L Unin Boris Nikolaevich - commander partisan brigade“Assault”, operating 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 village administrative center Turkovsky district 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 on the territory of Mongolia and in 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 fights baptism of fire Lieutenant Lunin also accepted. August 8, 1941, when he Military Unit found herself surrounded and 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 KAZAK of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 1, 1944 for skillful command of a partisan brigade, exemplary performance combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed at the same time, Boris Nikolaevich Lunin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. 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 Byelorussian SSR, then in the Krasnodar Territory - as deputy head of a large motorcade.
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 aroused the indignation of the partisans and 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. highest degree distinctions 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. WITH similar letters, former partisans of the Shturmovaya brigade also appealed 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 large group 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 everything military merits Boris Lunin, and excluded his name from history partisan movement in Belarus.
December 2, 1942 from Minsk to the Intelligence Directorate General Staff A radiogram was sent to the Red Army: “I am changing the 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 provide stable connection 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 district center Logoisk. The police station was destroyed, the bank, the district government, food and feed warehouses were seized. The partisan trophies were 10 horses with carts, 500 thousand German marks, 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. Together with the combat successes of the brigade, heroic deeds 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. Valuable cargo with Mainland was very useful: 80 thousand rifle cartridges, 12 machine guns and 1000 rounds of ammunition for each, anti-tank rifle 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 cars, 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, the houses in which the Nazis were located, and killed the guards 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. The meeting was attended by 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. "Behind successful completion combat mission of the command and the heroism displayed at the same time...” gratitude was expressed to the formations listed in the order, commanding officers and rank and file, and especially 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 for nominations of partisan commanders to present them to highest honor countries.
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 cars, 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 campaign began against the partisans. punitive expedition. 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, beyond outer ring 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 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. In 1953 it was on a short time popped up again. 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.
What price did its defenders, who fought behind enemy lines, pay for the liberation of the Motherland?
This is rarely remembered, but during the war years there was a joke that sounded with a tinge of pride: “Why should we wait until the Allies open a second front? It's been open for a long time! It’s called the Partisan Front.” If there is an exaggeration in this, it is a small one. The partisans of the Great Patriotic War really were a real second front for the Nazis.
To imagine the scale guerrilla warfare, just give a few numbers. By 1944, about 1.1 million people fought in partisan detachments and formations. Losses German side from the actions of the partisans amounted to several hundred thousand people - this number includes Wehrmacht soldiers and officers (at least 40,000 people even according to the meager data of the German side), and all sorts of collaborators such as Vlasovites, police officers, colonists, and so on. Among those destroyed by the people's avengers were 67 German generals; five more were taken alive and transported to the mainland. Finally, the effectiveness of the partisan movement can be judged by this fact: the Germans had to divert every tenth soldier of the ground forces to fight the enemy in their own rear!
It is clear that such successes came at a high price for the partisans themselves. In the ceremonial reports of that time, everything looks beautiful: they destroyed 150 enemy soldiers and lost two partisans killed. In reality, partisan losses were much higher, and even today their final figure is unknown. But the losses were probably no less than those of the enemy. Hundreds of thousands of partisans and underground fighters gave their lives for the liberation of their homeland.
How many partisan heroes do we have?
Just one figure speaks very clearly about the severity of losses among partisans and underground participants: out of 250 Heroes of the Soviet Union who fought in the German rear, 124 people - every second! - received this high title posthumously. And this despite the fact that during the Great Patriotic War, a total of 11,657 people were awarded the country’s highest award, 3,051 of them posthumously. That is, every fourth...
Among the 250 partisans and underground fighters - Heroes of the Soviet Union, two were awarded the high title twice. These are the commanders of the partisan units Sidor Kovpak and Alexey Fedorov. What is noteworthy: both partisan commanders were awarded at the same time each time, by the same decree. For the first time - on May 18, 1942, together with partisan Ivan Kopenkin, who received the title posthumously. The second time - on January 4, 1944, together with 13 more partisans: this was one of the most massive simultaneous awards to partisans with the highest ranks.
Sidor Kovpak. Reproduction: TASS
Two more partisans - Hero of the Soviet Union wore on their chests not only the sign of this highest rank, but also Golden star Hero of Socialist Labor: Commissar of the Partisan Brigade named after K.K. Rokossovsky Pyotr Masherov and the commander of the partisan detachment “Falcons” Kirill Orlovsky. Pyotr Masherov received his first title in August 1944, the second in 1978 for his success in the party field. Kirill Orlovsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in September 1943, and Hero Socialist Labor- in 1958: the collective farm “Rassvet”, headed by him, became the first millionaire collective farm in the USSR.
