In July 1941, in Belarus, a partisan detachment under the command of the deputy head of the 1st department of the secret political department was actively operating behind enemy lines. NKGB Belarus N. Morozkina, who had complete information about everything that was happening in the occupied territories.
The detachment was in the Bobruisk area for a long time. These were mainly NKGB operatives, NKVD and police officers. On July 22, 1941, it was reported that the detachment consisted of 74 people, including many employees of the Bobruisk city department of the NKVD, under the command of a senior lieutenant of state security Zalogina who made the first sabotage operations: blew up bridges near Gomel and on the Slutsk highway.
By July 8, 15 partisan detachments were formed in the Pinsk region. They were led by Soviet leaders and security officers. One of them - Korzh V.Z.- became a Hero Soviet Union. 12 detachments were commanded by NKVD workers - heads of regional departments and their deputies, the head of the passport department of the police, and operational workers. These people knew very well the local situation, the personnel of the agents, and had a good idea of the anti-Soviet element that had taken the path of cooperation with the enemy.
When selecting partisan detachment commanders, their past activities were first taken into account. First of all, commanders with combat experience were appointed. N. Prokopyuk, S. Vaupshasov, K. Orlovsky- all of them not only participated in the partisan war against the White Poles in the 20s, but also fought in Spain. Was in reserve large group, who fought in Far East. Practically, the repressions of the late 30s did not affect specialists in sabotage equipment and instruments. Everyone was actively involved.
In October 1941, the troops under the Special Group of the NKVD were reorganized into the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade for Special Purposes (OMSBON) of the NKVD of the USSR, consisting of two motorized rifle regiments: a four-battalion and a three-battalion with special units(sapper-demolition company, auto company, communications company, special forces, school for junior command personnel and specialists).
The brigade was assigned the following tasks: providing assistance to the Red Army by means of reconnaissance, sabotage, military engineering and combat operations; promoting the development of a mass partisan movement; disorganization of the fascist rear, disabling enemy communications, communication lines and other objects; implementation of strategic, tactical and human intelligence; conducting counterintelligence operations.
Already in the summer of 1941, the command OMSBON began forming and moving behind enemy lines first detachments and groups. They, along with reconnaissance and sabotage units, were tasked with collecting detailed and qualified information about the specific situation in the occupied territory; about the policy of the occupation authorities; about the system of protecting the rear of Hitler's troops; about the development of the partisan movement and the struggle of the underground, about the nature of the assistance they need.
The first detachments of the OMSBON were called upon to establish contacts with the partisans, establish their connection with Moscow, facilitate the formation of new detachments and intensify the fighting of the partisans. They also had to create local bases for the deployment of the activities of OMSBON detachments; test in practice the effectiveness of the tactics and methods of combat proposed by the command in enemy rear conditions, identify new opportunities for their development; to accumulate certain experience that would be taken into service by those detachments and groups that, following them, would be sent behind enemy lines. The first units to leave in the summer of 1941 were D. Medvedeva, A. Flegontova, V. Zuenko, Y. Kumachenko.
In November 1941, an event occurred that played an important role in all subsequent combat activities of the Bryansk and Kaluga partisans: in the area of the city of Lyudinovo he appeared under the command of the legendary state security captain, subsequently famous writer Dmitry Nikolaevich Medvedev.
Only a few initiates knew then that this was not an ordinary detachment, of which hundreds and thousands were already operating in the occupied territory, but a reconnaissance and sabotage residency (RDR) No. 4/70 A special group under the People's Commissar of the NKVD of the USSR, sent to the German rear with special tasks.
The Mitya detachment crossed the front line in September with only thirty-three people, but very quickly grew to several hundred soldiers and commanders due to the encirclement that joined it, Red Army soldiers who escaped from captivity and local residents. At the same time, D.N. Medvedev “spun off” several subsidiary detachments from “Mitya”, appointing commanders and chiefs of staff who had proven themselves well in battle.
Unlike many local detachments, “Mitya” conducted active combat, sabotage and reconnaissance activities. Its fighters almost daily attacked enemy garrisons and convoys, burned and blew up bridges, warehouses, communications centers, destroyed manpower, in particular, they even killed two German generals. What is very important is that wherever Medvedev appeared, he certainly met with the commanders of local detachments and helped them practical advice, sometimes with ammunition and weapons, when required, he strengthened the command staff, and, finally (which was a novelty at this stage of the guerrilla war), he coordinated their activities to conduct joint operations, which significantly increased the effectiveness of combat operations. Behind short term- just a few weeks - Medvedev D.N. intensified the activities of about twenty local detachments.
The groups thrown behind enemy lines usually numbered 30-50 people. But after the very first operations, they quickly grew due to the local population and military personnel emerging from encirclement, and turned into powerful partisan detachments and formations. Yes, squad "Elusive", led by Prudnikov from a task force of 28 people, by the summer of 1944 it had grown into a powerful formation of more than 3000 partisan
Sent to the Smolensk region to organize partisan work Flegontov A.K. Already on August 16, 1941, he reported to P.A. Sudoplatov. radio telegram that in the Smolensk region, under his leadership, there are 4 partisan detachments of 174 people.
January 8, 1942 to carry out large-scale reconnaissance and sabotage work behind the front against Germany and its allies both on Soviet territory and in the occupied countries of Europe, in the Far and Middle East, as well as to assist Soviet and party bodies in the organization and combat activities of partisans detachments and sabotage groups behind enemy lines, the 2nd Department of the NKVD of the USSR was transformed into the 4th Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR.
