This article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions.
| Latviešu strēlnieku bataljoni/pulki/divīzija Latvian Riflemen Battalions/Regiments/Division |
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|---|---|
Uniform of Latvian Riflemen |
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| Active | July 1915 - 1917 |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Branch | Imperial Russian Army |
| Part of | Russian 12th Army |
| Engagements | Defence of Nāves sala (Death island) (1916) Christmas Battles (1916-1917) Battle of Jugla (1917) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Augusts Ernests Misiņš Andrejs Auzāns Jānis Francis Frīdrihs Briedis Jukums Vācietis |
| Latviešu strēlnieku padomju divīzija Latvian Riflemen Soviet Division |
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|---|---|
| Active | 13 April 1918 - 1920 |
| Country | Latvian SSR Russian SFSR |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Motto | Visu zemju proletārieši, savienojieties! ("Proletarians of all countries, unite!") |
| March | The Internationale |
| Engagements | Latvia, Estonia, Daugavpils, Oryol, Yevpatoria |
| Battle honours | Honorable Red Flag of VTsIK |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Jukums Vācietis |
Latvian riflemen (Latvian: Latviešu strēlnieki, Russian: Латышские стрелки) were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic territories against Germans in World War I. Initially the battalions were formed by volunteers, and from 1916 by conscription among the Latvian population. A total of about 40,000 troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division.
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Towards the end of the 19th century, Riga, the capital of Latvia, became one of the most industrialised cities in the Russian Empire. 800,000 industrial workers, half of all those in the Baltic provinces, worked there. Despite the policy of Russification which was introduced there, Latvian nationalist sentiments were more directed towards the Baltic-German landowners, who had formed the governing elite in the Baltic territories since the conquest of the Latvian tribes by predominantly German military orders in the 13th century Livonian Order. The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (LSDRP) was well organised and its leading elements were increasingly sympathetic to the Bolsheviks by the time of the 1905 Revolution. When punitive expeditions were mounted by the state following this, armed resistance groups - often affiliated to the LSDRP - were set up to conduct guerilla warfare against the Tsarist regime. Many of these seasoned fighters were subsequently recruited into the Latvian Rifles.
At the outbreak of war Indriķis Lediņš, the Latvian chief of police in Vladivostok, had called for the establishment of Latvian Cavalry units.
At the outbreak of the First World War, recruitment to the Russian Imperial Army was conducted in a very heavy handed way, in some cases being met by riots. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Latvians were recruited and they soon constituted 80 % of XX Corps alone. In the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes (February 1915) the XX Corps was surrounded in the Augustov forests and nearly destroyed. About 20,000 Latvian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured.
By April 1915, when the German Army was advancing into Latvian territory, some prominent Latvians, led by Jānis Goldmanis used their position in the Duma to call on the Tsar to establish all-Latvian battalions. As Germany was advancing into Latvia, they argued, such units would be particularly effective. At Jelgava two battalions of the Latvian Home Guard had already held back the German advance guard. Following increasing German advances, the Russian Stavka approved the measure and on 19 July 1915 the Tsar approved the formation of the Latvian Rifles. Departure of the first latvian volunteers from Riga to training camp transformed to a wide national demonstration, because those were the first Latvian military units with latvian commanders ever formed. The first battalions consisted mainly from volunteers, especially refugees from Courland and workers from the factories evacuated to inner Russia from Riga. Later a number of Latvians from other Russian units joined or were transferred to the Latvian Rifles.
From 1915 to 1917, the Latvian Riflemen fought in the Russian army against the Germans in positions along the Daugava river. In 1916 Latvian battalions were transformed to regiments as conscription started among the local population. In December 1916 and January 1917, the Latvian riflemen suffered heavy casualties in the month-long Christmas Battles, which began with a surprise attack on German positions during Christmas. Suffering heavy casualties, Latvian riflemen managed to break the German line of defence but the effort was wasted as the attack was not followed through. The Russian Army lost over 26,000 soldiers in the failed attack. The casualties included 9,000 Latvian riflemen, about a third of the total number at that time. The heavy casualties resulted in a strong resentment against the Russian generals and the Tsar among the riflemen. This resentment led to an increased support for the Bolsheviks, who were advocating an end to the war.
