Battle of Radviliskis in 1919
I Wars of Independence

On November 21–22, 1919, the most important and successful battles of the Lithuanian army took place against the Bermont units, which had been entrenched in the Šiauliai–Radviliškis–Joniškis region since July 1919.

The Battle of Radviliškis began on November 21, 1919 at 3 a.m. Lithuanian forces led by the future Gen. Kazys Ladyga began to surround the city of Šiauliai from the north and south, and at the same time the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment attacked the city of Radviliškis. Bermont troops were entrenched in both cities. The soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Regiment managed to break into the city of Radviliškis and occupy the cemetery, but when reinforcements did not arrive in time, they were forced to retreat to the positions they had held before the attack. At about 9 a.m., the attack began again, but due to strong resistance from the Bermont troops, it was again unsuccessful. The next day, the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Regiment joined the attackers and on November 22, 1919 at 7 a.m., they began the Radviliškis attack, but it also went with difficulty. At the beginning of the attack, the Bermontites were fired upon by an artillery battery, the 7th Company invaded the town, but when reinforcements did not arrive, it was forced to retreat. The 3rd Company, approaching Radviliškis from the west, was stopped. Finally, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment occupied the Radviliškis Manor, and on the evening of November 22, 1919, the 3rd, 7th and 9th Companies invaded Radviliškis, which finally occupied the town.

Having lost the battles and lost Radviliškis, the Bermontites retreated towards Šiauliai. Lithuania received a large amount of war booty, which was taken to Kaunas by a special train. On November 22, 1919, the chairman of the Entente Military Control Commission, Gen. H. Niessel, demanded to stop the offensive and retreat to their previous positions. Having not received support from the Lithuanian government, K. Ladyga ordered a retreat the next day. However, the victory in the Battle of Radviliškis accelerated the Bermontites' withdrawal from Lithuania.