Freedom wars of Lithuania - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles , refer to three wars Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

forces (December 1918 - August 1919), Bermontians (June 1919 - December 1919), and Poland

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

(August 1920 - November 1920). The wars delayed international recognition of independent Lithuania and the formation of civil institutions.

Background

After the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

was annexed by the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. The Lithuanian National Revival

Lithuanian National Revival

Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively Lithuanian National Awakening , was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian inhabited areas belonged to the Russian Empire...

emerged during the 19th century and the movement to establish an independent nation-state

Nation-state

The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...

intensified during the early 20th century. During World War I, Lithuanian territory was occupied by Germany

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

from 1915 until the war ended in November 1918.

On February 16, 1918, the Council of Lithuania

Council of Lithuania

The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...

declared the re-establishment of independence

Act of Independence of Lithuania

The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...

from all previous legal bonds with other states. The declaration asserted the right to self-determination

Self-determination

Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...

, meaning the creation of a state within ethnic Lithuanian territories. The publication of the Act of Independence was initially suppressed by the German occupation forces, but on March 23, 1918, the Germans acknowledged the declaration; their plans had shifted to the establishment of a network of satellite countries (Mitteleuropa

Mitteleuropa

Mitteleuropa is the German term equal to Central Europe. The word has political, geographic and cultural meaning. While it describes a geographical location, it also is the word denoting a political concept of a German-dominated and exploited Central European union that was put into motion during...

). However, Germany did not allow the Council to establish a Lithuanian military force, police force, or civic institutions. On November 11, 1918 Germany signed an armistice on the Western Front

Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)

The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...

and officially lost the war and control over Lithuania. The first national government, led by Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He served as the country's first Prime Minister in 1918, and again from 1926 to 1929.- Biography :...

, was formed. Voldemaras issued a declaration that Lithuania did not need a military force, as it was not planning to engage in warfare, and that only a small militia was needed. This view was unrealistic, since military conflicts soon erupted.

Formation of the army

The first legislative act creating an army was passed on November 23, 1918. Its development and organization moved slowly due to lack of funding, arms, ammunition, and experienced military commanders. On December 20 Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...

and Augustinas Voldemaras went to Germany to request assistance. This arrived at the end of 1918, when Germany paid the Lithuanian government one hundred million mark

German mark

The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...

s in reparations; the organization of the new Lithuanian army proceeded under the auspices of the German army, which was withdrawing in stages. However, the departure of both leaders created a difficult domestic situation. The Council of Lithuania

Council of Lithuania

released Voldemaras' cabinet; Mykolas Sleževičius

Mykolas Sleževicius

Mykolas Sleževičius was a Lithuanian lawyer, political figure, and journalist, who served as Prime Minister of Lithuania on two occasions.- Early life :...

became Prime Minister of Lithuania and formed a Cabinet on 26 December 1918. Perceiving an imminent threat to the state, he issued a proclamation several days later. Directed at Lithuanian men, the proclamation invited volunteers to join a force to defend the country.

Lithuanian volunteers who agreed to join the military force were promised free land. Fulfilling its Armistice obligation to support Lithuanian independence, Germany initially tried to organize a volunteer force from units remaining in Lithuanian territory, but those attempts failed. Crimps were sent to Germany to recruit volunteers. A division of volunteers was soon formed, who were paid 5 marks per day plus 30 marks per month. The first units began arriving in Lithuania during January 1919, although some of them were sent away because they were in a poor condition. By the end of January, 400 volunteers were stationed in Alytus

Alytus

Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2007 was 68,835. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The major highways linking Vilnius, Kaunas, Lazdijai, and...

, Jonava

Jonava

Jonava is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of ca 35,000.It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. The largest fertilizer factory in the Baltic states is...

, Kėdainiai

Kedainiai

Kėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located on the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2008 was 30,214. Its old town dates to the 17th century....

, and Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

. They formed the basis for the 46th Saxonian division, renamed in March to the Southern Lithuanian Saxonian Volunteer Brigade. The brigade consisted of the 18th, 19th, and 20th regiments. The last of these German troops, also known as Freikorps

Freikorps

Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...

, would leave Lithuania during July 1919.

