Editing Latvian National Armed Forces (section)

==History==
{{See also|Military history of Latvia during World War II}}

=== War of Independence, peacetime (1919–1940) ===
The Latvian armed forces were first formed soon after the new state was [[Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia|proclaimed]] in November 1918 after [[World War I]], with the official founding of the '''{{Interlanguage link|Latvian Armed Forces (1919–1940)|lt=Latvian Armed Forces|lv|Latvijas Bruņotie spēki}}''' ({{Langx|lv|Latvijas Bruņotie spēki}}) on July 10, 1919, when the {{Interlanguage link|North Latvian Brigade|lt=North Latvian|lv|Ziemeļlatvijas brigāde|WD=}} and {{Interlanguage link|South Latvian Brigade|lt=|lv|Dienvidlatvijas brigāde}}, which were loyal to the [[Latvian Provisional Government]], were merged. Seasoned general [[Dāvids Sīmansons]] was appointed as the first Commander-in-Chief. At the end of the [[Latvian War of Independence]], the Latvian Army consisted of 69,232 men. 
[[File:Ziemellatvijas brigade Riga 1919.jpg|left|thumb|The North Latvian Brigade in mid-1919]]
In terms of equipment, the Latvian military during its first independence period (1919–1940) was armed mostly with British weapons and gear. The average Latvian infantry soldier in the 1930s is believed to have carried 31,4 [[Kilogram|kg]] of equipment in the winter months, and around 29,1&nbsp;kg in the summer. The main service rifle was the British [[Pattern 1914 Enfield]], and the amount of standard issue ammunition for an infantry soldier was 45 rounds of [[.303 British|.303]] (7,7mm) caliber. In addition, troops had access to three different types of hand grenades (defense, attack and rifle grenades). The Latvian Army had acquired a wide variety of machine guns in different calibers, through various means: trophies acquired from hostile forces during the War of Independence, [[Allies of World War I|allied]] donations and subsequent official state purchases. Light machine guns included the French [[Chauchat]], Danish [[Madsen machine gun|Madsen]], and British [[Lewis gun]] (which became the main light machine gun of the Latvian Army). The main heavy machine gun was the British [[Vickers machine gun]] in the .303 (7,7mm) caliber, although the army also kept Russian [[PM M1910]] machine guns in reserve. In general, the Latvian Army lacked automatic weapons of all calibers, and the ones it did have were becoming increasingly outdated towards the start of [[World War II]] (most of the weapons in service were from World War I). In terms of heavy weapons, the Latvian military had acquired a rather large number of different artillery systems in different calibers, around 400 artillery pieces in total (although most of these were outdated and worn out due to heavy use and age). The main artillery gun for infantry support was the British [[Ordnance QF 18-pounder]] field gun and British [[QF 4.5-inch howitzer]], although there were also several types of French, German and Russian artillery guns in reserve. For anti-tank weapons, in 1938 the army received the Austrian 47&nbsp;mm [[Cannone da 47/32]] anti-tank cannons, which were reasonably effective against early World War II tanks. For infantry mortars, a number of [[81 mm mortar|81mm mortars]] were acquired from [[Finland]] some time around the late 1930s, but it is unclear how many were delivered and in service at the start of World War II. In terms of individual equipment, the standard helmet were surplus M1916/18 [[Stahlhelm]]s or [[Adrian helmet]]s.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Dambītis |first=Kārlis |date=2016 |title=Latvijas armijas artilērija 1919.-1940.g.: Vieta bruņotajos spēkos, struktūra un uzdevumi |trans-title=Artillery of the Latvian Army (1918–1940): structure, tasks and place in the Armed forces |url=https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/31857?locale-attribute=en |publisher=University of Latvia |type=PhD thesis |page=178, 230}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=MA |first=S. Kiersons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9szOAwAAQBAJ&dq=latvian++m16+helmet&pg=PA62 |title=Boys of the Dvina - Latvia's Army 1918-1940 |date=2012-06-23 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-300-01591-8 |pages=62, 63 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Soldiers of the Latvian National Armed Forces in Liepāja in November 1920.jpg|thumb|Latvian soldiers in [[Liepāja]] in November 1920]]
In terms of vehicles, the Latvian military was seriously lacking in motorized transport, and thus had to rely mostly on railroads and horse-drawn carriages for most of its logistics needs. The military leadership did make an effort to solve this problem at the end of the 1930s by purchasing a small number of cars, trucks, artillery tractors and motorbikes, but at the start of World War II, only a small portion of the Latvian military had access to motorized vehicles. In terms of armoured vehicles, the Latvian military had six [[Armoured train|armoured trains]], a [[Carden Loyd tankette]], seven [[Armored car (military)|armoured car]]s and 24 tanks of various designs and combat abilities. In terms of air power, at the start of World War II the [[Latvian Air Force]] had around 30 fighter planes and 24 [[Scout plane|scout planes]], of which only some were the relatively modern [[Gloster Gladiator]] fighters, 24 training and 6 seaplanes. Thus, the Latvian military during the interwar era was more or less comparable both in equipment and size to its other Baltic neighbours, such as [[Estonia]], [[Lithuania]] and Finland.<ref name="Andersons 2006 520">{{cite book| last = Andersons| first = Edgars |title = Armed Forces of Latvia and their historical background .| publisher = Daugavas Vanagi| location = [[Riga]]| pages = 520| year = 2006| isbn = 9984794555 }}</ref> The Armed Forces were also supported by the volunteer [[Aizsargi|Aizsargi Organization]].

