After 1918, the term Freikorps was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around German Empire as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. It was one of the many Weimar paramilitary groups active during that time. Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The designation of Freikorps (German for Free Corps, i. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Polish (Posen, Lower Silesia,Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Paramilitary groups were formed throughout the Weimar Republic in the wake of Germanys defeat in World War I and the ensuing German Revolution. ...

In 1917 the Russian Bolsheviks ceded the Baltic areas to Germany under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Imperial German govenrment 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 Livland, Estland, 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 acknowledge that claim. Bolsheviks (Russian: IPA , derived from bolshinstvo, majority) were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split apart from the Menshevik faction[1] at the Second Party Congress in 1903 and ultimately became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, between Russia and the Central Powers, marking Russias exit from World War I. The treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year but is significant as a chief... A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Leopold von Bayern Ober Ost (short for Oberbefehlshabers der gesamten deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten) was a German WWI military administration governing a large part of the German-held areas of the Russian Empire. ... Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prinz von Bayern (9 February 1846 - 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Luitpold of Bavaria (1821 - 1912) and his wife Augusta of Tuscany (1825 - 1864). ... The Baltic Germans (German: ), were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ... Livonia (Latvian: Livonija; Estonian: Liivimaa; German: Livland; Swedish: Livland; Polish: Inflanty; Russian: Лифляндия or Lifljandija) once was the land of the Finnic Livonians, but came in the Middle Ages to designate a much broader territory controlled by the Livonian Order on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea in present-day... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... The Baltic Germans (German: ), were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ... This article is about the region in Europe. ... Motto: none Anthem: Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm Capital (and largest city) Tallinn Estonian Government Parliamentary democracy  - President Toomas Hendrik Ilves  - Prime Minister Andrus Ansip Independence From Russia   - Declared 24 February 1918   - Recognised 2 February 1920   - Occupied by USSR 16 June 1940   - Re-declared 20 August 1991   - Recognised... Map of Latvia Coordinates: Founded 1201 Mayor Aivars Aksenoks Area    - City 307. ... This article is about the island. ... Courland, Kurland, Couronia, or Curonia, a former Baltic province of the Teutonic Order state in Livonia (ca. ... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ...

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. Kaiser is the German title meaning Emperor. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, between Russia and the Central Powers, marking Russias exit from World War I. The treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year but is significant as a chief... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Official language German Capital Riga Regent Adolf Pilar von Pilchau Area ? km² Population ? Independance 12 April 1918 Admission 22 September 1918 (German State) National anthem ? The United Baltic Duchy (in German: Vereinigtes Baltisches Herzogtum) was a shortlived construct in 1918 made possible through Germanys occupation of Latvia and Estonia... Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ...

Under the terms of the November 11, 1918 Armistice 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 be occupied by the Red Army. The Russian Red Army was led by the Latvian Riflemen and they were making serious inroads into Estonia and Latvia. The Estonians offered tough resistance to 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. Front page of the New York Times on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918 The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on November 11, 1918, and marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front. ... Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Monument to the Red Latvian Riflemen in Riga, Latvia Latvian riflemen (Latvian: LatvieÅ¡u strÄ“lnieki, Russian: Латышские стрелки) were military formations assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic territories against Germans in World War I. Initially the batallions were formed by volunteers, from 1916 by conscription among Latvian... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ...

Meanwhile 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." Tautas Padome (Latvias Peoples Council) was a temporary council which declared Latvias independence in 1918 and then acted as a temporary parliament until a Constitutional Assembly (Satversmes Sapulce) was elected. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Kārlis Ulmanis (b. ... Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough (August 12, 1870–1963) was a British World War I general who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918. ...

As many of the demoralized German soldiers were being withdrawn from Latvia, Major Bischoff formed a Freikorps unit called the Eiserne Brigade. This unit was deployed to Riga and used to delay the Red Army advance. Meanwhile, volunteers were sent from Germany and 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 Landeswehr. 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. The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... The Baltic Germans (German: Deutsch-Balten, Deutschbalten, sometimes incorrectly Baltendeutsche), were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea which forms today the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ...

Initially, the Iron Division was commanded by General Rüdiger von der Goltz and the Baltische Landeswehr by Major Alfred Fletcher, a German of Scottish ancestry. In late February, only the seaport of Liepaja remained in the hands of the German and Latvian forces. In March 1919, General Rüdiger von der Goltz was able to win a series of victories over the Red forces and entered Riga. The main blow in the campaign was delivered by the German Freikorps, which first occupied Ventspils, the major port of Courland, 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. Rüdiger von der Goltz Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (born December 8, 1865, in Züllichau, Prussia [now Poland]; died November 4, 1946, in Kinsegg, Allgäu, Germany) was the commander of German units which played an instrumental role in the defeat of Russian Bolsheviks... Liepāja. ... Rüdiger von der Goltz Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (born December 8, 1865, in Züllichau, Prussia [now Poland]; died November 4, 1946, in Kinsegg, Allgäu, Germany) was the commander of German units which played an instrumental role in the defeat of Russian Bolsheviks... Map of Latvia Coordinates: Founded 1201 Mayor Aivars Aksenoks Area    - City 307. ... Ventspils (Russian: , formerly Виндава; German: Windau, Polish: Windawa, Livonian: VÇŸnta) is a city in northwestern Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ...

