The 15th Division of the Latvian Legion in the Fight on the Velikaya River (1 March–14 April 1944. The division in question is the 15th Latvian SS Volunteer Division (hereinafter – the 15th Division), which was formally a part of the Waffen SS, but its formation, motivation and battle performance was different from what is usually known as the Waffen SS elite division. The 15th Division was composed of Latvian volunteers who fought less for Germany than against the Soviet Union. The 15th Division found itself in intensive combat in the north-eastern sector of the Eastern Front in March and April 1944. The 15th Division was one of several dozen divisions of the Wehrmacht that were manned by non-German nationals. Himmler on January 24, after returning from a visit to the Eastern Front, sent a radio message to the 2nd SS Infantry Brigade, and ordered it to use the 19th and 21st Latvian Police (up to 1943 called Schutzmannschaft) Battalions as the initial cadre for the Latvian SS Volunteer Legion. The initial plan was to create a regiment sized unit with three infantry battalions and to transfer the unit from the Order Police to the Waffen SS.
The Latvians joined forces with the Germans against the Russians because they regarded the ruling communist regime in Moscow as the biggest threat to their hopes of re-establishing an independent, prosperous Latvia and because they wanted to fight against the communist imperial power of the USSR.
From dads own story he told me from 14 July 1944 he was stationed at REZEKINE POLICE aged 17 years at the time, and about that date he left the station with peter his brother to help evacuate Oma and Oppa from their farm TAMAZANI near the Russian boarder. Dad and Peter helped their parents reach Riga before Peter had to return to his Battalion(19th) and dad to his station.
Oppa and Oma were evacuated to Germany and Dad believed they were in Dresden but were put into work camps in Celle.
Dad was required to join the 15 Division under orders. He joins in Standia near Riga where he sees Peter for the last time .When dad is fighting in Germany latter in Rostock Dad hears Peter is in hospital but OK.
The story of Peter Cudars (Dads brother)
The 19th Division continued to fight in Latvia. In October 1944, Soviet advances in Lithuania cut off it and other units in the Courland Pocket from the rest of the German forces. It was a part of the six Grand Battles between Soviet and German armies in the Courland Pocket in 1944 and 1945. During the third Grand Battle in December 1944, the opposing Soviet units included two Latvian divisions, the 43rd and the 308th, formed from recruits drafted in Soviet occupied eastern Latvia. When the Latvian units on both sides of the front faced one another, they were quite unwilling and occasionally disengaged without firing a shot. The Soviet command would transfer the Latvian divisions elsewhere after a few days.
Together with other units in the Courland Pocket, the 19th division surrendered to the Soviets at the end of the war on 9 May 1945. Some of the Legion soldiers continued fighting the Soviets as Forest Brothers for up to 10 years after the end of the war.
The story of 15th Division’s battles in Germany.
After its arrival in Gotenhafen and Danzig, the remainder of the 15th Division at the end of August 1944, was shipped to the West Prussian training area between Bietow and Behrendt. Here, the Division’s ranks were augmented with men born in 1925 and 1926. Unfortunately, training was hampered by lack of weapons and other battle equipment.
The Division was not yet ready, when on the night of 21/22 January 1945 it was ordered to move South via Konitz and to organize a line of defence along the Oder – Vistula canal; the 15th : Division’s left flank was to be in contact with the German garrison; of the city of Bromberg.
The 15th Reconnaissance Battalion was the first one to be sent to the front; it arrived there by motor transport on 22 January. Already on 23 January, it met Russian resistance. Our troops took Immenheim by storm, there they freed some 1,000 construction regiment soldiers from captivity.
On 24 January, the 3rd Regiment, together with the 15th Sapper battalion, took the town of Nackel. Street fighting there lasted until the morning of 25 January. The rest of divisional units arrived piece meal and took up positions East of Nackel.
On 25 January, the Russians broke in the Hochenberg area, completely scattering the 15th Reconnaissance battalion.
On 26 January, the commander of the 15th Division, von Obwurzer, was reported to be missing in action. The units of the 15th Division managed to break out of the encirclement, but at cost of heavy losses. Only the 4th Regiment, after bitter fighting, on 26 January managed to frustrate Russian efforts to envelop the Division’s left flank.
