Latvijas virsnieki Lietuvas armijā (1919-1921)

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Atvijos karininkai; Karininkai; Latviai; Lietuvos kariuomenė; Nepriklausomybės karas; Latvian officers; Latvians; Lithuanian Armed Forces; Lithuanian Wars of Independence; Lithuanian army; Officer.

ENBefore World War I, very few Lithuanian officers served in the Imperial Russian Army due to Russification policy carried out in Lithuania. At the outbreak of the war, many Lithuanian students from different universities were mobilized to the Russian Army. They had to attend special courses for several months and thus became officers. After the independence of Lithuania had been proclaimed on 16 February 1918, the state began forming its armed forces. From the end of 1918 until the beginning of 1919, the Lithuanian Armed Forces were rapidly growing and soon faced a serious lack of officers. Although the Military School established on 25 January 1919 had 89 graduates by July 6, the problem of the shortage of senior officers was not solved. Under such circumstances, the Lithuanian government made a decision to employ general staff officers from the countries that were neutral or friendly to Lithuania. In 1919-1921, the Lithuanian Armed Forces had 59 foreign officers, including six Latvians. All the Latvian officers, with the exception of Col. Wilhelm Kaminski, held high positions corresponding to their military ranks and experience. [From the publication]