| Abstract [eng] |
The first military doctrine in Lithuania during the interwar period was drafted in 1922. The doctrine is the basic belief on which the state military system is based and where the rules on how to train soldiers and how they must fight are laid down. Having summarised the experience of war and of other operating armed forces and technology innovations, the guidelines for the development, maintenance, armament, planning, education and military training of armed forces in order to ensure national security were provided in the military doctrine. Military doctrine itself can be understo- od as the theory of warfare and its implementation (compliance) in view of rapid time changes – as practice. The preparation, development and imple- mentation of doctrines require one to think about the future, to consider the time issues and opportunities, and to rely on historical experience. During the inter-war period, the Lithuanian Army followed and reflec- ted on the theory of warfare of European countries. Within two decades, almost 150 officers were sent to study in Western European military scho- ols; the majority of them studied in France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. In this way, the traditions and experience of the French military school, with consideration to the specifics of Lithuania, were adopted. In 1934, Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff Kazys Grinius assessed the Blitz- krieg strategy in the Lithuanian military periodicals stating that it was the possibility of industrialised countries, and a small country such as Lithu- ania was able to respond to it by rapid mobilisation involving paramilitary and sports organisations. Having summarised the experience of the fights for Lithuania’s independence and of European warfare, in 1939, Major of the General Staff Vytautas Bulvičius, who prepared a textbook for uni- versity students, comprehensively discussed the theory of Total War by General E.F.W. Ludendorff, the theory of Tank (mechanized) War by Ma- jor General J.F.C. Fuller and the theory of Air War by Major General G. Douhet, and the military capabilities of Lithuania. [...]. |
