Radviliškis windmill Battle site

The octagonal 4-story wooden mill stands near the outskirts of Radviliškis, in the village of Vaidulių.

The Radviliškis windmill was built in the 19th century. at the end of 1984-1985 - restored. It is said that in 1919 November 22 near the mill, the famous battle of the Lithuanian volunteer army took place with the Bermontinkai, a Russian military unit with a provocative orientation. After the Bermontians captured Radviliškis, an important railway junction, Lithuania's independence was in danger. The 2nd Algird regiment, led by lieutenant colonel V. Grigaliūnas-Glovacki, was entrusted with recapturing Radviliškis.

About 30 Lithuanian soldiers were killed in the battle, but the fighting ended with a Lithuanian victory. According to the volunteers who took part in the fighting, the whole company went out to attack the mill occupied by the Bermonters, the commander armed with a rifle always attacked first, and the others followed his example, so the mill was captured, and Radviliškis was also captured the next evening.

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the battle against the Bermontians, in 1989 a chapel pillar was built near the mill and 70 oak trees were planted. The oak grove was added in 2019 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle.

Although there are versions that the battle itself could have taken place a little further away, at another mill, it was the Radviliškis mill that became the symbol of the battle. Historical reconstructions of the battle took place at the Radviliškis windmill more than once, in 2010 and 2014. the battle was recreated by military history club reenactors from Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland.