An Army never Created: Lithuanian National Units in Russia and their Veterans Organisation in Lithuania in the Interwar Period

The formation of national units in the Russian army began in 1914 during the First World War. They allowedfor the creation of national formations of Poles, Czechs, Armenians, Georgians and Latvians. Afterthe February revolution of 1917, at a similar time to the Estonians and Ukrainians, Lithuanian soldiers whoserved in the Russian army also started to create units. Formed in different places, the Lithuanian unitsdid not reach the homeland in an organised manner. However, there were repeated attempts to presentthis Lithuanian military organisation in Russia after the war as the origins of the national army. Theseattempts intensified when veterans of national units started to come together in Lithuania, and in 1937they established a separate organisation, the Kariuomenės pirmūnų sąjunga [Association of Army Predecessors].It highlighted the contribution of Lithuanians to the Great War, but there was not enough timebefore 1940 to develop its activities as planned. The article reveals the reasons for and the circumstancesof the creation of Lithuanian national units, and examines how and why former soldiers from these units,who lived in Lithuania during the interwar period, joined the organisation.KEY WORDS: First World War, national units, Russian army, Lithuanian army, veterans organisations,Association of Army Predecessors

Introduction

Introductio

Editors’ Note

Editors’ Not

Karo istorija tarpukariu Lietuvoje ir dvi Karo mokslų draugijos (1921–1933 m.)

The article presents the activities of the History Section of the Society of Military Sciences by also looking back at the predecessor of this organization – short-lived Society of the Founders of Military Sciences and some fragmentary information about its functioning. It addresses the activities of the individuals who initiated the research in military history during the interwar period under the umbrella of the society. The persons who took an active part in the (Military) History Section are identified; their academic interests as well as potential research fields and achievements are discussed in the article. At the same time, the article reveals the stagnation of the activities of the Society of Military Sciences and also its History Section about five years after its establishment and the eventual similar period of vegetation when the organization practically ceased to function and was incorporated into the Lithuanian Officers’ Club.Straipsnyje pristatoma Karo mokslų draugijos Istorijos sekcijos veikla, užčiuopiant ir šios organizacijos ištakas – Karo mokslų kūrėjų draugijos trumpalaikę ir fragmentuotai žinomą veiklą. Nagrinėjama karo istorijos tyrimus tarpukariu pradėjusių vykdyti asmenų, jau priklausiusių draugijai, veikla. Identifikuojami asmenys, veikę (Karo) istorijos sekcijoje, įvardijami jų akademiniai interesai ir galimos veiklos kryptys bei pasiekimai. Kartu atskleidžiamas Karo mokslų draugijos bei Istorijos sekcijos veiklos sąstingis po maždaug penkerių metų nuo įkūrimo ir pagaliau vegetacija, užtrukusi panašiai, kai organizacija faktiškai nustojo veikti, buvo įtraukta į Lietuvos karininkų ramovės sudėtį

Trijų autorių per trejus metus parašytos trys naujos trijų Lietuvos kariuomenės dalinių istorijos

Book reviews SURGAILIS, Gintautas. Pirmasis pėstininkų didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Gediminopulkas. Vilnius: Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus; Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvoskaro akademija, 2011. – 304 p. ISBN 978-609-412-011-4RAKUTIS, Valdas; VAIČENONIS, Jonas. Lietuvos Didžiojo Kunigaikščio Algirdomechanizuotojo pėstininkų bataliono istorija: Lietuvos pėstija XIV–XXI a. pr. (II pulkoir Algirdo MPB istorija). Vilnius: Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija,2012. – 194 p. ISBN 978-609-8074-00-0SURGAILIS, Gintautas. Trečiasis pėstininkų didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Vytautopulkas. Vilnius: Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija, 2013. – 192 p.ISBN 978-609-8074-13-

Lietuvos šauliai tarpukariu: lietuviai, katalikai, visuomenės elitas

During the struggle for Lithuania’s independence, defence and guerrilla units started forming inthe countryside, and fought against the Bermontian and Soviet forces and gangs of marauders.In 1919, intellectuals and public servants from Kaunas formed a sports-military guerrilla organisation,and called it the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LRU). The organisation accepted not onlynew members, but also people who had already fought with guerrilla units in northeast Lithuania.Therefore, the ranks of the LRU grew rapidly, and the new paramilitary organisation playedan important role in the struggle for Lithuania’s statehood. The LRU was active throughout theinterwar period, until 11 July 1940, when, after the Soviet occupation, it was officially disbanded.This paper deals with issues of the scope and structure of the LRU, which until now havehardly been dealt with in historiography. The paper has three objectives: 1) it tries to establishchanges in the numbers of riflemen in the interwar period, as well as the numbers of peoplewho belonged to the LRU in different periods, and their total number throughout the interwarperiod; 2) the ethnic, religious and social composition of the Riflemen’s Union is analysed, withthe aim of developing ‘a social portrait of a rifleman’; and 3) the internal structure of the Unionis addressed: the numbers of reserve and combatant riflemen.Key words: paramilitarism, Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, paramilitary organisational structure,social composition, ethnic composition. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v28i0.92

Du karo istorijos šaltiniai iš Lietuvos tarpukariu

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