Jukums Vācietis (russian: Иоаким Иоакимович Вацетис, link=no, ''Ioakim Ioakimovich Vatsetis''; 11 November 1873 – 28 July 1938) was a

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 ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

military 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 ...

commander. He was a rare example of a notable Soviet leader who was not a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

(or of any other political party), until his demise during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

in the 1930s.

Early life

Jukums Vācietis's family were Latvian labourers. From about the age of six, he worked as a shepherd and as a labourer, while he was a pupil at the Skede Parish School. In 1889-91, he studied at the Ministry of Kuldiga school. At the same time, he worked in a match factory.

Military career

Vācietis started his military career in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

in 1891, and reached the rank of second lieutenant after graduating from infantry cadet school in 1895. In 1914, at the start of

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 ...

, he saw as a battalion commander in Poland and East Prussia, and was wounded several times. After hospital treatment, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. From October 1916, he commanded the 5th Latvian Zemgale Rifle Regiment and distinguished himself during the defence of

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 ...

against the advancing German army in August 1916. Vācietis was not involved in any political activity before 1917, but 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 ...

, he immediately sided with the new

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

government, and was given command of the 12th army. From April 1918, Vācietis was the commander of the Red Latvian Riflemen

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, which was then the most reliable unit under Bolshevik control. He played a critical role in July 1918 in suppressing a revolt by the

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Rev ...

, who opposed the decision to end the war with Germany. From July to September 1918, Vācietis commanded the Eastern Front, which he created out of scattered units fighting for the Bolsheviks in Siberia against the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

and the

Czechoslovak Legion The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech language, Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Allies of World ...

. During his two months as commander of the front, the Red Army scored its first major victory of the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

by recapturing

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

. On 2 September 1918, Vācietis was appointed the first commander-in-chief of 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 ...

(RKKA), and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council - but became embroiled in a dispute with

Sergey Kamenev Sergey Sergeyevich Kamenev (russian: Серге́й Серге́евич Ка́менев; April 16 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._April_4.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S._April_4">Old_Style_and_New ...

, his successor as commander of the Eastern Front, which was intertwined with power struggles within the Bolshevik party leadership, in which

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

, the Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, backed Vācietis, and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

backed Kamenev. Trotsky later wrote that In summer 1919, Vācietis proposed that the Eastern Front should halt military operations having reach the Urals, so that troops could be transfered to the south for the campaign against General Denikin, and the Don Cossacks, but Kamenev insisted that they could spare troops for the southern front and still advance past the Urals into Siberia. He was proved right, and on 3 July 1919, Kamenev replaced Vācietis as commander-in-chief of the Red Army. On 8 July 1919, Vācietis was arrested under the accusation of membership in a

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revolut ...

reactionary White Guardist organization, but was soon released when the charge was proved false. Trotsky suspected that "dissatisfied with his removal from the post of Commander-in-Chief, he had engaged in reckless talk with officers close to him." He also believed that Stalin was behind Vācietis's arrest. In 1922, Vācietis became a professor of the RKKA Military Academy (future

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

). During this time, he wrote several books, most notable among them being 'Latvian Riflemen's Historical Importance'. In 1935, Vācietis was assigned a personal rank of

Comandarm is the abbreviation of the russian: Командующий армией, Komanduyushtchi armiy, lit=Commander of the Army / Army commander, and was a military rank used in the Soviet Union. Between 1918 and 1935, it was a rank in the Red Army, ...

, 2nd Rank. On 29 November 1937, during the height of

Stalin's Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, Vācietis was arrested as a member of the alleged "Latvian Fascist Organization within the RKKA", and was executed on 28 July 1938. Vācietis was rehabilitated in 1957.

Literature

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References

1873 births 1938 deaths People from Saldus Municipality People from Courland Governorate Soviet komandarms of the second rank Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Latvian Riflemen Military personnel of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Great Purge victims from Latvia Soviet rehabilitations Soviet people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War {{Latvia-bio-stub