Now a little about the activities in the field of guerrilla warfare of army intelligence. In August 1941, a special-purpose military unit with the code number was created under the intelligence department of the Western Front headquarters 99032 . It was headed by Arthur Karlovich Sprogis, who had rich security experience. At that time, there were cases when security officers were sent to serve in the Intelligence Directorate (since 1942, the Main Intelligence Directorate - GRU) of the General Staff of the Red Army.
Military unit 9903 was formed from career intelligence officers, from officers and sergeants of the active army who particularly distinguished themselves in battle, as well as from volunteers trained in special courses. Usually, Sprogis he himself selected, instructed, and often personally accompanied individual scouts behind enemy lines in order to orient them on the spot and direct them to the necessary objects.
The selection of volunteers for partisan reconnaissance was strictly individual and uncompromising. They took care not only of their equipment, weapons and equipment, but also of the moral and physical training of the fighters, the selection of experienced commanders and mentors. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Vera Voloshina, Elena Kolesova and others were fighters of unit 9903.
Korzh Vasily Zakharovich, 01/01/1899 - 05/05/1967, Major General (1943), Hero of the Soviet Union (08/15/1944), Belarusian, born in the village of Khorostov (now Soligorsk district, Minsk region) in a peasant family. He graduated from a rural school. In 1921-1925. - in the partisan detachment of K.P. Orlovsky, operating in Western Belarus. Since 1925 - chairman of collective farms in the regions of the Minsk District. In 1931-1936. - in the bodies of the GPU-NKVD of the BSSR.
In 1936 - commander of an international partisan detachment in Spain. In 1939-1940 - director of the grain farm in Krasnodar region. Since 1940, head of the sector of the Pinsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party (b)B. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he formed and led one of the first partisan detachments in Belarus. In the fall of 1941, together with other partisan detachments, he made a raid in the Minsk and Polesie regions. Korzh V.Z. - commander of the Pinsk partisan unit. Graduated Military Academy General Staff (1946). Since 1946 in reserve. In 1949-1953 - Deputy Minister of Forestry of the BSSR. In 1953-1963 - Chairman of the collective farm "Partizansky Krai" in Soligorsk district.
Commander of the partisan unit Prokopyuk N.A.
Prokopyuk Nikolai Arkhipovich, 06/07/1902-06/11/1975, colonel (1948), Hero of the Soviet Union (11/5/1944), Ukrainian, born in Volyn in the village. Males from Kamenets-Podolsk province in a large family of a carpenter. After graduating from parochial school, he worked as a farm laborer for a landowner. In 1916, he passed exams as an external student for 6 classes of a men's gymnasium. After the revolution, he worked at a factory in the metalworking and turning shops. In 1918, he voluntarily joined the plant’s armed squad.
In 1919 he took part in the uprising against the White Poles, then fought in the Red Army in the 8th division of the Chervonnye Cossacks. In 1921 he was sent to work in the state security agencies. In 1924-1931 served in Slavutsk, then in Mogilev border detachments. In 1935 Prokopyuk N.A. was enrolled in the apparatus of the INO GUGB NKVD USSR. In 1937 he was sent as resident assistant to Barcelona. Participant in the war in Spain. At the end of the summer of 1941, he was sent through the Special Group of the NKVD of the USSR to a partisan detachment.
In August 1942, Prokopyuk was thrown behind enemy lines at the head of the operational group of the 4th directorate “Okhotnik”, on the basis of which he created a partisan unit that operated on the territory of Ukraine, Poland, Czechoslovakia and carried out 23 major combat operations. The fighters of the formation destroyed 21 echelons of enemy personnel and equipment, disabled 38 German tanks, captured a lot of weapons and ammunition. Thanks to the detachment's intelligence, long-range aviation of the Red Army carried out a number of successful air raids on enemy military targets.
Vaupshasov S.A. - commander of a partisan detachment
Vaupshasov Stanislav Alekseevich, 15(27).07.1899-19.11.1976, colonel, Hero of the Soviet Union (5.11.1944), Lithuanian. Real name Vaupshas, born in the village. Gruzdziai, Siauliai district, Kovno province, in a working-class family. Labor activity started as a farm laborer in his native village. From 1914 he lived in Moscow, worked as a digger and a fitter at the Provodnik plant. From 1918 in the Red Guard, then in the Red Army.
He fought first on the Southern Front, then against the troops of General Dutov and the White Czechs, then on the Western Front. From 1920 to 1925 he was in underground work along the so-called line. “active reconnaissance” of the Red Army Intelligence Service in the western regions of Belarus occupied by Poland. Organizer and commander of partisan detachments. For work in Belarus Vaupshasov S.A. was awarded an honorary weapon and the Order of the Red Banner.
After the curtailment of “active reconnaissance” he was recalled to the USSR. Since 1925 he was in administrative and economic work in Moscow. In 1927 he graduated from the Red Army Command Staff Course. In the 1930s he worked in the GPU of Belarus, as a site manager in the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal. In 1937-1939 Vaupshasov S.A. was on a business trip to Spain as a senior adviser at the headquarters of the 14th Partisan Corps of the Republican Army for reconnaissance and sabotage operations (under the pseudonyms Sharov and “Comrade Alfred”).
After the defeat of the republic, risking his life, he removed the republican archives. Since 1939 - in the central apparatus of the NKVD of the USSR. During Soviet-Finnish war 1939-1940 participated in the formation of reconnaissance and sabotage groups. Awarded with a personalized weapon. In 1940 he joined the CPSU(b). In 1940-1941 on an intelligence mission abroad in Finland and Sweden.
