World War II: As Axis troops began their invasion of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Activist Front started an uprising to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation.

World War II

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles,…

Axis powers

Major alliance of World War II

The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were united…

Operation Barbarossa

1941 Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII

Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a 2,900-kilometer (1,800 mi) front,…

Lithuanian Activist Front

Resistance organization opposing the 1940–41 Soviet annexation of Lithuania

The Lithuanian Activist Front or LAF was a Lithuanian underground resistance organization established in 1940 after the Soviets occupied Lithuania. Its goal was to free Lithuania and regain its independence. The LAF planned and executed the June uprising and established the…

June Uprising in Lithuania

Lithuanian pro-independence and anti-Soviet uprising in June 1941

The June Uprising was a brief period in late June 1941 between the first Soviet and the Nazi occupations.

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)

The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet–Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941.