From self-defense to revolution: Lithuanian paramilitary groups in 1918 and 1919

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: 1918-1919; Karinės grupuotės; Savigyna; Sukarintos grupuotės; 1918-1919; Lithuania; Paramilitary groups; Self-defense.

ENAfter the Great War, a new burst of military activity swept across the western borderlands of the former Russian Empire, in a wave of bloodshed unseen since the early days of the war. As part of this wider conflict, between 1918 and 1920 the territory of what is now Lithuania was flooded with armed groups of different stripes and political interests. The primary conflict was between Lithuanian nationalists and Bolsheviks, each offering transformative state-building projects. However, they were also joined by Poles, Russian counter-revolutionaries, and German volunteers, who fought the Bolsheviks; and, on occasion, the Lithuanians. All of these troops bore little resemblance to the imperial armies that had battled against each other just a few months earlier. Initially, they were poorly equipped paramilitary formations with loose command structures, led by charismatic and opportunist commanders. They depended, to varying degrees, on their ability to be fed by the local population, using force when they refused to cooperate. It is no wonder that this many-sided power struggle produced an array of violent responses in the shape of various defensive and revolutionary groups, as well as home guards and peasant partisans (both nationalist and communist). Some of the groups tried to protect their local communities against these troops, taking advantage of the shifting military fortunes by joining one warring side or another.My aim here is to provide an overview of a few key Lithuanian paramilitary groups that emerged as a result of the collapse of the German occupying regime, the Bolshevik advance, and the ensuing power struggle in Lithuania throughout 1918 and 1919. The focus is on grassroots groups that displayed a high degree of operational freedom and which, at least temporarily, acted independently of the Lithuanian government and the Bolshevik regime. I will explore their origins, motivation to fight, and their role in state- and nation-building. My argument is that these paramilitary formations played a significant role in mobilizing the local population in this many-sided power contest for political control of Lithuania. In effect, they contributed to the militarization of civilian life. From this perspective, they can be studied as part of the same phenomenon irrespective of their political and ideological backgrounds. Over the course of time, these groups were eliminated by the regular armies or simply disintegrated. But some of them (particularly those on the winning side) were incorporated into the new state and military structures that were forged in the midst of the war. Some became vehicles of civil activism, patriotic education, or nationalist or revolutionary indoctrination. Thus, starting from the early interwar years, paramilitarism became an inseparable part of the political culture of independent Lithuania and of the wider European region. The broader question investigated here is: what are the connections between the violence of the Great War and the postwar conflict?. [Extract, p. 1-2]