Guerrilla war in the Baltic states: Difference between revisions

| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Lithuania (1918–1940).svg}} [[Lithuanian partisans]]<br /> {{flagd|Latvia}} [[Latvian partisans]] <br /> {{flagd|Estonia}} [[Estonian partisans]] <br />

| casualties3 = In Lithuania: at least 4,000 civilians who collaborated with the Soviets were killed by partisans; More than ~250300,000 Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians were exiled to Siberia.<ref name="Clodfelter, p. 538" />

The '''guerrilla war in the Baltic states''' was an [[insurgency]] waged by [[Baltic states|Baltic]] ([[Latvian partisans|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian partisans|Lithuanian]] and [[Estonian partisans|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" ({{lang-et|metsavennad}}, {{lang-lv|mežabrāļi}}, {{lang-lt|žaliukai}}), these partisans fought against invading Soviet forces during their [[occupation of the Baltic states]] during and after [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Brothers of the Wood. Bandits, Says Russia; Politicians, Says Prisoner's Counsel. |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1908-06-25/ed-1/?sp=9&q=BROTHERS+WOOD&r=0.092,0.775,0.356,0.175,0 |access-date=13 February 2022 |work=The Sun |date=25 June 1908 |location=New York, New York |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jan Pouren Case |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0UkA-5r5T4C&dq=%22forest+friars%22&pg=PA673 |issuevolume=Volume 65, Number |issue=3120 |work=The Independent |date=17 September 1908 |location=New York |page=673}}</ref> Similar [[Anti-communist insurgencies in Central and Eastern Europe|insurgent groups]] resisted Soviet occupations in [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]], [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]] and [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]].

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained their independence in 1918 after the collapse of the [[Russian Empire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://icds.ee/en/lithuania-latvia-and-estonia-100-years-of-similarities-and-disparities/ |title=Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia: 100 Years of Similarities and Disparities |publisher=International Centre for Defence and Security |date=February 16, 2018 |author=Rein Taagepera |access-date=December 30, 2023}}</ref> The ideals of nationalism and [[self-determination]] had taken hold with many people as 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lithuania/ |date=December 13, 2023 |title=World Factbook:Lithuania |access-date=December 30, 2023}}</ref> occupied by the Russian Empire [[Third Partition of Poland|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 the [[Western Allies]] deemed illegitimate.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004464896/BP000014.xml |title=The Case of the Incorporation of the Baltic States by the USSR |chapter=The Baltic States Between 1940 and 1991: Illegality and/Or Prescription |edition= Second Revised |volume=20 |series=The Erik Castrén Institute Monographs on International Law and Human Rights |isbn= 9789004464896 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |date=28 Jun 2022 |pages=70–139 |access-date=December 30, 2023| doi=10.1163/9789004464896_005 |last1=Mälksoo |first1=Lauri }}</ref> When [[Nazi Germany]] broke the pact and [[Operation Barbarossa|invaded the Soviet Union]], the Soviet Red Army was driven out of the Baltics and the area [[German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II|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 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.<ref name="Laar">[[Laar, Mart]] (1992). ''[https://books.google.ca/books/about/War_in_the_Woods.html?id=ng9pAAAAMAAJ War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944–1956]'', translated by Tiina Ets, Compass Press, {{ISBN|0-929590-08-2}}</ref>

Unlike Estonia and Latvia, where the Germans [[Conscription|conscripted]] the local population into military formations [[Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts|within]] the [[Waffen-SS]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01629778.2023.2173262 |title=Revisionist national narratives in the memoirs of Estonian and Latvian Waffen-SS Legionnaires |author=Karl Stuklis |journal=Journal of Baltic Studies |date=2023 |volume=55 |pages=1–19197–215 |doi=10.1080/01629778.2023.2173262 }}open access</ref> Lithuania never had a Waffen-SS division. In 1944, the German authorities created an ill-equipped but 20,000-man strong [[Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force]] under General [[Povilas Plechavičius]] to combat [[Soviet partisans#Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania|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 the remaining forces formed guerrilla units and dissolved into the countryside to prepare for partisan operations against the Red Army as the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] approached.<ref name="Kaszeta">Kaszeta, Daniel J. [http://www.lituanus.org/1988/88_3_01.htm ''Lithuanian Resistance to Foreign Occupation 1940–1952''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221122/http://www.lituanus.org/1988/88_3_01.htm |date=2007-09-27 }}, Lituanus, Volume 34, No. 3, Fall 1988. {{ISSN|0024-5089}}</ref><ref name="Mackevičius">Mackevičius, Mečislovas. [http://www.lituanus.org/1986/86_4_02.htm ''Lithuanian Resistance to German Mobilization Attempts 1941–1944''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805202443/http://www.lituanus.org/1986/86_4_02.htm |date=2019-08-05 }}, Lituanus Vol. 32, No. 4, Winter 1986. {{ISSN|0024-5089}}</ref>

By the late 1940s and the early 1950s, the Forest Brothers were provided with supplies, liaison officers and logistical coordination by the British ([[MI6]]), [[Central Intelligence Agency|American]] and [[Kontoret för särskild inhämtning|Swedish]] secret intelligence services.{{cncitation needed|date=October 2022}} 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 [[Cambridge Five|others]]) who forwarded information to the Soviets and enabled the [[Ministry for State Security (Soviet Union)|MGB]] to identify, infiltrate and eliminate many Baltic guerrilla units and cut others off from any further contact with [[Western world|Western]] [[Intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] operatives.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

