- United Baltic Duchy
Infobox Former Country
native_name = "Vereinigtes Baltisches Herzogtum"
conventional_long_name= United Baltic Duchy
common_name = United Baltic Duchy
continent = Europe
region = Baltic
era = World War I
status = Military Occupation Authority
empire = Germany
status_text =
p1 = Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918)
flag_p1 = Cur-f.gif
p2 = Ober Ost
flag_p2 = Flag of the German Empire.svg
s1 = Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
flag_s1 = Flag of Latvian SSR 1919.svg
s2 = Latvia
flag_s2 = Flag of Latvia.svg
year_start = 1918
date_start =
event_start =
year_end = 1918
date_end =
event_end =
event_pre =
date_pre =
event1 =Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
date_event1 =March 3 , 1918
event2 =German Revolution
date_event2 =November 9 , 1918
title_leader =
leader1 =
title_deputy =
deputy1 =
year_deputy1 =
image_map_caption =Courland Governorate ,Governorate of Livonia ,Governorate of Estonia ofRussian Empire before the 1917February Revolution
government_type = Military administration
legislature =
common_languages = German
capital = Riga
currency = German papiermarkThe United Baltic Duchy ["...later an alternative proposal was advanced for a United Baltic Duchy under Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg" P 48 [http://books.google.com/books?id=emBIdi4LPz8C&dq The Baltic States: The Years of Independence By Georg von Rauch] ISBN 0903983001] ( _de. Vereinigtes Baltisches Herzogtum, _lv. Apvienotā Baltijas hercogiste, _et. Ühendatud Balti Hertsogiriik) was a proposal to unite the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, the
Baltic State Duchy [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=AodiUXZo5R0C&pg=PA3&dq=%22Baltic+State+duchy%22&sig=l01CPVzfLQOU6WNrHw--1hIY93E The German Army in World War I By Nigel Thomas; ISBN 1841765678] ] ("Baltischer Staat") and the territory of formerAutonomous Governorate of Estonia in theGerman Empire 's occupied territory covering what are nowLatvia andEstonia before the end ofWorld War I .Historical background
During
World War I , German Armies had occupied theCourland Governorate ofRussian Empire by the autumn of 1915. The front was settled along a line stretched betweenRiga ,Daugavpils andBaranovitch . Following the RussianFebruary Revolution , theAutonomous Governorate of Estonia was created onApril 12 1917 (March 30 Old Style) from the former RussianGovernorate of Estonia and northernGovernorate of Livonia . After the RussianOctober Revolution , the elected National Council of Estonia declared Estonia's independence formally onNovember 28 ,1917 and onFebruary 24 ,1918 , a day before the arrival of German troops theEstonian Declaration of Independence was issued. The Western Allies recognized theRepublic of Estonia de facto onMarch 20 1918 . [http://books.google.com/books?id=TYJbYgNcalgC&dq The Baltic States and Weimar Ostpolitik By John Hiden] ]The
Latvian National Council was proclaimed onNovember 16 ,1917 . OnNovember 30 ,1917 , the Council declared an autonomous Latvian province within ethnographic boundaries, and a formal independent Latvian republic was declared onJanuary 15 1918 .After the Russian revolution, German troops had started advancing from Courland, and by the end of February 1918 the German military administered the territories of the former Russian
Governorate of Livonia andAutonomous Governorate of Estonia that had declared independence. With theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918,Bolshevist Russia accepted the loss of theCourland Governorate , and by agreements concluded inBerlin on August 27, 1918 the loss of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia and the Governorate of Livonia.As a parallel political movement under the German military administration,
Baltic Germans began forming provincial councils between September 1917 and March 1918. OnApril 12 1918 , a Provincial Assembly composed of 35Baltic Germans , 13 Estonians and 11 Latvians passed a resolution calling upon the German Emperor to recognize the Baltic provinces as a monarchy and make them a German protectorate. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=WR8rAAAAIAAJ&dq Griff nach der Weltmacht By Fritz Fischer] ]In October 1918, the
Chancellor of Germany Prince Maximilian of Baden proposed to have the military administration in the Baltic replaced by civilian authority. The new policy was stated in atelegram from the German Foreign Office to the military administration of the Baltic: "The government of the Reich is unanimous in respect of the fundamental change in our policy towards theBaltic countries , namely that in the first instance policy is to be made with the Baltic peoples."On November 18, 1918, Latvia proclaimed independence. Power was transferred the next day from the German military administration to the
Estonian Government headed byKonstantin Päts . In Latvia, the Germans formally handed over authority to the Latvian national government headed byKārlis Ulmanis on December 7, 1918.Attempt to create the United Baltic Duchy
On
