Partisan detachments in WWII. Partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War

The medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" was established in the USSR on February 2, 1943. Over the following years, about 150 thousand heroes were awarded it. This material tells about five people's militias who, by their example, showed how to defend the Motherland.

Efim Ilyich Osipenko

An experienced commander who fought during the Civil War, a true leader, Efim Ilyich became the commander of a partisan detachment in the fall of 1941. Although a detachment is too strong a word: together with the commander there were only six of them. There were practically no weapons and ammunition, winter was approaching, and endless groups of the German army were already approaching Moscow.

Realizing that as much time as possible was needed to prepare the defense of the capital, the partisans decided to blow up a strategically important section of the railway near Myshbor station. There were few explosives, there were no detonators at all, but Osipenko decided to detonate the bomb with a grenade. Silently and unnoticed, the group moved close to the railway tracks and planted explosives. Having sent his friends back and being left alone, the commander saw the train approaching, threw a grenade and fell into the snow. But for some reason the explosion did not happen, then Efim Ilyich himself hit the bomb with a pole from a railway sign. There was an explosion and a long train with food and tanks went downhill. The partisan himself miraculously survived, although he completely lost his sight and was severely shell-shocked. On April 4, 1942, he was the first in the country to be awarded the “Partisan of the Great Patriotic War” medal for No. 000001.

Konstantin Chekhovich

Konstantin Chekhovich - organizer and performer of one of the largest partisan sabotage acts of the Great Patriotic War.

The future hero was born in 1919 in Odessa, almost immediately after graduating from the Industrial Institute he was drafted into the Red Army, and already in August 1941, as part of a sabotage group, he was sent behind enemy lines. While crossing the front line, the group was ambushed, and of the five people, only Chekhovich survived, and he had nowhere to take much optimism - the Germans, after checking the bodies, were convinced that he only had a shell shock and Konstantin Aleksandrovich was captured. He managed to escape from it two weeks later, and after another week he already got in touch with the partisans of the 7th Leningrad Brigade, where he received the task of infiltrating the Germans in the city of Porkhov for sabotage work.

Having achieved some favor with the Nazis, Chekhovich received the position of administrator at a local cinema, which he planned to blow up. He involved Evgenia Vasilyeva in the case - his wife’s sister was employed as a cleaner at the cinema. Every day she carried several briquettes in buckets with dirty water and a rag. This cinema became a mass grave for 760 German soldiers and officers - an inconspicuous “administrator” installed bombs on the supporting columns and roof, so that during the explosion the entire structure collapsed like a house of cards.

Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin

The oldest recipient of the "Partisan of the Patriotic War" and "Hero of the Soviet Union" awards. He was awarded both awards posthumously, and at the time of his feat he was 83 years old.

The future partisan was born back in 1858, 3 years before the abolition of serfdom, in the Pskov province. He spent his entire life isolated (he was not a member of the collective farm), but by no means lonely - Matvey Kuzmich had 8 children from two different wives. He was engaged in hunting and fishing, and knew the area remarkably well.

The Germans who came to the village occupied his house, and later the battalion commander himself settled in it. At the beginning of February 1942, this German commander asked Kuzmin to be a guide and lead the German unit to the village of Pershino occupied by the Red Army, in return he offered almost unlimited food. Kuzmin agreed. However, having seen the route of movement on the map, he sent his grandson Vasily to the destination in advance to warn the Soviet troops. Matvey Kuzmich himself led the frozen Germans through the forest for a long time and confusedly and only in the morning led them out, but not to the desired village, but to an ambush, where the Red Army soldiers had already taken positions. The invaders came under fire from machine gun crews and lost up to 80 people captured and killed, but the hero-guide himself also died.

Leonid Golikov

He was one of many teenage partisans of the Great Patriotic War, a Hero of the Soviet Union. Brigade scout of the Leningrad partisan brigade, spreading panic and chaos in German units in the Novgorod and Pskov regions. Despite his young age - Leonid was born in 1926, at the start of the war he was 15 years old - he was distinguished by his sharp mind and military courage. In just a year and a half of partisan activity, he destroyed 78 Germans, 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, 2 food warehouses and 10 wagons with ammunition. Guarded and accompanied a food convoy to besieged Leningrad.

This is what Lenya Golikov himself wrote about his main feat in a report: “On the evening of August 12, 1942, we, 6 partisans, got out onto the Pskov-Luga highway and lay down near the village of Varnitsa. There was no movement at night. It was dawn. From Pskov 13 August, a small passenger car appeared. It was going fast, but near the bridge where we were, the car went quieter. Partisan Vasiliev threw an anti-tank grenade, but missed. Alexander Petrov threw the second grenade from the ditch, hit the beam. The car didn’t stop immediately, but went further 20 meters and almost caught up with us (we were lying behind a pile of stones). Two officers jumped out of the car. I fired a burst from a machine gun. I didn’t hit. The officer who was driving ran through the ditch towards the forest. I fired several bursts from my PPSh . Hit the enemy in the neck and back. Petrov began shooting at the second officer, who kept looking around, shouting and firing back. Petrov killed this officer with a rifle. Then the two of them ran to the first wounded officer. They tore off their shoulder straps, took a briefcase, documents, it turned out to be the general from the infantry of the special weapons troops, that is, the engineering troops, Richard Wirtz, who was returning from a meeting from Konigsberg to his corps in Luga. There was still a heavy suitcase in the car. We barely managed to drag him into the bushes (150 meters from the highway). While we were still at the car, we heard an alarm, a ringing sound, and a scream in the neighboring village. Grabbing a briefcase, shoulder straps and three captured pistols, we ran to our....”.

As it turned out, the teenager took out extremely important drawings and descriptions of new examples of German mines, maps of minefields, and inspection reports to higher command. For this, Golikov was nominated for the Golden Star and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

He received the title posthumously. Defending himself in a village house from a German punitive detachment, the hero died along with the partisan headquarters on January 24, 1943, before he turned 17 years old.

Tikhon Pimenovich Bumazhkov

Coming from a poor peasant family, Hero of the Soviet Union, Tikhon Pimenovich was already the director of the plant at the age of 26, but the onset of the war did not take him by surprise. Bumazhkov is considered by historians to be one of the first organizers of partisan detachments during the Great Patriotic War. In the summer of 1941, he became one of the leaders and organizers of the extermination squad, which later became known as “Red October”.

In collaboration with units of the Red Army, the partisans destroyed several dozen bridges and enemy headquarters. In just less than 6 months of guerrilla warfare, Bumazhkov’s detachment destroyed up to two hundred enemy vehicles and motorcycles, up to 20 warehouses with fodder and food were blown up or captured, and the number of captured officers and soldiers is estimated at several thousand. Bumazhkov died a heroic death while escaping from encirclement near the village of Orzhitsa, Poltava region.

1941 - 1945 - this is part of the Resistance movement, which was designed to destroy the German support system (undermining provisions, ammunition, roads, etc.). As you know, the fascist invaders were very afraid of this organization, so they treated its members very cruelly.

RSFSR

The main points of the tasks of the partisan movement were formulated back in the directive of 1941. The necessary actions were described in more detail in Stalin's order of 1942.

The basis of the partisan detachments were ordinary residents, mainly of occupied territories, that is, those who knew life under the fascist sight and power. Similar organizations began to appear from the first days of the war. Old people, women, men who for some reason were not taken to the front, and even children and pioneers entered there.

The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 carried out sabotage activities, engaged in reconnaissance (even undercover intelligence), propaganda, provided combat assistance to the USSR army, and directly destroyed the enemy.

Countless detachments, sabotage groups, and formations (about 250 thousand people) operated on the territory of the RSFSR, each of which brought enormous benefits to achieving victory. Many names remain forever in the annals of history.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who became a symbol of heroism, was thrown into the German rear to set fire to the village of Petrishchevo, where the German regiment was located. Naturally, she was not alone, but, by coincidence, their group partially dispersed after setting three houses on fire. Zoya decided to return there alone and finish what she started. But the residents were already on their guard and Zoya was captured. She had to go through terrible torture and humiliation (including from her compatriots), but she did not give up a single name. The Nazis hanged the girl, but even during the execution she did not lose courage and called on the Soviet people to resist the German invaders. She was the first woman to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Byelorussian SSR

On the territory of Belarus lasted from 1941 to 1944. During this time, many strategic tasks were solved, the main one of which was the disabling of German trains and the railway tracks along which they moved.

