The War is not Over? On the Continuity and Discontinuity between the Great War and the War of Independence as Experienced by the Lithuanian Soldiers

Abstract

Peter Holquist, Roberth Gerwarth and other historians argue that, for Eastern Europe, the Armistice of Compiègne, signed in November 1918, did not mean an end of fighting and violence but a ‘continuation and transformation’ of the world war. However, a precise definition of the viewpoint is important when it comes to continuity. Is it from the perspective of soldiers, civilians or war refugees? For example, many of the Lithuanian veterans of World War I did not fight in the Lithuanian War of Independence from 1919 to 1920. The exceptions included officers, non-commissioned officers, and medical doctors. As a consequence, most of the Lithuanian army in 1920 was comprised of men who had not fought in World War I. In the war experience of the majority of Lithuanian soldiers, the Lithuanian War of Independence was not a continuation of World War I.