Žanis Bahs (also Žanis Bachs; 1885–1941) was a Latvian general. He fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and later in the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

, where he commanded a division in the

Republic of Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. After the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in A ...

Bahs was arrested and shot by Soviet authorities.

Early life

Žanis Bahs was born on 6 October 1885 in the

Gaiķi Parish Gaiķi Parish ( lv, Gaiķu pagasts) is an administrative unit of Saldus Municipality Saldus (; german: Frauenburg) is a Latvian town located in Courland ( lv, Kurzeme) and is the main town, and the central location in Saldus Municipality. The n ...

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

as an innkeeper's son. He studied at the commercial school in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and later started

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

studies at

St. Petersburg Polytechnical Institute Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, abbreviated as SPbPU (also, formerly "Saint Petersburg State Technical University", abbreviated as SPbSTU), is a Russian technical university located in Saint Petersburg. Other former names i ...

. In 1912 he was drafted into the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

and served in the 170th infantry regiment. He graduated the school of ''praporschik'' in 1913.

World War I

After the start of the First World War Bahs served in the 174th and 540th infantry regiments. In December 1916, he was transferred to the Latvian Rifleman units and served in 2nd Riga Latvian rifleman regiment. After the

Christmas Battles The Christmas Battles ( lv, Ziemassvētku kaujas; german: Aa-Schlachten; russian: Митавская операция) were offensive operations of the Russian army and Latvian units during World War I in the area of Jelgava, Latvia, by the R ...

he was transferred back to the 540th infantry regiment in February 1917. In August 1917 Bahs enlisted in the Russian academy of General staff and served in the headquarters of the 37th army corps as a ''poruchik.'' In October 1917 he was promoted to the rank of ''stabskapitan.'' After the

October revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

Bahs was dismissed from the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in February 1918 and returned to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Latvian War of Independence

Bahs enlisted in the newly formed Latvian Army on 13 December 1918. From April 1919 he served in the Northern Latvian brigade. After the Battle of Cēsis he was the Latvian

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n-occupied

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

. In July 1919 he was appointed commander of an Operative part of Latvian army. During the Bermontian attack Bahs served on the General Staff of the Latvian Army.

Later life

After the Latvian War of Independence he served as a Latvian

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1921-1922. In 1922 he was promoted to the rank of a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and appointed Chief of the Staff of the 2nd Vidzeme infantry division. In 1934 he was appointed commander of the 5th Cēsis infantry regiment. In 1936 Bahs was promoted to the rank of a general and appointed commander of the 4th Zemgale infantry division and the

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

city garrison. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia, Bahs was arrested and deported to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in December 1940. After long

interrogations Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful infor ...

he was sentenced to death on 18 July 1941. He was shot and buried in

Kommunarka shooting ground The Kommunarka firing range (russian: Расстрельный полигон «Коммунарка»), former dacha of secret police chief Genrikh Yagoda, was used as a burial ground from 1937 to 1941. Executions may have been carried out th ...

near Moscow on 16 October 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahs, Zanis 1885 births 1941 deaths People from Brocēni Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian generals Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Executed military personnel Executed Latvian people Latvian people executed by the Soviet Union

Early life

World War I

Latvian War of Independence

Later life

See also

References