Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 539,939 (806,308 together with Vilnius County) as of 2014. Vilnius is located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the second biggest city of the Baltic states.
Vilnius in The Hot War[]
During the Lithuanian uprising against the Soviet Union that began at the end of World War III, Vilnius was secured quickly by the Red Army. However, the countryside belong to the bandits, and travel outside Vilnius was dangerous. In October, 1952, a Soviet truck convoy carrying supplies from Vilnius to Ukmerge came to grief near the village of Pabaiskas.[1]
Vilnius in The War That Came Early[]
Vilnius was the town of Vilno in Poland at the outbreak of World War II. It had already been a point of contention between Poland and the Soviet Union (who called the town Wilno) before the war broke out in October 1938. Moreover Lithuania also staked a claim, even though they hadn't ruled the town in centuries.[2] In December 1938, Joseph Stalin declared war on Poland in an attempt secure territory previously lost, including Wilno.[3]
By 1939, as the Second World War progressed, the Soviets first targeted Vilno for aerial bombardment, and then succeeded in taking Vilno from Poland.[4]
When the war finally ended in 1944, the Soviets were able to keep Wilno/Vilno. As the Soviets also annexed Lithuania, Stalin declared Vilnius would be attached to the new Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.[5]
References[]
- ↑ Armistice, pgs. 348-353, ebook.
- ↑ West and East, pg. 22, HC.
- ↑ Hitler's War, pg. 194.
- ↑ West and East, pg. 136-138.
- ↑ Last Orders, pg. 344 HC.
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