Dešimtasis pėstininkų Marijampolės pulkas

• LKA leidinių archyvas: knygos tekstas

LTŠi mokslo studija skirta Dešimtajam pėstininkų Marijampolės pulkui, kurio gana trumpa istorija glaudžiai susijusi su kovomis dėl nepriklausomybės ir neutraliosios zonos tarp Lietuvos ir Lenkijos apsaugos laikotarpiu [p. 5].

ENThe Tenth Infantry Regiment of Marijampolė belongs to the category of infantry regiments of the interwar Lithuanian army whose history did not begin as the history of a regiment, but as the Lithuanian army grew and strengthened during the struggle for independence, it grew into a regiment from a separate battalion and is attributed to the history of short-term military units, since it existed for only four years. On the 20th of June 1919, the battalion was separated from the First Infantry Regiment and was named the First Reserve Battalion by the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Silvestras Žukauskas. The battalion, when it was founded, was intended to be used as a training base for new recruits; however, when a dangerous situation arose near the southern lands of Lithuania as the Polish army began to invade them, it was transferred to the front and transformed from a training unit into a combat unit, and from the 8th August 1919, actively participated in the battles against the Poles. As the Lithuanian army grew and strengthened during the period of intense fighting with the Poles, on the 1st of August 1920, by the decision of the commander-in-chief of the army, the First Reserve Battalion was reformed into the Tenth Infantry Regiment, and a little later, was given the name, the Marijampolė Regiment, taking into account its main location. The Tenth Infantry Regiment of Marijampolė is unique among other regiments in that it fought against one and the same enemy - the Poles - throughout the period of the struggle for independence. A serious challenge for the soldiers of the regiment was the battles against significantly superior Polish military forces that took place at the beginning of September 1920.During the battles, the regiment suffered considerable losses; however, since it was transferred to the reserve of the Marijampolė group at the height of the fighting, it did not suffer such heavy losses as other regiments of the Marijampolė group. After the end of the fighting with Poland, the regiment, as part of the IV Infantry Division, remained at the front in the protection of the neutral zone between Lithuania and Poland, and with the forces of one battalion, it guarded the assigned bar of the neutral zone. While guarding the neutral zone, the soldiers were constantly in combat conditions because the Poles were preparing various provocations, and there were wounded and dead soldiers of the regiment. During this period, the regiment’s leadership was faced with the problems of supply and discipline of the soldiers, mainly due to the lack of suitable living conditions for the regiment’s soldiers. By their decision, the regimental leadership and regimental officers had to put a lot of extra effort into the proper education and training of the soldiers. Despite the enormous problems that the regiment had to deal with, the regiment fulfilled the assignments set to it, successfully carried out the tasks assigned to it, and trained soldiers for the defence of the country. By the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on the 2nd of May 1923, the IV Infantry Division of the Lithuanian Army was disbanded. Instead, the Border Division was formed under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which included regiments formerly subordinate to the IV Infantry Division. The Tenth Infantry Regiment became the Second Frontier Marijampolė Regiment.Unfortunately, this decision was unsuccessful because after one division supported the protection of the entire demarcation line with Poland and the border with Latvia and the regiments occupied very wide security bars, although the service of soldiers was extended to three years, their training as soldiers of the Lithuanian army became impossible, and the protection of the demarcation line itself became ineffective therefore, from the of 1st December 1923, the Border Guards Division was reformed into the Border Guards Brigade by the decision of the Government. Accordingly, the former regiments of the Border Guard Division were reformed into separate battalions. On the 1st of December 1923, the Second Border Regiment of Marijampolė was reformed into the Second Separate Border Battalion. However, the Border Guard Brigade did not exist for a long time. In the middle of December 1923, it was decided to disband the Separate Border Brigade, and from the beginning of 1924, border protection was entrusted to the border police. Although the period of existence of the regiment was short, it operated in the most difficult days for Lithuania, and the soldiers of the regiment honourably fulfilled their duty, making a significant contribution to the common battle of the Lithuanian army for the freedom and independence of Lithuania. After the announcement of the partial mobilisation of the Lithuanian army in September 1939, the Tenth Infantry Regiment was reborn again, and it successfully mobilised; however, after a few days of existence, it was demobilised again, but this mobilisation demonstrated that the regiment could be reborn within 32 hours and begin to carry out the Lithuanian defence tasks assigned to it.