Dāvids Sīmansons (April 4, 1859 - January 13, 1933) was the first commander-in-chief of the Latvian Army. He was also a general of the Latvian Army, major general of the

Imperial Russian 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 the Former Minister of War of Latvia. He was a recipient of the Commander of the Order of Lāčplēsis.Biography of L.kok
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Biography

Sīmansons was born in Valmiera Parish, in a family of agricultural workers. He graduated from

Limbaži Limbaži (, et, Lemsalu, german: Lemsal, liv, Limbaž) is a town in the Vidzeme region of northern Latvia. Limbaži is located 90 km northeast of the capital Riga. The population is 6888 people. During the Middle Ages, as part of Livonia ...

district school.Senior officers of the Latvian Army (1918-1940) '' Biographical Dictionary '', Riga: LVVA, Publishing House "Nordisk" In 1880, he began his military service by voluntarily joining the

on the 115th Vyazma Infantry Regiment. During his service, he was sent to a Junker school, after graduation of which he obtained the rank of an officer. After training, he returned to the Vyazma Infantry Regiment. In 1894 he graduated from the General Staff Academy. After its completion, he commanded the regiment. Sīmansons participated in the Russo-Japanese War, where he suffered a contusion during combat operations. In 1910 he was promoted to colonel. In April 1912, he was appointed commander of the 66th Butyrsk Regiment. Sīmansons then fought in the First World War. On October 27, 1914, he was awarded the

Sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

of the Order of St. George. Promoted to Major General in May 1915, at the same time he was appointed Commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 17th Infantry Division. Retired from service in October 1917. Until the end of 1918 he lived in Vitebsk, but later in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...

. He returned to his homeland in January 1919. Sīmansons arrived 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 ...

on January 8 and on June 6, he joined the Latvian National Armed Forces. On July 10, after the unification of the Northern Latvian and Southern Latvian brigades and the formation of the Latvian Army, he was appointed its first commander-in-chief. From July 15 to September 10, he was also a Minister of Defense (Minister of War from 1923). After Pavel Bermondt-Avalov's forces advanced towards Riga, the front commander Col. Jorģis Zemitāns gave an order to retire from Riga to positions in Jugla. On the night of October 9–10, General Sīmansons revoked this order because he had decided to resist Bermondt's forces and defend Riga. With his energetic actions he reorganized the positions of the army and helped to defend Riga from the West Russian Volunteer Army. On October 16, Colonel Jānis Balodis, who was the commander of the Eastern Front and the commander of the Kurzeme Division, was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Latvian Army, replacing Sīmansons. Until February 1922, Sīmansons was a member of the Supreme Military Court. After leaving the post of Commander-in-Chief, he continued his service on the Military Council of the Republic of Latvia. Retired in February 1925 (due to illness). He led a quiet life after his service, avoiding active political and social life. On November 11, 1926, he was awarded the third class of the Order of Lāčplēsis."Latvijas Kareivis" (11.11.26)
/ref> Sīmansons did not receive it at the Lāčplēsis Day ceremony, where it was personally presented by President Jānis Čakste, but received it later since he had not attended the award ceremony. In June 1932, the health of the old general deteriorated. This was due to Arteriosclerosis diagnosed by doctors. In July, due to an exacerbation of the disease, he was transferred to the Riga War Hospital. He spent the following months in hospital. In January of the following year, his health deteriorated. 1933 . On January 13, at 2:10 pm, at the age of 73, General Sīmansons died at the Riga War Hospital. On January 18, he was buried in the Brothers' Cemetery in Riga in honor of his service of Latvia."Jēkabpils Vēstnesis" (19.01.33.)
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Awards

* Order of Lāčplēsis (III class) * Aizsargi Cross of Merit *

Saint George Sword The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

* Order of Saint Vladimir (Classes III and IV) * Order of Saint Anna (Class II) *

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

(1st, 3rd class)

References

Bibliography

Section of the Latvian National Encyclopedia

Short article in memory of the general

Short biography of D. Sīmansons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simansons, Davids 1859 births 1933 deaths People from Valmiera Municipality People from Kreis Wolmar Ministers of Defence of Latvia Latvian generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence