Editing Lithuanian Armed Forces (section)

=== Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army ===
[[File:Kiejstut seal 1379.PNG|thumb|Seal of [[Kęstutis|Grand Duke Kęstutis]] from 1379 depicting a grand ducal infantryman]]
The Lithuanian military originates in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Ducal Lithuanian]] Army, active from the 13th century to 1795.<ref name="lt-military-medieval">{{cite web|last1=Gaidys|first1=Arvydas|last2=Knezys|first2=Stasys|last3=Spečiūnas|first3=Vytautas|title=Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės kariuomenė|url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-didziosios-kunigaikstystes-kariuomene/|access-date=2 May 2021|publisher=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija]]|language=lt|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614080458/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-didziosios-kunigaikstystes-kariuomene/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[Union of Lublin]] in 1569, the Lithuanian Army remained equal to the Polish [[Crown Army|Crown army]] in the [[military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] until the [[Third Partition of Poland|Third Partition]] in 1795. The Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army fought in many major battles, such as the [[Battle of Blue Waters]] (1362/63), [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410), [[Battle of Orsha]] (1514) and [[Battle of Kircholm]] (1605).

Similarly to other [[medieval European]] states, the army was [[Pospolite ruszenie|raised by the nobility]] during the Late Middle Ages. By the 17th century, it was mostly outclassed by professional forces and a [[standing army]] was instituted.

==== 13th century ====
From the 12th century's end and into the 13th century, Lithuania frequently went to war against the western and southwestern [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] states, [[Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia|Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia]] and [[Duchy of Masovia]], and also devastated the lands along the [[Daugava]] and elsewhere.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> From the early 1200s, Lithuanians fought against the [[Swordbrothers]], then from 1237 against the [[Livonian Order]], and from the second half of the 13th century's against the State of the Teutonic Order.'''<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />''' Fighting on Lithuania's northern and western frontiers was unceasing, the Lithuanian state expanded southwards and eastwards in the [[Late Middle Ages]].'''<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />''' The Lithuanian army was mobile, as it had to fight on many fronts: the [[State of the Teutonic Order]] to the west, the Livonian Order to the north, the [[Golden Horde]] and its vassal [[Muscovy (Grand Duchy)|Muscovy]] to the east, and the [[Tatars|Tatar]] khanates to the south.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> According to 13th-century sources, Lithuanian soldiers rode horses on military expeditions but fought on foot, arranged in three rows during battles.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The best-armed and most experienced fought in the front, while the least experienced and lightly armed were in the last row.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Furthermore, the Lithuanians were skilled at fighting using spears, especially on horseback. The earliest written mention of such tactics, from 1208, says that Lithuanians on horses threw spears at their enemies.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Šmidtas|first1=Eligijus|date=2019|title=Su kokia kavalerija Lietuva pasitiko kryžiuočius XIII amžiuje?|url=https://www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/article/download/15923/15011|journal=Lietuvos istorijos studijos|publisher=[[Vilnius University Press]]|page=15|access-date=21 June 2021|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727175301/https://www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/article/download/15923/15011/|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal
|last1=Vitkūnas
|first1=Manvydas
|date=2011
|title=Kada lietuviai pradėjo kautis raiti?
|url=https://www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica/article/download/2124/1015/
|journal=Lituanistica
|publisher=[[General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania]] [[Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences]]
|page=59
|access-date=21 June 2021
|archive-date=24 June 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205242/https://www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica/article/download/2124/1015/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Although the Germans initially had superior weaponry in the 13th century, the Lithuanians won the Battles of [[Battle of Saule|Saule]] (1236), [[Battle of Durbe|Durbe]] (1260), [[Battle of Karuse|Karuse]] (1270) and the [[Battle of Aizkraukle|Aizkraukle]] (1279).<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> However they were less successful against enemy fortifications, especially brick castles.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Eventually the front lines stabilised over time, and the one against the Livonian Order more or less followed the modern [[Latvia–Lithuania border]], while the one against the Teutonic Order was close to the [[Nemunas]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /><ref name=":0">
{{Cite web
|title=Nuo seniausių laikų iki XX a. pradžios {{!}} Lietuvos kariuomenė
|url=https://www.kariuomene.lt/kas-mes-esame/istorija/nuo-seniausiu-laiku-iki-xx-a.-pradzios/23525
|url-status=dead
|access-date=2021-10-12
|website=kariuomene.lt
|language=Lithuanian
|archive-date=25 October 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025163121/https://kariuomene.lt/kas-mes-esame/istorija/nuo-seniausiu-laiku-iki-xx-a.-pradzios/23525}}</ref> A castle system fortified the Lithuanian side of the border along the river.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