The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 provided invaluable assistance in the fight against the invaders. 87 of them received the highest military award of the Soviet Union. Among them was Marat Kazei, a sixteen-year-old boy whose mother was executed by the Germans. He came to the partisan detachment to defend his right to freedom and a happy life. He performed tasks just like adults.

Marat did not live exactly a year before victory. He died in May 1944. Every death in war is tragic in itself, but when a child dies it becomes a thousand times more painful.

Marat and his commander were returning to headquarters. By chance they met German punitive forces. The commander was killed immediately, the boy was only wounded. Firing back, he disappeared into the forest, but the Germans pursued him. Until the bullets ran out, Marat escaped the chase. And then he made an important decision for himself. The boy had two grenades. He immediately threw one into a group of Germans, and held the second tightly in his hand until he was surrounded. Then he blew it up, taking German soldiers with him to the next world.

Ukrainian SSR

During the Great Patriotic War, partisans on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR united into 53 formations, 2,145 detachments and 1,807 groups, with a total number of about 220 thousand people.

Among the main command of the partisan movement in Ukraine, one can single out K. I. Pogorelov, M. I. Karnaukhov, S. A. Kovpak, S. V. Rudnev, A. F. Fedorov and others.

Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak, on Stalin’s orders, was engaged in propaganda in Right Bank Ukraine, which was practically inactive. It was for the Carpathian raid that he was awarded one of the awards.

Mikhail Karnaukhov led the movement in Donbass. His subordinates and local residents nicknamed him “father” for his warm human relations. Dad was killed by the Germans in 1943. Secretly, residents of local occupied villages gathered at night to bury the commander and pay him due respect.

The partisan heroes of the Great Patriotic War were later reburied. Karnaukhov rests in Slavyansk, where his remains were transferred in 1944, when the territories were liberated from the German invaders.

During the operation of Karnaukhov’s detachment, 1,304 fascists were destroyed (out of 12 were officers).

Estonian SSR

Already in July 1941, an order was given to form a partisan detachment on the territory of Estonia. His command included B. G. Kumm, N. G. Karotamm, J. H. Lauristin.

The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 faced an almost insurmountable obstacle in Estonia. A large number of local residents were friendly towards the occupying Germans and even rejoiced at this coincidence of circumstances.

That is why underground organizations and sabotage groups had great power in this territory, which had to think through their moves even more carefully, since betrayal could be expected from anywhere.

They became Lehen Kuhlman (shot by the Germans in 1943 as a Soviet intelligence officer) and Vladimir Fedorov.

Latvian SSR

Until 1942, the activities of the partisans in Latvia were not going well. This was due to the fact that most activists and party leaders were killed at the very beginning of the war, people were poorly prepared both physically and financially. Thanks to denunciations of local residents, not a single underground organization was destroyed by the Nazis. Some hero-partisans of the Great Patriotic War died nameless, so as not to betray or compromise their comrades.

After 1942, the movement intensified, people began to come to the detachments with a desire to help and free themselves, since the German occupiers sent hundreds of Estonians to Germany for hard work.

Among the leaders of the Estonian partisan movement was Arthur Sprogis, under whom Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya studied. He is also mentioned in Hemingway's book For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Lithuanian SSR

On Lithuanian territory, the partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 carried out hundreds of acts of sabotage, as a result of which almost 10 thousand Germans were killed.

With a total number of partisans of 9,187 people (only identified by name), seven are Heroes of the Soviet Union:

Yu. Yu. Alexonis. An underground radio operator, he died in an unequal battle, surrounded by the Germans, in 1944.
S. P. Apivala. Personally destroyed seven trains with enemy ammunition.
G.I. Boris. The commander of a special sabotage group, died at the hands of the Gestapo after being captured in 1944.
A. M. Cheponis. A radio operator who died in 1944 in a single battle against a German unit. At the same time he killed 20 fascists.
M.I. Melnikaite. She was captured, spent a whole week in torture, without saying a word to the Nazis, but she was able to slap one of the Wehrmacht officers in the face. Shot in 1943.
B.V. Urbanavichus. He led a subversive group of partisans.
Yu. T. Vitas. Leader of the Lithuanian partisan underground. He was captured and shot by the Nazis after denunciation by a traitor in 1943.

The heroic partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 fought in Lithuania not only against the fascist invaders, but also against the Lithuanian liberation army, which did not exterminate the Germans, but sought to destroy Soviet and Polish soldiers.

Moldavian SSR

During the four years of operation of partisan detachments on the territory of Moldova, about 27 thousand fascists and their accomplices were destroyed. They are also responsible for the destruction of a huge amount of military equipment, ammunition, and kilometers of communication lines. Heroes-partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 were engaged in the production of leaflets and information reports in order to maintain good spirits and faith in victory among the population.

Two are Heroes of the Soviet Union - V.I. Timoshchuk (commander of the First Moldavian formation) and N.M. Frolov (under his leadership 14 German trains were blown up).

Jewish resistance

There were 70 purely Jewish liberation detachments operating on the territory of the USSR. Their goal was to save the remaining Jewish population.

Unfortunately, Jewish units had to deal with anti-Semitic sentiments even among Soviet partisans. Most of them did not want to provide any support to these people and were reluctant to accept Jewish youth into their units.

Most Jews were refugees from the ghetto. There were often children among them.

The partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 did a lot of work and provided invaluable assistance to the Red Army in the liberation of territories and victory over the German fascists.

