Lithuanian invasion of Poland (1939)

The Lithuanian invasion of Poland was an armed conflict between the Republic of Lithuania and the Second Polish Republic, lasting from September 14 to September 28, 1939, during the German invasion of Poland in the opening phases of the Second World War.

On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed an Non-Aggression Pact (the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact), with secret clauses assigning spheres of influence in the area of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia, eastern Poland and Finland was assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, and Lithuania and the western part of Poland was assigned to the German sphere of influence.

On September 1, when Germany finally invaded Poland, they offered Lithuania the disputed regions of Vilnius and Suvalkai if they joined the war on the side of the Germans. As the Lithuanian government debated whether to accept the offer, a border incident at 3:00 on September 17 claimed the lives of 5 Lithuanian soldiers and 10 Polish soldiers. The next day, Lithuanian President Antanas Smetona presented an ultimatum for the Polish government: Cede all territories taken by Poland in 1920 including Vilnius, or they would declare war on Poland, joining the side of Germany and take it back by force.

On September 19, Lithuanian troops crossed the Lithuanian-Polish frontier, which marked the beginning of the Lithuanian military campaign to recapture Vilnius. On September 21, the Lithuanian forces finally captured Vilnius after somewhat heavy losses, and on September 23, colonel Jarosław Okulicz-Kozaryn capitulated to the Lithuanian Commander-in-Chief Vincas Vitkauskas,

The annexation of the Suvalkai and Vilnius regions was confirmed by the Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) resolution on October 15, 1939.

Prelude
Under Russian rule since 1795, Lithuania re-established its independence on February 16th, 1918. The titular monarchy of the Monaco-born King Mindaugas II, the official government from July through November 1918, was quickly replaced by a republican government. From the outset, the newly-independent Lithuania's foreign policy was dominated by territorial disputes with Poland (over the Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region) and with Germany (over the Klaipėda region, German: Memelland). Most obviously, the Lithuanian constitution designated Vilnius as the nation's capital, even though the city itself lay within Polish territory as a result of a Polish invasion. At the time, Poles and Jews made up a majority of the population of Vilnius, with a small Lithuanian minority of only 1%. Such demographic obstacles were the legacy of the Poles under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which reduced the population of ethnic Lithuanians within Vilnius. Later the Russian occupation of Lithuania from the early 19th century onward claimed their share of the demographic situation due to Russification and purges. In 1920 the capital was relocated to Kaunas, which was officially designated the provisional capital of Lithuania.

Following a succession of conservative governments, Lithuania's first elected government of the left (June 1926) was overthrown in a military coup d'état in December 1926. Antanas Smetona, first president of Lithuania, resumed office as president, but with dictatorial powers, while Augustinas Voldemaras that later was leader of the far-right Iron Wolf movement served as Prime Minister. After Voldemaras was removed from his office in September 1929, Smetona continued to direct Lithuania's political affairs until 1939.

It had long been the opinion of Lithuanian high-ranking army officers that the enemies of Poland and Lithuania were the same and the broken diplomatic relations with Poland should be restored. In 1938, after a border incident in which one Polish soldier was killed, Poland presented an ultimatum to Lithuania to re-establish the relations. A period of 24 hours was set for a response; at the end of which Poland would declare war if Lithuania did not renew diplomatic relations. Knowing that it was weaker at the time and that under such circumstances there would be no support from other countries, Lithuania accepted the ultimatum and it was signed by representatives of both states in Tallinn, Estonia. After that, several quiet protests happened in Lithuania. Positive effects of the ultimatum included treaties about railway transport, postal exchange, and other means of communication, finally allowing the population to exchange letters and place phone calls across the borders. Although Lithuania officially continued to claim Vilnius as its capital, with diplomatic relations re-established due to the ultimatum, antagonism between the two states over the region reduced and the Vilnius Liberation Union was also closed. However, this would soon be overshadowed once again by Germany's expansionist foreign policy.

The Lithuanian National Socialist Party, which was ideologically similar to the German Nazi Party, gained a large voice in the city's politics. In the 1938 election, the National Socialists won the majority of seats and negotiated a settlement to hand over Klaipėda to Germany. A majority of the town's Jewish population, foreseeing this change in the cards, had already fled the area.