The first Heroes of the Soviet Union from among the partisans were the leaders of the Red October partisan detachment operating on the territory of Belarus: the detachment's commissar Tikhon Bumazhkov and commander Fyodor Pavlovsky. And this happened during the most difficult period at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - August 6, 1941! Alas, only one of them lived to see the Victory: the commissar of the Red October detachment, Tikhon Bumazhkov, who managed to receive his award in Moscow, died in December of the same year, leaving the German encirclement.
Belarusian partisans on Lenin Square in Minsk, after the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders. Photo: Vladimir Lupeiko / RIA
Chronicle of partisan heroism
In total, in the first year and a half of the war, 21 partisans and underground fighters received the highest award, 12 of them received the title posthumously. Total The Supreme Council By the end of 1942, the USSR issued nine decrees conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on partisans, five of them were group, four were individual. Among them was a decree on awarding the legendary partisan Lisa Chaikina dated March 6, 1942. And on September 1 of the same year highest award was awarded to nine participants of the partisan movement at once, two of whom received it posthumously.
The year 1943 turned out to be just as stingy in terms of top awards for partisans: only 24 awarded. But in the next year, 1944, when the entire territory of the USSR was liberated from the fascist yoke and the partisans found themselves on their side of the front line, 111 people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union at once, including two - Sidor Kovpak and Alexey Fedorov - in the second once. And in the victorious year of 1945, another 29 people were added to the number of partisans - Heroes of the Soviet Union.
But many were among the partisans and those whose exploits the country fully appreciated only many years after the Victory. IN total 65 Heroes of the Soviet Union from among those who fought behind enemy lines were awarded this high title after 1945. Most of the awards found their heroes in the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory - by decree of May 8, 1965, the country's highest award was awarded to 46 partisans. And in last time The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on May 5, 1990 to Fora Mosulishvili, a partisan in Italy, and to the leader of the Young Guard, Ivan Turkenich. Both received the award posthumously.
What else can you add when talking about partisan heroes? Every ninth person who fought in a partisan detachment or underground and earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union is a woman! But here the sad statistics are even more inexorable: only five out of 28 partisans received this title during their lifetime, the rest - posthumously. Among them were the first woman, Hero of the Soviet Union Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, and members of the underground organization “Young Guard” Ulyana Gromova and Lyuba Shevtsova. In addition, among the partisans - Heroes of the Soviet Union there were two Germans: intelligence officer Fritz Schmenkel, awarded posthumously in 1964, and reconnaissance commander Robert Klein, awarded in 1944. And also Slovakian Jan Nalepka, commander of a partisan detachment, awarded posthumously in 1945.
It only remains to add that after the collapse of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Russian Federation was awarded to another 9 partisans, including three posthumously (one of the awarded was intelligence officer Vera Voloshina). The medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War” was awarded to a total of 127,875 men and women (1st degree - 56,883 people, 2nd degree - 70,992 people): organizers and leaders of the partisan movement, commanders of partisan detachments and particularly distinguished partisans. The very first of the medals “Partisan of the Patriotic War”, 1st degree, was received in June 1943 by the commander of a demolition group, Efim Osipenko. He was awarded the award for his feat in the fall of 1941, when he had to detonate a failed mine literally by hand. As a result, the train with tanks and food collapsed from the road, and the detachment managed to pull out the shell-shocked and blinded commander and transport him to the mainland.
Partisans by call of heart and duty of service
The fact that the Soviet government will rely on partisan warfare in the event major war on the western borders, it was clear back in the late 1920s - early 1930s. It was then that the OGPU employees and the partisans they recruited were veterans Civil War developed plans for organizing the structure of future partisan detachments, laid hidden bases and caches with ammunition and equipment. But, alas, shortly before the start of the war, as veterans recall, these bases began to be opened and liquidated, and the built warning system and organization of partisan detachments began to be broken. Nevertheless, when the first bombs fell on Soviet soil on June 22, many local party workers remembered these pre-war plans and began to form the backbone of future detachments.
