga Castle .

The end of the offensive:

On May 23, the front line stretched along the Mīlgravja-Kīšezer-Jugla lake-Ikšķile-Ķekava line. The units of the South Latvian Brigade commanded by Baloža and the Student Company with the Latvian flag entered Riga on the morning of May 23 around 9:00, where they were greeted by the residents on the Daugava embankment. Pigeon soldiers went to the barracks on Pärnavas street, and also participated in the “cleaning” of the city. The recruitment of new soldiers for Latvian units began immediately. After a short rest, only the 3rd Battalion of the Southern Latvian Brigade (Student Company) remained in Riga, which continued to perform garrison duties. On May 24, the 1st and 2nd battalions, together with two cavalry squadrons, were ordered to pursue the Bolsheviks and go to positions on the left bank of the Gauja near Ādaži . Lievena’s unit was instructed to go from Vecmīlgravja to Ropaži station , where to dismantle the tracks, and then go to Jugla. Lieven was seriously injured in the shooting near Alders . During those days, many Latvian riflemen deserted from the Soviet Latvian army and were included in the brigade commanded by Baloža. The 4th Riga Battalion was established in Vecpiebalga and the 8th Piebalga Battalion in Vējava.

The last Red Army soldiers in the Daugavgriva fortress surrendered on May 25. Niedra from Jelgava arrived in Riga on May 26. On May 28, Latvian soldiers held a parade in honor of the US mission at the corner of Suvorova and Elizabetes streets. Von der Goltz also arrived in Riga, and on May 29 he accepted the parade of the units that participated in the capture of Riga.

Although the Red Army received reinforcements in the amount of three regiments and two armored trains, at the same time the Red Army front collapsed in the Pechori region, where the commander of the Soviet Estonian division with his headquarters and many soldiers defected to the Estonian side. This led to the fall of Pskov on May 25, which complicated the situation in Soviet Latvia. The Red Army tried to build defenses near Alūksne and Pitalova to resist the Estonian attack in the direction of Krustpils, but it failed, and on June 5, Estonian and Danish volunteer forces occupied Krustpils. The front in Latgale stabilized, but the Polish attack on Daugavpils stopped at Ignalina .

VIII – Liberation of Vidzeme:

At the same time as the military and political battles that took place in Kurzeme, Ulmani’s Provisional Government established a military alliance with Estonia, which gave the opportunity to form new Latvian armed units on its territory and to open a second front against the Bolsheviks in Northern Vidzeme.

Estonian support:

Estonia also had difficulty building its own national army in the face of the Bolshevik invasion, and formed a military alliance with the Baltic German Baltenregiment and on 6 December 1918 with the “White” Russian Northern Corps. Estonian commander-in-chief Johan Laidoner defended the idea that Estonia’s borders could be protected by supporting the Russian, Latvian, and Ingrian armies, which would form a buffer zone against the Bolsheviks. Laidoner called this strategy an active defensive war ( aktíví ruštešõda ). On May 13, 1919, the Russian Northern Corps of around 3,500 soldiers began an attack towards Petrograd. This was beneficial for Laidoner, as they attracted the attention of the Red Army and allowed the Estonians to focus on their southern border, where they quickly liberated Vidzeme from the Bolsheviks. The conflict with the Baltic German Landeswehr and the Iron Division is called the Landesveer War ( Landesveeri sõda ) in Estonia, and since 1934 it has celebrated the victory of June 23 in the Battle of Cēsis as its Victory Day. The defeat of Landeswehr demonstrated the fighting capabilities of the Estonians also to the representatives of the Entente, who later supported Estonia’s independence much more firmly.

Formation of the Northern Latvian Army:

Estonians, with the support of the Finnish volunteer regiment Northern Boys ( Pohjan Pojat ), managed to quickly repel the Soviet Russian invasion of Estonia . As early as February 1, 1919, Estonian troops drove the Bolsheviks out of Valka , Rūjiena and several parishes in Northern Latvia. On February 3, Minister Zālītis authorized Jorgis Zemitāns to establish Latvian military companies in Estonia and Vidzeme, and appointed Markus Gailītis as the representative of civil affairs in the areas of Northern Latvia liberated by Estonians . Lieutenant Colonel Eduard Kalniņas was sent to Estonia to organize the artillery .

On January 10, 1919, Captain Zemitāns was appointed as Latvia’s military representative in Estonia on behalf of the Latvian government, and with the support of Estonia, on January 20, he started organizing Latvian volunteer companies from Latvian refugees in Estonia, laying the foundations for the Northern Latvian Brigade . From January 26 to 28, following the initiative of Zemitān and Gailīš, 657 men applied for the Latvian army in Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu, and the Estonians gave them about 400 rifles for arming. The volunteers were trained for two hours each day before being sent home again.

On February 18, Ulmanis signed an agreement with Estonia on the creation and operation of Latvian armed units in the territories controlled by Estonia. According to the agreement, until reaching the line Limbažu-Valmiera-Smiltene-Alūksne, the units of the Latvian troops of Northern Latvia were fully subordinated to the Estonian Army High Command. The combat operations were planned and directed by the commander of the Estonian army headquarters, colonel Voldemars Ozols . At first, the Estonians agreed to the creation of only one infantry battalion and an artillery platoon, but did not object when the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment was the first to be formed in Tartu on February 18 , and was placed under the command of the Estonian 2nd Infantry Division. On February 13, some members of the Land Council elected in 1917 resumed their activities in Valka, and together with the representatives of the seven liberated parishes founded a new Land Council, which on February 16 decided to organize armed units and announced the mobilization of officers and instructors. On February 25 and 26, Zemitāns mobilized in Valka and Rūjiena regions, obtaining 60 officers and 1,451 soldiers, who were sent to Tartu for training. On February 28, Zemitanas was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and on March 13 to colonel. On March 31, by order of the commander-in-chief of the Estonian army, the Northern Latvian Brigade was established under the command of Colonel Zemitan. Voldemars Ozola was appointed as the chief of staff located in Tartu.

In the first days of March, the first battalion (commander Captain Skreja) was formed, and on March 4 – the second battalion (Captain Bajars) with 4 infantry companies each. In the following days, a farm company, communications and machine gun teams were formed, and on March 20, a reserve battalion (commander lieutenant colonel Krišjānis Berķis ).

On April 1, there were 5 officers and 103 instructors and soldiers in the battery of the 1st Valmiera regiment. Supplying the soldiers with uniforms and shoes was a big problem, with many soldiers left barefoot. The problem was partially alleviated by donations from the population and a one-time war tax of 700,000 rubles. On April 25, Zemitāns ordered the formation of the 1st Northern Latvian Squadron in Valka.

Latvians who fought in the Red Army were mobilized from the Estonian prisoner of war camps in the Northern Latvian Brigade. In the liberated Northern Latvian parishes, a new requisition was made, taking one layer of clothing and 3-5,000 rubles from each house. Horses, carts, meat, butter and other food were widely requisitioned. Civilians also had to perform forced labor for the army, leaving the maintenance of the fields to women and children. Plowing often took place at night.

Due to the successful mobilization, the 1st Valmiera Regiment had grown to 31 officers, 3 doctors, 12 military officials and 1274 instructors and soldiers on May 15. On May 18, the 2nd Cēsa Infantry Regiment was formed from the reserve battalion of the regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Krišjānis Berkis. The reserve battalion of the Northern Latvian Brigade in Rūjien was headed by Captain Mālmanis from May 28, and by Lieutenant Colonel Šmits from June 16.

Participation in battles:

On March 26, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment was ordered to go to the front. With a regimental flag donated by local Latvians, 80 officers and 1,300 soldiers went to war by rail from Tartu through Valkai. On March 28, the regiment reached the Melnupe bridge and, together with Estonian troops, launched an attack on Alūksnei , which began on March 31, but ended the next day. After 19 days of fighting, the regiment retreated to its starting positions near Melnupe, where it remained until the end of May. On March 29, Estonians regained Ainaži, lost on February 16 , but lost them again on March 31. On April 2, the Valmiera artillery battery with 3 cannons and 110 soldiers joined the regiment, which later formed the Vidzeme artillery regiment . For almost a month, the 1st Valmiera regiment continued insignificant battles in the area of Apes -Mencenes ( et:Mõniste )-Jaunrozes ( et:Vastse-Roosa )-Vecrozes ( et:Vana-Roosa ) estates, both sides moving along the Alūksnes-Valkas railway line . On April 17, the Bolsheviks launched a major counter-offensive aimed at capturing Valka and Verava . On April 25, they captured Rujiena. On May 1, the Estonians launched a counterattack, recapturing Rūjiena on May 1, and Mazsalac on May 3 , then the front stabilized on the Jaunate – Staicele line until the end of May. After the capture of Riga on May 22, the situation also changed on the northern front. On May 23, Zemitāns added the 1st Valmiera artillery battery to the 2nd Cēsi regiment, and the protracted battles near Melnupa were ended. The Valmiera regiment had lost 5 dead and 21 wounded in them.

On May 24, Estonians captured Izborsk , but on May 26, Pskov . On May 25, Estonian troops together with Latvian units occupied Ainaži , on May 26 – Salacgrīva and Strenči , and on May 27 – Limbaži , on May 28 – Api , on May 29 – Alūksni , from where they went to Vecgulbeni . On May 31, Latvian, Estonian and Danish units entered Vecgulbene, where they obtained 15 locomotives, 80 wagons, 3 cannons, 60 horses and a lot of ammunition abandoned by the Soviet Latvian Army . In a swift attack on the morning of June 1, a group of 34 men managed to surprise the farm part of the 4th Red Rifle Regiment in Luban , capturing 300 Red Army men along with the flag of the 4th Regiment, capturing 100 horses and large cash reserves. On the same day, the 1st and 5th companies of the regiment captured another 650 and 750 soldiers, as well as 15 machine guns and 2,000 rifles. In the following days, the regiment occupied Jaungulbeni , Cesvaini , Madona and Laudon and on June 5 reached Krustpili , where they formed a train armed with cannons and machine guns from wagons abandoned by the Bolsheviks. Many of the prisoners of war received here were recently mobilized local residents who were accepted into the ranks of the Northern Latvian Brigade . Due to the beginning of the battle of Cēsis, further attack had to be stopped.

Although almost 100 soldiers had to be left in the hospital due to typhus, on May 20 the 2nd Cēsi Infantry Regiment left Tartu for Rūjien , which it reached on the morning of May 22, and came under the control of the Estonian 3rd Division there. The training of soldiers continued here, but in general the regiment was poorly armed, lacked clothing and shoes. Its composition included those unfit for service in the Valmiera regiment, as well as prisoners of war. Along with the 1st Valmiera regiment going on the offensive, the 2nd Cēsi regiment, together with the Estonian 3rd division, started combat operations on May 27, which, although 224 soldiers had to be left in the hospital due to typhus and illnesses, left Rūjiena on May 29 and on May 30. in May they reached Valmiera, which was occupied by the Estonians first. At this point, the regiment consisted of 21 officers and 400 able-bodied soldiers. The 1st company of the Cēsis regiment, moving through Rubeni together with the partisan unit , crossed the Gauja near Lenci and liberated Cēsis on May 30, where the other units and headquarters of the Cēsis regiment also arrived in the following days.