By late 1938, Lithuania had lost control over the situation in Memel. In the early hours of March 23rd, 1939, after a oral ultimatum had made a Lithuanian delegation travel to Berlin, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys and his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany in exchange for a Lithuanian Free Zone for 99 years in the port of Memel, using the facilities erected in previous years. German forces seized the territory even before the official Lithuanian ratification. The United Kingdom and France, as after the revolt of 1923, did not actively protect the autonomy of the territory. It was under these conditions that the Seimas was forced to approve the treaty, hoping that Germany would not press any other territorial demands upon Lithuania. Hitler had anticipated this aboard a naval ship, and at dawn sailed into Memel to celebrate the return “heim ins Reich” of the Memelland. This proved to be the last of a series of bloodless annexations of territories in which German-speaking minorities lived. The reunion with Germany was welcomed by the majority of the population, both by Germans and by Memellanders.

Tensions in Europe
Following the loss of Klaipėda, General Stasys Raštikis visited Warsaw between May 12th and 13, suggesting a military alliance with Poland. However, the Polish government treated his proposition lightly and lost a small, but potentially important, ally. The Poles focused on relief from the French in case a war should erupt with Germany.

On August 23rd, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a Non-Aggression Pact (the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact), with secret clauses assigning spheres of influence in the area of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia, eastern Poland and Finland was assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, and Lithuania and the western part of Poland was assigned to the German sphere of influence. The news of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact came as a shock to the Lithuanians and the rest of the world. Concerns over the possible existence of secret protocols were first expressed by the intelligence organizations of the Baltic States scant days after the pact was signed, and speculation grew stronger when Soviet negotiators referred to its content during negotiations for military bases in those countries. A war between Germany and Poland now seemed inevitable.

Europe at War
On September 1st, 1939, at 04:40, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On September 3rd, after Hitler refused to agree to the ultimatum given by the French and British governments, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. The same day the Germans invaded Poland, Ribbentrop made an unofficial visit to President Antanas Smetona. During this meeting, the Lithuanians were given an offer: Ally with Germany in the attack on Poland, and the Lithuanians would be rewarded with the Vilnius region taken from by Poland in 1920 and Suvalkai region. To assist the Lithuanian army with the capture of these territories, a German motorised division would be made ready for disposal for the Lithuanian High Command. President Smetona was interested, but asked for time to ask the cabinet and the Seimas (parliament).

The debate went on for days, as the government and the parliament could not agree whether to accept the German offer. Their first concern was the question if the Soviet Union would follow Germany and invade Poland from the east. If they did, their hopes to regain Vilnius would be lost, and they suspected a possible existence of secret protocols. The second major concern was that the diplomatic relations with Poland was improving, and the antagonism between the two states over the region had been reduced.

As the debate continued, a border incident at 3:00 on the September 17th claimed the lives of 5 Lithuanian and 10 Polish soldiers. Actually retreating into Lithuania to escape capture by Germans, the Polish soldiers were believed to be invaders. The next day, Lithuanian President Antanas Smetona presented an ultimatum for the Polish government: Return all territories taken by Poland in 1920, or they would declare war on Poland, joining the side of Germany and take it back by force. As a result of the Polish refusal to the ultimatum, President Antanas Smetona ordered the invasion to begin the following day.

Republic of Lithuania
On September 19th, the Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, General Stasys Raštikis, had 3 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry brigade and an armoured group at disposal for the recapture of Vilnius. The plan for the recapture of Vilnius was the following:


 * To the north, the 2nd Infantry Division and a Cavalry Brigade should advance from Širvintos and then continue towards Vilnius from the north.
 * To the south, the 1st Infantry Division, the Šarvuočių rinktinė (tank group) and later elements of the German Group Brandt) should capture Troki (Trakai) and then advance on Vilnius from the south.
 * The Lithuanian Air Force (Only the Gloster Gladiator Mk. I fighters were made combat ready) and the Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju-87 "Stukas" and Messerschmitt Bf-109s) should support the advancing forces from the air, attacking Polish defences and military units. By request of the Lithuanian government, the Luftwaffe was told not to bomb Vilnius.
 * The 3rd Infantry Division should stand guard at their southern border with Poland, facing the Suvalkai/Suwałki region.

The Lithuanian Army
The Lithuanian Army consisted of 1,600 Officers and 21,000 Other Ranks organized into:


 * 3 Infantry Divisions each of 3 Infantry Regiments and 1 Field Artillery Regiment
 * 1 Cavalry Brigade of 3 Regiments.
 * 1 Armoured Unit of a staff, 3 tank companies, 1 armoured car company and a training platoon

Organisation

Each Infantry Regiment had 3 Battalions each of 3 Rifle and 1 Heavy Machinegun Companies.

Each Cavalry Regiment had 4 Horsed Dragoon, 1 HMG and 1 Technical Squadrons. In addition there was a 19th Squadron which acted as a remount centre for the Cavalry Brigade.

Field Artillery had 4 Regiments each with 3 Groups of 3 Batteries (2 batteries of 75 mm M1897 field guns and 1 battery of 105 mm "Schneider" howitzers) of 4 guns and 2 light machineguns attached to each Infantry Division. Each Regiment had 24 M1897 field guns and 12 "Schneider" howitzers. There were as well 1 Independent Heavy Regiment of 2 Groups each of 3 Batteries of 4 Heavy Howitzers.

The Cavalry Brigade had a horse artillery group, consisting of 3 batteries (for each cavalry regiment) with 4 units of 76.2 mm M1902 divisional guns each. There were a special training artillery group in Panemune (Kaunas' district) consisting of 300 soldiers and the 11th Reserve Artillery Regiment in Panevezys, also consisting of 300 soldiers.

The Lithuanian armoured forces (Šarvuočių rinktinė – Armour Group) were created on January 1, 1924, and consisted of a staff, 3 tank companies, an armoured car company and a training platoon. This unit was located in the town of Radviliškis, and had around 500 personnel (soldiers, NCOs and officers).

HQ Troops included 1 Armoured Vehicle Detachment, 1 Motorized Infantry Detachment, 1 Signal Battalion and 1 Engineer Regiment of 3 Pioneer Battalions.

All units were severely under strength and were intended to be brought up to war strength by calling up reservists from the 55,000 strong LSS (Lietuvos Sauliu Sajunga) or Rifle Association which was controlled by the Ministry of National Defence and whose members were under the direct orders of the Army CIC.

Lithuania had no significant navy, consisting only of the minelayer "Prezidentas Smetona", which was built in Germany during the First World War.

LITHUANIAN ARMY ORDER OF BATTLE, SEPTEMBER 18, 1939

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces: Division General Stasys Raštikis Chief of General Staff: Major General Jonas Černius Chief of the Navy: Captain Antanas Kaškelis

1. Divizijon (Division General Vincas Vitkauskas) I./I. Infantry Regiment II./I. Infantry Regiment III./I. Infantry Regiment I. Field Artillery Regiment

2. Divizijon (Division General Stasys Pundzevičius) I./II. Infantry Regiment II./II. Infantry Regiment III./II. Infantry Regiment II. Field Artillery Regiment

3. Divizijon (Division General Zenonas Gerulaitis) I./III. Infantry Regiment II./III. Infantry Regiment III./III. Infantry Regiment III. Field Artillery Regiment

Kavalerija Brigada (Brigadier Kazys Tallat-Kelpsa) I. Dragon Regiment II. Dragon Regiment III. Dragon Regiment Horse Artillery Group

Šarvuočių rinktinė (Col. Babickas) 1st Tank Company (12 Renault FT-17 light tanks) 2nd Tank Company (16 Vickers M1933 light tanks) 3rd Tank Company (16 Vickers M1936 light tanks) Armoured Car Company (6 Landsverk L-181 armoured cars)

LITHUANIAN AIR FORCE ORDER OF BATTLE, SEPTEMBER 18, 1939

Cheif of the Air Force: Brigadier Antanas Gustaitis

I. Reconnaissance Group (Based in Pajuostis, near Panevėžys) 2nd Squadron (established in 1921, aircraft: ANBO-41) 6th Squadron (established in 1932, aircraft: ANBO-41 and ANBO-IV) 8th Squadron (established in 1938, aircraft: ANBO-41)

'''II. Fighter Group''' (Based in Kaunas) 1st Squadron (established in 1920, aircraft: Dewoitine D-501L) 5th Squadron (established in 1932, aircraft: Gloster “Gladiator” Mk I) 7th Squadron (established in 1938, aircraft: FIAT CR.20)

'''III. Bomber Group''' (Based in Zokniai, near Šiauliai) 3rd Squadron (established in 1923, aircraft Ansaldo A.120) 4th Squadron (established in 1925, aircraft ANBO-41)

'''IV. Training Group''' (Based in Kaunas) (Established in 1920 in Kaunas, aircraft: ANBO-III, ANBO-V, ANBO- 51, ANBO-VI)

GERMAN SUPPORT UNITS, SEPTEMBER 18, 1939

Gruppe Brandt CO: Generalmajor Georg Brandt

Brigade "Goldap" CO: Oberst Hans-Erich Nolte

Grenzwacht-Abschnitt 51 1 Sperr-Kp 2 Sperr-Kp 3 Sperr-Kp Pak-Kp.1. Landesschützenbataillon Landesschützenbataillon Landesschützenbataillon Landesschützenbataillon