After returning to the USSR, he was sent to the disposal of the Special Group - the 2nd Department of the NKVD of the USSR. From September 1941 - commander of the OMSBON battalion of the NKVD of the USSR, took part in the battle of Moscow. From March 1942 to July 1944, under the pseudonym Gradov, he was the commander of the partisan detachment of the NKGB of the USSR “Local”, operating in the Minsk region. During his stay behind enemy lines with a partisan unit under the command of S.A. Vaupshasov. Over 14 thousand German soldiers and officers were killed, 57 major acts of sabotage were committed. Among them was the explosion of the SD canteen, as a result of which several dozen high-ranking German officers were killed.
In 1945 he worked in the central office of the NKGB in Moscow. In August 1945, he took part in military operations against Japan, then became the head of the NKGB task force for clearing the rear in Manchuria. Since December 1946, head of the intelligence department of the MGB of the Lithuanian SSR. Participated in the liquidation of anti-Soviet armed groups in Lithuania. In 1954 he was transferred to the reserve.
Commander of the partisan detachment Orlovsky K.P.
Orlovsky Kirill Prokofievich, 01/18/30/1895-1968, colonel, Hero of the Soviet Union (09/20/1943), Hero Socialist Labor(1965), Belarusian, born in the village. Myshkovichi in a peasant family. In 1906 he entered the Popovshchina parish school, from which he graduated in 1910. In 1915 he was drafted into the army. He served first in the 251st reserve infantry regiment as a private, and from 1917 as a non-commissioned officer, commander of the 65th engineer platoon rifle regiment on the Western Front. In January 1918, Orlovsky K.P. demobilized from the army and returned to his native village of Myshkovichi.
In December 1918 - May 1919 he worked in the Bobruisk Cheka. From May 1919 to May 1920 he studied at the 1st Moscow Infantry Command Course, while at the same time, as a cadet, he took part in battles against Yudenich’s troops in the Soviet-Polish War. From May 1920 to May 1925, he led partisan detachments in Western Belarus through the “active reconnaissance” of the Red Army Intelligence Department. Under the leadership of Orlovsky K.P. Several dozen military operations were carried out, as a result of which over 100 Polish gendarmes and landowners were destroyed.
After returning to the USSR, Orlovsky K.P. studied at the Communist University of National Minorities of the West. Markhlevsky, who graduated in 1930. Then, for five years, he worked on the selection and training of partisan personnel through the Special Department of the NKVD of the BSSR. In 1937-1938 carried out special tasks along the Soviet line foreign intelligence during the war with the Nazis in Spain. From January 1938 to February 1939 - student of special courses of the NKVD in Moscow. Since 1939 Orlovsky K.P. - Assistant Director of the Agricultural Institute in Chkalov (now Orenburg).
Since 1940 - again in the state security agencies. From March 1941 to May 1942 he was on a business trip abroad through the NKVD in China. After returning to the USSR, Orlovsky K.P. - in the 4th Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR. On October 27, 1942, he was sent with a group of paratroopers behind enemy lines in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha region, participated in the organization of partisan detachments and himself led the special-purpose detachment “Falcons”. In February 1943, during the operation to destroy the Deputy Gauleiter of Belarus F. Fens, Orlovsky was seriously wounded, his right arm was torn off.
From August 1943 to December 1944 - in the NKGB of Belarus, then retired for health reasons. Hero of the Soviet Union (09/20/1943). Hero of Socialist Labor (1965). He was awarded five Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the BSSR (1932), and many medals.
Prudnikov M.S. - commander of a partisan brigade
Prudnikov Mikhail Sidorovich, 04/15/1913 - 04/27/1995, Hero of the Soviet Union (1944), Major General (1970), Russian, born in the village. Novopokrovka of the Tomsk province (now Izhmorsky district of the Kemerovo region) in a peasant family. In 1931 he was drafted into the army and served as a Red Army soldier in the 15th Alma-Ata regiment of the OGPU troops. In 1933 he was sent to study at the 2nd Kharkov Border School, after graduating he was appointed commandant of the school. In 1940-1941 - cadet of the High School of the NKVD of the USSR in Moscow.
Since July 1941 Prudnikov M.S. - commander of a machine gun company, then commander of the OMSBON battalion. Participated in the battles for Moscow. From February 1942 to May 1943 - commander task force, and then the partisan brigade “Elusive” behind German lines.
Eitingon N.I.
Eitingon Naum Isaakovich, December 6, 1899-1981, Major General (1945), Jew, born in the city of Shklov, Mogilev province, into the family of a paper mill clerk. He graduated from 7 classes of the Mogilev Commercial School. In the spring of 1920, by decision of the Gomel Provincial Committee of the RCP (b), he was sent to work in the bodies of the Cheka. In October 1925, after completing his studies, he enrolled in the INO OGPU and in the same year was sent as a resident of foreign intelligence in Shanghai.
In 1936, after the start Civil War In Spain, Eitingon, under the name of Leonid Aleksandrovich Kotov, was sent to Madrid as deputy resident of the NKVD and chief security adviser to the republican government.
From 08/20/42 - Deputy Head of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD/NKGB of the USSR. Along with Sudoplatov P.A. Eitingon was one of the organizers of the partisan movement and reconnaissance and sabotage work in the occupied territory of the USSR, and later in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, and played a leading role in conducting the legendary operational radio games against German intelligence “Monastery” and “Berezin”.
For performing special tasks during the Great Patriotic War N.I. Eitingon was awarded the military orders of Suvorov 2nd degree and Alexander Nevsky. After the end of the war, he took an active part in the development and implementation of intelligence combinations to eliminate Polish and Lithuanian nationalist gangs. On July 21, 1953, he was arrested in connection with the “case.”