==== 14th century ====
Over the 14th century, the Teutonic and Livonian orders organised raids into Lithuania.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Lithuanians reciprocated by raiding their respective territories, but the Lithuanian raids were fewer in number.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The Lithuanians won the [[Battle of Medininkai]] (1320), but lost the [[Battle of Strėva]] (1348).<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> More and more, the Teutonic Order destroyed the Lithuanian castle system along the Nemunas and built their own castles near the Lithuanian ones.'''<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />''' As the German and Livonian orders were constantly reinforced by Christian European countries, it became increasingly difficult to defend Lithuania solely by military means.'''<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />''' A new generation of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, [[Jogaila]] and [[Vytautas the Great]], used not only military, but also diplomatic and political means, for example [[Christianization of Lithuania#Christianization by Jogaila and Vytautas|Lithuanian baptism]] in 1387, to protect Lithuania.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

Meanwhile, on the other side of Lithuania, the Golden Horde's army was destroyed in the [[Battle of Blue Waters]] (1362–1363).<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In 1368, 1370, and 1372, the Lithuanian Grand Duke [[Algirdas]] led the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army on military expeditions against Muscovy.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> However, the [[Battle of the Vorskla River|Battle of the Vorksla River]] (1399) was a decisive victory for the Golden Horde.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

<gallery class="center" heights="150px" mode="packed">
File:Jan Matejko, Bitwa pod Grunwaldem.jpg|[[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410) was one of the largest in [[medieval Europe]]
</gallery>

==== 15th century ====
Finally, the German Teutonic Order was crushed in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410) (known as Battle of Žalgiris in Lithuanian historiography), which was the largest Middle Age battle in [[Central and Eastern Europe]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In this key battle, the Lithuanian Army was led by Vytautas the Great.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Under him, the Lithuanian Army attacked the lands of the Republics of [[Pskov Republic|Pskov]], in 1426, and [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]], in 1428.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The Grand Duchy of Lithuania had internal civil wars in the first half of the 15th century.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The Lithuania Army engaged in [[biological warfare]] already in 1422, when it catapulted manure made from infected victims into an opposing [[Bohemia]]n town as part of the [[Hussite Wars]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Flora |first1=S. J. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0K0DwAAQBAJ |title=Handbook on Biological Warfare Preparedness |last2=Pachauri |first2=Vidhu |date=2019-10-05 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-812055-2 |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref> In 1435, [[Sigismund Kęstutaitis]]' army defeated the opposing army, which included troops of the [[Livonian Order]], led by [[Švitrigaila]] in the [[Battle of Wiłkomierz]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

==== 16th century ====
This century was marked by war of Lithuania against Muscovy and the [[Crimean Khanate]], against whom they won the [[Battle of Kletsk]] in 1506.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The strengthening Grand Duchy of Moscow starting in the late 15th century waged [[Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars|unceasing wars]] over Lithuania's eastern territories.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In 1514, during the fourth war, the Lithuanians triumphed over the numerically larger Muscovite army in the famous [[Battle of Orsha]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> However, Lithuania lost a part of its eastern lands, most notably the strategically important fortress of [[Smolensk]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army fought against Muscovy in the [[Livonian War]] and won against the Muscovite army, twice its size in the [[Battle of Ula]] in 1564.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Three years into the Livonian War, the [[Treaty of Vilnius (1561)|Treaty of Vilnius]].<ref name=":0" /> made Livonia part of Lithuania in 1561 with the [[Union of Lublin]] concluded in 1569.<ref name=":0" /> In the late 1570s and early 1580s, the Lithuanian and Polish armies cooperated in Stephen Báthory's [[Stephen Báthory#War with Muscovy|incursions into Russia]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

