Partisan Warfare Russia

Whole families were often involve in Partisan activies

Partisan Warfare on the Eastern Front

While the war was raging along a massive front from Leningrad in the north to the Caucasus in the south, another war of a very different nature was being fought behind the Germans lines. In many ways it was a somewhat more brutal and savage war.
 
A battle was being fought for control of vast German occupied countryside between various groups of Soviet and Nationalist Partisans and German security and various national auxiliary troops.

It was in this atmosphere that many of the horrors of the Second World War were perpetrated by German auxiliary troops, but at the same time Partisans carried out many brave actions against Axis targets, always with the aim of helping their comrades’ efforts in the frontlines and freeing their homeland from the invaders.

Soviet Partisan Organisation

At the out break of WWII the Soviets had no official plans for organising occupied area resistance in case of foreign invasion. Stalin was fearful that any training and organisation might encourage anti-soviet groups and give them an easy source of organising armed resistance against the Soviet State.

However the NKVD did organise a number of Destruction Battalions with the aim of infiltrating behind enemy lines during an invasion and causing havoc to the enemy’s communication and supply lines.

Partisans

These company-sized units never received the appropriated training and like many other NKVD border guard units were simply overwhelmed during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa.

On July 3, 1941, eleven days after the German invasion Comrade Stalin finally conceded some form of organised resistance was needed for the German occupied areas. In a radio broadcast he called for national resistance and ordered the organisation of Partisan units.

Partisans with PPsh SMGs

These groups were called Otryadi and could number between 200 and 1000 fighters. These first new Otryadi consisted of Army stragglers, escaped POWs, NKVD troops, Communist activists and officials and State Youth Organisation (Komsomol) members. Very few of these early Partisans were actually workers or peasants.

The German auxiliary Einsatzgruppen were particularly vicious to Communist Party members, and when faced with death at the hands of these barbarians or join the Partisans the choice was fairly simple. In these early Partisan groups party members made up 40% of their ranks. 

Despite the large number of NKVD and Communist Party members the overall control of the Partisans was taken over by the Red Army.

Despite Stalin’s order Partisan fighting in 1941 had not gone well and by the end of the year most resistance groups had been destroyed and only about 30,000 Partisans remained over the entire front. In 1942 the Army took control of the situation and regular army units were infiltrated through the German lines to join the Partisan Otryadi, booster their morale, provide training, organisation and weapons.

Further reinforcements and weapons were dropped by air and Red Army hidden weapons stores were located and distributed among the Partisans. 

By the mid 1942 the Partisans were operating in three tiers. The best units were the military Otryad made up of regular army officers and men. The next units were the irregular Otryad led by NKVD Komissars and party members, though often of limited military experience, proved enthusiastic and dedicated fighters. The final group was the self-protection Otryad usually organised to protect a village from marauding Axis auxiliary troops and anti-communist nationalist partisans. 

In May 1942 and overall Partisan command was set-up in Moscow as part of the army command, but under Communist Party supervision. They further organised the Partisan staffs for each front. The Otryadi were organised into brigades.

Women Partisans

Each theoretically consisted of:

Headquarters (Commander, Party Komissar, NKVD section, and HQ company)
Support Company (400 men, usually the original Otryad)
3 Rifle Companies (100 men each)

These new brigades became the new tactical units for organising actions against the Germans.

Peasants were conscripted and by the end of 1942 made up 60% Partisan Otryadi membership.

The result of Partisan action against a train

The remainder of the Partisans were mainly army personnel. In December 1942 130,000 Soviet Partisans had be organised and were active behind enemy line and controlled large tracks of land in the German occupied zones, though mainly north of the Ukraine in central Russia where the dense northern forests offered the cover and protection they needed.

Partisan Operations

The main goal of the Soviet Partisans was not to defeat the Germans security forces in detail, but to simply interrupt supply and communication, disrupt troop movements and generally force the Germans to commit more forces to controlling them, and hence taking troops and resources away from the frontline.

They were also used to gather intelligence on Axis troop movements and concentrations to aid Soviet planning at the frontline. They also impacted on the morale of the German troops whose thoughts of safety behind the lines were soon abolished by the activities of the Partisans.

