On October 9, 1920, General Lucjan Żeligowski's forces occupied Vilnius as part of his false-flag mutiny.[1] His forces mainly consisted of the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Infantry Division and the 13th Vilnius Uhlan Regiment.[1] The Polish forces did not stop their attack after occupying Vilnius and instead attacked towards the west and north-west.[1] They reached Rūdiškės on October 10, and then Nemenčinė on October 11.[2]
The League of Nations decided to resolve the Polish–Lithuanian War over the Vilnius Region by plebiscite.[1] Thus, it sent the League's Military Control Commission to the conflict zone.[1] Żeligowski was forced to hurry because his soldier's combativeness gradually weakened and he still sought to seize more Lithuanian territory.[1][4]
Battle
November 17: Polish offensive begins
In the early morning of November 17, the Poles launched a new offensive on the 30 km section of the Širvintos–Giedraičiai–Dubingiai front.[1] Two infantry brigades, supported by artillery, attacked towards Širvintos and Giedraičiai, and a cavalry brigade of eleven squadrons broke through to the rear of the Lithuanian army at the Dubingiai gorge in the direction of Videniškiai–Kurkliai.[1]
Monument to Lithuanian soldiers at Giedraičiai
The 2nd Infantry Regiment defending Giedraičiai was hit the hardest.[1] To avoid encirclement, on the evening of November 17, the regiment retreated to the Želva-Balninkai line.[1] The 7th Infantry Regiment, defending Širvintos, retreated to positions in the Viesos [lt]–Liūnai [lt]–Degučiai [lt] section after fierce fighting.[1] The 4th Infantry Regiment, which defended the Musninkai front, remained unmoved from its positions.[1] The Polish cavalry, having crossed Šventoji near Kavarskas, pushed deep into Lithuania and reached the vicinity of Kėdainiai.[1] The Lithuanian army was threatened with encirclement.[1]
Edvardas Adamkavičius, commanding the 1st Division, approved the plan put forth by the meeting of the 7th Infantry Regiment's officers. The plan to bypass Širvintos and attack the Poles from the flank and rear was originally proposed by Teodoras Balnas, the commander of the 7th Regiment's 3rd Battalion.[1]
November 18: Polish debacle due to Lithuanian attack
On the evening of November 18, Balnas formed a group of 170-200 soldiers, which he led in a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) march through the forest at night.[1] The group attacked the battalion of the Polish Grodno Regiment [pl] stationed near the village of Motiejūnai [lt].[1] During the battle, the Grodno regiment's commander Seweryn Rymaszewski [pl] was killed.[1] The headquarters of the Polish 2nd Lithuanian–Belarusian Brigade [pl] and the Grodno regiment were captured, totalling about 200 prisoners.[1] The Lithuanians conquered many war trophies, which included two cannons, nine mortars, twenty machine guns, and many wagons.[1] The Grodno regiment's remaining two battalions were scattered by Lithuanian forces in the vicinity of Širvintos.[1] After regrouping, the Poles soon occupied Širvintos again.[1]
November 19–21: Lithuanian counter-offensive
On the morning of November 19, the Lithuanian army commander General Silvestras Žukauskas arrived in Ukmergė and organized a counterattack with the entire front.[1] The 2nd Infantry Regiment, which retreated to the vicinity of Lyduokiai, was reinforced, and the 8th Infantry Regiment was added to the Lithuanian forces at the front.[1] The Lithuanian army started the attack in the night from November 20 to 21.[1] Širvintos was again surrounded from the side by the forest and liberated by the Lithuanians after a short battle.[1] During the attack in the direction of Giedraičiai, there was heavy fighting near Šiupieniai [lt], Bekupė [lt] and Giedraičiai, where the 2nd Infantry Regiment's 3rd Battalion under Liudvikas Butkevičius distinguished itself.[1] In the afternoon of November 21, Giedraičiai was liberated.[1] After considerable losses, the Lithuanian army reconquered territory up to the positions it held before November 17.[1]
Casualties
Polish casualties
During the fighting of November 17–21, the Polish material losses included a smashed armored car, 2 machine guns, about 20,000 rifle cartridges, several artillery shell carriages.[5] At least 60 prisoners were taken, with many more Polish soldiers that became stragglers that the Lithuanians could not capture due to the fewness of their soldiers.[5] In the vicinity of Giedraičiai, at least 30 Polish dead were counted, with many more unidentified and not explained.[5] The number of wounded Polish soldiers is also unclear and 11 seriously wounded Polish soldier were captured by Lithuanians.[5]
Lithuanian casualties
Three Lithuanian officers died in the fighting: Lieutenant Vincas Gvildys (1st Company's commander), Lieutenant Pranas Telksnys (Training Company's commander), Lieutenant Kazys Matulaitis (1st Machine Gun Company's Commander).[5] The following officers were seriously injured: Captain E. Noreika (3rd Battalion's commander), Lieutenant J. Mačiukas (captured by Poles), Senior Lieutenant S. Musatovas (7th Company's commander), junior officer Mačiulevičius.[5] Concerning Lithuanian soldiers, 15 were killed, about 60 wounded and about 70 were missing in action.[5]
Aftermath
At the request of the Military Control Commission, hostilities ended on November 21.[1] The Polish cavalry brigade, cut off deep in the Lithuanian rear, began to retreat hastily and, pursued by Lithuanian soldiers and partisans, crossed the front line at Labanoras on November 24.[1] With the mediation of the League's Military Control Commission, the Lithuanian government and Żeligowski signed the Treaty of Kaunas, a cease-fire protocol, on November 29, which established the 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide Polish–Lithuanian Neutral Strip.[1]
Ališauskas, Kazys (1958). "Lietuvos kariuomenė (1918–1944)". Lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. XV. Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla.
Łach, Wiesław B. (2014). "Bunt Żeligowskiego". Kulisy połączenia Wileńszczyzny do Polski 1920-1922. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Bellona. ISBN978-83-11-13198-9.