Leichte Artillerie-Abteilung PzAbw Artillerie-Abteilung

Brigade "Lötzen" CO: Unknown

Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 161 Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 162 Landwehr-Artillerie-Regiment 161 Landwehr-Aufklärungs-Schwadron 161 Landwehr-Pionier-Bataillon 161 Landwehr-Versorgungs-Einheiten 161

Grenzschutz Abschnitt Kommando 41 Grenzschutz Abschnitt Kommando 61

Additional units: I./Panzer-Regiment 10

Republic of Poland
Wilno (Vilnius), the capital of the Wilno Voivodship (and the original Lithuanian capital), was an important industrial centre in the north-eastern part of Poland and the sixth largest city in that country at that time. Administratively a part of the Grodno-based III Military Corps Area and just before the outbreak of war, the Grodno Operational Group under Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński, it was one of also an important garrison and a mobilization centre. In the pre-war period the city housed the entire Polish 1st Legions' Infantry Division, as well as the headquarters and the 4th Uhlans Regiment of the Wileńska Cavalry Brigade. The air cover was provided by the majority of the 5th Air Regiment stationed at the nearby airfield of Porubanek (modern Kirtimai). In addition, the city of Vilna was a mobilization centre of the 35th Reserve Infantry Division.

Already before the outbreak of the war, the 1st Division had been secretly mobilized and sent towards Różan in northern Mazovia. The Wileńska Cavalry Brigade soon followed and in the first days of September of 1939 left the city for Piotrków Trybunalski. The air assets were attached to Modlin Army and the Narew Group fighting against the German units trying to break through from East Prussia. By September 7th the 35th Division was fully mobilized and transported to Lvov (modern Lviv, Ukraine) and the city was left defenceless.

The military commander of the city, colonel Jarosław Okulicz-Kozaryn, decided that in case of attack by German or Soviet forces, he has insufficient forces for successful defence, and thus his task can be only to allow civilians to evacuate to neutral Lithuania (this was also supposed, albeit not very clearly, by general Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński, commander of the 3rd military district Wilno was in).

On September 19th, the city had 14,000 soldiers and militia volunteers, but only 6,500 were armed. Before the battle, the numbers of armed soldiers rose slightly as some disorganized formation trickled in, while the number of unarmed volunteers decreased, as col. Okulicz-Kozaryn ordered unarmed volunteers not to participate in any hostilities. Before the Lithuanians initiated their operation to capture Vilnius, the Polish forces formed about 10 infantry battalions, supported by ~15 light artillery and anti-tank pieces, and ~5 anti-aircraft. The defenders had about 40 machine guns.

Invasion
At 7:40 on September 19th, as the Soviets were preparing to attack Wilno, two Lithuanian divisions and a cavalry brigade supported by 30 tankettes crossed the Lithuanian-Polish frontier, seizing numerous border stations and villages. The Polish soldiers were taken by surprise, several of whom were taken prisoner. By 10:00, the Lithuanian High Command reported the loss of 5 soldiers and 31 wounded, mainly due to Polish artillery and sniper activity.

At 11:00, Hitler expressed his support of the Lithuanian government, and Ribbentrop immediately promised to send elements of Gruppe Brandt (the unit responsible to secure the left flank of Army Group North) and the I./Panzer-Regiment 10 to support the Lithuanian advance.

Despite pressure from both Hitler and Smetona, Stalin was nonresponsive, as agreements were already made, and the commander of the Byelorussian Front, Comandarm Mikhail Kovalyov, ordered the capture of Wilno by groups of 3rd and 11th Army. 3rd Group delegated 24th Cavalry Division, and 22nd and 25th Tank Brigades under Combrig Pyotr Akhlyustin to advance from north-east, and 11th Army delegated 36th Cavalry Division and the 6th Tank Brigade under Combrig Semyon Zybin to advance from south east. The task was to secure the city on the same day - by the evening of September 19th, but due to logistical difficulties and overestimation of Polish defences, the operation was revised with the goal of securing the city by the morning of the September 20th.

The advance towards Vilnius went quickly, and by the end of the day the Lithuanians were cutting off the Poles’ supply lines. The Poles had limited resources to halt the Lithuanian and the Soviet advances, though the spearheading units were delayed at several occasions, the most ferocious fighting occurred on September 19-20 at Trakai.

After counterattacking the German and Lithuanian forces, they were forced to retreat, leaving behind a small amount of small arms and artillery pieces. These were incorporated into the Lithuanian Army after the campaign. Russians in the same time faced road obstacles, destroyed bridges and partisan style activity from volunteers from local communities and delaying actions of Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza. Some villages, after supplying from Wilno, were able to halt advance of particular tank groups for many hours, giving in the same time advantage to incoming Lithuanians.

