Main articles: Military history of Latvia during World War II and Occupation of the Baltic states
After the conclusion of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Latvia was compelled by a Soviet ultimatum to accept Red Army garrisons on its territory in 1939.[67] On 16 June 1940, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding that government be replaced and that unlimited number of Soviet troops be admitted.[68] The government acceded to the demands, and Soviet troops occupied the country on June 17. On August 5, 1940, Latvia was annexed into the USSR. The following year, USSR security agencies "Sovietized" Latvia, resulting in the deaths of between 35,000 and 50,000 residents of Latvia.[69] The legality of the annexation was not recognised by most Western countries and the Baltic states continued to exist as formally independent nations until 1991.
After the outbreak of German-Soviet hostilities, Soviet forces were quickly driven out by German forces. Initially, the German forces were almost universally hailed as liberators, but Nazi occupation policies gradually changed that. Riga was retaken by Soviet forces on 13 October 1944, and a major part of the German Army Group North (Heersgruppe Nord) was cut off in Kurzeme, the peninsula that forms the northwestern part of Latvia. There, they and locally raised Latvian units formed the "Kurland Fortress", which successfully held out until the end of the war in May 1945.
The first Latvian Police Battalions were formed in early 1943, and the Latvian Waffen SS Volunteer Legion on 16 March 1943. The German Occupation Government soon resorted to conscription, and Latvia became one of two countries (the other was Estonia) from where the Waffen SS soldiers were draftees. By 1 July 1944, more than 110,000 men were under arms in German-controlled units. The Latvian Legion consisted of 87,550 men, of them 31,446 serving in the 15th and 19th Waffen-Grenadier Divisions, 12,118 served in Border Guard regiments, 42,386 in various Police Forces, and 1,600 in other units. 22,744 men served in units outside the Legion such as Wehrmacht Auxiliaries and as Luftwaffenhelfer.[70]
Approximately 70,000 Latvians (both from Latvia and the Russian SFSR) were recruited, mostly through conscription, into national units in the Red Army (Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions).
Some Latvian personnel took an active part during the Holocaust, working as part of both the Soviet and the Nazi occupation governments.[71] Attempts were made by various movements to restore an independent and democratic Latvia with ties to the Western Allies, such as the Latvian Central Council, but these efforts were thwarted by Nazi and Soviet regimes. At the end of the war, the subsequent Forest Brothers armed insurrection against the Soviet authorities lasted in the Baltic states until the mid-1950s.
After the conclusion of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Latvia was compelled by a Soviet ultimatum to accept Red Army garrisons on its territory in 1939.[67] On 16 June 1940, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding that government be replaced and that unlimited number of Soviet troops be admitted.[68] The government acceded to the demands, and Soviet troops occupied the country on June 17. On August 5, 1940, Latvia was annexed into the USSR. The following year, USSR security agencies "Sovietized" Latvia, resulting in the deaths of between 35,000 and 50,000 residents of Latvia.[69] The legality of the annexation was not recognised by most Western countries and the Baltic states continued to exist as formally independent nations until 1991.
After the outbreak of German-Soviet hostilities, Soviet forces were quickly driven out by German forces. Initially, the German forces were almost universally hailed as liberators, but Nazi occupation policies gradually changed that. Riga was retaken by Soviet forces on 13 October 1944, and a major part of the German Army Group North (Heersgruppe Nord) was cut off in Kurzeme, the peninsula that forms the northwestern part of Latvia. There, they and locally raised Latvian units formed the "Kurland Fortress", which successfully held out until the end of the war in May 1945.
The first Latvian Police Battalions were formed in early 1943, and the Latvian Waffen SS Volunteer Legion on 16 March 1943. The German Occupation Government soon resorted to conscription, and Latvia became one of two countries (the other was Estonia) from where the Waffen SS soldiers were draftees. By 1 July 1944, more than 110,000 men were under arms in German-controlled units. The Latvian Legion consisted of 87,550 men, of them 31,446 serving in the 15th and 19th Waffen-Grenadier Divisions, 12,118 served in Border Guard regiments, 42,386 in various Police Forces, and 1,600 in other units. 22,744 men served in units outside the Legion such as Wehrmacht Auxiliaries and as Luftwaffenhelfer.[70]
Approximately 70,000 Latvians (both from Latvia and the Russian SFSR) were recruited, mostly through conscription, into national units in the Red Army (Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions).
Some Latvian personnel took an active part during the Holocaust, working as part of both the Soviet and the Nazi occupation governments.[71] Attempts were made by various movements to restore an independent and democratic Latvia with ties to the Western Allies, such as the Latvian Central Council, but these efforts were thwarted by Nazi and Soviet regimes. At the end of the war, the subsequent Forest Brothers armed insurrection against the Soviet authorities lasted in the Baltic states until the mid-1950s.