Lithuanian Wars of Independence

After the Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. The Lithuanian National Revival emerged during the 19th century, and the movement to restore independent Lithuania on nation-state basis intensified during the early 20th century. During World War I, Lithuanian territory was occupied by Germany from 1915 until the war ended in November 1918. On February 16, 1918, the Council of Lithuania declared the re-establishment of independence from all previous legal bonds with other states. The declaration asserted the right to self-determination, 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. However, on March 23, 1918, the Germans acknowledged the declaration; their plans had shifted to the establishment of a network of satellite countries (Mitteleuropa). 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 and officially lost the war and control over Lithuania. The first national government, led by Augustinas Voldemaras, 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==

of the Lithuanian Army with Vytis The first legislative act creating an army was passed on November 23, 1918. Its development and organization moved slowly due to a lack of funding, arms, ammunition, and experienced military commanders. On December 20, Antanas Smetona 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 marks 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 released Voldemaras' cabinet; Mykolas Sleževičius became Prime Minister of Lithuania and formed a Cabinet on December 26, 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. of Lithuania's fight against three eagles 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 poor condition. By the end of January, 400 volunteers were stationed in Alytus, Jonava, Kėdainiai, and Kaunas. 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 would leave Lithuania during July 1919. Belarusians and Lithuanian Jews also participated as volunteers of the Lithuanian Army. After successful attempts at mustering a voluntary force to defend Lithuanian territories, mobilization 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. Historian Alfonsas Eidintas cites the total deaths as 1,444. ==War against the Bolsheviks==

heading to the front, 1919 • • }} }} As revolution broke out in Germany, the German government withdrew support for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had ceded Lithuania's independence from Soviet Russia on November 5, 1918. Meanwhile, the Soviet Russian government renounced the treaty on November 13. ==War against the Bermontians==

The Bermontians, named for their leader Pavel Bermondt-Avalov and formally known as the West Russian Volunteer Army, were a mixed German-Russian army. The army included Russian prisoners of war, released by the German Empire after promising to fight against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, and members of the Freikorps, stationed in Latvia and Lithuania after Germany lost the war. At first Freikorps, which were later a part of the West Russian Volunteer Army, operated mostly in Latvia, but in July 1919, they crossed the Lithuanian–Latvian border and took the town of Kuršėnai. At that time, the Lithuanians were engaged in battles with the Bolsheviks and could only issue diplomatic protests. Later clashes were stopped by the intervention of an Entente representative, the French General Henri Niessel, who oversaw the withdrawal 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 ==

• • (1920) }} • Lithuania }} • Józef Piłsudski • Adam Nieniewski • Lucjan Żeligowski }} • Silvestras Žukauskas • Stasys Nastopka • Antanas Smetona • Mykolas Sleževičius • Konstantinas Žukas }} }} Lithuanian and Polish forces had already clashed in spring 1919. Summer 1920 In June 1920, the Soviet Russian army had taken Vilnius. Shortly after their defeat in the Battle of Warsaw, 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, the volunteer 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division under the command of general Lucjan Żeligowski staged a mutiny. The Vilnius region was quickly seized due to the Lithuanian troops being dispersed on a wide frontline and the Polish forces overwhelming Lithuanian units by their larger numbers. After gathering enough troops, the subsequent Lithuanian counteroffensive attempt in November that had already yielded success at Širvintos and Giedraičiai was stopped by the Military Commission of League of Nations. Gediminas 3 and Lithuanian soldiers Kaunas became the temporary capital of Lithuania for 19 years due to the Polish forces seizing Vilnius in contravention of international agreements. The dispute over Vilnius was only resolved in October 1939 when Lithuanian troops were allowed to re-enter Lithuania's de jure capital as part of the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty, into which Lithuania was effectively forced due to the overwhelming Soviet forces massed on its border. Żeligowski's Mutiny in the Vievis forests during the fighting with the Polish Army's 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division A staged mutiny arranged by the Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski was carried out by 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division under the command of General Lucjan Żeligowski on October 8, 1920. The 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division, part of the Polish Army, consisted mostly of Poles but also some Lithuanians and Belarusians, took control of Vilnius on October 9, 1920, which led to the separation of the official Lithuanian capital and the surrounding Vilnius region from Lithuania until World War II. This military action is considered as a continuation of the Polish-Lithuanian war in historiography. Żeligowski's October Offensive In October 1920, General Lucjan Żeligowski led a military offensive against the Lithuanian army following his mutiny that captured Vilnius. The Lithuanians, despite being outnumbered, attempted a counter-offensive on October 18, but the experienced Polish forces successfully repelled them near Rykantai. A notable event was the Polish raid on Juodeliai, where the 13th Wilno Uhlan Regiment captured the Lithuanian General Stasys Nastopka and caused the Lithuanian army nearby to retreat. Żeligowski's Offensive on Kaunas == Klaipėda Revolt ==

to Lithuanians who died in the Lithuanian Wars of Independence to Lithuanians who died in the Lithuanian Wars of Independence ==See also==