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Stasys Raštikis
Stasys Raštikis (September 13, 1896 – May 3, 1985) was a Lithuanian military officer, ultimately obtaining the rank of divisional general. He was the commander of the Lithuanian Army from September 21, 1934, to April 23, 1940. During World War I, he served in the Imperial Russian Army mostly in the Caucasus Campaign. After return to Lithuania in 1918, he joined the newly formed Lithuanian Army and fought in the Lithuanian–Soviet War. He was severely injured and spent 20 months in Soviet captivity. He returned to the 5th Infantry Regiment and later joined the Intelligence Department of the General Staff. The coup d'état of December 1926 brought his future uncle-in-law Antanas Smetona to power and propelled his career. Raštikis completed military education in Germany and, after the failed military coup in 1934, became Chief of the General Staff and Commander of the Armed Forces. He undertook an extensive military reform to standardize, streamline, and modernize the army dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuršėnai
Kuršėnai (; Samogitian dialect, Samogitian: ''Koršienā''; yi, קורשאַן ''Kurshon''; german: Kurschenen; pl, Kurszany; lv, Kuršēni) is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2020 estimate, it had 10,829 residents. History The town's name was first documented in the 16th century. According to historian , its name is derived from word ''kuršis'' (Curonians, Curonian). However, according to folk etymology, the town didn't have a name for a long time. But, one summer day the river Venta flooded and washed all hay bales which were standing at the river banks. People started questioning each other: where is the hay? where is the hay? („Kur šienai? Kur šienai?“). Since then, the town name stayed as Kuršėnai. Since a clay that is ideal for fine ceramics was detected near Kuršėnai, pottery has long been thriving in the city. In the last century, Kuršėnai became famous for fairs abundant in earthenware. Kuršėnai is called the “Capital of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest. It has a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of , with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian language, Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages. For millennia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Balts, Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, Monarchy of Lithuania, becoming king and founding the Kingdom of Lithuania ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1938 Polish Ultimatum To Lithuania
The 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania was delivered to Lithuania by Poland on March 17, 1938. The Lithuanian government had steadfastly refused to have any diplomatic relations with Poland after 1920, protesting the annexation of the Vilnius Region by Poland. As pre-World War II tensions in Europe intensified, Poland perceived the need to secure its northern borders. On March 12, Poland, feeling supported by international recognition of the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, decided to deliver an ultimatum to Lithuania. The ultimatum demanded that the Lithuanian government unconditionally agree to establish diplomatic relations with Warsaw within 48 hours, and that the terms be finalized before March 31. The establishment of diplomatic relations would mean a ''de facto'' renunciation of Lithuanian claims to the region containing its historic capital, Vilnius (known in Polish as Wilno). In preferring peace to war, Lithuania accepted the ultimatum on March 19. Although diplom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Nationalist Union
The Lithuanian Nationalist Union ( lt, Lietuvių tautininkų sąjunga or LTS), also known as the Nationalists (), was the ruling political party in Lithuania during the authoritarian regime of President Antanas Smetona from 1926 to 1940. The party was established in 1924 but was not popular. It came to power as a result of the December 1926 military coup. From 1927 to 1939, the Council of Ministers included only members of the LTS. In 1936, other parties were officially disbanded leaving LTS the only legal party in the country. At the end of the 4th decade new members started coming and bringing new ideas, which were right wing and closer to the Italian Fascism. The party was disestablished after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940. The party under the same name (known as the Lithuanian Nationalist and Republican Union since 2017) was reestablished in 1990 and claims to be the successor of interwar LTS. History The party was established during a conference in Šiaul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Exercise
A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the combat readiness of garrisoned or deployable forces prior to deployment from a home base. While both war games and military exercises aim to simulate real conditions and scenarios for the purpose of preparing and analyzing those scenarios, the distinction between a war game and a military exercise is determined, primarily, by the involvement of actual military forces within the simulation, or lack thereof. Military exercises focus on the simulation of real, full-scale military operations in controlled hostile conditions in attempts to reproduce war time decisions and activities for training purposes or to analyze the outcome of possible war time decisions. War games, however, can be much smaller than full-scale military operations, do not typi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Causes Of World War II