During the night of 26/27 January this regiment retreated to a new position, and later, to a neck of land between the Weilensee lakes.
On 27 January, our dispersed units could not resist the enemy. Enveloping the open left flank of the Division, the Russians cut the Immenheim – Wandsburg road, i.e., the Division’s route of retreat. Since Russian tanks had also been spotted between Wandsburg and Konitz, the Division retreated West, towards Flatow.
On the morning of 28 January the remnants of the Division took up a new defensive position on both sides of the Wandsburg – Wilkenswald highway. With this, – ended the so-called “Nackel battle” which caused heavy losses to the Latvian soldiers. Yet, although lacking proper clothing and weapons, in great cold and snowstorms, our young men tenaciously fought against an enemy much stronger in numbers and equipment.
Already on 29 January, Russian forces, supported by tanks, attacked the Wilkenswald position and forced the units of the 15th Division to retreat to Kujan creek during the day; in the afternoon, Russian tanks once more pushed back the dispersed and exhausted units. Moving cross-country, our troops reached Flatow on the morning of 30 January; there, they took up positions about 2 km east of the town.
During the night of 30/31 January the remnants of the 15th Division retreated to Jastrow. There, it was found out, that Russian mechanized forces had already encircled the Division, and that the ring was constantly growing tighter. The Division had lost its antitank guns during the previous battles; our motorized transport capacities, already reduced, were overtaxed with more than 500 wounded. The 15th Division’s battle strength had been sharply reduced.
The 5th Regiment, together with the remnants of the 3rd Regiment, were ordered to proceed to Flederborn. Approaching it, the 5th Regiment on the evening of 31 January 1945 ran into Russian forces. Attacking the Russians from the rear, the regiment defeated them, capturing 3 antitank guns and 150 Polish prisoners from the Sikorsky and Koscziuszko divisions. The Russians, however, were still blocking the Division’s route of retreat by holding it under artillery fire from the Jastrow heights. The 15th Reconnaissance battalion was ordered to attack these heights. The battalion, at the cost of heavy losses, carried out its task, capturing quantities of weapons. As the enemy ring was progressively growing tighter, the divisional commander ordered the units to retreat to Flederborn and from there to Landeck (except the 4th Regiment, which was to remain in Jastrow as rear guard).
Reaching the village of Flederborn during the late afternoon of 2 February, our columns bunched up on the road 3-4 rows deep, since [up ahead] the Russians had cut the road to Landeck.
In the evening, the 4th Regiment also retreated from Jastrow. The Russians, having approached from Flederborn, opened concentrated fire from all arms from a distance of 1 km, from both sides of the road, on our bunched-up troops. Immediately they scattered; each sought to escape on his own, running towards Landeck. The losses were extreme. A few kilometers before Wallachsee the mixed-up units of the Division again bunched up on the road, several rows deep, under enemy artillery fire. The battle for the possession of the road lasted 11 hours.
Finally, at noon of 3 February the road was cleared and the march could proceed. However, 1.5 km South of Landeck the Russians once more blocked the road. The divisional column bunched up within a space of 1.5 km, which was under direct enemy artillery fire. Throwing our still remaining soldiers into battle, the 15th Division finally broke through the encirclement.
These were the 15th Division’s bloodiest days during the entire Pomeranian campaign. The remnants of the Division were already on 4 February ordered to take up positions on the northern shore of Dobrinka, between Landeck and Pruetzenwald. Here, the 3rd Regiment was dissolved; its remaining personnel was assigned to the 4th Regiment. With the help of replacements sent by the Latvian Field Replacement Depot, the 4th and 5th Regiments were brought back up to the strength of 2 battalions each. The remnants of the 15th Artillery Regiment formed 2 batteries.
On 10 February, the Division moved to the Kamin area, where it received one more artillery battery. Already on 11 February a Russian attack forced the 5th Regiment to retreat north, and the 4th Regiment to bend back both flanks towards Kamin, where on 13 February the Russians encircled it. But the 4th Regiment broke out, and, as ordered, reached the rendezvous point at Klausfeldt; there the 15th Division stood in reserve until 18 February.
