Freikorps in the Baltic
Encyclopedia
After 1918, the term Freikorps
was used for the paramilitary
organizations that sprang up around the German Empire
, including in the Baltic states
as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. It was one of the many Weimar paramilitary groups
active during that time.
s ceded the Baltic areas to Germany under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
. The Imperial German government established occupation governments in Estonia
and Latvia
and granted independence to a puppet government in Lithuania on March 25, 1918. The German Ober Ost
occupation authorities under command of Prince Leopold of Bavaria
favored the Baltic Germans, who had been the dominant social, economic, and political class in Courland
, Livonia
, and Estonia
since the 13th century. On March 8 and April 12, 1918 the local Baltic German-dominated Land Council of Courland and the United Land Council of Livonia, Estonia, Riga
and Ösel
had declared themselves independent states, known as the Duchy of Courland
and the Baltic State (Baltischer Staat), respectively. Both states proclaimed themselves to be in personal union
with Prussia
, although the German government never responded and acknowledged that claim.
The Baltic lands were nominally recognized as a sovereign state by Kaiser
Wilhelm II on September 22, 1918, half a year after the newly Soviet Russia had formally relinquished all authority over its former Imperial Baltic provinces in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. On November 5, 1918, a temporary Regency Council (Regentschaftsrat) for the United Baltic Duchy
, led by Baron
Adolf Pilar von Pilchau
, was formed on a joint basis from the two local Land Councils.
the German Army was required to withdraw its troops from all other countries on a timetable established by the Allied Control Commission
. As elsewhere, pro-socialist soldiers’ councils controlled many German troop units in the Baltic area, but the Allied Control Commission insisted that the German troops remain to prevent the region from occupation by the Russian Red Army
. The Red Army, led by the Latvian Riflemen
was making serious inroads into Estonia and Latvia. The Estonians offered tough resistance to the Red Army and refused to ask for, or accept, German Army support. Instead, Scandinavian soldiers from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark came to their support. The Estonians, with this help and naval support from the British, were able to prevail over the Red Army after a year long fight.
Meanwhile the Latvian People's Council (Tautas Padome
) proclaimed Latvia's independence from Russia on November 18, 1918. Latvian leader Kārlis Ulmanis
requested German Freikorps support for assistance against the Bolsheviks. The British observer, Colonel Sir Hubert Gough
, invoked Article 12 of the Armistice Agreement which provided that German troops must evacuate all territories belonging to the Russian Empire, but only "as soon as the Allies shall consider this desirable, having regard to the interior conditions of these territories."
. The official mission assigned to this force was to prevent any Red Army advance into East Prussia, but its real mission was to help the Baltic Germans re-establish their own state or dominance in Latvia.
Initially, the Iron Division was commanded by Bischoff, and the Baltische Landeswehr by Major Alfred Fletcher, a German of Scottish ancestry. In late February, only the seaport of Liepāja
and surroundings remained in the hands of the German and Latvian forces. In March 1919, the Iron Brigade helped the German detachments win a series of victories over the Red forces. The main blow in the campaign was delivered by the Baltische Landeswehr, which first occupied port of Ventspils
and then drove south to Riga. This attack appears to have been coordinated with the Estonians who drove the Bolsheviks from the northern part of Latvia.
The Allies ordered the German government to withdraw its troops from the Baltic after defeat of Bolsheviks. The German forces attempted to seize control of Latvia with the assistance of the local ethnic German population. On April 16 he organised a coup d'état in Liepāja, the provisional national government of Latvia took refuge aboard steamship "Saratow". A new puppet government headed by Pastor Andrievs Niedra
was proclaimed. Pastor Niedra was a Latvian Lutheran minister with pro-German sympathies. The Germans convinced the British to postpone the withdrawal of the German Freikorps units because this would give the Bolsheviks a free hand. Britain backed down after recognizing the gravity of the military situation, and the Freikorps moved on and captured Riga on May 23, 1919.
