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The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991.For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic states after it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
Soviet expansion in 1939–1940. After the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact the Soviet forces were given freedom over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, an important aspect of the agreement to the Soviet government as they were afraid of Germany using the three states as a corridor to get close to Leningrad.
This is a list of wars, armed conflicts and rebellions involving Lithuania throughout its history as a kingdom (1251–1263), grand duchy (1236–1251; 1263–1795, although part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during 1569–1795) and a modern republic (1918–1940; 1990 – present), including as well the uprisings of the 19th and 20th centuries to recreate Lithuanian statehood.
The Germans demanded that Lithuania give up the Klaipėda region (Memelland), or the Wehrmacht would invade Lithuania. 23 August 1939, Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (Nazi-Soviet Alliance) signed. A secret protocol of the pact places Estonia, Latvia, and Finland in Soviet sphere of interest, Lithuania in Germany's
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were part of the Russian Empire during the 19th century, achieving independence in the aftermath of World War I.The rise of Nazi Germany during the 1930s created Soviet fears of a German invasion, [3] further aggravated by German expansion to the East, such as the ultimatum to Lithuania in March 1939, as a result of which the nation was ...
The Lithuanian insurgents (Lithuanian Activist Front) and soldiers in Cathedral Square, Vilnius. Lithuania was briefly liberated from the Soviet occupation during the June Uprising in 1941, but was soon occupied by Germany. On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the USSR and occupied all of Lithuania within a month.
In 1944, Nazi Germany was losing the war and Soviet Russia was making steady advances. In July 1944, Red Army reached the Lithuanian borders as part of the Operation Bagration. Most of the Lithuanian territory was taken during the Baltic Offensive. The last battle in Klaipėda ended in January 1945.
The Lithuanian Army was then deployed against the paramilitary West Russian Volunteer Army (Bermontians), who invaded northern Lithuania. [159] There were around 50,000 of Bermontians and they were well armed by Germany and supported German and Russian soldiers who sought to retain German control over the former Ober Ost. [ 159 ]