But not all groups arose this way. There were also many who appeared spontaneously - from soldiers and officers who were unable to break through the front line, who were surrounded by units, specialists who did not have time to evacuate, conscripts who did not reach their units, and the like. Moreover, this process was uncontrollable, and the number of such detachments was small. According to some reports, in the winter of 1941-1942, over 2 thousand partisan detachments operated in the German rear, their total number was 90 thousand fighters. It turns out that on average there were up to fifty fighters in each detachment, more often one or two dozen. By the way, as eyewitnesses recall, local residents did not begin to actively join partisan detachments immediately, but only in the spring of 1942, when “ new order" showed himself in the whole nightmare, and the opportunity to survive in the forest became real.
In turn, the detachments that arose under the command of people who were preparing partisan actions even before the war were more numerous. Such were, for example, the detachments of Sidor Kovpak and Alexei Fedorov. The basis of such connections were party and Soviet authorities, were led by future partisan generals. This is how the legendary partisan detachment “Red October” arose: the basis for it was the fighter battalion formed by Tikhon Bumazhkov (a volunteer armed formation in the first months of the war, involved in the anti-sabotage fight in front line), which was later “overgrown” with local residents and encirclement. In exactly the same way, the famous Pinsk partisan detachment arose, which later grew into a formation - on the base fighter battalion, created by Vasily Korzh, a career employee of the NKVD, who 20 years earlier was involved in preparing partisan warfare. By the way, his first battle, which the detachment fought on June 28, 1941, is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War.
In addition, there were partisan detachments that were formed in the Soviet rear, after which they were transferred across the front line to the German rear - for example, Dmitry Medvedev’s legendary “Winners” detachment. The basis of such detachments were soldiers and commanders of NKVD units and professional intelligence officers and saboteurs. In particular, the Soviet “saboteur number one” Ilya Starinov was involved in the training of such units (as well as in the retraining of ordinary partisans). And the activities of such detachments were supervised by a Special Group under the NKVD under the leadership of Pavel Sudoplatov, which later became the 4th Directorate of the People's Commissariat.
The commander of the partisan detachment “Winners”, writer Dmitry Medvedev, during the Great Patriotic War. Photo: Leonid Korobov / RIA Novosti
Before commanders like special units they were given more serious and difficult tasks than ordinary partisans. Often they had to conduct large-scale rear reconnaissance, develop and carry out penetration operations and liquidation actions. One can once again cite as an example the same detachment of Dmitry Medvedev “Winners”: it was he who provided support and supplies for the famous Soviet intelligence officer Nikolai Kuznetsov, who was responsible for the liquidation of several major officials of the occupation administration and several major successes in human intelligence.
Insomnia and the rail war
But anyway the main task partisan movement, which he led from Moscow from May 1942 Central headquarters partisan movement (and from September to November also the Commander-in-Chief of the partisan movement, whose post was occupied by the “first red marshal” Kliment Voroshilov for three months), was different. Do not allow the invaders to gain a foothold on the occupied land, inflict constant harassing blows on them, disrupt rear communications and transport connection- this is what the mainland expected and demanded from the partisans.
It is true that they have some kind of global goal, the partisans, one might say, found out only after the appearance of the Central Headquarters. And the point here is not at all that previously there was no one to give orders; there was no way to convey them to the performers. From the autumn of 1941 until the spring of 1942, while the front enormous speed rolled to the east and the country made titanic efforts to stop this movement, the partisan detachments mostly acted at their own peril and risk. Left to their own devices, with virtually no support from behind the front line, they were forced to focus more on survival than on inflicting significant damage on the enemy. Few could boast of communication with the mainland, and even then mainly those who were organizedly thrown into the German rear, equipped with both a walkie-talkie and radio operators.
But after the appearance of the headquarters, the partisans began to be centrally provided with communications (in particular, regular graduations of partisan radio operators from schools began), to establish coordination between units and formations, and to use the gradually emerging partisan regions as a base for air supply. By that time, the basic tactics of guerrilla warfare had also been formed. The actions of the detachments, as a rule, came down to one of two methods: harassing strikes at the place of deployment or long raids on the enemy’s rear. Supporters and active implementers of raid tactics were the partisan commanders Kovpak and Vershigora, while the “Winners” detachment rather demonstrated harassment.
But what almost all partisan detachments, without exception, did was disrupt German communications. And it doesn’t matter whether this was done as part of a raid or harassing tactics: attacks were carried out on railways (in the first place) and highways. Those who couldn't boast large in number detachments and special skills, focused on blowing up rails and bridges. Larger detachments that had units of demolitions, reconnaissance and saboteurs and special means could count on larger targets: big bridges, junction stations, railway infrastructure.