, 200 in Tukums
, 125 in Daugavgrīva
, and over 3,000 in Riga. The Latvian nationalists had turned against the German Freikorps and sought assistance from the Estonian troops who had occupied Latvian territory north of the Daugava River. The German forces advanced north towards the Latvian city of Cēsis
. The objective of the German forces had now clearly become the establishment of German supremacy in the Baltic by eliminating the Estonian military and Latvian national units, not the defeat of the Bolsheviks. The Estonian commander General Johan Laidoner
insisted the Germans withdraw to a line south of the Gauja
river. He also ordered the Estonian 3rd division to seize the Gulbene
railroad station.
On June 19, 1919, the Landeswehr and the Iron Division launched an attack to capture Cēsis. Initially, the Freikorps captured the town of Straupe
and continued their advance toward Limbaži
. The Estonians launched a counterattack and drove the Freikorps out of Limbaži. On June 21, the Estonians received reinforcements and immediately attacked the Landeswehr under Fletcher, who was forced to withdrawn from an area to the northeast of Cēsis. The Iron Division attacked from Straupe towards Stalbe in an effort to relieve pressure on the Landeswehr. On the morning of June 23, the Germans began a general retreat toward Riga.
The Allies again insisted that the Germans withdraw their remaining troops from Latvia, and on June 3 intervened to impose an armistice between Estonia, Latvia, and the Landeswehr and Freikorps when the Latvians and Estonians were about to march into Riga. Major Bischoff created a German Legion from over a dozen Freikorps units and turned the units over to the West Russian Volunteer Army
. In all, the Iron Division transferred over 14,000 men, 64 aircraft, 56 artillery pieces, and 156 machine guns. Six cavalry units and a field hospital also went over. The offensive by the reformed German army was subsequently defeated by the Latvian Army, which received assistance from British and French warships and Estonian armoured trains.
under president Friedrich Ebert
. Hundreds of Baltic Freikorps soldiers had planned to settle in Latvia, and for those who had fought there, the land made a lasting impression and many of them longed for the day that they could return there. The Baltic Freikorps characterized their struggle against the Reds as the "Ritt gen Osten", (the ride towards the East), and more than one Freikorps unit returned to Germany and planned for the day of their return.
According to historian Robert GL Waite, while retreating from the Baltic, discipline amongst the Freikorps broke down and many fighters "ran wild through the country side marauding in complete disorder" Ernst von Salomon
, who was in a Freikorps, fictionalized it as follows. They drove the Latvians 'like rabbits across the fields'. They burned houses, destroyed bridges and telephone poles. They threw bodies into wells, followed by hand grenades:
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
was used for the paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organizations that sprang up around the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, including in the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. It was one of the many Weimar paramilitary groups
Weimar paramilitary groups
Paramilitary groups were formed throughout the Weimar Republic in the wake of Germany's defeat in World War I and the ensuing German Revolution. Some were created by political parties to help in recruiting, discipline and in preparation for seizing power. Some were created before World War I....
active during that time.
1917 - Russia cedes the Baltic to Germany
In 1917 the Russian BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s ceded the Baltic areas to Germany under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
. The Imperial German government established occupation governments 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...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and granted independence to a puppet government in Lithuania on March 25, 1918. The German Ober Ost
Ober Ost
Ober Ost is short for Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten, which is a German term meaning "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East" during World War I. In practice it refers not only to said commander, but also to his governing military staff and the district...
occupation authorities under command of Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria...
favored the Baltic Germans, who had been the dominant social, economic, and political class in Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
, Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
, and 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...
since the 13th century. On March 8 and April 12, 1918 the local Baltic German-dominated Land Council of Courland and the United Land Council of Livonia, Estonia, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and Ösel
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
had declared themselves independent states, known as the Duchy of Courland
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918)
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a proposed Client state of the German Empire. It was proclaimed on March 8, 1918, in German-occupied Courland Governorate by a Landesrat composed of Baltic Germans, who offered the crown of the Duchy to Kaiser Wilhelm II, despite the existence of a former...
and the Baltic State (Baltischer Staat), respectively. Both states proclaimed themselves to be in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, although the German government never responded and acknowledged that claim.