=== World War II and the occupation of the Baltic states (1939–1991) ===
[[File:Garford-Putilov Kurzemnieks.jpg|left|thumb|Latvian Army [[Garford-Putilov Armoured Car|Garford-Putilov]] armored car "Kurzemnieks", 1920s]]
However, the most crucial problem and flaw for both the Latvian military and other militaries of the [[Baltic states]] on the eve of World War II had to do with the failure to organize effective military cooperation between all the Baltic states in case of a new war in the region. The Latvian command in the interwar period had given very little attention towards any possible coordination of forces with either the Estonian or Lithuanian armies against a possible enemy, and so the Latvian military planned its actions and doctrine in almost complete isolation, oblivious to whatever its neighbours to the north (Estonia) or south (Lithuania) did. This ultimately led to flawed and questionable choices in creating defense plans against both [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] (there were separate plans towards both of these possible aggressors), since the Latvian higher command was unsure as to how Latvia's neighbours would react in the event such a conflict started.
<ref name="Andersons 2006 520"/>
 
After the [[Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940|Soviet occupation of Latvia]] in June 1940, during which the armed forces did not intervene following orders, the annihilation of the Latvian Army began. The army was first renamed the '''People's Army of Latvia''' ([[Latvian language|Latvian]]: ''Latvijas Tautas armija'') and in September–November 1940 – the [[Red Army|Red Army's]] [[24th Territorial Rifle Corps]]. The corps comprised the [[181st Rifle Division|181st]] and [[183rd Rifle Division|183rd]] Rifle Divisions. In September the corps contained 24,416 men but in autumn more than 800 officers and about 10,000 instructors and soldiers were discharged. The arrests of soldiers continued in the following months. In June 1940, the entire Territorial Corps was sent to [[Litene]] camp. Before leaving the camp, Latvians drafted in 1939 were demobilised, and replaced by about 4,000 Russian soldiers from the area around Moscow. On June 10, the corps' senior officers were sent to Russia where they were arrested and most of them shot. On June 14 at least 430 officers were arrested and sent to [[Gulag]] camps. After the [[Operation Barbarossa|German attack]] against the Soviet Union, from June 29 to July 1 more than 1980 Latvian soldiers were demobilised, fearing that they might turn their weapons against the Russian commissars and officers. Simultaneously, many soldiers and officers deserted and when the corps crossed the Latvian border into the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], only about 3,000 Latvian soldiers remained.<ref>{{cite book| last = Bleiere| first = Daina |author2=Ilgvars Butulis |author3=Antonijs Zunda |author4=Aivars Stranga |author5=Inesis Feldmanis| title = History of Latvia : the 20th century.| publisher = Jumava| location = [[Riga]]| pages = 327| year = 2006| isbn = 9984-38-038-6| oclc = 70240317}}</ref> During and after World War II, many former veterans were a part of the fighters of the [[Guerrilla war in the Baltic states|anti-Soviet National Partisan resistance movement]] opposing the continued Soviet occupation.

