Aštuntasis pėstininkų Kauno kunigaikščio Vaidoto pulkas

LTAštuntasis pėstininkų Kauno kunigaikščio Vaidoto pulkas buvo vienas tarpukario Lietuvos kariuomenės, kuri augo ir stiprėjo kovų dėl nepriklausomybės metu, pėstininkų pulkų. 1919 m. birželio 12 d. suformuotas kaip Ukmergės atskirasis batalionas, karo lauke išaugęs į pulką, jis įnešė svarų indėlį į Lietuvos laisvės kovų istoriją. Šio pulko istoriografija nėra gausi, tačiau nemažai jo istorijos fragmentų panaudota ne vieno Lietuvos istoriko darbuose. Tarpukariu, 1935 m., buvo išleista pulke tarnavusių karininkų Ernesto Bliudniko ir Petro Nazaro parengta knyga pulko penkiolikos metų gyvavimo sukakčiai paminėti1 . Joje pateikta daug medžiagos apie šio dalinio organizavimą, dalyvavimą Nepriklausomybės kovose, veiklą taikos metais, aptariamas jo kultūrinis gyvenimas, karių sportinė veikla, laisvalaikis. Knyga vertinga tuo, kad autoriai rėmėsi pulko dokumentais, įvykių dalyvių atsiminimais, todėl rengiant šią monografiją ja gana plačiai remtasi. [Iš Įvado]

ENKaunas Duke Vaidotas 8th Infantry Regiment belongs to the category of the interwar Lithuanian Armed Forces’ infantry regiments the history of which started from a separate battalion during the fights for independence, i.e., the times when the Lithuanian military was growing and strengthening. The regiment started its history on 12 June 1919 as Ukmergė Separate Battalion, however, differently from many other separate battalions that were formed by separating a group of servicemen from a military unit. The formation of Kaunas Duke Vaidotas 8th Infantry Regiment started only after the appointment of the battalion commander and transfer of 12 servicemen from Kaunas Military Commandant’s Office to the indicated place of formation, i.e., Ukmergė. Such a decision was made most likely because the battalion commander was appointed Jurgis Kubilius, an experienced former colonel who served in the Imperial Russian Army. The military authorities had no doubts about his organizational skills and believed that it would not take him long to form a battalion. Naturally, Colonel Kubilius successfully fulfilled their expectations. The combat mission of Kaunas Battalion started on 2 July 1919 when Company 1 was sent to the front to fight the Bolsheviks in Utena–Daugavpils area. The company was temporarily attached to the 1st Infantry Regiment. During the struggle against the Bolsheviks, the regiment proved capable of performing the tasks assigned by the military authorities. Operating mainly in Daugavpils area, the regiment carried out a number of major operations and managed to keep the entrusted front bar in Kalkūnai area safe despite critical conditions.When on 13 January 1920 the regiment was deployed in Kaunas, its servicemen had to quell the riot that sparked on February 21-23 in the barracks of Kaunas Garrison. It was caused by poor supply of servicemen and the Bolsheviks’ agitation hostile to Lithuania. Despite the rebels’ urge to join the riot, the regiment resisted it, remained loyal to the Lithuanian Government, and put down the riot along with the 6th Infantry Regiment. Since the end of April, the year 1920, when the regiment’s formation was completed, was marked by the fights with the Polish troops. In the first half of 1920, the regiment guarded the front bar against the Poles in Ukmergė area, and already in September it suffered a disaster losing more than half of its servicemen who were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners during fierce battles against the Polish troops in Suvalkija. The catastrophe was determined by objective and subjective reasons. First, after the Polish victory against the Red Army near Warsaw in August 1920, the Polish forces were much larger compared to those of the Red Army and the Lithuanian troops in Augustów–Grodno bar. Equally important was the responsibility of the Lithuanian military authorities that underestimated the Polish threat and instead of concentrating military units, they dispersed them leading to the tragedy of the Lithuanian troops in Augustów – Sejny area. During the tense final battles with the Polish troops near Giedraičiai and Širvintos in November 1920, the 8th Infantry Regiment carried out an important mission set up by the military leadership. As the reserve of the 1st Infantry Division, the regiment covered the unprotected left wing and rear of the division thus ensuring the safety and maneuvers of other Lithuanian military units.When the struggle for independence was over, the regiment had to guard a bar in the neutral zone with Poland. It was a rather difficult period as the regiment was in neither peace nor war conditions. The battalion guarding the demarcation line was in fact operating under frontal conditions, whereas other two battalions faced fragile peace due to continuous tension near the demarcation line where the confrontation with the Poles sometimes escalated into rather serious clashes. When the regiment was deployed in Šiauliai at the end of April 1923, it entered a usual peacetime routine. The key mission of the regiment was to train and educate conscripts for the reserve force of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Gradually, a usual routine was established with regular inspections, elimination of observed shortcomings, traditional spring and autumn maneuvers, various sports and other holidays, etc. In this respect, the regiment did not differ from other regiments of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Military training followed training programmes, whereas knowledge and skills were tested during maneuvers, exercises, alarms, etc. Although the fights for independence were over, the main enemy of the regiment was Poland that occupied Vilnius Region. To make the situation even worse, in March 1939, Germany annexed Klaipėda Region. In the mid-1930s, the 2nd Battalion was deployed in Varniai as Germans were considered a potential major threat. Due to the circumstances, the regiment started preparations for a clash with the German Army. Besides military training, the servicemen were also intensively educated culturally. Many of them were completely illiterate before the military service. The problem of illiteracy in Lithuania was not solved even at the end of the 1930s. The regiment allowed them a possibility to learn to read and write and gain the knowledge of general education and state history in the spirit of patriotism and love for the country. ...]. [From the publication]