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. 99–117
Abstract
During the interwar period in Europe, internal disturbances were not an uncommon form of domestic tension and conflict. This paper looks into the concept and characteristics of domestic disturbances in Lithuania in the period 1918 to 1940. The aim is to show the opportunities for organising such disturbances and the legal regulation of their control, including the use of the army to quell them. The legal regulation of the possibilities to use the army during the disturbances, and the situational circumstances of using troops in such cases in Lithuania, are compared with similar cases in other East-Central European countries, such as Estonia, Latvia and Poland.
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. 79–96
Abstract
The paper presents an analysis of the relationships between Colonel Vincas Grigaliūnas Glovackis, commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and one of the major participants in the coup in 1926, and the cabinets led by Mykolas Sleževičius in 1919 and 1926. The author of the research looks into Colonel Grigaliūnas Glovackis’ dissatisfaction with the policies of the second and fourth Sleževičius governments, the defiance of government orders by the 2nd Infantry Regiment, and the involvement of Colonel Grigaliūnas Glovackis in the conflict between the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Council in 1919. The paper reveals the colonel’s political pro-activeness and his links with politicians representing the Christian Democrats and the Nationalists. The research concludes that the 1926 coup could have been caused not only by the officers’ dissatisfaction with the reforms by the coalition government of Popular Peasants and Social Democrats, but also by the conflicts between politically engaged officers and politicians that started as early as the wars of independence.
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.