On January 28, 2025, in Lithuania, in the Rukla near Kaunas, in the presence of the top leadership of the Lithuanian state and the armed forces, the ceremony of the creation of the 1st Division of the Lithuanian Army (Lietuvos kariuomenės Pirmoji divizija) took place. The division's formation should be completed by the 2030s. Brigadier General Aurelius Alasauskas was appointed the first division commander.
A ceremony in honor of the formation of the 1st Division of the Lithuanian Army. Rukla, 28.01.2025 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania
Officially, the current division inherited the traditions of the 1st Lithuanian Division (Pirmoji Lietuvos divizija), formed in 1775-1777 as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Army, and which ceased to exist along with all the armed forces in 1795 after the third partition of Poland.
The new 1st division included the main units and formations of the Lithuanian army, including the mechanized brigade "Geležinis Vilkas" ("Iron Wolf") with control in Rukla, the infantry brigade "Gemaitija" ("Gemaitija") named after the Great Hetman of Lithuania Jan Karol Hodkevicius with control in Klaipeda, the reserve infantry brigade "Aukštaitija" (Aukstaitia) with headquarters in Vilnius, and a separate engineer battalion named after Colonel Juozas Vitkaus, stationed in Kaunas. The divisional command in Rukla and the communications company located there have now been formed from the divisional units, and a separate rocket and artillery battery is being formed (planned to be equipped with eight combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS missile system) . Subsequently, it is planned to form a separate tank battalion named after King Mindovga (planned to be equipped with 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks ), a reconnaissance battalion, an air defense division, and support units within the division.
A ceremony in honor of the formation of the 1st Division of the Lithuanian Army. Rukla, 28.01.2025 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania
