Adolfas Urbšas (18 August 1900 – 19 May 1973) was an officer in the

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 (whi ...

and then the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

, rising eventually to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

(1944). Educated at the Kaunas War School and courses for offices of the general staff, Urbšas was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and assigned as chief of staff of the Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Division in 1938. After 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 1940, he joined the Red Army. He was assigned as chief of staff of the 16th "Lithuanian" Rifle Division in April 1943 and its commanding officer in September 1944. After the war, he worked as an instructor at the Vystrel course.

Biography

In the Lithuanian Army

Urbšas was mobilized into the

in November 1920 just after 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 Lithuani ...

. After graduating from the War School of Kaunas in 1921, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment. In July 1925, he graduated from the

Higher Officers' Courses The Higher Officers' Courses ( lt, Aukštieji karininkų kursai) were military courses for senior officers of the Lithuanian Army in 1921–1940. Junior officers were prepared by the War School of Kaunas. In July 1923, the courses were named after ...

. In 1926–1931, he worked at the War School. He held various roles at the school, including instructor on discipline and shooting. He was promoted to major in 1927 and to captain in 1931. After graduating from the courses for officers of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

in 1934, he was assigned to the staff of the 3rd Infantry Division and became its acting chief of staff in August 1937. He was promoted to

in September 1938 and confirmed as chief of staff of the 3rd Infantry Division in November 1938.

In the Red Army

When Lithuania was occupied by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in June 1940, the Lithuanian Army was gradually reorganized into units of the

. Urbšas briefly became commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment before reassignment as commander of the Soviet 297th Rifle Regiment (part of the

29th Rifle Corps The 29th Rifle Corps ( lt, 29-asis teritorinis šaulių korpusas) was formed several times in Soviet Red Army, each formation primarily seeing combat on the Eastern Front during World War II. The first formation of the 29th Rifle Corps was known ...

). In May–June 1941, he was chief of staff of the 179th Rifle Division. On 6 June 1941, just before the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, Urbšas was sent to study at the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow and later

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

. From December 1941 to February 1942, he lectured at the Vystrel course in

Kyshtym Kyshtym (russian: Кышты́м) is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern slopes of the Southern Ural Mountains northwest of Chelyabinsk, near the town of Ozyorsk. Population: 36,000 (1970). History Kyshtym was establ ...

. He was then assigned to the newly formed 16th "Lithuanian" Rifle Division as commander of the 167th Rifle Regiment, but returned to teaching the Vystrel courses in May 1942.

16th Rifle Division

The 16th Rifle Division was deployed in February 1943 at Alekseyevka, southeast of

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fe ...

. It suffered significant losses and within the first month lost 1,169 dead and 3,275 injured out of total strength of 10,000. In April 1943, Urbšas was once again assigned to the 16th Rifle Division – this time as its chief of staff. After recovering and receiving reinforcements, the 16th Rifle Division (as part of the 48th Army) participated in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

in July–August 1943. It once again suffered significant losses, at least 742 dead and 2,414 injured out of total strength of 7,500. In September 1943, the 16th Rifle Division was redeployed to the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...

which was closest to Lithuania. In October and November, the division unsuccessfully attacked German positions at ( Haradok District), and (

Nevelsky District, Pskov Oblast Nevelsky District (russian: Не́вельский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #833-oz and municipalLaw #420-oz district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Pskov Oblast, twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is located in ...

) suffering 2,390 casualties (dead and injured). To present further losses, the division was assigned to the reserves of the 4th Shock Army. In July 1944, the 16th Rifle Division entered the territory of Lithuania. It did not participate in battles with the Germans and by early August gathered in

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 division received reinforcements of conscripted Lithuanians and successfully withstood the German

Šiauliai offensive The Šiauliai offensive (russian: Шяуляйская наступательная) was an operation of the Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front, commanded by General Hovhannes Bagramyan, conducted from July 5 to August 29, 1944, during the Se ...

. On 8 September 1944, Urbšas was given the command of the 16th Rifle Division. He was promoted to major general in November. Under his command, the division participated in the Soviet advance towards Klaipėda. During these fights, about 1,350 men of the division were killed. In mid-November 1944, the division was assigned to the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

where it fought until the end of the war. About 3,580 men died in Courland. In January 1945, the division was briefly deployed in Lithuania where it participated in the final capture of Klaipėda.

Soviet propaganda Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication to promote class conflict, internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself. The main Soviet censorship body, Glavlit ...

touted that the "Lithuanian" division was the first to enter the city. The division received an honorary name after

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

. Urbšas was named the first honorary citizen of Klaipėda and awarded symbolic keys to the city. Just as Germany was surrendering, Urbšas was removed from his command of the 16th Rifle division on 8 May 1945. Adolfas Urbšas, kapas

Post-war and retirement

In January 1946, Urbšas was returned to teach tactics at the Vystrel course. In 1955, he retired from the military and returned to Lithuania. He worked as director of the military section of the Lithuanian Veterinary Academy until 1961. He was deputy director of the Kaunas History Museum in 1963–1965. Urbšas died on 19 May 1973 in

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 Traka ...

and was buried at the

Petrašiūnai Cemetery Petrašiūnai Cemetery ( lt, Petrašiūnų kapinės) is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science. Location Petrašiūnai Cemetery is located abo ...

Awards

Urbšas's awards included: * Order of Vytautas the Great (1930; 5th degree) * Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1937; 3rd degree) * Independence Medal (Lithuania) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

(15 July 1943) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

(29 July 1944; 1st degree) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

(26 October 1944)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbsas, Adolfas 1900 births 1973 deaths Lithuanian Army officers Soviet major generals People from Rokiškis District Municipality Burials at Petrašiūnai Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Recipients of the Order of Vytautas the Great Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star