June Uprising in Lithuania

Soviet POWs escorted by German soldiers in Vilnius, June–July 1941

At 3:15 am on June 22, the territory of the Lithuanian SSR was invaded by two advancing German army groups: Army Group North, which took over western and northern Lithuania, and Army Group Centre, which took over most of the Vilnius Region. The Germans amassed some 40 divisions, 700,000 troops, 1,500 tanks, and 1,200 airplanes for the attack on the Lithuanian SSR.[17] The Soviets had about 25 divisions, 400,000 troops, 1,500 tanks, and 1,344 airplanes in the Baltic Military District.[18] 7 rifle and 6 motorized divisions from the 8th and 11th Armies were located within the Lithuanian territory.[17]

The first attacks were carried out by Luftwaffe against airports, airfields, and Lithuanian cities (Kėdainiai, Raseiniai, Karmėlava, Panevėžys, Jurbarkas, Ukmergė, Šiauliai, and others). These attacks claimed the lives of some 4,000 civilians.[18] Most of the Soviet aircraft were destroyed on the ground (322 airplanes were lost in air versus 1,489 destroyed on ground).[18] The Germans rapidly advanced forward encountering only sporadic resistance from the Soviets near Kaltinėnai, Raseiniai, Šiauliai and assistance from the Lithuanians. In the Battle of Raseiniai, the Soviets attempted to mount a counterattack, reinforced by tanks, but suffered heavy losses.[19] Within a week, the Germans sustained 3,362 casualties, but controlled the entirety of Lithuania.[1] Soviet losses were heavy and not known precisely; the estimates put them at 12–15 divisions.[1] The Red Army also lost numerous aircraft, tanks, artillery, and other equipment.[19]

Despite the generally friendly Lithuanian attitude, the Germans carried out several punitive executions. For example, 42 civilians from Ablinga village were murdered in response to German deaths.[20] After two German guards in Alytus were shot by unknown perpetrators, the Nazis shot 42 Lithuanian rebels.[21] The terror in Alytus continued to the next day: the Germans selected men, age 15–50, and executed them in groups of 20–25.[12] More atrocities were carried out by the retreating Red Army. About 4,000 political and criminal prisoners, arrested during the first Soviet occupation, were to be transported to Russia.[22] NKVD organized prisoner massacres in Rainiai, Pravieniškės, Panevėžys. A total of 40 locations of mass killings have been identified in Lithuania.[23] Many others were killed en route to Soviet prisons. The largest such massacre took place near Chervyen in present-day Belarus. A list of NKVD victims in Lithuania, compiled during the Nazi occupation, includes 769 people that did not participate in the uprising.[24]

LAF activists leads the arrested Commissar of the Red Army in Kaunas

LAF activists inspects the deprived T-38 tank from the Red Army in Kaunas

Lithuanian activists in Kaunas on June 25, 1941

Lithuanian rebels leads the disarmed Red Army soldiers in Kaunas

The uprising began in early morning of June 22, 1941, the first day of the war. The main forces of the LAF were concentrated in Kaunas. At 10 am LAF held a meeting in Žaliakalnis, dividing the responsibilities. It was decided that the main goal is not to fight with the Russians, but to secure the city from inside (secure organizations, institutions, enterprises) and declare independence.[25] By the evening of June 22, the Lithuanians controlled the Presidential Palace, post office, telephone and telegraph, radio station and radiophone.[25] Control of the telephone allowed Lithuanians to disconnect all known communist numbers and talk to each other without passwords or codes.[26] The radio station was sabotaged by the Russians, therefore repair works were carried out during the night from June 22 to 23. Spare parts were delivered by medical students, driving an ambulance.[27] Despite fears of inadequate Lithuanian forces guarding the radio, in the morning of June 23, Leonas Prapuolenis read the declaration of Lithuanian independence and the list of members of the Provisional Government. The broadcast was repeated several times in Lithuanian, German, and French.[27]

In the morning of June 23, 1941, the rebels raided Soviet armories in Šančiai,[28] Panemunė, and Vilijampolė.[29] Now armed, Lithuanians spread throughout the city. The Vilijampolė Bridge across the Neris River received special attention from the rebels as they expected the Germans to enter the city using this bridge.[26] When the Lithuanians got to the bridge, it was already wired with explosives. 40 Soviet troops and three armored vehicles protected the bridge and waited for the right moment to detonate.[30] When the Soviets retreated a bit after facing Lithuanian fire, Juozas Savulionis ran to the middle of the bridge, cut the wires, and thus saved it from destruction. On his way back Savulionis was shot and killed by Soviet fire, becoming one of the first victims of the uprising.[30]