After successful attempts at mustering a voluntary force to defend Lithuanian territories, mobilization

Mobilization

Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...

was begun on March 5, 1919 to expand the Lithuanian armed forces. It applied to men born between 1897 and 1899. At the end of summer 1919, the Lithuanian army numbered about 8,000 men. During the battles that followed, 1,700 Lithuanian volunteers died, more than 2,600 were injured, and 800 were missing in action

Missing in action

Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...

. Historian Alfonsas Eidintas

Alfonsas Eidintas

Alfonsas Eidintas is a historian, diplomat, and novelist.-Biography:Between 1969 and 1973 Alfonsas Eidintas studied history at Vilnius Pedagogical University, going on to serve as chief lecturer, docent, head of the Universal History Department, and Deputy Dean at that institution...

cites the total deaths as 1,444.

War against the Bolsheviks

Germany renounced the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...

, which had ceded Lithuania from Soviet Russia to Germany, on November 5, 1918. The Soviet Russian government renounced the treaty on November 13. The Bolsheviks attacked Lithuania from the east trying to prevent its independence and to spread the global proletarian revolution

World revolution

World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class...

. These actions succeeded in some states, such as Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

, Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, which were also briefly independent but then fell under Soviet rule soon after the civil war in Russia

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

had ended. In Lithuania this effort was not successful.

On December 8, 1918, a temporary revolutionary government in the capital city of Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

was formed, consisting solely of members of the Communist Party of Lithuania

Communist Party of Lithuania

The Communist Party of Lithuania was a communist party in Lithuania, established in early October 1918. The party was banned in December 1926.-History:...

. Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas

Vincas Mickevicius-Kapsukas

Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas was a Lithuanian political activist, one of the founders and leaders of the Communist Party of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ....

became its chairman. The following day a workers' soviet

Soviet (council)

Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....

was formed and declared that it had taken control of Vilnius. However, Voldemaras' government and a Polish committee also declared their control of the city at the same time. The Germans left Vilnius on December 31, 1918. On January 5, 1919 the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

took Vilnius and advanced further to the west. Local Polish paramilitary platoons led by general Władysław Wejtko fought the Red Army in Vilnius for five days; the Lithuanian government had left Vilnius along with the regular German Army. On January 1, 1919 local communists in the town of Šiauliai

Šiauliai

Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...

, about 200 kilometers west of Vilnius, rebelled and created a 1,000-man "Samogitian Regiment"; when the Red Army entered the town on January 15 Soviet power already existed there. On January 18 the Soviets and Germans signed a treaty and designated a demarcation line that barred Bolshevik forces from directly attacking Kaunas

Kaunas

, Lithuania's second-largest city. The Red Army would need to attack through Alytus

Alytus

or Kėdainiai

Kedainiai

.

German volunteers led by Rüdiger von der Goltz

Rüdiger von der Goltz

Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger, Graf von der Goltz was German Army general during World War I. After World War I he was the commander of the army of the Baltic German-established Government of Latvia, which played an instrumental role in the defeat of Russian Bolsheviks and their local allies in...

arrived in Lithuania, took up positions along the Hrodna

Hrodna

Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...

–Kaišiadorys

Kaišiadorys

Kaišiadorys is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ built in 1932. The Lithuanian Veterinary Institute is located there.-Etymology:Its name is...

–Kaunas

Kaunas

line, and helped the Lithuanian forces, commanded by Jonas Variakojis

Jonas Variakojis

Jonas Variakojis was a Lithuanian army officer....

, to stop the Red Army advance near Kėdainiai. On February 8, during the course of a reconnaissance mission, the first Lithuanian soldier to die in the wars, Povilas Lukšys, was killed near Taučiūnai. On February 10 the joint forces captured Šėta

Šėta

Šėta is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 1025.-References:*This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia....

and forced the Red Army to retreat. The success of this operation lifted the Lithuanian army's morale. During the first half of February 18, the regiment of Saxon volunteers stationed between Kaišiadorys

Kaišiadorys

and Žiežmariai

Žiežmariai

Žiežmariai is a city in the Kaišiadorys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south of Kaišiadorys.Žiežmariai has a rare, surviving wooden synagogue.-References:...

engaged in skirmishes on their line, and the joint force captured Jieznas

Jieznas

Jieznas is a small city in the Prienai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located east of Prienai along the northern shores of Lake Jieznas.-History:...

in an operation held between February 10 and February 13. After this setback the Bolshevik 7th Riflemen Regiment began to disintegrate, and many soldiers deserted. The regiment could have been completely destroyed, if the Germans had not refused to pursue the retreating units.

