partisan movement. Partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War
The emergence of the partisan movement
“Partisan struggle is a complex socio-social process, due to a number of objective and subjective factors, which has patterns and stages of its development, component armed struggle aimed at providing all-round assistance to the army in order to defeat the enemy as soon as possible, in the absence of an army - flowing independently, contributing to the creation of regular formations in the future "[i].
Among the main conditions for the emergence and development of partisanship are: the failure of the combat operations of regular troops; lack of own army; waging war on a large area of the country for a sufficiently long time; favorable physical and geographical conditions of the area; favorable moral and psychological state of the population, etc.
Partisanship in its development goes through its natural stages of development. Let us name only the main ones: military-type partisanship contributes to the creation of irregular partisan formations; a transition to organized guerrilla operations and planned guerrilla operations is being organized; irregular partisanship merges with army operations and is subordinated to them.
Forms of organization and principles of command and control of partisan formations are determined by the tasks and methods of their combat activity. They also depend on various factors: the political environment; the economy of the respective region; availability of economic and administrative centers; the nature and effectiveness of the actions of the regular army at the front; the means of armed struggle used, the class and national composition of the population.
Partisan struggle involves the creation of territorial strongholds, a territorial system of partisan forces interacting with each other.
The center of gravity of the guerrilla struggle lies not in the passive defense of the occupied territory, but in active operations, offensive tactics. In this case, the goal is: starvation, demoralization of the enemy, actions aimed at exhausting and demoralizing the rear (not to destroy, at any cost, the enemy’s manpower, but to deprive him of sources of forces and means).
The primary condition for a successful partisan struggle should be considered to be the close connection of military and partisan formations intended for sabotage and reconnaissance activities in the enemy rear with local partisan forces, not isolation, but their reliance on the partisan movement.
The partisan struggle during the Great Patriotic War began from the very first days of the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. June 29, 1941 The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR sent a directive to the party and Soviet organizations of the front-line regions, which, along with the general tasks of the Soviet government in the Great Patriotic War, contained a specific program for the development of partisan struggle. “In areas occupied by the enemy,” the directive said, “create partisan detachments and sabotage groups to fight parts of the enemy army, to incite guerrilla warfare, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, set fire to warehouses, etc.”
In a directive dated July 1, 1941, the Central Committee of the CP(b)B demanded from party, Soviet and Komsomol organizations that all the areas of Belarus occupied by the enemy should immediately be covered with a dense network of partisan detachments leading a continuous fierce struggle to destroy the enemy.
July 18, 1941 The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a special resolution "On the organization of the struggle in the rear of the German troops", which supplemented and specified the directive of June 29. This document gave instructions on the preparation of the party underground, the organization, recruitment and arming of partisan detachments, and determined the main tasks of the partisan movement. “The task is,” it said, “to create unbearable conditions for the German interventionists ... to disrupt all their activities.” The Central Committee of the Party demanded that "this entire struggle should receive the scope of direct, broad and heroic support for the Red Army fighting German fascism at the front."
Partisan detachments and groups, depending on the situation, were organized both before the enemy occupied a certain area, and during the occupation. Destruction battalions, which were created in the front-line areas to destroy spies and saboteurs thrown by the enemy, often switched to the position of partisan detachments. Often, partisan formations were organized from military personnel and Chekists with a wide influx of the local population into their ranks. In the course of the war, organizing groups were widely practiced behind enemy lines, on the basis of which partisan detachments and even large formations were created. Such groups played a particularly large role in the western regions of the country, where, due to the surprise attack of the enemy and his rapid advance deep into our territory, local Party organs did not have time to complete necessary work for the development of the partisan movement. “Only in 1941. 437 detachments, organizational groups numbering over seven thousand two hundred people were prepared and abandoned in the regions of Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Poleska, Pinsk, Brest, Vitesk Baranovichi regions. The detachments created at the beginning of the war were relatively small, numbering several dozen people, reduced to two or three groups (branches). It was headed by a commander, a commissar, and sometimes a chief of staff. Such a detachment was armed with light small arms.
The order “On the tasks of the partisan movement” concretized and developed, in relation to the new conditions of struggle, the main ideas contained in the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of July 18, 1941. It was a concrete manifestation of the strengthening of Party leadership in the nationwide struggle behind enemy lines. The program defined in this most important party document was steadily guided by all party organs and headquarters of the partisan movement, all partisans and underground fighters. September 26, 1941 Hitler's army quartermaster general Wagner reported to the chief of the German general staff, Halder, that Army Group Center could not be supplied "directly through its area due to the destruction of railway lines by partisans" [v].
August 1, 1942 The head of the TsShPD issued an order to intensify the actions of partisan detachments behind enemy lines: “Immediately begin the most severe blows to the enemy’s communications, making it his task not to miss a single train with manpower. With the equipment and ammunition of the enemy to the front line, by systematically organizing crashes, explosions and arson, strike everywhere and continuously throughout the entire depth of the enemy rear, spreading their forces along the main railways and highways.
The trouble of the first partisan formations, - wrote the former border guard, partisan general M.I. Naumov, - was also rooted in the fact that they were used for operations in the front line of the enemy. "Untrained, not equipped for the front, generally unsuitable in any respect for the positional mode of action, the partisans often died without causing significant harm to the enemy."
During the war, the conditions for basing partisan formations were different. Some of them were based on the territory controlled by the enemy, others - on the territory partially liberated from the Nazis (partisan zones), others - on the territory completely cleared of the invaders (it was usually called partisan territories).
In late August - early September 1942, the Central Committee of the Party held meetings of representatives of underground party bodies, commanders and commissars of partisan units and formations. The meetings were attended by members of the Politburo and members of the Central Committee of the party, leading party workers. At these meetings, more than a year's experience of partisan struggle behind enemy lines was summarized and the main military-political task was put forward - to turn the partisan movement into a nationwide one. What did it mean? From the very beginning, the Soviet partisan movement, in its content, was popular. Now the task was set to make it such in terms of the number of participants, to involve the population of the occupied regions and cities of the USSR in it even more widely. Considering the impossibility of accepting everyone who wanted to join the partisan detachments, mainly due to the difficulties of arming them, it was recommended to create unarmed partisan reserves.