Zemitāns renamed the small partisan unit the Northern Latvian Partisan Regiment under the command of Captain Aparnieks , who was sent towards Latgale. On the morning of June 5, the partisans established contact with the 1st Valmiera regiment in Lądon . In Valmiera, one company was separated from the Cēsi regiment, which was sent to chase away the last forces of the big men from Mūrmuiža , Rauna , Drustie , Cesvaine and Lubana , reaching positions near Borkova , where it passed under the Valmiera regiment.

Cesis battles:

On the morning of May 31, Cēsis was occupied by a partisan unit of the 2nd Cēsi Infantry Regiment, but on June 1, the other units of the Cēsi Regiment also entered the city, and on June 2, also units of the 1st Valmiera Regiment and the headquarters of the North Latvian Brigade with Lieutenant Colonel Ozola. For the defense of the city, the Skolnieki rota began to be formed . On June 3, the 2nd Cēsi Regiment was ready to leave the city to go towards Latgale, but it was stopped by the conflict with the Landeswehr.

After the loss of Riga, and the losses in Vidzeme, the territory of the Soviet Latvia led by Stučka decreased to Latgale. Meanwhile, the German forces from Kurzeme supporting the Niedra government came into direct contact for the first time with the Estonian and Latvian units controlling Vidzeme, which were loyal to the Ulman government. Instead of going to Latgali to complete the complete destruction of Stuchka’s government forces, the Germans started a conflict near Cesis, the goal of which was to defeat the Estonians, continuing the Baltic German strategy of creating a Baltic state. On May 29, Fletchers, who had become the commandant of Riga, issued an order that stipulated that the German and Latvian Landeswehr units should reach the Lubana-Lake Peipus line, and the Railway Division the Lubana-Jēkabpils line. Fletcher predicted that the attack should reach the Lubana-Litenes-Alūksne line on June 7, and the Lubana-Balvu-Liepna line on June 8.

On the evening of June 2, representatives of the Landeswehr from the Ierikai railway station asked for permission to come to Cēsis by phone, which the leadership of the North Latvian brigade did not give due to unclear mutual relations, but an agreement was reached to start negotiations. On the evening of June 2, around 30 Landeswerists arrived in Cēsis to establish contact with the Northern Latvian Brigade. On June 3, around 2:00 p.m., 200 Manteifels Landeswehr horsemen arrived in Cēsis. During the negotiations, the Landeswerists distributed leaflets from the Niedras government. Only after placing machine guns on the roofs of the surrounding houses did the Landesveer obey the order to move to Kārļumuiža, 7 km away . On the night of June 4, the Latvian and Estonian commanders made a statement to the commanders of the German units in Riga (Flečer), Ieriķi (von Jēnam) and Kārļumuiž (Manteifeli), in which they demanded to establish the following border between the two troops – from the Gauja mouth in the sea along the river line to Sigulda, further to Nītaurei , Vecgulbene and Jaungulbene.

On the evening of June 5, the Estonian and Latvian commanders together with the representative of the US mission, Colonel Devlijus, went to the Ierikai station in an armored train, but after the Landeswehr opened fire on them near the Amata bridge, the train returned to Cēsis. On the same evening, Estonians and Latvians were invited to negotiations by the Niedras government, but this offer was ignored. The Niedras government was confident in the strength of the Germans and defended plans for attacks on Valmiera and Valka. On June 6, Niedra granted Latvian citizenship to Landeswehr Commander-in-Chief Fletcher.

On the night of June 6, around 3:20 a.m., the Landeswehr, supported by artillery, launched an attack on Cesis from the vicinity of Livu , which continued until 1:00 p.m., when the city was captured. The defenders of Cēsis lost 13 dead, 40 missing, around 100 wounded in the battle and retreated to the positions of Rauna . On June 8, Estonian armored trains made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Cēsis.

After the capture of Cēsis, the Landeswehr did not continue the attack. On June 10, the military representatives of the Entente countries, France, the United States and Great Britain arrived in Cēsis, who achieved a truce and started negotiations with the representatives of Northern Latvia and Estonia on the one hand and the representatives of the Baltic Landeswehr on the other. On June 14, von der Goltz sent a telegram to the Estonian commander-in-chief Laidoner, in which he announced that he considered Zemitan’s troops to be supporters of the bigots, and therefore would take military action against them. On June 18, the Niedra government took over the Iron Division under its control, so that the upcoming battle could be considered a Latvian-Estonian conflict in which Germany was not involved.

In this conflict, the unpleasant situation of Baloža’s Southern Latvian brigade was sharply expressed. It was still part of the Landeswehr, commanded by Fletcher, who recognized Niedra’s leadership. However, Balodis refused to recognize the Niedra government and maintained contacts with the Ulmanis Provisional Government in “Saratov”, which did not issue any military orders. Doves were also influenced by representatives of the Entente, who recommended maintaining neutrality in the conflict with Estonians. He also did not respond to Zemitan’s calls to join the forces of the Northern Latvian Brigade. These disagreements later affected the relations of Latvian officers, as well as the military cooperation between Latvia and Estonia, which was damaged by Laidoner’s dislike of Balodi.

Before the battle, the Baltic Landswehr and Iron Division had up to 7,500 infantry, 560 cavalry, 150 heavy and 280 light machine guns and 52 cannons. Estonian and Latvian forces had a total of about 6,000 soldiers, 125 horsemen, 79 machine guns, 103 hand machine guns, 22 cannons, 2 armored trains and 1 armored car.

Fletcher announced on June 18 that he considered the cease-fire to be over as of June 19. The part of the Iron Division stationed in Inčukalna, under the leadership of Captain Blankenburg, started an attack in the direction of Limbaži. Another part led by Major Kleist went towards Straupe . Blankenburg’s forces were repulsed by the 9th Estonian infantry regiment near Läda manor , while Kleist’s forces occupied Straupi . At 3:30 a.m. on June 21, the Landeswehr artillery began shelling the positions of the 2nd Cēsi Regiment near the Rauna River. In the section between the positions of the Cēsi regiment and the 3rd Estonian regiment, the Landeswehr managed to break through the front, reaching the Skangaļi manor . On June 22, a counterattack by Estonian-Latvian forces began, which culminated in the capture of Cēsis on the morning of June 23. Meanwhile, on June 22, the 9th Estonian infantry regiment occupied Vidriži , Lēdurga and Bīriņi manor , threatening the only bridge over the Gauja. In the course of the battles of Jugla, the German forces began to retreat to Riga, where they created a defense line at Lake Jugla . On July 1, armistice negotiations began, which ended on July 3 with the conclusion of the armistice in Strazdumuiža . It provided for the departure of German units from Riga by the evening of July 5, retreat to Olaini and departure from Latvia as soon as possible. The Estonians undertook not to advance beyond the line of July 3, but entrusted the administration of Riga to a representative of the Entente. All German citizens who fought in Latvia had to leave Latvia, but the Landeswehr, in which only the local Baltic Germans remained, was included in the Latvian army, and the English officer Harold Alexander was appointed as its commander . The Niedras government left Riga and ceased to exist. As a result of pressure from the Entente, Ulmani’s government also announced its resignation on June 30.

Near Riga, the offensive of the Latvians and Estonians was stopped by the representatives of the Entente, who wanted to make the Germans leave Latvia voluntarily, without further bloodshed. The truce was later criticized for not immediately expelling the Germans from Latvia, which led to the Bermontiada, but here it should be taken into account that the truce was not concluded by the Latvian government, but by the Estonians, who had no reason to continue the war, and the opinion of the Entente was important.

On July 1, the Northern Latvian Brigade had 202 officers, 335 instructors, 10,019 soldiers and 580 horses. Already on June 20, Zemitāns instructed lieutenant colonel Oskars Danker to form the 3rd Jelgava infantry regiment in two battalions from the reserve battalion with 22 officers and 1,580 instructors and soldiers (the regiment was later renamed the 7th Sigulda infantry regiment ).

IX – Recognition of the Provisional Government:

On May 23, 1919, the High Council of the Entente established a military mission in Finland and the Baltics under the leadership of British General Hubert Gough , and the Entente played a much more active role in the region from then on.

Parallel to the unsuccessful battles of Cēsis for the Germans, the Entente finally managed to leave Liepāja with the German troops and military authorities on June 23. The Germans did not go to nearby East Prussia, but to Grobiņa and Priekuli . Liepaja, abandoned by the Germans, was entrusted with maintaining the security of Lieven’s Russian unit, which entered the city with the flag of the Russian Empire, thus causing the residents’ anxiety and the Provisional Government’s protest to the English. On June 24, Liepāja received news of the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty , and on June 25, residents demolished the Wilhelm II monument.

On June 26, Goff arrived in Liepāja from Tallinn and informed about the progress of the Cēsi battles. In the afternoon, the British representatives met with Ulman about the formation of a new coalition government that would include more minorities. Ulmanis agreed to include Baltic German and Russian ministers on the condition that the Entente recognize his government. On June 27, Goff issued an order that Colonel Kanepa was appointed as the temporary commandant of Liepāja, that parts of Zemitan’s troops should be brought from Tallinn to the city, that the Ulmani government, recognized by the Entente, resumes its work and after its transformation, it will represent all the country’s inhabitants. Saratov returned to Liepāja and the government went ashore. After a meeting with the chairman of the People’s Council Čaksti, who informed about the Entente’s desire for the resignation of the government, on June 30, Ulmani’s first Provisional Government resigned. On the night of July 1, three English warships disembarked about 1,200 soldiers from the 3rd Jelgava infantry regiment in Liepāja , which took control of the city under the leadership of its commander Danker .

On the night of July 3, von der Goltz assumed command of the German and German-Baltic units and ordered them to go to Pardaugava. This decision was influenced by his fear that the Estonian ships could destroy the Daugava bridges and cut off the Germans’ way of retreat. On July 3, right after the conclusion of the Strazdumuiža Armistice, Colonel Talents issued a statement in Riga about the German and Landeswehr withdrawal deadlines, and that due to the resignation of Ulmanis’s government, Riga will be governed by Entente civil governors, the British Colonel Talents and the American Colonel Dawleys, for the time being. He also immediately stopped the execution of the detainees in Riga.

