Oskars Kalpaks (6 January 1882 – 6 March 1919) was the commander of 1st Latvian Independent Battalion, also known as "Kalpaks Battalion". Kalpaks was born in a farming family. Having decided to become a soldier he completed

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

military school and then commenced service with the 183rd Pultusk Infantry Regiment. He displayed talent as a commander and heroism in battle during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was awarded the most significant Russian military decorations and made Regiment Commander in 1917. After the proclamation of Latvia's independence on 18 November 1918, Kalpaks enlisted with the Ministry of Defence. He organised the defence of

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

against

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

attacks. On 31 December, Kalpaks became Commander-in-Chief of all the armed units at the disposal of the Provisional Government of Latvia. Under his leadership, Latvia's first armed formations became battle capable. On 28 February 1919, Kalpaks was awarded the rank of Colonel. From January to March 1919 the 1st Latvian Battalion fought with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

VI Reserve Corps to repel the Bolshevik raids into

Kurzeme Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

and this was the start of Latvia's struggle for liberation. On 6 March 1919 near Airītes, by mistake, Kalpaks was killed in a skirmish with German Freikorps troops. After his death, Kalpaks was posthumously awarded Latvia's highest military award, the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), 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 the Latvian War of Independ ...

— first, second and third class. Although never officially assigned to this rank or position, Kalpaks is regarded as the first Commander in Chief of Latvian Armed Forces. Kalpaks was honored on Latvian stamps in 1937 and again in 2007.Scott #199 and #668 - Scott (2008) "Latvia" ''Scott 2009 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 4'' (165th edition) Scott Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio, pages 413, 421.

Notes and references

External links

"Airītes" - Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Museum-Memorial site

Official site for the Kalpaks memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalpaks, Oskars 1882 births 1919 deaths People from Madona Municipality People from Cēsis county Latvian anti-communists Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Latvian military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Order of St. George Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class