Lithuanian Navy. "Gift Seahorse": conditionally warships of the Lithuanian Navy. How to spend Lithuania's defense budget

The small arms and anti-tank weapons of the Lithuanian army actually meet the specified criterion - soldiers have M-14 and M-16 automatic rifles, Colt and Glock pistols, and even the Javelin anti-tank missile system. But the means of transportation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on the ground are not so good, since most of them are outdated BTR-60, BRDM-2, MT-LB of Soviet production.

Of all the types and branches of the military, the country's naval forces (Navy) are the weakest. Although the republic has strong maritime traditions, the core of the Lithuanian Navy's combat strength is two Hunt-class minesweepers made in Great Britain and several Norwegian (Storm-class) and Danish (Flyvefisken-class) patrol boats. Moreover, none of the ships has missile weapons, although a developed complex of guided missile weapons on board is the main trend of naval forces in the 21st century.

Compared to the Russian Baltic Fleet, this mosquito squadron looks extremely small, however, the main problem is not the number of Lithuanian minesweepers and patrol boats (there are only 12 of them), but their quality.

Let's consider the combat capabilities of Lithuanian warships.

British minesweeper Hunt

Ships of this type began to be built in 1980.

The basic minesweeper with a displacement of 615 tons, a length of 60 meters and a width of 10 meters has a fiberglass hull, a two-shaft power plant (two diesel engines with a total power of 3,800 horsepower) and a speed of about 35 kilometers per hour. Crew - 45 people. For a more complete description, numbers and naval terms cannot be avoided.

The main armament of the minesweeper: one Bofors anti-aircraft gun mount of 40 mm caliber (from the Second World War) and two artillery mounts of 20 mm caliber.

Hunt's radio-electronic weapons include a navigation radar station, the Matilda UAR-1 electronic warfare system, a Type 193M mine-hunting hydroacoustic station, and a second hydroacoustic station - the Mil Cross mine warning system.

To search for mines, the minesweeper carries a team of scuba divers and two mine-neutralizing autonomous underwater vehicles made in France in the late 1980s.

It seems as if the main task of Lithuanian sailors in combat conditions is to practically manually clear the Baltic channel of mines for other NATO members who will come later to the rescue of Lithuania.

Patrol boat Storm

Such ships began to be built 55 years ago. For example, the Lithuanian boat P33 Skalvis (aka the Norwegian Steil P969) was built in 1967; He worked a lot in his native Norwegian Navy and was withdrawn from service in 2000. Shortly after being decommissioned, the Norwegians sold it to a Baltic ally. Note that this is not the oldest Storm type boat in Lithuania.

The boat's displacement is 100 tons, length is 36 meters and width is 6 meters. Two diesel engines with a total power of 6,000 horsepower provide a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour. Crew - 19 people.

These relatively small boats, part of the Norwegian Navy, were armed with Penguin Mk1 anti-ship missiles. Unlike other anti-ship missiles, the Penguins were equipped with an infrared rather than radar guidance system, flew a maximum of 20 kilometers and rarely hit the target.

The boats were sold to Lithuania without missile weapons. And this is understandable, because Storm’s task is to launch a missile strike on enemy ships and then “escape” to the Norwegian fjords. There are no fjords in the Baltic, so there is no need to anger the enemy again.

Storm left only an old 76mm artillery mount and a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. A hydroacoustic station and anti-submarine weapons were initially absent on such boats.

To understand the big picture: by 2000, all 19 Storm boats were withdrawn from the Norwegian Navy, and seven of them (after dismantling the missile weapons) were transferred to Latvia (3 units), Lithuania (3) and Estonia (1). It’s about the same story with the Danish boats Fluvefisken.

The worn-out weapons “from the master's shoulder” reflect the attitude of Brussels towards the Baltic allies. In turn, the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia continue to pretend that everything is going according to plan, “military” money is spent judiciously and “Russian aggression”, including from the sea, will be repelled. “Three wise men in one basin set sail in a thunderstorm”...