On July 5, the People’s Council sent thanks to the Estonian Constituent Assembly for the achievements of Estonians in defeating the common enemy. On July 8, Ulman’s government with Saratov triumphantly returned to Riga. As promised, Ulmanis included two Baltic Germans and one Jew in the new government, and the second Provisional Government he led was approved by the People’s Council on July 13.

Establishment of the Armed Forces of Latvia:

On July 6, the forces of the Northern Latvian Brigade entered Riga, and finally the two parts of the Latvian army – the Southern Latvian Brigade and the Northern Latvian Brigade – met. Competition for positions and influence later developed between their officers, with the Northerners gradually losing out to the supporters of Kalpak-Balozh, although the Northerners also reviled Balodi for collaborating with the Germans. The significance of the Battle of Cēsis in the freedom struggle was also gradually reduced. On July 10, a neutral candidate, retired general Dāvidas Sīmansons , was appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the Latvian Armed Forces , who appointed lieutenant colonel Eduards Kalniņas as chief of staff . Simonson was also appointed Minister of Defense. On July 12, he appointed Balodi as the commander of all units that fought against the Bolsheviks on the Eastern Front in Latgale, and Zemitanas as the commander of the Riga garrison.

In the middle of July, there were 9,041 soldiers and 413 officers on the Eastern Front, 6,773 soldiers and 622 officers in the vicinity of Riga, 5,706 soldiers and 103 officers in Liepāja and the reserve, 2,662 soldiers and 108 officers in stages and command posts.

The Northern Latvian brigade consisted of 3 regiments with 3 battalions each, while the Southern Latvian brigade consisted of eight incompletely formed battalions. By the order of the Commander-in-Chief of July 15, three infantry divisions of the Latvian Armed Forces were created from them – the 1st Kurzeme Infantry Division with commander Jānis Balodi, the 2nd Vidzeme Infantry Division with commander Jorgis Zemitāns, the 3rd Latgale Infantry Division with commander Krišjānis Berķi. Each division consisted of three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, one cavalry squadron and one engineer company. At the beginning of 1920, the 4th Zemgale Infantry Division was formed from Danker’s soldiers stationed in Liepāja . Latgale partisan regiment was created in Latgale . The army was still badly short of clothing and weapons.

On July 6, the Baltic Landeswehr, purged of German citizens, which still numbered 5,000 people, of which 3,700 people were combat-capable with 11 cannons, was included in the Latvian Armed Forces as the Latvian German National Guard, although it continued to be called the Landeswehr. It was first moved to Tukuma, and then to Krustpili , where it took positions against the Bolsheviks. On July 25, the British lieutenant colonel Alexander was appointed as its commander. Since he did not learn German, the Baltic German Baron Taube became the actual commander of the Landeswehr , although Latvian officers were also appointed to the other leading positions. During the Bermontiade, Taube had a secret agreement to cooperate with Bermont, but when it failed, Taube fled to Germany. He was replaced by one of the first creators of the Landeswehr, Baron Wolferts Gerhard von Raden , who remained loyal to Latvia.

At the end of the summer of 1919, the Kurzeme division was located in Latgale, near the Krustpils-Rēzekne railway. Landesveer was near Livani . The majority of the Vidzeme and Latgale divisions were in Riga, while the rest formed a defense in the direction of Jelgava, where Bermont was already operating.

X – Attack of the Volunteer Army of Western Russia:

In order to reduce the possible conflicts of the German troops commanded by von der Goltz with the Latvian army, the Entente established neutral zones between Riga and Jelgava and Liepāja and Jelgava on July 25, expecting that von der Goltz’s forces would quickly return to Germany. However, von der Goltz did not want to leave Latvia. Since Germany could no longer justify the presence of its army in Kurzeme with the fight against the Bolsheviks or the support of the Niedra government, a plan was created to cooperate with Pavel Bermont , who arrived in Jelgava from Germany on June 12 with 350 soldiers, and on October 6 declared himself Prince Avalov. During this time, Germany was still actively recruiting German volunteers and Russian prisoners of war for service in Latvia. At the beginning, Bermont announced that he was going to Soviet Russia with his army from Daugavpils.

On September 21, von der Goltz concluded a secret agreement with Bermont, as a result of which the German troops commanded by von der Goltz became the core of the Volunteer Army of Western Russia , legally subordinate to Bermont, as a representative of the army led by Russian General Nikolai Yudenich . Yudenich’s forces were near Narva , in Northern Estonia, and Bermont obeyed Yudenich’s orders minimally. The Iron Division and other German units came under the command of Bermont. Local German-Balto barons and nobles were active in Bermont’s forces.

Goltz and Bermont now had at their disposal a well-armed army of over 30,000 men, of whom only 6,000 were Russians. Since the task of this army was supposedly to fight against the Bolsheviks, neither the Entente nor the Latvian government initially expected that it could attack Riga. At that time, the main forces of the Latvian army were concentrated on the eastern front for the fight against the Bolsheviks. Relations between German and Russian soldiers were not friendly, but they treated Latvians even worse, robbing farmers, shooting many for sympathizing with the Bolsheviks. On the night of August 25, German soldiers occupied and ransacked the commandant’s office of the Latvian troops in Jelgava. In Aizpute, Džukste, Jaunpilis, Ezere, etc., Latvian commandos were also liquidated. Bermont printed his own money and two newspapers, German and Russian.

On September 23, Bermont announced that the Latvians and Estonians would attack his forces after making peace with the Bolsheviks, so he ordered his army to occupy the defense on the line Olaine – Iecava River – Valgunde – Livbirze . On October 1, he convened a meeting in Jelgava together with Golc , in which A. Niedra, T. Vankins and J. Kupčs also participated. It made several decisions:

Take Riga, overthrow the Provisional Government and establish there the government of the Russian Baltic provinces;
the same should be done with the Estonian government Balakhovič , located in Türbat;
Niedras to be announced as the general governor of Vidzeme and Kurzeme;
to give Latvia and Estonia autonomy within certain limits under the supervision of the Russian government;
Latvia and Estonia are not free to maintain their troops;
The Baltic nobility retains its privileges.

On October 4, Bermont informed Anton Denikin about his plans to first capture Riga and then, with a secured rear, go to Novosokolniki through Daugavpils . Denikin is said to have reacted with the words “To hell with Bermont and all his Germans”.

On October 6, Bermont sent a telegram to Ulman, requesting information on how the Latvian government could ensure his unhindered advance against the Bolsheviks. At the same time, he issued an order to the units of the Volunteer Army of Western Russia to go towards Riga. On October 8, Bermontese troops began an attack on Riga. Bermont’s army totaled close to 51,000 soldiers, 40,000 of whom were Germans. They had 100 guns, 600 machine guns, 50 mortars and 120 aircraft.

On October 6, 38,200 people served in the Latvian Armed Forces, of which 31,690 were soldiers. The army had 21,624 rifles, 173 machine guns, 121 self-propelled guns, 27 cannons. A large part of these forces was on the Latgale front against the Bolsheviks and could not defend Riga. Against the well-armed Bermontians, the Provisional Government of Latvia was able to gather only about 11,500 men, of which only 5,000 were ready for battle. The Latvian army retreated from Ķekava , then from Asari and Dubulti . On the morning of October 9, the commander of the southern front, Zemitāns, gave the order to launch a counterattack, which quickly failed, as the Germans reached Torniakalna in Riga by evening. At this moment, Zemitāns left Riga with his headquarters, ordering the army to retreat to the Jugla positions. After Commander-in-Chief Simansons and Chief of Staff Kalniņas personally visited the front, they ordered the army to withdraw only from Pārdaugava by the early morning of October 10, occupying defenses along the Daugava to Stopiny . On this day, two Estonian armored trains arrived in Riga for the protection of Daugava bridges. Already on October 9, a delegation of the Provisional Government of Latvia went to Tallinn with the aim of obtaining Estonian military assistance. The Estonians put forward a series of counterclaims – the army must be subordinated to an Estonian commander, Latvia must cover all the army’s expenses and pay 10 million rubles in advance even before the start of the fighting. After the end of the war, Latvia should restore the Estonian artillery cannons, and annually pay pensions to the families of those killed in battle. Estonians also demanded a favorable border line in Northern Latvia ( Valkas , Lugažu , Pedeles , Ārĳemes , Veclaicenes , Omuļu , Kārķu , Ternejas parishes and part of Naukšēni and Ipiķu parishes), while leaving Roņu island to Latvia. Fierce discussions about these demands developed in the People’s Council.

With the help of English and French fleet artillery, on October 15, the 9th Rēzekne infantry regiment led by Ludvig Bolstein crossed the Daugava river, occupying Bolderāja and Daugavgrīva fortresses. On October 16, the entire Latgale division crossed the Daugava here. On October 16, Bermonti started an attack on Jaunjelgava , which ended without success. Extensive changes were made in the leadership of the Latvian army. On October 16, Balodi was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army instead of Simonson. Chief of Staff Kalniņš was replaced by lieutenant colonel Laimiņš , who was replaced by colonel Pēteris Radziņš on October 28 . Vidzeme division commander Zemitanas and 6th Riga infantry regiment commander Šmita were replaced by Mārtiņš Peniķis and Jānis Apinis , respectively . The mobilization carried out in the Riga region yielded 2,000 new soldiers.

At the end of October, the People’s Council tasked the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the army, Jānis Balodi, with making the decisive decision on Estonia’s demands, who replied that such an agreement could not be concluded and ended the negotiations with the Estonians. Entente countries began to support Latvia more with armaments, delivering 22 cannons, 18,600 rifles, 124 machine guns, 30,000 artillery rounds, 7,400 grenades and 10 million cartridges in October.

The Latvian army started the big counterattack on November 3, sending 554 officers and 10,662 soldiers with 47 cannons, 11,352 rifles, and 114 machine guns against Bermont. With the support of the artillery of the allied navy, the Latvian armed forces launched an attack on the Western Russian army from the north, occupying the Bulduri bridge, Piņķu manor, Babīte station . On November 4, the 6th Riga Infantry Regiment occupied Damme manors , Zolitūda and Anniņmuiža . On this day, Bermont ordered his forces to attack the Liepāja Karosta garrison, but the attack was repulsed with the help of the artillery of the English navy. On the morning of November 10, the 9th Rēzekne regiment and the Aparnieka partisan regiment entered the rear of Torņakalna , the 6th Riga regiment occupied Zasulauka , the 7th Sigulda regiment occupied Torņakalna and the Cement factory. On the morning of November 11, Torņakalns was liberated , in the evening Bermonti were pushed back to Olainei and Ķekava .

In order not to give the Germans a chance to regroup, the Latvian army continued its continuous pursuit of the enemy in Zemgale and Kurzeme. On November 15, the Latgale division captured Sloka and Kalnciem . Meanwhile, in Liepāja, the Bermontians made a last attempt to occupy Karosta, but were defeated in a counterattack led by Danker and pushed back towards Durbe . In the Jelgava sector, the Bermonti tried to launch a counterattack, but were defeated. On November 16, the Rēzekne regiment occupied Ķemeri, on November 17, the 4th Valmiera regiment occupied Bauska . The new commander of the Western Russian Army, General Walter von Eberhart, offered an armistice on the evening of November 18, but was ignored. On November 21, the Daugavpils, Sigulda, and Riga regiments of the Latvian army liberated Jelgava , and on November 22, Tukuma, on November 24, Talsus and Sabili, and on November 27, Vecauci. During the retreat, Bermontians not only robbed local residents and farmers, but also set fire to many buildings, including Jelgava Castle . In view of the large German view, the German government announced that it had taken the West Russian army under its protection and that Latvia should cease combat operations. In response, Latvia declared war on Germany and continued combat operations in Kurzeme. Until December 1, 1919 , the territory of Latvia up to Palanga was freed from German troops. In Žemaitija, the remnants of the West Russian army were also defeated by Lithuanian troops and they escaped to East Prussia . Relations with Germany were normalized by the Provisional Agreement of July 15, 1920 on the restoration of relations between Latvia and Germany .

Taking advantage of the victory, the second Provisional Government established in July resigned on December 4, and on December 8 the People’s Council approved the third Provisional Government formed by Ulmanis, in which one seat was allocated to Germans and Jews.

Orange: Bermont Army (in Kurzeme and Zemgale) and the Baltic Landesveer (at the border of Latgale)

Pink: Soviet Latvian Army (Latgale)

Yellow: Army of the Republic of Latvia (Vidzeme, Selia, Liepāja and Ventspils)

Purple: Polish Army (in Celia)

Green: Lithuanian Army (in Selia)

XI – Liberation of Latgale:

Eastern Front, 1919:

After losing Riga on May 22, 1919, the government of the RSPR fled to the Russian city of Velikiye Luki . After the stabilization of the front, it returned to Latvia in July, where it was based in Rēzekne until January 1920 .

After the Estonian army occupied Pskov on May 26 , part of the Estonian forces, together with Danish volunteers and the 1st Valmiera Regiment of the Northern Latvian Brigade, continued the attack towards Latgale. At the end of May, the eastern part of Vidzeme was liberated and Jēkabpils was reached on June 5 . The attack met with minimal resistance, taking many prisoners of war and war materials. As the Battle of Cēsis approached, the Estonians withdrew their troops, and the attack on Latgale slowed down. In order to replenish the forces, on June 12, a mobilization was carried out in Līvāni and Stalidzeni parishes, obtaining 400 recruits. Mobilization in Pļaviņi district brought another 900 men. The front stabilized on the line Daugavpils — Livani — Rudzati — Varakļani — Lake Lubān — Kuprava — Liepna — Pleskava.

Guerrilla warfare broke out in Bolshevik-controlled areas. At the end of May, partisans began to organize in Balvos, who on May 27 fired on a Bolshevik column on the road near Stompaki . In order to ensure order in the front line, the Latgale partisan regiment began to form . On June 6, Estonian troops entered Balvos, abandoned by the Bolsheviks, and later helped the partisans at critical moments. On June 8, a partisan attack took place in Garsen , followed by a shooting in Aknīste . On June 22, the Upper Kurzeme partisan regiment with 110 men was established in Aknīste , which until the end of July was subordinated to the command of the Lithuanian army that partially occupied the Ilūkste district . On June 21, local partisans repelled an attack on Turku village . On June 24, the forces of the Southern Latvian Brigade commanded by Colonel Balož arrived in the vicinity of Mārciena and Lądon , where they took over the defense of the front from the 2nd Cēsi regiment, and on June 26 they also took over the defense of Barkava .

Poland’s ambitions:

When Germany finally signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, the Second Polish Republic , which wanted to restore the borders of 1772, had the opportunity to move its army from the German borders to the east. Having quickly captured Minsk and secured their eastern flank, the Poles resumed their attack in the direction of Daugavpils and Polotsk in mid-August . On the morning of August 31, the 1st Infantry Division of the Polish Legion ( 1. Dywizja Piechoty Legionów ) broke into the Kalkūnu station and began an attack in the direction of the Griva Bridge, threatening to invade Daugavpils. The additional forces of the Red Army, which were brought in, repelled this attack, recovered the Grivas railway station and Nīderkūnis , maintaining control over the fortifications of the bridgehead on the southern bank of the Daugava.

On September 1, the Poles had 91 officers, 4256 soldiers, 85 machine guns, 8 cannons, a couple of mortars on the Daugavpils front. In preparation for the next attack, the Polish troops increased to 104 officers, 6,320 soldiers and 96 machine guns. On September 27, having launched 37 cannons, 18 of which were heavy, as well as 20 French-made tanks, the Poles resumed their attack on the fortifications of the south bank bridgehead, which were captured on September 28. Crossing the Daugava and capturing Daugavpils was not attempted again until the January 1920 offensive operation.

Eastern Front, 1920:

The operation to liberate Latgale was planned to begin at the beginning of October 1919, but these plans were disrupted by the Bermont attack. During the Bermontiade, the Liepāja, Ventspils and Jelgava regiments of the 1st Kurzeme Division were on the Latgale front , as well as the Latgale partisan regiment and the German-Baltic Baltic Landeswehr .

Immediately after the defeat of Bermont, the main forces of the army were again focused on the fastest possible liberation of Latgale. There were several internal and external reasons for this:

Estonia started peace negotiations with Soviet Russia, which meant that the Bolsheviks who won the Russian Civil War would soon have the opportunity to send reinforcements to the Latgale front. Estonians signed an armistice with Soviet Russia on December 31, and it came into force on January 3, 1920.
The liberation of Latgale before the start of the upcoming Latvian-Soviet Russia armistice negotiations would give Latvia a stronger position in the negotiations.
An agreement on borders had not yet been reached with Lithuania and Poland, and the armies of these countries could not be allowed to occupy Daugavpils and its surroundings first.
Poland offered 30,000 soldiers for the liberation of Latgale, initially asking only for their food supply.
The early liberation of Latgale would allow holding elections for the Constituent Assembly in the entire territory of Latvia .
The bad condition of the roads in Latgale meant that winter was better for troop movement than the spring solution.

After a new mobilization, the total number of the Latvian Armed Forces reached 69,232 people on December 31, 1919, which was supplemented by 2,179 free contract workers, thus the total number of the army exceeded 71,000 . on January 1, it was estimated at 6,620 infantry, 370 cavalry with 239 machine guns and close to 60 cannons.

After the victory over Bermont, the 3rd Latgale Infantry Division was transferred to the Latgale front . It mobilized 2 divisions (6 regiments), the Latgale Partisan Regiment and the Landeswehr against the Bolsheviks, totaling 22,000 soldiers with 326 machine guns and 33 cannons. An agreement was made with Poland, which provided 30,000 troops for the attack, demanding only that they be supplied with food.

The Polish army decided to attack the Soviet forces stationed from Daugavpils to Polotsk , forcing the Daugava near Daugavpils. The Latvian army had to cross the Daugava near Buivīši , reaching Lake Osveja and Zilupi . The Latvian left wing was supposed to occupy Pitalova , Kārsava , Rēzekni and Ludza . The start of the general attack was set for January 3, 1920, and it was led by the Polish general Edward Rydz-Smigly .

On January 3, the Poles captured Daugavpils and reached the Dubna River by January 5 . The attack of the Latvian left wing, which was supposed to start on January 5 with the attack on Pitalova station, started only on January 9 due to bad weather conditions. The 8th Daugavpils infantry regiment occupied Viļak on January 9 . The Bolsheviks’ defense was helped by the fact that on January 3rd the armistice with Estonia had begun, so they could send reinforcements to the defense of Pitalova, which on January 13th was defended by 5,400 soldiers with 107 machine guns. On January 14, Pitalova was finally occupied by the Latgale partisan regiment, and managed to hold it in the following days, despite repeated Bolshevik counterattacks. On January 15, the Valmiera regiment of the Vidzeme division was also transferred to the Latgale front. Rezekne was captured later than planned. On the morning of January 21, units of the Landeswehr invaded the city, which were followed by the 2nd Ventspils infantry regiment around 12:00 . During these days, the combat activity was affected by the great frost, with the temperature dropping to -20, -29 degrees. On January 26, the Ventspils regiment occupied Ludza.

When the attack began, the government of Soviet Latvia fled to Soviet Russia, where on January 13, 1920, Velikije Lukos announced the end of its existence. On January 23, Balodi was promoted to general by the People’s Council for his achievements in the liberation of Latgale.

The combined forces of Latvia and Poland gained control over Latgale in the battles near Daugavpils , in the Northern Latgale operation and during the battles for the liberation of Rēzekne . After reaching the Zilupe line, the attacks stopped on February 1, as a secret truce was concluded between Latvia and Soviet Russia on January 30. Small skirmishes continued for several more days. Peace negotiations officially began on April 16, 1920, and the Latvian-Russian peace treaty was concluded on August 11.

In contrast to all others who had helped Latvia in the freedom struggle, the Poles initially did not demand any payment, they only wanted Latvia to maintain the Polish units while they were fighting on the territory of Latvia. However, the eastern part of the Ilūkste district occupied by the Polish army was included in Poland after its occupation, and in 1919 the city of Griva , the parishes of Borne , Borovka (Silene) , Demenes , Kalkūnes , Saliena and Skrudalien were administratively included in the Braslav district of Poland, with Griva as the center. Due to the military failures in the Polish-Soviet war, the Polish troops were forced to leave the territory of Griva and Ilūkste districts, and in June 1920 it was occupied by the Latvian army. Poland gave up its claims to this territory only in 1938. Lithuania’s territorial claims were similarly resolved.

XII – Diplomatic activity during the war:

Parallel to the military events, the efforts of the Provisional Government of Latvia to obtain foreign political, financial and military support were no less important. Latvian politicians used every opportunity to establish closer relations with the Entente countries, especially Great Britain, whose fleet was in the Baltic Sea. The Provisional Government had diplomatic relations with the German representative Winnig and the new German ambassador Gysbert von Romberg. Latvian representative Vilhelms Šreiners was sent to Germany .

At the end of 1917, Great Britain and France agreed on spheres of influence in the region, with Great Britain entrusted with the Baltic coast and France with the restored Poland . Soon after the surrender of Germany, on December 1, 1918, a squadron of more than 20 British warships arrived in Liepāja under the command of Rear Admiral Edwin Alexander-Sinclair , who then proceeded to Tallinn. On December 4, Ulmanis and Finance Minister Kārlis Puriņš went to Tallinn to meet with the English, but there is no reliable information about their meeting. Ulmanis also allegedly visited Helsinki, where he asked for help from US representatives. Entente representatives at that time lacked knowledge about the political situation in the Baltic region.

