The Klaipėda Revolt in January 1923 was a carefully coordinated Lithuanian military and political maneuver to annex the Klaipėda Region, which had been placed under French administration by the League of Nations following World War I. The region was of strategic importance, as it provided Lithuania with essential access to the Baltic Sea through its port city of Klaipėda (formerly Memel). Lithuania justified the annexation based on the region’s Prussian Lithuanian population and economic necessity.
Lithuania's concerns grew when the League of Nations appeared inclined to turn Klaipėda into an autonomous Free City, similar to Danzig. To preempt an unfavorable diplomatic decision, Lithuanian leaders staged the revolt, disguising their involvement by presenting the uprising as a grassroots movement by the local population. Lithuanian riflemen and volunteers entered the region on January 9, 1923, and, after encountering minimal resistance, took control of most areas. The capture of Klaipėda itself on January 15 required minor skirmishes with French troops, resulting in light casualties on both sides.
International reactions were initially hostile, with France threatening military action. However, other Allied powers, preoccupied with the occupation of the Ruhr and wary of provoking wider conflicts, leaned toward accepting the situation as a fait accompli. The League of Nations eventually negotiated a solution, formalizing Klaipėda's transfer to Lithuania through the Klaipėda Convention in 1924. This agreement granted the region autonomy while integrating it under Lithuanian sovereignty.
Although the revolt was celebrated as a significant diplomatic victory for Lithuania, tensions with Germany persisted. These unresolved issues would culminate in 1939 when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, issued an ultimatum demanding Klaipėda's return, which Lithuania conceded to avoid military confrontation. The Klaipėda Revolt remains a defining moment in interwar Lithuanian history, symbolizing both the nation’s strategic acumen and the complex political pressures it faced from neighboring powers.