The Baltic Landwehr or ("Baltic Territorial Army") was the name of the unified

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of Couronian and Livonian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

from 7 December 1918 to 3 July 1919.

Command structure

The Landeswehr was subordinated to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

VI Reserve Corps which Generalmajor Rüdiger von der Goltz (military governor of Libau in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

from 1 February 1919) commanded from 2 February 1919.

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Alfred Fletcher Alfred Fletcher (20 January 1875 Lampersdorf, Province of Lower Silesia, German Empire – 20 September 1959 Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, West Germany) was a German soldier, Major and politician. Life Fletcher fought as a soldier in World War I ...

and Lieutenant-Colonel

Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor Ge ...

commanded the Landeswehr during its operations.

Commanders

* Major Emil von Scheibler (7 December 1918 - 6 February 1919) * Major

(6 February 1919 - 3 July 1919) * Lieutenant-Colonel

(British; July 1919)

History

Guido Maydell Balti Landeswehris Guido Maydell in the Baltic Landeswehr

After the November 11, 1918,

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

the Inter-Allied Commission of Control insisted that the German troops remain in the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

to prevent the region from being re-occupied by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. As the Soviet westward offensive approached, the Provisional Government of

approached

August Winnig August Winnig (31 March 1878 – 3 November 1956) was a German politician, essayist and trade unionist. Early involved in trade unionism and editorship, Winnig held elected and public offices from 1913 to 1921 as a Social Democratic Party (SPD) ...

, the German attorney in the Baltics, and signed an agreement with him authorising the organisation of land defense forces on 7 December 1918. The parties signed another agreement on 29 December which secured all foreign soldiers, who participated in the battles for the freedom of Latvia, full citizenship of Latvia. The arms,

horse harness Horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a vehicle or another type of load. There are two main categories of horse harness: (1) the "breaststrap" or "breastcollar" design, and (2) the collar and hames design. For light work, such as ho ...

and uniforms were to be supplied by the state of Germany. The food supplies were to be taken care of by the Provisional Government of Latvia.

Theaters and campaigns

In late February 1919 only the seaport of Liepāja (Libau) and surroundings remained in the hands of the German and Latvian forces. In February and March 1919, the Landeswehr was able to win a series of victories over the

, first occupying the port of Ventspils (Windau), and then advancing south and east towards

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. The murder of three men of the ''Baltische Landeswehr'' led to the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

of April 16, 1919, by the proclamation of the Government of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

clergyman,

Andrievs Niedra Andrievs Niedra ( old orthography: ''Andreews Needra''; 8 February 1871 – 25 September 1942) 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 ...

. Parleys, in which the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the United Kingdom took part, did not prevent the advance on Riga and the capture of this city on May 22, where Baron Hans von Manteuffel-Szoege made an entry with a small detachment, and died leading his men. Latvian national government was deposed while the Freikorps moved on to capture Riga on May 23, 1919. Latvians sought assistance from the Estonian Army which had been occupying Northern Latvia since earlier that year. After the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s had been driven out from most of Latvia, the Allies ordered the German government to withdraw its troops from the Baltic region. However, the Germans succeeded in negotiating a postponement, arguing that this would have given the Bolsheviks a free hand. In June 1919, General von der Goltz ordered his troops not to advance east against the Red Army, as the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

had been expecting, but north, against the Estonians. On June 19, the Landeswehr launched an attack to capture areas around

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Upland, Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja, Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges ...

(Wenden), however in the battles over the following few days they were defeated by the Estonian 3rd Division, including the Latvian 2nd Cesis regiment, led by

Ernst Põdder Ernst-Johannes Põdder VR I/1 (10 February 1879 – 24 June 1932) was a famous Estonian military commander in the Estonian War of Independence. In 1900 Põdder graduated from the Vilnius Military Academy. In the Russo-Japanese war he achieved t ...

