Soviet Union
164-472: ~13,000 Soviet fatalities: The guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an insurgency waged by Baltic ( Latvian , Lithuanian and Estonian ) partisans against the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1956. Known alternatively as the " Forest Brothers ", the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars" ( Estonian : metsavennad , Latvian : mežabrāļi , Lithuanian : žaliukai ), these partisans fought against invading Soviet forces during their occupation of
328-608: A 2004 article, Robert R. Tomes spoke of four elements that "typically encompass an insurgency": Tomes' is an example of a definition that does not cover all insurgencies. For example, the French Revolution had no cell system, and in the American Revolution , little to no attempt was made to terrorize civilians. In consecutive coups in 1977 and 1999 in Pakistan, the initial actions focused internally on
492-653: A 5,000-man (later 10,000) unit called the Lithuanian Territorial Defence Force, recruited from Lithuanian self-organized military headquarters (Lithuanian: komendatūra ) with military units assigned to it. The soldiers would wear Lithuanian insignia. The formal agreement was signed on February 13. Lithuanian anti-Nazi resistance organizations supported the LTDF, which they wanted to use to fight against Soviet partisans in Lithuania and
656-561: A Bolshevik invasion, and initially consist of 60,000 soldiers. In addition, mobilization for the army would be initiated by the commander of the Lithuanian army. Adrian von Renteln , General Commissioner of Lithuania, returned from Berlin during Christmas 1943 and met with first councillor Petras Kubiliūnas , professor Mykolas Biržiška and general Antanas Rėklaitis and explained the German position to them. While agreeing to permit
820-412: A British Secret Intelligence Service definition as "a generalized intention to ( emphasis added ) " overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means." While insurgents do not necessarily use terror, it is hard to imagine any insurgency meeting its goals without undermining aspects of the legitimacy or power of the government or faction it opposes. Rosenau mentions
984-542: A Lithuanian division, the Germans refused to allow the Lithuanians to form a national army. They required that a German lead the division and a petition from Lithuanians to create it. They also demanded that the name of the inspector general of the Lithuanian armed forces be used as the name. On 3–4 January 1944, the general councillors discussed the draft petition, in whose preamble they wrote: "Violently breaking
1148-460: A basic part of his first part of the three phases of revolutionary warfare. Several insurgency models recognize that completed acts of terrorism widen the security gap ; the Marxist guerrilla theoretician Carlos Marighella specifically recommended acts of terror, as a means of accomplishing something that fits the concept of opening the security gap. Mao considered terrorism to be part of forming
1312-670: A campaign developed in balance along three "pillars": security, political, and economical. "Obviously enough, you cannot command what you do not control. Therefore, unity of command (between agencies or among government and non-government actors) means little in this environment." Unity of command is one of the axioms of military doctrine that change with the use of swarming:. In Edwards' swarming model, as in Kilcullen's mode, unity of command becomes " unity of effort at best, and collaboration or deconfliction at least." As in swarming, in Kilcullen's view unity of effort "depends less on
1476-541: A clear advantage over rebels in coercive capacity." In this kind of conflicts, rebel groups can reintegrate into the civilian population after an attack if the civilians are willing to silently accept them. Some of the most recent examples include the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the European countries intervenes in the conflicts, creating asymmetry between the government forces and rebels, asymmetric conflict
1640-526: A common structure for 9 contemporary insurgent wars, supported on statistical data of more than 50,000 insurgent attacks. The model explains the recurrent statistical pattern found in the distribution of deaths in insurgent and terrorist events. Kilcullen describes a framework for counterinsurgency. He gives a visual overview of the actors in his model of conflicts, which he represents as a box containing an "ecosystem" defined by geographic, ethnic, economic, social, cultural, and religious characteristics. Inside
1804-546: A country. The Iraq insurgency is one example of a recognized government versus multiple groups of insurgents. Other historic insurgencies, such as the Russian Civil War , have been multipolar rather than a straightforward model made up of two sides. During the Angolan Civil War there were two main sides: MPLA and UNITA . At the same time, there was another separatist movement for the independence of
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#17327658981141968-484: A failure of highly centralized resistance, as the organization was too dependent on Veverskis and other top commanders. In 1946 remaining leaders and fighters of LLA started to merge with Lithuanian partisans. In 1949 all members of presidium of Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters – captain Jonas Žemaitis-Tylius, Petras Bartkus-Žadgaila, Bronius Liesys-Naktis ir Juozas Šibaila-Merainis came from LLA. Supreme Committee for
2132-804: A few grenades, usually saving one to blow themselves up to avoid being taken as prisoner, since the physical tortures of Soviet MGB/NKVD were very brutal and cruel , and to prevent their relatives from suffering. To combat the guerrillas, in May 1948 the Soviets carried out the largest deportation from Lithuania, Operation Spring , when some 40 to 50 thousand people associated with "forest brothers" were deported to Siberia. Captured Lithuanian Forest Brothers often faced torture and summary execution while their relatives faced deportation to Siberia (cf. quotation ). Reprisals against anti-Soviet farms and villages were harsh. NKVD units named People's Defense Platoons (known by
2296-441: A guerrilla movement. While not every insurgency involves terror, most involve an equally hard to define tactic, subversion. "When a country is being subverted it is not being outfought; it is being out-administered. Subversion is literally administration with a minus sign in front." The exceptional cases of insurgency without subversion are those where there is no accepted government that is providing administrative services. While
2460-475: A more recent definition that suggests subversion includes measures short of violence, which still serve the purposes of insurgents. Rarely, subversion alone can change a government; this arguably happened in the liberalization of Eastern Europe. To the Communist government of Poland , Solidarity appeared subversive but not violent. In arguing against the term Global War on Terror , Francis Fukuyama said
2624-786: A movement hostile to the Government of the United States under Section 13 of the Displaced Persons Act, as amended. The Latvian government has asserted that the Latvian Legion , primarily composed of the 15th and 19th Latvian Waffen-SS divisions, was neither a criminal nor collaborationist organization. The ranks of the resistance swelled with the Red Army's attempts to conscript in the Baltic states after
2788-545: A non-aggression pact and cooperation against Nazi Germany. The Lithuanians refused and demanded that the Poles either abandon the disputed Vilnius region or subordinate themselves to the Lithuanians in their anti-Soviet struggle. Justina Smalkyté claims that the 305th Battalion, together with Lithuanian auxiliary policemen, was involved in the round-up of peasants from a predominantly Polish village on April 29 who were ultimately deported as forced labourers to Germany. In early May,
2952-432: A political or ideological (whether secular or religious) purpose. Terrorism is a criminal act, but it is more than mere criminality. To overcome the problem of terrorism it is necessary to understand its political nature as well as its basic criminality and psychology. The United Nations needs to address both sides of this equation. Yet another conflict of definitions involves insurgency versus terrorism. The winning essay of
3116-584: A post-war world in which the three Baltic states could re-establish themselves. Having already experienced occupation by the Soviet regime then the Nazi regime, many people were unwilling to accept another occupation at the end of the war. Unlike Estonia and Latvia, where the Germans conscripted the local population into military formations within the Waffen-SS , Lithuania never had a Waffen-SS division. In 1944,
3280-405: A rationalist explanation behind them, which explains why leaders prefer to gamble in wars and avoid peaceful bargains. Fearon states that intermediate bargains can be a problem because countries cannot easily trade territories with the spread of nationalism. Furthermore, wars can take the form of civil wars . In her article Why Bad Governance Leads to Civil Wars, Barbara F. Walter has presented
3444-459: A resignation request and suggested demobilising the LTDF on April 12. Demands and tension continued to grow. At the end of April, Plechavičius secretly blocked the creation of a list of conscripts into the German army. He opposed the mobilization, announced at the beginning of May and scheduled to be complete on May 8. The mobilization failed completely; only 3–5% of the men of conscription age, most of whom were unfit for military service, reported to
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#17327658981143608-642: A result of the independence of Estonia and Latvia for the first time since the 13th century. Lithuanians re-established a sovereign state with a rich former history, the largest country in Europe during the 14th century, occupied by the Russian Empire since 1795 . In the aftermath of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , all three Baltic states were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, a move that
3772-670: A revolt takes the form of armed rebellion, it may not be viewed as an insurgency if a state of belligerency exists between one or more sovereign states and rebel forces. For example, during the American Civil War , the Confederate States of America was not recognized as a sovereign state, but it was recognized as a belligerent power, and thus Confederate warships were given the same rights as United States warships in foreign ports. Sometimes there may be two or more simultaneous insurgencies (multipolar) occurring in
3936-589: A separate training battalion. March 1 can be considered the beginning of the LTDF. On March 3, the LTDF already had 553 officers, 1,522 non-commissioned officers, and 3,879 who had served in the pre-war Lithuanian army , while the remaining soldiers had not served before. The creation process was not smooth because Germans did not trust the LTDF. They ordered the reorganization of already formed battalions of four companies into battalions of three companies and were constantly delaying delivery of arms, munitions, transportation and communication. Because SS did not trust
4100-555: A shared command and control hierarchy, and more on a shared diagnosis of the problem (i.e., the distributed knowledge of swarms), platforms for collaboration, information sharing and deconfliction. Each player must understand the others' strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and objectives, and inter-agency teams must be structured for versatility (the ability to perform a wide variety of tasks) and agility (the ability to transition rapidly and smoothly between tasks)." Insurgencies, according to Stuart Eizenstat grow out of "gaps". To be viable,
4264-602: A small pension. In Lithuania, the third Sunday in May is commemorated as Partisans' Day. In 2005 there were about 350 surviving Forest Brothers in Lithuania. By 2024, Ruuben Lambur [ et ] (1925–2024) was the last Estonian Forest Brother still well enough to make public appearances. In a 2001 lecture in Tallinn, U.S. Senator John McCain acknowledged the Estonian Forest Brothers and their efforts. The Canadian film Legendi loojad (Creators of
4428-427: A state must be able to close three "gaps", of which the first is most important: Note the similarity between Eizenstat's gaps and Kilcullen's three pillars. In the table below, do not assume that a problematic state is unable to assist less developed states while closing its own gaps. McCormick's model is designed as a tool for counterinsurgency (COIN), but develops a symmetrical view of the required actions for both
4592-502: A theory difficult to credit given the shallow water and lack of cover at the site. Another noted member of Forest Brothers, Kalev Arro , evaded capture by disguising himself as a vagrant while hiding in the forests of southern Estonia for 20 years. He was killed in a shooting encounter with KGB agents in 1974. There were numerous attempts to hunt down relatives of the Forest Brothers. An Estonian who managed to escape deportation
4756-502: A theory that explains the role of strong institutions in preventing insurgencies that can result in civil wars. Walter believes that institutions can contribute to four goals. Institutions are responsible for checking the government, creating multiple peaceful routes to help the government solve problems, making the government committed to political terms that entails preserving peace, and creating an atmosphere where rebels do not need to form militias. Furthermore, Walter adds that if there
4920-401: A war not specifically on the tactic of terror but in co-ordination among multiple national or regional insurgencies. It may be politically infeasible to refer to a conflict as an "insurgency" rather than by some more charged term, but military analysts, when concepts associated with insurgency fit, should not ignore those ideas in their planning. Additionally, the recommendations can be applied to
5084-435: A worldwide view of terror: Social scientists, soldiers, and sources of change have been modeling insurgency for nearly a century if one starts with Mao. Counterinsurgency models, not mutually exclusive from one another, come from Kilcullen, McCormick, Barnett and Eizenstat. Kilcullen describes the "pillars" of a stable society, while Eizenstat addresses the "gaps" that form cracks in societal stability. McCormick's model shows
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5248-410: Is a conflict between the government and the insurgents in the form of a civil war, that can bring about a new government that is accountable to a wider range of people, who have to commit to a compromise in political bargains. According to Walter, the presence of strong influential institutions can be beneficial to prevent the repetition of civil wars, but autocratic governments are less likely to accept
5412-578: Is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well-equipped, regular military force state adversary. Due to this asymmetry, insurgents avoid large-scale direct battles, opting instead to blend in with the civilian population (often in rural areas ) where they gradually expand territorial control and military forces. Insurgency frequently hinges on control of and collaboration with local populations. An insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency warfare, as well as other political, economic and social actions of various kinds. Due to
5576-466: Is the best-known film portrayal of the conflict. The popular Soviet Latvian TV drama series Long Road in the Dunes (1980–1982) touches the topic of Latvian Forest Brothers from a Soviet perspective. Insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority . The key descriptive feature of insurgency
5740-963: Is the most common form of subnational conflicts and the most civil conflicts where the western countries are likely to be involved. Such interventions and their impacts can be seen in the NATO operation in Libya in 2011 and the French-led intervention in Mali in 2013 . Berman and Matanock suggested an information-centric framework to describe asymmetric conflicts on a local level. Three parties are involved in framework: government forces, rebels and civilians. Government forces and rebels attack each other and may inadvertently harm civilians whereas civilians can anonymously share local information with government forces, which would allow government forces to effectively use their asymmetric advantage to target rebels. Taking
5904-447: Is well to understand that counterterrorism, as used by Cordesman, does not mean using terrorism against the terrorism, but an entire spectrum of activities, nonviolent and violent, to disrupt an opposing terrorist organization. The French general, Joseph Gallieni, observed, while a colonial administrator in 1898, A country is not conquered and pacified when a military operation has decimated its inhabitants and made all heads bow in terror;
6068-653: The Battle of Stalingrad in early 1943 and the Eastern Front began moving westwards, the occupying German authorities became concerned with mobilizing the population of occupied lands and revised its policy to allow Lithuanians to mobilize themselves after attempts failed to mobilize youths into the Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht units. Lithuanians boycotted mobilization to the Waffen-SS in 1943; fewer than 300 men reported. The Nazis carried out reprisals against
6232-881: The Cabinda region headed up by FLEC . Multipolarity extends the definition of insurgency to situations where there is no recognized authority, as in the Somali Civil War , especially the period from 1998 to 2006 , where it broke into quasi-autonomous smaller states, fighting among one another in changing alliances. James Fearon and David Laitin define insurgency as "a technology of military conflict characterized by small, lightly armed bands practicing guerrilla warfare from rural base areas." Austin Long defines insurgency as "the use of political and military means by irregular forces to change an existing political order. These forces typically mingle with civilians in order to hide from
6396-544: The Chekists themselves waited outside. I told people to drive me away, as I had been sent by the security organs." In Latvia, preparations for partisan operations began during the German occupation, but the leaders of these nationalist units were arrested by Nazi authorities. Longer-lived resistance units began to form at the end of the war, composed of former Latvian Legion soldiers and civilians. On 8 September 1944 in Riga ,
