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Latvia - Land Forces - History

The army has two obligations against the state: it has to win the struggle for security, and, secondly, it must preserve this security during times of peace. The timeless phrase, Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, is where a country starts, and it must remain an extreme means to express the people’s willingness to have a country; but the task if only fulfilled if the army has to spill as little blood as possible in the future to keep their country safe.

Even though the proclamation of the Latvian state on 18 November, 1918 is the most important date in Latvian history, at the time it was but a symbolic act the likes of which could be witnessed throughout the region, from Finland to Georgia. In late 1918 the Latvian Provisional Government represented just one out of three possible scenarios for Latvian development, competing with Latvia’s ending up within the German sphere of influence or becoming part of Soviet Russia.

In December 1918, when the Red Army entered Riga, all that Riga could muster as anti-Bolshevik forces were the remains of the 8th Army of the German Empire and the Baltic German Baltic Landwehr, which per an agreement between the Latvian Provisional Government and the German party also included the first units set up by Latvians. At the turn of the year, these units fought shoulder to shoulder in the first battle for Latvian independence. It took place near Incukalns, and in the battle which saw the defending side lose a total 43 German, Latvian and Russian soldiers fell, but the Bolsheviks’ impetus was slowed down for long enough to allow the German and Provisional Government institutions evacuate from Riga.

After a month of stepping back, the retreat finally stopped by the Venta River. After leaving Riga, most of the Latvian units became scattered and the remaining men were united under Colonel Oskars Kalpaks in the Independent Student Company and the Latvian Independent Battalion. The basis of these was made up by the student intelligentsia and hardened veterans of the former Tsarist army in World War One. The situation became stable, however. It was made possible not only by Estonian success in their independence battles and the arrival of German units, but also by a complete lack of support for the Latvian Soviet government, which first of all became expressed in massive desertions from the Red Army, with entire units sometimes leaving to join the Latvian Provisional Government.

At the same time, Latvian units under the Estonian Army were formed and united into the North Latvian Brigade under Jorgis Zemitans. On 3 March the Latvian-German joint offensive started, while Estonian-Latvian forces marched on from the north. After Riga fell on 22 May, the Red Army units made a chaotic retreat towards Latgale. This stage of the Independence War concluded with the Battle of Cesis, in which the conflict of interest between the new Baltic countries and Germans concluded with defeat for the latter. Following the Battle of Cesis, representatives of the Entente, who wanted the German units to remain as an important anti-Bolshevik force in the region, saw to it that the Strazdumuiža truce was signed. The agreement said that German units would have to leave Latvia, but the Germans had no intention of doing it and started assembling a new force, namely the West Russian Volunteer Army nominally under the command of Pavel Bermondt-Avalov.

The Allies were not ready to get involved directly to achieve the evacuation of the Germans, so Latvians had to take action themselves. On 10 July, 1919 the Latvian Army was born by merging the North Latvian Brigade and the Latvian Independent Brigade. Its first commander was general Davids Simansons. The army was poorly provisioned and was in a difficult situation – in the east, it had to fight the Red Army, while in the south an inevitable conflict was brewing with the German forces, which on 8 October launched an attack on Riga under the command of Bermondt and von der Goltz.

From this point on, the Latvian Army had to fight on two fronts against an enemy that surpassed it both in technology and absolute numbers. The only advantage for the Latvian Army was the considerable support by Latvian locals, which was expressed in financial and material donations to the army, as well as massive voluntary enlistment and partisan groups fighting behind enemy lines. While aided by cannon fire of the English fleet early on, the Latvian Army pushed Bermondt’s forces out of Latvia fully on its own by December 1919. This time the Entente’s calls for a truce were not heard and the operation was quickly finished before the arrival of their representatives. The only thing that remained was the battle of Latgale, and Estonian and Polish help was enlisted for this.

The Latvian War of Independence is as substantial a part of the story of Latvian independence as the country’s political, economic and social history. Even if you avoid romanticised clichés about the fact that “no country has gained independence without spilling blood” and “better die standing than live on one’s knees”, the War of Independence makes you realise several political mechanisms that are important today as well. First of all, defending independence does not consist solely of paying certain sums to the army. It can be ensured only by the entire public, furnishing both material and human resources: the army was born from volunteers who arrived in their own clothing and whose guns were provided for by selling donated valuables, growing gradually to reach 75,000 men in February 1920.