On February 12 Bolshevik forces attacked Alytus

Alytus

. Lithuanian 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th companies of the 1st Infantry Regiment had to withstand pressure from the Red Army, while members of the German units left their posts. During this battle the first Lithuanian officer to die in the wars was killed: Antanas Juozapavičius, the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment. After the loss of their commander the regiment began retreating towards Marijampolė

Marijampole

Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...

. On the night of February 14–15, German forces retook Alytus.

Towards the end of 1918 the officer Povilas Plechavičius

Povilas Plechavicius

Povilas Plechavičius was an Imperial Russian and then Lithuanian military officer and statesman. In the service of Lithuania he rose to the rank of General of the army in the interwar period...

, together with his brother Aleksandras, began organizing partisans in Skuodas

Skuodas

Skuodas is a city located in Klaipeda County, in northwestern Lithuania, on the border with Latvia. The Bartuva river flows through the town....

. On February 9 the partisans took an oath, and on February 16 they paraded in the town square. A partisan unit commanded by army officers was also organized in Joniškėlis

Joniškelis

Joniškėlis is city in the Pasvalys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located west of Pasvalys.-Name:Versions of the city's name in other languages include Polish: Johaniszkiele, Russian: Иоганишкели Ioganishkeli, Belarusian: Iоганiшкели Iohanishkeli, Yiddish: יאַנישקעל Yonishkel....

The movement of the Bolsheviks towards East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

worried Germany, and they sent volunteers (Brigade Shaulen) commanded by General Rudiger von der Goltz

Rüdiger von der Goltz

to free the railroad line linking Liepāja

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

, Mažeikiai

Mažeikiai

Mažeikiai is a city in the north-western Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 45,300, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of Mažeikiai district municipality in Telšiai County. It is the largest city that does not have its...

, Radviliškis

Radviliškis

Radviliškis is a city in the Radviliškis district municipality , Šiauliai County, Lithuania. Radviliškis has been the administrative center of the district since 1950, and is an important railway junction.-History:...

, and Kėdainiai

Kedainiai

. At the end of February the Lithuanian partisans, supported by German artillery, took Mažeikiai and Seda

Seda

Seda is a city in Mažeikiai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south-west of Mažeikiai on the Varduva River. There are two churches in the town.- History :...

, and pursued Bolsheviks to Kuršėnai

Kuršenai

Kuršėnai is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, it had 14,197 residents.-Famous people:* Stasys Raštikis, Lithuanian army general* Donald Kagan, Yale Classics professor-References:...

. On February 27, 1919, German volunteers supported by Plechavičius' partisans and Joniškėlis' partisans, defeated the The Samogitian regiment in a battle near Luokė

Luokė

Luokė is a town in Telšiai County, Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 777 people....

. By that time the regiment had been incorporated into the Red Army's 2nd Latvian International Riflemen Division. On the same day the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic or Litbel was a Soviet socialist republic, that existed within the territories of modern Belarus and eastern Lithuania for approximately seven months during 1919. It was created after the merger of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and the...

(Litbel) was declared. On March 7, 1919 the Germans took the town of Kuršėnai, on March 11 - Šiauliai, on March 12 - Radviliškis. On March 14 Lithuanian partisans and German forces captured Šeduva

Šeduva

Šeduva is a city in the Radviliškis district municipality, Lithuania. It is located east of Radviliškis.Shadova-Šeduva was an agricultural town dealing in cereals, flax and linseed, pigs and geese and horses, at the site of a royal estate and beside a road from Kaunas to Riga. The population...

. The German troops were active in Lithuania until May 31, 1919.

In Kėdainiai a stationed volunteer regiment had secured its positions; in March it started small expeditions into nearby towns. Local volunteers with good knowledge of the location succeeded in driving Bolshevik supporters out of Ramygala

Ramygala

Ramygala is a small city in Lithuania. It is located some south from Panevėžys on the banks of the Upytė River, a tributary to the Nevėžis River. According to 2005 estimate, it had just below 1,700 residents....

, Truskava

Truskava

Truskava is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 137.-References:*This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia....

