Eiserne Division

Eiserne Division
Flag of the Eiserne Division
Active29 November 1918–early 1920
CountryGermany
BranchFreikorps in the Baltic
TypeFreikorps
Size14,000 men (summer 1919)
16,000 men (peak strength)
Part ofVI Reserve Corps (1919)
West Russian Volunteer Army (1919)
Motto"und doch" ("and yet")
EngagementsRussian Civil War

Lithuanian–Bermontian War

The Eiserne Division ("Iron Division") was a German anti-communist volunteer military formation that took part in the Latvian War of Independence in 1919. It was the best-known Freikorps formation in the Baltic. The unit was deployed against Soviet Russian puppet-state of Latvian SSR, and later defected to the West Russian Volunteer Army and fought against the Latvian Army. The division, which at times numbered up to 16,000 men, was disbanded at the beginning of 1920 due to mutiny.