Of all the types and branches of the military, the country's naval forces (Navy) are the weakest. Although the republic has strong maritime traditions, the core of the Lithuanian Navy’s combat strength is two Hunt-class minesweepers made in Great Britain and several Norwegian (Storm type) and Danish (Flyvefisken type) patrol boats. Moreover, none of the ships has missile weapons, although a developed complex of guided missile weapons on board is the main trend of naval forces in the 21st century.

Let's consider the combat capabilities of Lithuanian warships.

British minesweeper Hunt

Ships of this type began to be built in 1980.

The main armament of the minesweeper: one Bofors anti-aircraft gun mount of 40 mm caliber (from the Second World War) and two artillery mounts of 20 mm caliber.

To search for mines, the minesweeper carries a team of scuba divers and two mine-neutralizing autonomous underwater vehicles made in France in the late 1980s.

Patrol boat Storm

Storm left only an old 76mm artillery mount and a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. A hydroacoustic station and anti-submarine weapons were initially absent on such boats.

To understand the big picture: by 2000, all 19 Storm boats were withdrawn from the Norwegian Navy, and seven of them (after dismantling the missile weapons) were transferred to Latvia (3 units), Lithuania (3) and Estonia (1). With the Danish boats “Flyvefisken” it’s about the same story.

The worn-out weapons "from the master's shoulder" reflect the attitude of Brussels towards the Baltic allies. In turn, the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia continue to pretend that everything is going according to plan, “military” money is being spent judiciously and “Russian aggression”, including from the sea, will be repelled. “Three wise men in one basin set sail in a thunderstorm”...

Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author.

The Republic of Lithuania spends about 0.8 percent of GDP on defense (almost $344 million in 2012). The country's army, one might say, is weak and poorly equipped and does not have the capacity to mobilize larger forces. The basis of the ground forces is just one infantry brigade. The Lithuanian armed forces cannot defend the country on their own, without the help of the North Atlantic Alliance. But in Lithuania there are volunteer formations that are ready to remember the partisan experience if the enemy suddenly attacks.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of ground forces, navy, air force and special operations forces. They trace their history back to the Lithuanian Army – the Army of the Republic of Lithuania of 1918–1940. Shortly after Germany's surrender in World War I, on November 23, 1918, the authorities of the newly created Republic of Lithuania issued an act on the formation of an army. This day is celebrated as Lithuanian Soldiers' Day.

Three wars in two years

On December 20, 1918, the Chairman of the Council of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, and the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Augustinas Voldemaras, arrived in Germany to receive assistance in the formation of the armed forces. By the end of the year, Germany had paid Lithuania 100 million marks in reparations, which was used to purchase weapons for the army. These were mainly weapons left by German troops in Lithuania. At the end of December 1918, the new Lithuanian government led by Mykolas Slezevices issued an appeal calling for people to voluntarily join the army to defend their homeland. They promised to provide volunteers with land. At the same time, Germany began to form volunteer units in the Baltic states. Units of the 1st German Volunteer Division arrived in Lithuania from Germany in January 1919. All German units, including volunteers, left Lithuania in July 1919.

On March 5, 1919, mobilization into the Lithuanian Army was announced. Its number reached eight thousand by the end of summer. The Lithuanians had to fight against the Red Army, which invaded Lithuania from the east. On January 5, 1919, Soviet troops occupied Vilnius, and on January 15, Siauliai. Lithuanian troops, with the help of a German volunteer corps (10 thousand people), stopped the Red Army at Kėdainai. On February 10, combined German-Lithuanian troops defeated the Soviets at Sheta near Kaunas and forced them to retreat. The Germans fought in Lithuania until the end of May 1919, as the German government was concerned about the advance of the Red Army towards the borders of East Prussia. On April 19, Polish troops drove the troops of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Republic out of Vilnius. By the beginning of October 1919, the Lithuanian army ousted the Red Army from Lithuanian territory. In July - December, the Lithuanians fought against the White Guard Western Russian Army of General Pavel Bermondt-Avalov, which also included German volunteer detachments, and defeated it at Radviliskis in November, and on December 15 ousted the Western Army from the territory of Lithuania.

On July 12, 1920, a peace treaty was signed between Lithuania and Soviet Russia, according to which Moscow recognized Lithuania’s right to Vilnius. This city, occupied by the Red Army in June, was transferred to the control of Lithuanian troops at the end of August after the latter was defeated near Warsaw. In September, fighting began between Polish and Lithuanian troops. On October 7, an armistice agreement was reached in Suwalki through the mediation of the Entente. However, the Lithuanian-Belarusian division of the Polish army under the command of General Lucian Zheligowski, allegedly disobeying the Polish government, broke the resistance of the Lithuanian troops and on October 8 took Vilnius, which in 1923 was annexed to Poland. The fighting between Polish and Lithuanian troops ceased at the end of November 1920.

The events of 1918–1920 in Lithuania are called the War of Independence, which actually breaks down into three wars: the Lithuanian-Soviet, the Lithuanian-Polish and the war against the Western Army. The Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Army from May 7, 1919 was General Sylvestras Zhukauskas (Sylvester Zhukovsky), a former major general of the Russian army (before his appointment as Commander-in-Chief, he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Army). During the War of Independence, the Lithuanian army lost 1,444 killed, more than 2,600 wounded and over 800 missing.

After Lithuania joined the Soviet Union in August 1940, the Lithuanian army was reorganized into the 29th Territorial Rifle Corps of the Red Army. The only training ship of the Lithuanian Navy, "President Smetona", purchased in 1926 from Germany, was transferred to the Soviet Baltic Fleet, where, renamed "Pirmunas" ("Excellent"), then included in the NKVD maritime border guard called "Coral", and with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War it became part of the Baltic Fleet and was used as a patrol ship and minesweeper. On January 11, 1945, by that time renamed the minesweeper T-33, it was sunk by a German submarine or hit a mine off the island of Aegna. Lithuanian military aviation, which by the summer of 1940 had several dozen aircraft (mainly training and reconnaissance obsolete designs), was abolished. Nine ANBO-41, three ANBO-51, and one Gladiator I were transferred to the 29th Corps as part of the 29th Corps Aviation Detachment.

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, almost all Lithuanian officers of the 29th Corps were arrested. With the outbreak of the war, of the 16 thousand Lithuanians who served in the corps, 14 thousand either deserted or took up arms, killing non-Lithuanian commanders and commissars, and rebelled against Soviet power.

The main enemy has been identified

The Lithuanian Army was re-established with the restoration of Lithuanian independence in March 1990 and the formation of the Department of Regional Defense and the first training unit of the armed forces. However, practical measures to create an army followed only after the actual collapse of the USSR in August 1991 and recognition of the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by the union authorities and the government of the Russian Federation in September. On October 10, 1991, the first Minister of Regional Protection was appointed - Audrius Butkevicius, who previously headed the Department of Regional Protection. On December 30, 1991, the first Lithuanian military ranks were awarded.

On January 2, 1992, the Ministry of Regional Defense began its activities and the Lithuanian military aviation was re-established. At the same time, the first call for active military service was announced. On September 1, 1992, the School of Regional Protection opened in Vilnius. Lithuanian army officers are also trained in the USA, Germany, Poland, other NATO countries and Sweden. On November 1, a flotilla of the Lithuanian Navy was created.

On November 19, 1992, the Supreme Council - the Restoration Seimas proclaimed the re-establishment of the Army of the Republic of Lithuania. Continuing the traditions of the army of the interwar period, many battalions of the modern Lithuanian army were given the names of regiments of the 20s and 30s and their symbols. The units of the volunteer forces received the names of partisan districts, into which the Lithuanian partisans who fought against Soviet power in 1944–1957 were divided.

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is the President of Lithuania. The operational management of the armed forces is carried out by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces - a professional military man, whose working body is the Joint Staff. The Ministry of Defense (Ministry of Regional Protection) finances and supplies the armed forces.

On March 29, 2004, Lithuania joined NATO. Its armed forces are integrated with the armed forces of other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The military doctrine of Lithuania was adopted on March 10, 2010. It provides for the conduct of military and peacekeeping operations in cooperation with other NATO members and within the framework of missions undertaken by the North Atlantic Alliance. In the event of a collective defense situation, the Lithuanian armed forces are transferred to NATO command. The doctrine considers as the only threat to Lithuania’s security “unstable states whose documents related to defense and security policies provide for, and allow, military force to carry out military actions directly or indirectly directed against Lithuania or its allies.” This definition primarily means Russia, although this is not directly stated in any Lithuanian documents and our country is not named. In the event of external aggression, “the country’s independent defense and its collective defense together with its allies” are assumed.

