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COMMANDER // 1865–1946

Rüdiger von der Goltz

major generalGermanyBaltische Landeswehr3 battles2 wars

Lifespan

1865 – 1946

187519001925Finnish Civil War · 1918Russian Civil War · 1917-1922Battle of Helsinki — April 13, 1918 · German Empire · Finnish Civil WarInvasion of Åland — February 15, 1918 · Central Powers · Finnish Civil WarBattle of Cēsis — June 5, 1919 · Baltische Landeswehr · Russian Civil War

Active service 1918–1919 — 3 battles across 2 wars; first command at age 53.

Profile

Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz was a German army general during the First World War. He commanded the Baltic Sea Division, which intervened decisively in the Finnish Civil War in the spring of 1918, landing at Hanko and capturing Helsinki. After the armistice Goltz remained in Finland until December 1918, exercising significant political influence; the Quartermaster General of the White Army, Hannes Ignatius, described him as the "true regent of Finland". In 1919 he commanded German and Baltic German forces in Latvia, defeating the Bolsheviks and capturing Riga, before being recalled under Allied pressure in October 1919. After the war he was active in right-wing nationalist politics in Germany, participating in the Kapp Putsch and later the Harzburg Front.

Source · Wikipedia · Q61959

Battles (3)

Last verified June 2026
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