In October 1942, addressing the population of the occupied regions, the Party Central Committee called for fanning the flames of the nationwide partisan movement. In the May Day appeals of 1943, the Central Committee of the party pointed out: “Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Moldavians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Karelians, who temporarily fell under the yoke of the Nazi bastards! Fan the flame of the nationwide partisan movement! In connection with this, the order of People's Commissar of Defense I.V. Stalin said: “It is necessary, first of all, to ensure that the partisan movement unfolds even wider and deeper, it is necessary that the partisan struggle embraces the broadest masses of the Soviet people in the occupied territory. The guerrilla movement must become nationwide.”
In the “Appeal to the partisans and to all the workers of the temporarily occupied regions of the region”, adopted by the Tenth Plenum of the Smolensk Regional Party Committee in the fall of 1942, it was noted that “... a good operation by a small group of partisans on the railway is tantamount to winning a major battle, a tank or infantry regiment - a serious force on the battlefield, but it can be destroyed by a small group of partisans”[x].
The significance of the partisans' fighting along the lines of communication was not limited to the reduction of their carrying capacity and the infliction of heavy material losses on the enemy. It was also determined by the fact that the Nazis were forced to divert large forces to guard communications. Already at the end of 1942. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel made a bitter admission that the intensified actions of the partisans and the numerous facts of violations of transport communications by them are forcing the German army to use reserve and field training divisions, as well as reserve and training units of the Air Force, to protect the railways.
During the Great Patriotic War, partisans used various ways military operations: ambushes, raids, offensive and defensive battles, sabotage, fire raids. Especially widely in the combat practice of partisans, such a method as sabotage was used. This was dictated by the terms of the war. The enemy had superiority not only in heavy means of armed struggle, but also in maneuverability, since his armies were motorized, and partisans usually could not widely use motor vehicles behind enemy lines for maneuver. Aviation made it easier for the enemy to reconnoiter the partisans' locations and made it possible to inflict strong air strikes on them. Under such conditions, it was difficult to systematically conduct open battles with the enemy.
To combat the partisan movement, the enemy used all sorts of means and methods: propaganda, provocations, repressions against the local population in the regions. partisan actions, sending his agents into the partisan detachments, killing and discrediting the command staff, etc. In order to cause discontent among the population against the partisans, the enemy organized pseudo-partisan detachments that robbed the population. In counter-partisan schools, the Nazis taught their agents a special subject: “Measures to exasperate the population against partisans,” which recommended, under the guise of partisans, to rob and set fire to villages, kill citizens, rape women, senseless slaughter of livestock, deprive peasants of the opportunity to carry out agricultural work, looting and etc.
It is worth noting that in the vast majority of cases, the relationship between the partisans and the local population was good. Many people lived in partisan zones under the protection of partisans: "in the Ushatsko-Lepel zone - over 73 thousand, in Klichevskaya - 70 thousand, in Ivenets-Nalibokskaya - about 60 thousand people."
In order to reduce the combat activity of the partisans or distract them from the most effective methods of struggle, the occupiers published and distributed false appeals to the partisans. The enemy involved large forces of regular troops in punitive operations. The leadership of the defense of the partisan territories was carried out by the underground regional committees and district committees of the party, which, together with the command of the partisan formations, developed defense plans and determined the procedure for interaction. The struggle against the large punitive forces of the enemy was often led by the headquarters of the partisan movement and higher party bodies based on the "mainland". They sent their representatives and operational groups to the partisan regions, who on the spot led the fight between the partisans and the punishers. In preparing offensive operations, the partisans conducted reconnaissance in the interests of the Soviet Army, disorganized the work of the enemy, destroyed his equipment and supplies, hindered defensive work, assisted our aviation by directing aircraft at important enemy targets and created favorable conditions for the offensive of the Soviet troops.
The partisan movement was an important factor in achieving victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. It unfolded throughout the occupied territory and had a scope and effectiveness unprecedented in history. “According to the BSHPD, there were 373,942 partisans in Belarus for the entire period of hostilities.” Workers, peasants and intelligentsia, people of different ages, men and women, representatives of various nationalities of the USSR and some other countries took part in the partisan movement. “Partisans and underground workers destroyed, wounded and captured about half a million fascists and their accomplices, disabled over 4 thousand tanks and armored vehicles, destroyed and damaged 1600 railroads. bridges, carried out over 20 thousand railway wrecks. echelons".
It is worth noting that the winter of 1941-1942. was the most critical period for the partisan movement, primarily due to the lack of proper preparation, planning, organization, and management. Partisan detachments, formed in a hurry from untrained fighters, had no connection with the command, supplies, the necessary equipment, and shelters adapted for winter. Unable to provide assistance to the wounded, experiencing an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition, they very quickly spent their resources, became incapacitated, disintegrated and died. “To the above, we must add the erroneous and inherently criminal directive of the party-political leadership of the USSR to burn housing, “drive the Germans into the cold”, destroy livestock. Such actions of partisans and saboteurs forced the population, in order to survive, to protect their villages themselves, to fight against the "arsonists", pushed them to cooperate not with the partisans, but with the invaders.
Already in the autumn of 1941, 10 underground regional committees, more than 260 district committees, city committees, district committees and other bodies, a large number of primary party organizations and groups began to work in the occupied territory. In the autumn of 1943, 24 regional committees, more than 370 district committees, city committees, district committees, and other bodies operated behind enemy lines. "The organizational and ideological activity of the leadership of the partisan movement in the territory of the republic occupied by the Nazis was aimed at maximizing the use of material resources to strengthen the military and economic power of the country."
In a number of cases, formations were created from military personnel, and fighter detachments, created in front-line areas to fight enemy saboteurs and spies, passed to the position of partisan detachments. During the war, it was practiced to send organizational groups behind enemy lines, on the basis of which partisan detachments and even large formations arose. Such groups played a particularly large role in the western regions of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states, where, due to the rapid advance of the Nazi troops, many regional committees and district committees of the party did not have time to fully organize work on the deployment of the partisan movement. In these areas, a significant part of the partisan detachments arose after they were captured by the enemy. For the eastern regions of Ukraine, Belarus and the western regions of the RSFSR, advance preparation for the deployment of the partisan movement was characteristic.
Depending on the specific conditions, there were various forms of organization of partisan forces: small and large formations, regional (local) and non-regional. Regional detachments and formations were constantly based in one area and were responsible for protecting its population and fighting the invaders in this area. Non-regional formations and detachments carried out missions in various areas, making long-term raids, and were essentially mobile reserves, maneuvering which, the governing bodies concentrated their efforts on the main directions to deliver powerful blows to the rear of the enemy.
