Lithuanian Liberty Army

The LLA distanced itself from other political resistance organizations in Lithuania. It believed that various organizations and factions splintered Lithuanian unity by petty bickering. The LLA was supposed to be a disciplined, military-based organization. It was the only sizable organization from the Lithuanian resistance that did not participate in the activities of the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania (created in 1943) and did not support the creation of the Plechavičius-led Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force because it thought that ultimately the Lithuanian soldiers would be needlessly sacrificed, but the LLA did not dare to speak concretely and directly against it. The organization also strictly prohibited its members from leaving Lithuania (i.e. retreating with the Wehrmacht). Veverskis was in charge of the headquarters, personally oversaw writing of orders and directives, and published newspaper (Military and Political News), targeting members of LLA and its commanders, and (Warrior), targeting general public. The LLA operated an illegal printing press in Vilnius which published the Military and Political News every ten days, with a circulation of 500 to 1,000 copies. His right-hand man was lieutenant Adolfas Eidimtas (codename Žybartas, Vygantas). Veverskis also actively recruited new members, particularly those serving in the Lithuanian Auxiliary Police. Among the recruits were twelve former colonels of the Lithuanian Army, who became commanders of LLA districts. The Army was organized in four regions (Vilnius, Kaunas, Šiauliai, and Panevėžys), which were further subdivided into districts based on the administrative divisions of Lithuania. According to regulations, each district had to have headquarters with operational, reconnaissance, organizational, and personnel departments. It unsuccessfully planned to send troops to combat Polish Home Army in the Vilnius Region (see the Polish–Lithuanian relations during World War II). ==Soviet occupation and liquidation==

On July 1, 1944, LLA declared the state of war and ordered all its able members to mobilize into platoons, stationed in forests. The organization, possibly drawing from the experiences of the 1941 anti-Soviet June uprising, envisioned a brief uprising followed by the establishment of the independent Lithuanian state. The departments were replaced by two sectors – operational, called (Hawks or Falcons; abbreviated VS), and organizational (abbreviated OS). , commanded by (codename Varenis), were the armed fighters while the organizational sector was tasked with passive resistance, including supply of food, information, and transport to . Staff headquarters were in the near Plateliai Lake, Samogitia where LLA had a training camp. On July 19, 1944, Veverskis, general and engineer Bronius Snarskis established the Lithuanian Defence Committee () which was supposed to unite all anti-Soviet resistance groups and factions, but was destroyed in April 1945 when the Soviet secret services arrested its leadership.Many LLA members retreated to Germany, becoming the displaced persons, others responded to the call starting the Lithuanian partisan movement. During interrogation, Eidimtas told the NKVD that LLA numbered up to 10,000 men by mid-1944, but that is likely an exaggeration. The LLA obtained a limited amount of armament and munitions from Nazi Germany. In August–September 1944, LLA sent about 100 fighters to a German reconnaissance (Abwehr) school; they returned as paratroopers. The organization was not successful in fighting the Soviets. According to official statistics from NKVD, the Soviets killed 659 and arrested 753 members of the LLA by January 26, 1945. Founder Veverskis was killed in December 1944, Eidimtas was arrested in April 1945, the headquarters were liquidated in December 1945. This represented the failure of highly centralized resistance, as the organization was too dependent on Veverskis and other top commanders. Lower-level organization remained, especially in Samogitia and Aukštaitija, and was absorbed by the partisan movement. Remnants of its organizational structure survived until the end of the guerrilla war in 1953. One of the LLA members, Jonas Žemaitis, became the commander of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters. ==References==