Vilna Military District

Vilna Military District was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army. The district was formed in 1862 as part of Russian military reforms and was responsible for parts of modern Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The district was disbanded at the beginning of the First World War in July 1914, and its headquarters were used to form another district farther to the rear.

History

In the Russian Empire, military districts were first formed by Dmitry Milyutin in 1862–64 to replace the pre-existing Military Inspectorates. The military districts were organised to include civilian administration regions of gubernyas and uyezds. The Vilna Military District was created on 6 July 1862. The district headquarters were in Vilna, and were formed from the headquarters of the 1st Army Corps, which it replaced. In 1864, the district opened the Vilna Junker Infantry School to prepare non-commissioned officers.
In 1870, it had the second highest concentration of troops in the military district system after the Warsaw Military District, with 78,180 men. By 1871, the district's troops had been reduced to seven infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade, a demining brigade and four reserve battalions, an organization proposed in 1864. The district commander often simultaneously held the position of Governor-General of Vilna.
On 17 July 1914, just before the beginning of the First World War, martial law was imposed in the district. After the outbreak of the war later that month, the district headquarters became the headquarters of the new Dvinsk Military District. Combat units stationed in the district at the time became part of the new 1st Army, under the command of district commander Paul von Rennenkampf.

Area covered

The Vilna Military District comprised the following gubernyas:

Military units

The following units were based in the Vilna Military District upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914:

Commanders

The district was commanded by the following officers:

Lieutenant General and Adjutant General Vladimir Nazimov
General of Infantry Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov
Adjutant General, Engineer General Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann
Adjutant General, Lieutenant General Eduard Trofimovich Baranov
Adjutant General, Lieutenant General Alexander Lvovich Potapov
Lieutenant General Pyotr Albedinsky
General of engineers Eduard Totleben
General of infantry Alexander Nikitin
General of infantry Nikolay Ganetsky
General of infantry and Adjutant General Vitaly Trotsky
General of infantry Alexander Gurchin
General of infantry Oskar Grippenberg
General of infantry Alexander Freze
Lieutenant General Konstantin Krzhivitsky
Lieutenant General Sergei Gershelman
Lieutenant General Fyodor Martson
General of cavalry and Adjutant General Paul von Rennenkampff

Commanders of the Dvinsk Military District

General of Infantry Alexei Evgrafovich Churin
Engineer-general Prince Nikolai Evseevich Tumanov
Infantry General Dmitry Petrovich Zuyev