During Ulmanis’ foreign trip, the Soviet invasion of Latvia intensified, and on December 7, 1918, the new Minister of Defense Zālītis signed an agreement with Vinnig on the creation of Landesvær . Winnig supported the Provisional Government financially, giving it at least 3.75 million marks between 22 November and 4 January. On December 17, Stučka distributed the Manifesto of the Creation of Soviet Latvia , declaring the Provisional Government overthrown.

After the visit to Tallinn, on the evening of December 17, the British squadron led by E. Alexander-Sinclair landed in Riga. On December 18, after a meeting between Alexander-Sinclair, British Consul Vivien Bosanquet ( who arrived on a British ship) and the Provisional Government, it was announced that some British ships would remain in Riga and provide military support to the Provisional Government forces. Most of the squadron went to Liepāja. On December 20, Ulmanis submitted a protest to Bosenket about the fact that, contrary to the terms of the armistice, the German army was withdrawing without defending Latvia. On December 23, Bosenquet’s meeting with Winnig and the representative of the 8th Army Command, Lt. Col. Birkner, took place on the British minesweeper “Princess Margaret”. Under the pretext of the collapse of the German army, Birkner declared that he could not fulfill Bosenquet’s demand to resist the Bolsheviks and recover the territories already lost.

The British responded to the Provisional Government’s request for British military intervention that they were ready to support the Latvian troops with weapons, but there would be no military landing in Riga. As the British did not want to help militarily and the Latvians reluctantly joined the units of the Provisional Army, Ulmanis, after consulting with Bosenket, turned to Vinnig for help and on December 29, 1918, concluded an agreement on the granting of citizenship to German volunteer soldiers. This soon created problems with the German and German-Baltic military formations, which were often formed arbitrarily, without clear legal status, military and political subordination. In protest against this agreement, on December 30, the Social Democrats left the People’s Council.

On January 2, 1919, Foreign Minister Meierovics sent a letter to British Prime Minister Lloyd-George , as well as to the governments of the United States, France, Italy and Japan, asking for a loan of 15 million pounds for the fight against the bigots. On January 10, the provisional government of Latvia appointed Captain Zemitanas as the representative of military affairs in Estonia. On January 20, the Estonian government allowed the creation of two Latvian companies in each city in Tallinn, Pärnu and Tartu.

On January 12, 1919, Ulmanis, together with Finance Minister Purinas and Agriculture Minister Goldmani, left Liepāja for Stockholm and Copenhagen. Jānis Čakste, chairman of the People’s Council, and Gustavs Zemgals, co-chairman, were already in Stockholm . Only Miķelis Valters , Jānis Zālītis and Teodors Hermanovskis remained from the government in Liepāja . Ulmanis’ departure from Liepāja was perceived by many as an escape from the country. After a slow sailing by cable ship, on January 20, Ulmanis’ delegation arrived in Bornholm and the next day in Copenhagen, where in a press interview they called to support Latvia against the Bolsheviks. Ulmanis met with US Embassy officials, asking for money and food aid, and permission to recruit volunteers. In the British embassy, he agreed on the delivery of 5,000 rifles to Latvian troops. On January 25, Ulmanis and Purina arrived in Stockholm, where the Swedes had started recruiting volunteers for the war in Latvia, gathering 400 officers and 4,000 soldiers. However, immediately after Ulmanis went to Helsinki, the recruitment in Sweden was stopped, probably because Ulmanis could not promise money to pay the mercenaries. From Helsinki, where negotiations were again held with US diplomats, Ulmanis went to Tallinn, where the Estonians launched a successful counterattack against the Soviet Russian invaders. Here it was possible to reach an agreement with the Estonians on the formation of Latvian armed units in Estonia and the liberated regions of Northern Latvia. From Tallinn, he again went to Stockholm, where he negotiated with bankers for the sale of timber. From Stockholm, via Berlin, Ulmanis went to Kaunas , where on March 1st he signed an agreement with Lithuania, which granted Latvia 5 million German marks in exchange for the right of Lithuanians to use the port of Liepāja. Lithuanian soldiers were allowed to guard Lithuanian cargo in the port.

Entente policy:

Britain’s first Baltic mission had almost 40 people. In February and March 1919, the British began to issue firearms to Latvian and Estonian units. The British navy grew to 100 ships in the Baltic Sea, providing traffic and supplies. The French mission was led by lieutenant colonel Emmanuel Du Parquet . In the spring of 1919, the head of the US mission, Lt. Col. Warwick Green, personally got to know the situation at the front and reported to Paris on April 12 that without the German troops (which numbered 73,000 soldiers), this land would immediately fall into the hands of the Bolsheviks. In April, Green devoted much effort to ensuring uninterrupted supply of German troops based in Kurzeme. In the spring, the Americans and the French began to sell their surplus war materials to the new European countries. The USA granted a loan for the supply of food to the Baltic States. The first food delivery reached Liepāja on April 9. In total, the USA sold food worth 2.6 million USD to Latvia.

As a result of the April 16 coup, British Foreign Secretary Balfour demanded von der Goltz’s recall on May 4, which was rejected by the German government on May 9. Germany announced that it planned to withdraw troops from the Baltic as soon as possible, thereby silencing British protests that the presence of German troops was necessary in the fight against the Bolsheviks (the transfer of parts of the 1st Guards Division to the Polish border began gradually). Meanwhile, Warwick Green met regularly with von der Goltz and supported the general’s actions. On April 22, the meeting of representatives of the Entente missions in Liepāja agreed on a letter to von der Goltz, demanding the sending of Manteifels and Pfeffer’s units back to the front, as well as the formation of a Latvian government in which all Latvian ethnic groups would be represented. Thus, the prerequisites for the formation of the Niedra government were created. Green, dissatisfied with the pro-German composition of Niedra’s government, held joint talks with Niedra and Ulman on April 30, which ended without success. Green proposed a government led by Ulmanis, in which Ulmanis’ ministers would occupy 7-8 seats, while 4-5 would be for Latvian Germans and Jews. Given the active participation of the Baltic Germans in the war against the Bolsheviks, Green believed that they deserved representation in the government.

On May 23, the Entente military mission in the Baltics was established under the leadership of British general Hubert Goff , the head of the military mission in Latvia was Brigadier General Alfred Berts . Warwick Green’s influence declined rapidly as the British fully supported the Estonians and turned against the Germans. The appointment of Goff marked the beginning of the restoration of the power of Ulmanis Provisional Government.

After the capture of Riga, the Entente countries warned Germany on May 25 not to withdraw its troops from the Baltic, as this would mean the return of the Bolsheviks. On May 29, the Entente refused Balfour’s May 4 demand to recall von der Goltz. The Germans used this political support to try to legitimize the Niedra government. On June 5, Niedra submitted to the Entente missions his plan for the convening of the National Assembly and the formation of a new government.

In the summer of 1919, the Entente hoped for the victory of the White Movement in the Russian Civil War, which would lead to the establishment of a democratic Russia. On May 26, 1919, the Entente called on Admiral Kolchak to recognize the independence of Poland and Finland, while Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were expected to have broad national autonomy.

The German military and political success in Latvia worried the British, who, during the Paris peace talks, proposed on June 13 that, taking into account the defeat of the Bolshevik forces, it was time to transfer real power to the local governments, and to begin the withdrawal of German troops from the region. The Entente made a decision to forbid the Germans from further progress towards Estonia, ordered to leave Ventspils and Liepāja and begin evacuation from the Baltic. The Entente undertook to supply the local national troops with weapons, clothing and war materials. Arriving in Latvia on June 13, Gof immediately demanded the withdrawal of the Landeswehr and German units from Vidzeme, as well as the transfer of power to the Ulman government. Von der Goltz refused to comply, stating that such decisions should be made by the German government. The appearance of Goff caused the Germans to hasten the decision to defeat the Estonians in the hope of putting the British on the spot.

On June 22, the German government informed von der Goltz that, due to the imminent signing of the Treaty of Versailles, German troops must leave Liepāja. On June 23, the Germans left Liepāja for Grobiņa and Priekuli , but Lieven’s soldiers entered Liepaja. The defeat at the Battle of Cēsis and the evacuation of Liepāja on June 23 reduced German military ambitions, and the British decided to allow German troops to remain in the Baltics while the fight against the Bolsheviks continued. British lieutenant colonel Robinson was appointed commander of the Liepāja garrison. On June 26, Goff arrived in Liepāja and announced on June 27 that the Ulmanis Provisional Government was resuming its work. On the same day, Goff met with Niedras on his ship, announcing that he supported the formation of the Ulmans-Niedras-German-Baltic coalition government. However, in the negotiations for the second Provisional Government, Ulmanis and the Baltic Germans completely ignored Niedra.

The truce of Strazdumuiža clearly marked the British political support for the Ulmanis Provisional Government. On June 30, the first Provisional Government of Ulmans resigned, on July 3, the British, Estonians and Germans (without the participation of Latvian representatives) signed the Strazdumuiža Armistice for the withdrawal of German troops. The administration of Riga was taken over for a short time by representatives of the Entente. On July 6, the forces of the North Latvian Brigade entered Riga , on July 8, the already resigned Provisional Government arrived in Riga from Liepāja with “Saratova”. Following the Entente’s demand for a wider ethnic coalition, on July 13 Ulmanis established the second Provisional Government with the participation of White German and Jewish ministers. The main German and Landeswehr forces, totaling around 35,000 soldiers, retreated to Tukuma, Jelgava, Bauska and Priekuli. By Goff’s order of July 8, the British lieutenant colonel Alexander was appointed as the commander of the Landeswehr and sent to the Eastern Front. British officers replaced the Germans, starting to train Latvian units.

On June 17, 1919, the Provisional Government of Latvia concluded an agreement with the United States for the supply of war materials from the military warehouses in France, and during 1919 American supplies reached 2.5 million USD . On August 27, Jānis Seskis also concluded an agreement with France, which undertook to supply war materials worth 15 million francs, fully supplying one Latvian division. French officers trained Latvian soldiers in the use of supplied weapons. France supplied weapons and uniforms for 10,000 soldiers, 6 artillery batteries with 50,000 rounds, 50 machine guns, 500 hand machine guns with 10 million rounds. France also delivered a $5 million cargo of 40,000 pairs of linen, 500 tons of medicine, as well as field food and condensed milk. Britain supplied weapons and uniforms for 10,000 soldiers in the fall. Delivery data varies. In October, Britain supplied 28 cannons, 18,600 rifles, 124 machine guns, 30,000 cannonballs, 10 million cartridges. British arms deliveries continued in November and the first tanks were delivered in December. By the end of the war, the British had supplied £2.3 million worth of arms. According to other figures, in October Britain supplied 19,500 rifles, 14 light and 2 heavy guns, 5,000 cannonballs, 25 machine guns, 16 million Russian, 5 million British and 1 million German rifle cartridges. Latvia partially paid for the weapons by selling timber and flax.

