Kėdainių frontas 1919 m. sausio-vasario mėnesiais

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: 1918-1919; Juozas Šarauskas; Kėdainiai; Kėdainių frontas; Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės kovos; Raudonoji Armija; 1918-1919; Juozas Šarauskas; Kedainiai; Kėdainiai front; Lithuanian Independence Struggle; Red Army.

ENOn the 15th November, 1918 the Western Army was formed from the Russian Bolshevik military forces Western Defense District and 7 armies of the left North Front Fleet - Western, Pskov and Vitebsk divisions. Its activity had to start by the occupation of the territories, which had been occupied by the German Army during the World War I. Soon it invaded Lithuania, gradually moving to north and south. The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense took urgent actions. On the 31st December, 1918 the officer Juozas Šarauskas was sent to Kėdainiai, who had to organize the guard unit in Kėdainiai and to recruit conscripts. On the 13th January, 1919 approximately one hundred volunteers from the Panevėžys Defense Corp arrived in Kėdainiai, headed by Jonas Variakojis, who had been retired from Panevėžys. These forces formed a cordon in the north-eastern part of Kėdainiai, which had to prevent the Soviet Russian military units concentrated in the town Šėta (Vilkmergė district) to move to south and west directions. On the 8th of February Russian troops tried to occupy Kėdainiai with large forces, pushing Lithuanian volunteers - Kėdainiai defenders - to the eastern suburbs. Kėdainiai and Panevėžys units equipped only with light firearms appeared in critical position. At that moment German troops came to their rescue. After using their heavy military equipment they together with Lithuanians were able to push the Russian Red Army from the city. During the rest of several days the united Lithuanian and German forces pushed the Russians out of Kėdainiai surroundings and even occupied their military base in Šėta. [From the publication]