L Unin Boris Nikolaevich – commander of the partisan brigade “Stormovaya”, which operated in the temporarily occupied territory of the Minsk and Vileika regions of Belarus.
Born on June 22, 1918 in the village of Turki, now a settlement, the administrative center of the Turkovsky district of the Saratov region, in a working-class family. Russian. Lived in the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Here he graduated from 7 classes and a factory apprenticeship school. He worked as a milling machine operator in 1934-1936 at the Barrikady plant (Stalingrad), in 1936-1938 at the Universal plant (Saratov). Then he returned to his native village where he worked as a physical education teacher at school.
In the Red Army since 1939. He served in units in Mongolia and in the Chita region. He completed advanced training courses for command personnel and received the military rank of lieutenant. Since February 1941 - political instructor of the mortar company of the 17th regiment of the 17th tank division. On the eve of the war, on June 15, the transfer of the division to Ukraine began, but after the start of the war it was sent to the Western Front. As part of the 5th Mechanized Corps, she participated in the counterattack in the Lepel direction.
In these battles, Lieutenant Lunin also received baptism of fire. On August 8, 1941, when his military unit was surrounded, he was captured. He was kept in Hitler's concentration camp in Drozdy. In March 1942, he escaped as part of a group of prisoners of war.
He joined Astashkin's partisan detachment. In April 1942, he organized his own partisan detachment "Sturm", transformed in December of the same year into the partisan brigade "Storm", which inflicted significant damage on the Nazi occupiers in manpower and military equipment.
U by the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 1, 1944, for skillful command of a partisan brigade, exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown, Boris Nikolaevich Lunin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and a medal "Golden Star". The awards were presented on May 16, 1944 in the Kremlin.
After the war, the former partisan brigade commander worked as an assistant to the Minister of Road Transport of the Belarusian SSR, then in the Krasnodar Territory - as deputy head of a large convoy.
Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, and medals.
July 22, 1957 B.N. Lunin was sentenced by the military tribunal of the Belarusian Military District under Article 180 (clause “b”) and Article 214 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Belarusian SSR to seven years in prison. The military tribunal, in passing its sentence, stated that “Lunin, as the commander of a partisan brigade, and his subordinate Belik, as the head of a special department of this brigade, under particularly aggravating circumstances, namely in a war situation behind enemy lines, abusing their official position and out of personal interest, illegally shot and killed many Soviet people, and Belik, including young children. The actions of Lunin and Belik caused outrage among the partisans and the local population and harmed the partisan movement in Belarus.”.
The court submitted a petition to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to deprive B.N. Lunin. the highest degree of distinction of the USSR and all awards.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 26, 1957, Boris Nikolaevich Lunin was deprived of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and all state awards in connection with his conviction for a military crime.
While in prison and after serving his sentence, returning to Anapa, Krasnodar Territory, B.N. Lunin repeatedly appealed to the competent authorities with a request for rehabilitation. At the same time, he claimed that the criminal case against him was fabricated, and those people whom he repressed were enemies of the Motherland who deserved the death penalty. Former partisans of the Shturmovaya brigade also sent similar letters in defense of their commander. But to all petitions, complaints and statements there was an unequivocal answer - Lunin B.N. convicted legally and justifiably and is not subject to rehabilitation.
Died in 1994. Buried in Anapa.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, on August 8, Lunin was captured. In March 1942, a large group of prisoners of war escaped from a concentration camp in Masyukovshchina. Boris Lunin was among those who fled. In April of the same year, in the Krasnoselskaya dacha, the “Storm” partisan detachment was organized from residents of the Zaslavsky district, workers from Minsk and a group of escaped prisoners of war. The 24-year-old Komsomol member B.N. Lunin was elected commander of this detachment, and I.M. Fedorov was elected commissar. On April 13, 1942, a group of demolitionists was created in the detachment, with which the detachment’s first combat successes are associated.
In May 1942, on the railway near the village of Shvali, the detachment's demolition men derailed a train with tanks of alcohol, and near the village of Petrashki on the Zaslavl-Radoshkovichi stretch - a second one. The detachment's clashes with the enemy became more frequent. In June 1942, the detachment entered into battle with an enemy ambush near the Novy Dvor distillery, in the Zaslavsky district. By September 1942, the detachment's combat record included nine blown-up trains containing enemy manpower, equipment and ammunition. The partisan movement in Belarus was only gaining strength and until December 1942 the detachment acted completely independently. At this time, a story happened that then crossed out all the military merits of Boris Lunin, and excluded his name from the history of the partisan movement in Belarus.
On December 2, 1942, a radiogram was sent from Minsk to the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army: “I am changing my dislocation according to plan No. 4. The next communication session is according to the appropriate schedule.” This was an alarm signal that came from the resident of Soviet intelligence in Minsk, Vishnevsky. By this time, almost all of his appearances had failed. Through the efforts of fascist counterintelligence, the underground party center was discovered and arrested. The tentacles of the Gestapo extended even to the last appearance, the owner of which was underground fighter P.R. Lyakhovsky.
Vishnevsky’s reconnaissance group of four people, with the help of guides, moved to a spare safe house near Minsk in the village of Latygovka. A week later, another reconnaissance group of the General Staff under the command of Barsukovsky settled here. And soon two radios started working in Latygovka.
The appearance of two reconnaissance groups with walkie-talkies was a great success for the Sturm partisan detachment. Before this, Lunin maintained contact with the mainland through D.I. Keimakh (“Dimu”), commander of another detachment based in the Rudnyansky forest of the Logoisk region. But only their radio operators could ensure stable communication with the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement, and therefore systematic material supply. The reconnaissance groups united and the full complement of eight people were enrolled in the detachment. On the initiative of the commanders of the Belarusian partisan detachments, the headquarters of the united detachments was created in August 1942 (since October 1942 - the Special Unit of Partisan Detachments). It was at that time the largest formation in terms of numbers and combat strength. Since November 1942, most of the units that were part of the OSPO were consolidated into brigades. On December 22, 1942, the “Sturm”, “Grozny” and “For the Fatherland” detachments attacked the enemy garrison in the regional center of Logoisk. The police station was destroyed, the bank, the district government, food and feed warehouses were seized. The partisans' trophies included 10 horses and carts, 500 thousand German marks, and important documents. Enemy losses amounted to several dozen killed. This was the first baptism of fire for the Shturmovaya brigade, which later also included the Frunze detachment. The number of the brigade reached 800 people.
Boris Lunin became brigade commander. The brigade command celebrated New Year 1943 together with members of the reconnaissance groups. They drank to acquaintance, to mutual understanding, military successes and, of course, to victory over the enemy. Lunin, not indifferent to alcohol, used to drink too much, as always, shouted louder than anyone else, and boasted. Vishnevsky did not like this. But... debt is worth paying. The next day he invited the command to visit the Yushki farm, not far from Radoshkovichi. We set off on two carts, Lunin and Vishnevsky rode on one, and Commissar Fedorov on the other. On the way, a quarrel broke out between Lunin and Vishnevsky.
At the table with the guests, the brigade commander, contrary to his custom, drank little and frowned for no reason. And on the way back he blurted out to Fedorov that, they say, Vishnevsky wants to take his place. This thought, by the way, was an almost universal headache for many partisan commanders. And Lunin was no exception in this sense. In every new person who appeared in the detachment, he suspected a rival. And then there is the intelligence officer - brave and uncompromising. Returning to headquarters, Lunin did not sleep for a long time, often went out into the street, finally ordered the horse to be saddled and left. To the commissioner’s perplexed question, he answered that he was going to his neighbors in the Rudnyansky forest. Only in the evening, heavily drunk, did he appear at the headquarters hut. And right from the doorway he said to Fedorov:
Well, we warmed up the viper. Now I’ll order it to be used up!
Who are you speaking about? At what cost? - asked the commissioner.
Yes about Vishnevsky! They are all fascist agents, recruited and abandoned with the aim of destroying the partisan command.
Where did you get this from?
“Dima” headquarters received a radiogram from Ponomarenko that six groups of our converted intelligence officers had been sent to the partisan formations. Apparently, two of them have been sent to us.
“Don’t rush,” Fedorov objected, “we need to entrust our tribunal to investigate everything, to thoroughly look into it.” Arbitrariness and lynching are a crime.
Lunin slammed the door and went out. And after some time, the head of the special department, Belik, appeared at the headquarters. He brought a bag of clothes and, smiling wryly, announced:
What a bastard! I was also indignant! He “pushed” the whole speech and accused him of lawlessness.
Fedorov’s heart sank and grew cold. Anticipating something bad, he asked:
Who “pushed” the speech?
Like who? Vishnevsky! But this did not help them: they shot his entire body - 8 people.
In the morning, Lunin issued an order to the brigade, which spoke about fascist spies and their destruction. Commissioner Fedorov did not sign the order. His signature was forged by Chief of Staff Joseph Vogel. But the commissioner found out about this many years later...
The "Assault" brigade fought successfully. It operated in the Minsk, Zalavsky, Logoisk districts of the Minsk region, Radoshkovichi district of the Vileika region. Along with the military successes of the brigade, the heroic deeds of its commanders and partisans, the glory of the brigade commander grew.
The brigade command even got used to the fact that the partisans had to fight almost weekly with Nazi security troops. Therefore, in the spring of 1943, they reacted quite calmly to intelligence reports that enemy troops were concentrating in the brigade’s area of operation. On April 4, fascist punitive forces broke into the villages of Bakhmetovka and Kurgaly and brutally dealt with the civilian population. In Bakhmetovka they executed 183 people, including 76 children under 14 years of age.
The partisans, alerted, hastily took up defensive positions near the villages of Srednyaya and Kukolevshchina. Soon a column of Nazis appeared on the road to Kukolevshchina. Having let the fascists close, the partisans opened heavy fire. Under the cover of tanks, the German infantry went on the attack, but armor-piercing soldiers and artillerymen knocked out three tanks, and the infantry was stopped by fire from heavy and light machine guns. The partisans launched a counterattack, but reinforcements approached the Germans from the Radoshkoviches.
At this time, a messenger from the commander of the “For the Fatherland” detachment galloped to the brigade headquarters. From 5 a.m., the detachment fought an unequal battle with the enemy advancing from Logoisk in the direction of the village of Malye Besyady. At night, punitive forces broke into the villages of Khoruzhentsy and Karpilovka, burned huts, and shot civilians.