Partisans mine railway tracks near Moscow. Photo: RIA Novosti
The largest coordinated actions were two sabotage operations - “Rail War” and “Concert”. Both were carried out by partisans on the orders of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement and Headquarters Supreme High Command and were coordinated with the Red Army's offensives in the late summer and fall of 1943. The result of the “Rail War” was a reduction in the operational transportation of the Germans by 40%, and the result of the “Concert” - by 35%. This had a tangible impact on providing the active Wehrmacht units with reinforcements and equipment, although some experts in the field of sabotage warfare believed that the partisan capabilities could have been managed differently. For example, it was necessary to strive to disable not so much railway tracks as equipment, which is much more difficult to restore. This is precisely why the Higher Operational School special purpose a device such as an overhead rail was invented, which literally threw trains off the track. But still, for the majority of partisan detachments, the most accessible way rail war All that remained was to undermine the canvas, and even such assistance to the front turned out to be meaningless.
A feat that cannot be undone
Today's view of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War is seriously different from what existed in society 30 years ago. Many details became known that eyewitnesses had accidentally or deliberately kept silent about, testimonies appeared from those who never romanticized the activities of the partisans, and even from those who had a death view against the partisans of the Great Patriotic War. And in many now independent former Soviet republics, they completely swapped the plus and minus positions, writing the partisans as enemies, and the policemen as the saviors of the homeland.
But all these events cannot detract from the main thing - the incredible, unique feat of the people who, deep behind enemy lines, did everything to defend their Motherland. Albeit by touch, without any idea of tactics and strategy, with only rifles and grenades, but these people fought for their freedom. And the best monument to them can and will be the memory of the feat of the partisans - the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, which cannot be canceled or downplayed by any effort.
During the Great Patriotic War in the occupied fascist troops territories of the Soviet Union was carried out people's war, which is a guerrilla movement. 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 battle 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 the 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 surviving in the occupation Soviet power, military units.
The partisan movement was not uncontrolled. Already in June 1941 the Council people's commissars adopted a directive that listed the main necessary actions partisan 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) a youth group was formed underground organization“Young Guard”, 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.
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, which had full information about everything that happens in the occupied territories.
Squad long time was located in the Bobruisk region. 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 carried out the first sabotage operations: he 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 of the 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. There was a large group in reserve that fought on 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 a Separate motorized rifle brigade special purpose (OMSBON) of the NKVD of the USSR, consisting of two motorized rifle regiments: four-battalion and three-battalion with special units (sapper-demolition company, autocompany, 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 rear security system 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 important role in all subsequent combat activities of the Bryansk and Kaluga partisans: in the region 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, the 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, and destroyed manpower, in particular, they even accounted for two killed German general. 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 carry out joint operations, which significantly increased the effectiveness of combat operations. In a short time - 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 Smolensk region under his leadership there are 4 partisan detachments numbering 174 people.
January 8, 1942 to carry out large-scale reconnaissance and sabotage work behind the front against Germany and its allies as 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 partisan 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 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 their moral and physical training fighters, 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 a grain farm in the 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 for 6 classes as an external student 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.
Fought first on Southern Front, then against the troops of General Dutov and the White Czechs, then on Western Front. From 1920 to 1925 he was in underground work along the so-called line. "active intelligence" of the Red Army Intelligence Department in western regions 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 central office 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 were destroyed German soldiers and officers, 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 of Socialist Labor (1965), Belarusian, born in the village. Myshkovichi in a peasant family. In 1906 he entered Popovshchinskaya parish school, which he graduated from in 1910. In 1915 he was drafted into the army. Served first in the 251st reserve infantry regiment private, and from 1917 - 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 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 was at work recruiting and training partisan personnel along the line Special Department 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. October 27, 1942 sent with a group of paratroopers behind enemy lines to the area Belovezhskaya Pushcha, 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 of the operational group, and then of the Elusive partisan brigade behind German lines.
Eitingon N.I.
Eitingon Naum Isaakovich, December 6, 1899-1981, Major General (1945), Jew, born in Shklov, Mogilev province, in the family of a clerk paper mill. 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 outbreak of the 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 International Relations publishing house. 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.
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, 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 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 imperceptibly the group moved close to railway tracks and planted the 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 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 infantry troops of special weapons, that is engineering troops, Richard Wirtz, returning from a meeting from Koenigsberg to his building 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 background peasant family, Hero of the Soviet Union, Tikhon Pimenovich was already the director of the plant at the age of 26, but the ensuing 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.