Mārtiņš Peniķis (1874–1964) was a Latvian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and commander in chief of

Latvian Army The Latvian Land Forces ( lv, Sauszemes spēki, SzS) together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. Since 2007, land forces are organized as a fully professional standing army. Mission ...

from 1928 to 1934. He was awarded with

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during t ...

and

Order of the Three stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

Biography

Mārtiņš Peniķis was born 6 November 1874 at ''Atālmauli'' homestead, Turlava Parish,

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 ...

in an ancient family of

Curonian Kings Curonian Kings ( gml, Cursken konyngh; german: Kurische Könige; lv, kuršu ķoniņi) are a Latvian cultural group, originally lesser vassals and free farmers that lived in seven villages between Goldingen (Kuldīga) and Hasenpoth (Aizpute) ...

. He studied at the

Kuldīga Kuldīga () (german: Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joine ...

city school. In 1896 he enlisted in 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 133rd

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

e Infantry Regiment. In 1900 he started studies in the war school and graduated in 1902. He was promoted to the rank of

podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, an ...

and deployed to 121st

Harkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

Infantry Regiment. During the

Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

he saw action in many battles including the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden ...

. In 1913 he was admitted to the Nikolai Military Academy.

First World war

In the early stages of the

First World War 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 ...

Peniķis served as a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

commander in Galicia and in battles around

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. He was wounded in December 1914. In 1915 he was promoted to the rank of

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 participated in battles in

Belorussia Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. In autumn of 1916 he was transferred to the Latvian Rifleman units and became commander of 2nd Riga Latvian Rifleman Regiment. He led his

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in 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 ...

and at the

Battle of Jugla The Battle of Jugla was a defensive battle of the Russian Republic's 12th Army of the First World War from 1 to 5 September 1917. It was part of the German offensive called the ''Battle of Riga'' or ''Schlacht um Riga''. The main objective for ...

in autumn of 1917. 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 ...

, Peniķis left the army and stayed in German-occupied

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in n ...

, where he was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. He was released in November 1918.

Latvian War of Independence

In December 1918 he enlisted in the new Latvian Army and became the commander of

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

Military District. In June 1919 he became commander of all Latvian units around

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

. In September he became chief of the all military schools but when the attack of the

Bermontians The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War in 1918–20. History The Western Russian Volunteer Army, unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army, was supp ...

started he returned to active service. He became commander of the 2nd Vidzeme Infantry Division and replaced

Jorģis Zemitāns Jorģis Zemitāns (23 February 1873, Skrīveri parish – 16 January 1928, Riga) was an army officer and commander of the Latvian Northern Brigade during the Latvian War of Independence. Biography Jorģis Zemitāns was born on 23 February 1873 ...

as commander of the southern front. On 10 November, his division started a massive counterattack and liberated

Torņakalns Torņakalns is a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia located on the western bank of the Daugava River (neighbourhoods along this shore are collectively known as Pārdaugava). The name Torņakalns (''English: Tower Hill'') derives from a fortified t ...

and other parts of

Pārdaugava Pārdaugava (literally means "Trans" or "Over" -Daugava area) is an area most often associated with Riga, composed of several neighbourhoods on the west (left) bank of Daugava River. The name is literally translated as 'over Daugava'. In the la ...

. Later he participated in the liberation of

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

. In August 1920 Peniķis was promoted to

and became chief of the staff of the Latvian Army.

Later life

From 1921 to 1924 Peniķis was general inspector of the army. From 1928 to 1934 he was commander in chief of the Latvian Army.Latvijas armijas augstākie virsnieki 1918–1940, biogrāfiska vārdnīca/(sast. Ēriks Jēkabsons, Valters Ščerbinskis); Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs. In 1934 he reached the maximum service age and retired. In retirement he researched Latvian history and worked as military lecturer. He has published several books about

military history Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

. During the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation of Latvia Latvia has been occupied by military forces from other nations from time to time. Military occupations of Latvia have included: * Livonian Crusade (13th century) * Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 * Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany (1941– ...

in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Peniķis was offered the post of general inspector of a newly formed

Latvian Legion The Latvian Legion ( lv, Latviešu leģions) was a formation of the German Waffen-SS during World War II. Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvian personnel.Gerhard P. Bassler, ''Alfred Valdmanis and the politics of survival'', 20 ...

however he refused the offer. At the end of the Second World War he emigrated to Germany however in 1945 he decided to return to Soviet occupied Latvia. He was not repressed and continued to research military history. Mārtiņš Peniķis died on 18 February 1964 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 ...

. He is buried at the

Riga Forest Cemetery Forest Cemetery ( lv, Rīgas Meža kapi) is an large cemetery in the northwestern part of Riga, the capital of Latvia, between the neighbourhoods of Mežaparks and Čiekurkalns. Formally, the cemetery is divided between 1st Forest Cemetery, wit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penikis, Martins 1874 births 1964 deaths People from Kuldīga Municipality People from Courland Governorate 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 Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Recipients of the Order of St. George Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of Vytautas the Great Order of the White Rose of Finland