In 1957 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. From March 1957 he served his sentence in Vladimir prison. In 1964 he was released. Since 1965 - senior editor of the publishing house " International relationships" In 1981, he died in the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital from a stomach ulcer, and only in April 1992 did his posthumous rehabilitation follow. Awarded with orders: Lenin (1941), Suvorov 2nd degree (1944), Alexander Nevsky, two Red Banners (1927 - for work in China; 1936 - in Spain), medals.
Based on materials from the book by A. Popov “NKVD Special Forces Behind Enemy Lines”, M., “Yauza”, “Eksmo”, 2013.
Let us first give a list of the largest partisan formations and their leaders. Here is the list:
Chernigov-Volyn partisan formation Major General A.F. Fedorov
Gomel partisan unit Major General I.P. Kozhar
partisan unit Major General V.Z. Korzh
partisan unit Major General M.I. Naumov
partisan unit Major General A.N. Saburov
partisan brigade Major General M.I.Duka
Ukrainian partisan division Major General P.P. Vershigora
Rivne partisan unit Colonel V.A. Begma
Ukrainian headquarters of the partisan movement, Major General V.A. Andreev
In this work we will limit ourselves to considering the action of some of them.
Sumy partisan unit. Major General S.A. Kovpak
Leader of the Kovpak movement, Soviet state and public figure, one of the organizers of the partisan movement, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (18.5.1942 and 4.1.1944), major general (1943). Member of the CPSU since 1919. Born into the family of a poor peasant. Participant in the Civil War 1918-20: led a partisan detachment that fought in Ukraine against the German occupiers together with the detachments of A. Ya. Parkhomenko, fought against Denikin’s troops; participated in battles on the Eastern Front as part of the 25th Chapaev Division and on the Southern Front against Wrangel's troops. In 1921-26 he was a military commissar in a number of cities in the Ekaterinoslav province. In 1937-41 he was the chairman of the Putivl city executive committee of the Sumy region. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Kovpak was the commander of the Putivl partisan detachment, then a formation of partisan detachments of the Sumy region, a member of the illegal Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine. In 1941-42, Kovpak's unit carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, in 1942-43 - a raid from the Bryansk forests on Right Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhitomir and Kiev regions ; in 1943 - Carpathian raid. The Sumy partisan unit under the command of Kovpak fought in the rear of the Nazi troops for more than 10 thousand km. , defeated enemy garrisons in 39 settlements. Kovpak's raids played a big role in the development of the partisan movement against the Nazi occupiers. In January 1944, the Sumy unit was renamed the 1st Ukrainian Partisan Division named after Kovpak. Awarded 4 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov 1st degree, Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree, orders of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Poland, as well as medals.
At the beginning of July 1941, the formation of partisan detachments and underground groups began in Putivl. One partisan detachment under the command of S.A. Kovpak was supposed to operate in the Spadshchansky forest, another, commanded by S.V. Rudnev, in the Novoslobodsky forest, the third, led by S.F. Kirilenko, in the Maritsa tract. In October of the same year, at a general detachment meeting, it was decided to unite into a single Putivl partisan detachment. The commander of the united detachment was S.A. Kovpak, the commissar was S.V. Rudnev, and the chief of staff was G.Ya. Bazyma. By the end of 1941, there were only 73 people in the detachment, and by mid-1942 there were already more than a thousand. Small and large partisan detachments from other places came to Kovpak. Gradually, a union of people's avengers of the Sumy region was born. On May 26, 1942, the Kovpaks liberated Putivl and held it for two days. And in October, having broken through the enemy blockade created around the Bryansk Forest, a formation of partisan detachments launched a raid on the right bank of the Dnieper. In a month, the Kovpakov soldiers covered 750 km. Behind enemy lines through Sumy, Chernigov, Gomel, Kyiv, Zhitomir regions. 26 bridges, 2 trains with fascist manpower and equipment were blown up, 5 armored cars and 17 vehicles were destroyed. During the period of its second raid - from July to October 1943 - the formation of partisan detachments covered four thousand kilometers in battle. The partisans disabled the main oil refineries, oil storage facilities, oil rigs and oil pipelines located in the area of Drohobych and Ivano-Frankivsk. The newspaper “Pravda Ukrainy” wrote: “Telegrams were flying from Germany: catch Kovpak, lock his troops in the mountains. Twenty-five times a ring of punitive forces closed around the areas occupied by the partisan general, and the same number of times he escaped unharmed.”
Being in a difficult situation and waging fierce battles, the Kovpakovites fought their way out of their last encirclement shortly before the liberation of Ukraine.
4 .2 Chernigov-Volyn partisan formation Major General A.F. Fedorov
This year, Ukraine at the state level celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary partisan commander, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Alexei Fedorovich Fedorov.
Alexey Fedorov, a native of the Yekaterinoslav region (now the Dnepropetrovsk region), served in the red cavalry during the Civil War and took part in battles with Tyutyunnyk’s gang. Then he received an education and worked in trade union and party bodies in Ukraine.
The Great Patriotic War found A.F. Fedorov in the post of first secretary of the Chernigov regional committee of the CP(b)U. After the occupation of the Chernigov region by the Germans, the regional committee continued its work underground, and the first secretary headed the headquarters of the partisan movement. On the initiative of Alexei Fedorov, five partisan detachments based in the north of the Chernihiv region were united into a single regional detachment.
