Baltic Military Cooperation 1918 - 1920

• In Event: Military Studies

Abstract

Although imperfect, Baltic military cooperation was an important factor which helped Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania defend their independence and liberate occupied territory in the 1918 – 1920 period. Despite their successful wartime cooperation, the three Baltic countries were not able to build an effective military alliance after their collective independence struggles. During their independence wars, all three countries had the good fortune of having able military leaders. Notable cooperation came when all three-armed forces took combined action against Russo-German army of Bermondt-Avalov in October – November 1919. On 9 September 1920 a Polish force occupied Vilnius starting a dispute over the city between Lithuanian and Poland lasting through 1920s and 1930s which affected cooperation in the entire Baltic region. Lithuania and Poland refused to participate in important regional cooperation conferences and the Polish – Lithuania dispute was the main obstacle to regional defense alliance from forming. However, Baltic diplomats largely recognized that collective defense was best way to ensure the security of the Baltic Countries, the League of Nations provided a great promise, but failed utterly due to great power intransigence. The historical lesson has been heeded in contemporary times, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have engaged actively in collective defense and security through NATO and the EU which were important national goals to join in 2004.

Short Bio

Eric A. Sibul, PhD has a BA in international relations from Penn State University, a MA in history from San Jose State University and a PhD in history from the University of York in the United Kingdom. He served as an assistant professor of military theory and history at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia from 2006 to 2015. He also served as principal lecturer on sea power theory, naval history and strategy at the Baltic Naval Command and Staff Course in Riga, Latvia. Prior to his academic appointment in Estonia, Dr Sibul served as a military English Instructor at the Republic of Korea Army Intelligence School in Songnam, Republic of Korea. As a member of the US Navy Reserve, he served in an Office of Naval Intelligence unit and Amphibious Construction Battalion Two. Currently, Dr. Sibul is an instructor of history, business, and economics at the City Colleges of Chicago. Recent publications include:

Author

• Eric Allan Sibul, Wilbur Wright College