It was the partisan struggle, being the most active form of countering the invaders, that inflicted great material damage on the enemy, disorganized the rear of the enemy, and provided significant assistance to the troops of the Soviet Army on the fronts. This struggle had a scope and effectiveness unprecedented in history.
This struggle was of a nationwide character, as evidenced not only by the huge number of its participants, but also by the very composition of the partisan formations. In the ranks of the partisans were workers, peasants and intellectuals, people of various ages and professions, representatives of almost all nationalities.
By their struggle, partisans and underground fighters rendered great assistance to the Soviet Army in frustrating the strategic and operational plans of the fascist command and in achieving military victories over the enemy. The actions of the partisans created unbearable conditions for the Nazis and frustrated their plans to use the human and material resources of the temporarily occupied territory. The partisans maintained the high morale of the population behind enemy lines and organized it to repel the Nazi invaders.
[i] Boyarsky V.I. Partisanship yesterday, today, tomorrow. Msk., 2003.S.94
Partisan formations of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War. Mn., 1983.S.3
There. C.4
Lipilo P.P. The CPB was the organizer and leader of the partisan movement in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War. Mn., 1959.S.37
[v] Ibid. p.49
NARB.F.3500, op.17, case 1, p.23
Boyarsky V.I. Partisans and the army. Mn., 2001.S.157
Collection of military documents of the Great Patriotic War. Issue. 5. M., 1947. S. 10.
[x] Boyarsky V.I. Partisans and the army. Mn., 2001.S.135
Kavalenya A.A. Belarus has another Susvetnaya Vayna bastards. Mn., 1996.S.49
Partisan formations of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War. Mn., 1983.S.19
NARB.F.3500, op.12, case 10, p.8
Boyarsky V.I. Partisans and the army. Mn., 2001.S.161
Karchevsky K.A. Interaction between partisans and the population of Belarus. Mn., 2003.S.17
The activities of the party at the beginning of the 20th century, the scale of the personality of the leaders, the level of mistakes of the local authorities and the odiousness of its individual representatives, the proximity to the front. The Tambov province showed an example of the development of the peasant movement in 1920-1921. with a center of resistance. Thanks to the epicenter of the struggle, the events in the Tambov province had an all-Russian resonance. Borisoglebsky, Tambov, Kirsanov counties...
Mainly from the baths, all this was one of the reasons for the high morbidity and mortality of the urban population. Drinking sources of river and spring water, which nature did not deprive many cities of Kuzbass of, were largely polluted. The outskirts of the city looked especially unattractive. They were nothing attractive; there was some kind of mixture of contrasts: next to ...
The struggle against the invaders was carried out in various forms: the failure to carry out measures occupation authorities, armed struggle, underground.
Stages of development of the partisan movement in Belarus:
1. Origin - June 22, 1941 - January-February 1922. Background: the occupation of the territory of Belarus by the German fascists.
Forms and methods of struggle: tactics of small pinpoint strikes, ambushes on forest roads, propaganda work, sabotage on communications.
Problems: there were not enough weapons, ammunition, medicines, experience in fighting with strong adversary, lack of communication with the central governing bodies.
2. The development of the partisan movement - spring 1942 - summer 1943 Prerequisites: the victory of the Red Army near Moscow, the strengthening of the Soviet rear.
Creation of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement (May 30, 1942), communication with the mainland, partisan raids, "rail war", partisan zones.
3. Mass partisan movement - autumn 1943 - the end of July 1944 Background: the beginning of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders.
Zoning of partisan formations; coordination with the Soviet command.
The "rail war" on the territory of Belarus was carried out in 1943-1944. in three stages. A number of partisan brigades after the liberation of Belarus joined the Red Army.
Fighting partisans
The population of the republic, led by the Communists, embarked on the path of fighting the invaders literally from the first days of the war: on the fifth day of the war, an employee of the Pinsk Regional Committee of the Party, V. Z. Korzh, organized a partisan detachment; for military actions was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union Soviet partisans T.P. Bumazhkov, F.I. Pavlovsky in August 1941; partisan detachment M.F. Shmyrev (Old Man Minai) in the Vitebsk region.
By the end of 1943, the partisans had liberated about 60% of the territory of Belarus, creating partisan zones.
The relationship between the partisans and the population
Not only partisans fought against the invaders, but also the population of the occupied territory of Belarus. Civilians assisted the partisans, providing them with clothes, food, took care of the wounded, collected, repaired and transferred weapons and ammunition to the detachments, acted as messengers, scouts.
Partisan formations fought against the punishers, saved the population from deportation. One of the most important activities of the patriots was the organization and conduct of agitation and propaganda work in the occupied territory: conversations, meetings, rallies, production and distribution of underground newspapers, leaflets.
Party, Komsomol, anti-fascist underground
The powerful development of the partisan and underground movement in the occupied territory, giving it an organized, purposeful character was ensured by the activities of the party.
“Directive of the USSR Investigative Committee and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to the Party and Soviet Organizations of the Front-line Regions” dated June 29, 1941 - determined the organizational forms of fighting the enemy; “Directive of the Criminal Code of the CP(b)B to party, Soviet and Komsomol organizations on the deployment of a partisan war behind enemy lines” dated July 1, 1941 - specified the work on the creation of partisan detachments, underground groups; speech by I.V. Stalin July 3, 1941 "legitimized" the fight behind enemy lines.
In the occupied territory, there were: 200 underground committees, inter-district centers, city committees and district party committees; 10 regional, 214 inter-district, city and district committees of the Komsomol - 5.5 thousand primary organizations.
Areas of work: armed struggle against the enemy; protection of the population from extermination and deportation to Germany; educational work among partisans; ideological and political work among the population; publication of illegal newspapers (171), leaflets.
The anti-fascist struggle in the Western regions of Belarus is represented by the activities of the Polish underground and the Home Army (AK).
After the conclusion in August 1941 of a military treaty between the USSR and the exile government of Poland on the joint struggle against fascism, Polish groups on the territory of Belarus united into a single military structure- Home Army. The break of the Soviet government with the Polish government in exile in April 1943 worsened relations between the AK and the Belarusian partisan movement.
In the history of the AK in Belarus, there were also daring attacks on German garrisons, communications, and cases of cooperation with the invaders, and clashes with partisans.
Akivtsy, like the Polish government in exile, believed that the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus were an integral part of Poland. As the front line approached, they were preparing Operation Tempest (November 20, 1943) to seize these territories.
