Second Battle of Ķekava

The Second Battle of Kekava occurred in July 1916 along the Eastern Front during World War I.

2nd Battle of Kekava
Part of the Eastern Front of World War I
Date 16–22 July 1916 Location Kekava, Latvia Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Radko Dimitriev	Oskar von Hutier
Units involved
Latvian Riflemen	35th Infantry rRserve Regiment

Background

Following the failure of the first battle of Kekava, Russia decided to attempt a second attack in July 1916 in support of the British attack at the Somme.

Participating units

The only units on the Russian side participating in the encounter where 5 Latvian rifle battalions. those were as follows: 1. Daugavgrivas, 2. Riga, 6. Tukuma, 7. Bauska and 8. Valmiera.

Battle

The battle was fought in the vicinity of Ķekava, in the area from the Smerdukli marsh to the left bank of the Daugava. The battle began with several hours of artillery fire on the German forts, followed by a Latvian riflemen attack on the German trench lines. However, the artillery shells could not destroy the barbed wire fences, which the infantry was forced to cut during the battle under enemy fire. The riflemen had to cross a swamp that was difficult to cross, being in constant crossfire from the artillery of both warring parties.

Casualties and gains

The Latvian riflemen lost up to 27% of their forces (around 1840 men) and were unable to make any sort of gains. The 6th battalion in particular, Tukuma, suffered losses of around 90%.