4th Infantry Regiment, later the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Lithuanian King

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

() 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 Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that existed from 1918 to 1940 and was located in

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

Formation

The regiment was founded on 29 December 1918, when the Defence Ministry of the Lithuanian Republic allowed the officer Jonas Variakojis to assemble and command the Panevėžys Region Defence Unit (). On 5 January 1919, Variakojis managed to salvage 70 rifles out of the retreating

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

and by 7 January, his unit received its first order. From 22 March, the unit is known as the Separate Panevėžys Battalion () and from 20 June 1919 as the Panevėžys Battalion ().

Lithuanian Wars of Independence

The military formation was fighting the invading

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

from its foundation, specifically near Panevėžys,

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

and

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Municipality. Ukmergė (Vilkmergė) was mentioned for the first time as a ...

. On 18-23 May 1919, the regiment took part in the Kurkliai-Panevėžys operation, although it did not succeed in defending Panevėžys. Much more successful was the soon after Kupiškis-Utena operation from 26 May to 3 June, during which

Kupiškis Kupiškis (; Yiddish: קופישוק) 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 Lėv ...

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a list of cities in Lithuania, city in northeastern Lithuania, close to the Latvia–Lithuania border, with a population of 11,606 (2023). The city is a capital of the Rokiškis District Municipality with a population of 28,715 (20 ...

and Alūkšta were liberated. The regiment pushed the Bolsheviks beyond the

Daugava river The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

. From 15 October 1919, the regiment fought the

Bermontians The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German White Russian military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War from November 1918 to December 1919. History The , unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army ...

. For its victorious battles, the

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town gave the unit a flag on 1 November 1919, the same day the unit was called the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas. On 26 July 1920, the regiment entered Vilnius and defended it against Polish attacks in the start of October, later engaging them in the Musninkai-

Širvintos Širvintos () is a city in Vilnius County in eastern Lithuania. It is the administrative center of the Širvintos district municipality. Etymology The town's name is a place name derived from the river Širvinta, which flows through it. Širvi ...

sector, later partaking in the Battle of Giedraičiai. During the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, 3 officers and 72 soldiers of the regiment were killed in action, while 121 soldiers were wounded in combat.

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis () is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. History Interwar period Reje ...

was accorded to 33 officers and 198 soldiers of the regiment.

Interwar

In 1922, the regiment was moved to Panevėžys. In 1926, it was given the flag of the 3rd Class Order of the Cross of Vytis with the inscription: "God, help us defend the Fatherland's liberty and honour". The regiment was part of the 1st Lithuanian Infantry Division, whose subunits were sometimes located in

Soviet Occupation

With the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania, the regiment was renamed as the "4th Infantry Regiment" on 25 July 1940 and disbanded on 30 August 1940. On the disbanded regiment's basis, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's 215th Rifle Regiment was formed on 9 September 1940.

Regiment's commanders

* 1919 Officer Jonas Variakojis * 1919

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Maksimas Katchė * 1921 Colonel Pranas Tamašauskas * 1927 General Headquarters Colonel Viktoras Giedrys * Colonel Kazys Tallat-Kelpša * 1931 General Headquarters Colonel Vaclovas Griganavičius * 1935 Colonel Kazys Sprangauskas * 1936 Colonel Vaclovas Žadeika * 1940 Colonel Petras Genys * 1940 Colonel Antanas Šurkus

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite web , last=Vaičenonis , first=Jonas , date=19 May 2021 , title=Ketvirtasis pėstininkų pulkas , url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/ketvirtasis-pestininku-pulkas/ , website=

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija The ''Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija'' or VLE () is a 25-volume universal Lithuanian-language encyclopedia published by the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute from 2001 to 2014. VLE is the first published universal encyclopedia i ...

, language=lt History of Panevėžys Infantry regiments of Lithuania Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 1918 establishments in Lithuania 1940 disestablishments in Lithuania