The Central Committee of the CP(b)B and underground party committees launched work on organizing partisan detachments and groups with the participation of Poles from the western regions of Belarus in order to limit the activities of the AK.
Topic 5. Events on the fronts of the war. The collapse of the offensive strategy of the German Wehrmacht
5.1. Expansion of the Second World War. Allied victory in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.
5.2. Stalingrad and Kursk battles. A turning point in the war.
5.3. Strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition. Tehran conference.
5.4. Soviet rear during the war.
Expansion of the Second World War.
Allied victory in Africa, the Mediterranean and
On the Pacific
Theater of operations 1941 - 1943: the territory of the USSR, Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean.
Spring 1942 - a change in the balance of power in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition: events on the Soviet-German front limited the military operations of Germany and Italy in the Mediterranean; the activation of the Anglo-American troops in North Africa (the battle of El Alamein) - the victory of the British army, which included British, Australian, Indian, New Zealand, South African, Greek and French divisions, changed the balance of power in this region in favor of the Western allies. Italy's exit from the war as a result of the overthrow of the fascist regime in the summer of 1943 marked the beginning of the collapse of the fascist bloc.
Since the end of 1942, the United States and Britain have achieved superiority over the forces of Japan in the Pacific basin, concentrating powerful air, land and sea forces here.
Stalingrad and Kursk battles.
A turning point in the war
Stage 1 - July 17 - November 19, 1942 - defensive battles, state of siege for 125 days, street fighting. The enemy forces were superior in personnel by 1.7 times, in artillery and tanks - by 1.3 times, in aircraft - by almost 2 times.
Stage 2 - November 19, 1942 - the operation of the Soviet troops "Uranus" - the offensive of the South-Western and Don fronts under the command of N.F. Vatutin and K.K. Rokossovsky northwest of Stalingrad.
November 20, 1942 - the armies of the Stalingrad Front under the leadership of General A.I. Eremenko south of the city struck at the enemy.
January 10, 1943 - Operation "Ring" - to eliminate the enemy grouping - 113 thousand people were taken prisoner, including 2.5 thousand officers, 23 generals led by Field Marshal F. Paulus.
Outcomes: aggravation of the domestic political situation in Nazi Germany; activation of the Resistance movement in the occupied slings; Japan refrained from entering the war against the USSR; Türkiye remained neutral; Soviet troops, going on the offensive along the entire front, put out of action 43% of the Nazi troops on the Eastern Front, and ensured the beginning of a radical turning point in the war.
After fierce battles in the winter of 1942-1943. there was a lull on the Soviet-German front: the belligerents were drawing lessons from past battles; made plans further action; accumulated reserves, regrouped; replenished with people and equipment.
The military-political situation of the USSR by the summer of 1943: authority in the international arena grew, ties with other states expanded; grew up military art and technical equipment of the army due to the development of military production.
However, despite major defeats, Germany and its satellites launched preparations for the offensive; total mobilization from 15 to 50 years of age capable of bearing arms, conscripted about 1 million highly skilled workers into the army; flaw work force 2 million foreign workers and prisoners of war were replenished; the necessary stocks of military products were created.
The balance of forces by the summer of 1943: the USSR outnumbered the enemy by 1.2 times in manpower and military equipment.
Operation Citadel - codename offensive operation Germany in the summer of 1943 in the area of the Kursk salient. “Victory near Kursk. - Hitler said - should become a torch for the whole world.
Battle of Kursk- July 5 - August 23, 1943. It took place in 2 stages: Stage 1 - July 5 - July 11, 1943 - defensive battles of the Soviet troops; Stage 2 - June 12 - August 23, 1943 - a counteroffensive, the success of which was ensured: by a skillful choice of the moment for the transition of our troops from defense to offensive; skillful organization of strategic interaction between groups of fronts did not give the enemy the opportunity to regroup troops; reconnaissance in force was practiced more widely than in previous operations; the tactical density of troops near Kursk was 2-3 times greater than near Stalingrad; transition to deep-echeloned battle formations; the use of self-propelled artillery regiments for the first time; The air force gained air supremacy and was used over the battlefield in close cooperation with ground forces; "rail war" of the Belarusian partisans.
Outcomes: a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and World War II has been completed; undermined the morale of the Nazi army; the aggravation of the crisis within the Hitlerite bloc; favorable conditions were created for the opening of a second front.
5.3. Strengthening the anti-Hitler coalition.
Tehran Conference
Anti-Hitler coalition- beginning - August 14, 1941 - signing of the Atlantic Charter by US President F. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill. It was joined in September 1941 by 10 states, including the USSR.
January 1, 1942 - 26 states signed the United Nations Declaration, determined the ways of cooperation in the fight against Germany: a protocol was signed on the supply of weapons and military materials to the USSR in exchange for Soviet raw materials (under lend-lease, deliveries amounted to about 4% of the production of the USSR for 1941 - 1945, for cars - 70%, tanks - 12%, aviation - 29%).
Tehran Conference of the Heads of Governments of the USSR, USA, England - I.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt, W. Churchill - November 28 - December 1, 1943 Adopted the Declaration on joint actions in the war against Germany and the post-war cooperation of the three powers. It was about the post-war structure of Germany, but due to differences in views on various aspects of the German question, no specific decision was made on the fate of this country.
Agreed on the approximate post-war borders of Poland; about the opening of a second front in Europe in May 1944; discussed the question of restoring the independence of Austria, of punishing German war criminals; about the consent of the USSR to enter the war against Japan after the surrender of Germany.
The conference demonstrated the unity of the Big Three states in the struggle against Germany and its allies.
Soviet rear during the war
Transferring the economy to a military footing: intensification of labor, an increase in the length of the working day, overtime work; moving industrial enterprises to the east of the country; the introduction of political departments in the MTS and state farms, an increase in the number of workdays for collective farmers.
Labor feat of the Soviet people: Socialist competition; movement for mastering related specialties; voluntary donations to the country's defense fund in the form of part of the salary, food, jewelry, clothing.
Examples of labor heroism of the working people of Belarus.
The restructuring of the USSR economy for the needs of the war, the mobilization of all material and labor resources, the selfless work of people made it possible to provide the Red Army with everything necessary for the successful end of the war.
Polish and Ukrainian nationalist formations.
Activities of the Soviet underground.
Formation and development of the partisan movement.
