Territorial Unit (Lithuania)

A Territorial Unit (Rinktinė) was a type of Lithuanian partisan military unit that existed from the end of 1944 to 1954, who fought against the second Soviet occupation of Lithuania. Instead of destroyed or disintegrated units, new ones were founded, often with different names.

Due to the difficulties of guerrilla warfare, as well as for tactical reasons, the territorial units' boundaries changed, so, depending on the case, they operated in one county, a part of thereof, or several neighboring counties. Sometimes territorial units were transferred from one military district to another. Territorial units, thought not all, published their own press.

Beginning
The first territorial units were formed in Southern and Eastern Lithuania at the end of 1944. At the beginning of the partisan war in Lithuania, some territorial units formed and operated independently (e.g. Perkūnas, Deer, Vytautas in the Tauras military district).

Composition
A territorial unit was made up of several squads, companies, battalions, districts. Most frequently, it included several companies. In turn, several territorial units made up a military district (Apygarda). After the founding of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Union in 1949, a territorial unit was composed of several homelands (Tėvūnija).

Territorial units differed in the number of fighters (from roughly 50 to about 200 people). Sometimes, they were 700-strong. They were active anywhere from several to 8 years.

Command
The military district's commander appointed the territorial unit's commander. The people chosen were either staff officers or distinguished commanders of companies or other formations. Generally, these were Lithuanian army officers and school teachers.

List of territorial units
The following territorial units were active at various times: