Christmas Battles The Christmas Battles ( Latvian : " Ziemassvētku kaujas " ; German : " Aa - Schlachten " ; Russian : " Митавская операция " ) were offensive operations of the Russian army during World War I in the area of Jelgava , Latvia , by the 12th Army of the Northern Front . They took place from December 23 ( January 5 ) until December 29 ( January 11 ) 1916 ( 1917 ) . The Army was commanded by Gen . Radko Dimitriev ; it was opposed by the 8th German Army . The battles took place in a swampy region , " Tīreļpurvs " ( Tīrelis swamp ) , between Lake Babīte and Jelgava . The main assault force was the VI Siberian Rifle Corps which included two Latvian Rifleman brigades . Background . The German 8th army ' s advance was stopped near Riga in October 1915 . Almost immediately German forces started to fortify their positions . A huge , 30 km . long wall ( the so - called : " German Wall " ) built out of sand and wood was constructed across Tīreļpurvs , separating both armies for more than a year . The Russian 12th army was divided into three groups before it attacked . The main task force was Babīte group which consisted of 48 battalion s and 208 cannon . On the opposite side were 19 German battalions from the 6th Landwehr - Brigade . The core of the Babīte group was the VI Siberian corps . which included both Latvian Rifleman brigades . Battle . After the failure of the 1916 campaigns on the Romania n territory the Russian commanders of the 12th Army received an order to attack on the Riga front . It was planned to attract the German reserve troops , thus helping their allies to resist on the Verdun battlefield . In mid - December 1916 , frost started , making it possible to navigate through the frozen bog and to force the German fortifications . It was quickly decided to launch an attack at Christmas . The main objective was to take Jelgava ( Mitau ) . The attack began early in the morning of the 23 December ( 5 January ) and surpised the Germans , who thought that Russian troops would be celebrating Christmas . Latvian Riflemen were the advance guard of the Russian army , and their main task was to take the first German lines and clear the way for the main forces . Riflemen used their white winter outfits and cover of the heavy snowstorm to cut passages through the German barbed wire barriers . After that , the main forces of the two Latvian rifleman brigades rushed forward and in the surprise attack , without any artillery support , crossed the " German wall " and after brief fighting took the first German battle line . The battle continued the next two days with varying success as all Latvian units were involved in heavy fighting and German forces received their first reinforcements from Jelgava . After a bloody fight the German second defensive line at " Mangali " homestead was broken . However , further attacks stopped as the Russian commander - in - chief had no reinforcements and 17th Siberian regiment refused to go to battle . This decision was supported by several other units from the II and VI Siberian Army Corps . The Germans , however , received strong reinforcements from Jelgava and soon started to counter - attack Russian and Latvian positions . Despite low temperatures ( - 35 °C ) , Latvian riflemen managed to hold back German attacks for 48 hours . On 25 December ( 7 January ) Russian troops launched an attack on heavily fortified sand dunes on the northern side of the " Tirelpurvs " . A central part of those fortifications was a fortified hill , which later got the name " Ložmetejkalns " ( Machine - gun hill ) . On Christmas morning 3rd . and 7th . the Latvian rifleman regiment , together with the 53rd Siberian regiment , suffering heavy losses , was able to partly surround German forces . The 2nd Latvian Rifleman brigade attacked from the back and thus finally broke the German resistance at Machine - gun hill . Many German soldiers managed to retreat but about 1000 were taken prisoners . It was the biggest Russian victory at the Riga front and the German army lost one of its strongest fortifications . Overall , a more than 7 km . wide gap was made in the German lines . However , the command of the 12th Russian Army did not organize a follow - up attack , perhaps because it was not ready for the Latvian riflemen ' s success . January battles - German counterattack . After their partial defeat in the Christmas battles , the German 8th Army organized a counterattack to conquer back their lost positions . The Germans received strong reinforcements and many fresh division s were stationed in Jelgava . In the early morning of 23 January a massive artillery barrage started , which was soon followed by an infantry attack along the whole battle line . The main German forces consisted of the 1st . Reserve division ( 1 . Reserve - Division ) and 2nd Infantry Division ( 2 . Infanterie - Division ) . They attacked across Tirelis swamp against the Latvian and Russian positions . Latvian rifleman and Siberians desperately defended their positions for three days . The Russians tried to launch three counterattacks , but all of them failed . In one of those counterattacks Latvian riflemen were forced to attack across an open field against German machine guns and thus suffered heavy losses ( especially the 3rd Kurzeme regiment ) . The temperature dropped to - 38 °C making it impossible for either side to continue active warfare . The Germans managed to conquer back 4 / 5 of their lost positions , although ' Machine - gun hill ' stayed in Russian hands . Aftermath . The Christmas battles won the Latvian riflemen a reputation as capable warriors , but also huge losses as the Latvian Riflemen suffered casualties of more than a third ( Latvian riflemens lost about 9000 soldiers ) . Christmas Eve ' s battle slogan of liberation of Jelgava and all of Courland was proved to be just a slogan without serious coverage . The heavy casualties resulted in a strong resentment against the Russian generals and the Tsar among the riflemen . This resentment led to an increased support for the Bolsheviks , who were advocating an end to the war . However 12th Army Command severely punished Siberian Riflemen , who refused to go to battle - 92 of them were transferred to the war tribunal and condemned to death , and several hundred were sent to Siberia . Today Tirelis swamp and the nearby forests are part of the " Museum of the Christmas Battles " which in its turn is branch of " Latvian museum of War " . The museum was created to honour Latvian riflemen and all other soldiers who fought in the Riga front during the First World War . Many of the old trenches are still visible today , and there are also many reconstructed fortifications and bunker s .