3. NAME
• CĒSU KAUJAS LAUKA IZPĒTES KOPA
(CĒSIS-KLIK)
VÕNNU LAHINGUVÄLJA UURIMISE MEESKOND
(VÕNNU-LUM)
• DIE SCHLACHTFELDS VON WENDEN VORSHUNGS
MANNSCHAFT
• CESIS BATTLEFIELD'S REASEARCH TEAM
(CESIS-BRT) (Cesis-Be Right There)
3
5. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• BASIC PRINCIPLES
– Informal
– Voluntary
– Private
– Non-academic
– Open minded
– Apolitical
– Open-ended
– Self-financing
– Non-profit (?)
5
6. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• WHY CESIS BATTLE?
– POLITICAL IMPACT;
– THE BATTLE
FIRST OF MODERN
COMBINED ARMS IN MOBILE WARFARE.
6
7. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• AND:
– WE ARE LOCALS
– WE HAVE TO KNOW OWN HISTORY
– WE HAVE TO TEACH OUR NEW GENERATION
– WE HAVE TO ATTRACT TOURISTS TO OUR
REGION
7
8. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
WHY BATTLEFIELD?
• WE HAVE
– MONUMENTS
– CEREMONIES
– PARADES
– ROUTINE PUBLICATIONS
– SCRAMBLED RESEARCH
– LOTS OF CENSORED OR HIDDEN STORIES;
– CONTROVERSIAL DETAILS
8
9. We have the real history out there, not in libraries...
For Governmental use only ?
For Average Joe ! 9
13. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• WE DO NOT HAVE:
– BATTLEFIELD’S MAPS
– BATTLEFIELDS LANDMARKS
– BATTLEFIELD’S TOUR GUIDES
– MILITARY RESEARCH OF THE BATTLE
13
14. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• ORGANIZATION OF THE TEAM
– A STAFF
– B TASK TEAM
– C TECHNICAL SUPPORT TEAM
– D IT SUPPORT
– E PATRONS
– F PARTNERS
– H LOCAL ENTERPRISES (ACCOMODATION)
– M METAL DETECTIORS TEAM
– SR SCHOLS
14
15. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• MEMBERSHIP
• MEMBERS:
– EX-MILITARY
– MILITARY
– STUDENTS
– POLICEMEN
– EX-PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES
– HISTORY TEACHERS
– HISTORIANS,
– LOCAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES
– SPECIALISTS
– ENTHUSIASTS
15
16. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• MILITARY RESEARCH 4W (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE)
– LEADERS
– MILITARY DECISION MAKING PROCESS
– UNIT ORGANIZATION
– TASK ORGANIZATION
– WEAPONS
– UNIFORMS
– TACTICS
• TOPOGRAPHY
– M 1:50 000 (WGS_84)
– M 1;100 000 (ADMIN)
16
17. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• HISTORICAL RESEARCH
– BOOKS
– OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS
– MEDIA PUBLICATIONS
– OPEN SOURCES ON-LINE
– LIVE MEMORIES
17
18. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• PRODUCTS:
- THE FIRST IMPRESSION REPORTS ON-LINE in
FACEBOOK;
– BATTLEFIELD’S LANDMARKS’ MAP;
– BATTLE’S SITUATIONS’ OVERLAYS
– CATALOGUE OF
• LEADERS
• COMMANDERS
• WEAPONS
• UNIFORMS
– UNIT ORGANIZATION CHARTS;
– FORCES TASK ORGANIZATION’S CHARTS,
– BATTLEFIELD’S TOUR MAP
18
21. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• INCORPORATED IN:
– TOURISM INFORMATION
– MILITARY HISTORY TOURS;
– HISTORY LESSONS AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
– MILITARY HISTORY LESSONS IN MILITARY UNITS,
– MILITARY HISTORY SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS,
– WAR GAMING;
– LOCAL TOURIST BUSINESSES;
21
22. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• ACTIVITIES
– ESTABLISHING CONTACTS WITH HISTORIANS
– BATTLE FIELDS TRIPS
– DIALOGUE WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
– TO INVOLVE IN ACTIVITIES SCHOOL TEACHERS
– TO INVOLVE IN FIELD ACTIVITIES
• YOUNG GUARDSMEN,
• NATIONAL GUARDS
• LOCALS
– COOPERATION WITH POLICE IN EOD CASES,
– PUBLICATION OF ARTICLES IN LOCAL NEWS PAPERS,
MEDIA;
– PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY-PATRIOTIC ACTIVITIES
22
33. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
• PROBLEMS
– LACK OF ACADEMIC EDUCATION,
– CHAOTIC MOVE TOWARDS ANSWERS,
– LOTS OF SOURCES,
– LOTS OF VIEWS AND OPINIONS,
– TIME CONSUMING
– SELF-FINANCING
33
34. CESIS BATTLEFIELD`S RESEARCH TEAM
(C-BRT)
THANK YOU!
