Frīdrihs Briedis
| Frīdrihs Briedis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 23, 1888 Klenoviki, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | August 28, 1918 (aged 30) Moscow, Soviet Russia |
| Allegiance |
Russian Empire White movement |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1906 — 1918 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars |
World War I Russian Civil War |
| Awards | Order of Lāčplēsis (I, II, III clases), Cross of St. George, Sword of St. George, Order of St. Vladimir (IV class), Order of St. Anna (II, III and IV classes), Order of Saint Stanislaus (II and III classes) |
Frīdrihs Briedis (June 23, 1888 – August 28, 1918) was a Latvian colonel and one of the most famous Latvian Riflemen commanders. He was posthumously the recipient of all classes of the Order of Lāčplēsis.
To escape dishonest and harsh baronial treatment, Briedis' father moved the family from Vidzeme to Vitebsk Governorate (today's Shumilina Raion in Belarus), where he obtained forest land, cleared it for growing corn, and built the house where Briedis was born, the youngest of three children.
Briedis' upbringing, particularly his mother's influence, engendered in him a devout nature. He graduated with distinction from the local rural district (pagasts) and local congregational church schools.
He left his family home in 1902, traveling to Daugavpils, where he moved in with relatives and entered the six-year city school. A consistently excellent student, he devoted his spare time furthering his religious studies, tutoring to buy books, hoping one day to become a minister—his goal to battle the moral decay which deeply affected him at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. By his own admission, he had time for few, if any, friends.
Finished with school, Briedis determined to enter the Monastery at Belye Berega. Having arrived at the rail station, nearly at his destination, he encountered two inebriated monks. A shocked Briedis renounced any thought of entering the priesthood—he held boozing to be the most vile immorality and would have no truck with any who engaged in it. To fill the void, in 1905, Briedis found a new calling—the military.
In 1906 he was accepted into the St.Petersburg's Vladimir War School. Due to his excellent tactical knowledge he reached the rank of Senior sergeant by his last year at the school. Briedis graduated from the war school with the rank of Podporuchik, and afterwards he served in the 99th Ivangorod infantry regiment, which was deployed in Daugavpils. In 1912 he attained the rank of Poruchik and was appointed the company's Commander.
...
Wikipedia