6560-527: The Lithuanian Wars of Independence , and former members of Lithuanian Riflemen's Union all across Lithuania. The plans were to assemble around 75–80,000 men. Most of the organizational structure was laid, and it served as a basis for the armed anti-Soviet resistance . According to the LTDF commander's order of 28 April 1944, nine of the LTDF's battalions were combined into larger units. The 303rd, 305th, 306th and 309th Battalions were combined into
6724-525: The US South ran high risks of bodily harm in challenging the long-standing practices of racial exclusion in Mississippi ." There are many selective incentives that encourage insurgency and violent movements against autocratic political regimes. For example, the supply of safety as a material good can be provided by the insurgents, which abolishes the exploitation of the government and thus forms one of
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6888-588: The Vilnius region , 15 of them between April and June 1944. Polish partisans attacked the German and Lithuanian police as well as Soviet partisans. From the end of 1943, the Polish Home Army escalated its activity and began attacking towns and district centres, terrorizing Lithuanians, whether local government officials, teachers or other civilians. Sometimes the Polish Home Army de facto ruled some areas in eastern Lithuania. The LTDF's main assignment
7052-470: The Wehrmacht auxiliary units through the LTDF. During the German occupation of eastern Lithuania from 1941 to 1944, there were four different military groups, whose goals differed greatly; the incompatibility of the goals led to inevitable confrontation and conflict between the groups. Fighters from the anti-Nazi Lithuanian underground and Polish Home Army attempted to negotiate a joint struggle against
7216-727: The Western Allies deemed illegitimate. When Nazi Germany broke the pact and invaded the Soviet Union , the Soviet Red Army was driven out of the Baltics and the area came under German military occupation . After the departure of Soviet troops from the region, formal independence to the Baltic states was not restored by Germany. Meanwhile, Allied declarations such as the Atlantic Charter offered promise of
7380-505: The 24th Annual United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Essay Contest, by Michael F. Morris, said [A pure terrorist group] "may pursue political, even revolutionary, goals, but their violence replaces rather than complements a political program." Morris made the point that the use, or non-use, of terrorism does not define insurgency, "but that organizational traits have traditionally provided another means to tell
7544-657: The 31st anniversary of the February 16, 1918, declaration of independence, by elements of the resistance unified under the "Movement of the Struggle for the Freedom of Lithuania". ... a universal, organised, armed resistance namely, self-defence, by the Lithuanian State, did take place in Lithuania during 1944–1953, against the soviet occupation ... the goal ... was the liberation of Lithuania, relying upon
7708-557: The Baltic states during and after World War II . Similar insurgent groups resisted Soviet occupations in Bulgaria , Poland , Romania and Ukraine . Soviet forces, consisting primarily of the Red Army , occupied the Baltic states in 1940, completing their occupation by 1941. After a period of German occupation during World War II, the Soviets reoccupied Lithuania from 1944 to 1945. As Soviet political repression intensified over
7872-643: The British ( MI6 ), American and Swedish secret intelligence services. That support played a key role in directing the Baltic resistance movement, but it diminished significantly after MI6's Operation Jungle was severely compromised by the activities of British spies ( Kim Philby and others ) who forwarded information to the Soviets and enabled the MGB to identify, infiltrate and eliminate many Baltic guerrilla units and cut others off from any further contact with Western intelligence operatives. The conflict between
8036-596: The Catholic church. By the end of 1945, an estimated 30,000 armed people lived in the forests in Lithuania. The partisans were well-armed. During 1945–1951 Soviet repressive structures seized from partisans 31 mortars, 2,921 machine guns, 6,304 assault rifles, 22,962 rifles, 8,155 pistols, 15,264 grenades, 2,596 mines, and 3,779,133 cartridges. The partisans replenished their arsenal by killing istrebiteli , members of Soviet secret-police forces or by purchasing ammunition from Red Army soldiers. Every partisan had binoculars and
8200-620: The Forest Brothers. While the Waffen-SS was found guilty of war crimes and other atrocities and declared a criminal organization after the war, the Nuremberg trials explicitly excluded conscripts in the following terms: The Tribunal declares to be criminal within the meaning of the Charter the group composed of those persons who had been officially accepted as members of the SS as enumerated in
8364-481: The German authorities created an ill-equipped but 20,000-man strong Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force under General Povilas Plechavičius to combat Soviet partisans led by Antanas Sniečkus . The Germans came to see this force as a nationalist threat to their occupation. Its senior staff were arrested on May 15, 1944, and Plechavičius was deported to a concentration camp in Salaspils , Latvia. Approximately half
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#17327658981148528-601: The German authorities. Plechavičius personally ordered his officers in territorial branches to ignore the mobilization order. Starting in April the Germans considered transforming the LTDF into an auxiliary police service of the SS . On May 9, 1944, after the unsuccessful attempt to mobilize, Friedrich Jeckeln ordered units in the Vilnius region to recognize his direct authority. All other units of LTDF were to become subordinate to
8692-503: The Insurgent and COIN forces to achieve success. In this way the counterinsurgency model can demonstrate how both the insurgent and COIN forces succeed or fail. The model's strategies and principle apply to both forces, therefore the degree the forces follow the model should have a direct correlation to the success or failure of either the Insurgent or COIN force. The model depicts four key elements or players: All of these interact, and
8856-536: The Kaunas Infantry Regiment were already in the Vilnius region and deployed as companies. All battalions were composed of volunteers with no previous military service, poorly armed and equipped. Despite their unpreparedness, they faced the Polish partisan units active in that area on May 4. On May 4, the 310th Battalion's 2nd Company, marching from Jašiūnai to Turgeliai [ lt ] ,
9020-478: The Kaunas Infantry Regiment, with Colonel Tomas Vidugiris [ lt ] as its commander. At the beginning of May, the regimental commander received an order for the regiment to go to Vilnius. There, at the request of the SS leadership, the regiment was to be split up and deployed in companies . In April, the Polish AK in the Vilnius region attempted to begin negotiations with Plechavičius, proposing
9184-405: The LTDF initiated a widespread anti-partisan operation against the Polish and Soviet partisans in the area. Even before the combat against Polish partisans, Plechavičius issued an order condemning unkind or even brutal treatment of any inhabitants of Lithuania, no matter what language they spoke, meaning that he forbade anti-Polish actions. Still, reports within the Polish Home Army (AK) accused
9348-410: The LTDF of anti-Polish aggression and murdering Polish civilians. The Lithuanian historian Arūnas Bubnys wrote that these casualties were most likely collateral damage in the crossfire between the Polish AK and the LTDF. Regardless, Polish researchers such as the sociologist Tadeusz Piotrowski , accuse LTDF units of committing atrocities against Polish civilians. By May 3-4, all three battalions of
9512-553: The LTDF. The Germans were surprised by the number of volunteers, as their previous appeals had gone unheeded. Possibly perceiving the growing popularity of the unit as a threat, they began to interfere, contrary to the signed agreement. On March 22, SS Obergruppenführer and SD General Friedrich Jeckeln called for 70–80,000 Hiwis for the Wehrmacht . Chief-of-Staff of the Northern Front Field Marshal Walter Model further demanded that
9676-570: The Legend) about the Estonian Forest Brothers was released in 1963. The film was funded by donations from Estonians in exile. The 1966 Soviet drama film Nobody Wanted to Die ( Lithuanian : Niekas nenorėjo mirti ) by Soviet-Lithuanian film director Vytautas Žalakevičius shows the tragedy of the conflict in which "a brother goes against the brother." The film garnered Žalakevičius the USSR State Prize and international recognition, and
9840-571: The Liberation of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Vyriausiasis Lietuvos išlaisvinimo komitetas , VLIK), was created on November 25, 1943. VLIK published underground newspapers and agitated for resistance against Nazis. The Gestapo arrested the most influential members in 1944. After the reoccupation of Lithuania by the Soviets, VLIK moved to the West and set its goal as maintaining non-recognition of Lithuania's occupation and disseminating information from behind