The partisan movement on the territory of Belarus began literally from the first days of the war and was an important factor in achieving victory. The first detachments were created in Polissya - the Pinsk detachment under the command of V.Z. Korzh, the “Red October” detachment under the command of T. Bumazhkov and F. Pavlovsky (they became the first partisans - Heroes of the Soviet Union), the detachment under the command of M.F. Shmyreva (fathers of Minai). Until the end of 1941, there were about 500 detachments and groups, and the number of partisans reached 12 thousand people.
On May 30, 1942, at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Central Headquarters of the Patrizan Movement was created, headed by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB P. Ponomarenko, on September 9 of the same year, the Belarusian Headquarters of the partisan movement, which was headed by another secretary of the Central Committee of the CPB P. Kalinin, were created on the periphery regional and republican headquarters of the partisan movement and their representation at the fronts. The work of the headquarters consisted in organizing, manning and arming partisan detachments, in determining the tasks of the partisan movement. Partisan detachments or groups were also organized in the rear: special partisan schools were created where personnel were trained, schools and points were opened for the training of command personnel, instructors, demolition workers, radio operators, intelligence officers and other specialists. The detachments that were trained and trained either remained in the designated areas before their occupation, or were transferred to the rear of the enemy.
The main tactical unit of the partisan movement was detachment- at the beginning of the war, usually several dozen people, later - up to 200 or more fighters. During the course of the war, many detachments were combined into formations ( brigades) numbering from several hundred to several thousand people. The armament was dominated by light weapons (assault rifles, light machine guns, rifles, carbines, grenades), but many detachments and formations had mortars and heavy machine guns, and some had artillery. People who joined partisan formations took the partisan oath, and firm military discipline was established in the detachments.
In the tactics of partisan actions during the Great Patriotic War, the following elements can be distinguished:
1) Subversive activities, destruction of enemy infrastructure in any form (rail war, destruction of communication lines, high-voltage lines, poisoning and destruction of water pipes, wells, etc.). Sabotage occupied a significant place in the activities of partisan formations. They were very effective method disorganization of the enemy rear, inflicting losses and material damage to the enemy, without entering into a combat collision with him. Using special sabotage equipment, small groups of partisans and even loners could cause significant damage to the enemy.
2) Intelligence activities, including undercover.
3) Political activity and Bolshevik propaganda. Partisan formations carried out extensive political work among the population of the occupied territories.
4) Combat assistance. Since the beginning of the offensive of the Red Army, the partisans disrupted enemy troop transfers, disrupted their organized withdrawal and command, struck from the rear and contributed to breaking through the enemy’s defenses, repelling his counterattacks, encircling enemy groups, and capturing settlements.
For the first time in the history of wars, guerrillas, together with the Red Army, carried out a number of major operations according to a single plan to disable enemy railway communications over a large area, and reduced the capacity of railways by 35-40%. In Belarus, only from November 1, 1942 to April 1, 1943, 65 railway bridges were blown up, about 1,500 enemy echelons were derailed. Under the blows of the partisans almost all the time were such large railway junctions as Smolensk. Orsha, Bryansk, Gomel, Sarny, Kovel, Shepetovka.
The offensive of the Red Army in 1944 was carried out in close cooperation with the partisans, who actively participated in almost all strategic operations. The partisan operation, which went down in history under the name "Rail War". It was planned by the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement and prepared for a long time and comprehensively. The main goal of the operation was to paralyze the transportation of the Nazis by railroads by simultaneous massive undermining of the rails. It was carried out in three stages. The first stage began on the night of August 3, 1943. On the very first night, over 42,000 rails were blown up. Mass explosions continued throughout August and the first half of September, and by the end of August, more than 171,000 rails were put out of action, which is 1,000 km of a single-track railway track. By mid-September, the number of undermined rails reached almost 215,000. “In just one month, the number of explosions increased thirty times,” the command of the security forces corps of Army Group Center reported in its report on August 31.
From September 9 to early November 1943 the second stage of the operation, which received the code name "Concert", lasted. Partisan strikes were combined with attacks on individual garrisons and enemy units, with ambushes on highways and dirt roads, as well as with disruption of the Nazis' river traffic. The third stage of the "rail war" began 20 June 1944
The most striking example of such effective interaction between partisans and the regular army is the 1944 Belarusian operation "Bagration", in which a powerful group of Belarusian partisans was, in essence, a fifth front, coordinating its operations with four advancing fronts.
5) Destruction of enemy manpower.
6) Elimination of collaborators and heads of the Nazi administration.
7) Restoration and preservation of elements of Soviet power in the occupied territories.
8) Mobilization of the combat-ready population remaining in the occupied territory, and unification of the remnants of the encircled military units.
Of great importance for the development of the partisan movement was the existence of the so-called. Surazh (Vitebsk) gates - a 40-kilometer breakthrough in the front line between Velizh and Usvyaty at the junction of the German armies "North" and "Center". Diversionary groups, weapons, ammunition, medicines were sent through the gate to the rear of the enemy. The gate existed from February to September 1942.
The expansion of the partisan movement was facilitated by the enormous political work of partisans and underground fighters among the population of the occupied regions, which provided significant assistance. The attitude of the local population towards the Soviet partisans in different regions was one of the main factors in the success of the partisans.
The turning point in the development of the partisan movement in Belarus and the course of the Great Patriotic War as a whole was the battle for Moscow and the Soviet counteroffensive in the winter of 1942: the partisan movement is gaining strength, becoming more organized, the number of partisan groups is growing, in early 1943 the number of partisans in Belarus exceeded 56 thousand people During the winter offensive of the Red Army in 1941-42. the interaction of partisans with the troops is expanding, large territories are being liberated from the invaders, and partisan zones are being created. The first such zone appeared in January-February 1942 on the territory of the Polessye region. In 1943, the partisans, whose number reached 120 thousand, controlled up to 60% of the territory of Belarus (partisan zones were created: Polotsk-Lepel, Klichevskaya, Ivenets-Nalibokskaya, the main merit of the partisans was to save the population from death and slavery). During the three years of fighting behind enemy lines, the partisans destroyed more than 500,000 Nazis, derailed 11,150 echelons, defeated 948 garrisons, destroyed about 20,000 vehicles and 1,300 tanks and armored vehicles. About 45 thousand partisans died in the fight against the enemy.
german general Guderian wrote that "guerrilla warfare has become a real scourge, strongly influencing the morale of front-line soldiers."
