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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century until 1795, when its territory was occupied by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg Empire of Austria.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania included the lands of much of the former Kievan Rus and other neighboring states, including present-day Lithuania, Belarus, most of Ukraine, and parts of Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Moldova. In the 15th century, at its height, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state, with a great variety of languages, religions, and cultural heritage.
World War I (WWI) began on July 28, 1914, and lasted until November 11, 1918. In fact, it was the world's first large-scale war. More than 70 million troops, including 60 million Europeans, participated in the battles. More than 9 million combatants were killed.
Lithuanian descendants took part in this war. Fighting took place directly in the territory formerly part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Several million refugees, hundreds of thousands of dead, a destroyed economy, and as a result, a long and bloody war led to a political crisis and the disintegration of several European empires, on the territory of which new states were formed.
The purpose of this project is to commemorate the natives of territories formerly part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who fought or died during that bloody war.