10004-665: The Lithuanian interwar military court law to enforce discipline. The brigade would be tasked with protecting strategic military sites, if not protected by the Wehrmacht , while Ukrainian and other foreign units would leave Lithuania. If needed, the commander could employ other Lithuanian units in the Lithuanian General District and confiscate vehicles. Lithuanian Police would obey the brigade commander's orders to ensure security and order in Lithuania. The German establishment would not issue direct orders to
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#173276589811410168-403: The Lithuanian officers, they demanded that German officers called Zahlmeisters be inserted into LTDF units. An oath, similar to one used by the Lithuanian armed forces, was prepared, but altered by SSPF Hermann Harm to include a personal oath to Hitler . Knowing that such an oath was unacceptable to Lithuanian soldiers, the ceremony was repeatedly delayed and the oath had not been taken when
10332-514: The Lithuanian unit. The minimum 10,000-strong future brigade was to be the centre of the future Lithuanian armed forces for the anti-Bolshevik fight, exclusively controlled by the brigade's commander, and employed only inside the territory of the General District of Lithuania. On Lithuanian military mobilization, certificates for a person's irreplaceability in the economy and such would be removed. The brigade's military court would follow
10496-553: The Lithuanians as pl. stribai , from Russian : izstrebiteli – destroyers , i.e., the destruction battalions), used shock tactics such as displaying executed partisans' corpses in village courtyards to discourage further resistance. The report of a commission formed at a KGB prison a few days after the October 15, 1956, arrest of Adolfas Ramanauskas ("Vanagas"), chief commander of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, noted
10660-625: The Lithuanians provide personnel for 15 security battalions for military airports. General Commissioner of Lithuania Adrian von Renteln added his demand for labourers to be sent to work in Germany. They were not the only German officials to issue demands for Lithuanian personnel. Plechavičius rejected and resisted such demands. By March 1, more than 19,500 men had already registered. It was decided to organize 13 battalions, numbered 301st , 302nd , 303rd , 304th , 305th , 306th , 307th , 308th , 309th , 310th , 241st , 242nd and 243rd , and
10824-610: The Nation's Council rejected the proposal to establish an SS legion. Instead, they advocated for a national Lithuanian army, following the principles outlined by Lithuanian general Stasys Raštikis , that the Lithuanian Army consist of all types of units and weaponry, be commanded by a reliable Lithuanian officer and led by Lithuanian officers, and that all Lithuanians serving in other military units and police be allowed to join. It would only operate in Lithuania, defending it from
10988-528: The Nazi occupation but failed. Soviet partisans wanted to return Lithuania to Soviet occupation and were opposed to the others: the Lithuanian Territorial Defence Force, the occupying German troops, and the Home Army. However, Soviet partisans had similar enemies to the latter group, even if their goals differed. The Polish Home Army wanted to restore the Polish state within its pre-1939 borders. From 1943, Polish partisan units began to be established in
11152-724: The Policy Working Group on the United Nations and Terrorism. Reporting to the Secretary-General in 2002, the Working Group stated the following: Without attempting a comprehensive definition of terrorism, it would be useful to delineate some broad characteristics of the phenomenon. Terrorism is, in most cases, essentially a political act. It is meant to inflict dramatic and deadly injury on civilians and to create an atmosphere of fear, generally for
11316-419: The Polish Home Army. In the battles against the Polish Home Army on 5 May 1944, about 70 LTDF soldiers were killed, and several hundred were taken prisoner. Roughly 30 were shot after a Polish Home Army court-martial , while others were disarmed and released. The formation of the LTDF began from its headquarters. On February 3, Colonel Oskaras Urbonas was appointed the LTDF's chief of staff . On February 4,
11480-468: The Polish forces, the 13th and 9th Brigades, secured the Muravanaja Ašmianka–Talminava road. During the battle, the Lithuanian force lost 60 men, while 170 were taken prisoner . Another 117 Lithuanian soldiers were taken prisoner later that night in the nearby village of Talminava [ be ] . After the battle all Lithuanian prisoners were disarmed and set free wearing only their long johns and helmets . Polish historian Rafał Wnuk says that
11644-423: The Reich SS and police leader (SSPF) signed an order on the organization of Lithuanian battalions to fight against "banditry". On February 1, General Povilas Plechavičius was appointed commander of the LTDF. By late 1943, German leadership was forced to negotiate with Lithuanian representatives on the formation of a Lithuanian unit, which refused German demands to organize an SS legion. November 23–24 1943,
11808-470: The SS (2nd Latvian), was recruited with 15 other Latvians into a Nazi stay-behind unit at the close of the war. Escaping to the forest, the group, led by Krastiņš, avoided all contact with local residents and relatives, robbing trucks for money while simultaneously maintaining an apartment in the center of Riga for reconnaissance operations. At first they assassinated low-level Communist party managers, but later focused their efforts on attempting to assassinate
11972-528: The Soviet Red Army when Nazi Germany was defeated. The LTDF was to be the nucleus of these military units to restore the Lithuanian state, on which the army of the Republic of Lithuania would be based. The Nazi occupation authorities viewed the LTDF differently and termed its units police battalions, planning to use them for Eastern Front battles and only minimally to fight Soviet partisans. The Germans also wanted to recruit tens of thousands of Lithuanians into
12136-621: The Soviet armed forces and the Forest Brothers lasted over a decade and cost at least 50,000 lives. Estimates of the number of fighters in each country vary. Misiunas and Taagepera estimate that figures reached 30,000 in Lithuania, between 10,000 and 15,000 in Latvia and 10,000 in Estonia. On the other hand, professor Heinrihs Strods, based on NKVD reports, claims that in 1945, 8,916 partisans were killed in Lithuania, 715 in Latvia and 270 in Estonia, which makes Lithuanian losses around 90%. Even though
12300-422: The Soviet invasion. The German administration's behaviour was assessed by the anti-Nazi Lithuanian Front 's bulletin [ lt ] : "Such German tendencies still show two things: first, that they do not trust the Lithuanians and do not want to allow them a larger, more independent armed force; secondly, that they are still only pursuing their unilateral interests (military and political), disregarding
12464-412: The Soviet security forces, largely in the form of secret agents which infiltrated the partisan groups, caused the Baltic population to change tactics and use other forms of resistance. The term Forest Brothers first came into use in the Baltic region in the 1905 Russian Revolution . Varying sources refer to the forest brothers of this era either as peasants revolting or as schoolteachers seeking refuge in
12628-651: The Soviets from Tartu, behind the Rivers Pärnu – Emajõgi line. Thus they secured South Estonia under Estonian control by July 10. The NKVD murdered 193 people in Tartu Prison on their retreat on July 8. The German 18th Army crossed the Estonian southern border on July 7–9. The Germans resumed their advance in Estonia by working in cooperation with the Forest Brothers and the Omakaitse . In North Estonia,
12792-565: The Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German Army Group North disarmed all the Forest Brother and Omakaitse groups. Southern Estonian partisan units were yet again summoned in August 1941 under the name of Estonian Omakaitse. Members were initially selected from the closest circle of friends. Later, candidate members were asked to sign a declaration that they were not members of a Communist organization. Estonian Omakaitse relied on
12956-492: The US and its allies need to focus on specific radical groups rather than clash with global Islam. Fukuyama argued that political means, rather than direct military measures, are the most effective ways to defeat that insurgency. David Kilcullen wrote "We must distinguish Al Qa'eda and the broader militant movements it symbolises – entities that use terrorism – from the tactic of terrorism itself." There may be utility in examining
13120-560: The United States was not fighting terrorism generically, as in Chechnya or Palestine . Rather, he said the slogan "war on terror" is directed at "radical Islamism, a movement that makes use of culture for political objectives." He suggested it might be deeper than the ideological conflict of the Cold War, but it should not be confused with Samuel Huntington 's "clash of civilizations." Addressing Huntington's thesis, Fukuyama stressed that
13284-554: The Vilnius Infantry Regiment. Before that, the movement of the battalions to their intended destinations began. The 303rd Battalion was moved from Marijampolė to its new garrison in Trakai on April 15 General Staff Colonel Jonas Šlepetys was appointed commander of the Vilnius Infantry Regiment after being dismissed as commander of the 306th Battalion. The 301st, 308th and 310th Battalions were combined into
