Captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

 Richard Gustav Borgelin (10 February 1887, Herning

Herning

Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 – 8 December 1966, Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Denmark) was a Danish officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 and company

Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

 commander of the Danish-Baltic Auxiliary Corps (DBAC) in 1919 during the Estonian and Latvian War of Independence.

Borgelin attended and successfully ended his education at the Royal Danish Army Officers Academy

Royal Danish Army Officers Academy

The Royal Danish Army Academy educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Army. The Army Academy function was initiated in 1713 by request of King Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Academy....

 in 1909. In 1919, when Borgelin was officer of the reserve and in charge of the Second Regiment Corporal School at the Værløse Camp in northern Zealand, he was given the offer of becoming company commander of a combat unit consisting of 200 men. In the spring of 1919, Borgelin and his Compagnie Borgelin arrived in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 with 12 Danish officers, 12 Danish junior officers and 189 Danish privates

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

. The company participated in the Estonian and Latvian War of Independence under Estonian army command until 1 September 1919, when the contract expired and the company was disbanded.

Borgelin and seven other Danes were awarded the Latvian military Order of Lāčplēsis

Order of Lacplesis

The Order of Lāčplēsis, the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of the Commander of Latvian Army, during the Latvian War of Independence, Jānis Balodis. The Lāčplēsis Order is awarded in the first, second and third class. Initially, a holder of...

of third class.