Editing Puppet state (section)

=== Established by the German Empire ===
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of Poland (1919–1928).svg}} [[Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918)|Kingdom of Poland]] (1917–1918) – The [[Central Powers]]' forces occupied [[Russian Empire|Russian]] [[Congress Poland]] in 1915 and in 1916, [[German Empire|Germany]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] created a Polish monarchy to exploit the occupied territories in an easier way and mobilise the Poles against the Russians (see [[Polish Legions in World War I|Polish Legions]]). In 1918 the state became independent and formed the backbone of the new internationally recognised [[Second Polish Republic]].
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of Lithuania (1918).svg}} [[Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)|Kingdom of Lithuania]] (1918) – After Russia's defeat and the territorial cessions of the 1918 [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], the Germans established a Lithuanian kingdom. However, it became [[Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)|an independent republic]] with Germany's defeat.
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of Courland (state).svg}} [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918)|Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]] (1918) – In 1915, German forces occupied the Russian [[Courland Governorate]] and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|war in the east]], so the local ethnic [[Baltic Germans]] established a duchy under the German crown in that part of ''[[Ober Ost]]'', with a common return of civil administration in favour of the military.{{clarify|common return?|date=May 2023}} This state was swiftly merged with the Baltic State Duchy and the German-occupied territories of the Russian Empire in Livonia and Estonia, into a multi-ethnic [[United Baltic Duchy]].