Structure of the United Latvian Rifleman division. Formed in 1917.
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1. Latvian rifleman brigade
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2. Latvian rifleman brigade'
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In May 1917 the Latvian Regiments transferred their loyalty to the Bolsheviks. They became known as Red Latvian Riflemen (Latvian: Latviešu sarkanie strēlnieki, Russian: красные латышские стрелки) and actively participated in the Russian Civil War. The Riflemen took an active part in the suppression of anti-Bolshevik uprisings in Moscow and Yaroslavl in 1918. They fought against Denikin, Yudenich, and Wrangel. In 1919 the division received the highest military recognition of that time: the Honorable Red Flag of VTsIK. Jukums Vācietis, formerly a colonel in the Latvian Rifles became the first commander-in-chief of the Red Army.
The Latvian Red Riflemen were instrumental in the attempt to establish Soviet rule in Latvia in 1919. They suffered great losses of personnel due to the decreasing popularity of Bolshevik ideas among the Latvian Riflemen and Latvians generally, and the majority were re-deployed to other fronts of the Russian Civil War. The remaining forces of the Red Army in Latvia were defeated by Baltic German volunteers and newly formed Latvian units initially under Colonel Kalpaks and later under Colonel Jānis Balodis,loyal to the Latvian Republic in western Latvia, by the Estonian Army and allied Latvian forces in northern Latvia, and finally by a joint campaign of the Polish and new Latvian army in Latgale, south-eastern Latvia.
Following the 1920 peace treaty between Latvia and Bolshevist Russia, 11,395 former Red Riflemen returned to Latvia.
Other former Riflemen remained in Soviet Russia and rose to leadership positions in the Red Army, Bolshevik party, and Cheka. Many, however, were later executed or imprisoned (often dying in GULag camps) during the Great Purges, when most "old guard" Bolsheviks and high-ranking military and intelligence officers (as well as many intellectuals) were persecuted by Stalin as potential rivals or traitors. Latvian Communists were among the most persecuted groups. When the USSR occupied Latvia in 1940, many of the surviving Red Riflemen returned to Latvia.
It should be noted that the most famous pre-World War II Soviet Communist leaders from Latvia were not from the Red Riflemen: Martin Latsis, Yakov Peters, Arvīds Pelše, Jānis Bērziņš, Yan Rudzutak, Pēteris Stučka, Robert Eikhe. All of them, except for Stučka (who died in 1932) and Pelše, perished in the Great Purges of 1937–1940.
In 1917, a smaller number of Latvian Riflemen (mainly officers) did not side with the Bolsheviks. Some were very active (Kārlis Goppers, Frīdrichs Briedis, etc.) in trying to prevent Bolshevik ideas from spreading among the Latvian soldiers, but the physical and moral exhaustion after the bloody Christmas and January battles was fruitful ground for bolshevik ideology. Opponents left, or were forced to leave, military service or joined the White forces. During the last phase of the Civil War, two Latvian regiments were created in the Far East of Russia (Troickas and Imantas), but they did not take part in military action, and were sent to Latvia, by then already an independent nation.
How to describe the Red Riflemen is a hot issue in Latvia after the fall of the Soviet Union. There has been disagreement over whether the memorial to the Red Riflemen in Riga should be demolished or kept.[1] Some see the Red Riflemen as pro-communists and want the statue removed, while others see them as pro-Latvian and want the statue to remain. The building now housing the Latvijas Okupācijas Muzejs (Occupation Museum of Latvia) was originally (in Soviet times) the Latvian Red Riflemen's Museum.
Latvian pagan metal band Skyforger has the album Latviešu strēlnieki (Latvian Rifleman). It is dedicated to Latvian rifleman's and their battles in the First world war.