Riga torchlight march recalls battle that shaped Latvia’s independence war

A torchlight procession in Riga on November 3 retraced the route of a battle that helped secure the newly founded Latvian state, LSM reported. Participants walked through the Bolderāja area from Bumbu Hill to the former Vīķu tavern, where heavy fighting took place 107 years ago.

Latvian forces broke through a strong Bermontian fortification near the tavern. Soldiers from the Daugavpils and Rēzekne infantry regiments received the Lāčplēsis Order for the fierce, day-long battles to cross the Spilve meadows.

National Guard members, young guards and other patriots joined the march. “We continue what they did: defending Latvia. The geopolitical situation has not changed,” chaplain Guntis Kalme said.

Arnis Flaumanis, a National Guard member with the 17th Combat Support Battalion, said he had come to remember and show respect for those who fought there. Battalion member Aleksandra Zariņa said she was a patriot and described Latvia as the country she defended and whose culture she understood.

During the Soviet era, a plaque commemorating the battle was hidden at the nearby Šmiti house. Event participant Jānis Jurševskis recalled that it was kept on the second floor, wrapped in cloth, and was quite large and heavy.