The abilities of the commander of the 19th Artillery Regiment, Captain Jānis Ozols, during the 3rd Battle of Courland
Captain Jānis Ozols was a Latvian officer, a participant in World War II, a Knight of the Order of the Three Stars, whose artillery division prevented a breach of the front during the Third Battle of Courland.
The story of Major Jānis Ozols:
Jānis Ozols was born in Īslīce parish; little is known about his childhood and youth.
From September 24, 1939, Ozols was the commander of the 1st Battery. After the occupation of Latvia, the Latgale Artillery Regiment was incorporated into the 183rd Rifle Division of the 24th Territorial Corps as the 623rd Artillery Regiment, where he was appointed assistant to the chief of staff.
During World War II, after the German invasion of the USSR, Ozols volunteered for service in the German army in the ranks of the 16th Zemgale Police Battalion, which, after being incorporated into the 2nd Latvian Brigade, became the 3rd Battalion of the 1st (later 42nd) Regiment.
In October 1944, Ozols arrived at the Courland Fortress, and in December he was appointed commander of the 19th Artillery Regiment's 3rd Light Division. During the Third Battle of Courland on December 31, Ozols' 3rd Division and Major Kristaps Insbergs' 2nd Division, as the last line of defense, repelled an overwhelming enemy attack, preventing the front from breaking through. In this battle, Ozols showed personal heroism and commander's abilities. When he was informed that only two guns remained in the 8th Battery, Ozols dedicated the following words to the battery commander:
"You have two more guns firing? How lucky, Captain! Only one is working for the ninth. Fire!"
During the battle, the enemy manages to take over one of Major Ozols' batteries - Ozols immediately leads a strike against the invaders and recaptures the battery. For this battle, on February 25, 1945, he is awarded the Army Honor Roll Buckle.
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Ozols waited for the end of the war in Courland. After the capitulation of Germany, Major Ozols did not surrender, but joined the ranks of the national partisans with several other artillery officers.
In a clash with Cheka forces, he was wounded on October 3, 1945, arrested, and sentenced to 20 years in hard labor on May 10, 1946. Major Jānis Ozols died on October 13, 1947 in Vorkuta.
https://timenote.info/lv/Janis-Ozols-28.02.1904
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Memorial to the artillery regiment of Major J. Ozola
A memorial sign has been installed for the division of Major Jānis Ozolas on the side of the Riga - Liepāja highway, in Džukste parish, about one kilometer from the Kurzeme backwaters of the memorial site.
During the Third Battle of Kurzeme on December 31, Ozola's III Division and Major Kristaps Insberg's II Division as the last line of defense repulsed the enemy's overwhelming attack, preventing the front from breaking. In this battle, Ozol displays personal heroism and commanding ability
Jānis Ozols (1904-1947) was an officer of the Latvian Army and the Latvian Legion, a recipient of the Army's list of honor buckle, as well as a national partisan and a victim of Soviet repression.
