Alfred Riekstiņš - Knight of the Knight's Cross

https://www.vilki.lv/FilmuLapa/alfreds-riekstins.html

At the beginning of 1945, fierce battles are still taking place in the Kurzeme fortress, where Latvians are fighting in the ranks of the German army. One of them was Alfred Riekstiņš in the battle of the 19th division. For his bravery, Riekstiņa is awarded the Knight's Cross and is presented in the Remte Palace. Shortly before the capitulation, he becomes a lieutenant.

It is the middle of March 1945. Kurzeme has been moaning under shells for almost half a year. Thousands and thousands have fallen in five great battles. The great epicenter of the war vortex has spilled over to the outskirts of Berlin. The outcome of the war is clear to both of them. Only days, weeks, and in the worst case a few months are counted, but the Kurzeme fortress is still holding. The Soviet High Command does not spare its own - it sends more and more regiments of soldiers to their deaths in senseless battles. Legionnaires defend every Latvian homestead, hill and birch grove.

In the middle of March, everything shows - the defenders of Kurzeme will have to face another big battle - the sixth, as it will turn out later - the last. This time, the opponent plans to do it at the entrance of Saldus on the Remte side. How important it is to the Russians is shown by the fact that Marshals Vasilevsky, Chistyakov, Commander of the Baltic Fleet Yeryomenko and General Staff representative Frolov are coming to Kurzeme. On March 17, the Red Army broke the front line in a rapid attack from the side of Pilsblīdene near the houses of "Kīpu" and gained the Saldus-Kandava road, opening an excellent opportunity for Russian tanks to break into Kurzeme. As usual, the command sends the shock battalion of Major Laumans to eliminate such risky breaks. Also this time, the major receives a similar order - at 19:00, after a well-corrected artillery fire, to recover the previous positions and eliminate the breach. It seems that there is something special - the men of the Laumans battalion stood up in such counterattacks, liberating not a single Latvian homestead. However, this battle has gone down in the history of Kurzeme battles as the most unusual. Every historian of the war describes this in his memories and studies of the battle path of the 19th Division, because the result of this battle, however incredible, was determined by the resourcefulness, courage, selflessness and audacity of one man. Major Laumanis sends the first company corporal Alfred Riekstinas with eleven men to scout. He knows what to send - Riekstiņš is an experienced warrior, he passed the battle route of the 19th division from Leningrad to his native Kurzeme without a single scratch. Until recently, in the battles near "Rumba" with the strikers of their platoon, they destroyed seven Russian tanks buried in the ground with tank fists and freed the houses of "Gibel".

Laumanis gives a combat mission - from the nearby highlands at the Saldus-Pilsblīdene intersection, observe the "Kīpi" house and later adjust the artillery fire. They set up a telephone with the headquarters. Riekstiņš sees in the distance three Russian tanks, anti-tank guns and heavy machine guns parked in the courtyard of the house - their owners feel safe, moving without any caution, like a whole regiment in front of his own, which went in the direction of the Laumans battalion. Alfred decided on a daring step - not to wait for the artillery fire on the "Kīpa" houses at 19:00, but to occupy them with his own forces. He knows - suddenness and audacity have helped more than once in decisive moments. It turns out that some men - Braun, Cilpins, Danberg - know how to handle Russian heavy weapons. Along the edge of the forest, the men sneak into the yard, then a sudden attack, a bloody, cruel melee. Well, the tanks' barrels are turned in the opposite direction , and this time they open fire on their own. The Russians flee in confusion and panic. The contacts extend the telephone from the highlands to "Kīpa" and reports that artillery fire should not be aimed at "Kīpā" - there is their own. The commander of the 19th division is in a misunderstanding - there is no need for artillery fire on "Kīpa", how did their own people appear there, if the Russians were there until recently? Little by little, everything becomes clear. The ingenuity and courage of one person decided the outcome of a battle, saving the lives of many soldiers, at the same time, as it were, closing the gate of the enemy's further incursion into Kurzeme.

For the daring operation, Alfred Riekstinas is awarded the Knight's Cross, thus he becomes one of the twelve Latvians who receive the highest award of German officers. The cross was presented to him on April 5 in Remte Palace. Later, however, the Germans find that they do not raise ordinary soldiers in the order of Knights and send Riekstina to officer courses. Shortly before the capitulation, he becomes a lieutenant.

