Ober Ost

The title of commander-in-chief of all German forces in the East (Oberbefehlshaber Ost) went to Paul von Hindenburg on 1 November 1914, with Erich Ludendorff as his chief of staff. They directed operations in the East from there until August 1916, when they took over the Supreme Army Command; Prince Leopold of Bavaria then took over Ober Ost.

After the great offensive of 1915 the lands north of the Government-General of Warsaw were placed under Ober Ost's military administration, run in practice by Ludendorff from headquarters in Kovno. It covered Courland, Lithuania with Vilna, and the Grodno, Białystok and Suwałki regions, about 109,000 km² with 2.9 million inhabitants. The occupiers registered the population, restricted travel and trade, requisitioned food, timber and horses and sent people to forced labour. They favoured the Lithuanians at the Poles' expense. The Germans withdrew at the turn of 1918 and 1919.