The brigade command made a decision: to leave small groups of partisans in place to hold back the onslaught of punitive forces, and to withdraw the main forces to the Rudnyansky forests, in Logoischina. The partisans had almost no ammunition left. Next, the brigade went to the Begolmsky district, where the partisan airfield was located. The valuable cargo from the mainland was very useful: 80 thousand rifle cartridges, 12 machine guns and 1000 cartridges for them, anti-tank rifles with 100 rounds of ammunition.
Having rested a little, the brigade made an almost hundred-kilometer journey back to its Zaslavsky district in two days. During the day they rested or fought with the Nazis, and at night they made marches. We stopped in the area of the villages of Kozlovshchina - Kalachi, Logoisk district. Intelligence reported that with the departure of the partisans, the Germans became bolder: they drove around the villages, robbed civilians and continued to commit savage reprisals. On the morning of April 30, punitive forces broke into the village of Trusovichi. The brigade was alerted, but the punishers, having done their dirty deed, had left by that time. The partisans rushed in their tracks and overtook the enemy column along the road to Budki. The road here made a big detour and the partisans decided to go straight ahead, through the forest and copses, to overtake the column and take up defense on the outskirts of Budki.
“Open fire simultaneously on the head and tail of the column,” the brigade commander ordered.
Only the partisans had time to take up positions when the column stopped. The brigade commander gave the prearranged signal. But there were many fascists. They had artillery, mortars, light and heavy machine guns, a tank, and an armored vehicle. And the partisans have only one cannon and two anti-tank rifles (ATR). The Germans quickly came to their senses and brought a tank and an armored vehicle into the battle. The commander of the “Grozny” partisan detachment, V. Brechko, personally knocked out a tank and then an armored vehicle with an anti-tank rifle. All four detachments of the brigade rushed together to attack. The punishers could not withstand this powerful onslaught and, leaving the wounded and military equipment, fled. The partisans captured rich trophies and prisoners. The commander of a separate SS battalion, Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger, was almost taken prisoner. Formed from murderers, criminals, SS penal prisoners and other criminals, the battalion left many bloody traces on Belarusian soil.
Then the partisans attacked the enemy garrison guarding the bridge on the Udranka River. The garrison was destroyed, the bridge was blown up. On the road coming from the village of Konotop, two vehicles with fascists heading to help the Udran garrison were blown up by an ambush. Enemy losses amounted to 40 officers and soldiers.
On May 2, the Nazis again sent large forces against Sturmovaya. The brigade fought with them almost every day until May 12. They fought back during the day and went out to sabotage at night.
On May 16, partisans near the village of Zagortsy shot down an enemy armored vehicle using an anti-tank rifle. On the same day, another group destroyed a car with Nazis on the road Radoshkovichi - Ostroshitsky Gorodok.
On May 18, the Sturm detachment defeated the enemy garrison in the village of Konotop, killing and wounding 16 Nazis. A tank and an armored vehicle were destroyed, a garage, a warehouse with fuel, ammunition and a barracks were burned. On the same day, the “Grozny” detachment again attacked the restored garrison in the village of Udranka, killing 5 and wounding 15 Nazis.
On May 21, a group of demolitions from the Zhukov detachment on the Radoshkovichi-Zaslavl stretch derailed an enemy train heading towards the front line. A locomotive and six carriages containing military equipment were destroyed.
On May 22, partisans of the Frunze detachment near the village of Grini, Zaslavsky district, fired at a column of enemy vehicles. One car was burned, 17 Nazis were killed.
On May 25, the “For the Fatherland” detachment defeated the enemy at the Prirez farm in the Logoisk region, killing 39 fascists. The partisans captured a mortar with 16 mines, an easel machine gun with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, 9 bicycles, and 40 cows.
On June 2, the Frunze detachment blew up an enemy vehicle on the Radoshkovichi-Minsk road and killed 18 officers and soldiers.
On June 10 and 22, partisans of the Sturm detachment derailed two enemy echelons. Two locomotives and four carriages containing enemy personnel were destroyed, 15 carriages were damaged; three platforms with cars and five wagons with food products rolled downhill. Under the wreckage of locomotives and carriages, more than 200 Nazis found their graves, 120 were wounded.
In total, the partisans of the Shturmovaya brigade from April 1 to July 1, 1943 defeated five enemy garrisons, derailed 11 enemy trains (10 locomotives were destroyed, 6 wagons with live cones, 53 wagons with ammunition and 9 wagons with military personnel were knocked out and destroyed 27 vehicles, 7 armored vehicles, 4 tanks, blew up and burned 12 railway and highway bridges, more than 1000 tons of fuel.The damage inflicted on the enemy in manpower amounted to 672 killed and 248 wounded.
In the summer of 1943, the “rail war” on enemy communications reached its climax. On one of the last August nights, the detachments named after. Frunze and Sturm attacked the Rogovaya garrison. The partisans threw grenades at the bunkers in which the Nazis were located, and killed the guards of the concentration camp for Soviet prisoners of war. Over 40 enemy corpses remained on the battlefield, and the partisans had no losses.
After this incident, the “Stormovaya” brigade received free access to the Minsk-Molodechno railway.
From the second half of August 1943, the formation of the Borisov-Begolm zone was commanded by the secretary of the Minsk underground regional committee of the Communist Party of Belarus R.N. Machulsky. Once, during a cluster meeting of commanders and commissars of partisan brigades, detachments, and underground leaders, a well-tipsy Lunin caused a row, reproaching the leadership for underestimating him. They say that his brigade operates “under the horns”, and he is constantly being bypassed. At the meeting was a representative of the Central Shpd, Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus I.P. Ganenko. Outraged R.N. Machulsky threatened to demote Lunin and remove him from command of the brigade. In the morning, all the commanders began to ask Roman Naumovich for Lunin. He conceded; Ganenko remembered the incident, as did the stories about the brigade’s military affairs.
On October 15, 1943, an order was issued by the head of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement P. Ponomarenko, which summed up the results of the first operation to massively destroy rails on the enemy’s railway communications. “For the successful completion of the command’s combat mission and the heroism displayed in this case...” the formations listed in the order, commanding officers and rank and file were thanked, and particularly distinguished partisans were presented with state awards. The name of brigade commander Lunin was mentioned among the distinguished partisan commanders.
And the brigade’s successes became more and more impressive. On September 25, Operation Concert began with the goal of paralyzing traffic on enemy communications. The “Stormovaya” brigade undermined the railway track on the Molodechno-Minsk section. She successfully completed the plan without losing a single person. On October 5, 1943, one of the trains with enemy troops barely reached the village of Zhdanovichi. The brigade's partisans attacked the station, destroyed the train, disabled the locomotive, burned the cars, destroyed the track facilities and inflicted significant losses on the enemy.
Due to the destruction of the railway lines, the Nazi command was forced to send units heading to the front on foot. The partisans of Lunin's brigade, on the route of movement of two divisions, which followed on foot in the direction of Minsk-Borisov for loading into trains, destroyed 67 bridges and, with unexpected raids, forced the enemy to repeatedly deploy into battle formation. At the end of 1943, Stalin called the head of the TsShPD P. Ponomarenko and asked to nominate partisan commanders to nominate them for the country’s highest honor.
Ponomarenko thought about it. He asked the Supreme Permission to name the candidates later, and he himself contacted the chiefs of the Belarusian and Ukrainian headquarters of the partisan movement and requested the necessary information. Chief of Staff of the Belarusian Broadband Access Line P.Z. Kalinin, in turn, turned to I.P. Ganenko, who recently returned from the Vileika-Vitebsk zone. Ivan Petrovich confidently named the names of eighteen commanders who, in his opinion, were worthy of the high rank. After hesitating, he also named Lunin.
On the day the brigade commander was awarded the title of Hero, demolitionists from the Grozny detachment blew up the train and destroyed a locomotive and 19 carriages, along with the German soldiers and officers who were there. At the beginning of January, partisans of the brigade saved 276 children from the Semkov-Gorodok district from being kidnapped to Germany. On the 26th anniversary of the Red Army, another train was blown up on the railway bridge across the highway near the village of Seledchiki.
The spring of 1944 was not easy. On April 11, the punitive forces launched an attack on the partisan zone in the area of the Shturmovaya and Uncle Kolya brigades, but it was repelled.
On May 22, 1944, a new punitive expedition began against the partisans. The fighting took place in the Radoshkovichi-Krasnoe-Iliya-Vileika-Dolginovo-Dokshitsy area. “Stormovaya” staunchly defended itself for three days, repelling numerous, including “psychic” attacks from the enemy.
By the beginning of June, the enemy had significantly pushed the zone’s partisan brigades, including “Stormovaya,” to the east, and captured the Minsk-Logoisk-Pleschenitsa highway. The blockade ring was tightening. The brigade commanders were ordered to break through the enemy's front, go to his rear and there, behind the outer ring of the blockade, attack the enemy. Repeatedly the partisans rushed into the breakthrough. On June 2-5, it was only possible to break through partially. On June 12, partisan detachments found themselves in a new ring of enemy blockade. The breakthrough at the Gnut forests was unsuccessful - the partisans were discovered by the enemy and thrown back across the Berezina River. The fighting in the encirclement lasted until the end of the month.
On July 2, 1944, the Shturmovaya brigade, which by that time included six detachments with a total of 1,464 partisans, united with units of the Red Army.
After the liberation of Minsk, former underground fighter Pavel Romanovich Lyakhovsky, who had heard rumors about the execution of Vishnevsky, wrote to the State Security Committee about his suspicions and outlined the facts known to him. The result of this appeal was circles of correspondence and reports. It is unknown how it would have ended if not for Stalin’s conversation with Ponomarenko. We talked about the abuses of partisans in the occupied territory, about cases of unjustified repressions committed during the war. Stalin casually said:
Just think, the partisans shot someone. That's why they are partisans...
And the case was covered up, but not closed. It resurfaced briefly in 1953. By that time, Lunin had moved to the village of Belozerskaya, Krasnodar Territory, where he inherited two houses. But he didn’t stay long here either: his long-standing addiction to alcohol served him badly. I had to sell my houses and settle in Anapa. Worked at a utility plant.
Here he was found by the investigator of the military tribunal of the Belarusian Military District, Vasyutovich.
Me! To arrest? Do you know who I am?! You, boy!
On July 22, 1957, the military tribunal of the Belarusian Military District recognized B.N. Lunin is guilty of the illegal execution of eight Soviet intelligence officers. The former brigade commander was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Belik, who carried out the criminal order of the commander, was sentenced to the same term.
Based on materials from the book by V.N. Konev. "Heroes without a Gold Star." Biobibliographic reference book edited by M.V. Muzalevsky and O.L. Derevianko. Volume 2. – M.: RIC “Cavalier”, 2006, pp. 37-46.

