Maksimas Katche (german: Wilhelm Johannes Arwed Max Kattchée, russian: Макс Арведович Катхе, – 10 June 1933), was a Russian colonel and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n lieutenant general. In 1899, he graduated from an infantry school and served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. He fought in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

and in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, attaining the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1916. In April 1919, he joined the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (wh ...

and fought successfully against Bolsheviks and

Bermontians The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War in 1918–20. History The Western Russian Volunteer Army, unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army, was supp ...

in the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles ( lt, Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Berm ...

. Katche chaired the Lithuanian delegation that negotiated and signed the

Suwałki Agreement The Suwałki Agreement, Treaty of Suvalkai, or Suwalki Treaty ( pl, Umowa suwalska, lt, Suvalkų sutartis) was an agreement signed in the town of Suwałki between Poland and Lithuania on October 7, 1920. It was registered in the '' League of N ...

on 7 October 1920 with Poland. He was twice appointed to Chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Army and was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in March 1920. In early 1921, he organised the

Higher Officers' Courses The Higher Officers' Courses ( lt, Aukštieji karininkų kursai) were military courses for senior officers of the Lithuanian Army in 1921–1940. Junior officers were prepared by the War School of Kaunas. In July 1923, the courses were named after ...

and was their first chief. He retired from active duty in October 1922 and died in Biržai in 1933.

Biography

Russian Empire

Katche was born into a family of millers of Baltic German descent and Lutheran faith. He was born in

Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...

, then part of the

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was formed ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. After graduating from a gymnasium in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

in 1897, he enrolled at the . He graduated in 1899 and was assigned to the . He participated in the

and was injured in February 1905. He suffered from shell shock but was awarded the Order of St. George in 1907. In 1908–1911, he worked at

Vilnius Military School Vilnius Military School (russian: Виленское военное училище) also known as the Vilnius Junker Infantry School (russian: Виленское пехотное юнкерское училище) was a military school for the non ...

and was promoted to captain. In 1913, he returned to active military duty and was assigned to the . During World War I, he fought with the regiment in present-day Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and was injured in August 1914 and August 1915. He was promoted to colonel ( polkovnik) and awarded the

Saint George Sword The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

in 1916. In 1917, he briefly commanded the 682nd Baikal and the 17th Infantry Regiments. In April 1917, he joined the headquarters of the

Minsk Military District Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Independent Lithuania

At the end of 1918, Katche returned to now independent Lithuania. In April 1919, he joined the

and was assigned as instructor of the Panevėžys Battalion. He soon took command of the Panevėžys Group and helped plan the Lithuanian offensive which pushed the invading Bolshevik forces across the Daugava River by end of August 1919. He then fought against the

. On 1 March 1920, he was promoted to

. He briefly served as the Chief of the General Staff (13 July to 21 August 1920). In October 1920, he chaired the Lithuanian delegation which negotiated and signed the

with Poland. When Poland staged the Żeligowski's Mutiny and captured

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, he was sent to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in November in an effort to conclude a military alliance against Poland and Żeligowski. Latvia rejected a direct military alliance but agreed to support Lithuania by providing military specialists and military equipment. In early 1921, he organized the

for senior officers of the Lithuanian Army and became their first chief. At the same time, he again became Chief of the General Staff on 13 April 1921. Carrying out both duties proved to be difficult and he resigned from the Higher Officers' Courses in July 1921. He was a member of a Lithuanian delegation sent to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

to negotiate with Poland regarding Vilnius Region in September 1921. However, he became ill on the way and spend about a month recovering. In August 1922,

Kazys Ladiga Kazys Ladiga (25 December 1893 in Iškonys near Biržai – 19 December 1941 in Irkutsk) was a Lithuanian general and one of the first volunteer officers of the Lithuanian army. Upon graduating from the Military Academy in Vilnius, Ladiga served ...

submitted a complaint that a "Russian monarchist" party was active in the Lithuanian military and that Katche was part of it. Ladiga was punished with 7-day arrest for false report but Katche resigned on 7 October 1922 (officially, due to health reasons).

Retirement

Katche retired to Biržai, the birthplace of his wife Berta Jansonaitė. He worked at a bank and as a director of a factory. He died in Biržai on 10 June 1933. His funeral was a public affair and included a flyby of military airplanes. His grave stone disappeared during the

Soviet period The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

and the exact location of his burial has long been debated. In 2019, the government of Lithuania declared his grave a state protected monument and a new grave stone was unveiled on 23 November 2019.

Awards

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

, 4th class (1905) and 2nd class (1916) *

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poni ...

, 3rd class (1905) and 2nd class (1910) * Order of St. George, 4th degree (1907) *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer ...

, 4th class (1915) *

(1916) * Lithuanian

Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis ( lt, Vyčio Kryžiaus ordinas) is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. Hist ...

, 4th and 5th classes (1919) * Latvian Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class (1924) * Lithuanian Independence Medal (1928)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katche, Maksimas 1879 births 1933 deaths People from Joniškis Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Lithuanian generals Baltic-German people Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class