Memories of the Struggles for Lithuanian Freedom
Povilas Plechavičius – Lithuanian army general, famous for his battles against the Bolsheviks and Bermontites. After returning to Lithuania from Russia on 25 July 1918, P. Plechavičius settled in Samogitia and organized volunteer partisan units to fight against the Bolshevik and Bermontite forces, with whom he fought in the areas of Seda, Mažeikiai, Kretinga and Telšiai.
There was no order in the entire country. The emerging Lithuanian government had no treasury. The situation worsened when the Germans began to withdraw from Lithuania. The Bolshevik army invaded the country.
In the autumn of 1918, I returned to my homeland — to Samogitia — with my brother Aleksandr. Seeing my homeland in danger, I immediately began to organize my army. The work was hard and dangerous. Gangs of bandits robbed farmers and terrorized people. The fight against them began near Židikai. These were small partisan skirmishes, because we did not yet have either soldiers or weapons. The first weapons were brought by the volunteers themselves. Some were purchased from the Germans.
My brother Aleksandar and I went to Liepaja to ask the German General von der Goltz for material support. The General gave us seven soldiers and about the same number of rifles. Having received such support, we felt braver. We established ourselves in Skuodas and organized the first commandant's office there.
When Seda was captured, there were stubborn battles, because the expelled Bolsheviks returned again. I again turned to the Germans, asking for support. They sent one artillery battery and more rifles from Liepaja. Early in the morning we attacked the enemy. Many Bolsheviks fell. Several of us were wounded. The Germans returned to Liepaja. At midnight the Bolsheviks who had arrived from Mažeikiai attacked, but they suffered a heavy blow. I moved the commandant's office to the recaptured Seda.
There were no connections with the center, that is, with the government. I announced a call for volunteers to fight against the Bolsheviks. The young men responded enthusiastically to the call. Now major clashes with the Bolsheviks and bandits had already begun. The Bolsheviks were driven out of Telšiai and Mažeikiai. I appointed my brother Aleksandrs Plechavičius as the commandant of Mažeikiai. But he was quickly removed from there and appointed commandant in Utena, where the battles with the Bolsheviks were taking place.
Around February 16, 1919, a large area was cleared. We celebrated February 16 — the proclamation of the Lithuanian Independence Act — very joyfully, with a parade and a bagpipe orchestra. The participants cried with joy.
The volunteers enthusiastically came in droves. More of them came than we could accommodate. One battalion was sent to the General Staff.
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Former military commandant's office, memorial plaque of General P. Plechavičius
Near the Mažeikiai railway station stands the building of the former Mažeikiai military commandant's office.
The ceramic brick, historicist style building is associated with the establishment of the independent state of Lithuania in 1919. This building housed the military commandant's office, where Lieutenant General Povilas Plechavičius (1890-1973) worked. In 1919, he was the commandant of the Seda-Mažeikiai war, and from 1921, he was a regiment commander, and in 1927-1929, he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The soldiers of the Mažeikiai city and county commandant's office led by General Povilas Plechavičius had to actively defend themselves from the Bermontites. Realizing the seriousness of the attacks, P. Plechavičius addressed the soldiers of the commandant's office with a special order on October 30, 1919 with the following words: "Soldiers of the Mažeikiai commandant's office! Remember our battles, which we won with our enemies in January and other months. Do not be discouraged and remember that you will not die as long as I am with you. We defeated the enemy when he was a hundred times stronger than us, and now we will defeat those herds that want to strangle our Homeland!" Due to the endless attacks of the Bermontites, the commandant's office was forced to move to Seda on November 4, 1919.
A memorial plaque with a portrait of P. Plechavičius is hung on one of the building's facades.
Seda Water Mill
In the town of Seda, on the wall of a mill near the Varduva River, you can see a plaque telling about the Seda Commandant's Office.
The Seda Commandant's Office was established on 10 December 1918 by Povilas Plechavičius, a Lithuanian army general known for his battles against the Bolsheviks and Bermontites. Shortly before, on 25 July 1918, having returned to Lithuania from Russia, P. Plechavičius settled in Samogitia and organised volunteer partisan units to fight against the Bolshevik and Bermontite forces, with whom he fought in the areas of Seda, Mažeikiai, Kretinga and Telšiai.
P. Plechavičius led the coup d'état in Lithuania on December 17, 1926, which brought President Antanas Smetona to power. From 1927, he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
In 1940, after the USSR occupied Lithuania, P. Plechavičius fled to Germany, but returned to Lithuania in 1941. In 1944, P. Plechavičius founded the Local Squad - a Lithuanian volunteer military unit to fight against Soviet partisans and Home Army fighters in Lithuania.
After the Nazis abolished the Local Team, P. Plechavičius was arrested and sent to the Salaspils concentration camp, later taken to present-day Gdansk, then to Klaipėda. As the USSR army approached, he fled to Germany, and in 1949 emigrated to the United States.
Although it is not known exactly where the former commandant's office is located in Seda, in 2019 the location for the commemorative plaque was chosen near the wall of the mill of Colonel Aleksandras Plechavičius, Povilas' brother.
Birthplace of Gen. P. Plechavičius
In the village of Bukančiai, Mažeikiai district, there is a memorial stone on a lawn near a small pond. This stone marks the birthplace of Lithuanian Army General Povilas Plechavičius.
Povilas Plechavičius was a Lithuanian army general, famous for his battles against the Bolsheviks and Bermontists. P. Plechavičius organized volunteer partisan units in Samogitia to fight against the Bolshevik and Bermontist forces, with whom he fought in the Seda, Mažeikiai, Kretinga and Telšiai areas. He led the coup d'état in Lithuania on 17 December 1926, during which President Antanas Smetona came to power. From 1927 he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Army. After the USSR occupied Lithuania in 1940, P. Plechavičius retreated to Germany, but returned to Lithuania in 1941. In 1944, P. Plechavičius founded the Local Squad - a Lithuanian volunteer military unit to fight against Soviet partisans and Home Army fighters in Lithuania.
There is no sign of the general's native homestead, but an information stand in Lithuanian and English has been erected near the memorial stone. Information signs lead from the main road to this place.