On September 15, 2008, conscription for military service was canceled. The last conscripts were transferred to the reserve on July 1, 2009. Since 2009, the armed forces have been staffed exclusively by contract volunteers.

There are 10,640 people in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, including 8,200 in the ground forces, 600 in the navy, 1,200 in aviation, 1,804 in headquarters and services common to all armed forces. 4,600 people are reservists of the ground forces, united in the Volunteer Regional Defense Forces. The male population aged 16 to 49 years old numbered 890 thousand in 2010, of which the number fit for military service is estimated at 669 thousand. Every year, 20,425 men reach the age of 18, at which military service can begin.

Lithuania's military spending amounts to 0.79 percent of GDP. In 2012, they can be valued at $343.65 million at the official exchange rate and at $511.9 billion at purchasing power parity. The lack of financial resources affects the level of equipment of the army with weapons and military equipment and the training of military personnel.

Ground troops

There are 8,200 people, including 3,600 professionals, and 4,600 active reservists from the Volunteer Regional Defense Forces. The professionals are divided into one Iron Wolf brigade (three mechanized infantry battalions and one artillery battalion), three separate mechanized infantry battalions, one engineer battalion and one training center.

The ground forces are armed with 10 BRDM-2 armored vehicles supplied by Poland, about 200 American M113A1 and M113A2 armored personnel carriers and Swedish BV 206 A MT armored personnel carriers.

Artillery is represented by 72 105 mm American M101 howitzers, which were provided by Denmark, and 61 120 mm M-43 mortars, supplied by Poland.

Anti-tank weapons - 10 American FGM-148 Javelin ATGMs mounted on HMMWV wheeled all-terrain vehicles. There are also a number of FGM-148 Javelin ATGMs and 84-mm Swedish Carl Gustav anti-tank grenade launchers.

The air defense systems of the ground forces are represented by American FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS, 10 of which are installed on MTLB armored personnel carriers, and eight on American M113 armored personnel carriers. There are also a number of "Stingers" in a portable version.

4,600 active reservists from the Volunteer Regional Defense Forces are united into six regiments and 36 territorial defense battalions.

Special operations forces consist of one special operations group, which includes a special forces service (group), one Jaeger battalion and a combat diver service (group).

Naval forces

There are about 600 people. Together with the Latvian and Estonian navies, they form the joint force "Baltron", based in Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils, Tallinn and Klaipeda. The headquarters of the joint forces is located in Tallinn. The Lithuanian fleet consists of a division of patrol ships, a division of mine countermeasures ships and a division of auxiliary ships.

The fleet has three Danish Standard Flex 300 patrol boats armed with one 76 mm gun, and one Norwegian Storm patrol boat armed with Penguin anti-ship missiles, one 76 mm and one 40 mm Bofors guns.

There are also two German minesweepers of the Lindau type (type 331), two British minesweepers Skulvis (Hunt type), one Norwegian minelayer of the Vidar type (also used as a control ship).

The Lithuanian Navy is primarily focused on combating mine danger. There are four auxiliary port vessels of Soviet and Danish production.

Air Force

There are 980 military personnel and 190 civilian personnel. They consist of one air defense battalion. The Air Force operates three C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, two L-410 Turbolet transport aircraft and two L-39ZA combat trainer aircraft. All aircraft are made in Czechoslovakia. The helicopter fleet consists of nine Mi-8s. There are several Swedish-made RBS-70 MANPADS. Lithuanian pilots have a fairly decent flight time - 120 hours per year.

Commands serving the needs of all armed forces

The Joint Supply Command has 1,070 personnel. It consists of one supply battalion. The Joint Training and Documentation Command has 734 personnel and consists of one training regiment.

Paramilitary forces of other departments

The Lithuanian Shooting Union is a public organization dedicated to training young people for military service. It has 9,600 people.

The Border Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs numbers 5,000 people. The coast guard service - 540 people, has three Finnish and Swedish-made patrol boats and one British-made Griffon 2000 amphibian.

Lithuanian troops outside the country and foreign allied forces on the territory of Lithuania

There are 236 Lithuanian troops in Afghanistan as part of the international security support force ISAF. There is one Lithuanian military observer in the zone of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict within the framework of the OSCE mission. There are 12 Lithuanian military personnel in Iraq as part of the NATO mission.

As part of the NATO program to protect the airspace of the Baltic countries, Lithuanian airspace is patrolled on a permanent basis by four F-16 fighters from Germany, Holland, Denmark and other NATO countries. In the event of a sudden Russian invasion of Lithuania, other Baltic countries and Poland (although Russia is not directly named in the document, it is obvious that we are talking about it, and not about any aliens), NATO developed a defense plan at the beginning of 2010 Eagle Guardian (“Eagle Defender”), which provides for the transfer to these countries during a period of threat or immediately after the start of aggression of nine divisions of the armies of the United States, Germany, Great Britain and Poland with appropriate air support to the territory of the Baltic states and Poland and the sending of alliance warships to ports of Poland, Germany and the Baltic countries.

In general, the Lithuanian army is not inferior in combat capability to the armies of other Eastern European countries - NATO members, and has the ability to fully take part in peacekeeping operations of the alliance and other international structures with its ground forces. At the same time, the Air Force and Navy are unable to solve the tasks of protecting Lithuanian territory, and in this regard, Lithuania relies entirely on the help of NATO allies. In the event of an attack from Russia, it is assumed that the Lithuanian army will be able to successfully defend itself for at least a week, until reinforcements from other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance arrive, but subject to the provision of air support from the first day of fighting. At the same time, the main hopes are for the Volunteer Regional Defense Forces, ready for partisan actions in the event of enemy occupation.

Banner of the Lithuanian Army. 1918 - 1940

Lithuanian Army ( Lietuvós kariuómenė) began to form in November 1918, mainly from among Lithuanians - former servicemen of the Russian army who found themselves during the First World War of 1914 - 1918. in German captivity and released from it during the occupation of Lithuanian lands by the German army in 1915 - 1918, as well as territorial self-defense units. Volunteers were recruited into the army, but from January 1919 conscription was announced.

In 1919 - 1920 The Lithuanian Army fought against the Red Army of the RSFSR, the Polish Army and the White Western Volunteer Army (Russian and German volunteers). The Lithuanians lost 1,401 people killed during this period, 2,766 wounded and 829 missing.

On January 15, 1923, units of the Lithuanian Army (1078 people) defeated the French garrison in Memel (Klaipeda). The sides lost 12 Lithuanians, two French and one German policeman killed.

Lithuanian soldiers. 1920s

In the period from 1920 to 1938, the Lithuanian-Polish border was closed. From time to time, minor armed conflicts arose there.

Thus, for 20 years after the end of hostilities in 1920, the Lithuanian Army did not conduct any noticeable military operations with the exception of the peaceful entry of its units into the Vilna region in October 1939.

Over time, the Lithuanian Army began to experience a shortage of qualified commanders, and there was clearly a shortage of officers who had gone through military school in the Russian Empire and volunteer officers from Great Britain, Sweden, Germany and the USA. Therefore, the officer corps began to train at military schools of various levels. To obtain a junior officer rank (junior lieutenant ( jaunesnysis leitenantas)) was required to graduate from the Kaunas Military School founded in 1919 ( Kauno karo mokykla). From 1935, preparations continued for three years. By 1940, 15 graduates graduated from this school. The school was headed by Brigadier General Jonas Juodishus ( Jonas Juodišius).

In order to qualify for senior command positions, staff officers (from major and above) were trained at the Officer Courses of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, founded in 1921. Vytauto Didžiojo karininkų kursai). Until 1940, these courses graduated 500 officers. The courses were led by Brigadier General Stasys Dirmantas ( Stasys Dirmantas).

In addition, some Lithuanian staff officers graduated from military academies abroad - mainly in Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

At the Officer Courses of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, there was a department for the training of military pilots.

NCOs were trained in non-commissioned officer schools attached to the regiments. The training course lasted 8 months.

On June 1, 1940 The Lithuanian army numbered 28,005 people - 2,031 civilians and 26,084 military personnel - 1,728 officers, 2,091 petty officers (non-commissioned officers, junior non-commissioned officers, candidates for non-commissioned officers) and 22,265 soldiers.

The structure of the Lithuanian Armed Forces was as follows:

Higher military command. According to the constitution, the head of all the armed forces of the country was the President of the Republic Antanas Smetona ( Antanas Smetona). Under the president there was an advisory body - the Council of National Defense, which included the chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Commander-in-Chief, and the head of the army supply service. Minister of Defense Brigadier General Kasis Musteikis ( Kazys Musteikis) was subordinate directly to the president, he was the head of the armed forces and the manager of the country's military budget, and an advisory body, the Military Council, worked under him.

The Commander-in-Chief was subordinate to the Minister of Defense - until April 22, 1940, he was Divisional General Stasis Rashtikis ( Stasys Raštikis), he was replaced by division general Vincas Vitkauskas ( Vincas Vitkauskas).

The General Staff was subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Army.

Local military command. The territory of Lithuania was divided into three divisional military districts. Their commanders were also commanders of infantry divisions. The following county commandant's offices were subordinate to them: Panevezys, Kėdainiai, Ukmerge, Utenos, Zarasai, Rokiskis, Raseiniai, Kaunas, Trakai, Alytus, Mariampolė, Vilkaviški, Šakiai, Seiniai, Biržai, Šiauliai, Mazeikiai, Telšai, Taurage, Kretinga.

In the Vilnius region, after its annexation to Lithuania in October 1939, there was no time to create commandant’s offices.

Ground Army. The land army of the Republic of Lithuania in peacetime included three infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade, an armored detachment, an air defense unit, two engineering battalions, and a communications battalion.

Infantry divisions consisted of command, three infantry and one artillery regiments.

The infantry regiments consisted of 2-3 battalions, a mounted reconnaissance platoon, an air defense platoon, an engineer, a chemical platoon, a communications company, a battalion had three rifle (three platoons each), one machine-gun (four machine-gun platoons and a platoon of automatic guns) company, and a regiment of 10 - 15 20mm automatic cannons, 10 - 15 mortars, 150 - 200 light and 70 - 100 heavy machine guns.

The artillery regiments consisted of three groups of two cannon and one howitzer battery each, a battery had four guns and two light machine guns, and a total of 24 75 mm cannons and 12 105 mm howitzers in the regiment (exception: 2nd group of the 4th artillery regiment was armed not with 75mm French, but with 18-pound British guns).

In addition to the artillery, the divisions also had a separate Training Artillery Group (300 people) and the 11th Artillery (formerly reserve) Regiment (300 people).

The cavalry brigade consisted of three regiments and was commanded by Brigadier General Kazys Tallat-Kelpsha ( Kazys Tallat-Kelpša ).

Lithuanian cavalry during exercises.

The cavalry brigade existed only nominally and the cavalry regiments were attached to the infantry divisions:

Under the 1st Division: 3rd Dragoon Regiment "Iron Wolf" ( Trečiasis dragūnų Geležinio Vilko pulkas) - 1100 people;

Under the 2nd Division: 1st Hussar Regiment of the Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Prince Jan Radwill ( Pirmasis husarų Lietuvos Didžiojo Etmono Jonušo Radvilos pulkas) - 1028 people;

Under the 3rd Division: 2nd Ulan Regiment of Grand Duchess Biruta ( Antrasis ulonų Lietuvos Kunigaikštienės Birutės pulkas) - 1000 people.

Each cavalry regiment consisted of four saber squadrons, a machine gun squadron, a technical squadron, and a cannon platoon; horse batteries each had 4 76.2 mm guns.
The air defense unit (800 people), created in 1934, included three batteries of three 75mm Vickers-Armstrong anti-aircraft guns, four batteries of 20mm German anti-aircraft guns of the 1928 model, and a searchlight battery.

The armored detachment (500 people) consisted of three tank companies (1st company - 12 French obsolete Renault-17 tanks, 2nd and 3rd companies - 16 new English Vickers-Carden-Lloyd MkIIa tanks each), armored vehicles (six Swedish armored vehicles Landsverk-182).

Lithuanian armored squad on the march. October 1939

The engineering battalions were at the disposal of the army commander.

The 1st battalion (800 people) consisted of three engineering and one training companies;

The 2nd battalion (600 people) consisted of two engineering and one training companies.

The communications battalion (1000 people) served to provide communications to the high military command and consisted of a headquarters communications service, two telephones, two training companies, a dog breeding school and a pigeon post office.

The infantry was armed with rifles of German (Mauser 98-II), Czechoslovakian (Mauser 24), Belgian (Mauser 24/30), Lithuanian (Mauser L - Lithuanian copy of the Belgian rifle) production; German heavy machine guns Maxim 1908 and Maxim 1908/15, Czechoslovak light machine guns Zbrojovka Brno 1926, in total there were approximately 160,000 rifles, 900 heavy and 2,700 light machine guns.
Swiss automatic 20mm Oerlikon cannons were widely used in the Lithuanian Army; even on the Landsverk-181 armored vehicles ordered by Lithuania from Swedish factories, the standard armament was replaced with these guns (this model became known as Landsverk-182). The same gun was installed on a batch of Czechoslovak tanks TNH Prague, which the Lithuanian government ordered and managed to pay for, but did not manage to receive due to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.

The Lithuanian Army had 150 20mm Oerlikon cannons, about 100 Stokes-Brandt 81.4mm mortars made in Sweden, nine English anti-aircraft 75mm Vickers-Armstrong cannons, 100 German anti-aircraft 20mm cannons 2cm Flak.28; field artillery was armed with 114 French 75mm field guns (including three Polish-made 1902/26, interned in September 1939), 70 French 105mm and 2 155mm Schneider howitzers, 12 British 18-pounder (83.8mm) guns , 19 Russian 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns model 1902, as well as a large number of Polish 37 mm Bofors anti-tank guns of 1936, which Lithuania received in 1939 as trophies.

Air Force. In addition to foreign models, the Lithuanian Air Force was armed with ANBO aircraft built by Lithuanian designer Antanas Gustaitis ( Antanas Gustaitis), who at the same time headed the republican Air Force with the rank of brigadier general.

Antanas Gustaitis

Organizationally, aviation included a headquarters, a military aviation commandant's office, fighter, bomber and reconnaissance air groups, a military aviation school, a total of 1,300 people. According to the states, each air group was supposed to have three squadrons, but there were only eight squadrons (117 aircraft and 14 20mm anti-aircraft guns):

Lithuanian military pilots. 1937

Training aviation had ANBO-3, ANBO-5, ANBO-51, ANBO-6 and old German aircraft. In total, the Lithuanian Air Force on January 1, 1940 included:

Training: one Albatross J.II (1919), one Albatross C.XV (1919), one Fokker D.VII (1919), two L.V.G. C-VI (1919), five ANBO-3 (1929-32), four ANBO-5 (1931-32), 10 ANBO-51 (1936-40), three ANBO-6 (1933-34), 10 German Bücker -133 Jungmeister (1938-39), two Avro 626 (1937);

Transport and headquarters two English De Havilland DH-89 Dragon Rapid (1937), 1 Lockheed L-5c Vega Lituanika-2 (1936) - a legendary aircraft that crossed the Atlantic, built in the USA with the money of Lithuanian emigrants.

Fighters 7 Italian Fiat CR.20 (1928), 13 French Devoitin D.501 (1936-37), 14 English Gloster Gladiator MkI (1937);

Bombers and reconnaissance aircraft 14 Italian Ansaldo Aizo A.120 (1928), 16 ANBO-4 (1932-35), 17 ANBO-41 (1937-40), 1 ANBO-8 (1939);

Interned in September 1939 were the Polish bomber PZL-46 Som (1939), German fighters Henschel-126 B-1 and Messerschmitt-109c.

Naval forces. The Lithuanian Navy was weak, which was explained by the short length of its maritime border. Even the former German minesweeper was referred to simply as a “warship” in official documents. The warship was in service " President Smetona", border vessel " Partisanas"and six motor boats.

