Kazys Ladiga

Kazys Ladiga or Ladyga (6 January 1894 – 19 December 1941) was a Lithuanian general and one of the first volunteer officers of the Lithuanian Army.

Upon graduating from the Military Academy in Vilnius, Ladiga served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and earned the rank of captain. He returned to Lithuania in 1918 and volunteered to the newly formed Lithuanian Army. He was appointed as the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment. Ladiga quickly rose through the ranks and commanded the Vilkmergė Group in the Lithuanian–Soviet War. He also led units in the Lithuanian–Bermontian War (Battle of Radviliškis) and in the Polish–Lithuanian War (Battle of Sejny). After an unsuccessful campaign in September 1920, Ladiga was demoted to commander of the 4th Infantry Division. After the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, he continued military studies in Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. He rose to the rank of a general and briefly served as the Chief of the General Staff in 1925–1926. He was forced to retire from active military duty after the military coup of December 1926.

When Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, Ladiga was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed in December 1941.

Biography Russian Empire Ladiga was born on in near Biržai to a family of farmers. After graduating from a four-year primary school in Biržai, he enrolled at a private gymnasium of Michail Pavlovsky in Vilnius in 1909.