Sejny Uprising
Encyclopedia
The Sejny Uprising or Seinai Revolt refers to a Polish uprising in the ethnically-mixed area surrounding Sejny
(Lithuanian: Seinai) against the Lithuania
n authorities in August 1919. When German forces, which occupied the territory during World War I
, retreated from the area, the administration was handed to the Lithuanians. Trying to prevent an armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania, the Entente
drew a demarcation line, known as the Foch Line
. The line assigned much of the disputed Suwałki (Suvalkai) Region to Poland and required the Lithuanian Army to retreat. While the Lithuanians retreated from some areas, they refused to leave Sejny. Polish irregular forces began the uprising on August 23, 1919, and soon received support from the regular Polish Army. After several military skirmishes, Polish forces secured Sejny and Lithuanians retreated behind the Foch Line.
The uprising did not solve the larger border conflict between Poland and Lithuania over the ethnically-mixed Suwałki Region. Both sides complained about each others repressive measures. The conflict intensified in 1920, causing military skirmishes of the Polish–Lithuanian War
. Sejny changed hands frequently until the Suwałki Agreement of October 1920, which left Sejny on the Polish side. The uprising undermined the plans of Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, who was planning a coup d'état in Lithuania
to replace the Lithuanian government with a pro-Polish cabinet, which would agree to a union with Poland (the proposed Międzymorze
federation). The coup was discovered and stopped as the Sejny Uprising prompted the Lithuanian intelligence to intensify its investigations of Polish activities in Lithuania. The hostilities in Sejny further strained the Polish–Lithuanian relations
.
and was part of the Kingdom of Poland rather than the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. However, Sejny was a property of Dominican
friars from Vilnius
. During the 19th century the town was part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland
. During World War I
the region was captured by the German Empire
, which intended to incorporate the area into its province of East Prussia
. After the German defeat, the victorious Entente
was willing to assign the territory to either the newly-independent Poland or Lithuania. The future of the region was discussed at the Paris Peace Conference
in January 1919. The Germans, whose former Ober-Ost administration was preparing to evacuate, initially supported leaving the area to a Polish administration. However, as Poland was becoming an ally of France
, German support gradually shifted towards Lithuania. In July 1919, when the German troops began their slow retreat from the area, they delegated the administration to local Lithuanian authorities. Lithuanian officers and troops, who first arrived to the region in May, began to organize military units in the pre-war Sejny county.
According to Russian statistics of 1889, there were 57.8% of Lithuanians, 19.1% of Poles, and 3.5% of Belarusians in the Suwałki Governorate. It is generally agreed that Lithuanians formed majority in the northern Suwałki Governorate, while Poles concentrated in south. However, Lithuanian and Polish historians continue to disagree where was the line separating Lithuanian and Polish majorities. Lithuanians claimed that Sejny and surrounding area were inhabited primarily by Lithuanians, while the Poles claimed exactly the opposite. The German census of 1916 showed that 51% of Sejny population was Lithuanian. Lithuanians also valued the town because of the Sejny Priest Seminary
and its role in the Lithuanian National Revival
.
The Conference of Ambassadors
drew the first demarcation line
between Poland and Lithuania on June 18, 1919. The line satisfied no one and Polish troops continued to advance deeper into the Lithuanian-controlled territory. These attacks coincided with signing of the treaty of Versailles
on June 28 and eliminated danger from Germany. Attempting to halt further hostilities, Marshal of France
Ferdinand Foch
proposed a new line, known as the Foch Line
, on July 18, 1919. The Foch Line was negotiated with Polish war mission, led by General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski
, in Paris while Lithuanian representatives were not invited. Two major modification were made over the line of June 18: first, the entire line was moved west to give extra protection to the strategic Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
and second, the Suwałki Region, including towns of Sejny, Suwałki, Puńsk
, was assigned to Poland. Despite assurances that the lines was just temporary measure to normalize the situation before full negotiations could take place, the southern Foch Line still stands as the border between Lithuania and Poland.
On July 26, the Foch Line was accepted by the Conference of Ambassadors
as the provisional border between the two states. Lithuanians were informed about this decision only on August 3. Neither country was satisfied: both Lithuanian and Polish forces would have to retreat from the Suwałki and Vilnius Regions respectively. Germans, still present in the region, also objected to the line. The Lithuanian forces (about 350 strong) left the town of Suwałki by August 7, but stopped in Sejny and formed a line on the Czarna Hańcza river – Wigry Lake
. Lithuanians believed that the Foch Line was not the final decision and that they had the duty to protect Lithuanian outposts in the region.
