Artillery shell explosion pits Battle site

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Photo: Juris Smaļinskis
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 Jelgavas novads, Valgundes pagasts, Latvia
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The most convenient way to see and find these objects is to follow a hiking route or educational trail, which is 7 km long. It starts at the "Mangaļi House". If you follow the route clockwise, the artillery shell pits will be at the end of the route and vice versa. They are located close to the "Mangaļi House", so you can go to them and come back if you don't want to walk the entire long route.

"During the battle, an artillery shell exploded and dug a hole in the ground, and such wartime evidence still remains at the sites of the Christmas battles. The size of the hole was determined by the size or caliber of the shell fired. The most commonly used shell left a hole 1.5 m in diameter and 0.7 m deep, while a howitzer shell left a hole 3.5 m in diameter and 1.5 m deep." We can read such a text on an information stand.

The craters left by the shells are also visible elsewhere in the wider area. They are clearly visible on the LIDAR map.

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About Christmas battles

The Christmas Battles ended on January 11. The Latvian riflemen managed to capture the heavily fortified German army position - Ložmetējkalnu - on the third day of the battle. The price of the Christmas Battles was very high. Hundreds of Latvian and other Russian army soldiers had lost their lives trying to knock the Germans out of their positions. The narrator vividly describes the scenes on the battlefield after the end of the Christmas Battles.