In 1943 on 4 September the British 8th army landed at Taranto in South
Italy. The 8th Army has a long history after WWI the British 8th was active
in the Baltic. They were there for the defence of British political
influence in the Baltic. From 1918 - 1919 their commander was a naval
officer
Admiral. Sir Edwin Alexander-Sinclair of Freswick born in Malta 1865 died
1945.As Commodore Edwin S. Alexander-Sinclair, M.V.O. at the Battle of
Jutland
he commanded the 'Galatea' he participated in the Battle of Scapa Flow
France and the United States showed little interest in the Baltic area. The
British 8th Army was concerned with the command, the control and the
coordination of the activities of the other allied armies in the region
which included Estonian, Finnish, German, Latvian and White Russian troops
The Baltic Provinces were conquered by the Germans between 1915 (Courland)
and 1918 (Estonia). They were formally transferred to German supreme
authority by Russia in 1918 following the Treaties of Brest-Litovsk and
Berlin.
After the end of World War I in 1918, German forces were allowed by the
Allies to remain present in the Baltic to halt a possible further Bolshevik
advance in the region, together with White Russian and other troops.
They however used this opportunity to protect German presence and interests
in the region, not hesitating to intervene in the internal affairs of the
new states, especially Latvia.
In 1919 the Germans briefly joined with the White Russian Western Army.
Sinclair
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