13448-498: The Vilnius airfield, the Germans selected 12 men and took them away. After some time, they announced that those taken away had been shot and that the guilt of the battalion had been "atoned for". In addition, 41 soldiers of the LTDF who were in the guard-house in Vilnius were killed by the Germans. Also that day, having arrived with two motorized companies in Ashmyany, Dietl gathered Lithuanian officers in Ashmyany and took them to
13612-445: The [insurgents' intended] overthrow of the established authority in a country and its replacement by another regime." Steven Metz observes that past models of insurgency do not perfectly fit modern insurgency, in that current instances are far more likely to have a multinational or transnational character than those of the past. Several insurgencies may belong to more complex conflicts, involving "third forces (armed groups which affect
13776-458: The areas to be abandoned on July 3. About 10,000 Forest Brothers, organized into countrywide Omakaitse (Home Guard) organizations, attacked the NKVD , destruction battalions and the 8th Army (Major General Ljubovtsev), killing 4,800 and capturing 14,000. The battle of Tartu lasted for two weeks, and destroyed a large part of the city. Under the leadership of Friedrich Kurg, the Forest Brothers drove
13940-517: The armed fighters while the organizational sector was tasked with passive resistance , including supply of food, information, and transport to Vanagai . In the middle of 1944, the LLA had 10,000 members. The Soviets killed 659 and arrested 753 members of the LLA by January 26, 1945. Founder Kazys Veverskis was killed in December 1944, and the headquarters was liquidated in December 1945. This represented
14104-558: The battalion retreated to Ashmyany . The Poles returned their captives to Ashmyany wearing only their underwear. On the night of May 13, large groups of Polish partisans surrounded two companies of the 301st Battalion in Muravanaja Ašmianka (Lithuanian: Ašmenėlė ; Polish: Murowana Oszmianka ) and one company in Talminava [ be ] (Lithuanian: Tolminovas ; Polish: Tołminowo ) The company, surrounded,
14268-496: The battalion were killed in fighting with the AK, and three soldiers on a reconnaissance mission were bayonetted. Two companies of the 306th Battalion were sent from Vilnius to Rūdninkai [ lt ] . From the battalion, 17 men were shot by the Germans, and the soldiers were forcibly taken to Germany. However, one company successfully avoided capture by the Germans and returned home. The 309th Battalion, sent to Varėna ,
14432-543: The blending of insurgents with the civilian population, insurgencies tend to involve considerable violence against civilians (by the state and the insurgents). State attempts to quell insurgencies frequently lead to the infliction of indiscriminate violence, whereas rebel control of territory frequently involves violence against the civilian population. Insurgency sets itself apart from terrorism by aiming for political control rather than resorting to indiscriminate violence, however, it may incorporate terrorist tactics. Where
14596-399: The box are, among others, governments, counterinsurgent forces, insurgent leaders, insurgent forces, and the general population, which is made up of three groups: Often, but not always, states or groups that aid one side or the other are outside the box. Outside-the-box intervention has dynamics of its own. The counterinsurgency strategy can be described as efforts to end the insurgency by
14760-548: The brigade commander, who would author the text of the oath, together with the head of the General Commissariat's police department. That same day, Hermann Harm , SSPF in Lithuania, wrote Kubiliūnas a letter about Plechavičius' conditions, many of which were unmet, such as transfer of officers from police battalions, but Plechavičius agreed regardless to be the LTDF's leader. According to Lithuanian general Stasys Raštikis ' memoirs, there were three candidates for
14924-544: The brigade or use individual units at will and would not hamper its creation. Deportation of Lithuanians for forced labour in Nazi Germany would stop during the brigade's creation. The Lithuanians would be armed, clothed and equipped along the lines of the German army , while the relatives of their dead and wounded would be treated identically to those of the German army. The General Commissioner of Lithuania would appoint
15088-654: The brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 did not bring about an intervention by, or a supportive response from, Western Powers, organized resistance in the Baltic States declined further. As the conflict was relatively undocumented by the Soviet Union (the Baltic fighters were formally charged as common criminals), some consider it and the Soviet-Baltic conflict as a whole to be an unknown or forgotten war. Discussion of resistance
15252-511: The campaigns against them. Many of the remaining Forest Brothers laid down their weapons when offered an amnesty by the Soviet authorities after Stalin's death in 1953, although isolated engagements continued into the 1960s. The last individual guerrillas are known to have remained in hiding and evaded capture into the 1980s, by which time the Baltic states were pressing for independence through peaceful means. (See Sąjūdis , The Baltic Way , Singing Revolution ) Many Forest Brothers persisted in
15416-417: The commander of the 2nd Company, Capt. Počebutas. Five were wounded, and about 350 were captured. The captives were later brought back disarmed and stripped to their underwear. On May 15, German Lieutenant Colonel Dietl issued an order to the battalions to which he was attached to go to Vilnius. On their way, the 310th Battalion was surrounded by SS units and disarmed. When the disarmed battalion arrived at
15580-670: The commander, himself, Antanas Rėklaitis and Povilas Plechavičius . After the first two refused Plechavičius, became commander on February 1. On 31 January 1944, the SSPF headquarters signed an order for the organization of Lithuanian battalions to fight against banditry. That same day, the Reich SSPF Heinrich Himmler issued an order to recruit 50,000 Lithuanians for the Wehrmacht's Army Group North . Long negotiations between SSPF Ostland Friedrich Jeckeln , Hermann Harm and Lithuanians led to an agreement about
15744-612: The consolidation of Soviet rule through ambush, sabotage, assassination of local Communist activists and officials, freeing imprisoned guerrillas and printing underground newspapers. On 1 July 1944, Lithuanian Liberty Army (LLA) declared the state of war against the Soviet occupation and ordered all its able members to mobilize into platoons, station in forests and not to leave Lithuania. The departments were replaced by two sectors – operational, called Vanagai (Hawks or Falcons; abbreviated VS), and organizational (abbreviated OS). Vanagai , commanded by Albinas Karalius (codename Varenis), were
15908-469: The core of the LTDF and would be used for larger operations according to Plechavičius' orders. Small units were kept at the disposal of county commandants. A training battalion in Marijampolė was planned for the training of officer cadres and non-commissioned officers. The Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania that was the anti-Nazi resistance in Lithuania also approved the organization of
16072-422: The destruction battalions had the greatest impact, being the last Baltic territory captured from the Soviets. The joint Estonian-German forces took Narva on August 17 and the Estonian capital Tallinn on August 28. On that day, the red flag shot down earlier on Pikk Hermann was replaced with the flag of Estonia by Fred Ise only to be replaced yet again by a German Reichskriegsflagge a few hours later. After
16236-495: The different elements have to assess their best options in a set of actions: In Thomas Barnett's paradigm, the world is divided into a "connected core" of nations enjoying a high level of communications among their organizations and individuals, and those nations that are disconnected internally and externally. In a reasonably peaceful situation, he describes a "system administrator" force, often multinational, which does what some call "nation-building", but, most importantly, connects
16400-419: The discussion of failed states below.) Metz suggests that contemporary insurgencies have far more complex and shifting participation than traditional wars, where discrete belligerents seek a clear strategic victory. Many insurgencies include terrorism. While there is no accepted definition of terrorism in international law, United Nations -sponsored working definitions include one drafted by Alex P. Schmid for
16564-565: The divisional headquarters of the 221st Security Division . There, they were told that the units of the regiment were completely demoralized and unfit for combat, so the regiment was disarmed, put in trucks, and returned to Kaunas for training. The officers were arrested; most of them were later sent to the Salaspils concentration camp. The 305th Battalion of the Vilnius Regiment was transferred to Eišiškės , where 14 soldiers of
16728-459: The emergence of strong institutions because of their resulting constraint of governmental corruption and privileges. In her book, Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in Salvador , Elisabeth Jean Wood explains that participants in high-risk activism are very aware of the costs and benefits of engaging in civil wars. Wood suggests that "participants in the 1964 Freedom Summer campaign in
