General Povilas Plechavičius
I Wars of Independence, I WW1, Independence of the Baltic States, II WW2
Povilas Plechavičius was born on February 1, 1890, in the Bukončiai farmstead (now Bukančiai), Židikų rural municipality. He was the second child in a large family – he had five brothers and six sisters. His mother, Konstancija Bukontaitė, came from an old Samogitian noble family, and his father, Ignas Plechavičius, was a simple peasant. Although the children were raised in a peasant and pragmatic manner, all of them were given an education.
Having started his education in Lithuania, in 1908 he graduated from the gymnasium in Moscow, in 1911 from the commercial institute, and in 1914 from the Orenburg cavalry military school. Together with his brother Alexander, he voluntarily chose to serve in the cavalry unit of the Russian army. During the First World War, he fought on the Austro-Hungarian front, participated in battles with the German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish armies, and was wounded three times.
In 1918, having returned to Lithuania with his brother Aleksandrs, he became involved in the struggle for independence. At that time, Lithuania was in turmoil – the country was being plundered by soldiers returning from the fronts, Bermontists, Bolsheviks and local criminals. P. Plechavičius formed partisan units in the Seda, Mažeikiai and Telšiai areas. In 1919, he received the authorization of the Minister of Internal Affairs and was appointed commandant of Seda, and later of Mažeikiai city and county.
After the independence struggle, P. Plechavičius was tried for alleged cruel treatment of enemies. In court, he uttered a historic phrase: "Your Honor, if it had not been for me or another person like me, you would not be sitting here today." He was acquitted.
In interwar Lithuania, P. Plechavičius continued his military career: in 1924 he graduated from the Higher Officer Courses in Kaunas, in 1926 – from the Academy of the General Staff of Czechoslovakia. In 1926 he became one of the commanders of the December 17th Coup. After the coup, he held high positions: he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Chief of the Cavalry. In 1929 he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General, but in the same year he was released into the reserve.
During World War II, P. Plechavičius again became a significant figure. In 1944, he founded the Local Squad, which was to defend the territory of Lithuania from Soviet partisans. His call received a huge response - about 20 thousand young men registered. When the Germans tried to transform the squad into SS units, P. Plechavičius resisted and was arrested and sent to the Salaspils concentration camp.
After the war, P. Plechavičius fled to Germany, and in 1949 emigrated to the USA. In Chicago, he actively participated in the activities of the Lithuanian community, and in 1950-1959 he headed the Lithuanian Veterans' Union "Ramovė". He died on December 19, 1973 in Chicago, and was buried in St. Casimir's Cemetery.
For his services to Lithuania, P. Plechavičius was awarded the Orders of the Cross of Vytis, 5th degree (1923) and the Order of Gediminas, 2nd degree (1928), and in 2004 he was posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis.
More information sources
Related timeline
Related objects
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.
Radviliškis windmill
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.
Related stories
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.