Captain Richard Gustav Borgelin (10 February 1887 – 8 December 1966) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and company commander of the Danish-Baltic Auxiliary Corps (DBAC) in 1919 during the Estonian and

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

. Borgelin attended and successfully ended his education at the

Royal Danish Military Academy The Royal Danish Military Academy ( da, Hærens Officersskole) educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Army. The Military Academy function was initiated in 1713 by request of King Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Aca ...

in 1909. In 1919, when Borgelin was officer of the reserve and in charge of the Second Regiment Corporal School at the Værløse Camp in northern

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, he was given the offer of becoming company commander of a combat unit consisting of 200 men. In the spring of 1919, Borgelin and his '' Compagnie Borgelin'' arrived in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

with 12 Danish officers, 12 Danish junior officers and 189 Danish privates. The company participated in the Estonian and

under Estonian army command until 1 September 1919, when the contract expired and the company was disbanded. Borgelin and seven other Danes were awarded the Latvian military

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during ...

of third class. In gratitude for his services to the Estonian state, Borgelin was granted Maidla manor in Estonia.

Awards and decorations

References

1887 births 1966 deaths People from Herning Municipality Danish military officers Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class III People of the Estonian War of Independence People of the Russian Civil War {{Denmark-mil-bio-stub