Order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
September 19, 1944
[No. 189]

ORDER

OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

To Army General Bagramyan

The troops of the 1st Baltic Front, going over to the offensive, supported by massed strikes of artillery and aviation, broke through the strong, deeply echeloned enemy defences south-east of the city of Riga and in four days of offensive fighting advanced up to 40 kilometres, widening the breakthrough to 120 kilometres along the front.

In the course of the offensive, the troops of the Front captured the important German strongpoints — Bauska, Iecava, Vecmuizha, and on the Western Dvina River — Jaunjelgava and Tekava — and also took more than 2,000 other populated places in the fighting.

In the battles during the breakthrough of the enemy defences, distinction was won by the troops of Lieutenant-General Beloborodov, Lieutenant-General Malyshev, Lieutenant-General Vasilyev, Major-General Prokofyev, Major-General Ibyansky, Major-General Samarsky, Major-General Soldatov, Major-General Chernikov, Major-General Gorodinsky, Major-General Dibrova, Major-General Kudryavtsev, Major-General Shkurin, Major-General Lutskevich, Colonel Birstein, Colonel Goncharov, Colonel Sinitsyn, Major-General Gryzlov, Colonel Verbov, Major-General Kucheryavenko, Colonel Krasnovsky, Colonel Druzhinin, Colonel Vasilyev, Major-General Vlasov, Major-General Svetlyakov, Colonel Savchenko, Major-General Belov, Colonel Pashchenko, Colonel Vladmirov, Major-General Potapenko, Major-General Khvostov; artillerymen of Colonel-General of Artillery Khlebnikov, Major-General of Artillery Shcheglov, Lieutenant-General of Artillery Bazhanov, Colonel Akhnazaryan, Colonel Melnichuk, Colonel Danilin, Major-General of Artillery Starostin, Colonel Sobolev, Major-General of Artillery Bogdan, Colonel Prokopov, Lieutenant-Colonel Krasilnikov, Colonel Mironov, Colonel Chapayev, Lieutenant-Colonel Pavlikov, Colonel Tchaikovsky, Colonel Kuzmin, Colonel Ponomarev, Colonel Mikhalev, Colonel Lebedev, Colonel Osokin; tankmen of Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Skornyakov, Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Obukhov, Colonel Menshov, Colonel Filippov, Colonel Podkovsky, Colonel Sadovsky, Major-General Manzhurin, Major-General of Tank Troops Kremer, Colonel Starodubtsev, Major-General of Tank Troops Aslanov, Colonel Kalinin; airmen of Colonel-General of Aviation Papivin, Lieutenant-General of Aviation Beletsky, Lieutenant-General of Aviation Ushakov, Major-General of Aviation Ivanov, Colonel Skok, Colonel Kurbatov, Colonel Kuchma, Colonel Chumachenko, Colonel Alexandrov, Colonel Plakhov, Major Martyanov; sappers of Lieutenant-General of Engineer Troops Kosarev, Major-General of Engineer Troops Kolmakov, Major-General of Engineer Troops Razvozov, Colonel Korotkov, Colonel Stechishin; signallers of Major-General of Signal Troops Babkin, Colonel Zakharov, Colonel Zaichik, Lieutenant-Colonel Yurin, Lieutenant-Colonel Tsilbov.

To commemorate the victory achieved, the units and formations which particularly distinguished themselves in the battles during the breakthrough of the enemy defences south-east of the city of Riga shall be recommended for the award of orders.

Today, September 19, at 23:00 hours, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, in the name of the Motherland salutes the valiant troops of the 1st Baltic Front who broke through the German defences, with twenty artillery salvoes from two hundred and twenty-four guns.

For excellent combat operations I express my thanks to the troops under your command who took part in the battles during the breakthrough of the enemy defences.

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland!

Death to the German invaders!

Supreme Commander-in-Chief

Marshal of the Soviet Union I. STALIN

September 19, 1944 [No. 189]