Major Jānis Ozol's commanding abilities during the 3rd Battle of Kurzeme
A memorial sign has been installed for Major Jānis Ozola's division on the side of the Riga-Liepāja highway, in Džukste parish, about one kilometer away from the Kurzeme backwaters of the memorial site.
Major Jānis Ozols was a Latvian officer, participant of the 2nd World War, knight of the Order of the Three Stars, whose artillery division he commanded prevented the front from breaking during the 3rd Battle of Kurzeme.
Major Jānis Ozol's story:
Jānis Ozols was born in Īslīce parish, little is known about his childhood and youth. On October 1, 1921, entered the artillery department of the Latvian War School, 1935. on November 15, 1936, he was awarded the Order of Three Stars of the V class, and on May 14, 1936, he was appointed as the commander of the II battery.
From September 24, 1939, Ozols is the commander of the I battery, after the occupation of Latvia, the Latgale Artillery Regiment is included in the 183rd Rifle Division of the 24th Territorial Corps as the 623rd Artillery Regiment, where he is appointed assistant chief of staff.
In the 2nd World War, after the German invasion of the USSR, Ozols volunteered for service in the German army in the ranks of the 16th Zemgale police battalion, after its inclusion in the 2nd Latvian brigade, it became the 3rd battalion of the 1st (later 42nd) regiment.
In October 1944, Ozols arrived at the Kurzeme fortress, in December he was appointed commander of the III light division of the 19th artillery regiment. 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, Ozols shows personal heroism and commanding ability, when he is informed that there are only two guns left in the 8th battery, Ozols dedicates the following words to the battery commander:
“Two more guns firing at you? What luck, captain! Only one works for nine. Shoot!”
During the battle, the enemy manages to take over one of Major Ozol's batteries - Ozol immediately leads the attack against the invaders himself and recovers the battery. For this battle, on February 25, 1945, he was awarded with a buckle of the Army's list of honor.
Ozols awaits the end of the war in Kurzeme. After the capitulation of Germany, Major Ozols does not surrender to captivity, but joins the ranks of the national partisans with several other artillery officers. He was injured in a clash with Czech forces on October 3, 1945, arrested and sentenced to 20 years in the labor camp on May 10, 1946. Major Jānis Ozols dies 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.