On August 12, 1919, two days after the Germans retreated from Sejny, a Polish meeting in Sejny attracted over 100 delegates from neighboring Polish communities; the meeting passed a resolution that "only securing the area by Polish Army can solve the problem." The Sejny branch of the Polish Military Organization (PMO), led by Polish regular army officers Adam Rudnicki and Wacław Zawadzki, began preparing for the uprising on August 16. PMO members and local militia volunteers numbered some 900 or 1,200 men. The uprising was scheduled for the night of August 22 to 23, 1919. The date was chosen to coincide with the withdrawal of German troops from the town of Suwałki. The Poles hoped to capture the territory up to the Foch Line and move further to the towns of Seirijai
, Lazdijai
, Kapčiamiestis
as far as Simnas
.
According to the Polish historian Tadeusz Mańczuk, Piłsudski – who planning a coup d'état
in Kaunas
– discouraged the local PMO activists from carrying out the Sejny Uprising. Piłsudski reasoned that any hostilities could leave Lithuanians even more opposed to the proposed union with Poland (see Międzymorze
). The local PMO disregarded his recommendations and launched the uprising, which while locally successful, led to the failure of the nationwide coup.
On August 17, a Lithuanian counter-demonstration was staged, whose participants read a recently issued recruitment proclamation of Lithuanian volunteer army: "Citizens! Our nation is in danger! To arms! We shall leave not a single occupant on our lands!" On August 20, Prime Minister of Lithuania
Mykolas Sleževičius
visited Sejny and called Lithuanians to defend their lands "to the end, however they can, with axes, pitchforks and scythes". According to Lesčius, at the same time Lithuanian command in Sejny had only 260 infantry and 70 cavalry personnel, stretched along the long line of defense. There were only 10 Lithuanian guards and 20 clerical staff in the town itself. Mańczuk and Buchowski notes that the Polish insurgents estimated the Lithuanian forces at 1,200 infantry (Mańczuk also adds an estimate of 120 cavalry), including a 400-strong garrison in Sejny.
. Over 100 Lithuanians were imprisoned in Sejny when their commander Bardauskas sided with the Poles. The Polish insurgents also attacked Lazdijai and Kapčiamiestis, towns on the Lithuanian side of the Foch Line. In early morning of August 25, Lithuanians counterattacked and recaptured Sejny. Polish sources claim that Lithuanians there aided by a company of Germans volunteers, but Lithuanian sources assert that it was an excuse used by Rudnicki to explain his defeat. The Lithuanian forces recovered some important documents and property, freed Lithuanian prisoners and, according to Mańczuk, executed several of the PMO fighters they found wounded. On the evening of August 25 the first regular unit (41st Infantry Regiment) of the Polish army received an order to advance towards Sejny. The Lithuanian forces retreated on the same day, when they learned about approaching Polish reinforcements. According to Mańczuk, they based their retreat on an erroneous report about a "large Polish cavalry unit" operating on their rear; in fact only small groups of Polish partisans operated there. Later the next day, during the afternoon of August 26, the PMO forces in Sejny were joined by the 41st Infantry Regiment.
On August 26, a large anti-Polish protest took place in Lazdijai
demanding to march on Sejny. The last Lithuanian attempt to retake the town was made on August 28. The Lithuanians (about 650 men) were defeated by the combined forces of the Polish Army (800 men) and PMO volunteers (500 men). On August 27, the Poles officially demanded that Lithuanians retreat behind the Foch Line. On September 1, Rudnicki announced incorporation of PMO volunteers into the 41st Infantry Regiment. During the negotiations on September 5, it was settled on a detailed demarcation line and Lithuanians agreed to retreat by September 7. The Polish regular army units did not cross the Foch Line, and refused to aid the PMO insurgents still operating on the Lithuanian side. Minor border skirmishes continued for several months. The most notable incident occurred on October 12 when Polish troops planned to attack Kapčiamiestis
.
Polish sources give total Polish casualties for the Sejny Uprising as 37 killed in action and 70 wounded.
