2nd Infantry Regiment later known as the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas () was a

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ( ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that saw combat in the Lithuanian Wars of Independence. It existed from 1918 to 1940. The current Lithuanian arm's '' Grand Duke Algirdas'' Mechanised Infantry Battalion continues the 2nd Regiment's traditions.

Formation

The regiment began forming on 5 December 1918. However, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

was approaching from the east, so the core of the regiment, composed of the pulkininkas Vincas Grigaliūnas-Glovackis, three officers, and two soldiers, transferred from Vilnius to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Tra ...

and established itself in three rooms of the hotel "Europa". The German Army, still present in Lithuania, hindered the formation of the regiment, but the regiment was still granted the barracks in the Upper Panemunė. The regiment's officers travelled through

Suvalkija Suvalkija or Sudovia ( lt, Suvalkija or ''Sūduva'') is the smallest of the five cultural regions of Lithuania. Its unofficial capital is Marijampolė. People from Suvalkija (Suvalkijans, Suvalkians) are called (plural) or (singular) in Lith ...

and recruited volunteers. In early February 1919, the regiment had 50 officers and 1,262 soldiers, but there was only 420 rifles and no machine-gun. There was no military clothing, the volunteers received only a uniform cap, but still wore civilian clothes and were fed poorly. The training of volunteers was short and were quickly pressed into action, as the Bolsheviks was already threatening the

temporary capital A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leadin ...

, Kaunas.

Lithuanian Wars of Independence

Lithuanian-Soviet War

The Soviet forces were approaching Kaunas from

Prienai Prienai () is a city in Lithuania situated on the Nemunas River, south of Kaunas. In 2011 the city had 9,867 inhabitants. The name of the city is a derivative from a surname ''Prienas''. Pociūnai Airport is associated with the city. Histo ...

, thus 200 of the 2nd regiment's soldiers were sent to the front and fought in the

battle of Jieznas The Battle of Jieznas (; 10–13 February 1919) was one of the first battles of the recreated Lithuanian Army against the Red Army near Jieznas during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence. This Lithuanian victory contributed significantly to an i ...

. The first fights were unsuccessful due to the lack of force and experience. During the fight, one officer of the regiment, Cietuchin betrayed the regiment and led a squad of 33 men directly to enemy. The fight resulted in heavy casualties: 18 dead and 33 captured. Nevertheless, after a few days and after receiving reinforcements, the infantry took Jieznas back and halted the southern force of the Bolshevik offensive's

pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...

. From May to September 1919, the regiment was part of the Panevėžys Group which fought the Red Army near Žasliai,

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population is 23,667. Its old town dates to ...

, Ramygala,

Obeliai Obeliai (; pl, Abele, yi, אבעל Abel) is a small city in the Rokiškis district municipality of Panevėžys County, Lithuania. At the foot of the town is one of the area's many lakes. The town of Obeliai is small and quite poor, due in no s ...

. In these fights, the regiment had 3 battalions with 63 officers, nearly 2,000 men and 20 machine guns. The Battle of Panevėžys was very fierce and had to be liberated twice - on 19 and 21 May. Especially fierce fights raged in

Kupiškis Kupiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality, mainly known for its sculptures and fourth biggest water reservoir in Lithuania. Kupiškis is located on the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. The n ...

. The regiment's fights in Latvia were hard, due to an inconsistent supply and a dropping morale. Nonetheless, when the fights ended in September, the Bolsheviks were driven out of Lithuania.

Polish-Lithuanian War

In 1920 the regiment unsuccessfully fought against invading Polish forces near

Seinai Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojezie ...

and

Giedraičiai left, Bell tower of Church of St. Bartholomew Giedraičiai is a town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania with about 700 residents. It is located some 45 km north of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, on the banks of Lake Kiementas. ...

. During the totality of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, 11 officers and 111 men fell on the battlefield.

Interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

The regiment garrisoned Šančiai (an eldership in Kaunas) and

Jonava Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Intern ...

. In 1926 July, the regiment was awarded 2nd class of the Order of Vytautas Cross with the inscription "Tėvynės meilė tebus mums vadovas" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

: Love of the Fatherland will be our guide).

Soviet Occupation

When the USSR occupied Lithuania, the regiment's name was removed on 25 July 1940. When the Lithuanian People's Army into the Red Army, the regiment was disbanded.

Regiment's commanders

* Pranas Liatukas * Vincas Grigaliūnas-Glovackis * 1920 March 17 - Jonas Laurinaitis * 1922 September 20 - Jonas Petraitis * 1927-1928 Bronius Ivanauskas * 1928-1934 Julius Čaplikas * 1934 Juozas Tumas * Antanas Špokevičius

Officers

Petras Ciunis Petras Ciunis (June 26, 1898 in Perloja – December 29, 1979 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian army officer, educator. Biography Lithuanian Wars of Independence In 1918, Ciunis graduated from Voronezh Teachers' Seminary (a subsidiary of Tartu Uni ...

– Commander of the 2nd Company in 1939-1940.