Partisanship on the Lithuanian-Latvian border

It was cold and rainy November 1946, you wouldn't even know - snow or rain, or gusts of sleet were bothering people. On such days, a partisan detachment led by Liubartas arrived in the village of Vaičėnai. The men stayed near the Ratuokliškis forest, in a small Dratai forest. They planned to provide themselves with clothes and food for the winter, everything that might be needed while wintering in a bunker. It was also necessary to agree with the liaison officers how and through whom contact with the partisans would be maintained.

Early on a wet November morning, Andrius had to lead two partisans from another unit to the Liubartas men's camp. The sight he saw when he brought the men remained in his eyes for a long time.

Lying on the bare ground, the partisans, soaked in sleet, were sleeping, or perhaps just silently suffering the cold night. One of the men lay with the flaps of his half-coat covering his head, his frost-covered chest was visible through his unbuttoned shirt, the second had a machine-gun disc placed under his head, and the third had only his fist under his cheek. You wanted to lean against his frost-covered chest and warm it with your breath, say a kind word, but he stood silently. And when the men rose, none of them complained of either cold or fatigue. There was serious discussion about how to prepare to endure another winter of suffering.

At dusk, they set off on a march to Latvia, where a bunker had already been set up for wintering near Eglainė. However, when the men, exhausted from the night march, approached the bunker and saw the Christmas trees hollowed out by bullets, the forest trampled by soldiers' boots, and even closer to the hiding place - blood, they realized what had happened... Without even resting, they hurried back, away from the disaster. They learned much later what had happened to their friends.

The few partisans remaining in the Eglainė bunker were supposed to wait for Liubartas' men. All the approaches, paths, and signs leading to the bunker were masked. But it started to snow, so the two partisans, hoping that the snow would cover their tracks, left the bunker to breathe in the fresh air and look around. However, the snow suddenly stopped, the first snow was deceptive, and traces remained that even the wisest of them had not noticed. Apparently, the security unit tracked down the bunker based on them. Stasys Kligys (pseudonym - Ąžuolas), who was standing guard, saw that they were surrounded by soldiers. He managed to inform his friends about the danger, but the security officers cut off his legs with an automatic weapon. Several dozen partisans in the bunker realized that they would not be able to withstand the entire unit, and agreed: while some were covering, the others would retreat. Liubartas' brother Bronius Vaičėnas - Sakalas stayed behind to cover the retreating ones. The partisans were retreating, and Bronius Vaičėnas with a machine gun held back the advancing security guards, diverting their attention from the retreating partisans. He held out until the last bullet, and then he himself began to retreat. Then he saw his mortally wounded comrade in the fight for freedom - Stasys Kligis. "Be a man," Stasys begged, "help me die. I won't survive, and I don't want to fall into the hands of the occupiers alive. Help me... I myself no longer have the strength to commit suicide. I don't even have anything to shoot myself with anymore..." The seconds were mercilessly counting down the time, right behind him, it seemed, the curses and shots of the security guards could be heard, and his friend, who was saying goodbye to life, was begging for a last favor with his gaze... Bronius Vaičėnas had aimed his pistol twice and... was unable to do it. "Run, run, if you can't..." the wounded man ordered. And Bronius ran, ran from the eyes that said goodbye to life and told him to live, ran from the pursuers, carrying an already empty machine gun, ran, wounded by two occupier bullets, bleeding. The branches of the fir trees tore at his chest, the wounds bled profusely, his consciousness darkened, but the desire to stay alive was stronger than the pain. He seemed not to feel the pain. The shots from afar were heard fainter and fainter, even the branches became soft, not wounding but caressing. And the earth, neither cold nor wet, fell beneath him, and not a cold breeze shone above him - a sunny dream softly laid him down...

A Latvian found him bleeding, with barely smoldering signs of life. And he dragged the partisan to his house, set up a hiding place behind the stove, provided him with medicine, treated and nursed the helpless, delirious man. “May peace protect your home, good man. Thank you,” the wounded man wanted to say, regaining consciousness, but only moved his lips. “You will live, you will live now,” the Latvian told him. That is how they met. It is a pity that the good Latvian’s last name is unknown: for reasons of conspiracy, the partisans did not publish anything more widely, trying to keep it a secret.

The Latvian nursed Bronius for almost three months, nursing him so well that he had already started to move from house to house. But... Bronius Vaičėnas was unlucky enough to escape from his pursuers. Maybe the blood trail was too wide in the snow, maybe it crept too close to the Latvian's house, but the villagers suspected that the Latvian was sheltering a partisan and began to follow him. During Shrovetide, the "Three Kings" unexpectedly came to the Latvian's house, and then everyone understood who the "kings" were, if they came uninvited. Sensing danger, Bronius, although he was still weak, decided to go look for friends. The host also agreed: they agreed to look for contact with the partisans for three days, and after three days, if they couldn't find anyone, they would meet. If Bronius didn't find the partisans within three days, he would return to the Latvian, maybe the Latvian would have managed to find out something. It was really dangerous to wait any longer. As soon as Bronius left, the next morning several security officers rushed in and broke into the Latvian's house: they ordered no one to leave the house so that they could not send any signal to warn of the partisan danger. The owner goes to get water - and they go together, the owner goes to the barn to feed the animals - and they follow. They kept it like this for three days.

Bronius, not finding his own, returned. He knocked on the window with the agreed signal. The owner was leaning against the wall and could not warn Bronius. Bronius Vaičėnas, not waiting for the danger signal, entered through the open door. As he walked, he collapsed from the bullets of the security officers.