Territorial Unit (Lithuania) Explained

A Territorial Unit was a type of Lithuanian partisan military unit that existed from the end of 1944 to 1954, who fought against the second Soviet occupation of Lithuania. Instead of destroyed or disintegrated units, new ones were founded, often with different names.

Due to the difficulties of guerrilla warfare, as well as for tactical reasons, the territorial units' boundaries changed, so, depending on the case, they operated in one county, a part of thereof, or several neighboring counties. Sometimes territorial units were transferred from one military district to another. Territorial units, thought not all, published their own press.

Beginning

The first territorial units were formed in Southern and Eastern Lithuania at the end of 1944. At the beginning of the partisan war in Lithuania, some territorial units formed and operated independently (e.g. Perkūnas, Deer, Vytautas in the Tauras military district).

Composition

A territorial unit was made up of several squads, companies, battalions, districts. Most frequently, it included several companies. In turn, several territorial units made up a military district . After the founding of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Union in 1949, a territorial unit was composed of several homelands .

Territorial units differed in the number of fighters (from roughly 50 to about 200 people). Sometimes, they were 700-strong. They were active anywhere from several to 8 years.

Command

The military district's commander appointed the territorial unit's commander. The people chosen were either staff officers or distinguished commanders of companies or other formations. Generally, these were Lithuanian army officers and school teachers.

List of territorial units

The following territorial units were active at various times:

Formation name! scope="col" width="15%"
Date createdDate formation ceased to existUnit insigniaPart of Military District (MD)Notable battlesNotesSource(s)
Duke MargisMay 1947Autumn 1950Algimantas
ŠarūnasJanuary 1945November 1950
GreenMarch 1946November 1953Ažagai
DzūkaiJune 194516 August 1954A or Algirdas MD;since May 1946: Dainava MD
ŠarūnasApril 194526 December 1951Liepakojai, Kalniškės
Iron WolfMay 1945August 1946
MerkysJune 1945September 1947Varčios Forest, Liberation of Merkinė
Kazimieraitis25 September 1945February 1952A
ADecember 1945September 1948Grand FightA
B1 December 194525 November 1950
Krikštaponis20 April 1949January 1951Vytis
Moose20 April 1949January 1951
GediminasJanuary 195117 April 1953
Falcon23 May 1945July 1945Vytautas
Tiger20 November 1944June 1952Kiauneliškis
Bear15 December 1944April 1951Antazavė Pinewood
LionJune 1946May 1952
Tumas-VaižgantasNovember 1950October 1952
Iron WolfOctober 1945April 1953TaurasBūdininkai, Palios–Žuvintas, Raišupis
Žalgiris15 August 1945July 1952Opšrūtai
Vytautas25 June 194521 January 1952
GediminasApril 1945August 1946
Birutė24 September 194728 February 1949
ŠarūnasJanuary 1945November 1950
PatrimpasAugust 194522 October 1945
Kęstutis19471949
SeinaiJuly 1945July 1946
AltarSeptember 19468 July 1948Kęstutis
ButigeidisJuly 194813 June 1954
VaidotasSummer 19465 August 1953
LydisEarly 1945July 1947
NarasDecember 1946July 1947
LLA's March district19451946
AmberFebruary 1948March 1949
Weasel22 July 1945Late 1951Pyragiai
SquirrelOctober 1946May 1952Resurrection
January 1946April 1948
Lithuanian GreenApril 1948November 1950
LukšysMarch 1946March 1953
AlkaOctober 19451949Žemaičiai
Sword15 November 19451953
ŠatrijaAugust 1945March 1953

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia

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