After the uprising, Poland repressed Lithuanian cultural life in Sejny. Lithuanian schools in Sejny (with some 300 pupils) and surrounding villages were closed, local Lithuanian clergy evicted, the Sejny Priest Seminary
relocated. According to Lithuanians, the repressions were even more widespread, including a ban on public use of the Lithuanian language
and the closure of Lithuanian organizations numbering 1,300 members. The New York Times
, reporting on renewed hostilities a year later, described the 1919 Sejny events as a violent occupation, in which the Lithuanian inhabitants, teachers, and religious ministers were maltreated and expelled. Polish historian Łossowski notes that both sides mistreated civilian population and exaggerated reports to gain internal and foreign support.
The uprising contributed to the deterioration of the Polish–Lithuanian relations
and further discouraged the Lithuanians from joining Piłsudski's proposed Międzymorze
federation. The Sejny Uprising doomed the Polish plan to overthrow the Lithuanian government in a coup d'état
. The Lithuanian police and intelligence intensified their investigation of Polish sympathizers and the coup was soon uncovered. Mass arrests of Polish activists continued from August 27 to the end of September 1919. During the investigations lists of PMO supporters were found and the organisation was completely eliminated in Lithuania.
Hostilities over the Suwałki Region resumed in summer 1920. When Polish Army began to retreat during the course of the Polish–Soviet War, the Lithuanians moved to secure what they claimed to be their new borders, set by the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty
of July 1920. The Peace Treaty granted Sejny and surrounding area to Lithuania. Poland did not recognize this bilateral treaty. Ensuing tensions grew into the Polish–Lithuanian War
. Sejny changed hands frequently until it fell to Polish hands on September 22, 1920. The situation was legalized by the Suwałki Agreement of October 7, 1920, which returned to the Foch Line of July 27, 1919. The Polish–Lithuanian border in the Suwałki Region remained the same since then (with the exception of the World War II
period).
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
(Lithuanian: Seinai) against the 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...
n authorities in August 1919. When German forces, which occupied the territory during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, retreated from the area, the administration was handed to the Lithuanians. Trying to prevent an armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania, the 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...
drew a demarcation line, known as the Foch Line
Foch Line
The Foch Line was a temporary demarcation line between Poland and Lithuania proposed by the Entente in the aftermath of World War I. The line was proposed by Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch and was accepted by the Conference of Ambassadors in 1919. With small adjustments the line formed the basis...
. The line assigned much of the disputed Suwałki (Suvalkai) Region to Poland and required the Lithuanian Army to retreat. While the Lithuanians retreated from some areas, they refused to leave Sejny. Polish irregular forces began the uprising on August 23, 1919, and soon received support from the regular Polish Army. After several military skirmishes, Polish forces secured Sejny and Lithuanians retreated behind the Foch Line.
The uprising did not solve the larger border conflict between Poland and Lithuania over the ethnically-mixed Suwałki Region. Both sides complained about each others repressive measures. The conflict intensified in 1920, causing military skirmishes of the Polish–Lithuanian War
Polish–Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
. Sejny changed hands frequently until the Suwałki Agreement of October 1920, which left Sejny on the Polish side. The uprising undermined the plans of Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, who was planning a coup d'état in Lithuania
1919 Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania
The Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania refers to a failed attempt by Józef Piłsudski to overthrow the existing government of Lithuania, led by Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius, and install a more pro-Polish cabinet that would agree to a union with Poland. The coup d'etat was to be carried...
to replace the Lithuanian government with a pro-Polish cabinet, which would agree to a union with Poland (the proposed Międzymorze
Miedzymorze
Międzymorze was a plan, pursued after World War I by Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, for a federation, under Poland's aegis, of Central and Eastern European countries...
federation). The coup was discovered and stopped as the Sejny Uprising prompted the Lithuanian intelligence to intensify its investigations of Polish activities in Lithuania. The hostilities in Sejny further strained the Polish–Lithuanian relations
Polish–Lithuanian relations
Polish–Lithuanian relations dates from the 13th century, when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under Mindaugas took over some of the lands of Rus' and thus established a border with the then-fragmented Kingdom of Poland. Polish-Lithuanian relations improved, leading to an alliance...
.