In early August 1919, Gough was recalled to London, and his deputy, British General Frank Marsh, became the head of the British military mission . In order to ensure Estonian support for Yudenich’s white troops, he got Yudenich to recognize Estonia’s independence. In order to coordinate the wars of various countries and movements against Soviet Russia, a conference was held in Riga on August 26 under the leadership of Marš, in which Estonian representative Johans Laidoners , Latvian representatives Ulmanis and Sīmansons, Bermont, representatives of Lithuania and Poland participated. They agreed on a joint offensive on September 15. Each army was assigned responsibility for a specific sector of the front. In Latvia, Estonians were left with responsibility for the Eastern Front to the north of Lake Lubān , the Latvian army from the south of Lake Lubān to Subatei . Bermont had to capture Daugavpils and attack Velikiy Luki via the Moscow railway . The Lithuanian army was responsible for the front from Subate to a point 35 km southwest of Daugavpils, south of which the front was taken over by Poland. The agreement ran into political difficulties from the start and the offensive failed. The British tried unsuccessfully to get Bermont to recognize the Provisional Government. Bermont refused to do so, taking advantage of the fact that his army numbered close to 50,000 men, while Yudenich’s army numbered less than 19,000. Attributing Bermont’s insubordination to his too close connections with the Germans, on September 15, 18, and 25, the Entente the supreme council invited von der Goltz and the staff officers to be recalled to Germany, submitting a relevant note on September 27. On 3 October, Germany replied that von der Goltz had been withdrawn, and that the final German evacuation would be led by General Walter von Eberhart . By this time, almost all German soldiers had already passed under Bermont’s command and the evacuation did not apply to them.

In order to solve the Latvian and Estonian conflicts with Bermont and Judenič, the Entente established the Allied Commission of the Baltic region under the leadership of the French general Nissel . Nissel, too, hoped to reach a solution that would allow the White Russian and German forces to remain here, continuing the fight against the Bolsheviks. However, even before the arrival of the commission, the Latvian army defeated and expelled Bermont from the country, ignoring Nisel’s calls to stop the fighting.

With the defeat of Wrangel’s army at the end of 1920, it became clear that the overthrow of the Bolsheviks would not succeed, and a democratic Russia would not be formed within the borders of the “united and indivisible” empire. In January 1921, the Entente countries recognized the independence of Latvia and Estonia. Thus, the victory of Soviet Russia ensured the independence of Latvia. The United States hoped for the longest time for the defeat of Bolshevism, so Latvia’s independence was recognized only in the summer of 1922.

XIII – Peace with Russia:

On August 31, 1919, Soviet Russia offered Estonia to start peace negotiations. On September 11, peace was also offered to Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. Soviet Russia offered to recognize the independence of these countries, which had not yet been done by the Entente countries or the leaders of the White Movement . On September 11 and 12, representatives of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia met in Riga and agreed to convene a conference of prime ministers and foreign ministers of the Baltic states. It took place on September 14 and 15 in Tallinn, with the participation of the prime ministers and foreign ministers of Finland, Estonia and Latvia, as well as representatives of Lithuania, but the decision on peace negotiations failed to be adopted. Therefore, on September 18, the Estonian delegation left the peace talks that had started in Pskov on September 17. From September 29 to October 1, a conference of prime ministers and foreign ministers was again held in Türbat, where, due to Finland’s hesitation (the Finns wanted to get parliamentary support for starting peace talks), the other Baltic states agreed to postpone the issue until October 25. After the discussions started on October 6, the Latvian People’s Council supported the start of the ceasefire talks on October 9. In order to establish contact, on October 8, a delegation of the Red Cross left Riga for Moscow, to which the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgijs Chicherins confirmed his readiness to recognize Latvia within its ethnographic borders. At the end of October, Denikin was 200 km from Moscow, and Yudenich was on the outskirts of Petrograd, so peace talks did not start after October 25. In September and October, Latvia received warnings from Entente representatives against starting peace talks, which were accompanied by threats to stop any further aid. The Finnish parliament decided not to start peace talks.

The situation in the Russian Civil War changed rapidly, and by the end of November the Red Army had defeated Kolchak, Denikin and Yudenich. On November 10, the representatives of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania met again in Tartu. Representatives of Finland and Poland participated as observers. Estonia wanted to start peace talks immediately, it was supported by Lithuania, while Latvia, involved in the war against Bermont, was not ready to risk losing the support of the Entente. When the Soviet delegation arrived in Tērbat for negotiations with Estonia on November 17, it unofficially confirmed that it was ready to recognize Latvia’s right to Latgali. On November 19, Soviet Russia signed an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In spite of the rejectionist position of the Entente, peace talks between Soviet Russia and Estonia began in Türbat on December 5, in which Latvia participated as an observer. In December, Britain’s policy towards Russia changed, and it no longer opposed the Baltic states’ desire to start peace talks.

On December 19, Soviet representatives submitted their armistice offer to Latvia, to which Latvia responded with an offer to start secret negotiations, demanding to recognize Latvia’s right to Latgale as a basic rule. On December 24, Moscow invited the Latvian delegation to the talks. On December 31, Estonia and Soviet Russia signed an armistice. On January 2, the Latvian armistice delegation went to Moscow. On January 3, the joint Polish-Latvian operation to liberate Latgale began . On January 6, the Latvian armistice delegation arrived in Moscow and on January 11, negotiations began. The Soviet side proposed to conclude the armistice openly, while Latvia insisted on a secret agreement, as hostilities continued in Latgale, which delayed the conclusion of the armistice. During this time, from January 15 to 22, 1920, a conference of the five Baltic states (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland) was held in Helsinki, where Finland again stood against the conclusion of peace with Soviet Russia. The Latvian delegation finally received the authority to sign the armistice on January 30, which ended hostilities on February 1 at 12.00 On February 6, Soviet Russia offered to start peace talks.

XIV – The end of the war:

In an order to the armed forces dated August 13, 1920, Commander-in-Chief Jānis Balodis wrote: “Due to the provisions of the signed peace treaty, a state of peace will be established between Latvia and Russia today at midnight. I congratulate the army on the heroically won peace and send my best wishes to every soldier, as in the future work of protecting the motherland in the ranks of our famous army, thus returning to other ways of strengthening and building our country.” Demobilization and the liquidation of various army institutions began. On March 31, 1921, Balodis issued his last commander-in-chief’s order to the army, on April 1, the Cabinet of Ministers made a decision to liquidate the army headquarters and the position of commander-in-chief.

After the end of the Latvian freedom struggle on December 1, 1920, there were 51,176 enlisted and 39,183 enlisted soldiers in the Latvian Armed Forces (1,886 officers and paramedics, 539 military officials, 6,403 instructors and 30,355 enlisted men). At the beginning of 1921, all Latvian students who had served for at least a year and a half (including students who graduated from military schools and officers’ courses) were demobilized so that they could continue their education. Until the spring of 1921, soldiers of several categories could go home, leaving only military officials, radio operators, scribes and similar specialists in the barracks. On May 15, 1921, there were only 24,616 soldiers in the army according to the list, 20,260 according to the composition, on August 1, respectively, there were 23,748 and 19,229 soldiers.

Strengthening of the state:

On August 19, 1919, the People’s Council adopted the law on the Constituent Assembly elections , which were held on April 17 and 18, 1920. Two more deputies joined the initially elected 150 deputies after the borders were drawn in Valka. On June 9, the Constituent Assembly ratified the temporary agreement with Germany signed in Berlin on May 5, and on September 2 the peace agreement with Russia.

On September 16, 1920, the Constituent Assembly adopted the first law that initiated the Agrarian Reform in Latvia and the end of the economic power of the German nobility. On January 26, 1921, the Entente countries made a decision on the de iure recognition of Estonia and Latvia , and on September 22, Latvia was accepted into the League of Nations . On July 28, 1922, Latvia was also recognized by the USA.

Creation of the state border:

During the Soviet-Polish war , in October 1919, the Polish army had occupied the city of Griva and six parishes of the eastern part of the county ( Bornes , Borovkas (Ezernes) , Demenes , Kalkūnas , Salonaja and Skrudalien parishes ), which were administratively included in the Braslav county belonging to Poland at that time . After the retreat of the Polish troops in July 1920, this territory was occupied by the Latvian army, after October 1920, negotiations on the establishment of the Latvian-Polish border began .

After unsuccessful bilateral negotiations on the progress of the Latvian-Estonian border, both sides agreed to entrust the decision of the issue to a commission led by the British colonel Talenta. At the beginning of July 1920, Tallent gave most of the town of Valka and the railway station of Valka to Estonia. The parishes of Ainažu , Ipiķu , Pedele , Òrgēme were assigned to Latvia , the parishes of Cores and Plāteres were assigned to Estonia , and the parishes of Omulė , Liellugažu , Jaunroze , Veclaicenes were divided between the two countries. Due to the unsuccessful border negotiations, the Latvian government submitted its resignation, which was not accepted by the Constituent Assembly.

The biggest problems were caused by the Latvian-Lithuanian border conflict, because the Lithuanian armed forces refused to give up the parishes of the Ilūkste district captured in the 1919 battles with the Soviet Latvian army . When the Red Army’s attack on Warsaw began on August 10, 1920 , on August 11, the Ilūkstes County Commandant’s Office reported that Lithuanian army units were moving north in Bebrene Parish, planning to occupy Ilze Manor. On August 22, 1920, the 12th Bauska Infantry Regiment received an order to move across the Daugava near Ničgale and, together with the cavalry squadron of the Zemgale Division and the 1st battery of the Zemgale Artillery Regiment, push the Lithuanians back to the Asare-Bebrene line.