Over time, the famous Chernigov-Volyn unit grew out of it, whose bold actions became one of the brightest pages of the partisan movement. In early spring 1943, by order of the Ukrainian headquarters of the partisan movement, Major General Fedorov led his formation on a raid on Volyn. Thus began Operation Kovel Knot, which military historians call “the pinnacle of General Fedorov’s partisan art.”
Soviet intelligence established that for the summer campaign of 1943 the Germans were preparing a powerful offensive operation “Citadel” on the Kursk Bulge. In order to disrupt the supply routes for the Nazi troops, the Soviet command decided to launch a large-scale “rail war” behind enemy lines.
The partisan unit of A.F. Fedorov received the task of operating in the area of the Kovel railway junction, through which a significant part of the cargo for German group armies "Center".
In July 1943, five sabotage battalions began fighting enemy trains on the routes leaving Kovel.
On some days, the formation's demolitions destroyed two or three enemy echelons. The strategic node was paralyzed.
During the ten months of the Kovel operation, the partisans under the command of A.F. Fedorov derailed 549 trains with ammunition, fuel, military equipment and enemy manpower, while destroying about ten thousand invaders. For Operation Kovel Knot, Alexey Fedorov received the second Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
After the war, A.F. Fedorov headed the Izmail, Kherson and Zhitomir regional party committees, worked as the Minister of Social Security of the Ukrainian SSR, and was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR and the USSR.
Guerrilla movement during the Great Patriotic War it was widespread. Thousands of residents of the occupied territories joined the partisans in order to fight the invader. Their courage and coordinated actions against the enemy made it possible to significantly weaken him, which influenced the course of the war and brought a great victory to the Soviet Union.
The partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was a mass phenomenon in the territory of the USSR occupied by Nazi Germany, which was characterized by the struggle of people living in the occupied lands against the forces of the Wehrmacht.
Partisans are the main part of the anti-fascist movement, the Resistance Soviet people. Their actions, contrary to many opinions, were not chaotic - large partisan detachments were subordinate to the governing bodies of the Red Army.
The main tasks of the partisans were to disrupt the enemy's road, air and railway communications, as well as to undermine the operation of communication lines.
Interesting! As of 1944, over one million partisans were operating in the occupied lands.
During the Soviet offensive, partisans joined the regular troops of the Red Army.
Beginning of the guerrilla war
It is now well known what role the partisans played in the Great Patriotic War. Partisan brigades began to be organized in the first weeks of hostilities, when the Red Army was retreating with huge losses.
The main goals of the Resistance movement were set out in documents dating from June 29 of the first year of the war. On September 5, they developed a wide list that formulated the main tasks for the fight in the rear of German troops.
In 1941, a special motorized rifle brigade was created, which played a vital role in the development of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War. Separate sabotage groups(usually several dozen people) were specially sent behind enemy lines to replenish the ranks of partisan groups.
The formation of partisan detachments was caused by the brutal Nazi regime, as well as the removal of civilians from enemy-occupied territory to Germany for hard work.
In the first months of the war, there were very few partisan detachments, since most of the people took a wait-and-see attitude. Initially, no one supplied the partisan detachments with weapons and ammunition, and therefore their role at the beginning of the war was extremely small.
In the early autumn of 1941, communication with the partisans in the deep rear improved significantly - the movement of partisan detachments intensified significantly and began to be more organized. At the same time, the interaction of the partisans with the regular troops of the Soviet Union (USSR) improved - they took part in battles together.
Often, the leaders of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War were ordinary peasants who did not have military training. Later, the Headquarters sent its own officers to command the detachments.
In the first months of the war, the partisans gathered in small detachments of up to several dozen people. After less than six months, the fighters in the detachments began to number hundreds of fighters. When the Red Army went on the offensive, the detachments turned into entire brigades with thousands of defenders of the Soviet Union.
Most large detachments arose in areas of Ukraine and Belarus, where German oppression was especially severe.
Main activities of the partisan movement
An important role in organizing the work of resistance units was the creation of the Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TsSHPD). Stalin appointed Marshal Voroshilov to the post of commander of the Resistance, who believed that their support was the key strategic goal of the spacecraft.
In the small partisan detachments there were no heavy weapons - light weapons predominated: rifles;
- rifles;
- pistols;
- machine guns;
- grenades;
- light machine guns.
Large brigades had mortars and other heavy weapons, which allowed them to fight against enemy tanks.
The partisan and underground movement during the Great Patriotic War seriously undermined the work of the German rear, reducing the combat effectiveness of the Wehrmacht in the lands of Ukraine and the Belarusian SSR.
Partisan detachment in destroyed Minsk, photo 1944
Partisan brigades were mainly engaged in blowing up railways, bridges and trains, making the rapid transfer of troops, ammunition and provisions over long distances unproductive.
The groups that were engaged in subversive work were armed with powerful explosives; such operations were led by officers from specialized units of the Red Army.
The main task of the partisans during the fighting was to prevent the Germans from preparing a defense, undermine morale and inflict such damage on their rear from which it is difficult to recover. Undermining communications - mainly railways, bridges, killing officers, depriving communications and much more - seriously helped in the fight against the enemy. The confused enemy could not resist, and the Red Army was victorious.
Initially, small (about 30 people) units of partisan detachments took part in large-scale offensive operations of the Soviet troops. Then entire brigades joined the ranks of the spacecraft, replenishing the reserves of the troops weakened by the battles.
As a conclusion, we can briefly highlight the main methods of struggle of the Resistance brigades:
- Sabotage work (pogroms were carried out in the rear of the German army) in any form - especially in relation to enemy trains.
- Intelligence and counterintelligence.