Secondly, only if there is a powerful and battle-willing core there can be hope for allied support. Were the Latvian Army unwilling to fight, British and French cannons would have never fired upon Bermontian positions by the mouth of River Daugava; Estonian forces would have never fight for Cesis and Polish divisions wouldn’t have helped freeing Latgale. Thirdly, there is no dividing line between the army and the public. The army is part of the public and the people’s readiness to defend their country is a litmus test for its willingness to have a country of their own; the Latvian Army was an army of Latvian citizens, with Russian princes, Baltic German barons and Latvian farm owners fought side by side, and this continued into the interwar period.

The Latvian Army succeed in its task. Not only did it win the struggle for independence, but also bestowed a legendary aura on the freedom battles, one that can be readily observed in the memoirs of the time. During the interwar period, the Latvian Army was an element that united residents of different Latvian regions and ethnicities, while institution of officers created not just military specialists but the social elite. Nowadays this aura has vanished, perhaps due to the 1940 occupation in which the lack of Allied support as well as the politicians’ overreliance on international treaties about neutrality and the powers of the League of Nations did not allow Latvia to keep its independence. The Latvian Army therefore fought as part of the armies of the Soviet Union and Germany, winning recognition and a fearsome reputation, which was however overshadowed by the political heritage coming with it.

In 1991 Latvia eschewed military conflict in regaining its independence. However, it doesn’t mean that Latvian independence was won without the help of the Latvian Army. The first National Guard battalions were set up in the same way as the first Latvian Army units in 1918. These were volunteers that bought their scant equipment, including guns, for their own money and joined in units despite the fact that a foreign military force was on Latvian territory. Only gradually could the Latvian fighting structures become professionalised, and until then the Latvian Army served as the backbone of foreign and domestic security, starting from national defence and fighting gangsterism. As the millennium turned, the situation became normal and as a result of general international euphoria Latvia joined NATO and the EU.

This time coincided with the conclusion of the Cold War, when the world was swept by a belief that armies are a thing of the past, necessary not for national defence but fighting terrorists in the Near East. Sadly, just as it only took two decades for the Soviet Union to reconsider its promise made in Riga, it took just a little more time for Russia to reconsider the security guarantees it gave Ukraine, making us think about territorial defence.

In 1994 the armed forces included 1,650 in the army. The armed forces were poorly equipped. In the early 1990s, donations of jeeps and field kitchens came from Germany, patrol boats from Germany and Sweden, and uniforms from Norway. The army's equipment includes two BRDM-2 reconnaissance vehicles and thirteen M-43 armored personnel carriers.

The mission of the LF is:

• defence of the national land territories;
• command and control;
• combat and mobilisation readiness;
• participation in the international operations;
• participation in the crisis management;
• explosive object disposal.

In 2003, the Land Forces (LF) continued to implement the reforms, which were started in the previous years. After a repeated review of the LF structure, the reform plans were amended in 2003 while the main task of the reorganisation was kept unchanged – enhance the command and control system for the LF units and professionalisation of the 1st Infantry Battalion.

Achievements of 2003:

• the 1st Infantry Battalion (LATBAT) has been developed in accordance with the Concept on Battalion’s Development;
• conscript service soldiers of the Battalion’s combat support company have been replaced by the soldiers of career service;
• participation in the international operations has been provided;
• development planning of the Infantry Brigade has been commenced.

• develop the Land Forces in accordance with the NAF development plans and NATO Force Proposals;
• continue the development of the 1st Infantry Battalion in accordance with the NATO requirements;
• train units in accordance with the LF Tactical Doctrine ATP-35B;
• by July 2004, establish the Infantry Brigade (LATBRIG) Staff and produce the LATBRIG Development Concept;
• by December 2004, produce the Tactical Doctrine on the Baltic States’ Land Operations in collaboration with the Land Forces of Estonia and Lithuania;
• by December 2004, prepare the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon for its participation in the international operations;
• continue the modernisation of the Artillery Wing and the training of personnel;
• continue the development of the NAF Special Task Unit.

A total of 3,046 soldiers fell in the Latvian War of Independence, and they bought 20 years of freedom with their blood. It may not seem much, but these 20 years are the heritage that makes us different from the other countries in the post-Soviet space, seeing as they laid the groundwork and political practice that survived the occupation and lead Latvia into NATO and the EU.