The actions of the partisans caused serious concern among the enemy. General Wagner informed the chief of the general staff of the ground forces, Halder, that Army Group Center could not be adequately provided with everything necessary due to the destruction of the railway lines by the partisans. In order to put an end to the activities of the "forest bandits", and that is what the Germans called them, in July-August 1941, the first large-scale punitive operation called "Pripyat Swamps" was carried out, as a result of which more than 13.5 thousand people were killed, mostly civilians, those who were suspected of supporting the partisans.
Despite the undeniable military contribution of the partisans, who diverted up to 10% of the German forces on the Eastern Front, the military-political leadership of the USSR could not completely abandon their distrust of the movement, which for some time developed without any control and, moreover, was irrefutable a witness to the political vacuum created in 1941 in entire regions by the disorderly flight of the Soviet civil and military authorities. When regular army entered the "partisan regions", the partisans, who were waiting for immediate enrollment in its ranks, were instead sent to the rear for due verification and "re-education".
3 Party, Komsomol and anti-fascist underground.
A distinctive feature of the Second World War is a powerful wave of protest against the aggressor that unfolded in the countries of Europe and Asia: Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Greece, Albania - the resistance movement, partisan struggle; Holland, Denmark, Norway - strikes and mass anti-fascist demonstrations, acts of sabotage and sabotage; Southeast Asia- national liberation movement.
The people involved in the resistance movement different layers, political and religious views, united by the struggle against Nazism as a misanthropic ideology.
Not only Soviet, but also Western European historians speak about the scale and significance of the partisan movement and underground in the occupied territory of the USSR: history does not know a more widespread resistance to the invaders than the struggle of the Soviet people against the enslavers. It was something completely new in the art of war, both in scope and results.
The formation and development of the partisan movement
The fascist invaders were unable to subdue the Belarusian people, to break their will to win. Love for the motherland, the desire to defend freedom and independence raised the Soviet people to a holy war.
The struggle against the invaders was carried out in various forms: non-fulfillment of the measures of the occupation authorities, armed struggle, underground. Detachments and resistance groups arose not only as a result of the activities of the party and Soviet bodies, but also spontaneously. The organizers of this struggle are leading party workers and soldiers of the Red Army, who found themselves surrounded, ordinary citizens. It was the powerful folk sources that continuously nourished the partisan movement that made it possible to overcome the organizational period in the shortest possible time and accumulate the necessary experience for further development.
V.Z. Korzh - an employee of the Pinsk Regional Party Committee, a participant in the Spanish Civil War, on the fifth day of the war formed one of the first partisan detachments in Belarus.
T.P. Bumazhkov, F.I. Pavlovsky- the organizers of the partisan detachment of the Polesye region, who in August 1941 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
M.F. Shmyrev (partisan pseudonym Old Man Minai)- the organizer of the partisan movement on the territory of the Vitebsk region, since 1942 - the commander of the partisan brigade, from November 1942 - in the TsSHPD.
2 Fighting guerrillas
1 Origin - June 22, 1941 - January-February 1942. Background: the occupation of the territory of Belarus by the German fascists.
Forms and methods of struggle: tactics of small pinpoint strikes, ambushes on forest roads, propaganda work, sabotage on communications ( railways, highway, communications).
Problems: there was a lack of weapons, ammunition, medicines, experience in fighting with a strong enemy, lack of communication with the central governing bodies.
Results: acted about 230 detachments and groups; in the autumn of 1941, 80 echelons were blown up, about 10 thousand Germans were destroyed, nine military headquarters were destroyed, 33 aircraft, 78 tanks and armored vehicles, 973 cars, 137 motorcycles, 155 railway and highway bridges were disabled.
The formation and development of the partisan movement
History knows no greater resistance to the conquerors than the struggle of the Belarusian people against the German enslavers, which unfolded throughout the territory of the BSSR during the Great Patriotic War. The population of Belarus did not reconcile with the aggressors. Despite the cruelty of the occupation regime, the patriotic movement against the German invaders expanded, took on more effective, organized forms and used a variety of methods of struggle. This struggle began from the first days of the war. It was carried out in various forms - from failure to comply with the measures of the occupation authorities to armed resistance. There were both independent acts of opposition to the new regime by individuals and groups, as well as centrally organized military and political actions. In many places, partisan formations arose spontaneously.
There are different points of view, sometimes polar, on many facts of partisan struggle. Thus, the vast majority of sources speak of the unambiguously positive role of partisans and underground fighters during the war years. Emphasizes the role communist party in the organization of partisan detachments and underground activities. But, on the other hand, a certain part of historians, philosophers, and writers are trying to discredit partisan activity in Belarus and rehabilitate the crimes of the German invaders, Nazi servants, thereby trying to distort the just, liberating nature of the Great Patriotic War. They put the Nazi rapist-enslaver and the Soviet soldier-liberator on the same level. Such a "reassessment" of the history of the Great Patriotic War and the partisan movement in Belarus is unacceptable.
The study of the partisan movement and the underground struggle against the invaders are relevant, since any new immersion in the history of the people contributes to the formation of national identity. Practical study this issue is also necessary in connection with the fact that, unfortunately, the world has not become safer. Having studied the past, it is necessary to take into account its bitter lessons and prevent their repetition.
The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR Soviet people in the face of mortal danger. The situation on the fronts from the first days showed that the struggle would be long and extremely stubborn. It was obvious that to defend freedom and independence Soviet state and the enemy can be defeated only if the struggle against the invaders acquires a nationwide character, if the Soviet people in one form or another take part in the defense of the Fatherland.
In exclusively difficult conditions During the first days of the war, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bolsheviks, and party bodies carried out a huge organizational work in order to mobilize all forces and means to defend the country from the Nazi invasion. In party and government documents, I.V. Stalin's speech on the radio, and publications in the press, the main tasks of the moment were explained, ways of their solution were determined. They called on the people to rise to the sacred, liberation, Great Patriotic War, to resist the enemy, using any methods and methods of struggle, including partisan ones. At first, the patriots acted in small groups, burning bridges on the roads, destroying communication lines, and ambushing groups of motorcyclists. Every day the struggle of the people against the occupiers became more and more massive. Detachments led by experienced commanders entered the battle. One could often see how, armed with shovels, axes, saws, patriots dug up roads, built blockages on them, destroyed bridges, crossings, disrupted the enemy's telephone and telegraph communications.