The bridges across the Neman River were prematurely destroyed by the retreating Soviets. This forced units of the Red Army in Suvalkija to bypass Kaunas and possibly saved the rebels in the city. The Metalas Factory became the headquarters of the Šančiai rebels, who attempted to stop Russian soldiers from crossing the Neman River by boats or building a pontoon bridge. During these fights about 100 rebels were killed, 100 Soviet troops (including several officers) were taken prisoner,[28] and a large booty of equipment (including three tanks but no one knew how to operate them) was captured.[31] Other groups secured police stations, shops, warehouses, attempted to re-establish general order in the city. The rebels hastily organized their own police and freed some 2,000 political prisoners.[31] They also organized publication of daily Į laisvę (Towards Freedom). Commander of the Red Army's 188th Rifle Division colonel Piotr Ivanov reported to the 11th Army staff that during the retreat of his division through Kaunas "local counterrevolutionaries from the shelters purposefully and severely fired to the Red Army, the flocks suffered heavy losses of soldiers and military equipment".[32][33]

On June 24, 1941, tank units of the Red Army in Jonava were ordered to retake Kaunas. The rebels radioed the Germans for assistance. The units were bombed by Luftwaffe and did not reach the city. It was the first coordinated Lithuanian–German action.[34] The first German scouts, lieutenant Flohret and four privates, entered Kaunas on June 24 and found it in friendly hands.[35] A day later the main forces marched into the city without obstruction and almost in a parade fashion.[36] On June 26, German military command ordered to disband and disarm the rebel groups.[37] Two days later Lithuanian guards and patrols were also relieved of their duties.

According to self-registration in July, there were about 6,000 rebels,[38] spontaneously organized into 26 groups in Kaunas.[39] The largest groups numbered 200–250 men. Total Lithuanian casualties in Kaunas are estimated at 200 dead and 150 wounded.[38]

In Vilnius, LAF (commanded by Vytautas Bulvičius) had been dismantled by Soviet arrests just before the war and Lithuanians formed only a small minority of the city's population.[3] Therefore, the uprising was smaller in scale and started on June 23. The rebels took over the post office, radio station, and other institutions, and hoisted the Lithuanian flag over the Gediminas' Tower. It was relatively easy to take control of Vilnius as most units of the Red Army were located outside the city and retreated rather quickly.[35] The first German units entered the city on June 24. The 7th Panzer Division, commanded by Hans Freiherr von Funck, expected that the Red Army would resist in Vilnius and made plans to bombard the city.[1]

There were about 7,000–8,000 of ethnic Lithuanians in the 29th Rifle Corps, formed after the dissolution of the Lithuanian Army in 1940.[40] The majority of them deserted and started gathering in Vilnius from June 24. The 184th Rifle Division, dislocated near Varėna, was one of the first to face the advancing Germans.[41] Taking advantage of chaos among the Russian officers, Lithuanians managed to separate from the main corps with only few losses and gathered in Vilnius. Only 745 soldiers of the 184th Rifle Division reached Russia.[20] The 179th Rifle Division was ordered to retreat from Pabradė–Švenčionėliai towards Pskov.[41] On June 27, the division crossed the Lithuanian border and Lithuanian soldiers mutinied. At least 120 Lithuanians were killed in various shootouts while attempting to desert. About 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers (out of 6,000) of the 179th Rifle Division reached Nevel.[20] Lithuanians hoped that these deserters would form the core of the new Lithuanian Army; however, the troops were organized into Police Battalions and employed by the Germans for their needs, including perpetrating the Holocaust.[20]

Members of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union in Kruonis requests for more weapons to fight with communists and Russian soldiers who are terrorizing the local residents

The uprising spread to other cities, towns, and villages. Level of the rebel activities varied greatly across Lithuania and the uprising was less organized, more spontaneous and chaotic.[3] Men joined the uprising even though they never heard of the LAF or organized resistance in Kaunas. In most areas the rebels followed the pattern set in Kaunas and Vilnius: take control of local institutions (most importantly, the police) and secure other strategic objects. The rebels also arrested Soviet activists, freed political prisoners, and hoisted the Lithuanian flags.[40] Lack of guns and ammunition was felt almost everywhere; the main way to obtain guns was to disarm surrendered Soviet troops.[42] Most active rebels were in the districts of Švenčionys, Mažeikiai, Panevėžys, and Utena.[2] In some areas, like Šiauliai, there were no noticeable rebel activities.[2] Once Germans entered a settlement they would disarm the rebels. However, some local institutions (police, various committees) de facto established by the rebels were later legalized de jure.[43]

During the Soviet era, the rebels were persecuted and the uprising was censored out of the history books. Memoirs and studies published mainly by Lithuanian-Americans inflated the total number of the Lithuanians activists to 90,000 or 113,000 and casualties to 2,000 or 6,000.[2] After Lithuania regained independence in 1990 and new documents became available, historians have revised the estimates to 16,000–20,000 active participants and 600 casualties.[2] Most of the rebels were young men, between 18 and 25 years old.[35] Soviet losses are estimated at 5,000 men.[3]