Mārtiņš Peniķis

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Mārtiņš Peniķis (born November 6, 1874 in Turlavas pagasts, Courland Governorate ; † February 28, 1964 in Riga ) was a Latvian general and commander in chief of the Latvian army from 1928 to 1934.

Life

Mārtiņš Peniķis was born on November 6, 1874 in the Atālmauli farm in the village of Kurschkönig as the son of the freeman Mārtiņš Peniķis in a family of the Curonian kings . He attended the city school in the nearby town of Kuldīga .

In 1896 he joined the Imperial Russian Army and served in the 133rd Infantry Regiment of Simferopol . From 1900 he studied in the war school of Chuhujiw in Ukraine with a degree in 1902. He was promoted to the rank of Podporutschik in the 121st Kharkiv infantry regiment. During the Russo-Japanese war he witnessed many battles, such as the battle of Mukden . In 1913 he was delegated to the Tsar Nikolai Military Academy, today the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation .

In the first World War

In the early stages of World War I , Peniķis served as a company commander in Galicia and in fighting near Krakow , where he was wounded in December 1914. In 1915 he was promoted to the rank of colonel and took part in the fighting in Belarus . In autumn 1916 he was transferred to the Latvian Rifle and became the commander of the second Riga Latvian Rifle Regiment. He led his regiment in the battles on the Aa and in the Battle of Riga (1917) . After the October Revolution , Peniķis left the army and stayed in the German-occupied Livonia ( Vidzeme ), where he was interned, from which he was released in 1918.

In the Latvian War of Independence

In the course of the Latvian War of Independence , he joined the newly established Latvian army in December 1818 and became commander of the Courland military district . In June 1919 he became the commander of all Latvian units at Liepāja . In September became the head of military schools, but when the attacks by the West Russian Liberation Army , led by Pavel Mikhailovich Bermondt-Awaloff , began, he returned to active service. He became commander of the second Livonian infantry division and replaced Jorģis Zemitāns as commander of the southern front. On November 10, his division launched a massive counter-attack and liberated Torņakalns and other parts of Riga on the left bank of the Daugava . Later he took part in the liberation of Latgale . In August 1920 Peniķis achieved promotion to general and he became chief of staff of the Latvian army.

Next life

From 1921 to 1924 Peniķis was inspector general of the army and from 1928 to 1934 supreme commander of the Latvian army. In 1934 he reached the maximum seniority and retired. He then researched Latvian history, especially military history, which he published in lectures and books.

During the German occupation of Latvia in World War II , Peniķis was offered the position of General Inspector of the newly established Latvian Legion , which he refused. Towards the end of the Second World War he emigrated to Germany, but in 1945 he decided to return to Latvia, which was occupied by the Soviet Union . He was not subjected to repression and continued his research on military history.

Mārtiņš Peniķis died on February 18, 1964 in Riga . He was buried in the forest cemetery (Meža kapi) in Riga.

Works

  • Senlaiku kara vēsture ,
  • Pasaules karš 1914-1918. Austrumu frontē , (1929.)
  • Latvijas nacionālās armijas cīņas 1919 vasarā un rudenī , (1931.)
  • Latvijas armijas sākums un cīņas Latvijā līdz 1919 jūlijam , (1932.)
  • Pasaules karš 1914, 1915 and 1916 un latviešu strēlnieku bataljonu-pulku cīnas I , (1937)

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nationālie bruņotie spēki ( Memento of the original dated November 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Biography and portrait. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mod.gov.lv
  2. ↑ a b LLOK biography
  3. ↑ Latvijas armijas augstākie virsnieki 1918–1940, biogrāfiska vārdnīca / (see Ēriks Jēkabsons, Valters Ščerbinskis); Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs. ISBN 9984-510-17-4
personal data
SURNAME Peniķis, Mārtiņš
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Latvian general
DATE OF BIRTH November 6, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Turlavas pagasts
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1964
Place of death Riga