16892-698: The fate of Army Group Courland , among the last of Hitler's forces to surrender after it became trapped in the Courland Pocket on the Courland Peninsula in 1945. Many Estonian and Latvian soldiers, and a few Germans, evaded capture and fought as Forest Brothers for years after the war. Others such as Alfons Rebane and Alfrēds Riekstiņš escaped to the United Kingdom and Sweden and participated in Allied intelligence operations in aid of
17056-462: The ferments of revolt will germinate in the mass and the rancours accumulated by the brutal action of force will make them grow again Both Kilcullen and Eizenstat define a more abstract goal than does Cordesman. Kilcullen's security pillar is roughly equivalent to Eizenstat's security gap: This pillar most engages military commanders' attention, but of course military means are applied across
17220-520: The following were invited as heads of departments of the headquarters: Captain Justinas Liaukus was appointed adjutant of the LTDF's staff. By February 8, the headquarters were almost completely formed. Then began the formation of local military headquarters, whose task it was to organize the LTDF's volunteer units. On February 10-12, 25 county commandants were appointed. The Germans agreed to form 10 battalions, each of about 500 men. It
17384-470: The following years, tens of thousands of partisans from the Baltics began to use the countryside as a base for an anti-Soviet insurgency. According to some estimates, at least 50,000 partisans (10,000 in Estonia, 10,000 in Latvia and 30,000 in Lithuania) in addition to their supporters were involved in the insurgency. The partisans continued to carry out an armed struggle until 1956, when the superiority of
17548-454: The following: The right eye is covered with haematoma, on the eyelid there are six stab wounds made, judging by their diameter, by a thin wire or nail going deep into the eyeball. Multiple haematomas in the area of the stomach, a cut wound on a finger of the right hand. The genitalia reveal the following: a large tear wound on the right side of the scrotum and a wound on the left side, both testicles and spermatic ducts are missing. Juozas Lukša
17712-428: The force mainly for Eastern Front battles, only minimally fighting Soviet partisans. The anti-Nazi Lithuanian resistance supported the creation of the force, hoping to use it against Soviet forces after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The LTDF was disbanded one and a half months after its creation by its commander Povilas Plechavičius when Nazi Germany 's occupational authorities threatened the unit's independence. During
17876-443: The forces defending the political order." According to Matthew Adam Kocher, Thomas Pepinsky and Stathis Kalyvas, a central objective in insurgencies is to achieve control over civilians. To exercise control armed groups apply a variety of practices, including different types of violence, dispute resolution, taxation, regulation of movement, access to aid and services, and social strictures. According to James D. Fearon , wars have
18040-484: The forest. The term Forest Brothers was used and known only in occupied Estonia and Latvia. In Lithuania partisans were called žaliukai (Green People), miškiniai (Forest People) or just partizanai (partisans). Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained their independence in 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire . The ideals of nationalism and self-determination had taken hold with many people as
18204-519: The formation disbanded. On April 6, Plechavičius was given an order to mobilize the entire country. He refused, saying that it was impossible until the formation of his existing detachment was finished; this increased the Germans' displeasure with him. Plechavičius wrote in his postwar memoirs that in late April, German plans to mobilize Lithuanians into the Wehrmacht became obvious, and LTDF headquarters began secretly organizing underground armed forces, to include Lithuanian Army officers, veterans of
18368-460: The former regulations of Estonian Defence League and Estonian Army , insofar as they were consistent with the laws of German occupation. The tasks of the Omakaitse were as follows: On 15 July, the Omakaitse had 10,200 members; on 1 December 1941, 40,599 members. Until February 1944 membership was around 40,000. By the late 1940s and the early 1950s, the Forest Brothers were provided with supplies, liaison officers and logistical coordination by
18532-478: The government rather than on seeking broad support. While Tomes' definition fits well with Mao's Phase I, it does not deal well with larger civil wars. Mao does assume terrorism is usually part of the early phases, but it is not always present in revolutionary insurgency. Tomes offers an indirect definition of insurgency, drawn from Trinquier 's definition of counterinsurgency: "an interlocking system of actions—political, economic, psychological, military—that aims at
18696-717: The groupings in Samuel P. Huntington 's idea of the clash of civilizations , but, rather assuming the civilizations must clash, these civilizations simply can be recognized as actors in a multinational world. In the case of Iraq, Cordesman observes that the burden is on the Islamic civilization, not unilaterally the West, if for no other reason that the civilization to which the problematic nation belongs will have cultural and linguistic context that Western civilization cannot hope to equal. The heart of strengthening weak nations must come from within, and that heart will fail if they deny that
18860-587: The head of the Latvian SSR , Vilis Lācis . The group recruited a Russian woman working at the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR who told them Lācis' transportation schedule. They set up a roadside ambush when Lācis was traveling from Riga to Jūrmala , but shot up the wrong car. The second attempt likewise relied on a female collaborator, who proved to be an undercover NKVD agent. The entire group
19024-423: The hope that Cold War hostilities between the West, which never formally recognized the Soviet occupation , and the Soviet Union might escalate to an armed conflict in which the Baltic states would be liberated. This never materialized, and according to Mart Laar many of the surviving former Forest Brothers remained bitter that the West did not take on the Soviet Union militarily. (See also Yalta Conference ). When
19188-689: The interests of Lithuanians. Militarily, they want to get people to plug the gaps in their army; politically - to announce to the world that Lithuanians are asking to be accepted under German leadership and protection to fight for the New Europe ." The Lithuanians understood their interests, did not identify them with Nazi plans and refused to be blindly used by the German occupiers. Adrian von Renteln summoned general Povilas Plechavičius on January 7, 1944 to convince him that Lithuanian forces were necessary to combat Bolshevism. Plechavičius informed Renteln on January 9 that he would protect his countrymen if he
19352-539: The interplay among the actors: insurgents, government, population and external organizations. Barnett discusses the relationship of the country with the outside world, and Cordesman focuses on the specifics of providing security. Recent studies have tried to model the conceptual architecture of insurgent warfare using computational and mathematical modelling. A recent study by Juan Camilo Bohorquez, Sean Gourley, Alexander R. Dixon, Michael Spagat, and Neil F. Johnson entitled "Common Ecology Quantifies Human Insurgency", suggests
19516-501: The iron curtain – including information provided by the Lithuanian partisans. Former members of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, Lithuanian Liberty Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces , Lithuanian Riflemen's Union formed the basis of Lithuanian partisans. Farmers, Lithuanian officials, students, teachers, even pupils joined the partisan movement. The movement was actively supported by society and
19680-696: The leadership of the Latvian Central Council adopted the Declaration on the restoration of the State of Latvia . It was intended to restore de facto independence to the Latvian republic. In addition it was hoped international supporters would take advantage of the interval between changeovers of the occupying powers. The Declaration prescribed that the Satversme was the fundamental law of
19844-438: The main incentives. The revolutionary power can help manifest a social-political network that in return provides access to political opportunities to diverse candidates, who share a collective identity and cultural homogeneity. Also, civil wars and insurgencies can provide employment and access to services and resources that were once taken over by the autocratic regimes. Insurgencies differ in their use of tactics and methods. In
20008-751: The majority of modern populations. Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force The Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (abbreviated LTDF ; Lithuanian : Lietuvos vietinė rinktinė , LVR) was a short-lived Lithuanian volunteer military unit created with German support during the occupation of Lithuania during World War II with the stated intention of combatting the quickly approaching Red Army and Soviet and Polish insurgents, and thus ensure security in General District of Lithuania within Reichskommissariat Ostland . The Nazi occupation authorities actually planned to use