Background
During the ages, the lands surrounding the town of Suwałki had been variously part of Lithuanian, Polish, and German borderlands. Since 1569, during the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the territory belonged to the Podlaskie VoivodeshipPodlaskie Voivodeship (1513–1795)
The Podlaskie Voivodeship was formed in 1513 by Sigismund I the Old as a voivodeship in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from a split off part of the Trakai Voivodeship....
and was part of the Kingdom of Poland rather than 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...
. However, Sejny was a property of Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friars from 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...
. During the 19th century the town was part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the region was captured by the German Empire
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...
, which intended to incorporate the area into its province of 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...
. After the German defeat, the victorious 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...
was willing to assign the territory to either the newly-independent Poland or Lithuania. The future of the region was discussed at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
in January 1919. The Germans, whose former Ober-Ost administration was preparing to evacuate, initially supported leaving the area to a Polish administration. However, as Poland was becoming an ally of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, German support gradually shifted towards Lithuania. In July 1919, when the German troops began their slow retreat from the area, they delegated the administration to local Lithuanian authorities. Lithuanian officers and troops, who first arrived to the region in May, began to organize military units in the pre-war Sejny county.
According to Russian statistics of 1889, there were 57.8% of Lithuanians, 19.1% of Poles, and 3.5% of Belarusians in the Suwałki Governorate. It is generally agreed that Lithuanians formed majority in the northern Suwałki Governorate, while Poles concentrated in south. However, Lithuanian and Polish historians continue to disagree where was the line separating Lithuanian and Polish majorities. Lithuanians claimed that Sejny and surrounding area were inhabited primarily by Lithuanians, while the Poles claimed exactly the opposite. The German census of 1916 showed that 51% of Sejny population was Lithuanian. Lithuanians also valued the town because of the Sejny Priest Seminary
Sejny Priest Seminary
The Sejny Priest Seminary or Sejny Theological Seminary was a Catholic priest seminary established in Sejny in 1826. The courses lasted five years...
and its role in 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...
.
Demarcation lines
Conference of Ambassadors
The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers was an inter-allied organization of the Entente in the period following the end of World War I. Formed in Paris in January 1920 it became a successor of the Supreme War Council and was later on de facto incorporated into...
drew the first demarcation line
Demarcation line
A demarcation line means simply a boundary around a specific area, but is commonly used to denote a temporary geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire.See the following examples:...
between Poland and Lithuania on June 18, 1919. The line satisfied no one and Polish troops continued to advance deeper into the Lithuanian-controlled territory. These attacks coincided with signing of the treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
on June 28 and eliminated danger from Germany. Attempting to halt further hostilities, Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
proposed a new line, known as the Foch Line
Foch Line
The Foch Line was a temporary demarcation line between Poland and Lithuania proposed by the Entente in the aftermath of World War I. The line was proposed by Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch and was accepted by the Conference of Ambassadors in 1919. With small adjustments the line formed the basis...
, on July 18, 1919. The Foch Line was negotiated with Polish war mission, led by General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski
Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski
Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski was a Polish military commander, diplomat, and politician, a general of the Austro-Hungarian Army and then the Polish Army.- Youth :...
, in Paris while Lithuanian representatives were not invited. Two major modification were made over the line of June 18: first, the entire line was moved west to give extra protection to the strategic Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway
The Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, Russian "Санкт-Петербурго-Варшавская железная дорога" is a long railway, built in the 19th century by the Russian Empire to connect Russia with Central Europe. At the time the entire railway was within Russia, as Warsaw was under a Russian partition of Poland...
and second, the Suwałki Region, including towns of Sejny, Suwałki, Puńsk
Punsk
Puńsk is a village with 1,050 inhabitants in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. Over 80% of the population of Puńsk is Lithuanian. It lies in the northeastern part of Poland, only from the border with Lithuania....
, was assigned to Poland. Despite assurances that the lines was just temporary measure to normalize the situation before full negotiations could take place, the southern Foch Line still stands as the border between Lithuania and Poland.