All delaying forces, buying a time to organise the defence of Wilno, were finally pushed back to the city, cutting some of the groups from the main defence line (this unit acted in partisan actions, attacking enemy supply routes etc.)

On September 20, around 13:00, col. Okulicz-Kozaryn received reports of Lithuanian-German forces approaching from the south and north and Soviet tank forces from the east. The Soviet forces consisted of armoured scouts and have engaged Polish infantry units on their approaches. Seeing that a retreat was impossible, Col. Okulicz-Kozaryn than ordered all units to defend the city as well as they could if a capitulation were not possible, and Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza units, as the most experienced, were to face the Soviet advance. Podpułkownik (lt. col.) Podwysocki was dispatched to inform the Lithuanians that Polish forces did not intend to defend Wilno against the Lithuanians, and that they would rather capitulate to Lithuanians than Russians, but was shot at and retreated behind the Polish lines.

Due to a misunderstanding, Russian and Lithuanian forces clashed near the village of Nowosiółki, when the Russians crossed the river and were trying to flank the city from the north and the Lithuanians were trying to cut the Poles off from the river. After a short time of surprise, Russians opened fire on the incoming Lithuanian forces, which made them retreat to Fabjaniszki.

The 1st Division ordered their tankettes and anti-tank artillery to their positions around Fabjaniszki in order to halt the Russian advance and attack south of the bridge, located south to the Śnipiszki outskirts.

Another clash occurred near Krapiwnica, when Lithuanian cavalry units were flanking the city from the south. They encountered Russian tanks and were forced to fall back with heavy casualties. However, later this day German armoured group entered the scene and was able to push the Russians back, gaining the ground till the Rowne Pole.

After this, all advance in hostile areas was discontinued and series of diplomatic exchanges was met, with Stalin finally caving in for Hitler and Antanas’ pressure, giving the rights to Wilno back to Lithuanians, but in the meantime the Russians already prepared the first assault on the city, which failed mainly due the lack if infantry support and the defender’s use of gasoline bombs as the assault was rushed to conquer the city before the Lithuanians could.

The first Lithuanian attack on the evening of the September 20 was repulsed by the Polish defenders. Subsequently Lithuanians supported by German tanks continued to push into the city, and increasingly surrounding the city. By the end of the day the Soviets have secured the airfield, and made several headways into the city, taking the Rasos Cemetery.

By the morning of September 21, the advanced German armour units with German and Lithuanian infantry and cavalry had control of around 80% of city. The Polish defenders delayed the Axis advance, particularly by holding the bridges, but later that day the poorly coordinated Polish defence has collapsed and the Lithuanians took control of the city. 212 Polish soldiers, including Colonel Jarosław Okulicz-Kozaryn and his staff, surrendered to the Lithuanian forces.

Aftermath


On September 23, Colonel Jarosław Okulicz-Kozaryn officially capitulated to the Lithuanian Commander-in-Chief Division General Stasys Raštikis and the commander of the 1st Division, Division General Vincas Vitkauskas, and asked the Lithuanians to stay in Lithuania rather than be transferred to the Russians or the Germans.

On October 6, the government and parliament began moving from the temporarily capital Kaunas to their old capital Vilnius. Hitler, pleased with the Lithuanian military actions of the Polish campaign, kept his word, and accepted a Lithuanian annexation of the Vilnius region, and ceded the so-called "Suwałki triangle" to them as well. The annexation of the Suvalkai and Vilnius regions was confirmed by the Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) resolution on October 15, 1939. The day was marked by military parades through the streets of Vilnius and Kaunas.

The Lithuanian Army was too disorganized for a larger military action; almost emptying their ammunition reserves, they would have suffered a serious reverse against the Russians before the Germans and Russians could agree to let Lithuania secure the Wilno region.

The Lithuanian casualties were officially recorded as 81 dead and 348 wounded - all were named and so this total is probably accurate. On September 28th the Russians announced their own losses as 63 dead and 124 wounded. Including this, 23 tanks were destroyed, as well as 4 BA-10 armoured cars. They also reported they were holding 121 Polish prisoners.

The Polish casualties are controversial, and no clear number of dead can be presented. 126 civilians were killed due to Russian air attacks and collateral damage, mainly during the fighting in Trakai and Wilno. 369 Polish soldiers were taken prisoner during the campaign; 121 of them by the Russians and 248 by the Lithuanian and Germans. The Lithuanians demanded that the Poles should be transferred to them, but only 20% of them were transferred, and the fate of the rest of the soldiers were grimm; either murdered (like the Polish officers in the Katyn massacre) or imprisoned in labour camps (the Gulags).