- Propaganda for the benefit of the Communist Party.
- Combat assistance by the Red Army.
- Elimination of traitors to the motherland - called collaborators.
- Destruction of enemy combat personnel and officers.
- Mobilization of civilians.
- Maintaining Soviet power in the occupied areas.
Legalization of the partisan movement
The formation of partisan detachments was controlled by the command of the Red Army - the Headquarters understood that sabotage work behind enemy lines and other actions would seriously ruin the life of the German army. The headquarters contributed to the armed struggle of the partisans against the Nazi invaders, and assistance increased significantly after the victory at Stalingrad.
If before 1942 the mortality rate in partisan detachments reached 100%, then by 1944 it had dropped to 10%.
Individual partisan brigades were controlled directly by senior leadership. The ranks of such brigades also included specially trained specialists in sabotage activities, whose task was to train and organize less trained fighters.
The support of the party significantly strengthened the power of the detachments, and therefore the actions of the partisans were directed to help the Red Army. During any offensive operation The enemy should have expected an attack from the rear.
Sign operations
The Resistance forces carried out hundreds, if not thousands, of operations in order to undermine the enemy's combat capability. The most notable of them was combat operation"Concert".
More than one hundred thousand soldiers took part in this operation and it took place over a vast territory: in Belarus, Crimea, the Baltic states, the Leningrad region, and so on.
The main goal is to destroy the enemy's railway communication so that he will not be able to replenish reserves and supplies during the battle for the Dnieper.
As a result, the efficiency of railways decreased by a catastrophic 40% for the enemy. The operation stopped due to the lack of explosives - with more ammunition, the partisans could have caused much more significant damage.
After the victory over the enemy on the Dnieper River, partisans began to participate en masse in major operations, starting in 1944.
Geography and scale of movement
Resistance units gathered in areas where there were dense forests, gullies and swamps. In the steppe regions, the Germans easily found the partisans and destroyed them. In difficult areas they were protected from the German numerical advantage.
One of the large centers of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was in Belarus.
Belarusian partisans in the forests terrified the enemy, attacking suddenly when the Germans could not repulse the attack, and then also quietly disappearing.
Initially, the situation of the partisans on the territory of Belarus was extremely deplorable. However, the victory near Moscow, and then the winter offensive of the spacecraft, significantly raised their morale. After the liberation of the capital of Belarus, a partisan parade took place.
No less large-scale is the Resistance movement on the territory of Ukraine, especially in Crimea.
The cruel attitude of the Germans towards to the Ukrainian people forced people en masse to join the ranks of the Resistance. However, here partisan resistance had its own characteristic features.
Very often the movement was aimed not only at fighting against the fascists, but also against the Soviet regime. This was especially evident in the territory of Western Ukraine; the local population saw the German invasion as liberation from the Bolshevik regime, and en masse went over to the side of Germany.
Participants in the partisan movement became national heroes, for example, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who died at the age of 18 in German captivity, becoming the Soviet Joan of Arc.
The struggle of the population against Nazi Germany took place in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Karelia and other regions.
The most ambitious operation carried out by the Resistance fighters was the so-called “Rail War”. In August 1943, large sabotage formations were transported behind enemy lines, and on the first night they blew up tens of thousands of rails. In total, more than two hundred thousand rails were blown up during the operation - Hitler seriously underestimated the resistance of the Soviet people.
As mentioned above, Operation Concert, which followed the Rail War and was associated with the offensive of the spacecraft forces, played an important role.
The partisan attacks became massive (warring groups were present on all fronts); the enemy could not react objectively and quickly - the German troops were in panic.
In turn, this caused executions of the population who assisted the partisans - the Nazis destroyed entire villages. Such actions encouraged even more people to join the Resistance.
Results and significance of guerrilla warfare
It is very difficult to fully assess the contribution of the partisans to the victory over the enemy, but all historians agree that it was extremely significant. Never before in history has the Resistance movement gained such a massive scale - millions of civilians began to stand up for their Motherland and brought it victory.
Resistance fighters not only blew up railways, warehouses and bridges - they captured Germans and handed them over to Soviet intelligence so that they would learn the enemy's plans.
At the hands of the Resistance, the defensive capacity of the Wehrmacht forces on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus was seriously undermined, which simplified the offensive and reduced losses in the ranks of the spacecraft.
Children-partisans
The phenomenon of child partisans deserves special attention. School-age boys wanted to fight the invader. Among these heroes it is worth highlighting:
- Valentin Kotik;
- Marat Kazei;
- Vanya Kazachenko;
- Vitya Sitnitsa;
- Olya Demesh;
- Alyosha Vyalov;
- Zina Portnova;
- Pavlik Titov and others.
Boys and girls were engaged in reconnaissance, supplied brigades with supplies and water, fought in battle against the enemy, blew up tanks - did everything to drive away the Nazis. Children partisans of the Great Patriotic War did no less than adults. Many of them died and received the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union.”
Heroes of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War
Hundreds of members of the Resistance movement became “Heroes of the Soviet Union” - some twice. Among such figures, I would like to highlight Sidor Kovpak, the commander of a partisan detachment who fought on the territory of Ukraine.
Sidor Kovpak was the man who inspired the people to resist the enemy. He was the military leader of the largest partisan formation in Ukraine and thousands of Germans were killed under his command. In 1943, for his effective actions against the enemy, Kovpak was given the rank of major general.
Next to him it is worth placing Alexey Fedorov, who also commanded a large formation. Fedorov operated on the territory of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. He was one of the most wanted partisans. Fedorov made a huge contribution to the development of guerrilla warfare tactics, which were used in subsequent years.
