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The Soviet Union conscripted into its army sections of independent Latvia's military units, as well as those Latvians who were in Russia as a result of previous wars or who lived there. Many Latvian soldiers deserted when Germany attacked Latvia. A few, continued to serve with the Soviet forces. 130th Latvian Rifle Corps of the Order of Suvorov.
All members have militaries, except for Iceland, which does not have a typical army (but it does have a coast guard and a small unit of civilian specialists for NATO operations). Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO has 12 original founding member states.
In 1974, Greece suspended its NATO membership over the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, but rejoined in 1980 with Turkey's cooperation. [15] Relations between NATO members and Spain under dictator Francisco Franco were strained for many years, in large part because Franco had cooperated with the Axis powers during World War II. [16]
During the German invasion, the Soviets conducted a forced general mobilisation that took place in violation of the international law. Under the Geneva Conventions, this act of violence is seen as a grave breach and war crime, because the mobilised men were treated as arrestants from the very beginning. In comparison with the general ...
Latvia and Lithuania followed a similar process, until the completion of the Latvian War of Independence and Lithuanian Wars of Independence in 1920. According to the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, "the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy).
A secret protocol of the pact places Estonia, Latvia, and Finland in Soviet sphere of interest, Lithuania in Germany's sphere of influence. Poland was effectively divided between Stalin and Hitler. 1 September 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland. This event signifies the start of World War II in Europe.
Map of NATO enlargement (1952–present). The history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begins in the immediate aftermath of World War II.In 1947, the United Kingdom and France signed the Treaty of Dunkirk and the United States set out the Truman Doctrine, the former to defend against a potential German attack and the latter to counter Soviet expansion.
Mass arrests, disappearances, and deportations culminated on the night of June 14, 1941. Prior to the German invasion, in less than a year, at least 27,586 persons were arrested; most were deported, and about 945 persons were shot. After the occupation of Latvia in June 1940 the annihilation of the Latvian army began.