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 County|Pärnu]] and [[Lääne County|Lääne]] counties and included significant activity between [[Tartu County|Tartu]] and [[Viru County|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, the organization controlled dozens of villages and towns, creating considerable nuisance to Soviet supply transports that required an armed escort.<ref>{{cite book|last=Buttar|first=Prit|title=Between Giants, the Battle for the Baltics in World War II|year=2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1780961637}}</ref> [[August Sabbe]], one of the last surviving Forest Brothers, was discovered in 1978 by KGB agents posing{{whatclarify|wrong word?|date=December 2023}} 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, 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.<ref name=":0">Taylor, Neil (2010). ''Estonia''. Bucks, England: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-84162-320-7</ref> He was killed in a shooting encounter with KGB agents in 1974.<ref name=":0"/><ref>ERR (2007-10-16). "Raadil pühitseti mälestuskivi eelviimasele metsavennale". ''ERR'' (in Estonian). Retrieved 2022-01-21.</ref>

In Latvia, preparations for partisan operations began during the German occupation, but the leaders of these nationalist units were arrested by Nazi authorities.<ref name="Laar, p. 24">Laar, p. 24</ref> Longer-lived resistance units began to form at the end of the war, composed of former [[Latvian Legion]] soldiers and civilians.<ref>Plakans, Andrejs. ''The Latvians: A Short History'', 155. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, 1995.</ref> On 8 September 1944 in [[Riga]], the leadership of the [[Latvian Central Council]] adopted tnethe [[Declaration on the restoration of the State of Latvia]].<ref>Edgars Andersons, Leonīds Siliņš "Latvijas Centrālā padome – LCP". Upsala 1994 {{ISBN|9163017466}}</ref> 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 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.

On 1 July 1944, [[Lithuanian FreedomLiberty Army]] (Lithuanian:LLA) Lietuvosdeclared laisvėsthe armija,state LLA) declaredof war against the Soviet Unionoccupation and ordered all its able members to mobilize into platoons, stationedstation 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 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 Lithuanian Freedom ArmyLLA had 10,000 members.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lučinskas |first1=Gintaras |title=12 16. Lietuvos Laisvės Armija – partizaninio karo pradininkė Dzūkijoje |url=http://www.aidas.lt/lt/istorija/article/2839-12-16-lietuvos-laisves-armija-partizaninio-karo-pradininke-dzukijoje |access-date=28 September 2019 |language=LT}}</ref> The Soviets killed 659 and arrested 753 members of the Lithuanian Freedom ArmyLLA by January 26, 1945. Founder [[Kazys Veverskis]] was killed in December 1944, and the headquarters was liquidated in December 1945. This represented 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Istorinė Lietuvos laisvės armijos reikšmė pasipriešinime okupantams |url=http://www.xxiamzius.lt/numeriai/2005/04/20/istdab_01.html |website=www.xxiamzius.lt |access-date=29 September 2019 |language=LT}}</ref>

[[Supreme Committee for 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 tnethe 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 the iron curtain – including information provided by the Lithuanian partisans.

Former members of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, Lithuanian FreedomLiberty 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 the Catholic church. By the end of 1945, an estimated 30,000 armed people lived in the forests in Lithuania.

To combat the guerillasguerrillas, in May 1948 the Soviets carried out the largest deportation from Lithuania, [[Operation Spring (1948)|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. [[Bruno Sutkus#Memorable quotation|quotation]]). Reprisals against anti-Soviet farms and villages were harsh. NKVD units named ''People's Defense Platoons'' (known by the Lithuanians as [[plural|pl.]] ''stribai'', from {{lang-ru|izstrebiteli}} – ''destroyers'', i.e., the destruction battalions), used shock tactics such as displaying executed partisans' corpses in village courtyards to discourage further resistance.<ref name="Kaszeta" /><ref name="unknown1">Unknown author. [http://www.lithuanian.net/memory/bloody/povilas.htm excerpt from ''Lithuania's Struggle For Freedom''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121131209/http://www.lithuanian.net/memory/bloody/povilas.htm |date=2020-01-21 }}, unknown year.</ref>

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.<ref> [https://www.15min.lt/m/media-pasakojimai/100-lietuvu-6-prozariskes-37 #6 Prozariškės] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240604220654/https://www.15min.lt/media-pasakojimai/100-lietuvu-6-prozariskes-37|date=June 4, 2024}}</ref>

The 1966 Soviet propaganda drama film ''[[Nobody Wanted to Die]] ({{lang-lt|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 is the best-known film portrayal of the conflict.

* Vardys, V. Stanley (1965). [http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_1_02.htm ''Lithuania Under the Soviets: Portrait of a Nation, 1940–65''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302085809/http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_1_02.htm |date=2012-03-02 }}, F. A. Praeger, New York

* [http://www.spauda.lt/voruta/kronika/chronicl.htm War Chronicle of the Partisans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531080543/http://www.spauda.lt/voruta/kronika/chronicl.htm |date=2012-05-31 }} – Chronicle of Lithuanian partisans, June 1944 – May 1949, prepared by Algis Rupainis