People / group

Freikorps

1918–1923 · 20th century · Also known as German Freikorps

The Freikorps were German volunteer paramilitary units formed after the First World War from demobilised soldiers. They crushed left-wing risings in Germany and fought in the Baltic in 1919, where, with the Baltic Landeswehr, they took Riga from the Latvian Soviet government in May 1919 before turning against the Latvian national government and being defeated at Cēsis.

Freikorps
Image: Unknown · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Republic of LatviaMilitary

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Latvian Socialist Soviet RepublicRepublic of LatviaBavarian Soviet RepublicBremen Soviet Republic

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Freikorps. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/freikorps
MLA
“Freikorps.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/freikorps. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Freikorps.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/freikorps.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Freikorps’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/freikorps (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