Karlis Aperats
Encyclopedia
Karlis Aperats was a Standartenführer
, (full colonel) in the Waffen SS during World War II
. Who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II
.
and served in the 3rd Company, 145 Infantry Regiment on the Eastern Front
fighting against the Imperial German Army. Then at his own request he was transferred into the 1st Latvian Schützen Regiment in March 1916 fighting against the Germans in the Riga
area and promoted until the end of August 1917 being promoted to an NCO
for his bravery in battle. In December 1917 he was admitted into hospital suffering from a severe illness, when he had recovered in December 1918 he was dismissed from the army and entered into the reserve as an officer. Then on the 31 December 1918 he was appointed commander for the Ventspils
region.
and the Iron Division
was involved in fighting to liberate the Baltic states
from Russian control, in command of the Wenden Battalion. In May 1919, he was given command of the signals unit of the 1st Latvian Brigade and promoted to Lieutenant
in August 1919. By December 1919 he was posted to command the signals unit of the 1st Kurland Infantry Division and promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
In September 1920 he was transferred yet again this time to the staff of the Army high command in Riga.
He was promoted to Captain in January 1924, and made the Divisional Adjutant
. He took over command of the Divisions signals unit in October 1924 and made deputy chief of staff in 1928. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
in November 1936.
but left soon after to start an underground
unit of 1700 men, to fight against the Red Army until June 1941, when they retreated from the advancing Germans. He joined the Waffen SS in August 1942 first in the SS Reserve Battalion, then in command of the 19th Schuma Battalion, the 26th Schumacher Battalion and from March 1943, the 19th Schumacher Battalion.
He was involved in operations in Belarus
and on the Leningrad
front from February 1943, and in March he was given command of the II.Battalion, 1st Battalion Latvian, SS Volunteer Regiment.
He was promoted to Obersturmbannführer
in April 1943, and temporarily given command of the SS Volunteer Regiment 39 in May 1943, until June 1944 when he was moved to command the Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 32 (Latvian No. 1), 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 1), the regiment served in the north of the Eastern Front. Here Aperats formed a Kampfgruppe
based on the SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 32.
The approximately 850 strong unit, with two anti tank guns were engaged by two Partisan
battalions, which suffered significant losses and were destroyed. The Kampfgruppe was then selected to form the Division rearguard at the Ssinaja Bridge over the Mosuli, which was under attack by a Soviet division and 30 to 40 tanks, of which the Kampfgruppe destroyed eight. During the fighting Aperats was severely wounded in the head and according to the regimental doctor only had about 30 minutes to live.
The soldiers of his Regiment wanted to carry him back to safety but he insisted that he was left behind with a pistol.
As the Kampfgruppe withdrew from the bridgehead they heard a shot and it is presumed that Aperats shot himself.>
For his personal bravery from the 11 July 1944 south of Lake Kubenskoye
and the following battles in Welikja, Aperats was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross.
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
, (full colonel) in the Waffen SS during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
World War I
In December 1915 during World War I, he joined the Imperial Russian ArmyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
and served in the 3rd Company, 145 Infantry Regiment on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
fighting against the Imperial German Army. Then at his own request he was transferred into the 1st Latvian Schützen Regiment in March 1916 fighting against the Germans in the Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
area and promoted until the end of August 1917 being promoted to an NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
for his bravery in battle. In December 1917 he was admitted into hospital suffering from a severe illness, when he had recovered in December 1918 he was dismissed from the army and entered into the reserve as an officer. Then on the 31 December 1918 he was appointed commander for the Ventspils
Ventspils
Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
region.
Between the wars
In January 1919 Aperats joined the Latvian Battalion under the command of Colonel Kalpak, and together with the FreikorpsFreikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
and the Iron Division
Freikorps in the Baltic
After 1918, the term Freikorps was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around the German Empire, including in the Baltic states as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I...
was involved in fighting to liberate the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
from Russian control, in command of the Wenden Battalion. In May 1919, he was given command of the signals unit of the 1st Latvian Brigade and promoted to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in August 1919. By December 1919 he was posted to command the signals unit of the 1st Kurland Infantry Division and promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
In September 1920 he was transferred yet again this time to the staff of the Army high command in Riga.
He was promoted to Captain in January 1924, and made the Divisional Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
. He took over command of the Divisions signals unit in October 1924 and made deputy chief of staff in 1928. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in November 1936.
World War II
After the Soviet invasion of Latvia, in 1940, Aperats was recruited into the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
but left soon after to start an underground
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
unit of 1700 men, to fight against the Red Army until June 1941, when they retreated from the advancing Germans. He joined the Waffen SS in August 1942 first in the SS Reserve Battalion, then in command of the 19th Schuma Battalion, the 26th Schumacher Battalion and from March 1943, the 19th Schumacher Battalion.
He was involved in operations in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and on the Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
front from February 1943, and in March he was given command of the II.Battalion, 1st Battalion Latvian, SS Volunteer Regiment.
He was promoted to Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
in April 1943, and temporarily given command of the SS Volunteer Regiment 39 in May 1943, until June 1944 when he was moved to command the Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 32 (Latvian No. 1), 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 1), the regiment served in the north of the Eastern Front. Here Aperats formed a Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
based on the SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 32.
The approximately 850 strong unit, with two anti tank guns were engaged by two Partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
battalions, which suffered significant losses and were destroyed. The Kampfgruppe was then selected to form the Division rearguard at the Ssinaja Bridge over the Mosuli, which was under attack by a Soviet division and 30 to 40 tanks, of which the Kampfgruppe destroyed eight. During the fighting Aperats was severely wounded in the head and according to the regimental doctor only had about 30 minutes to live.
The soldiers of his Regiment wanted to carry him back to safety but he insisted that he was left behind with a pistol.
As the Kampfgruppe withdrew from the bridgehead they heard a shot and it is presumed that Aperats shot himself.>
For his personal bravery from the 11 July 1944 south of Lake Kubenskoye
Lake Kubenskoye
Kubenskoe Lake is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 109 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 60 km from north-west to south-east....
and the following battles in Welikja, Aperats was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross.
Post script
Each year on 16 July, the survivors of his regiment meet at the Ssinaja Bridge near the Mosuli, to leave a wreath on the water to remember Karlis Aperats.Promotions
- 1918 Second-Lieutenant (Latvian Army)
- 1920 First-Lieutenant (Latvian Army)
- 1924 Captain (Latvian Army)
- 1936 Lieutenant-Colonel (Latvian Army)
- 1942 Waffen-Obersturmbannführer der SS
- 1944 Waffen-Standartenführer der SS (Posthumous promotion)