. 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 intervened to impose a ceasefire between the Estonians and the Landeswehr when the Estonians were about to march into Riga. In the meantime, an Allied mission composed of British troops under General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough had arrived in the Baltic with the task of clearing the Germans from the region and organizing native armies for the Baltic States. To ensure its return to Latvian control, the was placed under British authority.

Subsequent

After taking command of the in mid-July 1919, Lieutenant-Colonel

(the future Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and Governor-General of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, 1946-1952) gradually dismissed German nationals born within the borders of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. The Germans released from the were incorporated into the :de:Deutsche Legion (1919) in September 1919. The legion served under the West Russian Volunteer Army commanded by Colonel Prince

Pavel Bermondt-Avalov Pavel Rafailovich Bermondt-Avalov (russian: Павел Рафаилович Бермондт-Авалов) or Pavel Avalishvili ( – 27 December 1973) was an Ussuri Cossack and warlord. He is best known as the commander of the West Russian Vol ...

in his attempt to capture Riga, but suffered complete defeat by the end of November 1919. The British insisted that General von der Goltz leave Latvia, and he turned his troops over to Bermondt-Avalov's West Russian Volunteer Army. General von der Goltz later claimed in his

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

that his major strategic goal in 1919 had been to launch a campaign in cooperation with the white Russian forces to overturn the Bolshevik regime by marching on

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and to install a pro-German government in Russia. The purged Baltische Landeswehr units subsequently assisted in the liberation of

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

from Bolsheviks together with Latvian and Polish armies in January 1920.

Prominent members

Prominent

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

officers from the Landeswehr era include: * Generalmajor Erich Alt (Luftwaffe) (leader of the 1. Baltischen Flieger-Abteilung (433)) * Generalmajor Rudolf Bader (in the Badisches Freiwilligen Abteilung Medem) * Generalmajor

Heinrich Baron von Behr Heinrich von Behr ( – 14 August 1983) was a Baltic German general during World War II. Early life and education In 1902 Heinrich von Behr was born into the Baltic German noble von Behr family, which owned Renda Manor. During the Latvian ...

* Generalmajor z.V. Heinrich Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten * Generalmajor

Karl Dormagen Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

* Generalmajor Dipl. Ing.

Hans Henrici Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

* General der Artillerie

Kurt Jahn General Kurt Jahn, aka Curt Jahn, (February 16, 1892 – November 7, 1966) was a German Army general and commander in Lombardy, Italy during World War II. Born in Schmalkalden, Germany, he was captured west of Milan on 1 May 1945 and interned in B ...

* Generalleutnant Heinrich Rauch (Luftwaffe) (aerial observer in Flieger-Abteilung 433) * Oberst (Colonel)

Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven Wessel Oskar Karl Johann Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven ( – 26 July 1944), was a Baltic German Oberst, colonel in the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, High Command of the German Armed Forces (OKW) and a member of the German resistance to Nazism, ...

(the ranks are the highest ranks reached in the Third Reich era)

Rank insignia

Members of the Baltische Landeswehr wore shoulder strap piping in light blue and white, the Baltic colors. ;Commissioned officers ;Enlisted personnel

Order of battle (20 May 1919)

*1. Deutsch-Balt. Kampfbataillon (Stoßtrupp Manteuffel;

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Hans von Manteuffel Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

) *2. Deutsch-Balt. Kampfbataillon (Hauptmann Malmede) *3. Deutsch-Balt. Kampfbataillon (Rittmeister Graf zu Eulenburg) *MG-Scharfschützen-Abteilung (Hauptmann Freiherr von Khaynach) *Russische Abteilung Fürst

Lieven The House of Lieven ( lv, Līveni; russian: Ливен) is one of the oldest aristocratic families of Baltic Germans. History The family claims descent from Caupo of Turaida (Latvian, ''Kaupo''), the Livonian ''quasi rex'' who converted to Ch ...