During the Great Patriotic War, a people's war, which was a partisan movement, was fought in the territories of the Soviet Union occupied by fascist troops. We will tell you about its features and the most prominent representatives in our article.

Concept and organization of movement

Partisans (partisan detachments) are considered unofficial persons (armed groups) hiding, avoiding direct confrontation, while fighting the enemy on occupied lands. An important aspect of partisan activity is the voluntary support of the civilian population. If this does not happen, then the combat groups are saboteurs or simply bandits.

The Soviet partisan movement began to form immediately in 1941 (very active in Belarus). The partisans were required to take an oath. The detachments operated mainly in the front-line zone. During the war years, about 6,200 groups (a million people) were created. Where the terrain did not allow the creation of partisan zones, underground organizations or sabotage groups operated.

The main goals of the partisans:

Disruption of the support and communications systems of German troops;
Conducting reconnaissance;
Political agitation;
Destruction of defectors, false partisans, Nazi managers and officers;
Combat assistance to representatives of Soviet power and military units that survived the occupation.

The partisan movement was not uncontrolled. Already in June 1941, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a directive that listed the main necessary actions of the partisans. In addition, some of the partisan detachments were created in free territories and then transported to enemy rear. In May 1942, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement was formed.

Rice. 1. Soviet partisans.

Partisan heroes

Many underground fighters and partisans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are recognized heroes.
Let's list the most famous:

Tikhon Bumazhkov (1910-1941): one of the first organizers of the partisan movement (Belarus). Together with Fyodor Pavlovsky (1908-1989) - the first partisans who became heroes of the USSR;
Sidor Kovpak (1887-1967): one of the organizers of partisan activity in Ukraine, commander of the Sumy partisan unit, twice Hero;
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya (1923-1941): saboteur-scout. She was captured, after severe torture (she did not give up any information, not even her real name) and was hanged;
Elizaveta Chaikina (1918-1941): participated in the organization of partisan detachments in the Tver region. After unsuccessful torture, she was shot;
Vera Voloshina (1919-1941): saboteur-scout. She diverted the enemy's attention, covering the retreat of the group with valuable data. Wounded, after torture - hanged.

Rice. 2. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

It is worth mentioning the pioneer partisans:

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Vladimir Dubinin (1927-1942): Using his excellent memory and natural dexterity, he obtained intelligence data for a partisan detachment operating in the Kerch quarries;
Alexander Chekalin (1925-1941): collected intelligence data, organized sabotage in the Tula region. Captured, after torture - hanged;
Leonid Golikov (1926-1943): participated in the destruction of enemy equipment and warehouses, and the seizure of valuable documents;
Valentin Kotik (1930-1944): liaison of the Shepetiv underground organization (Ukraine). Discovered German underground telephone cable; killed an officer of a punitive group who organized an ambush for the partisans;
Zinaida Portnova (1924-1943): underground worker (Vitebsk region, Belarus). About 100 officers were poisoned in the German canteen. Captured, after torture - shot.

In Krasnodon (1942, Lugansk region, Donbass), the youth underground organization “Young Guard” was formed, immortalized in the film and novel of the same name (author Alexander Fadeev). Ivan Turkenich (1920-1944) was appointed its commander. The organization included about 110 people, 6 of whom became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Participants organized sabotage and distributed leaflets. Major action: setting fire to lists of people selected for deportation to Germany; raid on cars carrying German New Year's gifts. In January 1943, the Germans arrested and killed about 80 underground workers.

Soviet partisans are an integral part of the anti-fascist movement of the Soviet people, who fought using guerrilla warfare methods against Germany and its allies in the temporarily occupied territories of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.

From the very first days of the war, the Communist Party gave the partisan movement a focused and organized character. The directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated June 29, 1941 required: “In areas occupied by the enemy, create partisan detachments and sabotage groups to fight units of the enemy army, to incite partisan war everywhere, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, arson of warehouses, etc. “. The main goal of the partisan war was to undermine the front in the German rear - disruption of communications and communications, the work of its road and railway communications, set out in

Resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of July 18, 1941 “On the organization of the struggle in the rear of German troops.”

Considering the development of the partisan movement to be one of the most important conditions for the defeat of the fascist invaders, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks obliged the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of the republics, regional, regional and district party committees to lead the organization of the partisan struggle. To lead the partisan masses in the occupied areas, it was proposed to select experienced, combative, completely devoted to the party and proven comrades. The struggle of Soviet patriots was led by 565 secretaries of regional, city and district party committees, 204 chairmen of regional, city and district executive committees of workers' deputies, 104 secretaries of regional, city and district Komsomol committees, as well as hundreds of other leaders. Already in 1941, the struggle of the Soviet people behind enemy lines was led by 18 underground regional committees, more than 260 district committees, city committees, district committees and other underground organizations and groups, in which there were 65,500 communists.

The 4th Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR, created in 1941 under the leadership of P. Sudoplatov, played an important role in the development of the partisan movement. Subordinate to him was the Separate Special Purpose Motorized Rifle Brigade of the NKVD of the USSR, from which reconnaissance and sabotage detachments were formed and sent behind enemy lines. As a rule, they then turned into large partisan detachments. By the end of 1941, more than 2,000 partisan detachments and sabotage groups, with a total number of over 90,000 partisans, were operating in enemy-occupied territories. In order to coordinate the combat activities of the partisans and organize their interaction with the Red Army troops, special bodies were created.

