LKOK, Colonel Jorģis Zemitāns (1873-1928)
I WW1, I Wars of Independence
Jorģis Zemitāns sündis 23. veebruaril 1873 Skrīveri vallas iseõppimise teel. 1897. aastal lõpetas ta Vilniuse junkrikooli. Esimese maailmasõja ajal võitles ta Ida-Preisimaal, kus ta langes 1915. aastal sakslaste kätte.
Vangistusest naastes astus Zemitāns 7. detsembril 1918 vabatahtlikuna Läti relvajõududesse ja temast sai 2. Riia julgestuskompanii ülem ning Riia julgeoleku- ja Läti väeosade ülem. Pärast Riia langemist määrati ta 10. jaanuaril 1919 Liepajas Läti Ajutise Valitsuse volitatud sõjaväeliseks esindajaks Eestis. Zemitāns asus Eesti valitsuse loal Tallinnas, Pärnus ja Tartus moodustama kuus Läti omakaitsekompaniid, mis osalesid lahingutes bolševike üksustega Eestis, kuid 1. veebruaril 1919 vabastas koos Eesti armee üksustega Rūjiena. ja seda ümbritsevat seitset kihelkonda. 2. veebruaril määras Läti kaitseminister Jānis Zālītis Zemitani formeeritava Põhja-Läti brigaadi ülemjuhatajaks. 28. veebruaril ülendati koloneliks (kolonelleitnandiks), 13. märtsil koloneliks. Zemitanile omistatakse peamised teened Põhja-Läti relvajõudude moodustamisel ja ühendamisel, samuti Vabadussõjas Vidzemes. Juunis 1919 võitsid Eesti relvajõud ja Põhja-Läti brigaad Cēsise lahingus Saksa Landeswehri ja Rauddiviisi. 6. juulil 1919 sisenes Zemitāns valgel hobusel Riiga Põhja-Läti brigaadi eesotsas.
15. juulil 1919 määrati Zemitan 2. Vidzeme diviisi ülemaks ja Lõunarinde ülemaks, 17. juulil määrati ta juhtima Riia ja selle ümbruse kaitset. 12. oktoobril vabastati ta Riiast kiirkorras väljaastumiskäsu tõttu koos Bermonti armee rünnaku algusega ametist ja arvati armee staabiülema reservi. Alates 1920. aasta jaanuarist töötas Zemitāns sõjaalaste seaduste ja määruste koostamise komisjonides ning oli sõjaväekohtu ajutine liige. 1921. aastal viidi ta üle staabiülema reservi. 1. aprillil 1922 vabastati ta sõjaväest koondamise tõttu.
Kolonel Jorģis Zemitāns suri 16. jaanuaril 1928 ja maeti Riia vendade kalmistule.
Zemitāns on I maailmasõja lahingutes osalemise eest autasustatud Vladimir IV klassi ja Stanislav III klassi ordeniga. 1924. aastal pälvis ta Põhja-Läti brigaadi loomise, Põhja-Läti vabastamise ja Saksa armee lüüasaamise eest Cēsise lähedal Lāčplēsi sõjaväeordeni 3. klassi (ordeni nr 1678). Zemitanile on omistatud ka Eesti Vabadusristi I klassi II järgu tunnustus.
Koloneli mälestuse auks nimetati 1928. aastal Riia Aleksandri värava raudteejaam ümber Zemitāniks. Pärast Teist maailmasõda nimetati jaam punase partisani Otomārs Oškalnsi auks ümber Oškalni. 1995. aastal sai see tagasi nime Zemitani.
1933. aastal anti Skriveri algkoolile kolonel Jorgis Zemitansi kuueklassilise algkooli nimi, mis eksisteeris 1947. aastani, mil see nimetati ümber kirjanik Andrejs Upītise järgi.
27. septembril 1995 avati Riias Teika linnaosas, temanimelisel väljakul kolonel Jorģis Zemitānsi monument.
More information sources
http://old.historia.lv/alfabets/Z/Ze/zemitans_jorgis/zemitans_jorgis.htm
Lāčplēsi sõjaordu rüütlid: biograafiline sõnaraamat. Riia: Jāņa Sēta, 1995. Lk.
Läti armee kõrgeimad ohvitserid 1918-1940. Biograafiline sõnaraamat. (toimetanud Ēriks Jēkabsons, Valters Ščerbinskis); Läti Riiklik Ajalooarhiiv, lk.
