Date of birth:

January 7th, 1894 (Code parish/Latvia, Russian Empire)

Date of death:

August 6th, 1981 (Münster/Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Buried on:

Brothers' Cemetery Riga

Service number:

SS-Nr.: // NSDAP-Nr.:

Nationality:

Latvian (1941-1945, Reichskommissariat Osland)

Promotions:
Januari 1916: Lieutenant;
January 1st, 1920: 1st Lieutenant;
January 21st, 1921: Captain;
November 18th, 1930: Lieutenant Colonel;
November 11th, 1939: Colonel.


Career:
October 28th, 1914: 2nd Artillery Reserve Brigade,Russian Army;
? - January 1916: Oranienbaum Officers Rifle School;
januari 1916: 198th Reserve Infanterie-Regiment;
April 3rd, 1916: Latvian Rifle Battalion;
February 1917: 4th Vidzeme Latvian Rifle Regiment;
February 18th, 1918: Released from military service;
March 1919: 4th Latvian Rifle Regiment, Soviet Army;
May 1919: Deserted;
June 1st, 1919: 2. Cesis Battalion, Provisional Latvian Government;
August 30th, 1919: 2. Ventspils Infantry Regiment;
September 1919: Machine-gun Company Commander, 2. Ventspils Infantry Regiment;
August 9th, 1928 - July 19th, 1930: Czechoslovakian General Staff Academy;
July 1930: Head Statistical Section, Operations Department, General Staff;
February 1934: Instructor Senior Military Course, War Academy;
February 1937 - August 1938: Commanding Officer II. Batallion, 6. Riga Infantry Regiment;
September 1939: Chief of Staff, Kurzeme Division;
October 21st, 1940: Released from military service;
March 1941: Emigrated to Germany;
July 1941: Returend to Latvia;
January 24th, 1943 - June 26th, 1943: Chef des Stabes, 1. Division der Lettische SS Legion;
April 7th, 1943 - October 22nd, 1943: Kommandeur SS Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 2, Lettische SS Legion;
October 22nd, 1943 - December 12th, 1943: Kommandeur SS Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 32;
December 12th, 1943 - January 22nd, 1944: Kommandeur SS Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 33;
January 22nd, 1944 - May 16th, 1944: Kommandeur SS Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 33 (Lettische Nr. 2);
May 16th, 1944 - June 1944: Kommandeur SS Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 33 (Lettische Nr. 4);
June 1944 - July 1944: Kommandeur Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment 33 (Lettische Nr. 4);
July 1944 - July 17th, 1944: Kommandeur Kampfgruppe Janums;
July 1944 - August 1944: Ia, 15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Lettische Nr. 1);
August 1944 - April 19th, 1945: Kommandeur Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment 33 (Lettische Nr. 4);
April 19th, 1945 - April 27th, 1945: Kommandeur SS Kampfgruppe Janums.

Besides his WW2 related decorations Vilis Janums received the Russian Cross of St. George 4th Class (Nr 986336, November 19th, 1917), the Russian St. Stanislavs Order 3rd Class with Swords (November 23rd, 1917), the Latvian Three Star Order 5th Class (November 14th, 1928), the Czhechoslovak Badge of the General Staff (July 19th, 1930), the Latvian Three Star Order 4th Class (November 15th, 1935), the Latvian Atbrivosanas Kara Pieminas Zime and the Latvian Republikas Atbrivosanas Cinu 10 Gadu Jubilejas Pieminas Medala.

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• Photo 1: Dobri Dobrev
• - PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
  - Axis History
  

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