When minor clashes between the two sides began on August 24, Latvian Army Deputy Chief of Staff Jānis Ceplītis and Zemgale Division Commander Oskars Dankers hastily went to Kaunas , where they held talks with Lithuanian Defense Minister Konstantinas Žukas. 26-27 in August Bauska’s regiment under the leadership of colonel Kriš Ķūkis forced the Lithuanians to retreat to the former demarcation line, on August 27, 1920 K. Žuks signed an agreement on the retreat of the Lithuanian army to the south of the line Subate – Lašmuiža – Ilūkste , continuing to use the Kalkūnu railway station. However, on September 1, the 6th Lithuanian infantry regiment, together with border guards and gendarmerie units, were still in Subate (about 50 soldiers with 2 machine guns), 150 soldiers with 2 machine guns were stationed in the Baltmuiža mill, while the headquarters of the 6th regiment was still in Jaunsvente . The Lithuanians took positions on the line Kazimirisķi – Laucesa – Demene – Beļmonti – Raki. Further to the east, the positions were taken by the 9th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment. On September 2, the Lithuanian military representative in Riga, Kazys Tallat-Kelpša , was informed that the next day Latvian troops would occupy the northern part of Subate, as well as Lašu and Pilskalne parishes . On the morning of September 3, Latvian soldiers were captured by Subati, capturing 21 Lithuanian soldiers. After a few hours, the shooting started, in which the Lithuanian soldier Justīns Krupšaitis fell and two soldiers of the Lithuanian army were wounded. At 2 p.m., Colonel Krišs Ķūkis arrived in Subate, who went to the Lithuanian positions with two commanders. Lithuanian company commander A. Šimkus decided to withdraw from the city after negotiations. Only in the evening, the Lithuanian military representative in Riga announced that the order to retreat had been given, but the local commanders still denied receiving the order. At dawn on September 4, the Lithuanians fired at the position of the Latvian unit near the Lašu manor. The Lithuanian units received an official order to withdraw on September 5, a day after the conclusion of the Bulduri Conference . On September 7, the joint commission of Latvia and Lithuania arrived in Subate to settle the issue of the demarcation line on the spot. On September 9, the Latvian commandant was moved from Subate to Kazimirvāle manor. On September 18, the Latvian press reported that the Lithuanians vandalized the Lašu (Stender) rectory when they left.

After the Polish general Lucjans Zeligovskis occupied the Vilnius region on October 8, 1920 , the Lithuanian army left the occupied parishes of the Ilūkste district and on October 14 the Latvian Armed Forces took positions along the Latvian-Lithuanian border, warning Poland that they would defend Lithuania’s independence.

After the Latvian-Lithuanian border was drawn in 1921, Aknīste (Okniste) parish was added to Latvia , which before the war belonged to Novoaleksandrovska district of Kaunas Governorate , while Palanga , which before the war belonged to Kurzeme Governorate , was added to Lithuania .

XV – Fallen and wounded in the war:

The freedom struggle lasted 628 days. At least 75 major battles took place during them. Compared to the number of victims of the battles of the First World War in Latvia, the freedom struggle required relatively small victims (not counting the victims of civilians due to terror , hunger and diseases). Many sources do not mention the exact number of the fallen at all, and often do not mention the nationality of the fallen, which makes it impossible to determine whether the fallen were Latvians, Russians or Baltic Germans. The data of the German-Baltic veterans of Landeswehr show that at least 291 soldiers fell and went missing during the freedom struggle (including the battles of Cēsis), as well as several dozen more who died of diseases and various accidents. The number of fallen soldiers of the Soviet Latvian army fighting in Latvia , as well as the German, Estonian and Polish armies, is also unclear .

17 officers and 42 soldiers fell during the liberation of Kurzeme.
6 officers and 70 soldiers fell during the liberation of Vidzeme.
57 officers and 686 soldiers fell in Bermontiade.
During the liberation of Latgale, Latvian units lost 16 officers and 391 soldiers, while the Landesveer lost 17 officers and 206 soldiers.
12 officers and 228 soldiers died from injuries.
29 officers and 1252 soldiers are missing.
3844 soldiers were injured.
241 soldiers were injured.

5,277 enemy soldiers were taken prisoner, it is not clear how many of them were nobles and how many Bermontians.

XVI – War costs and debts:

Not taking into account the expenses of the Latvian government, which exceeded 811 million Latvian rubles , and not taking into account the expenses of Estonia for the maintenance of the Northern Latvian Brigade, the war costs amounted to 855.4 million lats.

On November 9, 1923, Great Britain demanded repayment of war year debt from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. On February 18, 1925, representatives of the three Baltic states met in Riga and determined that:

Great Britain calculated the debt based on the prices of new war materials, while the supplied materials were often old and used.
Unnecessary materials sometimes delivered.
Some of the supplied materials were not produced in Great Britain at all, but taken from Germany as war trophies.
The requested prices are 80-90% higher than those for which weapons were purchased during the war.

On August 13, 1925, Latvia and Great Britain concluded an agreement with which the debt was set at 1.3 million British pounds, which must be gradually repaid over 30 years.

France, which had lent large loans to the Russian Empire, wanted Latvia to cover part of the empire’s debt. At the beginning of 1922, the French calculated that Latvia should pay 1/60 of the debt, or 250 million gold francs. On March 13, 1922, French President Raymond Poincaré demanded the repayment of this debt from Ambassador Groswald . Since with the Latvian-Soviet Russian peace treaty, the Russian side assumed all the empire’s debts, Latvia rejected France’s claim. However, Latvia had to repay the military aid provided in 1919 worth 11.6 million francs, which was done already in 1923. On May 15, 1931, Ulman’s government agreed to pay 4.5 million francs to France over five years for transporting Latvian soldiers from the Far East to Latvia in 1920.

The USA had delivered both war materials and food to Latvia. On April 8, 1919, upon concluding a contract for food supplies, the Provisional Government immediately guaranteed an advance payment of $5 million. The Latvian side could not choose the quantities, prices and quality of delivered goods. There were complaints about unnecessary deliveries of goods and the poor quality of flour. Despite Latvia’s complaints, on September 25, 1925, the two countries agreed to repay the large debt of 5.77 million USD. It was to be repaid by 1984 in annual installments. The long repayment term meant that together with interest, Latvia would repay USD 13.5 million.

XVII – White and red terror:

The freedom struggles had not only class struggles, but also features of a civil war, which were reflected in the relations between the “whites” and “reds”, Latvians and Germans.

Revolutionary terror was an integral part of Pēter Stučka’s ideas about communism: the first tribunal was established already on December 18, 1918 in Vecgulbene . At the beginning of 1919, concentration camps were established in Gulbene, Pļaviņa (at that time Stukmani) and pastor Neilanda’s manor near Valmiera. Lutheran pastors Ansis Bielenstein (January 12), Aleksandrs Bernevics (January 16), Karlis Moltrechts (January 20) were shot without trial in the first month of the bigots’ rule . On January 30, 1919, Stuchka’s government issued an order for the establishment of revolutionary tribunals, in which three people judged. Special terror was directed against Lutheran pastors, especially after February 20, 1919, when the church was separated from the state. On April 25, 1919, the Stuchka government issued an order to deport all local Germans to Siberia.

According to the tribunal’s verdict, pastor Vilhelms Grīners was shot in Cēsi prison on the night of February 7-8 , pastor Heinrichs Bose was shot in Biķernieki forest on February 16, pastor Arnolds Rutkovskis was shot in Jelgava prison on March 14 together with 47 other prisoners , in Biķernieki forest on March 14 together with about 60 prisoners pastors Eižens Bergs and Teodors Šeinpflugs , pastor Pauls Fromhold-Treijs in Riga Matīs prison on March 16 , pastors Edgars Hasmanis and Kārlis Šlavs in Mežapark on March 26 , pastor Kristaps Strautmanis in Vecsaules forest on March 19 , pastor Pauls in Riga Central Prison on March 20 Wachsmut . Before the retreat of the bigots from Riga Central Prison, pastors Hermanis Bergengruen , Erhard Debler , Augustus Eckharts , Teodors Hofmanis , Eberhards Zāvaris , Eijens Šeiermanis , Teodors Taube and Ernst Fromhold-Treijs were shot in the Central Prison together with other prisoners . On May 29, Pastor Konstantins Uders was shot in Gulbene .

The Soviets shot at least 1,549 people in Riga and 2,083 in the rest of Latvia, a total of 3,632. The total number of people shot is estimated to be close to 5,000. Several hundred people were shot in Gulbene. In Riga, the shootings were carried out in the Biķernieku forest. They took hostages from the German population. Created several concentration camps for the bourgeoisie and Germans, from which 18,000 prisoners were released when the Soviet power fell.

The “White Terror” began in the winter of 1919 in Kuldīga, which the Landeswehr liberated on the night of February 12-13, killing 136 civilians suspected of supporting or sympathizing with the LSPR regime in a few days. On February 24, Ventspils was freed from the bigots, where they shot without trial anyone who could be accused of leftism or sympathizing with it (by April 16, around 200 people were killed in Ventspils, among whom were several officials of the Provisional Government of Latvia). On April 4, 1919, the head of the control department of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant S. Staprāns, informed the Minister of Defense, J. Zālīti, that in Talsi County and Dundaga, “all power is in the hands of the Germans, who carry out terror on the most terrible scale. During this time, 30 people have been shot in Tulsa alone. (..) Sentenced to death without any major investigation. Convicted in large quantities in Kandava and Dundag. (..) All this is done at the expense of the Provisional Government of Latvia.” [ 96 ] Historians of the Latvian SSR later wrote about 400 people shot in Ventspils, 136 in Kuldiga and 500 in Jelgava.

The capture of Riga on May 22, 1919 was an unexpected surprise for many employees of Soviet Latvian institutions, who had gone to work as usual at the beginning of the day, but then ran away and hid. Perhaps this also gave the first impetus to the shootings, as the yards and cellars were full of suspicious people. Those most at risk of being shot were those living in working-class districts, those wearing military-looking clothes, and women with shorter hair, which was considered a sign of the revolutionary “plinte girls” or “plintnieči”. Fletcher declared martial law in Riga, ordered to hand over all weapons, told the employees of the Soviet institutions to report to the police, and forbade the citizens to be on the streets from 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning. The very next day after the Landeswehr entered Riga, the streets of the city resembled a battlefield – shot dead bodies were lying on all the main streets, 2-3 next to each other. The city was divided into blocks, each of which was occupied by its own unit of troops, conducting block searches: pedestrians were stopped on the street and their documents were checked. If the soldiers found documents on someone, which could suggest that their owner is a communist or a social democrat, they shot him right there on the street. During the “cleaning” of city blocks, armed resistance was allegedly shown here and there. Suspects were simply shot on the street in the first days. At the Marija Street bridge, they shot 10 bigots who had resisted on Teatra Boulevard , and the bodies were thrown into the city canal, from which they were pulled out only on May 26.

On May 23, Landeswehr units began a large-scale “cleansing” and terror of the city, killing at least several hundred suspects. On May 23, the forces of the Balož brigade, which were ordered to “clean” the area between Brīvības, Avota and Deglava streets, starting from Elizabetes street, also took part in the cleaning, which suggests their participation in terror. Latvian soldiers, however, usually released the detainees quickly after the investigation, and the largest part of the Balož brigade soon left Riga.

