The Battle of Lūšė: the victory of twelve rebels over a Soviet train
On June 24, 1941, at Lūšės station in Mažeikiai County, a small group of Lithuanian rebels disarmed a train of Soviet soldiers and freed Lithuanians and Latvian families being transported to Siberia - this became one of the unique episodes of the June 1941 Uprising.
"The prisoners became very nervous when they saw that only 12 men had taken them prisoner," - witnesses tell about the courageous operation of the Lūšė rebels. The rebels, led by reserve lieutenant Henrikas Adamkavičius, having learned about the returning Soviet train with the prisoners, decided to free them. They dismantled the railway tracks, and when the train overturned, they opened fire. There were 3 political leaders, 2 naval officers with ten sailors, 5 land officers with 40 soldiers on the train. The station chief Vincas Blažaitis, although wounded, told the prisoners: "For arresting the rebels and transporting them to be killed, they could be shot, but Lithuanians value human life and will not do that." "As Jonas Gricius' son Petras Gricius, who lives in Mažeikiai, recalls, in 1951 all [participants in the battle] were arrested again and sentenced by a military tribunal to 25 years in a camp," - historical sources testify to the fate of the rebels during the Soviet era.
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Monumental stone in Lūšė
A memorial stone stands at the Lūšė railway crossing, commemorating the events of June 24, 1941, when rebels stopped a Soviet military train and freed Latvians being deported to Siberia.
The June 1941 uprising in the Mažeikiai region began even before the Germans appeared – on June 22, although German troops arrived in the region only on July 3. During this time, the rebels took care of protecting local property and resisted representatives of the Soviet authorities and Red Army soldiers. On June 22, a group of seven fighters gathered in Lūšė, decorated their headquarters with wreaths, raised the tricolor and joined the Pikeliai partisans, helping to neutralize the Soviet guard. After this clash, they took over two light and one heavy machine guns, although two Lūšė fighters were injured during the clash.
On the morning of June 24, a train from Mažeikiai arrived in Lūšė, accompanied by representatives of the Soviet army. They tore down the flag raised by the rebels, and a local Komsomol member, Zubavičiūtė, informed the Soviets about current events.
After this news, border policeman Vincas Dubickas and station chief Vincas Blažaitis were arrested and taken to Liepaja. However, on the way to Priekulė station, Latvians warned about the approaching German units, and the train was forced to return to Lūšė. Informed about this, the rebels, led by reserve lieutenant Henrikas Adamkevičius, together with the Židikiai rebels, dismantled the railway tracks. When the train derailed, the rebels fired on it, and soon the Russian officer surrendered, raising a white flag. During the clash, 16 Soviet soldiers were killed, 8 were wounded, and the rebels lost V. Dubickas and K. Statkus.
Now, at the scene, you can see a fieldstone with a depiction of the rails and a story about this historical event.