On 15 February, Burk was appointed as divisional commander. On 18 February, he ordered the 15th Division to proceed back to Landeck and to man the same Dobrinka positions which had been left on 10 February. As on 24 February the Russians attacked to the left of the 15th Division and penetrated further and further towards the Northwest, the Division during the night of 24/25 February was ordered to retreat to new positions. Unable to effect contact with the French “Charlemagne” division fighting on its left, the 15th Division left this position – during the night of 25/26 February, because the Russians — utilizing the wide gap between the [“Charlemagne” and 15th] Divisions — started to encircle the left flank of the 15th Division; on the morning of 26 February enemy tanks had already reached Kuedde, site of the divisional headquarters. Having beaten off all Russian frontal attacks, the Division in the evening of 26 February retreated to Kuedde, which already on 27 February was taken by the Red Army.
On 27 February, our forces (still small in numbers, since stragglers were yet arriving) gathered in Wurchow.
On 28 February, the Division was ordered to man the position Bahnhof Elfenbusch – Kussow; this it held until 3 March 1945. On that day the Russians began a general offensive on the Pomeranian front; its objective was to destroy the German forces East of Stettin. This offensive split the Division into three parts’.
The headquarters service unit, together with the divisional supply units and the. 15th Liaison Battalion, were surrounded in Kolberg. The rest of the service units,- together with wagons transporting regimental equipment, managed to break through the encirclement near Swinemuende, and to reach the Neu – Brandenburg area on 6/7 March. The Russians, aided by large artillery and tank concentrations, started their assault on the 15th Division on 3 March. Although the defenders fought doggedly, they were forced back step by step. Having fought desperately in a number of positions taken up one after another, the 15th Division on 4 March stood on the line Damen – Zadtkow. On that day the leadership told the unit commanders, that the Russians had broken through the Pomeranian front, and that enemy tanks had reached the seacoast in two locations — near Kolberg and Kamin (east of Swinemuende). Thereby, the German III Corps (the so-called Tetow corps), which besides the 15th Division also included 3 German divisions and the French “Charlemagne” division, had been surrounded. The corps had planned for each division to retreat separately, unite East of Stettin, and then break out together. The 15th Division on 5 March began to retreat along the Lutzig – Witzmitz road. The “Charlemagne” Division retreated to the North of the 15th Division, and the 3 German ones — to the South. The retreat was very slow, since infantry, motorized columns, and horse-drawn vehicles moved in a single column. The march proceeded by little side roads, where cars often sank into mud (dad said that he received his medal for action in settling horses pulling artillery pieces crossing muddy river ) and delayed progress; in that case, they were simply pushed into a ditch and abandoned. Long columns of refugees, proceeding by the same route, caused huge traffic jams. Fortunately, the Red Army did not disturb the movement of the 15th Division, with the exception of some aerial attacks.
On the evening of 6 March, the Division reached the vicinity of Witzmitz, where, by order of the Corps command, it destroyed all of its heavy weapons, cars, wagons, etc., so as not to hamper the breaking out of small units. However, the 4th Regiment, which formed the rear guard and was not in contact with Divisional headquarters, did not receive this order. On the evening of 7 March, the Division retreated Northwest along the Broitz – Zadtkow road; on 9 March it retreated further to the seacoast at Fischerkaten – Horst. Having reached the seacoast, the Division now was the corps formation which stood furthest to the East; therefore, it was ordered to secure the retreat for the rest – of the Corps’ units along the coast. To fulfill this task, the 4th Regiment took up defensive positions near Zedlin, and the 5th Regement– positions a few kilometers East of Horst.
On 10 March, both regiments after bitter fighting repulsed several Russian attacks, which were carried out with support of tanks. The Division’s situation was desperate. The soldiers, having fought uninterruptedly for weeks, suffering great hunger, were close to collapse. During the last weeks they had been obliged to live off the country. But, since thousands of soldiers and refugees had crossed this area before them, there was nothing left to eat.
On the evening of 10 March, the 15th Division was also permitted to retreat West along the coast, in order to slip through the encirclement by passing through a neck of land between a lake and the seacoast. The Red Army attempted to bar the route of retreat, and had to be repeatedly beaten off. The fighting at Hof on 10 and 11 March 1945 was particularly bitter; there, the 15th Artillery Regiment excelled with its heroism.
On 12 March, the 15th Division (minus the 4th Regiment) crossed the bridge across the narrows at Diewenow.
The 4th Regiment, which served as the rear guard for the entire Corps, crossed over only during the night of 13 March. With this, ended the battles in Pomerania. Here, Col. V. janums in particular had showed great coolness of judgment and able leadership; for this, he was awarded the German Cross in gold. .
The Latvian forces( which dad was part of) surrounded in Kolberg were transported to Swinemuende by the German Navy, on 17 March. However, those units of the Division which remained in the West Prussian training area , had to retreat to Danzig and Gotenhaven, where eventually they were taken prisoner by the Russians. Only 176 soldiers managed to escape to Bornholm. After a brief internment, the Swedish government turned them over to Russia.
Having escaped encirclement, the 15th Division now stood some 15 km West of Swinemuende. It was ordered to turn over its weapons to German battle units. This created much dissatisfaction, since the Latvian soldiers had not discarded their weapons, but had carried them out on their backs. During this time our troops were literally starving. The Division received its first food, and even that in inadequate quantities,
On 16 March. On 20/21 March, the Division was transferred to the Neu-Brandenburg area, where the soldiers rested somewhat. Since our troops had no weapons, the higher German commands wanted to break the Division up and assign our soldiers to German units, piecemeal. With the intervention of Gen. Bangerskis, this fate was avoided.
On 27 March, arrivals of troops from the Latvian Field Replacement Depot allowed the 3rd Regiment to be reconstituted. On 30 March the Division was transferred to the Fuerstenberg – Lichen area (20-25 km from Neu-Strelitz). The unarmed soldiers were alarmed, since on 11 April began the Russian offensive against the Oder position; at the same time, the German plan to transport the 15th Division back to Kurzeme [Latvia] became known. The Latvian commanders-decided, that in the latter case they would not obey the order; rather, under the leadership of Col. Janums, the Division would proceed West and surrender to the Anglo-Americans. The Inspector General interceded again and managed to secure the [German] command’s promise to leave the 15th Division in Germany, and, in case of capitulation, to do everything possible to prevent the Latvian soldiers’ being captured by the Russians. ,
Suddenly, on 19 April, the Division was ordered to set up one battle regiment consisting of 3 battalions. It was to consist of the 15th Reconnaissance Battalion and a battalion each from the 3rd and 4th Regiments. Col. Janums was named commander of this regiment. Only shortly before its departure did it become known, that the regiment was to proceed to Herzfeld, 15 km East of Berlin, to participate in the defence of that city. The 15th Reconnaissance Battalion, which left separately, by motor transport, got lost on the way; no concrete information about its subsequent fate has been found.
On 20 April, the rest of the regiment arrived in Herzfeld. Realizing, that remaining in Berlin would mean the end of the regiment, Col. Janums decided to proceed West. He ordered the battalion commanders to avoid unnecessary engagements; in case of Russian attack, the troops were to retreat, bypassing Berlin from the South. The regiment reached its previously determined rendezvous point at, Blankenfeld during the night of 21/22 April.
On 22 April, the regiment, after a 65 km march, arrived in Fichtenwald. On 23 April, Russian tanks broke in Fichtenwald, cutting off the regimental headquarters from the body of the troops. In accordance with previous instructions, the units retreated to Freienthal, where on the evening of 23 April the regiment was united again. Moving from one forest to another, the regiment reached Lind-au on 26 April. There, it was found that American forces were in Gueterglueck, where the regiment then laid down its arms on 27 April 1945.
On 28 April, when Russian tank columns were already closing in on Neu-Strelitz, the 15th Division was ordered to proceed to Malchiner See, which it reached in the afternoon of 29 April. Fearful of being surrounded, the units of the 15th Division began to retreat westwards, towards Schwinz, on their own. , Here for the last time the 15th Division was ordered to take up defensive positions on the line GoldbergNienhagen. However, since the commander of the 15th Division knew of the Latvian decision to surrender to the Anglo-Americans,, he permitted the order to be disregarded.
On 2 May 1945, almost all divisional units had gathered in Schweriner Forst, when it became known that American forces were approaching Schwerin. Having established contact with the Americans, the soldiers of the 15th Division at 6 P.M. that day laid down their arms and began the road to the prisoner-of-war camp.
