Janis Balodis General, Commander of the Latvian Army Date of Birth: 20.02.1881 Country: Latvia

Janis Balodis - General and Commander of the Latvian Army

Janis Balodis was a Latvian general and military leader, serving as the Commander of the Latvian Army from 1919 to 1921 and then as the Minister of Defense of Latvia from 1931 to 1939. He began his military service in 1898 and graduated from a military school in Vilnius in 1902. Balodis participated in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I as a junior officer and later as a captain in the Russian Imperial Army.

In December 1918, Balodis joined the Latvian Army, where he served as a reserve officer with the rank of captain. In 1919, following the death of Oscar Kalpaks, he was appointed commander of the Kurzeme Brigade (Battalion) and led it in battles at Venta and Saldus. Balodis continued Kalpaks' work in establishing the foundation of the armed forces of independent Latvia. As the number of servicemen increased, Balodis was appointed commander of the southern group of troops. After the reorganization of the Latvian Army in 1919, he assumed the position of Supreme Commander and directed the actions of the Latvian Army against the West Russian Volunteer Army led by P. Bermont-Avalov and the forces of German General Rüdiger von der Goltz.

In 1925, Balodis was elected to the Latvian Parliament, known as the Saeima. From December 1931 to 1940, he held the position of Minister of Defense of Latvia. However, following the entry of the Red Army into Latvia in 1940, Balodis was arrested and deported to the Soviet Union. He was sentenced to 25 years in labor camps but was held in a special prison in Vladimir. Balodis' wife, Elvira Yulievna Balodis, was also imprisoned in the same facility, known only by their prisoner numbers - 9 and 10, respectively. After Stalin's death, they were released from prison, and in 1956, they were allowed to return to Latvia.

In his later years, Janis Balodis lived with his family at 10 Beregovaya Street in Saulkrasti. He was buried in Riga at the 1st Forest Cemetery. Balodis received several honors and awards during his military career, including the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class, in 1915, and the Military Order of Lāčplēsis, which was presented to him on November 11, 1920.