Rüdiger von der Goltz
| Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz | |
|---|---|
Rüdiger von der Goltz
|
|
| Born |
8 December 1865 Züllichau, Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 4 November 1946 (aged 80) Bernbeuren, Upper Bavaria, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch | Imperial German Army |
| Years of service | 1885–1918 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held |
Baltic Sea Division Baltische Landeswehr |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Finnish Civil War Latvian War of Independence Estonian War of Independence |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite |
Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (8 December 1865 – 4 November 1946) was a German army general during the First World War. After the end of the World War in 1918, Goltz commanded the army of the Baltic German-established Government of Latvia, which in 1919 was instrumental in the defeat of the Russian Bolsheviks and their local allies in Latvia, but suffered a defeat against Estonia and was eventually unsuccessful in retaining German control over the Baltic region after the War.
Goltz was born in Züllichau, Brandenburg. A Major-General commanding the German infantry division of Guards on Foot in France, he was transferred to Finland in March 1918 to help the nationalist government in the civil war against the Finnish "Reds" and Soviet Russian troops. He commanded the German expedition unit ("Baltic Sea Division") which landed at Hanko, Finland, between 3 April and 5 April 1918, and then marched on the socialist-controlled capital Helsinki, which surrendered after the Battle of Helsinki on 13 April 1918. The German military intervention aided the nationalist government of Finland to gain control over most of the country by May 1918.
After the 11 November 1918, armistice, the Inter-Allied Commission of Control insisted that the German troops remain in the Baltic states to prevent the region from being re-occupied by the Red Army. As many of the demoralised German soldiers were being withdrawn from Latvia, a Freikorps unit called the Iron Division (Eiserne Division) was formed and deployed in Riga and used to delay the Red advance. New volunteers arriving from Germany and remnants of the German 8th Army were subsequently added to the Iron Division, which was assigned under the command of Goltz. Also, Baltic Germans and some Latvians formed the Baltische Landeswehr, led by Major Alfred Fletcher.
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