the Soviets, who were obviously unwilling to allow such an action by a beaten foe. In addition, the Soviets did not intend for Germans to remain settled in the Courland area after the war. A number of German, Estonian and, Latvian soldiers evaded Soviet capture. Approximately 4000 Latvian soldiers went to the forests and formed partisan organizations to continue their fight against the Soviets and to gain independence for the Soviet-occupied Latvia. Commanders Senior officers at capitulation General of Infantry Carl Hilpert, Commander of Army Group Courland; Lieutenant-General Friedrich Foertsch, Chief of Staff of the German Army Group Courland; Major-General Otto Friedrich Rauser, Chief of Logistics of the Army Group Courland; Lieutenant-General Keler, chief of the veterinary service of the Army Group Courland; Lieutenant-General Volckamer von Kirchensittenbach, Commander of the Sixteenth Army; Lieutenant-General Ehrenfried-Oskar Boege, Commander of the Eighteenth Army; Lieutenant-General Usinger, Commander of the I Army Corps; Lieutenant-General Gause, Commander of the II Army Corps; General of Artillery Thomaschki, Commander of the X Army Corps; Lieutenant-General Weber, Commander of the XVI Army Corps; General of Artillery Herzog, Commander of the XXXVIII Army Corps; Lieutenant-General Feyerabend, Commander of the 11th Infantry Division; Major-General Schultz, Commander of the 24th Infantry Division; Major-General Henze, Commander of the 30th Infantry Division; Lieutenant-General Franz Eccard von Bentivegni, Commander of the 81st Infantry Division; Lieutenant-General Strachwitz, Commander of the 87th Infantry Division; Major-General Ottomar Hansen, Commander of the 121st Infantry Division; Major-General Schatz, Commander of the 122nd Infantry Division; Major-General Haehling, Commander of the 126th Infantry Division; Major-General Demme, Commander of the 132nd Infantry Division; Major-General Giese, Commander of the 205th Infantry Division; Lieutenant-General Ranck, Commander of the 218th Infantry Division; Major-General Bauer; Major-General Risse, Commander of the 225th Infantry Division; Major-General Hemmann, Commander of the 263rd Infantry Division; Major-General Eberth, Commander of the 300th Special Infantry Division; Lieutenant-General Menkel, Commander of the 329th Infantry Division; Lieutenant-General Neuman, Commander of the 563rd Volksgrenadier Division; Major-General Otto Barth, Commander of a combat group of the 21st Luftwaffe Field Division; Lieutenant-General Band, Commander of the Courland Fortified Area; SS-Gruppenführer Streckenbach, Commander of the 19th Latvian Division; Major-General Horst von Usedom, Commander of the 12th Panzer Division; Colonel Karl-Max Gräßel, Commander of the 14th Panzer Division; Major-General Muller, commandant of the city of Libava. See also List of World War II military units of Germany References May 09th 1945 (From the Soviet Information Bureau) part of the Russian