The Latvian Riflemen was a volunteer division of the Imperial Russian Army which was active from 1915 to 1917 during World War I. The division was formed in response to the German advance into the Baltics in April 1915, and many of its fighters were former Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (LSDSP) guerrillas who had engaged in a nationalist guerrilla struggle against the Russian Empire. The Latvian Riflemen fought against the Germans on the Daugava river from 1915 to 1917, and, in 1916, the volunteer battalions were turned into conscripted regiments. From December 1916 to January 1917, the Latvians suffered heavy losses during the Christmas Battles, losing over 9,000 soldiers (a third of their number) in the failed attack. The heavy casualties caused a strong resentment of the Tsarist generals, increasing Latvian support for the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of 1917. In May 1917, large parts of the Latvian Riflemen formed the "Red Latvian Riflemen" in allegiance with the Red Army, suppressing monarchist rebellions in Moscow and Yaroslavl. The Red Latvian Riflemen also fought against the White Army during the Russian Civil War; most of them were redeployed away from Latvia due to a decline in Latvian support for the Bolsheviks amid the Latvian War of Independence. Following the end of the war in 1920, 11,395 former Red Riflemen returned to Latvia, followed by most of the others following the Soviet Union's 1940 annexation of Latvia.
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