Penktasis pėstininkų Didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Kęstučio pulkas

LTValstybė ir kariuomenė viena be kitos negali egzistuoti, todėl ir valstybės istorija neatskiriama nuo kariuomenės istorijos, kurią sudaro jos dalinių istorijos. Šios knygos autorius, nusprendęs nušviesti atskirų tarpukario pėstininkų pulkų istoriją, mano, kad įneša tam tikrą indėlį ir į bendrosios Lietuvos kariuomenės istorijos tyrimus. Penktojo pėstininkų Didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Kęstučio pulko istorijos pradžia skiriasi nuo kitų pėstininkų pulkų istorinių ištakų. Pulko užuomazga – Atskirasis batalionas, pradėtas formuoti kaip išvaduotos Lietuvos būsimos sostinės Vilniaus karo komendantūros dalinys, 1919 m. birželio mėn. buvo pavadintas Vilniaus batalionu. Pirmosiomis bataliono kūrimo dienomis jame buvo telkiami vadinamieji Vilniaus savanoriai, t. y. kariai, įstoję į Lietuvos kariuomenę Vilniuje ir atvykę iš jo apylinkių. Kovų dėl nepriklausomybės metu Vilniaus batalionas išaugo į Penktąjį pėstininkų pulką. Lietuvos kariuomenės istorijai skiriama nemažai dėmesio, tačiau šalies istorikų darbuose dominuoja bendrieji kariuomenės veiklos klausimai, o atskirų dalių istorija nušviesta nepakankamai. Nors kai kuriais Penktojo pėstininkų pulko istorijos klausimais rašyta, specialaus darbo, skirto vien šio pulko istorijai, nėra, išskyrus 1934 m. išleistą leidinį „5 pėstininkų Didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Kęstučio pulkas. 1919–1934“. Jame pabandyta įvairiais aspektais apžvelgti pulko veiklą nuo įkūrimo iki 1934 m. Kadangi šį leidinį parengė ir išleido patys pulko karininkai, jame sukauptą informaciją plačiai naudosime ir šiame darbe. [...]. [Iš Įvado]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos kariuomenė; 5-asis pėstininkų didžiojo Lietuvos kunigaikščio Kęstučio pulkas; Karininkai; Karo istorija; Lithuanian armed forces; Grand duke of Lithuania Kęstutis 5th infantry regiment; Officers; History of war.

ENA state and armed forces… These two concepts are inseparable just like the history of a state and armed forces. The history of the military covers the history of separate military units, thus making the whole of the military history. This monograph, from the series The History of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, is dedicated to the history of the 5th Infantry Regiment, an interwar military unit of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The beginning of the history of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis 5th Infantry Regiment is different from the history of other infantry regiments. The origin of the Regiment, initially called the Separate Regiment, goes back to the times when it was formed as the future commandant’s headquarters of the battalion liberated from Bolshevik Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Due to this reason, in June 1919, it was renamed Vilnius Battalion. During the first days of its establishment, the Battalion recruited the so-called Vilnius volunteers, i.e. the soldiers who joined the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Vilnius, including the outskirts, prior to the Russian occupation at the end of 1918. As the Battalion grew rapidly, already on 31 March 1919 in a composition of the Separate Regiment it marched to Žasliai front to fight against the Red Army with the aim to get back Vilnius. The first fights proved that the Battalion was a rather concentrated military force; however, it lacked discipline as some servicemen deserted it at a critical moment. After a little rest at the barracks in Kaunas, the Battalion captured a stretch in front of the Polish Armed Forces that sought to annex the swathe of the Lithuanian territory Čiobiškis–Vievis–Semeliškės–Jieznas. As constant minor collisions dominated, the Battalion had to deal with positional warfare.On July 30, the command of the Lithuanian Armed Forces ordered the Battalion to deploy one company in the area to fight the Polish troops and move to the Bolshevik front in Dusetos district. Active fights took place till the Bolsheviks were dislodged to the other bank of the river Dauguva. When the front became positional, the Battalion was redeployed to the Polish front and on September 22 recaptured the area from Jieznas to Čiobiškis. Since the fights ceased, on October 12, the Battalion was sent to the Bermontian front with one company remaining to withstand Polish attack. The Bermontians were formed by Germans and included Russian refugees and German servicemen who aimed to retain Latvia and Lithuania under German influence. During the fights with Bermontians, the Battalion expanded and in November it was reformed to the 5th Infantry Regiment. Its servicemen distinguished themselves and even 21 of them were awarded the Cross of Vytis, the highest military award. When the Bermontians were pushed out from Lithuania, the Regiment took over the German border guard. At that time, the Regiment’s formation was finalized and in February 1920 it was named after Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis. The peace treaty signed by Lithuania and the Soviet Russia on 12 July 1920 directed Lithuanian military authorities’ focus to capturing southern territories. On July 15, the Regiment was ordered to go to Vilnius and at the end of August it was redeployed to Suvalkai front against Poles. From September 2 to the beginning of October, the Regiment took part in fierce fights with much greater Polish troops in Seinai region. During the fights, the Regiment, just like other units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, suffered from dramatic loss. At the end of October, the 5th Infantry Regiment had to face fierce fights with the Polish “rebels” led by General Lucjan Żeligowski.The “rebels” allegedly disobeyed the orders of the Polish military authorities and attacked Lithuania all by themselves. Thus, by confronting the enemies and making the supreme sacrifice of its soldiers, the Regiment made a great contribution to defending and maintaining the freedom and independence of Lithuania. On 1 December 1920, the Regiment took control of the demarcation line from Giedraičiai to the Latvian boarder between the Lithuanian and Polish Armed Forces led by General Lucjan Żeligowski. Essentially, it was a war as well, however, fought by other means. Polish soldiers performed constant provocations and attacked guards leading to guerrilla warfare between both sides in the neutral zone; however, as the demarcation line was guarded by only one battalion in rotation, the Regiment could focus on military training and education. In April 1921, the Regiment was withdrawn from the demarcation line and deployed in the surroundings of Kulva. In September, it was transferred to Panevėžys district and in June 1922 redeployed to Aukštoji Panemunė in Kaunas. In January 1923, the demarcation line had to be strengthened once again due to the Polish attack in Aukštadvaris region. The Regiment spent peacetime in Kaunas. The history of the Regiment of this period was no exceptional, except for permanent lack of officers and soldiers that aggravated educational and training activities. Due to its deployment in Kaunas, the Regiment received more guests and controlling officers’ visits; therefore, the servicemen of the Regiment had to attend official events quite frequently. [...]. [From the publication]