Andrejs Auzāns (1871–1953) 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 topographer. Auzāns was a major general in the

Imperial Russian 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 ...

, best known for being the commander of the 7th Bauska Rifleman Regiment and the 2nd Rifleman Brigade. He also served as the chief of the Russian General Staff Topographical Section for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

Early life

Andrejs Auzāns was born on April 4, 1872, in Pļaviņu parish, in the ''Bormaņi'' homestead. He studied in a parish school in Koknese and Vietalva. In 1893, he graduated from a school in the city of Pskov, Russia as a land surveyor.

Life until the First World War

After graduating from school, Auzāns enlisted in a military

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

school from which he graduated in 1895. He later served as '' podporuchik'' (

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

) in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Starting in 1896, he was an officer at a topography unit near St. Petersburg. In 1900, he began his studies in the Russian Academy of General Staff and graduated in 1903 as a captain. In 1905, he graduated from a practical course in

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

at the Pulkovo observatory and was admitted into the Russian General Staff. He participated in 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 ...

. Later, he served as an officer and topographer in

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

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. In 1907 he was promoted to the rank of '' podpolkovnik'' ( lieutenant colonel). From 1907 until 1910 he worked as an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. In 1911, 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 ...

. From 1911 until 1916 he was a director of the

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

observatory.

First World War

When Latvian riflemen units formed in 1915, Auzāns was in

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. He returned to Latvia in 1916 and enlisted in a rifleman unit; ultimately becoming the commander of the 7th Bauska Rifleman Regiment. Before the legendary Christmas Battles, Auzāns was appointed as the commander of the 2nd Latvian Rifleman Brigade. In 1917 he was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed chief of the Russian General Staff Topographical Section. He served in this post until 1920, 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 ...

. In 1921, he worked as a lecturer in the Soviet Military Academy.

Life in the Republic of Latvia

Auzāns returned to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

in 1923 and enlisted in the Latvian Army. He was promoted to the rank of

and became a member of the Military Council at the Ministry of War. In 1927, he became the chief of the topographical section of the Latvian Army Headquarters. Auzāns also worked as a lecturer in the Latvian Military Academy, and was the chief of a Latvian rifleman association. In 1933, he reached the maximum service age and retired. In later years, he published several books about topography and

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 ...

Last years

During and after the occupation of Latvia in 1940 Auzāns was not repressed. He did not collaborate with either the Soviet or

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 ...

powers. In the autumn of 1944, Auzāns migrated to Germany with his family. In 1948 he settled in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Andrejs Auzāns died on March 23, 1953, in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, Great Britain. He was buried in a local cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auzans, Andrejs 1871 births 1953 deaths People from Aizkraukle Municipality People from Riga county Imperial Russian major generals Latvian generals Russian astronomers Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class II Latvian World War II refugees Latvian expatriates in Germany Latvian emigrants to the United Kingdom Latvian military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I