, and Krekenava

Krekenava

Krekenava is a town in Panevėžys district municipality in northern Lithuania, on the bank of Nevėžis.From 1409 it was center of Upytė poviat, 1419 first wooden church built by Vytautas the Great. Nearby Krekanava is a birthplace of the painter Roman Szwoynicki .- Economy :1975 is a year of...

, but these areas were soon recaptured by the Bolsheviks. These expeditions into several towns were successfully carried out until the end of March. As a reward for its successful operations, the volunteer regiment was given a name on March 22: the Separate Panevėžys Volunteer Regiment. Due to a succession of losses, the Bolshevik forces stationed in Panevėžys

Panevežys

Panevėžys see also other names, is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2008, it occupied 50 square kilometers with 113,653 inhabitants. The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys is the Cido Arena...

and Kupiškis

Kupiškis

Kupiškis is a city in north-eastern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality. Kupiškis is situated on the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. The name of the city originates from Kupa River. Gediminas bridge crosses river Kupa.-History:...

rebelled, and were quelled only by a Red Army Division from neighboring Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. The Bolshevik morale underwent deeper declines, and between March 19 and March 24 their forces left Panevėžys. Lithuanian forces entered the city on March 26, but the Red Army retook it on April 4.

In April the Lithuanian army began moving towards Vilnius, taking Žąsliai

Žasliai

Žasliai is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 818.-References:*This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia....

and Vievis

Vievis

Vievis is a small city in Elektrėnai municipality, Lithuania. It is located 14 km east of Elektrėnai. The city is surrounded by Lake Vievis.In 1522 year the Vievis manor, in 1539 year - town, which belonged to Ogiński family, was mentioned...

, but their advances stopped on April 8. In the meantime, on April 19, the Polish army had taken Vilnius from the Bolsheviks and forced them to withdraw their left wing from territories south of the Neris River. The shortened front line that resulted allowed Lithuania to send stronger forces to northeastern Lithuania, and carry out operations there. By May 3, the Separate Panevėžys Volunteer Regiment, supported by the 18th regiment of Saxonian volunteers, had secured Siesikai

Siesikai

Siesikai is a town in Ukmergė district municipality, Vilnius County, east Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 601 people. The town has a church of Catholics....

, Atkočiai, and Deltuva

Deltuva

Deltuva is a small town in Ukmergė district, Vilnius County, Lithuania. It is located 6 km north-west of Ukmergė, near the road to Kėdainiai...

. They had also captured Ukmergė

Ukmerge

-Early history:Ukmergė was first mentioned as a settlement in 1333. It was essentially a wooden fortress that stood on a hill, near the confluence of the Vilkmergė River and the Šventoji River. Ukmergė was attacked by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order in 1333, 1365, 1378, 1386, and even...

; Lithuanian units were the first to enter the city.

In the beginning of March the mobilization began and Lithuanian forces increased their numbers. At the end of April the Lithuanian army's chain of command was reformed. General Silvestras Žukauskas

Silvestras Žukauskas

Silvestras Žukauskas , was a general in the Russian army, and later in his native Lithuania, after it regained its independence in 1918.- Biography :After graduating from the secondary school in Marijampolė, Žukauskas studied at the military academy...

was designated Chief of Staff, and on May 7 he assumed command of the entire Lithuanian army. A complete reorganization took place over the next new weeks, and the strengthened Lithuanian forces were now ready to push the Red Army back. Žukauskas decided to concentrate his Lithuanian forces in two areas. The first brigade, centered in the Ukmergė

Ukmerge

–Utena

Utena

Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.Utena is an...

–Zarasai

Zarasai

Zarasai is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Zarasas, north – Zarasaitis, southeast – Baltas, and east – Griežtas. Zarasaitis and Griežtas are connected by Laukesa rivulet....

region, was called the Vilkmergė Group; the second brigade, centered in the Kėdainiai-Panevėžys-Rokiškis region, was called the Panevėžys Group. Operations planning was undertaken during the middle of May.

On May 17 the reorganized army carried out its first operation, capturing the town of Kurkliai

Kurkliai

Kurkliai is a town in Anykščiai district municipality, in Utena County, in northeast Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 474 people. Center of eldership. In town there is Anykščiai Regional Park....

