The occupation by the troops of the Central Powers (German Bloc, Quadruple Alliance), the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires, the former Russian Empire's territories in 1917–1918. Ukraine and the South of Russia were invaded by Austria and Germany, the Byelorussian territories and the Baltic states were invaded by Germany, Transcaucasia was invaded by Germany and Turkey. German troops also assisted the government of Finland in the fight against the Reds. The interventionists’ objectives went beyond the support of the Bolsheviks’ opponents. They sought to overcome the economic crisis in their own countries and exploit resources of occupied territories (export of food and material values) to this end.

 

During World War I, German and Austro-Hungarian troops occupied Lithuanian, Latvian, Byelorussian, and Ukrainian territories. On the contrary, in the Caucasus, Russian troops managed to occupy part of the territories of the Ottoman Empire. As the Bolsheviks came to power, they called for an immediate end to the war and began negotiations with the Central Powers. Armistices were concluded on the Eastern and Caucasian Fronts (November 2 and December 5, respectively).

 

In the context of the change of power in Russia, countries of the German bloc sought to gain control over its territories. On January 30, 1918, Turkish troops, violating the truce, launched an offensive in Transcaucasia and occupied Western Armenia. On February 9, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a treaty with the Ukrainian People’s Republic, promising assistance in the fight against the Bolsheviks, and on February 18 they launched an offensive along the entire Eastern Front.

 

On March 3, in Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia and the Central Powers signed a peace treaty. According to it, the Soviet government renounced claims to Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, part of the Byelorussian territories, recognized the independence of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, ceded Ardahan, Kars, and Batum to the Ottoman Empire. Most of these territories were occupied by Central Powers, and the Soviet power was eliminated.

 

On March 7, 1918, a Peace Treaty between the government of Finland in Vaasa and Germany was signed. Due to the active participation of German troops in the Finnish Civil War, the Whites were able to gain victory by mid-May 1918.

 

By the end of April, Austro-German forces had occupied the entire territory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and promoted the formation of a new pro-German Ukrainian State. They also supported the formation of the Crimean regional government in Crimea, and of the Byelorussian People’s Republic in Byelorussia. In Lithuania and Latvia, the establishment of independent governments was prohibited by the Germans. In early May, German troops captured Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don. In the South of Russia, the Austro-German administration supported the Great Don Host, headed by Ataman Pyotr Krasnov.

 

The republics of Transcaucasia, united in April 1918 into the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic did not recognize the terms of the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and launched independent negotiations with Turkey. At the same time, they sought to gain German support both to fight the Bolsheviks and to counterbalance the threat from Turkey. In May 1918, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic collapsed under Turkish pressure, which resulted in the formation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the Republic of Armenia, and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Germany provided military and political support to the government of Georgia and was granted the right to use railways and ships to transport troops and goods. Turkey occupied Armenia and provided military support to Azerbaijan in the fight against the Soviet regime in Baku, gaining the right to use oil fields, ships of the Caspian military flotilla, and railways.

 

The defeat of the Central Powers in World War I resulted in the withdrawal of their troops from the occupied regions. On October 30, 1918, the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros with Great Britain, which provided for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Transcaucasia. According to the Armistice of Compiègne (November 11, 1918), the Austro-German troops were supposed to remain in the occupied regions until the arrival of Entente troops, but in fact, their withdrawal began already in November. The evacuation of German troops from the Black Sea ports had ended by mid-March 1919.