On 2 May 1945, British forces took Luebeck, site of headquarters of the Inspector General of the Latvian Legion. When the 15th Division was transferred to [the prisoner-of-war area] in the hilly seashore forests near Putlos, the soldiers began to construct huts and entire villages from planks, branches, reeds, etc., the vicinity of which was decorated with seashells, stones, and so forth.
In September 1945, the soldiers of the 15th Division were transferred from Putlos to a prisoner-of-war camp in Zedelghem, Belgium; here, they were also joined by Col. Janums’ group. 11,160 Latvians were interned in this camp; most of them came from the Riga, Valmiera, Valka, and Liepaja districts of Latvia; the smallest number was from Ilukste district. Since the supplementary mobilization for the 15th Division had taken place in July and August of 1944, at which time the Russians had already occupied Zemgale and Latgale provinces, then a smaller number of soldiers of the 15th Division stemmed from these two provinces. They could do nothing to save their relatives from abroad. This explains the circumstance why 218 of the soldiers in Zedelghem were repatriated to Soviet-occupied Latvia; the insufficient food handed out to the prisoners was also a contributing factor. In order to improve the situation, Latvian Red Cross sections in Brussels and Luebeck sent gift parcels and medicines to the sick and invalided soldiers, who [after capitulation] had been transferred from the divisional reserve battalion in Denmark .
By order of the headquarters of the British Rhine Army, 8,500 of the Latvian soldiers interned in Camp Zedelghem were transferred to the British Zone of Germany (7-27 March 1946) and distributed among 8 military camps, while 156 ill soldiers were sent to German military hospitals. The remaining 3,000 soldiers were transferred from Belgium to Germany from 11-28 May 1946. The men were released from prisoner of-war camps and were given Displaced Persons status without individual screening. This was due to a cardinal decision of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Great Britain, to the effect, that “the soldiers of the Latvian Legion are not to be considered [Nazi] collaborators, except in cases where it can be proved that they had served voluntarily.” All in all, British organizations dealt with the question of Baltic prisoners-of-war with a correct understanding of their tragic fate. The freeing of Latvian soldiers from the American prisoner-of- war camps proved to be much more difficult; there, they were dispersed among the large (10,000-man) German camps, especially in Bavaria (Regensburg, Dachau, Babenhausen, Heilbronn, etc.). Latvian organizations had to first contact them, make up name lists, and then to try to have them assigned to separate Baltic units. The Americans first freed [the men serving in] units of the German Wehrmacht; however, they considered the soldiers of the Waffen SS as soldiers of the [Nazi.] Party voluntary forces; therefore, they were classified as war criminals. Later, the classification was made less stringent; however, it was added, that only the SS soldiers mobilized in 1944 would be freed; as for the rest, the NCO’s and all officers would remain for individual screening in ciVil internment.
Dads brother Peter was in the 19 Division surrounded in northern part of Latvia. Dad asked his cousin (peter who was a teacher) to find out what happened to him. His cousin reported that peter was part of the forest Brothers and was caught and executed.
Back to Jazeps Cudars
When dad was taken prisoner and sent to Putlos prison camp his mother contacts him so dad escaped and found his parents in Celle . Dad joined his parents in Celle
After some time dad applied for a job with the American Army as a prison guard guarding German prisoners and also as an informer for the US to try to find Nazi leaders hiding in the camp.
After dad joined the British army after the Zoning was changed and the US withdrew from the area. Dad was sent to Waldnirl Ordinance complex near Mönchengladbach where he meet mum.
