After declaring independence in 1918, the fledgling armed forces of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania managed to defeat the Red Army. During the war, the first armored units were formed, equipped with vehicles conquered from the enemy or handed over by the British. After the conflict, those initial departments were strengthened with the purchase of tanks and armored cars, to form armored-armored components subsequently incorporated by the Soviets in 1940, after the annexation to the Soviet Union.