« President Smetona"was built in 1917 in Germany as a minesweeper and was sold to Lithuania in 1927. It was armed with two 20mm Oerlikon cannons and six machine guns. Crew - 76 people. Was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Protection.

Team " President Smetona" 1935

On " Partisanas“There was one Oerlikon cannon and two machine guns.

The remaining ships were unarmed.

In total, 800 people served in the Lithuanian Navy.

Acquisition. Recruitment was carried out on the basis of universal conscription; conscription age 21.5 years, service life 1.5 years, after active service the conscript was on conditional leave for two years and could be called up by order of the Minister of Defense, then transferred to the 1st category reserve, from where he could be called up only upon mobilization announced by the President. After 10 years, the person liable for military service transferred to the 2nd category reserve.

The conscription was held twice a year - May 1 and November 1; The annual contingent of 20,000 young men was not drafted in its entirety, but only 13,000 people, who were determined by drawing lots; the rest were immediately enrolled in the 1st category reserve.

Wartime army. According to mobilization plans, the army was to consist of six infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades. The deployed division by state included:

Management (127 people);
- three infantry regiments of three battalions each (3,314 people per regiment);
- artillery regiment (1748 people);
- motorized air defense company (167 people);
- engineer battalion (649 people);
- communications battalion (373 people).

In total, the wartime division consisted of 13,006 people.

Mobilization aviation increased to 3,799 people, naval forces - to 2,000 people, 1st and 2nd engineer battalions - to 1,500 people, communications battalion - to 2,081 people, cavalry - to 3,500 people.

A total of about 92,000 soldiers and officers. In addition, separate infantry battalions of 1009 people each were formed. Their number was determined by capabilities and needs.

Paramilitary forces. The Border Guard was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was divided into eight departments (districts). It included 1,800 people, including 1,200 on the border with the USSR.

Lithuanian Riflemen Union ( Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga) was created in 1918 and performed the functions of the National Guard - protecting government property, providing disaster relief, and assisting the police. In wartime, he was required to perform guard duty at important government and military installations, as well as conduct partisan operations behind enemy lines.

Lithuanian arrows. 1938

Every citizen who has reached the age of 16, completed candidate experience and received recommendations from five members of the Union could become a member of the Union. The head of this formation was Colonel Salagius, and the union reported directly to the General Staff. The Riflemen Union was divided into 24 district detachments of varying sizes: from 1000 to 1500 people with 30 to 50 machine guns.

The total strength of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union on June 1, 1940 consisted of 68,000 people, and its arsenal included 30,000 rifles and 700 machine guns of various systems.

Red Army soldiers and Lithuanian military personnel. Autumn 1940

After the inclusion of Lithuania into the USSR on August 17, 1940, the Lithuanian Army was reorganized into the 29th Lithuanian Territorial Rifle Corps of the Red Army (179th and 184th rifle divisions with a cavalry regiment and an aviation squadron). The corps was headed by the former Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Army, Divisional General Vincas Vitkauskas, who received the rank of lieutenant general in the Red Army.

A significant part of the Lithuanian officers were repressed, and the remaining ones were awarded military ranks of the Red Army in December 1941. However, most of these officers and generals were also arrested in early June 1941.

The military personnel retained their previous uniforms, only replacing the Lithuanian insignia with Soviet military symbols.

The corps, part of the 11th Army of the Baltic Military District, took part in battles with the German army in 1941, but was disbanded in August of the same year due to mass desertion.

The tank park of the former Lithuanian Army was lost by the Red Army during the summer battles of 1941 in the Baltic states.

Ship " President Smetona" was included in the Baltic Fleet of the USSR, renamed "Coral" and took part in hostilities during the Second World War. On January 11, 1945, the ship sank after hitting a mine in the Gulf of Finland.

See: Kudryashov I.Yu. The last army of the republic. The Armed Forces of Lithuania on the eve of the occupation of 1940 // Sergeant Magazine. 1996. No. 1.
See: Rutkiewicz J., Kulikow W. Wojsko litewskie 1918 - 1940. Warszawa, 2002.