Memories of Anšlavs Eglītis about the Latvian War of Independence and the events of 1919 in Aluksne
On March 27, 1919, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment, together with the Estonian bodyguard Tallinn (then Rēvele) and Tērbata battalions, as well as three armed trains from the banks of the Melnupe, began the liberation of Latvia from the Bolsheviks.
"At that time, the change of various troops and powers provided a lot of entertainment. Germans, white Russians, red Russians, Estonians, Finns, even Danes in beautiful, knee-length lashes. Especially one of such scenes is deeply ingrained in the memory. The Latvian riflemen, who remained on the unfortunate red side, a small group, held Alūksne for a long day against two volunteer Finnish ornaments who had come to the aid of the Estonians. Already in the early morning, the Red Russian Battalion panicked in a wild race through Aluksne, going east. Many Russians ran unarmed, so that the valleys flickered and the long shinelle floors fluttered in the air. We were always waiting for the arrival of the Finns, who had the fame of mighty, "monstrous" warriors. But nothing happened. On the other side of the town, on the side of the hill, shots were fired, machine guns shook. We listened to whether the shots did not sound to the right or to the left, which would mean a bypass maneuver, but probably the already hefty Finns will drive right on top of Aluksne. So it continued all day until dusk. Then there was silence. After a while, riflemen appeared in the church square. About fifteen, no more. No commands or languages were played. Blindfolded as tired workers, carrying their tools over their shoulders, they walked in a hurry, in a peaceful step, tightly pasting the windows of our home on the lake road that led across the frozen plain. One of the pedestrians had his head and arm bandaged. The other limped with a blood-stained leg. A heavier wounded member is dragged on a wheeled Maxim machine gun. In his turn, his head was pounding with the rhythm of steps - the heroism of the Riflemen had a special irony. They covered the resignation of Russian conquerors hostile to their people. And where did they go themselves? We left our land, a stranger, where gratitude did not await them, but only suspicion, envy, repression and liquidation. (..) Finally, in late spring, with a lively song on the lips, brave Latvian soldiers entered Alūksne. To stay! ”
Anšlavs Eglītis. The Great Dumb. // Latvian Youth, June 12, 1991, no. 59.
Related timeline
Related topics
Related objects
Memorial stone to the liberators of Alūksne
Located in Alūksne, at the intersection of Helēnas and Alsviķu streets.
The memorial stone was unveiled on May 29, 1999, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Alūksne. The stone forging was performed by the sculptor Ainārs Zelčs.
On March 31, 1919, a Northern Latvian brigade was founded in Tartu to liberate Vidzeme and Latgale. The brigade consisted of the combined 1st Valmiera and 2nd Cēsis Infantry Regiment, later also the Northern Latvian Partisan Regiment, two cavalry squadrons and two artillery batteries. On May 26, these forces occupied Valmiera, but on May 27, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment together with the 2nd Estonian Cavalry Regiment attacked in the direction of Alūksne. The Bolsheviks were unable to repel further attacks and on May 29, 1919, Aluksne was liberated.
Memorial stone to the Finnish Volunteer Regiment "Boys of the North"
Located in Alūksne, Jāņkalna Street 52, near Alūksne Narrow Gauge Railway Station.
On February 23, 2019, to mark the centenary of the Latvian War of Independence, a special memorial was created at the initiative of the Association of Independence Fighting Traditions (Finland) to honor the fallen Finnish volunteers, with a special boulder and information board. The memorial stone to Alūksne was removed from the Salpa line in Finland, which was built in 1940-1944. to protect the eastern border of Finland. The 1,200 km long Salpa line is one of the most important lines of defense in independent Finland, as well as one of the strongest and best-preserved defenses of its kind in Europe since World War II.
The stone brought to Aluksne symbolizes the struggle for independence of two nations - the Finns and the Latvians. A group of Finnish volunteers "Northern Boys" went to help Latvians protect the freedom of the new Latvian state. On February 21, 1919, the "Northern Boys" took part in fierce battles around Alūksne (Marienburg). After a five-hour battle at Alūksne railway station, the Finns occupied Alūksne. 23 Finnish volunteers were killed and many injured in the fight.
Karvas Brothers Cemetery
It is located on the side of Alūksne - Ape road near the Eel House, south of Karva, turning to Rezaka.
The monument was unveiled on September 12, 1937. The granite stencil was designed by Oem Dambekalns in Riga in Riga by the architect Vemera Vitand.
In the autumn of 1975, the local communists destroyed the monument. On March 30, 1989, the Alūksne District Council decided to restore the monument, and on April 30, 1989, a temporary wooden memorial in the form of a Latvian tombstone was erected by Jānis Jaunzems, a worker at the State Electrotechnical Factory (VEF). It read: "The monument to the Karvas Brethren will be restored here."
At that time, the adjacent Brothers' Cemetery was also improved.
In 1993, thanks to the initiative of Uldis Veldre, the head of the Alūksne Brothers' Cemetery Committee, the restoration of the memorial site resumed. The new monument was made by Cēsis stonemason brothers Aivars, Austris and Auseklis Kerliņi.
The monument was unveiled on June 11, 1994.
Four soldiers of the 5th Company of the Valmiera Infantry Regiment are buried in the Brothers' Cemetery - Jēkabs Sukse, Pēteris Leitlands, Ernests Puķītis and Gustavs Ozols, who died on April 2, 1919 in the battles at the Eel House. Roberts Grazer, a soldier of the Valmiera Regiment, was buried as the fifth soldier of the Valmiera Regiment in the mid-1930s, and disappeared on March 31, 1919 at the New Manor. Initially, he was buried as an unknown, but later the name was found and carved into the monument. Augusts Dzedons (Ziedons), the fifth soldier who died in the Battle of Eel, was buried in the Apekalns cemetery.
A memorial plaque has been erected at the foot of the monument to Jānis Goldem (1891–1952), a participant in the eel battle in LKOK, who died in the Communist concentration camp in Inta, Komi.
The second memorial plaque, unveiled on August 23, 1992, was erected at one of the wooden crosses and is dedicated to Corporal Peter Janson of the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment, who was assassinated by the oncoming communists on July 7, 1941.
Monument to the soldiers of Anna Parish who died in the First World War and the Latvian Liberation War
Located in the central part of Anna parish Ezeriņi cemetery.
In the cemetery, where the burials have been made since 1925, there is a monument to the soldiers of Anna Parish who died in the First World War and the Latvian Liberation War, built with the funds collected by the Department of Guard of Anna Parish and unveiled in 1933. Until the Second World War, the guards of Anna Parish took care of the care of the monument, who went to the cemetery every Sunday and laid flowers in honor of the fallen. On November 18, 1940, the monument was shot, and the footprints of the bullets are still visible. Today, the cemetery commemorates Lāčplēsis Day every year.
In 2004, a memorial to the politically repressed in 1941 and 1949 was unveiled in the cemetery, and in 2006 a memorial plaque to the national partisans was unveiled.
