Latvian War of Independence

Latvian War of Independence
Part of Soviet westward offensive of 1918–19
Date5 December 1918 – 11 August 1920
(1 year, 8 months and 6 days)
LocationLatvia
Result Recognition of Latvia's independence by Soviet Russia
Territorial
changes
Independence of Latvia
Belligerents

Latvia Latvian Army
merged from the:

 Estonia
Russia Lieven detachment[nb 3]
 Poland
 Lithuania

Supported by the Allied Powers

German Empire VI Reserve Corps:[1]

merged into the

West Russian Volunteer Army in September 1919
 Russian SFSR
 Latvian SSR
Commanders and leaders
Latvia Jānis Balodis
Estonia Ernst Põdder
Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły
German Empire Rüdiger von der Goltz
Alfred Fletcher
Pavel Bermondt-Avalov
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Jukums Vācietis
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Dmitry Nadyozhny
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Pēteris Slavens
Strength

Latvia At height (January 1920)
69,232 personnel
271 machine guns and 321 light machine guns
54 artillery
33 mortars[2]
Estonia At height (June 1919)
16,000 personnel[3]
204 machine guns
39 artillery
3 armoured vehicles
5 armoured trains[4]
United Kingdom 1 cruiser, 8 destroyers, 2 torpedo boats, 1 minesweeper


France 2 torpedo boats, 2 gunboats
German Empire At height (June 1919)
20,000 personnel,[3] 100 artillery, 3 armored trains, 10 armored vehicles, 18 airplanes, 469 machine guns[4]
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 5,600-6,300 personnel,[5] 55 machine-guns, 42 artillery, 3 armoured trains[6]
Casualties and losses
Latvia Latvia:
3,046 dead
4,085 wounded[7]
Estonia Estonia: 300 dead, 800 wounded[8]
German Empire 840 killed
3,000 wounded[9][10]
Unknown
  1. Part of the Baltische Landeswehr until July 1919.
  2. Under the Estonian 3rd Division command until July 1919.
  3. Part of the Baltische Landeswehr until July 1919, after which it left Latvia.

The Latvian War of Independence (Latvian: Latvijas brīvības cīņas, literally, "Struggles for Latvia's freedom"), sometimes called the Latvian War of Liberation (Latvian: Latvijas atbrīvošanas karš, "War of Latvian Liberation"), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.[11]

The war involved Latvia (its provisional government supported by Estonia, Poland and the Western Allies--particularly the navy of United Kingdom) against the Russian SFSR and the Bolsheviks' short-lived Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic. Germany and the Baltic nobility added another level of intrigue, initially being nominally allied to the Nationalist/Allied force but attempting to jockey for German domination of Latvia. Eventually tensions flared up after a German coup against the Latvian government, leading to open war.

Following a cease-fire, the Germans developed a ploy, nominally dissolving into the West Russian Volunteer Army led by Gen. Pavel Bermont-Avalov. This West Russian Volunteer Army included Germans and former Russian prisoners of war nominally allied with the White Army in the Russian Civil War, but both Bermondt-Avalov and von der Goltz were more interested in eliminating the nationalists than fighting the Bolsheviks.

Certain episodes of the Latvian Independence War were also part of the Polish-Soviet War, particularly the Battle of Daugavpils.

Timeline

1918

1919

1920

See also

References

  1. "Generalkommando VI Reservekorps". Axis History.
  2. Latvijas Atbrīvošanas kaŗa vēsture (Latvian)
  3. 1 2 "Iseseisvuse aeg 1941–44". Eesti. Üld. 11. Eesti entsüklopeedia. 2002. pp. 296–311.
  4. 1 2 Co. Jaan Maide (1933). Ülevaade Eesti Vabadussõjast (1918–1920) (Overview on Estonian War of Independence) (in Estonian).
  5. Mangulis, Visvaldis. Latvia in the Wars of the 20th Century. Princeton Junction: Cognition Books, 1983, xxi, 207p.
  6. "Latvia 1919" (PDF). pygmy-wars.50megs.com.
  7. Latvijas Brīvības cīņas, page 15 (Latvian)
  8. Eesti Vabadussõda Estonica.org (Estonian)
  9. Hans von Rimscha, Hellmuth Weiss (1977). Von den baltischen Provinzen zu den baltischen Staaten 1918-1920. J. G. Herder-Institut. p. 61.
  10. Kaevats, Ülo: Eesti Entsüklopeedia 5, page 396. Valgus, 1990, ISBN 5-89900-009-0
  11. (Latvian)Freibergs J. (1998, 2001) Jaunāko laiku vēsture 20. gadsimts Zvaigzne ABC ISBN 9984-17-049-7
  12. LtCol Andrew Parrott. "The Baltic States from 1914 to 1923: The First World War and the Wars of Independence" (PDF). Baltic Defence Review. 2/2002.

Bibliography

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