While the Brigade organisation was instituted in May 1942, smaller Partisan units of 75-150 men carried out most operations, at night, and usually from ambush positions.

The missions carried out by Partisans included attacking troop and supply columns, which could be on foot or wagon, motorised or on trains. Often attacks on trains would be preceded by the demolition of the rail line, embankment, bridge or tunnel. They also attacked troop camps and billets, rear area headquarters, supply depots, weapons parks and even airfields.

Even smaller divisionary groups were organised of 30 to 50 men split into smaller groups who didn’t know each other for security reasons. These small Partisan units of 3-10 men would carry out harassing sabotage such as the cutting of telephone lines, destroying ammunitions and fuel dumps, destroying rail lines, and minor ambushes on isolated enemy groups.
 
Often German military police (Feldgendarmerie) were the target of small partisan ambushes on patrols. The Feldgendarme had an intermit knowledge of German supply and troop routes and times and interrogation could glean vital information for future raids.

Partisan Otryadi usually operated from areas they new well and set-up bases in hard to get to locations such as swamps and deep in thick forests.

German military police

Often when faced with a concerted effort by German forces to eradicate them from an area they would simply melt away to reform in a less protected area and continue their operations. 

During January 1942 large numbers of Partisans from Bryansk joined forces with Soviet Paratroopers causing much havoc along the Smolensk-Vyazama rail line. This disruption caused the Germans to pull parts of the 5th and 11th Panzer Division back from the frontline to take control of the supply line once again. 

Destroyed German train

A number of other large-scale operations were carried out from October 1942. Partisan Otryadi from Bryansk again attacked a 12-mile (18 km) section of rail between Bryansk and Dmitryev overcoming the security troops destroying the tracks and telephone lines.

Further attacks against rail targets were carried out in 1943 from Velikiye Luki in the north down to the Kursk-Kiev rail line in the Ukraine. The attacks in the Ukraine were not as successful due to the open terrain with little cover. After the German Kursk offensive had failed Partisan attacks on 22-24 July completely closed the Bryansk-Konotop rail line.

As the Soviet front line moved westwards so too did Partisan operations into other German occupied Soviet territory.

As the Soviets approached the Polish border in 1944 Partisan units were either absorbed into Soviet Rifle Divisions or dissolved away, returning to their homes.

Anti-Partisan Forces

Initially at the start of Operation Barbarossa the Germans envisioned the rapid destruction of the Red Army, followed by the garrisoning of the Ural Mountains and the quick transfer of occupied territory over to German civil authorities. The failure of the Germans to completely defeat the Soviets in 1941 meant the Wehrmacht had to consider rear area security on a longer-term basis than originally intended.
 
In March 1941 middle-aged reservists had been formed into nine Security Divisions (Sicherungs Divisions). These divisions were used to guard lines of communication against Partisans and were later expanded to 14 divisions (a 15th division never served on the Eastern Front). The Sicherungs Divisions were only lightly equipped and were not really suitable for any offensive operations.

The Sicherungs Divisions were later reinforced with an Ost Bataillon of Russian auxiliaries and a battalion or German Police (Polizei Bataillon). The Polizei Bataillons were raised from the German civilian police force.

German troops guarding a train
Heer Feldgendarmerie

In the Western Ukraine the Hungarians operated a corps of five security divisions, which after the Hungarian withdrawal from the front line in early 1943 was expanded to 14 divisions. Further south both the Slovaks and Romanians operated security forces, thought there was little Soviet Partisan activity in their areas.

In 1942 these forces were reinforced with five reserve infantry divisions. These divisions contained raw recruits who underwent training while serving on security duties. Another seven field training divisions were also used, these contained freshly trained troops with no previous combat experience.

In June 1942 the Polizei Bataillons were organised into 28 motorised police regiments (Polizei Regiment, from February 1943 SS-Polizei Regiments) with three battalions plus signals, armoured car and anti-tank companies. Some regiments contained Russian auxiliary battalions.

A third notorious group raised for security duties was the Einsatzgruppen, raised by the Reichsicherheitshaupamt (RSHA) or security police. The Einsatzgruppen were chiefly responsible for the rounding up of Jews and were guilty of many massacres of Jews, communists and suspected partisans.
 