20172-646: The matter, and who had committed no such crimes. In 1949–1950 the United States Displaced Persons Commission investigated the Estonian and Latvian divisions and on September 1, 1950, adopted the following policy: The Baltic Waffen SS Units are to be considered as separate and distinct in purpose, ideology, activities, and qualifications for membership from the German SS, and therefore the Commission holds them not to be
20336-709: The military school. On the morning of May 16, all those who remained were arrested by the Germans and the officers were separated from the cadets and soldiers. A few days later, the Germans took 106 cadets to the Stutthof concentration camp in trucks. Beginning in March, Germans constantly tried to use LTDF to mobilize Lithuanians for labour in Germany for the Wehrmacht and the Hiwis , but Plechavičius blocked this. As tensions between Germans and LTDF grew, Plechavičius even sent
20500-480: The model, not just in the security domain, while civilian activity is critically important in the security pillar also ... all three pillars must develop in parallel and stay in balance, while being firmly based in an effective information campaign. Anthony Cordesman, while speaking of the specific situation in Iraq, makes some points that can be generalized to other nations in turmoil. Cordesman recognizes some value in
20664-405: The nation to the core and empowers the natives to communicate—that communication can be likened to swarm coordination. If the state is occupied, or in civil war, another paradigm comes into play: the leviathan, a first-world military force that takes down the opposition regular forces. Leviathan is not constituted to fight local insurgencies, but major forces. Leviathan may use extensive swarming at
20828-499: The organization controlled dozens of villages and towns, creating considerable nuisance to Soviet supply transports that required an armed escort. August Sabbe , one of the last surviving Forest Brothers, was discovered in 1978 by KGB agents posing with his fellow fishermen. Instead of surrendering he leaped into the Võhandu . was caught on a log, and drowned. The KGB insisted that the 69-year-old Sabbe had drowned while trying to escape,
20992-402: The outcome, such as militias) and fourth forces (unarmed groups which affect the outcome, such as international media), who may be distinct from the core insurgents and the recognized government. While overt state sponsorship becomes less common, sponsorship by transnational groups is more common. "The nesting of insurgency within complex conflicts associated with state weakness or failure..." (See
21156-414: The partisans inflicted damage on uniformed military personnel, party cadres (particularly in rural areas), buildings, and ammunition depots. The Communist authorities reported 1,562 Soviet personnel killed and 560 wounded during the entire resistance period. One account of a typical Forest Brothers action is provided by Tālrīts Krastiņš. He, a reconnaissance soldier of the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of
21320-406: The population and deported 46 prominent figures and members of the intelligentsia to Stutthof concentration camp . The Nazis closed all Lithuanian higher education institutions March 18–19 and intensified their hunt for Lithuanian youth for forced labour in Germany. At the end of January 1944, a compromise was reached and the Lithuanian Territorial Defence Force was established. On January 31,
21484-401: The preceding paragraph, who became or remained members of the organization with knowledge that it was being used for the commission of acts declared criminal by Article 6 of the Charter, or who were personally implicated as members of the organization in the commission of such crimes, excluding, however, those who were drafted into membership by the State in such a way as to give them no choice in
21648-652: The provisions of the Atlantic Charter and a sovereign right acknowledged by the democratic world, by bearing arms against one of the World War II Aggressors ;... The Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania ... constituted the supreme political and military structure ... and was the sole legal authority within the territory of occupied Lithuania. In Latvia and Lithuania, Forest Brothers veterans receive
21812-488: The real issue is the future of their civilization, if they tolerate religious, cultural or separatist violence and terrorism when it strikes at unpopular targets, or if they continue to try to export the blame for their own failures to other nations, religions, and cultures. Asymmetric conflicts (or irregular conflicts ), as the emerging type of insurgencies in recent history, is described by Berman and Matanock in their review as conflicts where "the government forces have
21976-601: The real numbers were even larger, many believe this reveals the ratio of the size of resistance among the three countries. In Estonia 14,000–15,000 men participated in the fighting between 1944 and 1953: The Forest Brothers were most active in Võru County along the borderlands between Pärnu and Lääne counties and included significant activity between Tartu and Viru counties as well. From November 1944 to November 1947, they carried out 773 armed attacks, killing about 1,000 Soviets and their supporters. At its peak in 1947,
22140-531: The remaining forces formed guerrilla units and dissolved into the countryside to prepare for partisan operations against the Red Army as the Eastern Front approached. Guerrilla operations in Estonia and Latvia had some basis in Adolf Hitler 's authorization to withdraw from Estonia in mid-September 1944 – he allowed soldiers of his Estonian forces, primarily the 20th Waffen-SS Division (1st Estonian) who wished to stay and defend their homes to do so – and in
22304-564: The restored Republic of Latvia, and provided for the establishment of a Cabinet of Ministers that would organise the restoration of the State of Latvia. Some of the most prominent LCC accomplishments were related to its military branch – General Jānis Kurelis group (the so-called "kurelieši") with the Lieutenant Roberts Rubenis battalion, which carried out the armed resistance against Waffen SS forces. The number of active combatants peaked between 10,000 and 15,000, while
22468-682: The role of civilians in this framework into consideration, the government and rebels will divert resources to provide services to civilians so as to influence their decision about sharing information with the government. The framework is based on several assumptions: This framework leads to five major implications for counterinsurgency strategies: These implications are tested by empirical evidences from conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and several other subnational conflicts. Further research on governance , rule of law , attitudes, dynamics and agency between allies are needed to better understand asymmetric conflicts and to have better informed decisions made at
22632-495: The security gap begins with training, sometimes in specialized areas such as intelligence. More direct, but still noncombat support, includes intelligence, planning, logistics and communications. Anthony Cordesman notes that security requirements differ by region and state in region. Writing on the Middle East, he identified different security needs for specific areas, as well as the US interest in security in those areas. It
22796-417: The solemn promises given to the Republic of Lithuania to respect the "sovereignty and territorial integrity and inviolability of Lithuania under all circumstances" ( 1926 treaty between the Republic of Lithuania and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics , Article 2) on 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union's government , having militarily occupied Lithuania , falsifying the will of the Lithuanian people, and joining
22960-415: The strategic campaign, even if it is politically unfeasible to use precise terminology. Insurgent groups often struggle to maintain coherency and authority due to their decentralized nature, and thus rely heavily upon ethnic, religious, or ideological bounds to avoid splintering. While it may be reasonable to consider transnational insurgency, Anthony Cordesman points out some of the myths in trying to have
23124-570: The subsequent repressions, the German occupiers sent 52 officers to the Salaspils concentration camp , executed 86 LTDF members in Paneriai and deported 1,089 to Stutthof and Oldenburg concentration camps. While some were later forced into Nazi service, all except four of the force's fourteen battalions successfully escaped Nazi persecution. Those who escaped later contributed to the Forest Brothers ' armed anti-Soviet resistance . LTDF
23288-399: The tactical level, but its dispatch is a strategic decision that may be made unilaterally, or by an established group of the core such as NATO or ASEAN . Other than brief "Leviathan" takedowns, security building appears to need to be regional, with logistical and other technical support from more developed countries and alliances (e.g., ASEAN, NATO). Noncombat military assistance in closing
23452-688: The tactical, strategic and public policy levels. Before one counters an insurgency, one must understand what one is countering. Typically the most successful counter-insurgencies have been the British in the Malay Emergency and the Filipino government's countering of the Huk Rebellion . In the Philippine–American War , U.S. forces successfully quelled the Filipino insurgents by 1902, albeit with tactics considered unacceptable by