Peter Cudars dads brother
Peter At Boideraja 1942
Joe In Camp
Camp Building
Joe and Waldi at Camp
Latvians on parade
| Time line 15 division Jazeps Cudars | |||||
| born 4/6/1927 | |||||
| Date | Dads age | ||||
| 18/11/1918 | Latvian independence | ||||
| 17/06/1940 | 13 | USSR occupation Russian occupation in school (dad 14 yrs) | |||
| 1/06/1941 | 14 | Germany invades Russia | |||
| 1/07/1941 | German occupation Dad joins police cadets under German occupation time | ||||
| 5/12/1941 | German offensive Moscow | ||||
| 30/05/1942 | 15 | thousand die bombing Cologne | |||
| 18/03/1943 | 16 | battle Leningrad / 15 division formed in Latvia | |||
| police cadets integrated into 15 division at Saldus Latvia ( sees Peter last time)(schutmannschaft) | |||||
| 6/06/1944 | 17 | D-Day landing | |||
| 1/07/1944 | USSR reoccupies Latvia | ||||
| 14/07/1944 | Oppa Oma ter leave farmto escape persecution | ||||
| Peter on leave from army but returns to unit(19 div) | |||||
| joe leaves returned Rēzekne police | |||||
| liepaja to goynia evacuated | |||||
| herd parents in Dresden but cant find | |||||
| 31/07/1944 | Red Army arrives outside Warsaw | ||||
| 1/10/1944 | Red Army captures Riga | ||||
| 20/08/1944 | 15 div to prussia (transferred to 15 div meets waldi & anton kasilis) | ||||
| 30/08/1945 | 18 | gotenhaven/danzig/ poland (GDYNIA) TRAINING WEST PRUSSIA AREA BETWEEN
Bietow and Behrendt |
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| 22/01/1945 | South via Konitz( treats to Rostoch. Dad heard Peter in hospital but OK. Last known contact) | ||||
| Immenheim by storm | |||||
| 24/01/1945 | , the 3rd Regiment, together with the 15th Sapper battalion, took the town of Nackel. | ||||
| 27/01/1945 | Weilensee lakes | ||||
| ended the so-called “Nackel battle” | |||||
| 28/01/1945 | Wandsburg – Wilkenswald highway | ||||
| 30/01/1945 | reached Flatow (near Crersk) | ||||
| 15th Division retreated to Jastrow | |||||
| 3rd Regiment, were ordered to proceed to Flederborn. | |||||
| Jastrow heights | |||||
| 15th Reconnaissance battalion was ordered to attack these heights | |||||
| 2/02/1945 | village of Flederborn | ||||
| 4th Regiment also retreated from Jastrow | |||||
| 3/02/1945 | few kilometres before Wallachsee( Pomeranian campaig | ||||
| 4/02/1945 | 18 | on 4 February ordered to take up positions on the northern shore of Dobrinka | |||
| , between Landeck and Pruetzenwald | |||||
| 10/02/1945 | 18 | 10 February, the Division moved to the Kamin area | |||
| rendezvous point at Klausfeldt | |||||
| 14/02/1945 | bombing Dresden | ||||
| 18/02/1945 | , he ordered the 15th Division to proceed back to Landeck and to man the same Dobrinka positions | ||||
| 26 February retreated to Kl[eine] Kuedde, | |||||
| 27/02/1945 | gathered in Wurchow (Wierzchowo) | ||||
| 28/02/1945 | the Division was ordered to man the position Bahnhof Elfenbusch – Kussow; | ||||
| This offensive split the Division into three parts’. The headquarters service unit, | |||||
| together with the divisional supply units and the. 15th Liaison Battalion,
were surrounded in Kolberg. |
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| The rest of the service units,- together with wagons transporting regimental equipment, | |||||
| managed to break through the encirclement near Swinemuende,
and to reach the Neu – Brandenburg area on 6/7 March. |
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| 4/03/1945 | the 15th Division on 4 March stood on the line Damen – Zadtkow. | ||||
| 5/03/1945 | The 15th Division on 5 March began to retreat along the Lutzig – Witzmitz road | ||||
| .On the evening of 6 March, the Division reached the vicinity of Witzmitz, | |||||
| 7/03/1945 | On the evening of 7 March, the Division retreated Northwest along the Broitz – Zadtkow road | ||||
| 9/03/1945 | 9 March it retreated further to the seacoast at Fischerkaten – Horst | ||||
| the 4th Regiment took up defensive positions near Zedlin, and the 5th Regiment
— positions a few kilometres East of Horst. |
|||||
| 12/03/1945 | On 12 March, the 15th Division (minus the 4th Regiment) crossed the bridge across the narrows
at Diewenow. |
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| 10/03/1945 | 4th Regiment, which served as the rear guard for the entire Corps, crossed over only during
the night of 13 March |