Their brutality and barbarity did little to stop the Partisans, and may have done more to swell the Partisan ranks and ensure Partisan retaliation against Germans and collaborators could be equally as brutal.

Polizei Troops

The German also took advantage of national groups desire for independence and hatred of the Soviets to form a number of Police Battalions. Security forces were formed from Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Byelorussians and Ukrainians.

In June 1942 the Polizei Bataillons were organised into 28 motorised police regiments (Polizei Regiment, from February 1943 SS-Polizei Regiments) with three battalions plus signals, armoured car and anti-tank companies. Some regiments contained Russian auxiliary battalions.

Partisan Maxim machine-gun team

A third notorious group raised for security duties was the Einsatzgruppen, raised by the Reichsicherheitshaupamt (RSHA) or security police. The Einsatzgruppen were chiefly responsible for the rounding up of Jews and were guilty of many massacres of Jews, communists and suspected partisans.
 
Their brutality and barbarity did little to stop the Partisans, and may have done more to swell the Partisan ranks and ensure Partisan retaliation against Germans and collaborators could be equally as brutal.

The German also took advantage of national groups desire for independence and hatred of the Soviets to form a number of Police Battalions. Security forces were formed from Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Byelorussians and Ukrainians.

Frontline Heer and Waffen-SS units were also fielded in anti-partisan operations and probably proved the most skill and successful units.

Army units with immediate responsibility for security of each division rear areas were the Feldgendarmerie (Military Police) who took control of: Traffic control; maintenance of troop order and discipline; searching and escorting POWs; redirection of stragglers; prevention of looting; disarming and supervision of civilians in occupied areas; investigating traffic accidents; controlling the movement of soldiers in transit; removing enemy propaganda; searching for downed enemy aircrew; patrolling; arresting deserters; prevention of sabotage; and anti-partisan duties.

Other Wehrmacht specialist security forces include the Railway Station Guards and Train Guards who duties revolved around the protection and efficient running of military trains.

Mounted Axis cavalry was also used again the Partisans where their speed and mobility was a great advantage. The SS-cavalry units and Osttruppen Cossacks were often used against Partisans.

Anti-partisan Operations

Security troops spent most of their time engaged in their everyday duties of escorting supplies and securing lines of communications and movement. Many of the auxiliary police units also engaged in the un-savoury activities of the Nazi’s murderous rampage against the Jewish population of the occupied areas.
 
Most security troops combat against the Partisans was reactionary, defending targets of Partisan attacks, as victims of ambushes or arriving after the event to pursue and track the escaping raiders.

Cossacks in German Service

Often security forces would pursue Partisans for days through marshes and forests only to have their leading patrols ambushed by the Partisans before they once more escaped into the dense terrain.

Regular patrolling was also used to locate Partisan groups, trying to catch them on the move and preventing from carrying out their particular mission.

Partisans plan an operation

However on occasion full scale operations were conducted against suspected Partisan strongholds or headquarters. The aim was to knock the head off the particular Partisan unit. By taking out their leadership the Germans found they effectively destroyed the combat effectiveness of the Partisan unit until new leadership could be organised.

Due to their effective infiltration of the local population Partisans usually had excellent intelligence on the movement and intentions of security forces. For this reason only the most secretive and well-organised operations usually achieved their objectives.

When confronted with direct force most Partisan forces would simply melt back into the surrounding countryside, often splitting into small groups and infiltrating back through the enemy lines to escape to fight another day.
 
To stop this an attacking anti-partisan force had to ensure the Partisans were surrounded and the attack had sufficient forces to close a tight net around them, not letting any Partisans escape. Most attacks were conducted at dawn to achieve and element of surprise. Many security forces certainly didn’t have enough men or weapons to usually carry out such operations effectively and most Partisan leaders escaped such traps. If the Partisan intelligence network had worked effectively many such attacked arrived at their target only to find it abandoned, the Partisans relocating in anticipation of the operation.

Partisans Warfare in Flames Of War…


Last Updated On Wednesday, February 27, 2008 by Wayne at Battlefront