The Baltic lands were nominally recognized as a sovereign state by Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
Wilhelm II on September 22, 1918, half a year after the newly Soviet Russia had formally relinquished all authority over its former Imperial Baltic provinces in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. On November 5, 1918, a temporary Regency Council (Regentschaftsrat) for the United Baltic Duchy
United Baltic Duchy
The proposed United Baltic Duchy also known as the Grand Duchy of Livonia was a state proposed by the Baltic German nobility and exiled Russian nobility after the Russian revolution and German occupation of the Courland, Livonian and Estonian governorates of the Russian Empire.The idea comprised...
, led by Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Adolf Pilar von Pilchau
Adolf Pilar von Pilchau
Baron Adolf Konstantin Jakob Pilar von Pilchau was a Baltic German politician, regent of the United Baltic Duchy ....
, was formed on a joint basis from the two local Land Councils.
1918 - Germany loses World War I, Red Army threatens
Under the terms of the November 11, 1918 ArmisticeArmistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
the German Army was required to withdraw its troops from all other countries on a timetable established by the Allied Control Commission
Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control
The term Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control was used in a series of peace treaties concluded after the First World War between different countries...
. As elsewhere, pro-socialist soldiers’ councils controlled many German troop units in the Baltic area, but the Allied Control Commission insisted that the German troops remain to prevent the region from occupation by the Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. The Red Army, led by the Latvian Riflemen
Latvian Riflemen
This article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions....
was making serious inroads into Estonia and Latvia. The Estonians offered tough resistance to the Red Army and refused to ask for, or accept, German Army support. Instead, Scandinavian soldiers from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark came to their support. The Estonians, with this help and naval support from the British, were able to prevail over the Red Army after a year long fight.
Meanwhile the Latvian People's Council (Tautas Padome
Tautas Padome
Tautas padome or People's Council of Latvia was a temporary council which declared Latvia's independence in 1918 and then acted as a temporary parliament until a Constitutional Assembly was elected....
) proclaimed Latvia's independence from Russia on November 18, 1918. Latvian leader Kārlis Ulmanis
Karlis Ulmanis
Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis was a prominent Latvian politician in pre-World War II Latvia during the Latvian period of independence from 1918 to 1940.- Education and early career :Ulmanis studied agriculture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and...
requested German Freikorps support for assistance against the Bolsheviks. The British observer, Colonel Sir Hubert Gough
Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough GCB, GCMG, KCVO was a senior officer in the British Army, who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.-Family background:...
, invoked Article 12 of the Armistice Agreement which provided that German troops must evacuate all territories belonging to the Russian Empire, but only "as soon as the Allies shall consider this desirable, having regard to the interior conditions of these territories."
1919 - Iron Brigade
As many of the demoralized German soldiers were being withdrawn from Latvia, Major Josef Bischoff, an experienced German officer, formed a Freikorps unit called the Eiserne Brigade (translated: "Iron Brigade"). This unit was deployed to Riga and used to delay the Red Army advance. Meanwhile, volunteers were recruited from Germany, with promises of land, a chance to fight Bolshevism, and other enticements of dubious veracity. These soldiers, along with remnants of the German 8th Army and the Eiserne Brigade, were reconstituted into the Eiserne (Iron) Division. Also, the Baltic Germans and some Latvians formed the Baltische LandeswehrBaltische Landeswehr
Baltische Landeswehr was the name of the unified armed forces of the Couronian and Livonian nobility from 7 December 1918 to 3 July 1919.- Command structure :...
. The official mission assigned to this force was to prevent any Red Army advance into East Prussia, but its real mission was to help the Baltic Germans re-establish their own state or dominance in Latvia.
Initially, the Iron Division was commanded by Bischoff, and the Baltische Landeswehr by Major Alfred Fletcher, a German of Scottish ancestry. In late February, only the seaport of Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
and surroundings remained in the hands of the German and Latvian forces. In March 1919, the Iron Brigade helped the German detachments win a series of victories over the Red forces. The main blow in the campaign was delivered by the Baltische Landeswehr, which first occupied port of Ventspils
Ventspils
Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
and then drove south to Riga. This attack appears to have been coordinated with the Estonians who drove the Bolsheviks from the northern part of Latvia.
The Allies ordered the German government to withdraw its troops from the Baltic after defeat of Bolsheviks. The German forces attempted to seize control of Latvia with the assistance of the local ethnic German population. On April 16 he organised a coup d'état in Liepāja, the provisional national government of Latvia took refuge aboard steamship "Saratow". A new puppet government headed by Pastor Andrievs Niedra
Andrievs Niedra
Andrievs Niedra was a Latvian writer, Lutheran pastor and the Prime Minister of the German puppet government in Latvia between April and June 1919, during the Latvian War of Independence.Niedra's first collection of poems was published...
was proclaimed. Pastor Niedra was a Latvian Lutheran minister with pro-German sympathies. The Germans convinced the British to postpone the withdrawal of the German Freikorps units because this would give the Bolsheviks a free hand. Britain backed down after recognizing the gravity of the military situation, and the Freikorps moved on and captured Riga on May 23, 1919.
Conflict with Estonia and Latvia
After the capture of Riga, the Freikorps were accused of killing 300 Latvians in JelgavaJelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
, 200 in Tukums
Tukums
Tukums is a town in Latvia. Three regions of Latvia meet in the vicinity of Tukums – Vidzeme, Zemgale and Courland. The city was host to the Cold War facility Tukums air base.- History :...
, 125 in Daugavgrīva
Daugavgriva
Daugavgrīva is a neighbourhood in North West Riga, Latvia on the left bank of Daugava river. In this neighbourhood there is located Swedish built strong fortress on the Daugava River's left bank, commanding it's mouth.-Fortress:...
, and over 3,000 in Riga. The Latvian nationalists had turned against the German Freikorps and sought assistance from the Estonian troops who had occupied Latvian territory north of the Daugava River. The German forces advanced north towards the Latvian city of Cēsis
Cesis
Cēsis , is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the woods below...
. The objective of the German forces had now clearly become the establishment of German supremacy in the Baltic by eliminating the Estonian military and Latvian national units, not the defeat of the Bolsheviks. The Estonian commander General Johan Laidoner
Johan Laidoner
Johan Laidoner was a seminal figure of Estonian history between the world wars. His highest position was Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army in 1918–1920, 1924–1925, and 1934–1940.-Education:Laidoner was born in Viiratsi , Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire...
insisted the Germans withdraw to a line south of the Gauja
Gauja
The Gauja is one of the longest rivers in Latvia, with a length of and a catchment area of . Its source is in the hills southeast of Cēsis. It first flows east and north and forms the border with Estonia for about . South of Valga and Valka, it turns west towards Valmiera, continuing southwest...
river. He also ordered the Estonian 3rd division to seize the Gulbene
Gulbene
Gulbene and the surrounding Gulbene municipality are located in North-eastern Latvia and adjoin the Alūksne, Balvi, Madona, Cēsis and Valka regions....
railroad station.
On June 19, 1919, the Landeswehr and the Iron Division launched an attack to capture Cēsis. Initially, the Freikorps captured the town of Straupe
Straupe
Straupe is a village in the Pārgauja municipality of Latvia. Until the thirteenth century it was a part of the ancient Idumea country, later became the trade center known in German as Roop, and received its town privileges in 1374. During the fourteenth century, Straupe flourished as part of the...
and continued their advance toward Limbaži
Limbaži
Limbaži is a town in the Vidzeme region of northern Latvia. Limbaži is located 90 km northeast of the capital Riga. The population is 8705 people. During the Middle Ages, as part of Livonia, Limbazi was a fortified town with stone walls, second in importance only to Riga.-Etymology:The name...
. The Estonians launched a counterattack and drove the Freikorps out of Limbaži. On June 21, the Estonians received reinforcements and immediately attacked the Landeswehr under Fletcher, who was forced to withdrawn from an area to the northeast of Cēsis. The Iron Division attacked from Straupe towards Stalbe in an effort to relieve pressure on the Landeswehr. On the morning of June 23, the Germans began a general retreat toward Riga.