Facebook : CESIS BATTLEFIELD
CESIS.BATTLEFIELD@GMAIL.COM
MOB +371-29823076
TEL +371-64177327 34
Editor's Notes
Logo is taken from the Freedom’s or Fallen Heroes monument in Cesis.. “ From The Sword Rises The Sun! To Our Fallen Heroes” Monument was introduced on 16th November, 1924. was named the Square of. when the monument in honour of the victims of the Battles for the freedom of Latvia was built, the square was renamed from Convention to the Square of Victory . In 1952, the central object of the square, the Victory Monument, was destroyed and replaced by a statue of V.I. Lenin. In 1990 the statue of Lenin was dismantled and in 1998 the Victory Monument returned to its former place, Vienības or Convention Square.
The Cēsis battle or Võnnu lahing changed history. It reshaped regional political map, etc. The Cēsis battle or Võnnu lahing changed history. It reshaped regional political map, etc. On 1921, 22 June was declared the day of The Latvian freedoms fighters. On 1934 K.Ulmanis deletet this day from the list of officially recognized dates. After the1991 it was restored as a locally recognized Day of The Heroes. Võidupüha or Victory Day is a public holiday in Estonia, which has been celebrated on 23 June every year since 1934. We, few of locals, decided to break the silence and start talking about history in our backyard.
The Team Basic principles Informal. Any formal organization sooner or later will have internal leadership, financial or further development issues. To establish association is very easy, to close it- painful. Voluntary . Every body is free to join and leave. Private. We are independent, non-governmental group of common interests. Non-academic . Most of our team supporters do not have academic degree. We are not pretending to write an academic book, but it is highly recommended to do it on own risk. Academic historians are welcomed to analyze or comment our research and discoveries. Open minded. Be as you are. We do not care about your religion, race or ethnicity. Apolitical . We are not tolerate any attempts to be involved in radical political disputes. Loyalty to country is the main criteria. Open-ended . We are not giving any end-state limits. Non-profit (?) The history books never bring a big profit, mostly they itself need donations to be printed… and distributed as presents. Our products will be shared with our supporters on barter cases- as a payment for information, etc. Donations are related with obligations. How ever, in same cases, like hosting a conference or bigger activities in field, donations are decisive and we are hoping on local government’s support.
Why Cesis battle? The battle’s outcome had extreme impact on the political developments in the Baltic’s region. It was the first battle of modern combined arms mobile warfare. At least in this part of the globe…
Officially we have restored monuments, quoting one of Estonian historian, the story of The Cesis Battle has been ritualized to keep alive and exploit one of Latvian myth’s. Monuments are for official ceremonies mostly. Officially it is o.k. but there is nothing done to mark battle in field- nobody knows what and where happened, and nobody cares
We have -monuments. In total 12 in Cesis battlefield ’s area. Part of them were restored or introduced after 1991. -ceremonies, often formal, few minute tribute. -parades- limited capacity, frequently forced by Estonian side… -routine publications- rewriting same stories in local media; -scrambled research – lots of informal discussions on-line, after the territorial Cesis battlefield now covers 7 or 8 counties, -lots of censored or hidden stories; the most damage to Cesis battle history was done during the period of the first republic, during the soviet time was not left very much to censor. Example- from some books were deleted words- (Estonian) „ Cēsis ieņemt bija uzdots (Estonian) bruņoto vilcienu desantiem, kuri virzījās abpus dzelzceļa stigas savu vilcienu apsardzībā, bet mūsu 9. rota gāja gar Gaujas krastu. 23. jūnijā ap plkst. 8,00 minētās (Estonian and Latvian?) vienības ienāca Cēsīs. Apmēram tanī pašā laikā Cēsīs ieradās arī (Estonian) 6. pulka I bataljons no Gaujas labā krasta .” -controversial details. Who was the real leader from Latvian side? Role of V. Ozols , Plan- Dubrovski?
What we are missing for now from Latvian side are any good graphics- we do not have battle maps, plans or schemes. Most of available graphics are from Estonian publications. As we discovered, all of them are not accurate, because of combat situation stress or recovered by memory after the war.
Organization of the team It is decentralized. Every member participates in process within limits of his interests, capabilities or resources. It is a data base.
Membership. To become a member of team only requirement is to support team’s efforts. No any other obligations.
We are not pretending to rewrite history, only to visualize it on maps and field, to point out forgotten names and details. The final product could be battlefield tour map or a hand book.
.
.
Our intend is to find all or most of visible battle positions in the field, mark it on the real time topo map, according the NATO map symbols, describe situation, combat organization of forces, introduce with commanders, uniforms and weapons.
Activities EOD – explosive ordnance disposal, One of our activities is cooperation with police in EOD cases, providing the initial survey in place. Listening to the stories, we noted few legends- like somewhere Germans hid ammunition, what we should check out. In total our “legend killer team” has killed three legends…