. Preparations were made for an advance on Anykščiai

Anykšciai

Anykščiai is a ski resort town in Lithuania, 20 miles west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring 79 meters in height.The city has a football club FK Anykščiai.-Name:...

, which was taken on May 19, along with Skiemonys

Skiemonys

Skiemonys is a town in Anykščiai district municipality, in Utena County, in northeast Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 92 people. Center of eldership....

and Alanta

Alanta

Alanta is a small town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2001, Alanta had 464 residents. It is situated at the crossing of two roads: Molėtai–Anykščiai and Utena–Alanta–Ukmergė. The town's St...

. On May 22 the Lithuanian forces launched an advance on Utena

Utena

, reaching the village of Diktarai. The initiative was met by a counterattack, and the Lithuanian forces retreated. The attack was stopped for several days, and line Alanta-Skiemonys-Anykščiai was taken. A drive towards Utena

Utena, Lithuania

started on May 31, and the city was secured on June 2.

The Panevėžys Group launched a drive towards Panevėžys

Panevežys

on May 18. On May 19 the brigade secured Panevėžys

Panevežys

and Raguva

Raguva

Raguva is a small town in Panevėžys County, in northeastern Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 610 people....

; on May 20 its field staff moved to Panevėžys. The city withstood a Bolshevik attack that took place on May 21 and 22. On May 24 Žukauskas ordered both groups to push farther. The Panevėžys Group advanced towards Kupiškis

Kupiškis

and secured Subačius

Subacius

Subačius is a city in Panevėžys County, northwestern Lithuania. It is located on the banks of the Viešinta River about west of Kupiškis....

on May 25. On May 30 they took Rokiškis

Rokiškis

Rokiškis is a city in northeastern Lithuania with population of about 16,000.-History:The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares . However, cities ending in "-kiškis" are quite popular in the region. The city was first mentioned in 1499...

; Bolshevik forces left Kupiškis

Kupiškis

on the night of May 30–31, and Lithuania secured that city on June 1. The advance continued, and on the 10th of June Lithuanian forces reached the territory controlled by Latvian partisans (Green Guard) and supplied them with munitions.

The Lithuanian successes continued, and by the end of August, the Bolsheviks were defeated near Zarasai. On October 2 Lithuania took Griva, a suburb of Daugavpils

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

. The Lithuanian forces stopped at the Daugava River near the border with Latvia, and the front line stabilized. The short-lived Litbel government was discontinued.

On July 12, 1920, Lithuania signed a peace treaty with the Russian SFSR. Russia recognized Lithuania's independence and its right to the Vilnius region

Vilnius region

Vilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...

. This treaty was not recognized by Poland or by the short-lived Belarusian National Republic

Belarusian National Republic

The Belarusian People's Republic was a self-declared independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian Democratic Republic or the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from Communist People's Republics...

. Several historians have asserted that despite its treaty with Russia, Lithuania was very close to being taken over by local communist forces that were backed by the Bolsheviks. In this view, it was only the Polish victory against the Soviets in the Polish-Soviet War

Polish-Soviet War

The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...

that disrupted these plans.

War against the Bermontians

The Bermontians, named for their leader Pavel Bermondt-Avalov and formally known as the West Russian Volunteer Army

West Russian Volunteer Army

The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was an army in the Baltic provinces of the former Russian Empire during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....

, were a mixed German-Russian army. The army included Russian prisoners of war, released by the German Empire

German Empire

after promising to fight against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

, and members of the Freikorps

Freikorps in the Baltic

After 1918, the term Freikorps was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around the German Empire, including in the Baltic states as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I...

, stationed in Latvia and Lithuania after Germany lost the war. The official goal of this army was to fight Bolsheviks along with Aleksandr Kolchak

Aleksandr Kolchak

Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was a Russian naval commander, polar explorer and later - Supreme ruler . Supreme ruler of Russia , was recognized in this position by all the heads of the White movement, "De jure" - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "De facto" - Entente States...

's forces, but its actual agenda was the retention of German power in the territories they had taken during World War I.

At first the Bermontians operated mostly in Latvia

Latvia

, but in June 1919, they crossed the Lithuanian-Latvian border and took the town of Kuršėnai

Kuršenai

. At that time the Lithuanians were engaged in battles with the Bolsheviks and could only issue diplomatic protests. By October, the Bermontians had taken considerable territories in western Lithuania (Samogitia

Samogitia

Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...

