Latvian shooters

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Badge of the Red Latvian Riflemen
Monument to the Latvian riflemen in front of the Occupation Museum

The Latvian riflemen ( Latvian Latviešu strēlnieki ; Russian Латышские стрелки , Latischskije strelki) were military units with a Latvian command language. They were originally a formation of the Imperial Russian Army , which was used on the front in the Baltic States during World War I.

history

Originally the battalions were formed from volunteers, from 1916 also from conscripts . About 40,000 Latvians were in the Division confiscated the Latvian Riflemen. From 1915 to 1917, the Latvian riflemen fought in trench warfare against German troops along the Daugava . In January 1917 they suffered heavy losses in the battles on the Aa (lett. Ziemassvētku kaujas), which began with a surprise attack on German positions for the Russian Christmas festival. The Latvian riflemen managed to break through the German defense line, but the attack was ultimately unsuccessful because it was not continued. The Russian army lost over 26,000 soldiers, 9,000 of whom were Latvian riflemen, a good third of the unit's total number. The heavy losses caused severe resentment among the troops towards the generals and the tsar and growing support for the Bolsheviks , who advocated an end to the war.

structure

  • 1st Latvian Rifle Brigade ( 1-я Латышская стрелковая бригада ):
    • 1st Latvian Rifle Regiment "Daugavgrīva" (1-й Латышский стрелковый Усть-Двинский полк)
    • 2nd Latvian Rifle Regiment "Riga" (2-й Латышский стрелковый Рижский полк)
    • 3rd Latvian Rifle Regiment "Kurzeme" (3-й Латышский стрелковый Курземский полк)
    • 4th Latvian Rifle Regiment "Vidzeme" (4-й Латышский стрелковый Видземский полк)
  • 2nd Latvian Rifle Brigade ( 2-я Латышская стрелковая бригада ):
    • 5th Latvian Rifle Regiment "Zemgale" (5-й Латышский стрелковый Земгальский полк)
    • 6th Latvian Rifle Regiment "Tukums" (6-й Латышский стрелковый Тукумский полк)
    • 7th Latvian Rifle Regiment "Bauska" (7-й Латышский стрелковый Баускский полк)
    • 8th Latvian Rifle Regiment "Valmiera" (8-й Латышский стрелковый Валмиерский полк)

Red Latvian Riflemen

After the February Revolution , which brought about the end of the tsarist empire , around 35,000 Latvian riflemen allied themselves with the Bolsheviks in May 1917; they became known as the Red Latvian Riflemen ( Latvian Latviešu sarkanie strēlnieki , Russian Красные латышские стрелки , Krasnyje latyschskije strelki). In 1918 they took part in the suppression of anti-communist uprisings in Moscow and Yaroslavl and fought against Denikin , Yudenitsch and Wrangel . In 1919, the Soviet Latvian Division received the highest Russian recognition of the time, the red flag of honor of the All-Russian Central Committee . An officer of the Latvian Red Riflemen Jukums Vācietis was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army .

After the declaration of independence by the Latvian People's Council in November 1918, the sovereign Republic of Latvia was established. The Latvian Red Riflemen took part in an attempt to establish Soviet rule in Latvia or a Latvian Soviet Republic in 1919 . They were defeated by the Baltic German Army and German Freikorps ( Iron Division ) in western Latvia and then by Polish troops and the new Latvian army in eastern Latvia.

After the conclusion of the Riga Peace Treaty between the Republic of Latvia and Bolshevik Russia in 1920, 11,935 former Red Latvian riflemen returned to Latvia. Others stayed in Soviet Russia and held positions in the Red Army, the Bolshevik Party and the Cheka secret service . Many of them were arrested and executed during the Stalin Purge ; among other groups, the ethnic Latvian communists faced particular persecution.

The importance of the Latvian Red Riflemen is still a controversial issue in Latvia. There is disagreement as to whether the monument to the Latvian riflemen in front of the Latvian Occupation Museum in Riga should remain or be removed. Some see the Red Latvian Riflemen as communists and want the monument to be removed, others see them in the service of the Latvian cause and want it to remain.

Known members

literature

  • Latvia: The choice that was made twice. 1917-1940. APN Verlag, Moscow 1987 (from a Soviet perspective).
  • Collective of authors: The Red Latvian Riflemen 1917–1920. [From Russian] Translated into German by Conrad Grau and Günter Rosenfeld. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1985 (from a Soviet perspective).
  • Jan Schlürmann : From Tsar's Eagle to Soviet Star: The Latvian Rifle Battalions and Regiments in the Imperial Russian Army (1915–1917) . In: Chakoten [Dansk Militaerhistorisk Selskab] 61 (2006), No. 1, pp. 19-23 ( PDF, 9.9 MB ).
  • Igors Varpa: Latviešu karavīrs zem Krievijas impērijas, Padomju Krievijas and PSRS karogiem. Nordik, Riga 2006, ISBN 9984-792-11-0 (Latvian).

Web links

Commons : Latvian shooters  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Orlando Figes : The Tragedy of a People. Berlin, 1998, p. 624.