Kazys Tallat-Kelpša (28 October 1893 – 22 February 1968) was a Lithuanian

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, lecturer of the

War School of Kaunas War School of Kaunas ( lt, Kauno karo mokykla) was a military school for junior officers in Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. It was established in January 1919 during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence copying the example of Russian 4- ...

and Higher Officers' Courses, Chief of Cavalry 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 ( ...

Personal life

Kelpša had sister Ona Tallat–Kelpšaitė Jurskienė, who married with lieutenant colonel . Kelpša married Janina Daugulytė, who gave birth to his only son Algis. His son graduated from the higher school in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and was Reserve Captain of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Early life

In 1914, Kelpša graduated from the Kaunas School of Commerce. Following the start of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he joined the Imperial Russian Army as a volunteer in 1914. In 1918, in the wake of the February Revolution in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, its army was demobilized. Consequently, lieutenant Kelpša was released into the reserve.

Interwar Lithuania

President Smetona during a military ceremony in August 1937

In October 1918, Kelpša reached

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 ...

. In Vilnius, in the Council of Lithuania, he registered in the lists of the

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, and was released home before being summoned. Then he returned to his mother in . After resting for a couple of weeks and without receiving any summons, he went to Vilnius again and registered once again, this time in the newly established Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania. Following it, he has been ordered to go to his homeland and gather volunteers for the recovering

. It was stated that in the next couple days the headquarters of the National Defense District would be established in

Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far fro ...

, to which he had to introduce himself. As the time passed and the

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

invaded the depths of Lithuania, occupied

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...

– the connection with Vilnius was lost. The volunteers in groups went towards Vilnius. Finally, in the beginning of January 1919, the said military headquarters arrived to Tauragė and Kelpša introduced himself there. As the core of the Lithuanian cavalry was organized in Kaunas, Kelpša was sent to Kaunas. After reaching Kaunas and presenting himself to the military leadership, he was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Squadron attached to the Separate Battalion, which later became the 5th Infantry Regiment. On 20 March 1919, Kelpša was transferred to the Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania and was soon sent to

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as a member of the Lithuanian Military Mission to the Paris Peace Conference. On 27 January 1920, Kelpša was appointed a military representative in Latvia and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. On 19 September 1920, he returned to Kaunas and was assigned to the 2nd

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

Regiment. On 1 November 1923, Kelpša was sent to

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where in 1926 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy of Belgium. In 1927, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the First Military District. In 1931, Kelpša was lecturer of the Higher Officers' Courses, in 1933 he was transferred to the

. Since 25 October 1934, Kelpša was Chief of Cavalry of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. In 1936, Kelpša was awarded the military rank of brigadier general.

Occupations and World War II

Following the

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invaded and occupied in June 1940 by the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Stalin and auspices of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that had been signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet ...

in June 1940, Kelpša was fired from the Lithuanian Armed Forces on 25 June 1940.

Emigration

In 1944, Kelpša with his family departed to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and since 1949 lived in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He worked in the sphere of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s until 16 July 1961 when he retired. In 1950, Kelpša established a branch of the Lithuanian Soldiers Veterans Union ''Ramovė'' in Cleveland and headed it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tallat-Kelpša, Kazys 1893 births 1968 deaths Lithuanian generals Lithuanian emigrants to Germany World War II refugees Lithuanian refugees Lithuanian emigrants to the United States People from Šilalė District Municipality