P.A. Sudoplatov

A striking example of the actions of special forces groups was the destruction of the headquarters of the 59th Wehrmacht division along with the head of the Kharkov garrison, Lieutenant General Georg von Braun. Mansion at st. Dzerzhinsky No. 17 was mined with a radio-controlled landmine by a group under the command of I.G. Starinov and detonated by radio signal in October 1941. Later, Lieutenant General Beinecker was also destroyed by a mine. . I.G. Starinov

Mines and non-recoverable landmines designed by I.G. Starinova were widely used for sabotage operations during the Second World War.

radio-controlled mine I.G. Starinova

To lead the partisan war, republican, regional and regional headquarters of the partisan movement were created. They were headed by secretaries or members of the Central Committee of the communist parties of the union republics, regional committees and regional committees: Ukrainian headquarters - T.A. Strokach, Belorussky - P.Z. Kalinin, Litovsky - A.Yu. Snechkus, Latvian - A.K. Sprogis, Estonian - N.T. Karotamm, Karelsky - S.Ya. Vershinin, Leningradsky - M.N. Nikitin. The Oryol Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was headed by A.P. Matveev, Smolensky - D.M. Popov, Krasnodar - P.I. Seleznev, Stavropolsky - M.A. Suslov, Krymsky - V.S. Bulatov. The Komsomol made a great contribution to the organization of partisan warfare. Its governing bodies in the occupied territory included M.V. Zimyanin, K.T. Mazurov, P.M. Masherov and others.

By the Decree of the State Defense Committee of May 30, 1942, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TsShPD, Chief of Staff - Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus P.K. Ponomarenko) was organized at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

The activities carried out by the party made it possible to significantly improve the leadership of partisan detachments, supply them with the necessary material resources, and ensure clearer interaction between the partisans and the Red Army.

at a partisan airfield.

Z and during its existence, the TsShPD sent to partisan detachments 59,960 rifles and carbines, 34,320 machine guns, 4,210 light machine guns, 2,556 anti-tank rifles, 2,184 50-mm and 82-mm mortars, 539,570 hand-held anti-personnel and anti-tank grenades, a large amount of ammunition, explosives, medicines, food and other necessary property. The central and republican schools of the partisan movement trained and sent more than 22,000 various specialists behind enemy lines, including 75% demolitions, 9% organizers of the underground and partisan movement, 8% radio operators, 7% intelligence officers.

The main organizational and combat unit of the partisan forces was a detachment, which usually consisted of squads, platoons and companies, numbering several dozen people, and later up to 200 or more fighters. During the war, many units united into partisan brigades and partisan divisions numbering up to several thousand fighters. Light weapons predominated in armament (both Soviet and captured), but many detachments and formations had mortars, and some had artillery. All persons who joined partisan formations took the partisan oath; as a rule, strict military discipline was established in the detachments. Party and Komsomol organizations were created in the detachments. The actions of the partisans were combined with other forms of national struggle behind enemy lines - the actions of underground fighters in cities and towns, sabotage of enterprises and transport, disruption of political and military events carried out by the enemy.

at the headquarters of the partisan brigade

group of partisans

partisan with a machine gun

The forms of organization of partisan forces and the methods of their actions were influenced by physical and geographical conditions. Vast forests, swamps, and mountains were the main basing areas for partisan forces. Here partisan regions and zones arose where various methods of struggle could be widely used, including open battles with the enemy. In the steppe regions, large formations operated successfully only during raids. The small detachments and groups that were constantly stationed here usually avoided open clashes with the enemy and caused damage to him mainly through sabotage.

The following elements can be distinguished in guerrilla tactics:

Sabotage activities, destruction of enemy infrastructure in any form (rail war, destruction of communication lines, high-voltage lines, destruction of bridges, water pipelines, etc.);

Intelligence activities, including undercover activities;

Political activity and Bolshevik propaganda;

Destruction of fascist manpower and equipment;

Elimination of collaborators and heads of the Nazi administration;

Restoration and preservation of elements of Soviet power in the occupied territory;

Mobilization of the combat-ready population remaining in the occupied territories and the unification of surrounded military units.

V.Z. Korzh

On June 28, 1941, in the area of the village of Posenichi, the first battle of a partisan detachment under the command of V.Z. Korzha. To protect the city of Pinsk from the northern side, a group of partisans was deployed on the Pinsk-Logoshin road. The partisan detachment commanded by Korzh was ambushed by 2 German tanks with motorcyclists. It was reconnaissance from the 293rd Wehrmacht Infantry Division. The partisans opened fire and destroyed one tank. During the battle, the partisans captured two Nazis. This was the first partisan battle of the first partisan detachment in the history of the Great Patriotic War!

On July 4, 1941, Korzh’s detachment met a German cavalry squadron 4 km from Pinsk. The partisans let the Germans close and opened accurate fire. Dozens of fascist cavalrymen died on the battlefield. In total, by June 1944, the Pinsk partisan unit under the command of V.Z Korzh had defeated 60 German garrisons in battles, derailed 478 railway trains, and blown up 62 railways. bridge, destroyed 86 tanks, 29 guns, and disabled 519 km of communication lines. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 15, 1944, for the exemplary performance of command assignments in the fight against the Nazi invaders behind enemy lines and the courage and heroism displayed, Vasily Zakharovich Korzh was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold medal Star “for No. 4448.

In August 1941, 231 partisan detachments were already operating on the territory of Belarus. Leaders of the Belarusian partisan detachment

“Red October” - commander Fyodor Pavlovsky and commissar Tikhon Bumazhkov - on August 6, 1941, the first partisans were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the Bryansk region, Soviet partisans controlled vast territories in the German rear. In the summer of 1942, they actually controlled an area of 14,000 square kilometers. The Bryansk Partisan Republic was formed.

guerrilla ambush

In the second period of the Second World War (autumn 1942 - end of 1943), the partisan movement deep behind enemy lines expanded. Shifting their base from the Bryansk forests to the west, the partisan formations crossed the Desna, Sozh, Dnieper, and Pripyat rivers and began to strike at the enemy’s most important communications in his rear. The partisan attacks provided enormous assistance to the Red Army, diverting large fascist forces to themselves. At the height of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, the actions of partisan detachments and formations significantly disrupted the supply of enemy reserves and military equipment to the front. The actions of the partisans turned out to be so effective that the fascist German command sent against them in the summer and autumn of 1942 144 police battalions, 27 police regiments, 8 infantry regiments, 10 SS security police and punitive divisions, 2 security corps, 72 special units, up to 15 infantry German and 5 infantry divisions of their satellites, thereby weakening their forces at the front. Despite this, the partisans managed to organize more than 3,000 crashes of enemy trains during this period, blew up 3,500 railway and highway bridges, destroyed 15,000 vehicles, about 900 bases and warehouses with ammunition and weapons, up to 1,200 tanks, 467 aircraft, 378 guns.

punitive officers and policemen

partisan region

partisans on the march

By the end of the summer of 1942, the partisan movement had become a significant force, and organizational work was completed. The total number of partisans was up to 200,000 people. In August 1942, the most famous of the partisan commanders were summoned to Moscow to participate in a general meeting.

Commanders of partisan formations: M.I. Duca, M.P. Voloshin, D.V. Emlyutin, S.A. Kovpak, A.N. Saburov

(from left to right)

Thanks to the efforts of the Soviet leadership, the partisan movement turned into a carefully organized, well-controlled military and political force united by a single command. Head of the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement at Headquarters, Lieutenant General P.K. Ponomarenko became a member of the General Staff Red Army.

