The Army of Central Lithuania was the armed forces of the state of Central Lithuania proclaimed by General

Lucjan Żeligowski Lucjan Żeligowski (; 17 October 1865 – 9 July 1947) was a Polish-Lithuanian general, politician, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's M ...

on October 12, 1920. Zeligowski_LOC_31862u

With the announcement by General Lucjan Żeligowski of the establishment of Central Lithuania, the army which he commanded and which participated in the

Żeligowski's Mutiny Żeligowski's Mutiny ( pl, bunt Żeligowskiego, also ''żeligiada'', lt, Želigovskio maištas) was a Polish false flag operation led by General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuan ...

automatically became the Army of Central Lithuania. It was reincorporated into Polish Army in 1922 following the Poland's annexation of Central Lithuania.

The original composition of the troops

1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division The 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division ( pl, 1. Dywizja Litewsko-Białoruska, 1.DL-B; be, 1-ая Літоўска-Беларуская дывізія; lt, 1-oji Lietuvos-Baltarusijos divizija) was a volunteer unit of the Polish Army formed aro ...

* 1st Infantry Brigade **

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Rifles Regiment – later 85th Vilnius Rifles Regiment **

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Rifles Regiment – later 86th Infantry Regiment * 2nd Infantry Brigade **

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

Rifles Regiment – later 80th Infantry Regiment **

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Rifles Regiment – later 81st Hrodna Rifles Regiment * 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Field Artillery Regiment * Mounted Riflemen Squadron * 1st Sapper Company * mjr. Kościałkowski's "Bieniakonie" (Benekainys) Group *

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

Battalion * 216th Field Artillery Squadron * Cavalry Squadron

Military operations

After the seizure of Vilnius, the Supreme Commander of the Army of Central Lithuania, General Żeligowski, ordered the troops to advance to the line:

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. T ...

-Kraso (in Polish) (?)- Rykantai and Bendoriai-

Riešė Riešė is a village in Vilnius District Municipality, Lithuania. According to the 2021 census, it had population of 1,595, an increase from 2011 census, which recorded 1,234 inhabitants, up from 419 in 1989 or +281% in 32 years. According to the ...

- Paraudondvariai. Until 29 November 1920, when the Kaunas

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

was concluded, Central Lithuania was in the state of an

undeclared war An undeclared war is a military conflict between two or more nations without either side issuing a formal declaration of war. The term is sometimes used to include any disagreement or conflict fought about without an official declaration. Since ...

with the

Republic of Lithuania A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

1st Central Lithuanian Army Corps

During the fighting, the Army of Central Lithuania was reorganized and on 16 October 1920, the 1st Central Lithuanian Army Corps was created. The corps commander was General Jan Rządkowski, the commander of the 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division. *

Command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

** Commanding officer– gen. Jan Rządkowski * Staff ** Chief of Staff – p.o. mjr SG Władysław Powierza **

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

– p.o. mjr SG Władysław Powierza ** Chief of the 4th Branch (Oddziału IV) – p.o. mjr SG Władysław Powierza

1st Division (Vilnius Infantry Brigade)

* Vilnius Rifles Regiment * Minsk Rifles Regiment

2nd Division (2nd Hrodna Infantry Brigade)

* Navahrudak Rifles Regiment * Hrodna Rifles Rgiment

3rd Division

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

Rifles Regiment *

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Rifles Regiment

3rd Upper Nemunas Infantry Brigade

* 5th Volunteer Rifles Regiment * 6th Scouts Rifles Regiment (after the dissolution of the 3rd Brigade and 5th Volunteers Rifles Regiment, the 6th Scouts Rifles Regiment was independent) * 77th Infantry Regiment (two companies)

1st Artillery Brigade

* 1st Light Artillery Regiment * two squadrons of the 216th Light Artillery Regiment

Cavalry Division of the Army of Central Lithuania

Reserve Brigade of the Army of Central Lithuania

Others

* Sapper Battalion * Armoured Car Platoon * Services

Dislocation of branches of the Benekainys Operational Group

Location on 27 October 1921:

Command of 19th Infantry Division - Vilnius

* Vilnius Rifles Regiment – Vilnius * Minsk Rifles Regiment – Vilnius * Kaunas Rifles Regiment – Vilnius * 19th Field Artillery Regiment – Vilnius * 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment – Vilnius

Command of the 29th Infantry Division - Vilnius

* Grodno Rifles Regiment – Vilnius * Lida Rifles Regiment – ** 1st Rifles Battalion – ** 2nd Rifles Battalion –

Šalčininkai Šalčininkai (, , yi, סאָלעטשניק ''Solechnik'', be, Салечнікі) is a town in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus. Šalčininkai attained the town status in 1956 and is now ...

** 3rd Rifles Battalion – * Navahrudak Rifles Regiment – Vilnius * 29th Field Artillery Regiment – Vilnius * 29th Heavy Artillery Squadron and III Squadron of the 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment – Vilnius

Command of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade - Vilnius

Command of the 10th Uhlan Regiment –
Lentvaris Lentvaris (; pl, Landwarów) in eastern Lithuania, 9 km east of Trakai. It is a transportation hub, as several road and rail routes cross here. Lake Lentvaris is nearby. History The town is situated in ethnographically Baltic Lithua ...

* 1st squadron –

Rūdiškės Rūdiškės (; pl, Rudziszki; be, Рудзішкі) is a city in the Trakai district municipality, Lithuania about 15 km south of Trakai. During the interwar period it was part of the Second Polish Republic. Until 2003 FK Vėtra was ...

* 2nd squadron –

Lentvaris Lentvaris (; pl, Landwarów) in eastern Lithuania, 9 km east of Trakai. It is a transportation hub, as several road and rail routes cross here. Lake Lentvaris is nearby. History The town is situated in ethnographically Baltic Lithua ...

* 3rd squadron –

* 4th squadron –

Valkininkai Valkininkai ( pl, Olkieniki) is a historic town in (Valkininkai) eldership, Varėna District Municipality, Alytus County, Lithuania, located about northeast from Varėna and about southwest from Vilnius. At the Lithuanian census of 2001, its ...

* Machine carbine squadron –

* Technical squadron –

Švenčionys Švenčionys (, known also by several alternative names) is a town located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. , it had population of 4,065 of which about 17% is part of the Polish minority ...

Command of the 13th Uhlan Regiment – Vilnius

* 1st and 3rd squadron, Machine carbine squadron, Technical squadron – Vilnius * 2nd squadron –

Paberžė Paberžė ( Lithuanian for ''near the birch (forest)'') is a village in Vilnius District Municipality, Lithuania, it is located only about north of Vilnius city municipality. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 919. History ...