Rudiger Von Der Goltz

My mission in Finland and the Baltic States Rudiger Von Der Goltz

On the bright Easter Monday morning, 10 large German ocean liners with German troops accustomed to victory left the roadstead of Danzig, led by the liners Rheinland and Westfalen, the small cruiser Kolberg, numerous torpedo boats and smaller ships. Far ahead, the minesweepers under Captain v. Rosenberg did their dangerous duty to protect us from danger. Germany rules the waves. A proud, sad memory! It was the first time in world history that a German fleet, that a German army sailed from a German port across the Baltic to wage war on the other side of the sea. But it was also the first time that Germany was asked from across the sea for help for the threatened culture. It now looks as if the German voyage to Finland will not only be the first, but also the only one of its kind. We were followed by an eleventh transport ship with 400 Finns who, having arrived in Danzig from Reval the day before, wanted to take part in the liberation of their fatherland under German leadership. They were sufficiently armed, winter-provisioned and assembled into a battalion in Hangö, to which we gave the name "Thesleff".