4th Infantry Regiment, later the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas () was a

Lithuanian Army 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 (wh ...

infantry regiment that existed from 1918 to 1940 and was located in Panevėžys.

Formation

The regiment was founded on 29 December 1918, when the Defence Ministry of the Lithuanian Republic allowed the officer

Jonas Variakojis Jonas Variakojis (May 5, 1892 near , then the Kovno Governorate, Kaunas Governorate, Russian Empire – October 31, 1963 in St. Charles, Illinois, United States) was a Lithuanian army officer. Early life Variakojis finished the in 1913 and late ...

to assemble and command the Panevėžys Region Defence Unit (). On 5 January 1919, Variakojis managed to salvage 70 rifles out of the retreating

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and by 7 January, his unit received its first order. From 22 March, the unit is known as the Separate Panevėžys Battalion () and from 20 June 1919 as the Panevėžys Battalion ().

Lithuanian Wars of Independence

The military formation was fighting the invading Bolsheviks from its foundation, specifically near Panevėžys, Kėdainiai and

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; pl, Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. Etymology and variant names The city took its original name ''Vilkmergė'' from th ...

. On 18-23 May 1919, the regiment took part in the Kurkliai-Panevėžys operation, although it did not succeed in defending Panevėžys. Much more successful was the soon after Kupiškis-Utena operation from 26 May to 3 June, during which

Kupiškis Kupiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality, mainly known for its sculptures and fourth biggest water reservoir in Lithuania. Kupiškis is located on the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. The ...

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "- ...

and Alūkšta were liberated. The regiment pushed the Bolsheviks beyond the Daugava river. From 15 October 1919, the regiment fought the

Bermontians The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War in 1918–20. History The Western Russian Volunteer Army, unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army, was supp ...

. For its victorious battles, the Šiauliai town gave the unit a flag on 1 November 1919, the same day the unit was called the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas. On 26 July 1920, the regiment entered Vilnius and defended it against Polish attacks in the start of October, later engaging them in the Musninkai- Širvintos sector, later partaking in the Battle of Giedraičiai. During the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, 3 officers and 72 soldiers of the regiment were killed in action, while 121 soldiers were wounded in combat.

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis ( lt, Vyčio Kryžiaus ordinas) is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. His ...

was accorded to 33 officers and 198 soldiers of the regiment.

Interwar

In 1922, the regiment was moved to Panevėžys. In 1926, it was given the flag of the 3rd Class Order of the Cross of Vytis with the inscription: "God, help us defend the Fatherland's liberty and honour". The regiment was part of the 1st Lithuanian Infantry Division, whose subunits were sometimes located in

Soviet Occupation

With the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania, the regiment was renamed as the "4th Infantry Regiment" on 25 July 1940 and disbanded on 30 August 1940. On the disbanded regiment's basis, the Red Army's 215th Rifle Regiment was formed on 9 September 1940.

Regiment's commanders

* 1919 Officer

* 1919 Colonel Maksimas Katchė * 1921 Colonel Pranas Tamašauskas * 1927 General Headquarters Colonel Viktoras Giedrys * Colonel Kazys Tallat-Kelpša * 1931 General Headquarters Colonel Vaclovas Griganavičius * 1935 Colonel Kazys Sprangauskas * 1936 Colonel Vaclovas Žadeika * 1940 Colonel Petras Genys * 1940 Colonel Antanas Šurkus

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite web , last=Vaičenonis , first=Jonas , date=19 May 2021 , title=Ketvirtasis pėstininkų pulkas , url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/ketvirtasis-pestininku-pulkas/ , website= Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija , language=lt History of Panevėžys Infantry regiments of Lithuania Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940