PC. Ponomarenko

TsShPD - on the left P.K. Ponomarenko

The partisan detachments operating in the front line came under direct subordination to the command of the corresponding army occupying this section of the front. The detachments operating in the deep rear of the German troops were subordinate to headquarters in Moscow. Officers and enlisted personnel of the regular army were sent to partisan units as instructors for the training of specialists.

guerrilla movement control structure

In August - September 1943, according to the TsShPD plan, 541 detachments of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian partisans simultaneously took part in the first operation to destroy the enemy’s railway communications in“Rail War”.

The purpose of the operation was to disrupt the work of the railway by massive and simultaneous destruction of rails. transport, thereby disrupting the supply of German troops, evacuation and regrouping and thus assisting the Red Army in completing the defeat of the enemy in the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and the deployment of a general offensive on the Soviet-German front. The leadership of the “rail war” was carried out by the TsShPD at the Supreme Command Headquarters. The plan called for the destruction of 200,000 rails in the rear areas of Army Groups Center and North. To carry out the operation, 167 partisan detachments from Belarus, Leningrad, Kalinin, Smolensk, and Orel regions, numbering up to 100,000 people, were involved.

The operation was preceded by careful preparation. The sections of the railway designated for destruction were distributed among partisan formations and detachments. Only from June 15 to July 1, 1943, aviation dropped 150 tons of special profile bombs, 156,000 m of fuse cord, 28,000 m of hemp wick, 595,000 detonator caps, 35,000 fuses, a lot of weapons, ammunition and medicines at partisan bases. Mining instructors were sent to the partisan detachments.

railway alignment canvases

The “Rail War” began on the night of August 3, just at a time when the enemy was forced to intensively maneuver its reserves in connection with the unfolding counter-offensive of the Soviet troops and its development into a general offensive along the entire front. In one night, over a vast area of 1000 km along the front and from the front line to the western borders of the USSR, more than 42,000 rails were blown up in depth. Simultaneously with the “Rail War,” active operations on enemy communications were launched by Ukrainian partisans, who, according to the plan for the spring-summer period of 1943, were tasked with paralyzing the work of the 26 largest railways. nodes in the rear of Army Group “South”, including Shepetovsky, Kovelsky, Zdolbunovsky, Korostensky, Sarnensky.

attack on the railway station

In the following days, the partisans' actions in the operation intensified even more. By September 15, 215,000 rails had been destroyed, which amounted to 1,342 km of single-track railway. ways. On some railways On the roads, traffic was delayed for 3-15 days, and the Mogilev-Krichev, Polotsk-Dvinsk, Mogilev-Zhlobin highways did not work during August 1943. During the operation, Belarusian partisans alone blew up 836 military trains, including 3 armored trains, disabled 690 steam locomotives, 6,343 wagons and platforms, 18 water pumps, and destroyed 184 railways. bridges and 556 bridges on dirt and highway roads, destroyed 119 tanks and 1,429 vehicles, and defeated 44 German garrisons. The experience of the “Rail War” was used by the headquarters of the partisan movement in the autumn-winter period of 1943/1944 in the “Concert” operations and in the summer of 1944 during the offensive of the Red Army in Belarus.

blown up railway compound

Operation Concert was carried out by Soviet partisans from September 19 to the end of October 1943. The purpose of the operation was to hamper the operational transportation of fascist German troops by massively disabling large sections of railways; was a continuation of Operation Rail War; was carried out according to the TsShPD plan at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and was closely connected with the upcoming offensive of Soviet troops in the Smolensk and Gomel directions and the battle for the Dnieper. 293 partisan formations and detachments from Belarus, the Baltic states, Karelia, Crimea, Leningrad and Kalinin regions, totaling over 120,000 partisans, were involved in the operation; it was planned to undermine more than 272,000 rails. In Belarus, 90,000 partisans were involved in the operation; they had to blow up 140,000 rails. The TsShPD intended to throw 120 tons of explosives and other cargo to the partisans of Belarus, and 20 tons each to the Kalinin and Leningrad partisans. Due to sharply deteriorating weather conditions at the start of the operation, only 50% of what was planned was transferred to the partisans, and therefore it was decided to begin mass sabotage on September 25. However, some of the partisan detachments that had reached the initial lines according to the previous order could no longer take into account the changes in the timing of the operation and began to implement it on September 19. On the night of September 25, widespread actions were carried out according to plan“Concert”, covering 900 km along the front and 400 km in depth. On the night of September 19, Belarusian partisans blew up 19,903 rails and on the night of September 25, another 15,809 rails. As a result, 148,557 rails were undermined. Operation Concert intensified the struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders in the occupied territories. During the war, the influx of local population into partisan detachments increased.

partisan operation “Concert”

An important form of partisan action was the raids of partisan formations on the rear of the fascist invaders. The main goal of these raids was to increase the scope and activity of popular resistance to the occupiers in new areas, as well as to strike major railways. nodes and important military-industrial facilities of the enemy, reconnaissance, providing fraternal assistance to the peoples of neighboring countries in their liberation struggle against fascism. Only on instructions from the headquarters of the partisan movement, more than 40 raids were carried out, in which over 100 large partisan formations took part. In 1944, 7 formations and 26 separate large detachments of Soviet partisans operated in the occupied territory of Poland, and 20 formations and detachments in Czechoslovakia. The raids of partisan formations under the command of V.A. had a great influence on the scope of the partisan struggle and increased its effectiveness. Andreeva, I.N. Banova, P.P. Vershigory, A.V. Germana, S.V. Grishina, F.F. Cabbage, V.A. Karaseva, S.A. Kovpaka, V.I. Kozlova, V.Z. Korzha, M.I. Naumova, N.A. Prokopyuk, V.V. Razumova, A.N. Saburova, V.P. Samson, A.F. Fedorova, A.K. Flegontova, V.P. Chepigi, M.I. Shukaeva and others.

The Putivl partisan detachment (commander S.A. Kovpvk, commissar S.V. Rudnev, chief of staff G.Ya. Bazyma), operating in the occupied territory of several regions of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus in 1941-1944, was created on October 18, 1941 in Spadshchansky forest, Sumy region. During the first weeks of the occupation, the detachments of Kovpak and Rudnev, numbering two to three dozen people each, acted independently and had no communication with each other. By the beginning of autumn, Rudnev, following Kovpak’s first sabotages, was on his trail, met with him and offered to merge both detachments. Already on October 19-20, 1941, the detachment repelled the offensive of a punitive battalion with 5 tanks, on November 18-19 - the second punitive offensive, and on December 1, it broke through the blockade ring around the Spadshchansky forest and made the first raid into the Khinel forests. By this time, the combined detachment had already grown to 500 people.

Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak

Semyon Vasilievich Rudnev

In February 1942, a detachment of S.A. Kovpaka, transformed into the Sumy Partisan Unit (Union of Partisan Detachments of the Sumy Region), returned to Spadshchansky Forest and from here undertook a series of raids, as a result of which a vast partisan region was created in the northern regions of the Sumy Region and in the adjacent territory of the RSFSR and BSSR. By the summer of 1942, 24 detachments and 127 groups (about 18,000 partisans) were operating on its territory.

dugout at a partisan base

Interior view of the dugout

The Sumy partisan unit included four detachments: Putivlsky, Glukhovsky, Shalyginsky and Krolevetsky (based on the names of the districts of the Sumy region where they were organized). For secrecy, the formation was called military unit 00117, and the detachments were called battalions. Historically, the units had unequal numbers. As of January 1943, while based in Polesie, the first battalion(Putivl detachment) numbered up to 800 partisans, the other three had 250-300 partisans each. The first battalion consisted of ten companies, the rest - 3-4 companies each. The companies did not arise immediately, but were formed gradually, like partisan groups, and often arose along territorial lines. Gradually, with the departure from their native places, the groups grew into companies and acquired a new character. During the raid, companies were no longer distributed on a territorial basis, but according to military expediency. So in the first battalion there were several rifle companies, two companies of machine gunners, two companies of heavy weapons (with 45-mm anti-tank guns, heavy machine guns, battalion mortars), a reconnaissance company, a company of miners, a platoon of sappers, a communications center and the main utility unit.

partisan cart

In 1941-1942, Kovpak's unit carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, and in 1942-1943 - a raid from the Bryansk forests to Right Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhitomir and Kiev regions. The Sumy partisan unit under the command of Kovpak fought through the rear of the fascist German troops for more than 10,000 km, defeating enemy garrisons in 39 settlements. Raids S.A. Kovpak played a big role in the development of the partisan movement against the German occupiers.

partisan raid

“Partisan Bears”

On June 12, 1943, the partisan unit S.A. Kovpak set out on a military campaign in the Carpathian region. By the time they reached the Carpathian roadstead, the formation consisted of 2,000 partisans. It was armed with 130 machine guns, 380 machine guns, 9 guns, 30 mortars, 30 anti-tank rifles. During the raid, the partisans fought 2,000 km, destroyed 3,800 Nazis, blew up 19 military trains, 52 bridges, 51 warehouses with property and weapons, disabled power plants and oil fields near Bitkov and Yablonov. By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR datedOn January 4, 1944, for the successful implementation of the Carpathian raid, Major General Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Partisans took part in the liberation of the cities of Vileika, Yelsk, Znamenka, Luninets, Pavlograd, Rechitsa, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, Stavropol, Cherkassy, Yalta and many others.