23616-426: The term "subversion" is less commonly used by current U.S. spokesmen, that may be due to the hyperbolic way it was used in the past, in a specifically anticommunist context. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk did in April 1962, when he declared that urgent action was required before the "enemy's subversive politico-military teams find fertile spawning grounds for their fish eggs." In a Western context, Rosenau cites
23780-420: The territory of Lithuania to the Soviet Union with the help of the Red Army, is now again using Stalin's lips to 'liberate' the Republic of Lithuania." They then requested permission to form the 1st Lithuanian Division, commanded by a senior Lithuanian officer, who would be called the inspector general. The division would be created by mobilization and would be tasked with the defence of Lithuanian territory from
23944-432: The three countries, the resistance was best organized in Lithuania, where guerrilla units controlled whole regions of the countryside until 1949. Their armaments included Czech Škoda guns , Russian Maxim heavy machine guns , assorted mortars and a wide variety of mainly German and Soviet light machine guns and submachine guns . When not in direct battles with the Red Army or special NKVD units, they significantly delayed
24108-452: The total number of resistance fighters was as high as 40,000. One author gives a figure of up to 12,000 grouped in 700 bands during the 1945–55 decade, but definitive figures are unavailable. Over time, the partisans replaced their German weapons with Soviet makes. The Central Command of Latvian resistance organizations maintained an office on Matīsa Street in Riga until 1947. In some 3,000 raids,
24272-457: The two apart. Insurgencies normally field fighting forces orders of magnitude larger than those of terrorist organizations." Insurgencies have a political purpose, and may provide social services and have an overt, even legal, political wing. Their covert wing carries out attacks on military forces with tactics such as raids and ambushes , as well as acts of terror such as attacks that cause deliberate civilian casualties. Mao considered terrorism
24436-420: The war, and fewer than half the registered conscripts reported in some districts. The widespread harassment of disappearing conscripts' families pushed more people to evade authorities in the forests. Many enlisted men deserted, taking their weapons with them. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Joseph Stalin made a public statement on the radio calling for a scorched earth policy in
24600-443: The weapons and uniforms taken from the Lithuanians significantly improved the equipment of the Polish forces. The Poles used the element of surprise because the Lithuanians had around 150 more soldiers. The disparity in size, and the fact that Lithuanians no longer felt safe inside their own barracks, added to the importance of the defeat. Both sides incurred heavy losses. Of the LTDF's 301st Battalion, 30 men were killed, including
24764-442: Was Taimi Kreitsberg. She recalled that Soviet officials "...took me to Võru, I was not beaten there, but for three days and nights I was given neither food nor drink. They told me they were not going to kill me, but torture me [until] I betrayed all the bandits. For about a month they dragged me through woods and took me to farms owned by relatives of Forest Brothers, and they sent me in as an instigator to ask for food and shelter while
24928-434: Was almost destroyed by the Poles. The AK organized a concentrated assault against the fortified Lithuanian positions around Muravanaja Ašmianka. The defences, reinforced with concrete bunkers and trenches, were manned by the 301st Battalion. During the night of May 13–14, the 3rd AK Brigade assaulted the village from the west and north-west, while the 8th and 12th Brigades attacked from the south and east. The remainder of
25092-492: Was among those who managed to escape to the West; he wrote his memoirs in Paris – Fighters for Freedom. Lithuanian Partisans Versus the U.S.S.R. , and was killed after returning to Lithuania in 1951. Pranas Končius (code name Adomas ) was one of the last few Lithuanian anti-Soviet resistance fighters, killed in action by Soviet forces on July 6, 1965 (some sources indicate he shot himself in order to avoid capture on July 13). He
25256-534: Was apprehended and sentenced to prison in 1948. The Latvian Forest Brothers were most active in the border regions, including Dundaga , Taurkalne , Lubāna , Aloja and Līvāni . In the eastern regions, they had ties with the Estonian Forest Brothers; and in the western regions, with the Lithuanians. As in Estonia and Lithuania, the partisans were killed off and infiltrated by the MVD and NKVD over many years. As in Estonia and Lithuania, assistance from Western intelligence
25420-517: Was attacked by Polish partisans from the 3rd AK Brigade and forced to withdraw to Jašiūnai. Company commander Major Vytautas Narkevičius and two soldiers were captured and shot by Polish partisans because civilians had been killed in Merkinė [ lt ] (also referred to as Paulava, Polish: Pawłów ). Polish historian Piotr Łossowski claims that the Lithuanian 301st Battalion suffered 47 casualties at Hraŭžyški [ be ] , and
25584-523: Was autonomous, staffed by Lithuanian officers, and commanded by the Lithuanian General Povilas Plechavičius. The German Zivilverwaltung agreed not to transfer Lithuanian youth to forced labour in Germany while the LTDF was active. The Soldiers' Union of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (Lithuanian: Lietuvos vietinės rinktinės karių sąjunga ), a veterans' organization , was founded in 1997. After Nazi Germany lost
25748-540: Was awarded the Cross of Vytis posthumously in 2000. Benediktas Mikulis, one of the last known partisans to remain in the forest, emerged in 1971. He was arrested in the 1980s and spent several years in prison. By the early 1950s, the Soviet forces had eradicated most of the Forest Brother resistance. Intelligence gathered by the Soviet spies in the West and MGB infiltrators within the resistance movement, in combination with large-scale Soviet operations in 1952, managed to end
25912-483: Was dispersed by the 8th and 12th AK Brigades on May 5. On May 6, two companies of the 308th Battalion, marching to Hraŭžyški [ be ] (Lithuanian: Graužiškės ; Polish: Graużyszki ), fought with Polish partisans from the 8th, 9th and 13th AK Brigades. Henryk Piskunowicz claims that the unit burned the villages of Sienkaŭščyna [ be ] and Adamkaŭščyna and murdered their inhabitants. With about 20 people killed, 15 wounded and 70 captured,
26076-401: Was given the freedom to form and lead the Lithuanian units with independent leadership. Since military formations could only be constituted in occupied territory with the approval of Reich SSPF Heinrich Himmler , Renteln pledged to speak with Berlin. Plechavičius wrote to Petras Kubiliūnas , the first general councillor, on January 31, setting out the following conditions for his command of
26240-417: Was more successful in escaping German capture, and two of the battalion's companies managed to withdraw to their homeland with their weapons. About 2,000 men gathered at the Marijampolė military school. As the situation worsened and relations with the Germans worsened, Plechavičius ordered the military school to disband in early May. As the LTDF began to be liquidated on May 15, only about 160 people were in
26404-577: Was planned to increase the number of battalions to 20. The Germans promised to provide the LTDF with weapons, ammunition and food. On February 16, Lithuanian Independence Day , Plechavičius made a radio appeal to the nation for volunteers. The appeal was very successful and estimates put the number of volunteers between 20,000 and 30,000. On February 21, the county commandant offices started registering volunteers. Seven battalions stationed in Marijampolė , Kalvarija and Seredžius were to form
26568-420: Was severely compromised by Soviet counter-intelligence and Latvian double agents such as Augusts Bergmanis and Vidvuds Sveics . Furthermore, the Soviets gradually consolidated their rule in the cities: help from rural civilians was less forthcoming, and special military and security units were sent to control the partisans. The last groups emerged from the forest in 1957 to surrender to the authorities. Among
26732-469: Was suppressed under the Soviet regime. Writings on the subject by Baltic emigrants were often labelled as examples of "ethnic sympathy" and disregarded. Laar's research efforts, begun in Estonia in the late 1980s, are considered to have opened the door for further study. In 1999, the Lithuanian Seimas (parliament) enacted a declaration of independence that had been made on February 16, 1949,
26896-498: Was to fight against bandits and partisans, widespread in eastern Lithuania. On Lithuanian territory, Soviet partisans operated from two main camps, one near Narach and another in Rūdninkai forest , from which the partisan groups reached even Samogitia . Even more numerous were the Home Army's Polish partisan units. There were also other marauding gangs. Seven LTDF battalions were sent to eastern Lithuania to fight Soviet partisans and
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