Seotud objektid
Brothers' Cemetery in Riga
Riga Brothers’ Cemetery is located in the northern district of Riga. The cemetery extends over an area of 9 ha and is the most outstanding and significant memorial ensemble in Latvia dedicated to the fallen Latvian soldiers. About 3,000 soldiers are buried here. The Brothers’ Cemetery was created during World War I after the first three Latvian Riflemen, who fell in Tīreļpurvs in the battle against the German Army, were buried here. Later Latvian soldiers who had died in other battles and wars would also be buried in the Brothers’ Cemetery. The memorial is based on the design of the sculptor Kārlis Zāle, and is the first memorial ensemble in Europe with such landscape, architecture and sculptural value. It uses elements typical to the Latvian landscape, traditional farmsteads, Latvian folklore and history that praise the characteristics of soldiers and tell the story of the way of the soldier. The memorial was unveiled in 1936 and it has three parts: ‘The Road of Though’ which is a 250 m long alley, ‘Terrace of Heroes’ with the Altar of the Sacred Flame and ensemble the Sacred Oak Grove, and the burial ground with the Latvian wall and a memorial of a mother with her fallen sons.
Monument to the liberators of Northern Latvia
Located in the center of Placa by the Inčukalns - Valka highway (A3). Next to the bus stop and Straupe People's House.
The monument made by Teodors Zaļkalns to the liberators of Northern Latvia in 1919 at the Battle of Cēsis can be seen.
There are two limestone supports on the three-step base, on which the limestone block rests. In front of it, the lower part depicts a horse harnessed to a plow and a plow holding reins in his right hand and a sword in his left. A text engraved on the back of the monument, closed by lines by the poet Eduards Virza:
FOR THE RELEASES OF NORTHERN LATVIA
WHILE THE CEREALS ARE SEED IN THESE FIELDS
YOU WILL BE GLORIFIED AND HONORED
The monument was unveiled on November 8, 1931. President Alberts Kviesis took part in the opening.
Monument dedicated to the liberation of Rūjiena and the fallen soldiers of the Northern Latvian Brigade "Tālava Trumpeter"
Located in Rūjiena Center Square.
The three-meter-high image of an ancient Latvian guardian carved in gray Finnish granite, called the “Tālava trumpeter”, is placed on a three-meter-high granite pedestal, but the total height of the monument reaches 7.5 meters. In the initial sketches and models, K. Zemdega had placed a sword in his hands, which was later replaced by a trumpet. The monument was unveiled on August 15, 1937.
This monument reflects the difficult situation in the formation of our country and army, as well as in the assessment of these events. Immediately after the proclamation of the Latvian state, the Red Army invaded and the interim government of Kārlis Ulmanis established a refuge in Liepāja. In February 1919, with the help of the Estonian army, the liberation of Latvia from the north began and the first mobilization took place in the Rūjiena area for the Latvian troops formed in Tartu, which became the Northern Latvian Brigade under the command of Colonel Jorgis Zemitans. The Northern Latvian brigade fought not only against the Bolsheviks, but also against the Landeswehr and Iron Division in the battles of Cēsis. The soldiers of Northern Latvia, mobilized in the vicinity of Rūjiena, also fought in the subsequent battles for the War of Independence. After the war, the main laurels were won by General Jānis Balodis and the Southern Latvian Brigade he commanded, but he often forgot about the Northern Latvian Brigade. The monument to Rūjiena, which was planned in Rūjiena, was built for a long time, and the monument, unveiled in 1937, was officially popularized as a monument to the liberation of Rūjiena and the memory of fallen soldiers, not to mention the beginning of all regiments in Northern Latvia.
The monument is not only a popular sight for Latvian and Estonian tourists, which is to some extent a starting point for visiting several other places of remembrance of the War of Independence in Rūjiena, but "Tālavas taurētājs" is also a stopping place for Estonian and Latvian officials of various levels.
The monument to the liberation and fallen soldiers of Rūjiena, more commonly known as the “trumpet of Tālava”, was included in the list of cultural monuments protected by the state as an art monument of national significance on October 29, 1998 (monument protection registration number 4522).
Monument to the sea lieutenant, L.k.o.k. Vilis Gelb (1890-1919)
Located in Limbažu Jūras iela cemetery, Jūras iela 56, Limbaži
The monument opened on September 10, 1922 by the then President of Latvia Jānis Čakste, on which the dedication of the poet Viļas Plūdonis to Vilis Gelb is read:
"Compatriots who pass by me, light up in the love of the fatherland,
for the beloved fatherland, I pledge my life."
