Dāvids Sīmansons (4 April 1859 – 13 January 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 () 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 the Former Minister of War of Latvia. He was a recipient of the Commander of the

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 ...

.Biography of L.kok
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Biography

Sīmansons was born in

Valmiera Parish Valmiera Parish () is an administrative unit of Valmiera Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. References

Parishes in Valmiera Municipality {{Vidzeme-geo-stub ...

, in a family of agricultural workers. He graduated from Limbaži 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 Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

Infantry Regiment. During his service, he was sent to a

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

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 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 ...

, where he suffered a

contusion A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur clo ...

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 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 ...

. On 27 October 1914 he was awarded the

Sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, 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 ...

of the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

. 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 Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, but later in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

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

on 8 January, and on 6 June he joined the Latvian National Armed Forces. On 10 July, 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 15 July to 10 September 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 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 ...

gave an order to retire from Riga to positions in Jugla. On the night of 9–10 October 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 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 ...

. On 16 October Colonel

Jānis Balodis Jānis Balodis (20 February 1881 – 8 August 1965) was an army general, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Latvia (1919–1921), Minister of War (1931–1940), and a politician who was one of the principal figures during the Latvian War ...

, 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 11 November 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 Jānis Kristaps Čakste (; 14 September 1859 – 14 March 1927) was a Latvian politician and lawyer who served as the first head of an independent Latvian state as the Chairman of the Tautas Padome, People's Council (1918–1920), the Speaker o ...

, 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 Arteriosclerosis, literally meaning "hardening of the arteries", is an umbrella term for a vascular disorder characterized by abnormal thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries; this process gradually restricts th ...

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 13 January, at 2:10 pm, at the age of 73, General Sīmansons died at the Riga War Hospital. On 18 January he was buried in the Brothers' Cemetery in Riga in honor of his service of Latvia."Jēkabpils Vēstnesis" (19.01.33.)
/ref>

Awards

(III class) * Aizsargi Cross of Merit * Saint George Sword *

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...

(Classes III and IV) *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

(Class II) *

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(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 Valmiera county 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