270 Chapter 3
one very small piece of Germany’s plan. Estonia was thought of by many in the Ger-
man army to be the real prize. As the German army swept through the countryside,
the Estonians prepared to meet them. On June 23, 1919, the Estonians met, surprised,
and beat the Germans, forcing them to retreat to Riga.
Not long thereafter, an Allied mission was able to get all sides to sign an armistice.
The Germans were to retreat to 14 miles from the Latvian capital of Riga where they
then set up headquarters. The exiled Latvian Ulmanis government, with the help of
the British, began to organize an army to push the Germans out of Latvia. In October,
after some Polish soldiers joined the German army, the Germans pushed back almost
into the outskirts of Riga. The Latvian army, after the initial setback, regrouped and
used new tactics to force the Germans back. They used naval gunnery as well as brute
force to overtake the German attacks. By mid-November, the Germans retreated from
Riga pursued by the Latvians. Even though the new German commander proposed an
armistice, fighting continued for almost a month as the Latvians cleared all Germans
from the area until the Allies intervened.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from March 15, 1919.
MID#3723
Dispute Number: 3723
Date(s): November 8, 1939 to November 11, 1939
Participants: 255 Germany/367 Latvia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Latvia detained four Reich fliers who were rescued in the Baltic Sea after
their military plane crashed on November 8, 1940. The crew and their plane were
interned by the Latvians.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from November 5, 1939. End Date changed
from March 2, 1940.
255 Germany/368 Lithuania
MID#134
Dispute Number: 134
Date(s): March 20, 1939 to March 23, 1939
Participants: 255 Germany/368 Lithuania
Outcome (and Settlement): Yield by side B (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: The territory of Memel, inhabited primarily by Germans, had been lost
by their government in their defeat after World War I, and signed over to the four
powers in the Treaty of Versailles in 1920. In 1923, however, it was occupied by
Lithuanian irregulars and claimed under the sovereign government of Lithuania,
where it remained until 1939. On March 20, 1939, the German government issued an
ultimatum to the government of Lithuania. The ultimatum demanded the cession of