(Cavalry Captain Prince Anatolii Pavlovich Liven or, in German, Fürst Anatol Leonid Lieven) *Lettische Kampf-Brigade (Colonel Jānis Balodis) *Stamm-Kompanie Talssen *Stamm-Kompanie Tuckum *Balten-Kompanie des Gouvernement Libau *Elements of the MG-Kompanie of III./Freiwilligen-Regiment Libau (Gouvernement Libau) *Lettische Kavallerie-Abteilung *Russische Kavallerie-Abteilung *Kavallerie-Abteilung Engelhardt *Kavallerie-Abteilung Drachenfels *Kavallerie-Abteilung Pappenheim *Kavallerie-Abteilung Halm *1. Deutsch-Balt. Batterie (Ehmke) *2. Deutsch-Balt. Batterie (Barth) *3. Deutsch-Balt. Batterie (Sievert) *Deutsch-Balt. Haubitze-Batterie *Russische Batterie (Röhl) *Badisches Freiwilligen Abteilung Medem (attached Korpstruppe) *Lettische Pionier-Kompanie *Pionier-Abteilung Stromberg *Balt. Fernsprech-Abteilung *Lettische Fernsprech-Abteilung *Balt. Funker-Abteilung *Flieger-Abteilung 433 (attached Korpstruppe) *Armee-Kraftwagen-Kolonne 021 (attached Korpstruppe) *Staffel-Stab der Landeswehr (Major Wölki) **Munitions- und Train-Kolonne I **Munitions- und Train-Kolonne II **Landeskolonne III *Feldlazarett *Sanitäts-Kompanie *Sanitäts-Kraftwagen-Zug *Wirtschafts-Kompanie 1 *Wirtschafts-Kompanie 2 *Bahnschutz-Detachement *Pferdelazarett *Sammeldepot Libau

References

Bibliography

* Goltz Rüdiger von der, ''Meine Sendung im Finland und im Baltikum'', Leipzig 1920. * Goltz Rüdiger von der, ''Minu missioon Soomes ja Baltikumis'', Tartu, Loodus 1937; faksiimiletrükk Tallinn, Olion 2004. . * Bermond-Awaloff Pavel, ''Im Kampf gegen den Bolschevismus. Erinnerungen von...'', Berlin 1925. * BischoffJosef, ''Die letzte Front. Geschichte der Eiserne Division im Baltikum 1919'', Berlin 1935. * ''Darstellungen aus den Nachkriegskämpfen deutscher Truppen und Freikorps'', Bd 2: ''Der Feldzug im Baltikum bis zur zweiten Einnahme von Riga. Januar bis Mai 1919'', Berlin 1937; Bd 3: ''Die Kämpfe im Baltikum nach der zweiten Einnahme von Riga. Juni bis Dezember 1919'', Berlin 1938. * ''Die Baltische Landeswehr im Befreiungskampf gegen den Bolschewismus'', Riga 1929. * ''Eesti Vabadussõda 1918-1920'', Tallinn, Mats, 1997. . * Kiewisz Leon, ''Sprawy łotewskie w bałtyckiej polityce Niemiec 1914-1919'', Poznań 1970. * Łossowski Piotr, ''Między wojną a pokojem. Niemieckie zamysły wojenne na wschodzie w obliczu traktatu wersalskiego. Marzec-kwiecień 1919'', Warszawa 1976. * Paluszyński Tomasz, ''Walka o niepodległość Łotwy 1914-1920'', Warszawa 1999. * ''Von den baltische Provinzen zu den baltischen Staaten. Beiträge zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Republiken Estland und Lettland'', Bd I (1917-1918), Bd II (1919-1920), Marburg 1971, 1977.

External links

A cannon of the Landeswehr

An airplane of the Landeswehr

"Hans von Manteuffel" honor title
* Centek, Jaroslaw
Baltische Landwehr
in

{{Authority control Courland Governorate Estonian War of Independence Governorate of Livonia Military history of Latvia Military units and formations established in 1918 Organisations based in Livonia Anti-communist organizations Independence of Latvia