The activities of clandestine combat groups in cities and towns caused great damage to the enemy. Underground groups and organizations in Minsk, Kiev, Mogilev, Odessa, Vitebsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Smolensk, Kaunas, Krasnodar, Krasnodon, Pskov, Gomel, Orsha, as well as other cities and towns showed examples of selfless struggle against the fascist invaders. Sabotage, a hidden struggle to disrupt the enemy's political, economic and military activities, were the most common forms of mass resistance to the occupiers of millions of Soviet people.

Soviet intelligence officers and underground fighters committed hundreds of acts of sabotage, the targets of which were representatives of the German occupation authorities. Only with the direct participation of special detachments of the NKVD, 87 acts of retaliation were carried out against Hitler’s executioners responsible for carrying out the extermination policy in the east. On February 17, 1943, security officers killed the regional Gebitsk Commissioner Friedrich Fenz. In July of the same year, intelligence officers eliminated Gebietskommissar Ludwig Ehrenleitner. The most famous and significant of them is rightfully considered the liquidation of the Commissioner General of Belarus, Wilhelm Kube. In July 1941, Cuba was appointed General Commissioner of Belarus. Gauleiter Kube was particularly cruel. On the direct orders of the Gauleiter, a Jewish ghetto was created in Minsk and a concentration camp in the village of Trostenets, where 206,500 people were exterminated. For the first time, fighters from the NKGB sabotage and reconnaissance group of Kirill Orlovsky tried to destroy him. Having received information that Kube was going to hunt on February 17, 1943 in the Mashukovsky forests, Orlovsky organized an ambush. In a hot and fleeting battle, the scouts destroyed Gebietskommissar Fenz, 10 officers and 30 SS soldiers. But Kube was not among the dead (at the last moment he did not go hunting). And yet, on September 22, 1943, at 4.00 am, the underground fighters managed to destroy the General Commissioner of Belarus, Wilhelm Kube, with a bomb explosion (the bomb was planted under Kube’s bed by the Soviet underground worker Elena Grigorievna Mazanik).

E.G. Mazanik

The legendary career intelligence officer Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov (pseudonym - Grachev) with the beginning of the Second World War, at his personal request, was enrolled in the Special Group of the NKVD. In August 1942, N.I. Kuznetsov was sent behind enemy lines to the “Winners” partisan detachment (commander D.M. Medvedev), which operated on the territory of Ukraine. Appearing in the occupied city of Rivne under the guise of a German officer - Chief Lieutenant Paul Siebert, Kuznetsov was able to quickly make the necessary contacts.

N.I. Kuznetsov N.I. Kuznetsov - Paul Siebert

Using the trust of fascist officers, he learned the locations of enemy units and the directions of their movement. He managed to obtain information about the German V-1 and V-2 missiles, reveal the location of A. Hitler’s headquarters “Werewolf” (“Werewolf”) near the city of Vinnitsa, and warn the Soviet command about the upcoming offensive of Hitler’s troops in the Kursk region (operation “Citadel”), about the impending assassination attempt on the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain (J.V. Stalin, D. Roosevelt, W. Churchill) in Tehran. In the fight against the Nazi invaders N.I. Kuznetsov showed extraordinary courage and ingenuity. He acted as a people's avenger. He committed acts of retaliation against many fascist generals and senior officers endowed with great powers of the Third Reich. He destroyed the chief judge of Ukraine Funk, the imperial adviser to the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine Gall and his secretary Winter, the vice-governor of Galicia Bauer, generals Knut and Dargel, kidnapped and took to the partisan detachment the commander of the punitive forces in Ukraine, General Ilgen. March 9, 1944 N.I. Kuznetsov died when he was surrounded by Ukrainian nationalists-Bendera in the village of Boryatin, Brodovsego district, Lviv region. Seeing that he couldn’t break through, he used the last grenade to blow himself up and the Benderites who surrounded him. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 5, 1944, Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for exceptional courage and bravery in carrying out command assignments.

monument to N.I. Kuznetsov

grave of N.I. Kuznetsova

The underground Komsomol organization “Young Guard”, which operated during the Second World War in the city of Krasnodon, Voroshilovgrad region of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by Nazi troops, will forever remain in the memory of the Soviet people (there is no need to identify it with the modern “well done” from “M.G.”, who have nothing in common with the dead heroes). The “Young Guard” was created under the leadership of the party underground led by F.P. Lyutikov. After the occupation of Krasnodon (July 20, 1942), several anti-fascist groups arose in the city and its environs, led by Komsomol members I.V. Turkevich (commander), I.A. Zemnukhov, O.V. Koshevoy (commissioner), V.I. Levashov, S.G. Tyulenev, A.Z. Eliseenko, V.A. Zhdanov, N.S. Sumskoy, U.M. Gromova, L.G. Shevtsova, A.V. Popov, M.K. Petlivanova.

young guards

In total, more than 100 underground workers united in the underground organization, 20 of them were communists. Despite the harsh terror, the “Young Guard” created an extensive network of combat groups and cells throughout the Krasnodon region. The Young Guards issued 5,000 anti-fascist leaflets of 30 titles; liberated about 100 prisoners of war who were in a concentration camp; burned the labor exchange, where lists of people scheduled for export to Germany were kept, as a result of which 2,000 Krasnodon residents were saved from being taken into fascist slavery, destroyed vehicles with soldiers, ammunition, fuel and food, prepared an uprising with the aim of defeating the German garrison and moving towards the attackers units of the Red Army. But the betrayal of the provocateur G. Pochentsov interrupted this preparation. At the beginning of January 1943, arrests of members of the Young Guard began. They bravely withstood all the torture in fascist dungeons. During January 15, 16, and 31, the Nazis threw 71 people alive and dead into the pit of coal mine No. 5, 53 m deep. On February 9, 1943, O.V. Koshevoy, L.G. Shevtsova, S.M. Ostapenko, D.U. Ogurtsov, V.F. Subbotin, after brutal torture, was shot in the Thunderous Forest near the city of Rovenka. Only 11 underground fighters managed to escape from pursuit by the gendarmerie. By decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces of September 13, 1943, U.M. Gromova, M.A. Zemnukhov, O.V. Koshevoy, S, G. Tyulenev and L.G. Shevtsova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

monument to the Young Guards

The list of heroes of the partisan struggle and the partisan underground is endless, so on the night of June 30, 1943, underground Komsomol member F. Krylovich blew up the Osipovichi railway station. train with fuel. As a result of the explosion and resulting fire, four military trains were destroyed, including a train with Tiger tanks. The occupiers lost that night at the station. Osipovichi 30 “Tigers”.

monument to underground fighters in Melitopol

The selfless and selfless activities of the partisans and underground fighters received national recognition and high praise from the CPSU and the Soviet government. More than 127,000 partisans were awarded the medal“Partisan of the Patriotic War” 1st and 2nd degree. Over 184,000 partisans and underground fighters were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union, and 248 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War”