the situation. It was decided that Skučas should resign and Povilaitis would be immediately dismissed. The Lithuanian Army was ordered to be alert, but no orders were issued regarding mobilization or preparedness. Lithuanian politicians did not fully understand the gravity of the situation and did not think the results would be catastrophic. Urbšys reported that the Soviets strongly disapproved of Merkys and his cabinet; he suggested that a new government be installed, possibly led by Stasys Raštikis, former Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Army. Such suggestion interfered with Lithuania's domestic affairs. Internal crisis While Merkys and Urbšys negotiated in Moscow, the Lithuanian opposition saw an opportunity to unseat the authoritarian regime of Smetona and his Lithuanian National Union. On June 12, the Christian Democrats and the Peasant Popular Union met and decided to ask Kazys Bizauskas and Juozas Audėnas to resign from the cabinet, expecting that these resignations would trigger a government crisis. The opposition saw Soviet pressure as a means of ousting Smetona's regime, restoring democracy, and preserving some form of autonomy. The opposition also hoped to persuade Merkys, who had just returned from Moscow, to resign along with the rest of the cabinet. However, Merkys could not be found—he was apparently resting at his estate near Kaunas. This episode was harshly criticized afterwards as an illustration of several weaknesses in the Lithuanian government: it underestimated the threat posed by the Soviet Union, it was disoriented during the crisis, and its members focused on party interests rather than national priorities. Algirdas Julien Greimas later described the opposition's actions as a "joyful dance next to the corpse of the lost state". Military movements Mobilization of the Red Army had begun before the last round of meetings in Moscow. On June 7, the Army was ordered to prepare for an attack against Lithuania. As of June 5, all Soviet forces in the Baltic region were assigned to command of Semyon Timoshenko, People's Commissar for Defense. The Soviets gathered their forces on Lithuania's eastern border in modern-day Belarus; they consisted of five divisions and supporting units from the 3rd and the 11th Armies. The armies included 221,260 soldiers, operating 1,140 airplanes and 1,513 tanks. Lithuania already housed 18,786 Soviet troops within its territory. At the time the Lithuanian Army comprised 28,005 troops and owned 118 planes. The Soviets readied hospitals for the wounded and prisoner-of-war camps. On June 11, under the command of