Alfred Riekstins - Knight of the Knight's Cross

It is mid-March 1945. Courland has been battered by shells for almost half a year. Thousands and thousands have fallen in five major battles. The great epicenter of the war has shifted to the outskirts of Berlin. The outcome of the war is clear to both sides. Only a few days, weeks, at worst, a few months remain, but the fortress of Courland still holds out. The Soviet high command does not spare its own - it sends more and more new groups of warriors to their deaths in senseless battles. Legionnaires defend every Latvian farmstead, hillock and birch grove.

In mid-March, everything indicates that the defenders of Courland will have to accept another major battle - the sixth, as it later turns out - the last. This time, the enemy is planning it on the outskirts of Saldus on the Remte side. How important it is for the Russians is shown by the fact that Marshals Vasilevsky, Chistyakov, the commander of the Baltic Fleet Yerjomenko and the representative of the General Staff Frolov arrive in Courland. On March 17, the Red Army breaks the front line in a rapid attack from the Pilsblīdene side near the "Ķīpi" houses and gains the Saldus-Kandava road, opening an excellent opportunity for Russian tanks to break into Courland. As usual, to eliminate such risky breaches, the command sends Major Laumanis' shock battalion. This time too, the major receives a similar order - at 7 p.m., after well-adjusted artillery fire, to regain the previous positions and eliminate the breach. It seems that there is something special - how few men of the Laumanis battalion rose up in such counterattacks, liberating more than one Latvian farmstead. However, this battle has gone down in the history of the battles in Kurzeme as the most unusual. Every military historian describes it in his memoirs and studies of the 19th Division's battle path, because the outcome of this battle, no matter how incredible it may be, was determined by the resourcefulness, courage, selflessness and recklessness of one man. Major Laumanis sends corporal Alfred Riekstins of the first company with eleven men as a scout. He knows what to send - Riekstins is an experienced warrior, having walked the 19th Division's battle path from Leningrad to his native Kurzeme without a single scratch. Recently, in the battles near "Rumba", the shock troops of their platoon destroyed seven dug-in Russian tanks with tank guns and liberated the houses of "Gibeļi".

Laumanis gives a combat mission - to observe the "Kīpi" houses from the nearby high ground at the Saldus-Pilsblīdene intersection and later adjust the artillery fire. They set up a telephone with the headquarters. Riekstiņš sees three Russian tanks, anti-tank guns and heavy machine guns positioned in the yard of the house in the distance - their owners feel safe, moving without any caution, as if a whole regiment of their own were ahead of them, who had gone in the direction of the Laumanis battalion. Alfred decided on a bold step - not to wait for the artillery fire on the "Kīpi" houses at 7 p.m., but to take them on his own. He knows - surprise and audacity have helped more than once in decisive moments. It turns out that some men - Brauns, Cilpiņš, Danbergs - know how to handle Russian heavy weapons. Along the forest edge, the men sneak into the yard, then a sudden attack, bloody, brutal close combat. Now the tank barrels are turned in the opposite direction, and this time they open fire on their own. The Russians flee in confusion and panic. The signalmen extend the telephone from the highlands to "Kīpā" and report that there is no need to direct artillery fire at "Kīpā" - their own people are there. The commander of the 19th division is confused - there is no need to fire artillery at "Kīpā", how did their own people appear there, if until recently the Russians were in charge there? Gradually everything becomes clear. The resourcefulness and courage of one man decided the outcome of a battle, saving the lives of many soldiers, at the same time, as if slamming the gate to the enemy's further invasion of Courland.

For his daring operation, Alfred Riekstins was awarded the Knight's Cross, making him one of twelve Latvians to receive the highest German officer award. The cross was presented to him on April 5 at Remte Castle. Later, the Germans discovered that ordinary soldiers were not awarded the Knight's Order and sent Riekstins to officer courses. Shortly before the capitulation, he became a lieutenant.

The German press also appreciated Riekstins' heroism. The newspaper "Tēvija" wrote: "In order for a Latvian corporal to enter the ranks of Knights, he had to do something extremely unusual and unimaginable. Riekstins eliminated the enemy's breakthrough and fiercely defended himself. He preserved the position of the entire division's wing." This, it seems, was the only case in the history of the German war when an officer's award was received by a corporal. It is interesting to note that this was also the last Knight's Cross awarded in the Courland fortress. Lieutenant Freimanis, who was nominated for the Knight's Cross at the end of April, no longer received it - the Germans had run out of supplies.