Activities of the History section of the Society of military sciences in Lithuania (1923-1933)

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Karo istorija; Karo mokslai; Lietuva tarpukariu; Lietuvos kariuomenė; Mokslo istorija; Visuomenė; History of science; Interwar Lithuania; Lithuanian army; Military history; Military sciences; Society.

ENMilitary history is regarded as a key component of military sciences, which enjoys particular attention with military forces and military schools in many countries. Military history is employed in the training of armed forces, military planning and patriotic education of army personnel. Lithuania being absent from the political world map for over a hundred years, there was neither an army nor a greater need to inquire into military history. The situation changed in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War and especially so in 1915 when the Lithuanian governorates got involved in intense military activities. The press of that period started to call for the collection of the materials related to war history that would serve as a foundation for the future research in military history. The period of warfare that stretched for nearly seven years (World War I from 1914 to 1918, and Lithuanian Wars of Independence from 1919 to 1920) was not an opportune time for a comprehensive gathering and studies of military history materials (sources). The state of things changed in 1921 with the realization by a concrete group of persons of the significance of military history and the influence of the interests of the Lithuanian army. The search, collection, and organisation of primary sources of military history were set as a priority objective. The present research aims at analysing the beginnings of an institutional organisation of military history research in the interwar Lithuania and the people that made considerable contributions to this process. The research is based on the analysis of archival sources and publications that appeared in printed media. It is a historical research from the viewpoint of military history. [Extract, p. 94]