Mikas Rėklaitis (6 September 1895 – 31 March 1976) was a Lithuanian

division general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

. He was chief of supply 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 Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

Personal life

Simonas, the father of Rėklaitis, was married with Teofilė and had nine children—five sons and four daughters. Simonas Rėklaitis told his children the history of his family even from the seventeenth century. According to his father, the Rėklaičiai family came from free peasants and never went to

corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...

. His parents were educated people, thus all their children graduated from studies. Three of them ( Vladas Rėklaitis, Antanas Rėklaitis, and Mikas) became

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. Mikas Rėklaitis brothers colonel Antanas Rėklaitis and colonel Vladas Rėklaitis also served in the Lithuanian Armed Forces. All three brothers were arrested by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

, following the

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

in 1940; however, they were later liberated and first emigrated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, later to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Rėklaitis married Adelė.

Early life

Rėklaitis was born on 6 September 1895 in Daugirdėliai,

Alytus Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...

County, Russian Empire. In 1915, he graduated from the Veiveriai Teachers' Seminary. During the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Rėklaitis was

mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1916 and fought on the front. He graduated from the War School of Alexey in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Interwar Lithuania

After returning to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

at the end of 1918, Rėklaitis worked as the commander of the

Alytus County Alytus County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its Capital (political), capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the Regions of Lithuania, ethnographic region of Dz� ...

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. In January 1919, Rėklaitis joined the

as a volunteer and participated in the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles (), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Bermontians (October ...

with the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

in Kurkliai –

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

operation and

Zarasai Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...

operation, in 1920 – with the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. On 17 October 1919, he was awarded the rank of infantry

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and was appointed commander of a training company. On 20 October 1920, he was appointed commander of the battalion, and on 30 January 1922, he was elevated to a military rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. In 1922, Rėklaitis graduated from the higher officers' courses at the

War School of Kaunas War School of Kaunas () 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-month ''praporshchik'' ...

and contributed to the drafting of the Statute of the Infantry Order (Part 2, 1922–23). In 1923, Rėklaitis was appointed chief of staff of the First Military District. Since 1927, Rėklaitis was the commandant of the

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

military area, later the commandant of the Kėdainiai County. In 1930–35, Rėklaitis was the commander of the First Infantry Regiment. In 1930, he graduated from the Higher Officers' Courses. In 1935, he was appointed Commander of the Third Infantry Regiment. On 23 November 1935, Rėklaitis was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. In 1938, Rėklaitis was awarded the military rank of

and served as chief of supply of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Occupations and World War II

In October 1939, Rėklaitis led the Lithuanian military delegation in negotiations with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on the deployment of Soviet troops in Lithuania. He was appointed Chief of the Lithuanian State Commission to coordinate all matters related to the placement of Soviet crews. In this position, Rėklaitis demonstrated tact and nobility. The Soviet-side had claims to expand its bases widely throughout Lithuania, as well as in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

and Šiauliai districts; however, the Lithuanian State Commission was principled and achieved that the headquarters of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

would not be located in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

but in

Naujoji Vilnia Naujoji Vilnia is an eldership in eastern Vilnius, Lithuania situated along the banks of the Vilnia River. According to the 2011 census, the district had a population of 31,933. This figure grew to 36,507 in 2021, when the newest census was perf ...

and that at least half of the entire Red Army forces would be kept in the

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...

. In January 1940, Rėklaitis was appointed a representative of the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania to maintain relations with the Red Army. On 6–12 June 1940, Rėklaitis accompanied Prime Minister

Antanas Merkys Antanas Merkys (; 1 February 1887 – 5 March 1955) was the last Prime Minister of independent Lithuania, serving from November 1939 to June 1940. When the Soviet Union presented an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding that it accept a Soviet g ...

; however, he was not allowed to participate in the negotiations of the

Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty The Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty (, ) was a bilateral treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Lithuania on October 10, 1939. According to provisions outlined in the treaty, Lithuania would acquire about one fifth of the Vilnius ...

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. Unaware of

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

threats to Merkys and the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, Rėklaitis did not immediately understand the real Kremlin's intentions. Following the

, Rėklaitis was fired from the Lithuanian Armed Forces in June 1940. On the night of 11 June 1941, he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and imprisoned in

. Rėklaitis's family was later arrested and taken away, while he met the first day of the war in the security cellars of Kaunas. He was liberated following the start of the Soviet–German War during the

June Uprising in Lithuania The June Uprising () was a brief period in late June 1941 between the first Soviet and the Nazi occupations. A year prior, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army occupied Lithuania and established the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, w ...

. Rėklaitis was appointed as a member of the National Defense Council and chief of staff of the Armed Forces by the

Provisional Government of Lithuania The Provisional Government of Lithuania () was an attempted temporary government, provisional government to form an independent Lithuanian state in June Uprising in Lithuania, the last days of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania (1940), first Sovi ...

Emigration

In 1944, Rėklaitis departed to

, and in 1949, he emigrated to the

. Rėklaitis actively participated in the activities of the Lithuanian diaspora. He was vice-chairman of the Board of the ''Ramovė'' Center of the Lithuanian Veterans' Union, led the establishment of the Union of Freedom Fights Museum (1958), led the construction committee during the construction of the Lithuanian Freedom Fights Monument in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(1960), and was chairman of the commission for the preparation of the book ''Kovos dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomybės, 1918–1920'' (1 volume, 1972), and he collaborated with press of the

Lithuanian Americans Lithuanian Americans refer to American citizens and residents of Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population in the United States. ...

. Rėklaitis died on 31 March 1976 in Chicago and was buried there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reklaitis, Mikas 1895 births 1976 deaths Lithuanian generals Lithuanian emigrants to Germany Lithuanian refugees in the United States