After the Bolsheviks were driven from Latvia, the Allies ordered the German government to withdraw its troops from the Baltic. General von der Goltz attempted to seize control of Latvia with the assistance of the local ethnic German population. Ulmanis was formally deposed, and 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 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 White Russian units and the Freikorps moved on and captured Riga on May 23, 1919. A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... Andrievs Niedra, formerly spelt Andreews Needra (b. ...

After the capture of Riga, the Freikorps were accused of killing 300 Latvians in Mitau, 200 in Tukkum, 125 in Dunamunde, and over 3,000 in Riga. The Latvian nationalists then turned against the German Freikorps and sought assistance from the Estonian troops which had occupied Latvian territory north of the Daugava River. General von der Goltz ordered his troops to advance 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, 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 Estonian army to seize the Gulbene railroad station. CÄ“sis (German: Wenden) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Central upland. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Gauja(Estonain andLivonianKoiva,GermanLivlandische Aa)- one of the longest rivers in Latvia: 452 km. ... The Gulbene district and surrounding Gulbene region are located in North-eastern Latvia and share borders with the Aluksne, Balvi, Madona, Cesis and Valka regions. ...

On June 19, 1919, 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. CÄ“sis (German: Wenden) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Central upland. ... Limbaži is a town in Northern Latvia, 90 km from the capital Riga. ... Limbaži is a town in Northern Latvia, 90 km from the capital Riga. ... CÄ“sis (German: Wenden) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Central upland. ...

The Allies again insisted that the Germans withdraw their remaining troops from Latvia, and intervened to impose a cease fire between the Estonians and the Freikorps when the Estonians were about to march into Riga. The British insisted that Count von der Goltz leave Latvia, and he turned his troops over to General Bermondt's White Russian Army. Colonel Sir Hubert Gough, a British officer, was given command of the Landeswehr, and Major Fletcher, its former commander was also ordered out of Latvia. Major Bischoff created a German Legion from over a dozen Freikorps units and turned these units to General Bermondt. In all, the Germans transferred over 14,000 men, 64 aircraft, 56 artillery pieces, and 156 machine guns. Six cavalry units and a field hospital also went over to Bermondt. Bermondt attempted a Coup d'État, but this putsch attempt was defeated by the Latvian Army, which received assistance from British and French warships and Estonian armoured trains. Pavel Rafalovich Bermondt-Avalov (1884-1973) was an Ussuri Cossack and warlord who led the Bermontians, a group of adventurers who captured Riga in October 1919 and attempted to set up a pro-German government there. ... The White movement, whose military arm is known as the White Army (Белая Армия) or White Guard (Белая Гвардия, белогвардейцы) and whose members are known as Whites (Белые, or the derogatory Беляки) or White Russians (a term which has other meanings) comprised some of the Russian forces, both political and military, which opposed the Bolsheviks after the... Pavel Rafalovich Bermondt-Avalov (1884-1973) was an Ussuri Cossack and warlord who led the Bermontians, a group of adventurers who captured Riga in October 1919 and attempted to set up a pro-German government there. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment, that mostly replaces just the top power figures. ...

Clearly, 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 Republic 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 "Rittgen Osten," (the ride towards the East), and more than one Freikorps unit returned to Germany and planned for the day of the return. Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler... Friedrich Ebert (February 4, 1871–February 28, 1925) was a German politician (SPD), who served as the 9th Chancellor of Germany and its first president during the Weimar period. ...

See also

• Aftermath of World War I
• Latvian Riflemen
• Latvian War of Independence
• Estonian Liberation War
• United Baltic Duchy
• Ober Ost

Woodrow Wilson and the American peace commissioners during the negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles. ... Monument to the Red Latvian Riflemen in Riga, Latvia Latvian riflemen (Latvian: LatvieÅ¡u strÄ“lnieki, Russian: Латышские стрелки) were military formations assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic territories against Germans in World War I. Initially the batallions were formed by volunteers, from 1916 by conscription among Latvian... The Latvian War of Independence, sometimes called the Latvian War of Liberation (Latvian: Latvijas brÄ«vÄ«bas cīņas, literally the struggles for the freedom of Latvia, or Latvijas atbrÄ«voÅ¡anas kaÅ—Å¡, the war of the liberation of Latvia), refers to series of military conflicts in Latvia between November... The Estonian Liberation War (Estonian: Vabadussõda, literally freedom war), also called the Estonian War of Independence, in 1918-1920, was Estonias struggle for independent state in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution. ... Official language German Capital Riga Regent Adolf Pilar von Pilchau Area ? km² Population ? Independance 12 April 1918 Admission 22 September 1918 (German State) National anthem ? The United Baltic Duchy (in German: Vereinigtes Baltisches Herzogtum) was a shortlived construct in 1918 made possible through Germanys occupation of Latvia and Estonia... Leopold von Bayern Ober Ost (short for Oberbefehlshabers der gesamten deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten) was a German WWI military administration governing a large part of the German-held areas of the Russian Empire. ...

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
• The history of the German Freikorps 1918-23
• Axis History Factbook; Freikorps section – By Marcus Wendel and contributors;  site also contains an apolitical forum
• Latvia - Encyclopædia Britannica Article