Baltic Division

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Baltic Division

active February 22, 1918 to December 1918
Country German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge) Kingdom of Prussia
Armed forces Prussian Army
Type division
structure See: Outline
Commanders
Please refer Commanders

The Baltic Sea Division was a German intervention force of around 12,000 men under the command of Major General Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz , which was deployed in 1918, towards the end of the First World War , as part of the Finland intervention in the Finnish Civil War.

formation

On February 22nd, 1918, the staff of the " 12th Landwehr Division " became the staff of the "Baltic Sea Division". This was followed by the establishment of the "Baltic Sea Division" in Gdansk and the "Landungsabteilung Brandenstein" in Reval ; these were eastern troops that were ready for new use after the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk . These included three Cavalry Rifle Regiments , three hunter battalions , five bicycle companies , two mountain machine gun departments , a Bavarian mountain - artillery division , two heavy batteries , a Reitereskadron, a pioneer kompanie as well as news, medical and motor vehicle forces. Airmen of the 8th Army were also assigned to the "Baltic Sea Division", including the Aviation Department 16 and 37.

The Brandenstein Detachment under Colonel Otto Freiherr v. Brandenstein was only subordinated to the "Baltic Sea Division" from April 19. This also included a Finnish volunteer battalion "Thesleff" (Lieutenant General Vilhelm Alexander Thesleff).

Mission history

Finland intervention 1918
Finland, on the advance from Hangö to Helsinki
Railway protection in Finland in 1918

On February 14, 1918, the Finnish government asked Svinhufvud Germany for support in the fight against the red revolutionary government under Kullervo Manner . The German government complied with this request mainly for political reasons, as it did not want the revolution to spread and because of military strategic and economic interests it was interested in a good German-Finnish relationship.

The army association formed on February 22, 1918 was supposed to support the bourgeois troops of the "White Guards" under General Mannerheim in the fight against the "Red Guards".

The Jäger Battalion No. 14 occupied the Aland Islands on March 5 as part of the "Baltic Sea Division" in order to set up a base here. Sweden had also previously sent occupation troops to the Aland Islands, but conflict situations were avoided through negotiation. The occupation of the islands was soon abandoned by the "Baltic Sea Division" as there was no longer any strategic use. The original plan to land in Rauma was abandoned.

The majority of the division finally landed in Hangö on April 3, 1918 . During the civil war, the division's associations took part in numerous fights. Due to the constant retreat movements of the "Red Guards", there were initially only isolated advance battles. This changed with the approach to Helsinki, here fierce street fighting developed over several days, which ended on April 13 with the surrender of the local red troops. The encirclement and smashing - from April 29th to May 2nd - the red western army in the Hämeenlinna - Lahti area finally succeeded in cooperation with the "Detachement Brandenstein" and the " White Garden ".

The total losses of the German troops amounted to about 200 men.

After the active fighting, the associations of the "Baltic Sea Division" - at the request of the Finnish government - remained in the country as an occupying force. Later, the German troops also took part in the formation and training of the Finnish military units. At the end of August, the division's three hunter battalions were relocated back to Germany.

On September 13, 1918, the staff of the "Baltic Division" was given the designation "German General in Finland" and was directly subordinate to the Supreme Army Command.

The Baltic Division was once again included in the OHL's operational planning as part of the preparations for the Schlussstein company . With the start of operations, the division should begin the advance on the railroad to St. Petersburg. In cooperation with two other infantry divisions, another joint approach was then planned along the Murmanbahn . However, preparations for the mission were canceled on September 27th on the instructions of the OHL.

The last units of the "Baltic Sea Division" left Finland on December 16, 1918 and were brought to Stettin by sea.

Battle calendar 1918

  • 0April 4 to May 2, 1918 - Campaign in Finland
    • 0April 6 - Battle of Karis (95th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
    • April 11th - Battle at Alberga (2nd Guards Cavalry Brigade)
    • April 12-13 - Battle in front of and in Helsingfor
    • April 13-19 - Deploy at Helsingfor and advance; Battle of Skavavöle. (95th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
    • April 20 - Battle of Loppu (95th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
    • April 21 - Battle of Hyvinkää (95th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
    • April 22 - Battle of Riihimäki (95th Reserve Infantry Brigade)
    • April 25-28 - Battles in front of and in the suburbs of Tavastehus : Occupation of Tavastehus.
    • April 29th - Battle of Syrjäntaka ( Royal Saxon Carabiner Regiment )
    • April 29 to May 2 - Battles near Lahti
    • 0May 2nd - Battle of Toivola ( 1st Guard Uhlan Regiment )

Whereabouts

Parts of the Baltic Sea Division and its commander later belonged to the origins of the Baltic German Freikorps movement .