=== After restoration of independence (1991–present) ===
[[File:Latvian Soldiers, San Gregorio, Spain, NATO Trident Juncture 15 (22523462580).jpg|thumb|250px|Latvian soldiers during the NATO exercise "Trident Juncture 2015"]]
The origin of the current Latvian armed forces can be traced to the establishment of the Latvian National Guard or [[Latvian National Guard|Zemessardze]] on August 23, 1991, which served as the first organized defence force after the restoration of the independence of Latvia. Unlike other Soviet republics, it is one of the military forces in the Baltic states that were not formed from the [[Baltic Military District]]. From the beginning, the reconstituted defense forces were modeled according to NATO standards with assistance from the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Sweden]] etc. 

A notable moment in the history of the armed forces is the accession to the [[NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] on 29 March 2004, after Latvia received a [[Membership action plan|Membership Action Plan]] in 1999 and, ultimately, an invite was extended to it and six other countries during the [[2002 Prague summit]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=NATO Update: Seven new members join NATO - 29 March 2004|url=https://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.nato.int}}</ref> Previously, Latvia co-founded the [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council|North Atlantic Cooperation Council]] in 1991 and joined the [[Partnership for Peace]] program in 1994.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Latvia and NATO {{!}} Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia|url=http://www.mod.gov.lv/en/node/306/latvia-and-nato|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.mod.gov.lv|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216104051/http://www.mod.gov.lv/en/node/306/latvia-and-nato|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

Since the 1990s, personnel of the NAF has been deployed to a number of peacekeeping, training and support missions – the NATO Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina ([[Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina|SFOR]]) from 1996 to 2004; the Kosovo Force (KFOR) from 2000 to 2009; the NATO training mission in Iraq ([[NATO Training Mission – Iraq|NTM-I]]) from 2005 to 2006, the NATO International Security Assistance Force ([[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]) from 2003 to 2015, the [[Resolute Support Mission]] from 2015 to 2021 and others.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-22|title=Latvia to maintain troop presence in Afghanistan and Iraq|url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/latvia-to-maintain-troop-presence-in-afghanistan-and-iraq.a306864/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=eng.lsm.lv|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Emblem of the Ministry of Defence of Latvia.jpg|thumb|147x147px|Cap badge of the field uniform]]
In 2007, Latvia abolished conscription, switching to a professional, volunteer-based service model.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ERR |first=LSM, ERR {{!}} |date=2022-07-06 |title=Latvia to establish new military base, reinstate conscription |url=https://news.err.ee/1608649141/latvia-to-establish-new-military-base-reinstate-conscription |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=ERR |language=en}}</ref> However, after the start of the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] in 2014, calls for reintroducing mandatory military service reappeared, with the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|full invasion]] of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 being a decisive boost to this momentum, despite initial skepticism from the top leadership in the NAF and the Ministry of Defence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-02 |title=Latvian army commander does not support mandatory service |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/latvian-army-commander-does-not-support-mandatory-service.a441638/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=eng.[[lsm.lv]] |language=en}}</ref> In July 2022, Defence Minister [[Artis Pabriks]] announced a plan for the re-introduction of military service – officially called the National Defense Service ({{Langx|lv|Valsts aizsardzības dienests}}, VAD) – first on a voluntary basis and then in compulsory form at a later date for physically and mentally capable males aged 18–27, starting from January 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-05 |title=Latvia plans new military base, return of compulsory national service |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/latvia-plans-new-military-base-return-of-compulsory-national-service.a464196/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=eng.lsm.lv |language=en}}</ref> The [[Government of Latvia]] supported the plan in September, with the next required step being the approval of the [[Saeima]]. The Cabinet also supported the proposed transitional period from 2023 to 2028, that the length of the service would be 10 months and that service can be postponed until 26 years of age. Alternative service options would involve serving in a National Guard unit on a part-time basis for 5 years; civil service or special military courses for students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government supports return of mandatory military service in Latvia |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/government-supports-return-of-mandatory-military-service-in-latvia.a472492/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=eng.lsm.lv |language=en}}</ref>