Mārtiņš Peniķis (1874–1964) was a Latvian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and commander in chief of

Latvian Army The Latvian Land Forces () together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. From 2007 to 2024, the Land Forces were organized as a fully professional standing army until the re-introduct ...

from 1928 to 1934. He was awarded with

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), 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 the Latvian War of Independ ...

and

Order of the Three stars Order of the Three Stars () 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 "Through hardships towards the ...

Biography

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

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

in an ancient family of

Curonian Kings Curonian Kings (; ; ) are a Latvian cultural group, originally lesser vassals and free farmers who lived in seven villages between Goldingen (Kuldīga) and Hasenpoth ( Aizpute) in Courland. History It is unclear how Curonian Kings gained t ...

. He studied at the

Kuldīga Kuldīga () () 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 joined the Hanseatic L ...

city school. In 1896 he enlisted in the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and served in the 133rd

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

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, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

and deployed to 121st

Harkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Infantry Regiment. During the

Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Peniķis served as a

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

commander in Galicia and in battles around

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. 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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

and participated in battles in

Belorussia Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. In autumn of 1916 he was transferred to the

Latvian Rifleman The Latvian Riflemen (; ) were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic governorates against the German Empire in World War I. Initially, the battalions were formed ...

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, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

in the Christmas Battles and at the

Battle of Jugla The Riga offensive (), also called the Jugla Offensive or the Battle of Riga (), took place in early September 1917 and was the last major campaign on the Eastern Front of World War I before the Russian Provisional Government and its army bega ...

in autumn of 1917. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, Peniķis left the army and stayed in German-occupied

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) 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 north-centra ...

, where he was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

. 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 is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

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

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

. 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 White Russian military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War from November 1918 to December 1919. History The , unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army ...

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 18 ...

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

Pārdaugava Pārdaugava (literally means "Trans" or "Over" -Daugava area, formerly ) 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 ...

. Later he participated in the liberation of

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

. 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 War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

. During the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Latvian Legion The Latvian Legion () was a formation of the Nazi German Waffen-SS during World War II. Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvians.Gerhard P. Bassler, ''Alfred Valdmanis and the politics of survival'', 2000, p150 Mirdza Kate Balta ...

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 the new

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between J ...

. He was not repressed and continued to research military history. Mārtiņš Peniķis died on 18 February 1964 in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. He is buried at the

Riga Forest Cemetery Forest Cemetery () 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, with entrance from Aizsau ...

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 (House of Romanov) 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 Latvian military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I