The causes of World War II, a global war from 1939 to 1945 that was the deadliest conflict in human history, have been given considerable attention by historians from many countries who studied and understood them. The immediate precipitating event was the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, and the subsequent declarations of war on Germany made by Britain and France, but many other prior events have been suggested as ultimate causes. Primary themes in historical analysis of the war's origins include the political takeover of Germany in 1933 by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party; Japanese militarism against China, which led to the Second Sino-Japanese War; Italian aggression against Ethiopia, which led to the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and Germany's initial success in negotiating the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union to divide the territorial control of Eastern Europe between them. During the interwar period, deep anger arose in the Weimar Repub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Militarization
Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of militarization involves many interrelated aspects that encompass all levels of society. Geopolitical The perceived level of threat influences what potential for violence or warfare the state must achieve to assure itself an acceptable level of security. When the perceived level of threat is low, as with Canada, a country may have a relatively small military and level of armament. However, in Israel, the threat of attack from neighbouring countries means that the armed forces and defense have a high profile and are given significant funding and personnel. This threat may involve the: :* Balance of power of neighboring states (pre-World War I Europe, for example.) :*Terrorism, rogue states, weapons of mass destruction and state terror :*Threats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Of The Defence Staff (Lithuania)
Chief of the Defence Staff is the head of the Lithuanian Defence Staff responsible for the administrative, operational, and logistical needs of the Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ( .... List of chiefs Chiefs of the General Staff (1918–1940) Chiefs of the Defence Staff (since 1990) Notes References {{reflist Military of Lithuania Lists of Lithuanian military personnel Military chiefs of staff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Lithuanian Coup D'état Attempt
The coup d'état attempt in 1934 ( lt, 1934-ųjų pučas) was an attempt by ''voldemarininkai'', supporters of the former Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras, to overthrow the government of President Antanas Smetona. While ''voldemarininkai'' planned several coups against the government, this coup was the largest and most threatening. Voldemaras was ousted as Prime Minister of Lithuania, Prime Minister in September 1929 but still enjoyed considerable support among the members of the liquidated Iron Wolf (organization), Iron Wolf and many younger military officers. On 6–7 June 1934, several hundred soldiers captured several strategic objects, including the Defence Staff (Lithuania), General Staff, in Kaunas and sent a delegation to negotiate with Smetona about reinstating Voldemaras and making other changes in the government. The coup was not directed against Smetona, but against the government of Prime Minister Juozas Tūbelis. Other military units and the police remained loyal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II, and was one of the most prominent ideologists of nationalism in Lithuania. Early life and education Smetona was born on in the village of Užulėnis, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire, to a family of farmers – former serfs of the Taujėnai Manor, which belonged to the Radziwiłł family. Researcher Kazimieras Gasparavičius has traced Smetona's patrilineal ancestry to Laurentijus who was born around 1695 and lived near Raguva. Smetona was the eighth of nine children. His parents were hardworking people who managed to double their inherited . His father was literate and Smetona learned to read at home. His father died in 1885 when Smetona was only 11 year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1926 Lithuanian Coup D'état
The 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état ( Lithuanian: ) was a military coup d'état in Lithuania that resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a Nationalist regime led by Antanas Smetona. The coup took place on 17 December 1926 and was largely organized by the military; Smetona's role remains the subject of debate. The coup brought the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, the most conservative party at the time, to power. Previously it had been a fairly new and insignificant nationalistic party. By 1926, its membership reached about 2,000 and it had won only three seats in the parliamentary elections. The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, the largest party in the Seimas at the time, collaborated with the military and provided constitutional legitimacy to the coup, but accepted no major posts in the new government and withdrew in May 1927. After the military handed power over to the civilian government, it ceased playing a direct role in political life. Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defence Staff (Lithuania)
The Defence Staff ( lt, Gynybos štabas) is the main staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Since 2008, the staff reports to the Chief of Defence. Its main tasks are to plan, lead, and support military operations as well as to prepare strategic military plans. Names The Defence Staff was known by different names during its history: * General Staff () in 1918–1924 * Supreme Staff () in 1924–1935 * Army Staff () in 1935–1940 * Defence Staff () in 1991–1992, 1996–2008, since 2018 * Joint Staff () in 1992–1993, 2008–2018 * Staff of the Armed Forces () in 1993–1994 * General Staff () in 1994–1996 Interwar Lithuania (1918–1940) Lithuania declared independence in February 1918. The first order to organize the Lithuanian Army was issued by Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras on 11 November 1918. The same order established the General Staff. The staff was initially located in Vilnius but had to evacuate to Kaunas at the outbreak of the Lithuanian–Soviet War. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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