Fletcher’s troops established a fast-track court ( German : Standgericht ) at 12 Suvorov Boulevard , which tried without investigation. Detainees were shot in the yard of the building for two days (on the 4th and 5th day after the liberation of the city). News about the total number of victims in Riga after its capture is contradictory and the exact number is unknown. At least 204 shot dead bodies were brought to the Matīsa cemetery in the first days. On May 28, instead of the uncontrolled shooting, field courts-martials were established, consisting of 2 Germans, 2 Latvians and 1 minority representative. Courts martial continued to impose death sentences. The number of captured Red Army men and suspected people quickly reached 3,000. After the capture of Riga, on the First Pentecost of 1919, the representative of the British mission, Major A. Keenen, came to the central prison, who made sure that 99% of the prisoners were Latvians and that 48 men and 16 were shot on the morning of the holiday. women. On May 29, widespread arrests of suspects took place in Riga again, people who were on the street after 6 in the evening were detained. Still in public, fleeing detainees were shot in the streets, as well as anyone showing resistance. More than 300 people were shot in Pārdaugava following the decision of the court-martial. On July 3, 1919, the representative of the USA, Lieutenant Colonel Warwick Green, telegraphed his superiors: “The whites (..) are committing mass murders. Experienced officers and well-practiced soldiers carry out executions cruelly and cold-bloodedly, but also painlessly, because death occurs on the spot (..). I say this as an expert (..). I listened to the conversation of the German soldiers that in the four years of the war they had never seen such sights.”

After the Strazdumuiža armistice was concluded on July 9, 1919, the commander of the Northern Latvian Brigade, Colonel Zemitāns, ordered all Vidzeme commanderies to arrest all communists and hand them over to a field court-martial. On December 22, 1919, the field court martial in the hall of the Valmiera Latvian Society pronounced the verdict on the delegates of the LKP Labor Youth Union’s Vidiena regional conference who were arrested in Kokmuiž on December 14 . 11 people were sentenced to death, and 16 people were sentenced to imprisonment. During the Latvian SSR, the Communists shot in Valmiera were called the Valmiera Communards .

XVIII – A later interpretation of the Freedom Struggle:

The officers of the South Latvian and North Latvian brigades had different opinions about which brigade had greater merit in the victory. In 1932, the retired colonel Voldemārs Ozols, the former chief of staff of the Alūksnes group of the Estonian army, founded the “Legions” association of knights and freedom fighters of the Lāčplēš Military Order , which was banned by the Latvian government in 1933, V. Ozols was arrested and deported from Latvia. It is known that Voldemars Ozols was connected with the Main Intelligence Agency of the USSR .

In Soviet history, it was usually pointed out that the political interests of Germany and Great Britain played the main role in the struggle against Soviet Latvia. The balance of forces, where the German troops completely dominated, as well as the decisive actions of the German, Estonian and Polish troops, allowed Soviet historians to believe that the Soviet Latvian army was defeated not by the tiny “White Latvian” units, but by international counter-revolutionary forces, as Britain forced Germany out of the region during the war and creating a sanitary cordon of new nation-states against the further advance of Bolshevism in Europe.

XIX – Chronology of freedom struggles:

1918

November 11 : The German Empire concluded an armistice with the Entente countries, the First World War ended ; As a result of Entente pressure, Germany annulled the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. ZA Meierovics, as a representative of LPNP, received de facto recognition of Latvia from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom (the so-called Balfour note ).
November 13 : The Baltic-German National Committee published a call to enlist in the Baltic Landeswehr (“Baltic National Guard”). Soviet Russia announced the termination of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and the Red Army attacked the German forces.
November 17 : The Latvian Provisional National Council and the Democratic Bloc merged to form the Latvian People’s Council . Jānis Čakste became the chairman of the People’s Council , and Kārlis Ulmanis became the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Latvia .
November 18 : The Republic of Latvia was proclaimed in Riga.
November 19 : 2,500 volunteers had registered with the Baltic National Guard.
November 25 : On behalf of the German government, August Vinnigs signed a note of recognition of the Provisional Government of Latvia (the so-called “Vinnig note”).
November 28 : The Board of Regents of the Baltic Duchy ceased operations.
December 1 : The Red Army invaded the territory of Latvia.
December 2 : Red Army units took control of the Rēzekne-Krustpils railway line .
December 4 : The Latvian Soviet government was established in Russia with Pēteris Stučka at the head.
December 7 : The Provisional Government of Latvia and the General Plenipotentiary of the German Government, Augusts Vinnigs, agreed that the Latvian Armed Forces, or ” Latvijas zemessardze ” ( Lettländische Landeswehr ), would be administratively subordinated to the Minister of Defense of Latvia , Jānis Zālītis , and in terms of supply and military, to the leadership of the German occupation forces. The Red Army occupied Alūksni .
December 8 : The Latvian Army Group ( Армейская группа войс Латвии ) was established following Red Army Directive 436 .
December 9 : The Red Army occupied Daugavpils .
December 17 : The Latvian Soviet government in Moscow announced the manifesto of the Latvian Soviet government , which stated that from this moment on, power in Latvia would pass into the hands of this government. The Red Army occupied Valka .
December 19 : Landesveer repulsed an attack by an armored train of the Red Army along the Daugavpils-Riga railway line near the Ogre Bridge.
December 22 : The government of Soviet Russia recognized the independence of the Soviet Republic of Latvia . The Red Army occupied Valmiera . The battle of the Cēsi company with the Red Army unit at the Rauna river railway bridge.
December 23 : The Red Army captured Cesis .
December 29 : The Provisional Government of Latvia concluded an agreement with the German plenipotentiary Winnig on inviting volunteers to join the military formations to fight against the communists.
December 31 : the Battle of Inčukalna began , in which the Latvian Red Rifle Regiments defeated Landesvær’s four German-Baltic companies.

1919

January 3 : The Red Army occupied Riga.
January 4 : The LSPR army was created, commanded by Jukums Vācietis .
January 5 : A Latvian separate battalion commanded by Oskars Kalpaks was created , the Provisional Government retreated from Jelgava to Liepāja.
January 10 : The Japanese government recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
January 16: Battle of Lielauce.
January 29: Battle of Skrunda.
January 30 : The Haitian government recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
January 31 : Soviet Latvian forces had conquered most of Latvia, the government of the Republic of Latvia and German forces controlled the part of Kurzeme west of Venta .
March 3 : The counterattack of the Iron Division commanded by Golc , the Baltic Landeswehr and a separate battalion of Latvians (from March 14 – the “Southern Group of the Latvian Army”) against the forces of the Latvian SPR began .
March 6 : Oskars Kalpaks, the first commander of the Latvian separate battalion, fell in an accidental shootout with German forces . Jānis Balodis took his place .
March 10 : The city of Saldus was liberated .
March 21 : The individual Latvian battalion was transformed into a brigade.
22—24. March: battles near Kalnciems and Sloka.
April 16 : As a result of a putsch organized by the Germans, Niedra’s government took over power , while Ulman’s Provisional Government took refuge in Saratov .
May 22 : German units liberate Riga .
May 23 : A separate brigade of Latvians marched in Riga.
May 25 : Clashes near Carnikava .
May 29 : The Danish Baltic Relief Corps took part in the liberation of Alūksne .
June 3 : German forces reached Cesis .
4—6. June: The 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment of the Northern Latvian Brigade and the Danish Baltic Relief Corps liberated Madona, then Krustpili and Jēkabpili.
June 6 : The Battle of Cēsis began , which lasted until July 3, when the Battle of Jugla ended . The Estonian army and the North Latvian brigade fought against the German troops .
June 10: Battle of Birži.
June 22 : The Estonian army, together with the Northern Latvian Brigade, defeated the German forces in the Battle of Cēsu .
June 24: Skirmish near Sigulda.
1—2. July: Battle of Mazas Jugla .
July 3 : Conclusion of the truce in Strazdumuiža .
July 6 : The Northern Latvian Brigade led by Jorģs Zemitāns entered Riga .
July 21 : The Estonian government recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state in an international agreement .
In July, the government of West Russia was established in Berlin with the aim of securing Germany’s political interests during the Russian Civil War .
26—27. in August: the battle against the Red Army near Livani .
September 11 : The Soviet government of Russia offered to start negotiations on ending the war.
September 13 : The Holy See recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
September 17 : The West Russian Volunteer Army formally surrendered to the West Russian government .
September 25 : Finland recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
October 3 : The 3rd Jelgava Infantry Regiment and the Baltic Landeswehr occupied Livani.
October 5 : The German mission secretly left Riga and moved to Jelgava, preparing for the Bermontian attack on Riga.
October 6 : Bermont-Avalov created a subordinate West Russian Council, which took over the functions of the West Russian government.
October 8 : Bermontians started an attack on Riga and soon occupied Pardaugava .
October 14 : the 3rd battalion of the Jelgava regiment repelled the attack of Bermontians on Viesitei .
October 15 : battle in Bolderāja and Iļguciem.
—19. October: 4th Valmiera infantry regiment repulsed the attack of Bermontians on Jaunjelgava .
October 22 : Poland recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
October 23 : Lithuania recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
October 20: Battle of Talsi.
November 3 : The Latvian army launched a counterattack against the Bermontese forces.
November 5: Battle of Liepāja.
November 11 : The Latvian army liberated Pārdaugava from Bermontians .
November 19 : The military formations of the West Russian Army came under the direct command of Lieutenant General Walter von Eberhart , the commander appointed by the Weimar Republic .
November 21 : The Latvian army liberated Jelgava .
November 22 : The Lithuanian army defeated the remnants of the West Russian army near Radviliškii .
November 25 : Latvian Foreign Minister Zigfrīds Meierovics submitted a note to German Foreign Minister H. Miller about Latvia’s war application to Germany.
December 1 : Battle of the Latvian Army near Livani against the Red Army.
December 3 : The Supreme Command of the Latvian Army issued an order to stop further progress at the Latvian-German border near Palanga .

1920

January 3 : The joint operation “Winter” of Latvian and Polish troops against the Red Army began . The united Latvian and Polish troops occupied Daugavpils.
January 10: battle near Kārsava during the liberation operation of Northern Latgale .
January 13 : The Latvian SPR government led by Pēteras Stučkas announced the termination of its activities .
January 14: Capture of Pitalova .
January 26: battle near Ludza Rēzekne during the liberation operation.
February 1 : Latvia signed an armistice with Soviet Russia.
February 2: the last military clash near Zilupe .
April 17-18 : Elections of the Constituent Assembly .
April 28 : France recognized the de facto existence of the Latvian state .
May 1 : First session of the Constituent Assembly .
July 15 : A temporary peace treaty was concluded between the Republic of Latvia and Germany, in which the German government agreed to recognize Latvia after one of the Entente countries that signed the Treaty of Versailles did so.
August 11 : The Latvian-Russian peace treaty was concluded , Article 2 of which stated that “Russia unreservedly recognizes the independence, autonomy and sovereignty of the Latvian state and voluntarily forever renounces all sovereign rights that belonged to Russia in relation to the people of Latvia and lands both on the basis of the former state’s legal system and on the basis of international agreements, which in the sense described here lose their validity for future times”.

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