January Uprising - Uprising in The Former Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Uprising in The Former Grand Duchy of Lithuania

In Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, northern Ukraine and western Russia the uprising started on February 1, 1863. A coalition government of the Reds and the Whites was formed. It was led by Zygmunt Sierakowski, Antanas Mackevičius and Konstanty Kalinowski. They fully supported their counterparts in Poland and adhered to the same policy.

Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian insurgents were more numerous (up to 30,000 men at the peak of uprising) and a little better armed, but there were 135,000 Russian troops and 6,000 Cossacks in Lithuania and another 45,000 Russian troops in Volhynia. In every major military engagement of the uprising insurgents were outnumbered at least 10 to 1.

During the first 24 hours of the uprising armories across the country were looted, many Russian officials executed on sight. 2 February 1863 saw the start of the first major military engagement of the uprising between Polish peasants (mostly armed with scythe) and a squadron of Russian hussars near Čysta Būda, near Marijampolė. It ended with a massacre of the unprepared peasants. As hope of a short war was present, insurgent groups merged into bigger formations and recruited new personnel.

On 7 April Zygmunt Sierakowski, who was able to recruit and arm 2500 men for the cause, was elected to be the military commander in chief of the reborn PLC. Under his command the peasant army was able to achieve several difficult victories near Raguva on 21 April, Biržai on 2 May, Medeikiai on 7 May. However, tired from a several week long marches and combat, the insurgent army suffered a defeat on 8 May near Gudiškis.