The Allies again insisted that the Germans withdraw their remaining troops from Latvia, and on June 3 intervened to impose an armistice between Estonia, Latvia, and the Landeswehr and Freikorps when the Latvians and Estonians were about to march into Riga. Major Bischoff created a German Legion from over a dozen Freikorps units and turned the units over to the West Russian Volunteer Army
West Russian Volunteer Army
The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was an army in the Baltic provinces of the former Russian Empire during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
. In all, the Iron Division transferred over 14,000 men, 64 aircraft, 56 artillery pieces, and 156 machine guns. Six cavalry units and a field hospital also went over. The offensive by the reformed German army was subsequently defeated by the Latvian Army, which received assistance from British and French warships and Estonian armoured trains.
Retreat
The Freikorps had saved Latvia from capture by the Red Army in the spring of 1919. However, the Freikorps' goal of creating a German dominated state in Courland and Livonia failed. Many of the German Freikorps members who served in the Baltic left Latvia with the belief that they had been "stabbed in the back" by the Weimar RepublicWeimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
under president Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .When Ebert was elected as the leader of the SPD after the death of August Bebel, the party members of the SPD were deeply divided because of the party's support for World War I. Ebert supported the Burgfrieden and...
. Hundreds of Baltic Freikorps soldiers had planned to settle in Latvia, and for those who had fought there, the land made a lasting impression and many of them longed for the day that they could return there. The Baltic Freikorps characterized their struggle against the Reds as the "Ritt gen Osten", (the ride towards the East), and more than one Freikorps unit returned to Germany and planned for the day of their return.
According to historian Robert GL Waite, while retreating from the Baltic, discipline amongst the Freikorps broke down and many fighters "ran wild through the country side marauding in complete disorder" Ernst von Salomon
Ernst von Salomon
Ernst von Salomon was a German writer and Freikorps member.He was born in Kiel, the son of a criminal investigation officer. From 1913 he was a cadet in Karlsruhe and Berlin-Lichterfelde; starting in 1919, he joined the Freikorps in the Baltic, where he fought against the Bolsheviks...
, who was in a Freikorps, fictionalized it as follows. They drove the Latvians 'like rabbits across the fields'. They burned houses, destroyed bridges and telephone poles. They threw bodies into wells, followed by hand grenades:
"We killed what fell into our hands, . . . We saw red, we had nothing in the heart of human emotions. . . what were earlier houses, were rubble, ash and smoldering beams, like festering sores in the bare field . . . We had lit a bonfire, there was burning more than dead material, there also was burning our hopes, our desires, . . . the laws and values of the civilized world. . . We retreated, bragging, intoxicated, loaded with booty "
-- Ernst von Salomon, Die Geächteten
See also
- West Russian Volunteer ArmyWest Russian Volunteer ArmyThe West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was an army in the Baltic provinces of the former Russian Empire during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
- Aftermath of World War IAftermath of World War IThe fighting in World War I ended in western Europe when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918, and in eastern Europe by the early 1920s. During and in the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order was drastically changed in Europe, Asia and Africa,...
- Latvian RiflemenLatvian RiflemenThis article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions....
- Latvian War of Independence
- Estonian War of Independence
- United Baltic DuchyUnited Baltic DuchyThe proposed United Baltic Duchy also known as the Grand Duchy of Livonia was a state proposed by the Baltic German nobility and exiled Russian nobility after the Russian revolution and German occupation of the Courland, Livonian and Estonian governorates of the Russian Empire.The idea comprised...
- Ober OstOber OstOber Ost is short for Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten, which is a German term meaning "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East" during World War I. In practice it refers not only to said commander, but also to his governing military staff and the district...
External links
- Archive World War I documents assembled by volunteers of the World War I Military History List
- World War I Resources on the web
- Axis History Factbook; Freikorps section – By Marcus Wendel and contributors; site also contains an apolitical forum
- Latvia - Encyclopædia Britannica Article
- Pygmy Wars (personal site) with emphasis on the Battle of Cēsis