Vilis Gelbe (1890-1919) was born in Kurzeme, Zemīte parish, but he is also closely related to the Limbaži side, because at the beginning of the Latvian War of Independence, he returned to Latvia from St. Petersburg and joined the North Latvian Brigade.
In May 1919, V. Gelbi commanded Limbaži, he became the military commandant of the area and was able to inspire local men and also very young guys to join the army.
V. Gelbe's activity at that time in Limbaži and its surroundings was very important, his duties included not only maintaining order in the city and its surroundings, but also mobilization, providing food for soldiers and horses, and solving many other issues that cannot be included in orders and instructions. The Commandant's team organized by him acted as a coordinated mechanism to provide the North Latvian Brigade with the most effective assistance possible. The commander's team went to the aid of the regular army in special cases, and he set an example for the new soldiers. V. Gelbe was the first Latvian army officer who proposed to award his subordinates with the III class of the Order of Imanta. There was no order yet. Imanta's name appeared in the open only on March 20, 1920, when the minister of defense, Karls Ullman, was presented with an outline of the establishment of the military order. However, the name of Lāčplėš was chosen for the order.
Vilis Gelbe died during the battles of Cēsis - on June 19, 1919, during a reconnaissance. Later, Gelb was awarded the Láčplēš War Order, however, historians believe that his contribution has not been properly appreciated until now. This is mainly explained by Gelbe's membership in the Northern Latvian Brigade.
The so-called Southern Latvian brigade, which was initially commanded by Oskars Kaplak, later Jānis Balož, competed with the Northern Latvian brigade, which was commanded by Jorģs Zemitāns.
Iron bridge over Gauja in Valmiera
It is located in Valmiera, near the Gīme nature trail on Leona Paegles street.
The steel construction iron bridge over the Gauja was built in 1911. It connected the 114 km long route Ainaži-Valmiera-Smiltene, which was last completed in 1971.
After the liberation of Riga, on May 22, 1919, parts of the Soviet Latvian army, without showing serious resistance, retreated along the entire front. On May 26, the Estonian National Army and the Northern Latvian Brigade led by Colonel Jorģs Zemitān occupied Valmiera. "The bigots blew up the railway bridge around six o'clock in the afternoon. At 7:50 both wooden bridges were also set on fire. This did not prevent Estonian troops from entering the city from the side of the Valmiera manor in the evening of the same day* [..]"
Today, the iron bridge is a favorite place for recreation and walking and a section of the "Green Railway" bicycle route.
* The cadet company of the 6th Estonian Infantry Regiment was the first to arrive, accompanied by several armored vehicles.
Площадь Земитан
Йоргис Земитанс (1873–1928) – выпускник Виленского военного училища, служил в армии Российской империи, попал в плен к немцам во время Первой мировой войны. Полковник Латвийской армии, кавалер Лачплешского военного ордена 3-й степени, кавалер Эстонского ордена Креста свободы, командир Северо-Латвийской бригады во время Освободительной борьбы. Его именем названа начальная школа Скриверу, улицы в Риге, Скриверос и Стренчос, площадь и железнодорожный вокзал в Риге.
В 1995 году на окруженной липами площади между улицами Бривибас, Лиелварде и Земитана был открыт памятник Я. Земитану, созданный скульптором Гунтой Земите и каменщиками Иваром Фельдбергом и Янисом Метузалсом. Его расположение не фронтальное, а диагональное по отношению к зданиям и подъездной дороге. Радужная гранитная арка, расположенная на блоках постамента, образует эмблему борьбы за независимость, узнаваемую в кокардах и нагрудниках лучников - мотив восходящего солнца. С левой стороны главного фасада на постаменте выгравирована посвятительная надпись: «Полковник Латвийской армии Йоргис Земитан». Памятник высотой 1,84 м окружен клумбой тщательно ухоженных пышно цветущих цветов.
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7. Формирование Сигулдского пехотного полка.
20 июня 1919 года в поместье Наукшены близ Руйены началось формирование 7-го Сигулдского пехотного полка в соответствии с приказом командира северной латвийской бригады полковника Йоргса Земитанса. Первоначально небольшая боевая группа из 22 офицеров и 1580 солдат была сформирована из Резервного батальона северной латышской бригады, который в честь своего первого командира Оскарса Данкерса был назван Данкерской дивизией. Через несколько дней часть вошла в состав 2-го батальона 3-го Елгавского полка, а 23 августа, пополнив количество драгоценностей, - в 7-й Сигулдский пехотный полк.