March 8 andApril 12 1918 the local Baltic German-dominated "Kurländische Landesrat " and the "Vereinigter Landesrat" of "Livland ", "Estland ",Riga , and "Ösel" had declared themselves independent states,Fact|date=November 2007 known as the Duchy of Courland ("Herzogtum Kurland") andBaltic State duchy [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=AodiUXZo5R0C&pg=PA3&dq=%22Baltic+State+duchy%22&sig=l01CPVzfLQOU6WNrHw--1hIY93E The German Army in World War I By Nigel Thomas; ISBN 1841765678] ] ("Baltischer Staat"), respectively. Both states proclaimed themselves to be in personal union with theKingdom of Prussia , although the German government never responded to acknowledge that claim. These Baltic lands were nominally recognized as a sovereign state byKaiser William II only onSeptember 22 ,1918 Fact|date=December 2007, half a year after Soviet Russia had formally relinquished all authority over its former ImperialBaltic provinces to Germany in theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk . OnNovember 5 ,1918 , a temporary Regency Council ("Regentschaftsrat") for the new state led by BaronAdolf Pilar von Pilchau was formed on a joint basis from the two local Land Councils.The capital of the new state was to be Riga. It was to be a confederation of seven cantons: "Kurland" (
Courland ), Riga, "Lettgallen" (Latgale ), "Südlivland" (SouthLivonia ), "Nordlivland" (North Livonia), "Ösel" (Saaremaa ), and "Estland" (Estonia), the four first cantons thus covering the territory corresponding to today's Latvia and the latter three corresponding to today's Estonia.The first
head of state of the United Baltic Duchy was to beAdolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , not as a sovereignmonarch , but as a subordinate to the German Kaiser, similar to other dukes and grand dukes of theGerman Empire . But Adolf Friedrich never assumed office. The appointed Regency Council consisting of fourBaltic Germans , threeEstonians and threeLatvians functioned untilNovember 28 ,1918 , without any international recognition, except from Germany. The "Baltische Landeswehr " was formed by the government of the United Baltic Duchy as its national defense force. Upon taking command of the "Baltische Landeswehr", MajorAlfred Fletcher , with the backing of theBaltic German land baron s, began dismissing nativeLatvia n elements and replacing them withBaltic Germans andReichsdeutsch troops. Concurrently, German officers assumed most of the command positions. In his book "Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps Movement in Postwar Germany, 1918-1923", authorRobert G.L. Waite notes: “By mid-February 1919, Latvians composed less than one fifth of their own army.” Britain backed down after recognizing the gravity of the military situation, and the White Russian units and the Freikorps moved on and captured Riga onMay 22 ,1919 .After the
capture of Riga , the Freikorps were accused of killing 300 Latvians inMitau , 200 inTukkum , 125 inDaugavgriva , and over 3,000 in Riga. After taking part in the capture of Riga, in June 1919 General von der Goltz ordered his troops not to advance east against the Red Army, as theAllies had been expecting, but north, against the Estonians. OnJune 19 the Iron Division and "Landeswehr" units launched an attack to capture areas aroundCēsis (Wenden), the "Baltische Landeswehr" continued its advance towards the Estonian coast preparatory for a push onSt Petersburg , Soviet Russia. However, the "Baltische Landeswehr" was defeated by theEstonian army (lead byJohan Laidoner ) and national Latvian units at theBattle of Cēsis , 19-21 June 1919.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 Freikorps when the Estonians were about to march into Riga. Meanwhile, an Allied mission composed of British troops under General SirHubert de la Poer Gough had arrived in the Baltic to clear the Germans from the region and organize native armies for theBaltic states .The defeat of Germany in World War I in November 1918, followed by the defeat in 1919 of the "Baltische Landeswehr" and German "Freikorps" units of General
Rüdiger von der Goltz in Latvia by the Estonian army and national Latvian units, rendered the United Baltic Duchy irrelevant.Aftermath
To ensure its return to Latvian control, the "Baltische Landeswehr" was placed under British authority. After taking command of the "Baltische Landeswehr" in mid-July 1919,
Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Alexander (the futureField Marshal the Earl Alexander ofTunis andGovernor General of Canada , 1946-1952), gradually dismissed the Baltic German elements. The Baltic nations of Estonia and Latvia were established as republics.See also
*
Aftermath of World War I
*Baltische Landeswehr
*Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918)
*Estonian Liberation War
*Freikorps in the Baltic
*Latvian War of Independence
*Pavel Bermondt-Avalov
*Ober Ost External links
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Latvia.htm Baltic flag]
* [http://eh.lenin.ru/english/2eu/latvia/lat-hist3.htm Baltic flag]
* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/bal_duke.html Baltic Duchy (1918)]References
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