Christmas Battles

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Christmas Battles
Part of the Eastern Front of the First World War
German scheme of the Riga front and Christmas battles
Date Russian offensive December 23–29, 1916 (Julian) January 5–11, 1917 (Gregorian) German counterattack January 9-21, 1917 (Julian) Location Tīreļpurvs (Tīrelis Swamp) near Riga Result Tactical Indecisive Strategic success of the Russians [1]
Belligerents
Germany	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Friedrich von Scholtz	Nikolai Ruzsky Radko Dimitriev
Units involved
8th Army	12th Army
Strength
unknown	189,000[2]
Casualties and losses
Russian offensive+German counterattack: Total: 6,362[3] 965 KIA 330 MIA 5,067 WIA	Total 44,657 [4] Russian offensive (23-29.12.16) 2,852 KIA 3,003 MIA 13,292 WIA German counterattack (9-21.1.17) 3,701 KIA 8,522 MIA 13,287 WIA

The Christmas Battles (Latvian: Ziemassvētku kaujas; German: Aa-Schlachten; Russian: Митавская операция) were offensive operations of the Russian army and Latvian units during World War I in the area of Jelgava, Latvia, by the Russian 12th Army of the Northern Front. They took place from December 23 until December 29, 1916 according to the calendar used in Russia at the time (or January 5 to January 11, 1917 according to the Gregorian Calendar then in use in the West and now in use almost everywhere), 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 Riflemen brigades ("strēlnieki" who became a part of Latvian folklore and an important factor in the Latvian national awakening movement).