Freikorps commander who tried to keep Germany's eastern influence in Finland and the Baltic
A Prussian general who in April 1918 landed some 10,000 men of the Baltic Sea Division at Hanko, took Helsinki and helped the Finnish Whites to victory, staying in Finland until the end of the year to entrench German influence. In February 1919 at Liepāja he took command of the VI Reserve Corps, the remaining German regulars, the Iron Division and the Baltic Landeswehr, and retook Riga from the Red Army, but he treated Latvia's independence government as an obstacle and backed the Liepāja coup of April and the Niedra government. Beaten by the Estonians at Cēsis in June and recalled under Allied pressure in October, he saw most of his men join Bermondt-Avalov's West Russian Volunteer Army. In the Weimar Republic he led far-right veterans' organizations and was implicated in the Kapp putsch of 1920. He died in Bavaria in 1946.
Related historical events
- 1917.12–1918.11Brest-Litovsk and Germany’s eastern occupationCommander of the Baltic Sea Division in FinlandLanded some 10,000 men of the Baltic Sea Division at Hanko on 3 April 1918, took Helsinki on the 13th and stayed in Finland until the end of the year to entrench German influence.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionGerman commander in Finland and the BalticLed the Baltic Sea Division supporting Finland’s Whites in 1918. In Latvia in 1919 he commanded German forces and Freikorps, combining anti-Bolshevik warfare with efforts to retain German influence.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsGerman commander in Finland and the BalticCommanded the German troops and the Landeswehr from Liepāja from February 1919 and retook Riga in May, but treated the Latvian government as an obstacle and backed the coup; recalled in October after the defeat at Cēsis.
Revolution and independence wars
Led the Baltic Sea Division supporting Finland’s Whites in 1918. In Latvia in 1919 he commanded German forces and Freikorps, combining anti-Bolshevik warfare with efforts to retain German influence.