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| The Latvian forces surrounded in Kolberg were transported to Swinemuende by the German Navy,
on 17 March. |
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| Having escaped encirclement, the 15th Division now stood some 15 km West of Swinemuende. | |||||
| It was ordered to turn over its weapons to German battle units who had left these in retreat | |||||
| 16/03/1945 | 16 March. On 20/21 March, the Division was transferred to the Neu-Brandenburg area, | ||||
| 30/03/1945 | 30 March the Division was transferred to the Fuerstenberg – Lichen area (20-25 km from Neu-Strelitz). | ||||
| 20/04/1945 | 20 April, the rest of the regiment arrived in Herzfeld. | ||||
| 20/04/1945 | HERZFELD ORDER TO FIGHT but refused and under agreement with German commander
allowed to move towards US forces to surrender |
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| 22/04/1945 | 22 April, the regiment, after a 65 km march, arrived in Fichtenwald | ||||
| Moving from one forest to another, the regiment reached Lind-au on 26 April. | |||||
| . There, it was found that American forces were in Gueterglueck, where the regiment then
laid down its arms on 27 April 1945. |
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| the 15th Division was ordered to proceed to Malchiner See | |||||
| 26/04/2015 | LIND-AU | ||||
| 30/04/1945 | Hitler suicides | ||||
| 2/05/1945 | Berlin surrenders | ||||
| 2/05/1945 | On 2 May 1945, almost all divisional units had gathered in Schweriner Forst, when it became
known that American forces were approach |
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| Schwerin | |||||
| 2/05/1945 | 18 | 2 May 1945, British forces took Luebeck, site of headquarters of the Inspector General of the
Latvian Legion. |
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| When the 15th Division was transferred to [the prisoner-of-war area] in the hilly seashore
forests near Putlos |
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| 7/05/1945 | 18 | German official surrender | |||
| mother contacts dad | |||||
| dad escapes and joins parents in Celle 5 | |||||
| 9/05/1945 | 19 div surrender to Russia in coulland Latvia(believed Peter continued fighting soviets was
caught and executed) |
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| 1/09/1945 | In September 1945, the soldiers of the 15th Division were transferred from Putlos to a
prisoner-of-war camp in Zedelghem, Belgium; |
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| , Belgium; here, they were also joined by Col. Janums’ group. 11,160 Latvians were interned
in this camp; |
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| 27/03/1946 | 19 | Latvian soldiers interned in Camp Zedelghem were transferred to the British Zone of Germany
and distributed among 8 military camps, |
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| 28/05/1946 | remaining 3,000 soldiers were transferred from Belgium to Germany from 11-28 May 1946. | ||||
| 18/10/1946 | us army discharge dp camp mannheim | ||||
| answers add joins English army intelligence group 10 | |||||
| 27/06/1946 | 22 | enrolled British army (no189906 rank D.G. British Army Ordinance Regiment 10
enrolled 27/6/1946 discharged24/8/1949) |
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| 15/02/1947 | SOLTAU BRITISH ZONE ID CARD | ||||
| 1948 transferred m/gladbach camp waldnirl | |||||
| working in security on large wharehouse complex and airport holding area | |||||
| meets Wilma Rutten | |||||
| 24/09/1948 | 23 | British unit waldniel rasc | |||
| 24/08/1949 | immigration camp/British army ordinance terement 10 | ||||
| 26/05/1950 | married mum | ||||
| 31/07/1950 | 25 | 0.c 2nd inf div ord viersen | |||
| 1/08/1950 | DC53 CIVIL MIXED DEPOT M/GLADBACH | ||||
| 26/08/1950 | immigration to Australia | ||||
| 20/10/1950 | 29 | green marrage book | |||
| 11/07/1952 | purchase forest rd | ||||
| 1/01/1956 | 56 | end of national partisan fight | |||
| 8/04/1956 | army camp 6th nsw mounted rifles | ||||
| 28/03/1957 | cirt naturalization | ||||
| 6/09/1983 | 64 | Oppas death cirt/ father peter cudars,mother helen meksq | |||
| 29/03/1989 | USSR passport dads Latvian trip | ||||
| 21/08/1991 | 83 | Latvia regains independence | |||
| 30/05/2006 |
Mum passes away Wilhelmia (Rutten) Cudars 78 years |
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| 24/12/2010 | Dad passed away Jazeps Cudars aged 83 years | ||||