<gallery class="center" heights="150px" mode="packed">
File:Autor nieznany (malarz z kręgu Lukasa Cranacha Starszego), Bitwa pod Orszą.jpg|The victory of the Polish-Lithuanian forces over the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]] at the [[Battle of Orsha]] in 1514
File:Lithuanian_soldiers_during_the_Battle_of_Žalgiris_reconstruction_3.jpg|Modern reconstruction of the Lithuanian fighters from the 14-15th century
</gallery>

==== 17th century ====
The 17th century was marked by wars against Sweden, the [[Tsardom of Muscovy]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The Lithuanian army and the Polish army fought against the Ottoman forces notably at both Battles of Khotyn in [[Battle of Khotyn (1621)|1621]] and [[Battle of Khotyn (1673)|1673]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> During the [[Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629)|war with Sweden]] from 1600 to 1629, the Lithuanian army defeated Swedish forces three times their number at the [[Battle of Kircholm]] in 1605.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> However, this war highlighted the Commonwealth's difficulty recruiting and retaining enough troops, better arming its soldiers with firearms and bettering their use.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Sweden seized a significant part of Livonia as part of [[Swedish Livonia]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In the first half of the 17th century, Smolensk returned to Lithuania following the [[Smolensk War]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

The Commonwealth's military weakness in the middle and late 17th century was evidenced in the [[Deluge (history)|Deluge]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In 1655, the much-smaller Lithuanian army could not defend the Lithuanian capital of [[Vilnius]] against Muscovite attack.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> This was the first time that Vilnius was occupied by a foreign state.<ref name=":0" /> The Swedish and Muscovite armies occupied large parts of Lithuania.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Nevertheless, Lithuania succeeded in holding out and liberated Vilnius, [[Kaunas]], [[Samogitia]] and the eastern Voivodeships, except for [[Smolensk Voivodeship]] and other parts.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Militarily speaking, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was weakening however.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

==== 18th century ====
[[File:63. Regiment konny dragonów (Leib Dragoner Regiment).JPG|thumb|A soldier and officer of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army's Life Dragoons Regiment, which formed part of the army's Royal Guards (1775)]]

During the [[Great Northern War]] the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army no longer defended the country and the [[Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|Lithuanian magnates]]' private armies supported different sides.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> Throughout the 18th century, many [[Confederation (Poland–Lithuania)|confederations in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] sought different political goals.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> The [[Bar Confederation]] (1768–1772), which happened partly in Lithuania, attempted but failed to stem the increasing influence of Imperial Russia and the [[First partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] followed.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In the face of the possible loss of independence, military reforms in the [[Four Years' Sejm]] (1788–1792) significantly expanded the Lithuanian army, which reached a strength of 17,500.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /><ref name=":0" /> Attempts to make the Commonwealth's armies equal those of neighbouring [[absolute monarchy|absolute monarchies]] were unsuccessful and the unsuccessful [[War of 1792]] resulted in the [[Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Second Partition]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />

The Polish and Lithuanian armies put up a spirited fight against the [[Imperial Russian Army]] and the [[Prussian Army]] in the [[Kościuszko Uprising]].<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In addition to regular forces, many ''ad hoc'' units such as the [[Vilnian National Guard]] also fought, as well as many irregular units.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> In the end, the Uprising was defeated and much of the remainder of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army was lost in the [[Battle of Praga]] on 4 November 1794.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" /> With the uprising defeated, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] ended with the [[Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Third Partition]], and their respective armies being disbanded.<ref name="lt-military-medieval" />