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, one of the most famous female partisans, also became the first woman to receive the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union.” During one of the operations, she was captured and hanged, but she showed courage to the end and did not betray the plans of the Soviet command to the enemy. The girl became a saboteur despite the commander’s words that 95% of the entire staff would die during operations. She was given the task of burning ten settlements, where German soldiers were based. The heroine was unable to fully carry out the order, since during the next arson she was noticed by a village resident who handed the girl over to the Germans.
Zoya became a symbol of resistance to fascism - her image was used not only in Soviet propaganda. The news of the Soviet partisan even reached Burma, where she also became a national hero.
Awards for members of partisan detachments
Since the Resistance played an important role in the victory over the Germans, a special award was established - the medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War”.
First class awards were often given to fighters posthumously. This applies, first of all, to those partisans who were not afraid to act in the first year of the war, being in the rear without any support from the spacecraft forces.
As war heroes, partisans appeared in many Soviet films devoted to military themes. Among the key films are the following:
"Rising" (1976).
"Konstantin Zaslonov" (1949).
The trilogy “The Thought of Kovpak”, published from 1973 to 1976.
“Partisans in the steppes of Ukraine” (1943).
“In the woods near Kovel” (1984) and many others.
The above-mentioned sources say that films about partisans began to be made during military operations - this was necessary so that people would support this movement and join the ranks of the Resistance fighters.
In addition to films, the partisans became heroes of many songs and ballads that highlighted their exploits and carried the news about them among the people.
Now streets and parks are named after famous partisans, thousands of monuments have been erected throughout the CIS countries and beyond. A striking example is Burma, where the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is honored.
When the Great Patriotic War broke out, the press of the Land of Soviets gave birth to a completely new expression - “people's avengers.” They were called Soviet partisans. This movement was very large-scale and brilliantly organized. In addition, it was officially legalized. The goal of the avengers was to destroy the infrastructure of the enemy army, disrupt food and weapons supplies and destabilize the work of the entire fascist machine. The German military leader Guderian admitted that the actions of the partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (the names of some will be presented to your attention in the article) became a real curse for Hitler’s troops and greatly influenced the morale of the “liberators.”
Legalization of the partisan movement
The process of forming partisan detachments in the territories occupied by the Nazis began immediately after Germany attacked Soviet cities. Thus, the USSR government published two relevant directives. The documents stated that it was necessary to create resistance among the people in order to help the Red Army. In short, the Soviet Union approved the formation of partisan groups.
One year later, this process was already in full swing. It was then that Stalin issued a special order. It reported the methods and main directions of the underground's activities.
And at the end of the spring of 1942, they decided to legalize partisan detachments altogether. In any case, the government formed the so-called. The central headquarters of this movement. And all regional organizations began to submit only to him.
In addition, the post of Commander-in-Chief of the movement appeared. This position was taken by Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. True, he led it for only two months, because the post was abolished. From now on, the “people's avengers” reported directly to the military Commander-in-Chief.
Geography and scale of movement
During the first six months of the war, eighteen underground regional committees operated. There were also more than 260 city committees, district committees, district committees and other party groups and organizations.
Exactly one year later, a third of the partisan formations of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the list of whose names is very long, could already go on the air via radio communication with the Center. And in 1943, almost 95 percent of the units could communicate with the mainland via walkie-talkies.
In total, during the war there were almost six thousand partisan formations numbering over one million people.
Partisan units
These units existed in almost all occupied territories. True, it happened that the partisans did not support anyone - neither the Nazis nor the Bolsheviks. They simply defended the independence of their own separate region.
Usually there were several dozen fighters in one partisan formation. But over time, detachments appeared that numbered several hundred people. To be honest, there were very few such groups.
The units united in the so-called. brigades. The purpose of such a merger was one - to provide effective resistance to the Nazis.
The partisans mainly used light weapons. This means machine guns, rifles, light machine guns, carbines and grenades. A number of formations were armed with mortars, heavy machine guns and even artillery. When people joined the detachments, they must take the partisan oath. Of course, strict military discipline was also observed.
Note that such groups were formed not only behind enemy lines. More than once, future “Avengers” were officially trained in special partisan schools. After which they were transferred to the occupied territories and formed not only partisan detachments, but also formations. Often these groups were staffed by military personnel.
Sign operations
The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 successfully managed to carry out several major operations in conjunction with the Red Army. The largest campaign in terms of results and number of participants was Operation Rail War. The central headquarters had to prepare it quite long and carefully. The developers planned to blow up the rails in some of the occupied territories in order to paralyze traffic on the railways. Partisans from the Oryol, Smolensk, Kalinin, and Leningrad regions, as well as Ukraine and Belarus, took part in the operation. In general, about 170 partisan formations were involved in the “rail war”.
On an August night in 1943, the operation began. In the very first hours, the “people's avengers” managed to blow up almost 42 thousand rails. Such sabotage continued until September inclusive. In one month, the number of explosions increased 30 times!
Other famous operation partisans was called “Concert”. In essence, this was a continuation of the “rail battles”, since the explosions on railway Crimea, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Karelia joined. Almost 200 partisan formations took part in the “Concert,” which was unexpected for the Nazis!
Legendary Kovpak and “Mikhailo” from Azerbaijan
Over time, the names of some of the partisans of the Great Patriotic War and the exploits of these people became known to everyone. Thus, Mehdi Ganifa-oglu Huseyn-zade from Azerbaijan became a partisan in Italy. In the detachment his name was simply “Mikhailo”.
