Pulkininkas prieš vyriausybę: plk. Vinco Grigaliūno-Glovackio ir Mykolo Sleževičiaus vyriausybių santykiai 1919 ir 1926 m. | A Colonel against the Cabinet: Relations between Colonel Grigaliūnas Glovackis and the Sleževičius Governments of 1919 and 1926
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 34 (2017): The Great War in Lithuania and Lithuanians in the Great War: Experiences and Memories = Didysis karas Lietuvoje ir lietuviai Didžiajame kare: patirtys ir atmintys, pp. 81–99
Abstract
With the creation of the Lithuanian armed forces in the early 20th century, the question of having officers loyal to the idea of the nation-state inevitably arose. It became especially relevant during the Wars of Independence that followed the First World War. Due to the need to create the armed forces urgently, individuals from different backgrounds and with different experiences joined the corps of officers in the emerging Lithuanian army. Therefore, a variety of tensions of a political and social nature arose between them, which in some cases grew into open conflict. The article examines the question of whether these conflicts were based on differences in officers’ education, social background, national engagement or experience. Can we explain the conflicts between the officers by the generation gap? And what role was played in these conflicts by the experience of military service acquired by some officers in the Imperial Russian army, including experience in the First World War?
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 32 (2016): Transfers of Power and the Armed Forces in Poland and Lithuania, 1919–1941 = Valdžios transferai ir ginkluotosios pajėgos: Lenkija ir Lietuva 1919–1941 metais, pp. 60–78
Abstract
In May 1926, a coup took place in the Republic of Poland, which resulted in Józef Piłsudski, head of state (Naczelnik Państwa) in the period 1918–1922, taking over actual power in the country. Among other things, those three days in the streets of Warsaw stood out by the fact that during them Polish soldiers confronted each other: some military units partly supported President Stanisław Wojciechowski and the constitutional government of Wincent Witos, while others backed the plans of the first marshal of Poland, who could already boast a rather ‘whitewashed’ image among the population. Piłsudski’s plans were initially limited to the idea of forcing the resignation of the Cabinet, but finally turned into a broader campaign for the takeover of power, during which 379 people died and over 900 were wounded. The paper covers the sequence of events on 12–14 May, and focuses specifically on the role of army officers and units at different stages in the coup.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 32 (2016): Transfers of Power and the Armed Forces in Poland and Lithuania, 1919–1941 = Valdžios transferai ir ginkluotosios pajėgos: Lenkija ir Lietuva 1919–1941 metais, pp. 43–59
Abstract
The paper examines a little-known unsuccessful attempt at a military coup in Poland in January 1919. The idea attracted notable members of the Polish National Committee, including Stanisław Grabski, and members of other right-wing organisations. Colonel Marian Januszajtis-Żegota took up the leadership at the military level, and Eustachy Sapieha at the political level. The coup was directed against the government led by the socialist Jędrzej Edward Moraczewski. The paper shows the political context of the uprising, the process, and the circumstances of its failure.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 28 (2014): Paramilitarism in the Eastern Baltics, 1918–1940: Cases Studies and Comparisons = Paramilitarizmas Rytų Baltijos regione 1918–1940: atvejo studijos ir lyginimai, pp. 140–155
Abstract
The beginning of the war in 1939 changed the geopolitical situation in the Baltic region. After Poland had lost its sovereignty and the Soviet Union approached the borders of Lithuania, the country’s defence concept also changed. Reforms of the army that had started in Lithuania as early as 1935 fundamentally changed the approach to the defence of the country. The vision was declared that every citizen was a defender of his country. After the reinforcement of border control, mobilisation plans were drawn up, and the Riflemen’s Union was included in Lithuania’s defence plans. In 1939, after the Mutual Assistance Treaty had been signed with the Soviet Union, 20,000 Soviet soldiers entered Lithuania. Given the new geopolitical circumstances, a detailed restructuring of the concept of national defence was undertaken. This paper looks into the directives for mobilisation drawn up in the spring of 1940, the mobilisation plan for the Riflemen’s Union, and the plans for the use of the riflemen for national defence.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 28 (2014): Paramilitarism in the Eastern Baltics, 1918–1940: Cases Studies and Comparisons = Paramilitarizmas Rytų Baltijos regione 1918–1940: atvejo studijos ir lyginimai, pp. 125–139
Abstract
This article discusses the process of the integration of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LRU) into the state’s defence system in the 1920s and 1930s. The key features and boundaries of the process are outlined, on the basis of archival materials and research literature. An analysis of relations between the military authorities and the LRU reveals individual characteristics of the relationship between the riflemen and the army. The regional context of the process is evaluated within the limitations of the sources available, by presenting the situations of similar paramilitary organisations in Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland during the period in question.