Battle of Redan in November 1919
Donāts Pudulis was a sergeant of Liepaja Military Port Commandant's Office, who received the Order of the Battle of the Battle of the Bulge for bravery and valour on 14 November 1919, when after the enemy attacked Redāns Fort, he took over the command of the commandant's company from the mortally wounded Lieutenant Commander Robert Radziņš and in a swift counterattack drove the enemy out of the fort, taking 8 prisoners and 2 working machine guns. His life up to the Battle of Liepaja is interesting. He volunteered for the Siberian Rifle Regiment in 1911 at the age of 16. In 1914 he took part in the battles against the German army at Warsaw, Lodz and elsewhere on the Polish front, and later in the battles against the Austrian army. In 1915 he sailed to France via Vladivostok as part of the Russian Expeditionary Corps and fought for 4 months at Verdun. At the beginning of 1917 he joined the Latvian Rifle Regiments, and on 7 April 1919 - the Latvian Armed Forces in Liepaja.
"There were no significant changes on the front near Liepāja for two months. On October 9, 1919, the Germans attacked the city, but we repelled them. Between October 9 and 14, we only made reconnaissance marches. On the night of November 14, our company was changed at the front and we went to rest at the Redan Fort. We arrived there at around 2 a.m., but we did not even have time to get into position when the German attack began: the Germans had broken through the front soon after we left our positions and wanted to capture the Redan Fort in a rapid attack. The company commander, First Lieutenant Radziņš, quickly organized the soldiers and stopped the enemy attack with strong rifle and machine gun fire. The Germans came to the attack in thick chains, advancing in full height, and therefore the death toll of our fire on the enemy ranks was extremely high. When morning came, on the battlefield We saw whole heaps of corpses of enemy soldiers. The Germans were drunk and had not been able to assess the danger threatening them from our fire. The night battle continued with our frequent counterattacks. Around 8-9 o'clock in the morning we went on a counterattack (counterattack) through a swamp overgrown with small pines and aspens. The walking areas near the trees were frozen, but in the open areas there were also unfrozen openings. When going on the attack, First Lieutenant Radziņš always went ahead of the company. He did the same this time. I followed the commander directly. We came to an aspen tree on the edge of the swamp, when First Lieutenant Radziņš suddenly tripped and fell. I ran up and asked what had happened. The commander replied that he was unwell, so that I should take over the further leadership of the company. The order was also repeated in writing. First Lieutenant Radziņš was mortally wounded in the stomach. The bullet had passed through his body. The wounded man died 3 days later in the hospital. I immediately gave the order to continue the attack. It should be noted that the company soldiers were without boots, poorly dressed. During the two days we had only received black coffee without sugar and a thin piece of dry rye bread once a day. Despite this, the Liepaja soldiers fought like rare heroes. Our attack was greatly hindered by a German machine gun nest. It had to be eliminated at all costs. A group of company soldiers crawled to the machine guns on their stomachs and surrounded the machine gun crew with hand grenades, which we had taken from the enemy during the same attack. The attack was successful and two machine guns fell into our hands in full combat order. We immediately used them in battle against the Germans.
At 3 p.m. on November 14, the enemy was finally defeated and with the same blow we finally drove the Germans from Liepāja beyond the borders of Lietava."
Newspaper "Rīts", October 28, 1934
Related objects
The Redan, Karosta
Redans, or Redana Fort, is located in Karosta, 14. novembra Street, about 1.5 km from the Northern Forts, in the nature reserve "Tosmare".
Historically, redans were elements of fortifications where longer sections of fortress walls were divided into shorter sections by building V-shaped positions facing the enemy, which allowed for better protection of the fortification wall. Karostas Redan is a late 19th century Liepaja Sea Fortress, projecting towards Lake Tosmare. As the fortress lost its fortress role, the fortifications and forts around it were partially blown up and rendered unusable. However, Redan remained almost intact.
In November 1919, after the failure at Riga, Pavel-Bermont Avalov's forces launched an intensive attack on Liepaja. The battle was also fought at Redan, where 80 soldiers of the Liepaja Military Port Commandant's Office under the command of Lieutenant Commander Radzins fought. In a swift attack on 14 November, the Bermontians managed to take Redan. This was followed by a counter-attack by Latvian troops and Redan was retaken.
In June, July and August, a knowledgeable guide will be waiting at Redan every day from 11.00-17.00, ready to tell you more about Liepāja Fortress and the historical events in the Karosta.