He was mobilized into the Red Army from his student days. He had to take part in the legendary Battle of Stalingrad where he was wounded. He was captured and sent to a camp in Italy. After some time, in 1944, he managed to escape. There he came across partisans. In the Mikhailo detachment he was the commissar of a company of Soviet soldiers.
He found out intelligence information, engaged in sabotage, blowing up enemy airfields and bridges. And one day his company raided the prison. As a result, 700 captured soldiers were released.
“Mikhailo” died during one of the raids. He defended himself to the end, after which he shot himself. Unfortunately, they learned about his daring exploits only in the post-war period.
But the famous Sidor Kovpak became a legend during his lifetime. He was born and raised in Poltava in a poor peasant family. During the First World War he was awarded the Cross of St. George. Moreover, the Russian autocrat himself awarded him.
During the Civil War, he fought against the Germans and whites.
Since 1937, he was appointed head of the city executive committee of Putivl, in the Sumy region. When the war began, he led a partisan group in the city, and subsequently a unit of detachments in the Sumy region.
Members of its formation literally continuously carried out military raids across the occupied territories. The total length of the raids is more than 10 thousand km. In addition, nearly forty enemy garrisons were destroyed.
In the second half of 1942, Kovpak’s troops carried out a raid beyond the Dnieper. By this time the organization had two thousand fighters.
Partisan medal
In the middle of winter 1943, a corresponding medal was established. It was called “Partisan of the Patriotic War.” Over the following years, almost 150 thousand partisans of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) were awarded it. The exploits of these people will forever go down in our history.
One of the award winners was Matvey Kuzmin. By the way, he was the oldest partisan. When the war began, he was already in his ninth decade.
Kuzmin was born in 1858 in the Pskov region. He lived separately, was never a member of the collective farm, and was engaged in fishing and hunting. In addition, he knew his area very well.
During the war he found himself under occupation. The Nazis even occupied his house. A German officer who headed one of the battalions began to live there.
In the middle of winter 1942, Kuzmin had to become a guide. He must lead the battalion to a village occupied by Soviet troops. But before this, the old man managed to send his grandson to warn the Red Army.
As a result, Kuzmin led the frozen Nazis through the forest for a long time and only the next morning brought them out, but not to the desired point, but to an ambush set up by Soviet soldiers. The occupiers came under fire. Unfortunately, the hero guide also died in this shootout. He was 83.
Children partisans of the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945)
When the war was going on, a real army of children fought alongside the soldiers. They were participants in this general resistance from the very beginning of the occupation. According to some reports, several tens of thousands of minors took part in it. It was an amazing “movement”!
For military merits, teenagers were awarded military orders and medals. Thus, several minor partisans received the highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, mostly they were all awarded it posthumously.
Their names have been familiar for a long time - Valya Kotik, Lenya Golikov, Marat Kazei... But there were other little heroes, whose exploits were not so widely covered in the press...
"Baby"
Alyosha Vyalov was called “Baby”. He enjoyed special sympathy among the local avengers. He was eleven when the war broke out.
He began to become a partisan with his older sisters. This family group managed to set fire three times Train Station Vitebsk. They also set off an explosion in the police premises. On occasion, they acted as liaison officers and helped distribute relevant leaflets.
The partisans learned about the existence of Vyalov in an unexpected way. The soldiers were in dire need of gun oil. “Kid” was already aware of this and, on his own initiative, brought a couple of liters of the necessary liquid.
Lesha died after the war from tuberculosis.
Young "Susanin"
Tikhon Baran from the Brest region began to fight when he was nine. So, in the summer of '41 parental home underground workers equipped a secret printing house. Members of the organization printed leaflets with front-line reports, and the boy distributed them.
For two years he continued to do this, but the fascists were on the trail of the underground. Tikhon’s mother and sisters managed to hide with their relatives, and the young avenger went into the forest and joined the partisan formation.
One day he was visiting relatives. At the same time, the Nazis arrived in the village and shot all the inhabitants. And Tikhon was offered to save his life if he showed the way to the detachment.
As a result, the boy led his enemies into a swampy swamp. The punishers killed him, but not everyone themselves got out of this quagmire...
Instead of an epilogue
The Soviet partisan heroes of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) became one of the main forces that offered real resistance to the enemies. By and large, in many ways it was the Avengers who helped decide the outcome of this terrible war. They fought on par with regular combat units. It was not for nothing that the Germans called the “second front” not only the allied units in Europe, but also the partisan detachments in the Nazi-occupied territories of the USSR. And this is probably an important circumstance... List The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are enormous, and each of them deserves attention and memory... We present to your attention just a small list of people who left their mark on history:
- Biseniek Anastasia Alexandrovna.
- Vasiliev Nikolay Grigorievich.
- Vinokurov Alexander Arkhipovich.
- German Alexander Viktorovich.
- Golikov Leonid Alexandrovich.
- Grigoriev Alexander Grigorievich.
- Grigoriev Grigory Petrovich.
- Egorov Vladimir Vasilievich.
- Zinoviev Vasily Ivanovich.
- Karitsky Konstantin Dionisevich.
- Kuzmin Matvey Kuzmich.
- Nazarova Klavdiya Ivanovna.
- Nikitin Ivan Nikitich.
- Petrova Antonina Vasilievna.
- Bad Vasily Pavlovich.
- Sergunin Ivan Ivanovich.
- Sokolov Dmitry Ivanovich.
- Tarakanov Alexey Fedorovich.
- Kharchenko Mikhail Semenovich.
Of course, there are many more of these heroes, and each of them contributed to the cause of the great Victory...