On July 26, the Foch Line was accepted by the Conference of Ambassadors
Conference of Ambassadors
The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers was an inter-allied organization of the Entente in the period following the end of World War I. Formed in Paris in January 1920 it became a successor of the Supreme War Council and was later on de facto incorporated into...
as the provisional border between the two states. Lithuanians were informed about this decision only on August 3. Neither country was satisfied: both Lithuanian and Polish forces would have to retreat from the Suwałki and Vilnius Regions respectively. Germans, still present in the region, also objected to the line. The Lithuanian forces (about 350 strong) left the town of Suwałki by August 7, but stopped in Sejny and formed a line on the Czarna Hańcza river – Wigry Lake
Wigry Lake
Wigry is a lake located in north-eastern part of Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship.Wigry lake is situated in the forests of the Augustów Wilderness – trees grow on about 80% of its shoreline. There are 19 smaller and bigger islands on the lake, in its waters thrive as many as 26 species of...
. Lithuanians believed that the Foch Line was not the final decision and that they had the duty to protect Lithuanian outposts in the region.
Uprising preparations
Seirijai
Seirijai is a small town in Alytus County in southern Lithuania. As of 2001 it had a population of 933.-References:*This article was initially translated from the Lithuanian Wikipedia....
, Lazdijai
Lazdijai
Lazdijai is a city in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. In 1990 Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, and new check points between the borders Poland and Lithuania were established and Lazdijai became the center that oversees and continues to regulate these...
, Kapčiamiestis
Kapciamiestis
Kapčiamiestis is a town in Lithuania located near the confluence of Baltoji Ančia and Nieda Rivers. Town traces its history dating back in early 16th century, then a manor was built...
as far as Simnas
Simnas
Simnas is a city within the Alytus district municipality, Lithuania. It is located west of Alytus.-External links:*...
.
According to the Polish historian Tadeusz Mańczuk, Piłsudski – who planning a coup d'état
1919 Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania
The Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania refers to a failed attempt by Józef Piłsudski to overthrow the existing government of Lithuania, led by Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius, and install a more pro-Polish cabinet that would agree to a union with Poland. The coup d'etat was to be carried...
in 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...
– discouraged the local PMO activists from carrying out the Sejny Uprising. Piłsudski reasoned that any hostilities could leave Lithuanians even more opposed to the proposed union with Poland (see Międzymorze
Miedzymorze
Międzymorze was a plan, pursued after World War I by Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, for a federation, under Poland's aegis, of Central and Eastern European countries...
). The local PMO disregarded his recommendations and launched the uprising, which while locally successful, led to the failure of the nationwide coup.
On August 17, a Lithuanian counter-demonstration was staged, whose participants read a recently issued recruitment proclamation of Lithuanian volunteer army: "Citizens! Our nation is in danger! To arms! We shall leave not a single occupant on our lands!" On August 20, Prime Minister of Lithuania
Prime Minister of Lithuania
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...
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 :...
visited Sejny and called Lithuanians to defend their lands "to the end, however they can, with axes, pitchforks and scythes". According to Lesčius, at the same time Lithuanian command in Sejny had only 260 infantry and 70 cavalry personnel, stretched along the long line of defense. There were only 10 Lithuanian guards and 20 clerical staff in the town itself. Mańczuk and Buchowski notes that the Polish insurgents estimated the Lithuanian forces at 1,200 infantry (Mańczuk also adds an estimate of 120 cavalry), including a 400-strong garrison in Sejny.
Military skirmishes
According to Lithuanian historian Lesčius, the first Polish assault of about 300 PMO members on August 22 was repelled, but the next day Lithuanians were forced to retreat towards LazdijaiLazdijai
Lazdijai is a city in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. In 1990 Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, and new check points between the borders Poland and Lithuania were established and Lazdijai became the center that oversees and continues to regulate these...
. Over 100 Lithuanians were imprisoned in Sejny when their commander Bardauskas sided with the Poles. The Polish insurgents also attacked Lazdijai and Kapčiamiestis, towns on the Lithuanian side of the Foch Line. In early morning of August 25, Lithuanians counterattacked and recaptured Sejny. Polish sources claim that Lithuanians there aided by a company of Germans volunteers, but Lithuanian sources assert that it was an excuse used by Rudnicki to explain his defeat. The Lithuanian forces recovered some important documents and property, freed Lithuanian prisoners and, according to Mańczuk, executed several of the PMO fighters they found wounded. On the evening of August 25 the first regular unit (41st Infantry Regiment) of the Polish army received an order to advance towards Sejny. The Lithuanian forces retreated on the same day, when they learned about approaching Polish reinforcements. According to Mańczuk, they based their retreat on an erroneous report about a "large Polish cavalry unit" operating on their rear; in fact only small groups of Polish partisans operated there. Later the next day, during the afternoon of August 26, the PMO forces in Sejny were joined by the 41st Infantry Regiment.
On August 26, a large anti-Polish protest took place in Lazdijai
Lazdijai
Lazdijai is a city in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. In 1990 Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, and new check points between the borders Poland and Lithuania were established and Lazdijai became the center that oversees and continues to regulate these...
demanding to march on Sejny. The last Lithuanian attempt to retake the town was made on August 28. The Lithuanians (about 650 men) were defeated by the combined forces of the Polish Army (800 men) and PMO volunteers (500 men). On August 27, the Poles officially demanded that Lithuanians retreat behind the Foch Line. On September 1, Rudnicki announced incorporation of PMO volunteers into the 41st Infantry Regiment. During the negotiations on September 5, it was settled on a detailed demarcation line and Lithuanians agreed to retreat by September 7. The Polish regular army units did not cross the Foch Line, and refused to aid the PMO insurgents still operating on the Lithuanian side. Minor border skirmishes continued for several months. The most notable incident occurred on October 12 when Polish troops planned to attack Kapčiamiestis
Kapciamiestis
Kapčiamiestis is a town in Lithuania located near the confluence of Baltoji Ančia and Nieda Rivers. Town traces its history dating back in early 16th century, then a manor was built...
.
Polish sources give total Polish casualties for the Sejny Uprising as 37 killed in action and 70 wounded.
Aftermath
Sejny Priest Seminary
The Sejny Priest Seminary or Sejny Theological Seminary was a Catholic priest seminary established in Sejny in 1826. The courses lasted five years...
relocated. According to Lithuanians, the repressions were even more widespread, including a ban on public use of the Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
and the closure of Lithuanian organizations numbering 1,300 members. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, reporting on renewed hostilities a year later, described the 1919 Sejny events as a violent occupation, in which the Lithuanian inhabitants, teachers, and religious ministers were maltreated and expelled. Polish historian Łossowski notes that both sides mistreated civilian population and exaggerated reports to gain internal and foreign support.
The uprising contributed to the deterioration of the Polish–Lithuanian relations
Polish–Lithuanian relations
Polish–Lithuanian relations dates from the 13th century, when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under Mindaugas took over some of the lands of Rus' and thus established a border with the then-fragmented Kingdom of Poland. Polish-Lithuanian relations improved, leading to an alliance...
and further discouraged the Lithuanians from joining Piłsudski's proposed Międzymorze
Miedzymorze
Międzymorze was a plan, pursued after World War I by Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, for a federation, under Poland's aegis, of Central and Eastern European countries...
federation. The Sejny Uprising doomed the Polish plan to overthrow the Lithuanian government in a coup d'état
1919 Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania
The Polish coup d'état attempt in Lithuania refers to a failed attempt by Józef Piłsudski to overthrow the existing government of Lithuania, led by Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius, and install a more pro-Polish cabinet that would agree to a union with Poland. The coup d'etat was to be carried...
. The Lithuanian police and intelligence intensified their investigation of Polish sympathizers and the coup was soon uncovered. Mass arrests of Polish activists continued from August 27 to the end of September 1919. During the investigations lists of PMO supporters were found and the organisation was completely eliminated in Lithuania.
Hostilities over the Suwałki Region resumed in summer 1920. When Polish Army began to retreat during the course of the Polish–Soviet War, the Lithuanians moved to secure what they claimed to be their new borders, set by the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty
Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty
The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty, also known as the Moscow Peace Treaty, was signed between Lithuania and Soviet Russia on July 12, 1920. In exchange for Lithuania's neutrality and permission to freely move its troops in the recognized territory during its war against Poland, Soviet Russia...
of July 1920. The Peace Treaty granted Sejny and surrounding area to Lithuania. Poland did not recognize this bilateral treaty. Ensuing tensions grew into the Polish–Lithuanian War
Polish–Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
. Sejny changed hands frequently until it fell to Polish hands on September 22, 1920. The situation was legalized by the Suwałki Agreement of October 7, 1920, which returned to the Foch Line of July 27, 1919. The Polish–Lithuanian border in the Suwałki Region remained the same since then (with the exception of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period).