Own and alien armies in Kaunas

From the end of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century Kaunas remained outside the war zone, although from the second half of the 16th century Kaunas had the duty of allowing army units to be stationed in the town or its outskirts. After the wars of the middle of the 17th century, Kaunas was exempt from this duty. In the 18th century Swedish and Russian armies marched through Kaunas, and also Lithuania had a permanent army. After the Seven Years' war (1756-1763) a Russian infantry regiment was stationed in Kaunas. In 1776 Russian soldiers were replaced by the 1st National hussar brigade headquarters with a number of brigade soldiers. In 1790 the headquarters of the 3rd infantry regiment of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy were moved to Kaunas. Kaunas townspeople requested that the Lithuanian army stay in the town, although they also complained about army supporting duties. Seemingly the biggest problem was caused by the duty to house the soldiers and officers in the townspeople’s homes, since there were no barracks.

Liudas Glemža

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