Inter-allied Baltic Commission

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Representatives from Italy, England, France, USA and Japan. In the middle General Niessel

The Interallied Baltic Commission (officially: Commission Interalliée des Régions Baltiques ) was set up in 1919 by the victorious powers of the First World War ; as a military commission, it was supposed to monitor the withdrawal of German troops from the Baltic states .

background

In November 1919, an explosive situation developed in the northernmost area of ​​the German Empire and in the subsequent Baltic States , which could have unforeseeable consequences for Germany. As early as mid-November 1918, due to the unstable conditions on the eastern borders of the Reich, the military were forced to set up volunteer associations. With the official support of the Reich Government, they became the Eastern Border Guard . The actual framework was provided by the reactivated border corps of the former Prussian army and four other corps set up during the war , which were now in the Baltic region. The newly or re-established states of Latvia and Lithuania were interested in these troops because they feared for their independence due to advancing units of the Red Army . In order to recruit the volunteers for this space, the Latvian government had made vague promises for individual land acquisition, which was taken too seriously by the German advertising agencies and the volunteers; however, sentiment in Latvia (and Lithuania) turned as their overall situation consolidated. This increased so much that the German troops who had helped them were to be driven out by force of arms. In the complicated situation, events rolled over. In November 1919 Latvia even declared war on the German Reich.

French Commission

Coming from Paris, the Commission arrived in Berlin on November 7, 1919, with representatives from France , the United Kingdom , the United States , Italy and the Japanese Empire . Having traveled on to Königsberg , she negotiated with the local command authorities on November 11th. On November 13th, she arrived in Tilsit , where she was based. The French general Henri Albert Niessel headed the commission. His chief of staff was the French Colonel Edmond Louis Dosse .

Niessel negotiated with the Latvian government in Riga , went to Kovno to the Lithuanian government, to Memel and to Mitau to the commanding general of VI. Reserve Corps , Lieutenant General Walter von Eberhardt . Despite the ongoing fighting between German and Latvian or Lithuanian troops, the Baltic Commission had good contact with the opposing headquarters, which it also visited depending on the situation and the occasion.

German delegation

A delegation had also been formed on the German side, chaired by Vice Admiral Albert Hopman . Major i joined him as chief of staff . G. von Keßler , as representative of the Foreign Office the Legation Councilor Dr. Herbert von Dirksen . This delegation should help the IMKK to solve the problems. So they met for the second meeting on November 13th at the General Command of VI. Reserve Corps in Tilsit, whose troops were in the Baltic States.

The main concern of the Germans was the safe repatriation of the German and Baltic refugees, the food supplies, the army and other valuable goods. A truce for the evacuation had now been negotiated, which was to be completed by December 13th; the lack of railway lines and rolling stock, and not least of all battles that flared up again and again delayed everything. In addition, there was snowfall, rain, groundless paths, inadequate accommodation and failing horses. As a result, the head of the Baltic Commission made new demands. Their ultimate character came from communications of the Entente's intentions . Afterwards she intended "if things did not go as she wished, not only to have the hostilities by Latvians and Lithuanians resumed, but also to invade West Germany and fully resume the blockade" . The Baltic Commission threatened to leave immediately. Despite all the difficulties, people and material were returned at the right time by train and on foot. 6000 new German rifles had to remain behind, but their butts were knocked off. Tracks and ammunition depots were blown up, also for safety reasons. The transports of the Baltic troops to the demobilization sites began on December 18, 1919 .

safety

The population of northern East Prussia wanted the Baltic troops to remain in place as a reinforcement of border protection against possible incursions by Latvians and Lithuanians; the Reichswehr Ministry refused the request. Instead, from mid-January 1920, parts of five brigades of the Reichswehr were relocated from Central Germany to the area south of the Memel , in the two districts of Tilsit and Ragnit that still existed at that time (until 1922) . They were combined in the new Reichswehr Brigade von Dassel , which was in Tilsit with the brigade staff and the field post expedition No. 3054. With the end of the border protection on March 31, 1920, the individual parts were ordered back to their old locations.

memory

Only one publication still bears witness to that time in Tilsit, the book by Henri Albert Niessel . The city of Tilsit gave the short street between Anger and the district court the name Freikorps-von-Randow-Straße . Captain Alfred von Randow had distinguished himself with his detachment from Randow in the Baltic battles.

literature

  • Henri Albert Niessel : L'évacuation des pays baltiques par les Allemands. Contribution à l'étude de la mentalité allemande . Paris, Limoges, Nancy 1935.
  • Ciro Paoletti: The Activity of the Italian Military Representatives to the Allied Commission in the Baltic States, November 1919 - February 1920 . In: Baltic Security and Defense Review , ISSN  1736-3772 , Vol. 13 (2011), Issue 2, pp. 162-182 ( online ).
Michael H. Clemmesen: The 1918-20 International Intervention in the Baltic Region. Revisited through the Prism of Recent Experience . In: Baltic Security and Defense Review , ISSN  1736-3772 , vol. 13 (2011), issue 2, pp. 183-204 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Peter Joost: The Interallied Baltic Commission 1919/20 in Tilsit. Another (unknown or forgotten) chapter in the history of the city . 20. Tilsiter Rundbrief (1990/91), pp. 23-27.
  2. ↑ Dosse, Edmond Louis in the online version of the edition files of the Reich Chancellery. Weimar Republic