The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states led to oppression, arrests, deportations, and mass murder as the NKVD went after everyone from clergy to stamp collectors to students of Esperanto. When the Germans invaded the USSR on June 22, 1941, the Baltic peoples seized the opportunity to revolt. All three revolts - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - succeeded in expelling the Soviets until advancing German troops arrived. The Baltic peoples hailed the Germans as liberators, but Nazi ideology considered them a "dying race" that should be shoved aside so the region could be repopulated by Germans. Lithuania declared independence and Estonia and Latvia desired to follow suit, but the Germans grouped the three Baltic States with Belorussia under military administration in the Reichskommissariat Ostland.
I wrote event codes to reflect these historically significant events. I patterned them after the Warsaw Uprising events.
My original post had the event code posted in the text of this message. I have edited the code as follows:
1. I added event pictures for historical flavor.
2. I upgraded the Baltic rebels to reflect that many of them had been conscripts in the Soviet Army and defected en masse to the rebel side, taking their guns with them.
3. I updated the code to reflect the recruitment of police battalions and Waffen-SS divisions. The Baltic peoples began organizing police and self-defense units as soon as they expelled the Russians; the arriving Germans assumed command over these forces and increased their recruitment. Thus from the German point of view, the Baltic states were essentially self-garrisoning. By the end of the war, the Baltic states had provided the Germans with a total of approximately 107 police battalions, which supported German rear area security from the Baltic to the Ukraine. Many of the police battalions saw front-line service; some were later incorporated into combat formations. In 1943-1944, the Germans raised a total of four Waffen-SS infantry divisions from Baltic recruits. Had the Germans granted independence to the Baltic states, I believe that these divisions would have been formed sooner.
The updated code and the event pictures are now attachments for ease of use.
I wrote event codes to reflect these historically significant events. I patterned them after the Warsaw Uprising events.
My original post had the event code posted in the text of this message. I have edited the code as follows:
1. I added event pictures for historical flavor.
2. I upgraded the Baltic rebels to reflect that many of them had been conscripts in the Soviet Army and defected en masse to the rebel side, taking their guns with them.
3. I updated the code to reflect the recruitment of police battalions and Waffen-SS divisions. The Baltic peoples began organizing police and self-defense units as soon as they expelled the Russians; the arriving Germans assumed command over these forces and increased their recruitment. Thus from the German point of view, the Baltic states were essentially self-garrisoning. By the end of the war, the Baltic states had provided the Germans with a total of approximately 107 police battalions, which supported German rear area security from the Baltic to the Ukraine. Many of the police battalions saw front-line service; some were later incorporated into combat formations. In 1943-1944, the Germans raised a total of four Waffen-SS infantry divisions from Baltic recruits. Had the Germans granted independence to the Baltic states, I believe that these divisions would have been formed sooner.
The updated code and the event pictures are now attachments for ease of use.
Attachments
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