Structure and staffing

Troops of the Mecklenburg Jäger Battalion No. 14 on the deck of the SMS Westfalen , March / April 1918
German soldiers in the armored train near Lahti, late April 1918.

Division of War April 19, 1918

  • Baltic Sea Division staff (Major General Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz)
  • 95th Reserve Infantry Brigade (Major General Wolf)
    • Magdeburg Hunter Battalion No. 4 (Captain Ott)
    • Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Jäger Battalion No. 14 (Major Freiherr Schenk zu Schweinsberg)
    • Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 3 (Major Graf von der Schulenburg-Lieberose)
    • Pomeranian Jäger Battalion "Fürst Bismarck" No. 2
      • 1st cyclist company
      • 2nd cyclist company
    • Cycling company No. 11 (Lieutenant d. R. Lassen)
  • Staff 3rd Guard Cavalry Brigade (Colonel Otto Freiherr von Brandenstein)
    • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 255 (Lieutenant Colonel von Luck)
    • Cyclist Battalion No. 5 (Captain von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff)
    • Mecklenburg Jäger Battalion No. 14
      • 1st Cyclist Company (Captain Schrader)
    • 2nd Silesian Jäger Battalion No. 6
      • 1st Cyclist Company (Captain Roeder)
      • 2nd Cyclist Company (First Lieutenant Hepe)
    • Cyclist Company No. 54 (Lieutenant Misgeld)
    • Mountain MG Division No. 228 (First Lieutenant Schmitt)
    • Mountain MG Department No. 229 (Leutnant d.R. Paulssen)
  • 2nd Guard Cavalry Brigade (Colonels von Tschirschky and von Bogendorff)
  • Engineer Battalion No. 112
  • Reserve Engineer Company No. 78

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Major general Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz February 25, 1918 to December 1918

literature

  • Rüdiger von der Goltz: My broadcast in Finland and the Baltic States. KF Koehler, Leipzig 1920 ( online ).
  • World War I 1914-1918: Military Operations on the Land , Volume XIII. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1942, pp. 371–373.
  • Winfried Baumgart : The German Ostpolitik 1918: From Brest-Litowsk to the end of the First World War. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1966.
  • Max Fleischmann: The Aland Question: A Memorandum . (New edition) Springer-Verlag, Berlin 2013. ISBN 978-3-662429-90-7 .
  • Pentti Virrankoski: Suomen historia 2 . Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (SKS), Helsinki 2001, ISBN 951-746-342-1 .
  • Hermann Cron: History of the German Army in the World War 1914–1918 . Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-0414-9 .
  • Martin Lezius : Hall of Fame of our Old Army , (Ed.) Reichsarchiv Potsdam u. Bavarian War Archives, Military Publishing House, Leipzig 1927, p. 77 u. 180.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ LBW inventory: (456 F 19), 12th Landwehr Division (later Baltic Sea Division and German General in Finland), duration 1914-1919.
  2. ^ The battles and skirmishes of the Great War 1914-1918 , compiled by the Great General Staff, Verlag von Hermann Zack, Berlin 1919, p. 551.
  3. ↑ Agilolf Keßelring: The Emperor's "Finnish Legion". The Finnish hunter movement in the First World War in the context of the German policy towards Finland . Berlin 2005, p. 116.
  4. ↑ Aarne Bremer: Ilmavoimien osallistuminen Suomen vapaussotaan 1918 . Otava, Helsinki 1934, pp. 177-202.
  5. ^ Pentti Virrankoski: Suomen historia 2 . SKS, Helsinki 2001, p. 740.
  6. ↑ Winfried Baumgart: Die deutsche Ostpolitik 1918: From Brest-Litowsk to the end of the First World War. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1966, p. 98.
  7. ^ Erich Ludendorff: My war memories 1914-1918 . Volume I., ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1919, p. 505.
  8. ↑ Winfried Baumgart: Die deutsche Ostpolitik 1918: From Brest-Litowsk to the end of the First World War. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1966, p. 113.
  9. ↑ Winfried Baumgart: Die deutsche Ostpolitik 1918: From Brest-Litowsk to the end of the First World War. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1966, p. 116.
  10. ^ Government Gazette for Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Years from 1883 to 1914.