Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)
The Kingdom of Lithuania was a short-lived constitutional monarchy created towards the end of World War I when Lithuania was under occupation by the German Empire. The Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania's independence on February 16, 1918, but the Council was unable to form a government, police, or other state institutions due to the continued presence of German troops. The Germans presented various proposals to incorporate Lithuania into the German Empire, particularly Prussia. The Lithuanians resisted this idea and hoped to preserve their independence by creating a separate constitutional monarchy. On June 4, 1918, they voted to offer the Lithuanian throne to the German noble Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach. Duke Wilhelm accepted the offer in July 1918 and took the name Mindaugas II. However, he never visited Lithuania. His election stirred up controversy, divided the Council, and did not achieve the desired results. As Germany was losing the war and was engulfed in the German Revolution, Lithuania suspended its decision to invite Duke William on November 2, 1918, thereby ending his short reign.
Lithuanian–Soviet War
Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire after the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. During World War I Lithuania was occupied by Germany and made part of Ober Ost. On February 16, 1918 the Council of Lithuania declared independence from both Germany and Russia. Three weeks later, the Bolsheviks, encumbered with the Russian Civil War, sued for peace with the Central Powers and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. They renounced Russian claims to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland. However, the Lithuanians were only allowed minimal autonomy and could not establish "de facto" independence. That changed when Germany lost the war and signed the Compiègne Armistice on November 11, 1918. Lithuania soon began organizing basic institutions, and established their first government led by Augustinas Voldemaras.