In Directive No. 1 of June 30, 1941, “On the transition to underground work of party organizations in areas occupied by the enemy,” the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus obliged the regional committees, city committees and district committees of the party to create underground party organizations and cells in advance. Directive No. 2 of July 1, 1941 "On the deployment of a partisan war behind enemy lines" ordered the creation of partisan detachments to conduct a fierce struggle against the enemy. “In areas occupied by the enemy,” the directive said, “create partisan detachments and sabotage groups to fight against parts of the enemy army, to incite partisan war everywhere and everywhere, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, set fire to warehouses, etc. e. In the occupied areas, create unbearable conditions for the enemy and all his accomplices, pursue and destroy them at every step, disrupt all their activities. The creation of a partisan reserve by the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Belarus was carried out in accordance with the instructions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which stated: existed in covert combat reserve of the partisan movement. This hidden fighting reserve of the partisan movement should be unlimited in number and involve all honest citizens who want to fight against the German oppression.
The partisans were tasked with destroying communications, vehicles, aircraft behind enemy lines, organizing train wrecks, setting fire to fuel and food depots. The guerrilla struggle must be of a combative, offensive nature. “Do not wait for the enemy, look for him and destroy him, giving no rest day or night,” called the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. Emphasizing that the guerrilla war in the rear of the occupying troops should take on a comprehensive character, the Central Committee of the Party, in a resolution of July 18, noting the desire of the Soviet people to actively fight against fascist invaders, pointed out: "The task is to create unbearable conditions for the German interventionists, to disorganize their communications, transport and the military units themselves, to disrupt all their activities."
To create an underground and the formation of partisan detachments
The Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) B sent to the occupied regions of the republic only in July 1941 118 groups of party and Komsomol workers and combat detachments with a total number of 2644 people.
Workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, communists, Komsomol members, non-party people, people of different nationalities and ages joined the fight against the enemy. The partisan detachments were fought by former soldiers of the Red Army who found themselves behind enemy lines or escaped from captivity, the local population. Special groups and detachments of the NKVD of the BSSR made a great contribution to the development of the partisan movement. They helped the partisan forces in protecting against the penetration of agents of the special services of Nazi Germany, which they threw into partisan detachments and formations with reconnaissance and terrorist missions.
The army and the people were united. People's militias fought heroically, fighters of volunteer extermination battalions formed directly at factories and enterprises, in institutions. Among them was a fighter battalion formed from among the teachers and students of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute. When the enemy broke through further to the east, some of the destruction battalions turned into partisan detachments, while others, such as the BPI battalion, joined forces with the Red Army. By mid-July 1941, 35 partisan detachments were operating in the occupied territory of the BSSR, in August - 61, by the end of the year there were 104 partisan detachments, 323 organizing and sabotage groups with a total number of 8307 people in the republic. The number of those wishing to take up arms grew from day to day. The partisan movement developed less actively in the western regions.
The first partisan detachments consisted of 25 - 40 people, consisted of 2 - 3 groups. Most of them were soldiers and officers of the Red Army who were surrounded. The guerrillas were armed with rifles, machine guns, grenades collected on the battlefield or captured from the enemy. Among the first formed in Belarus on initial stage war of armed formations were partisan detachments of V.Z. Korzha (Pinsk region), T.P. Bumazhkov (Polesye region), M.F. Markova (Vileika region) and others.
Partisan detachments have been fighting since the very first days of the enemy invasion. The Pinsk partisan detachment (commander V.Z. Korzh) fought its first battle on June 28, attacking an enemy column. The partisans set up ambushes on the roads, impeding the advance of enemy troops. The partisan detachment "Red October" under the command of T.P. Bumazhkov and F.I. Pavlovsky in mid-July defeated the headquarters of the enemy division, destroyed 55 vehicles and armored cars, 18 motorcycles, captured a large amount of weapons. In August and the first half of September, Belarusian partisans carried out a massive destruction of telegraph and telephone communications on the lines connecting the Army Groups "Center" and "South". They continuously ambushed the recovery teams and communications battalions and exterminated them. In addition to those named, partisan detachments and groups of N.N. Belyavsky in the Turov region, I.S. Fedoseenko in the Gomel region, I.A. Yarosh in the Borisov region, I.Z. Izokha in the Klichevsky region and others. The activities of the partisans caused serious concern to the enemy. General Wagner, for example, reported to Berlin that "Army Group Center cannot be properly supplied with everything necessary directly through its area due to the destruction of the railway lines by partisans." In order to put an end to the activities of the people's avengers, already in July-August 1941, the Nazis carried out the first large-scale punitive operation, code-named "Pripyat Marshes". During it, 13,788 people were killed, mostly civilians, encircled, all those who were suspected of having links with the partisans.
With the onset of winter time and due to the lack of the required amount of weapons, ammunition, food, due to the tightening of the occupation regime, part of the detachments and groups temporarily self-liquidated or switched to a semi-legal position. However, about 200 partisan formations continued the armed struggle against the invaders. Over time, many of them grew into large formations that inflicted significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment.
From the first days of the enemy invasion, sabotage by partisans and underground fighters on railway communications began and expanded. As you know, after the failure of the “blitzkrieg”, designed to capture Moscow immediately, the battered Nazi units were forced to switch to temporary defense in early September 1941. The Nazi command began to prepare a major offensive operation "Typhoon", which provides for the encirclement and destruction of the Red Army formations in the western direction and the capture of Moscow. Belarusian partisans and underground fighters made a significant contribution to the defense of the capital of their Motherland. So, in the reports of the command of the German security forces it was noted that during the operation "Typhoon" due to sabotage by partisan groups, it was not possible to send 430 trains with troops and military equipment from Belarus for the Army Group "Center" on October 6-9, 1941, which On November 22-27, only 42.5% of the planned echelons broke through under Moscow.
The struggle of the partisans intensified even more after the Moscow battle. Thousands of patriots joined partisan detachments and underground organizations. By the autumn of 1942, 57,000 fighters were active in partisan formations in Belarus alone. Already in 1942, partisans in a number of regions of Belarus formed partisan zones and territories, which they held until the end of the war. The first such zone appeared in January-February 1942 on the territory of the Oktyabrsky district of the former Polesye region. The territory was controlled by the so-called "FIPavlovsky garrison", which consisted of 13 detachments of more than 13 thousand people, armed, in addition to rifles, with 70 heavy and light machine guns, 5 guns and 8 mortars. The garrison extended its influence to part of the settlements of the neighboring Glussky, Lyubansky, Starodorozhsky districts. Since the spring of 1942, the Klichevsky district has become the center of the partisan movement in the Mogilev region, where a large formation of partisans was based. On March 20, 1942 partisan detachments under the command of A.S. Yurkovets, V.P. Svistunov, V.I. By April, they also liberated a number of settlements in the Osipovichi and Kirov regions from the invaders. By the beginning of September 1942, on the initiative of the commander of the 208th partisan detachment, Colonel V.I. They extended their actions, in addition to Klichevsky, also to the territory of Mogilev, Belynichsky, Berezinsky, Osipovichsky, Rogachevsky and other regions of Belarus.
