Strzelcy Łotewscy

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Legun
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Strzelcy Łotewscy

Post autor: Legun »

Dotarłem do ciekawego źródła nt. Łotewskiej Dywizji Strzelców.
http://www.historia.lv/publikacijas/gra ... 06.nod.htm

Tu fragment o "Łotdywizji" w czasie wojny polsko-bolszewickiej:

Denikin’s beaten army retreated south and at the end of March poured into the Crimean peninsula with the Reds in hot pursuit. On April 4 Denikin resigned, naming Baron Peter Wrangel as his successor[127].

The Crimea is connected to the mainland by the narrow Isthmus of Perekop across which an old barrier known as the Turkish Wall was reinforced by the Whites with machine-gun bunkers. Despite being severely understrength because of typhus, the Red Latdivision attacked the Turkish Wall on April 13 and captured a part of it, suffering heavy losses. A White cavalry counterattack almost surrounded the Latvians, and the Reds failed to send reserves[128] [129]. Why? Was it just the usual Russian incompetence and cowardice, or was there a grand design to let the Latvians die in hopeless [page 65] battles because they were suspected of being Latvians first and of supporting Bolsheviks only as a temporary matter of convenience? The Red Estonian division had just demanded passage home to Estonia in accordance with the peace treaty concluded on February 2. Despite Bolshevik obstruction and even some use of force, the Estonians succeeded[130]. A Latvian artillery unit had also passed a resolution that those Latvians who wished to return to Latvia should be given that opportunity, since the Latvian Rifles were exhausted by endless fighting[131]. The armistice between Latvia and the Soviet Union was secret, and thus the Latdivision did not know about it. In general the Bolsheviks kept the Latdivision in the dark about events in Latvia or distorted the news so as to keep the Latdivision in faithful service of the Bolsheviks[132].

The Latvians repulsed the White cavalry attack on April 13 but had to retreat from the Turkish Wall. Similar attempts to break through the Wall on April 14 and 16 also failed[128]. A Polish offensive in Western Ukraine on April 25 forced the transfer of a large number of troops from the Crimean front to the Polish front, and Wrangel got a respite in which to transform his mob of refugees into a good fighting force and in which to outfit his army with the latest war technology.

On June 7 Wrangel broke out from Crimea, attacking with airplanes, tanks, cavalry, and infantry. The 9th Latvian Regiment was almost completely annihilated, and the 4th, 5th and 6th suffered heavy losses[133] [134]. The Latvians and other Red forces retreated to the right bank of the river Dnieper. Within a couple of weeks Wrangel occupied some substantial territory north and east of the Crimea.

In the beginning of July the Latdivision crossed the Dnieper to establish a beachhead on the left bank at Kakhovka. However, after several days of bloody combat the Latvians were forced to retreat[133]. The 6th Regiment refused to take part in the attack and demanded a return to Latvia[131]. The Red Army command was upset and hauled several officers and political commissars in front of a military tribunal, but to no avail. The Latvian Rifles began to desert individually and in groups so as to make a perilous journey back to Latvia[135]. Lenin’s Praetorian Guard, praised as the “vanguard of the Revolution” a year and a half ago, the heroes of Kazan where they had turned the tide engulfing the Bolsheviks, the pride of Orel where they had stopped Denikin’s drive towards Moscow, the [page 66] Latvian Rifles were now on the Red Army’s black list. The Latvians and the rest of the world were gradually recognizing the huge gap between Marxist theory and practice. The Bolshevik oppression of peasants led to famine and rural revolts. Religion was persecuted. Politically the people had even less representation than under the Czar since all other parties were outlawed. Millions died because of starvation and the Red Terror. A revolution against the Czar’s government in 1917 was justified because of corruption and oppression. However, the Bolsheviks stole from the Russian people the freedom which they had earned by the revolution. Czar Nicholas was replaced by Czar Lenin, and Czar Lenin ruled with a much heavier hand than Czar Nicholas ever had. The revolution was supposed to benefit the “toilers.” Yet by their policies the Bolsheviks destroyed the wealth of Russia and starved those same toilers.

During the night from August 6 to 7 the Latdivision again crossed the Dnieper and established a beachhead at Kakhovka. Three other Red divisions were sent into the beachhead also, and heavy fighting raged for three months[136] [137]. The beachhead threatened Wrangel’s rear. Therefore, some of his best forces tried to push the Reds into the river, and the Latvians suffered more heavy losses.

After the armistice with Poland in October the Reds could concentrate more forces against Wrangel. On October 28, 1920 the Reds started an offensive which drove Wrangel’s army back into the Crimea. On October 29 the Latdivision and other Red units reached the Isthmus of Perekop[138]. The last offensive to crush Wrangel’s forces began on November 7. The Turkish Wall was occupied by the Reds on November 9, and the Whites retreated to the Ushun fortified line of defense. The Latdivision, which had been in reserve, was ordered to attack Ushun on November 11, and it broke through the Ushun line of defense the same day[139] which put an end to serious resistance by the Whites. Within a week the Reds occupied the rest of Crimea, and Wrangel evacuated 146,000 people by sea to Constantinople from where they dispersed further[140]. Thus ended the last stand of the Whites.

The Latdivision ceased to exist on November 29, 1920 when it was dissolved by the Red Army[141]. By then the peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Latvia was generally known, and thousands returned home, sometimes using force to assure passage[142].
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Post autor: Umpapa »

Ciekawe, że bolszewicy chętnie by wybili Strzelców Łotewskich, by przejąć złoto którym płacili Łotyszom za wierna służbę. Zapobiegł temu Jukums Vācietis.

Na Łotwie po 1921 mówiono, że to krawawe najemnicze złoto kiedyś przyniesie Łotwie zgubę, zemstę Rosji.
http://umpapas.blogspot.com/

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