The heroism of Riekstinas is also appreciated by the German press. The newspaper "Tēvija" writes: "In order for a Latvian corporal to enter the Order of Knights, he had to do something extremely unusual and unimaginable. Riekstiņš eliminates the enemy's breakthrough and fiercely defends himself. He saves the position of the wing of the entire division." It seems to have been the only case in the history of German warfare when a corporal received an officer's award. It is interesting to note that it was also the last Knight's Cross presented in the Kurzeme fortress. Lieutenant Freimanis, who was nominated for the Knight's Cross at the end of April, no longer receives it - the Germans have run out of supplies.

Pasakotojas: Adolfs Vilde; Šią istoriją užrašė: Jana Kalve
Panaudoti šaltiniai ir literatūra:

https://www.vilki.lv/FilmuLapa/alfreds-riekstins.html 

https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/68083/Riekstins-Alfreds.htm 

Susijusios vietos

Pilsblidene Manor

The manor house was built in the classical style in the 1920s of the 19th century. After the land reform, the manor complex was rented out to private individuals, but from 1932 it passed to the Ministry of People's Welfare.

6. During the fierce battles of the Great Battle of Courland it was used both as a support post and as an infirmary. 

On 17 March 1945, the last attempt of the Red Army to attack Courland began. Units of the German 24th Infantry Division defended themselves in the vicinity of the Pilsblidene Manor complex. On 18 March 1945, the manor house was attacked from the south by the 121st Rifle Regiment of the Latvian Rifle Division of the 43rd Guards, which was unsuccessful. The 1st Battalion of the 300th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Estonian Rifle Division attacked from the west, and at the end of the day the 35th Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps joined the 1st Battalion of the 917th Rifle Regiment of the 249th Estonian Rifle Division on the Blīdene-Remte road.

On the night of 19 March, the 43rd Grenadier Regiment of the 19th Latvian SS Grenadier Division arrived in the vicinity of Blīdene Station and counter-attacked to retake the Pilsblīdene Manor residential building. However, as a result of a night tank attack, Estonian and Latvian units of the Red Army gained a foothold at the station.

In 1959, a fire broke out in the castle. From 1961 to 1986, a retirement home operated in the residential building. In 1986, the castle was again destroyed by fire. Since then, the castle has stood empty and ruined.

A 24-hectare park surrounds the manor house, which is now overgrown. The park has about 37 plantations of non-native species of trees and shrubs and is under state protection. The park is unmaintained and the surroundings are overgrown.

Remte manor house and park

Remte Manor Castle (German: Remten) is a manor house located in Remte. The buildings and the park of Remte Manor are national monuments. The manor house houses the Remte Primary School. Remte Manor Palace was built in 1800 in the Berlin Classicist style for the then owner of the manor, Count Karl Medem.

At the end of World War II, the 19th Division of the Latvian Legion of the German Army Group was stationed in Remte Manor and its surroundings. 

Memorial stone of Alfred Riekstiņš

Memorial stone to Latvian Legion lieutenant and national partisan Alfred Riekstiņš, who died near the "Dreimaņi" house on September 11, 1952

On September 11, 1952, Alfred Riekstiņš, a lieutenant of the 19th SS Grenadier Division (Latvian No. 2) of the Latvian Legion and a Knight of the Iron Cross, died in the yard of the "Dreimaņi" house. On May 9, 1945, Alfred Riekstiņš from Pāvilosta arrived in Sweden with one of the last boats. On August 30, 1952, Alfrēds Riekstiņš, together with two former Latvian soldiers, landed in Kurzeme on behalf of the US intelligence services. The security services of the USSR knew about the operation and surrounded the intelligence officers in the shed of the "Dreimaņi" house, where Alfred Riekstiņš committed suicide by biting a poison ampoule.

 
Memorial Stone to Defenders of the Kurzeme Fortification

Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 motorway, 500 m from the turn to Lesteni in the direction of Riga.

The memorial site was established in 1991 near the Rumbu houses, in the vicinity of which there was active warfare. This is a tribute to the defenders of the "Kurzeme Fortress" who fought against the Red Army in World War II. The battles were significant because they temporarily stopped the Red Army's complete occupation of Latvia. About 300,000 Latvians emigrated, avoiding crimes against the civilian population by the Soviet regime.

At the end of World War II, a peculiar situation had developed in the territory of Latvia. There were German army forces in Kurzeme, which the Red Army tried to eliminate or prevent their involvement in the fighting in East Prussia or around Berlin. "Kurzeme Fortress" - the most common term to describe the warfare in Kurzeme from 1944 to 1945. The "battles of Kurzeme" were the battles of the German army to repel the large-scale attacks of the Red Army. The Kurzeme fortress ceased to exist shortly after the German capitulation.

Today you can see a place of remembrance and rest, which has been popular among Latvian legionnaires since the restoration of Latvia's independence.