), including the cities of Šiauliai

Šiauliai

Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...

, Biržai

Biržai

Biržai is a city in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries.-Names:...

, and Radviliškis

Radviliškis

. After they had annexed a town, the Bermontians enforced a rule that only the Russian language

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

could be used to conduct administration. They became notorious for robbing and looting the local populace, who began organizing local partisan

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

groups.

During October 1919, Lithuanian forces attacked the Bermontians, achieving an important victory on November 21 and 22 near Radviliškis

Radviliškis

, a major railway center. The Lithuanians collected significant spoils of war there, including 30 airplanes and 10 cannons. Later clashes were stopped by the intervention of an Entente

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

representative, the French General Henri Niessel

Henri Niessel

Henri Albert Niessel was a French general.Henri Niessel oversaw the withhdrawal of German Freikorps troops who had entered Lithuania as part of Pavel Bermondt-Avalov's West Russian Volunteer Army.-References:...

, who oversaw the withhdrawal of German troops. The Lithuanian military followed the retreating Bermontian soldiers to prevent them from further looting and to ensure their complete evacuation. By December 15, the Bermontians were completely removed from Lithuania.

War against Poland

In June 1920 the Russian army had taken Vilnius. Shortly after their defeat in the Battle of Warsaw

Battle of Warsaw (1920)

The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...

, the withdrawing Red Army handed the city over to Lithuania under the terms of the peace treaty signed on July 12. Negotiations were started in an attempt to avoid an armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania. On October 7, the Suwałki Agreement was signed. However, on October 8, before the agreement was to formally take effect, General Lucjan Żeligowski

Lucjan Zeligowski

Lucjan Żeligowski , was a Polish general, and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and as head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania.-Biography:...

, acting on orders from the Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski

Józef Pilsudski

Józef Klemens Piłsudski was a Polish statesman—Chief of State , "First Marshal" , and authoritarian leader of the Second Polish Republic. From mid-World War I he had a major influence in Poland's politics, and was an important figure on the European political scene...

, staged a mutiny

Zeligowski's Mutiny

Żeligowski's Mutiny was a sham mutiny led by Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski had surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the...

by Polish troops. The Vilnius

Vilnius region

and the Suvalki

Suvalkai region

Suwałki Region is a small region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. The territory was disputed between Poland and Lithuania after World War I. This dispute was the main cause of the brief Polish-Lithuanian War and the Sejny Uprising...

regions were overrun. Initially the Polish forces did not meet much armed resistance, and a later Lithuanian counter-offensive was stopped by Military Commission of League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

. Since the Vilnius region

Vilnius region

was controlled by Poland, the Lithuanian government declared Kaunas

Kaunas

the temporary capital of Lithuania

Temporary capital of Lithuania

The temporary capital of Lithuania was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius , which was under Polish control from 1920 until 1939...

. The dispute over Vilnius would continue throughout the interwar period.

Żeligowski's Mutiny

After a staged mutiny

Zeligowski's Mutiny

arranged by Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski carried out of Polish forces led by general Lucjan Żeligowski

Lucjan Zeligowski

took control over Vilnius in the fall of 1920. Shortly after Lithuanian forces started to gain upper hand in this conflict rebel forces were supported by Polish regular army. This military action is considered as continuation of Polish-Lithiuanian war in historiography.

Armed conflict with Latvia

In the summer of 1919 the Lithuanian army, advancing against the Bolsheviks, crossed the Latvian border and reached the Daugava River, remaining in the eastern part of the ethnically-mixed Augšzeme region. The army, declaring that it would not proceed past Lithuanian borders, had committed to leaving the area as soon the war with the Bolsheviks ended. In January, 1920, the Latvian and Polish armies took Daugavpils

Daugavpils

from the Bolsheviks, and the Lithuanian army was relieved of this direct front line against the Bolsheviks. Nevertheless, during the summer of 1920 the Lithuanian army was still stationed in this disputed territory. On October 12, 1920 the Latvian army used the Polish-Lithuanian conflict to attack weakened Lithuanian positions.

Background

Formation of the army

War against the Bolsheviks

War against the Bermontians

War against Poland

Żeligowski's Mutiny

Armed conflict with Latvia

See also

Further reading