Everything about The German Caucasus Expedition totally explained
The
German Caucasus Expedition was a military expedition sent by the
German Empire to the formerly
Russian Transcaucasia during the
World War I, its prime aim being securing oil supplies to Germany and stabilizing a nascent pro-German
Democratic Republic of Georgia.
Some 3,000 strong and commanded by
Major General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, the expedition was composed almost exclusively of
Bavarian troops and included the 7th Bavarian Cavalry Brigade, reinforced by the 29th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (7th and 9th
Jäger Battalions), the 10th Sturm Battalion, 1 machine-gun detachment, and the 176th Mortar Company. General
Erich Ludendorff was also involved in supervision and organizing the expedition, he personally met Georgian representatives in Berlin accompanying them to see Kaiser
Wilhelm II.
This force was transported by sea from the
Crimea to the Georgian
Black Sea port of
Poti where it landed on June 8 1918, and was later reinforced by the German troops recalled from
Syria and
Ukraine for service in Georgia. On June 10, the German force arrived at
Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, and held a joint German-Georgian military parade in the city’s
main thoroughfare. The German expedition was soon joined by the former German
prisoners of war in Russia and the mobilized
Württemberg colonists who had settled in Georgia in the mid-19th century. Combined German-Georgian garrisons were stationed in various regions of Georgia, including
Poti,
Ochamchire,
Kutaisi, and
Borchalo. Georgia, which had signed the provisional
Treaty of Poti with Germany on May 28, 1918, welcomed the expedition, seeing in the Germans protectors against the post-
Russian Revolution havoc and the
Ottoman military advances.
Many officers and soldiers of the German expeditionary force were awarded by the Georgian
Order of Queen Tamar issued specifically for the German military personnel and for those
Georgians who served in the
Georgian Legion of the German Imperial Army.
The arrival of the German troops in Georgia coincided with the growing German-Turkish rivalry for Caucasian influence and resources, notably the oilfields at
Baku,
Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, on the
Caspian and the associated rail and pipeline connection to
Batumi on the Black Sea. Early in June 1918, the Ottoman army under
Vehip Pasha renewed its offensive on the main road to Tiflis, and confronted a joint German-Georgian force. On June 10, the Turks attacked and took many prisoners, leading to an official threat from
Berlin to withdraw its troops and support from Turkey. The Ottoman government had to concede to German pressure and to halt, for the moment, a further advance into Georgia, reorientating its strategic direction towards Azerbaijan and
Iran.
Simultaneously, two additional German divisions were moved from the
Balkans and Ukraine to advance on Baku. At the same time, Germany turned to
Soviet Russia and offered to stop the Turks in return for guaranteed access to Baku's oil. According to the August 27 agreement between Russia and Germany, the latter was to receive a quarter of Baku’s oil production. The German government requested from Turkey to stall an offensive into Azerbaijan, but the request was ignored, and the Ottoman army
entered Baku on the heels of the evacuating
British forces on September 15, 1918. Next day, they were joined by a sizeable German military mission led by Colonel Friedrich von der Holtz. However, a severe political crisis in Germany, that started later that month, rendered the Caucasus expedition abortive. On October 21, the German government ordered the withdrawal of all troops from the region. The last ship with German soldiers aboard departed from Poti, Georgia, on December 1918. Thus, it was the last German military formation to return home, in April 1919, from active service in the World War I.
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