259th Lithuanian Police Battalion

259th Lithuanian Police Battalion
Lithuanian: 259-asis lietuvių policijos batalionas
Active	April–July 1944
Country	German-occupied Lithuania
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Ordnungspolizei
Type	Auxiliary police
Commanders
First and only commander	Captain Albinas Lastas

259th Lithuanian Police Battalion (German: Litauische Polizei-Ausbildungs-Bataillon Nr. 259, lit. '259th Lithuanian Police Training Battalion';^[1] Lithuanian: 259-asis lietuvių policijos batalionas) was a Lithuanian auxiliary police battalion formed in April 1944 in Prienai.^[1][2] It was soon disbanded in July of that same year in Tilsit.^[2] The battalion was formed from the soldiers sent by the Training Unit (Mokomoji dalis) and the 3rd Lithuanian Construction Battalion.^[3] The 259th Battalion was the last Lithuanian Police Battalion to be formed.^[4]

The battalion was subordinated to the Ordnungspolizei leader under the SS- und Polizeiführer in Lithuania.^[1] However, the battalion's staffing, enforcing of discipline and economic affairs were taken care of by the LAD liaison officer's headquarters under the Ordungspolizei leader in Lithuania.^[1]

The battalion was stationed in Prienai between 18 April and 11 July 1944, and was then moved to Kaunas.^[3] In Prienai, the soldiers lived in the barracks, were trained and introduced to weapons.^[3]

On June 20, two platoons each from the 1st and 2nd companies fought against Soviet partisans near the Pagaršvys [lt] village in the Prienai parish [lt].^[5] The operation was led by lieutenant Balys Lukošius.^[5] Upon receiving information from a farmer about the whereabouts of the partisans, the companies hurriedly prepared to march.^[5] The policemen were armed with a machine gun and French rifles.^[5] The partisan bunker was encircled.^[5] After noticing the approaching policemen, the partisans opened fire.^[5] Later, as the partisans emerged from their bunker, they attempted to escape into the forest, located about 300 metres away.^[5] In the bunker, the policemen found two killed partisans, two submachine guns and grenades in the bunker.^[5] The Lithuanian casualties of this fight were the 1st company's junior non-commissioned officer (j. psk.) Jonas Chmieliauskas and private Petras Umbrasas.^[5] Private Juozas Skinkys was wounded in the head and was taken to the German military hospital in Kaunas.^[5]

During May and June, desertion rates became massive.^[5] About thirty policemen deserted from the battalion until the beginning of June.^[5] In the first half of July, the battalion was transferred to Kaunas.^[5]

It is known from the orders of the battalion's commander that the battalion, or at least its headquarters, were in Kaunas from July 13 to 25.^[3] As of April 25, the battalion had four companies and a pioneer platoon.^[3]

The soldiers guarded the railway bridge over Nemunas, the meat factory, other companies and barracks located there.^[5] At the end of the month, the battalion retreated to Tilsit.^[5] Along the way, many soldiers left the unit, preferring to remain in Lithuania.^[5] Soon, the battalion was disbanded in Tilsit.^[5]

Some of the battalion's troops were sent to Oldenburg and later Vienna, to work at the airports.^[5] They reached the end of the war in Austria, where they were taken prisoner by the United States Army.^[5]

The battalion's commander was captain Albinas Lastas.^[3] On April 25, junior lieutenant Benjaminas Paulionis, who was the 4th company's commander, was temporarily acting as the battalion's adjutant commander.^[3] It is known that captain Balys Matulevičius served in the battalion, but his position is unknown.^[5]

The 1st company's commander from April 25th was lieutenant Balys Lukošius.^[3] From May 2, it was junior lieutenant Antanas Gelažėla.^[3] In July, the company commander was Lieutenant Albinas Sidaravičius.^[3]

On April 6, lieutenant Antanas Baltrušis, from the 9th Battalion, was appointed the 3rd company's commander, replacing the previous commander, lieutenant Aleksas Grinius, who was sent to the 9th Battalion.^[2] From April 18, the 3rd company's commander was junior lieutenant Kostas Eidukonis.^[5]

As of April 25, the 4th company's commander was junior lieutenant Benjaminas Paulionis.^[3] The 3rd company's commander Eidukonis was also temporarily the 4th company's acting commander on July 8.^[5]

Lieutenant Jonas Kupstas, transferred from the Training Unit, was made the pioneer platoon's commander on May 5, but just two days later he was sent to the Police Battalion "Lietuva".^[5] The pioneer platoon's new commander was junior lieutenant Benediktas Laibėnas.^[5]

• Breslavskienė, Laimutė (August 2010). "Pažyma apie 259-ojo lietuvių policijos mokomojo bataliono fondą Nr. R-670" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos centrinis valstybės archyvas. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
• Bubnys, Arūnas (17 October 2009). "Lietuvių policijos batalionų nuginklavimas ir išformavimas Rytprūsiuose 1944 metais" (PDF). Voruta (in Lithuanian). 20 (686). ISSN 1392-0677.
• Bubnys, Arūnas (2017). Lietuvių policijos batalionai 1941-1945 m. (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras. ISBN 978-609-8037-68-5.