The organization of partisan formations on the territory of the Vitebsk region, which from the beginning of 1942 became front-line, had some peculiarity. Many partisan detachments here maintained close ties with the Vitebsk regional party committee and the Central Committee of the CP (b) B, who operated behind the front line, as well as with the Military Councils of the 3rd and 4th shock armies. Of great importance was also the creation of the “Surazh (Vitebsk) gates” (a 40-kilometer gap in the front line at the junction of the German army groups “Center” and “North” between Velizh and Usvyaty), through which sabotage groups, weapons, ammunition, etc., back to Soviet rear- Wounded, replenishment of the Red Army, food. The gate operated from February to September 1942.
A positive role in improving the organization and leadership of the partisan movement was played by the creation of the Central (May 1942) and Belorussian (September 1942) headquarters of the partisan movement. They were headed respectively by the secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus P.K.Ponomarenko and P.Z.Kalinin. With the help of headquarters, the partisan movement acquired in the second half of 1942-1943. qualitatively new features.
The material and technical assistance of the “Great Land” was of great importance for the development of the partisan movement. Only in 1943, the partisans of Belarus were given 20.5 thousand rifles, more than 11 thousand machine guns, 973 anti-tank rifles, 1235 machine guns and mortars, over 2.6 thousand pistols , 43038 thousand cartridges, over 120 thousand hand grenades, 390.5 tons of tol, 97.8 thousand sabotage mines. However, the main sources of replenishment of weapons still remained local resources: captured trophy weapons, workshops for the manufacture and repair of weapons.
The question of training personnel for partisan and underground work arose sharply. The leading cadres were selected from among proven communists and Komsomol members who knew the conditions of Belarus. In January 1942, by decision of the State Defense Committee, 3 special schools were formed, where cadets received theoretical knowledge and skills of partisan struggle. Since April 1942, personnel training was carried out by the "Special Belarusian Collection" - special courses that operated near the city of Murom, Vladimir Region. By September 1942, 15 partisan detachments and 100 organizational groups with a total of 2,378 people were trained, formed and sent behind enemy lines through the Vitebsk (Surazh) Gates.
Since the spring of 1942, many partisan detachments began to unite into brigades.
In April, the 1st Belorussian brigade was created in Surazh and adjacent regions of the Vitebsk region. It was headed by M.F. Shmyrev. In May, there were already 6 partisan brigades, in December - 53. At the end of 1943, 148 partisan brigades operated in Belarus, uniting up to 700 partisan detachments. In 1943, 9 partisan brigades, 10 separate detachments and 15 organizing groups were sent to Western Belarus to develop partisan struggle. Partisan detachments struck boldly, decisively, diverting large enemy forces. With the creation of a centralized leadership, simultaneous combat operations of partisans began to be planned and carried out on the scale of districts, regions and even the republic. So, in early August 1942, the partisans of the brigade "For Soviet Belarus" of the Vitebsk region blew up a four-span railway bridge across the river. Drissa. Traffic on the highway was restored only after 16 days. In October 1942, the detachments of the Minsk partisan formation successfully carried out the operation "Echo in Polesie" to blow up a large 137-meter railway bridge on the Ptich River. As a result, the movement of trains to the southwestern grouping of the Nazi army was stopped for 18 days.
By the end of 1942, Belarusian partisans derailed 1,180 enemy trains and armored trains, 7,800 wagons and platforms with manpower and military equipment, blew up 168 railway bridges, and destroyed tens of thousands of German soldiers and officers.
By the beginning of 1943, Belarusian partisans controlled about 50 thousand square kilometers of territory, by the end of the year - more than 108 thousand, or about 60 percent of the occupied territory of the republic, liberated a territory equal to 38 thousand square kilometers of Belarusian land.
There were more than 20 partisan zones, where life went according to the laws of Soviet power. 18 airfields were equipped here, through which cargo was delivered from the mainland, wounded partisans and children were evacuated. The largest of them were the Lyubanskaya and Oktyabrskaya zones. In February 1942, the detachments of F.I. Pavlovsky, I.R. Zhulegi, A.T. Mikhailovsky, A.F. Mulyarovka. On October 17, 1942, partisan detachments of F.I. Pavlovsky and A.I. Dalidovich defeated a large enemy garrison in the regional center of Kopatkevichi. As a result, the Oktyabrskaya zone expanded significantly.
In March 1942, the Minsk underground regional party committee organized a military raid on the territory of the Luban, Zhitkovichi, Lenin, Starobinsky, Slutsk regions. It was attended by partisan detachments of A. Dolidovich, M. Rozov, G. Stolyarov and others, in total 600 people. The result was the creation of a rather extensive Luban zone. After the confluence of the Luban and October partisan zones, a large partisan formation of the partisans of the Minsk and Pinsk regions was formed, which controlled the territory in the interfluve of the Sluch and Ptich rivers. The unit was commanded by the secretaries of the Minsk underground regional party committee V.I. Kozlov, and after his departure to Moscow - R.N. Mochulsky.
Baranovichi, Belostok, Brest, Gomel, Mogilev were also large partisan formations. At the junction of the union republics, thanks to the joint efforts of Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian partisans, partisan zones were united into partisan regions.
In the summer of 1943, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement developed an operation code-named "Rail War". It began on August 3 and was timed to coincide with the offensive of Soviet troops in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction. The operation was carried out simultaneously by partisan units of Belarus, partly Ukraine, Leningrad, Smolensk, Kalinin, Oryol regions. The results of the operation were impressive. Only in Belarus the traffic on the railway was paralyzed for 15-30 days. Echelons with troops and military equipment of the enemy, urgently heading towards Orel, Belgorod and Kharkov, got stuck on the way, and often were destroyed by partisans. Enemy traffic was reduced by almost 35-40%. The occupiers suffered huge material losses in locomotives, wagons, rails, sleepers, equipment, manpower.
In the autumn of 1943, the liberation of the Belarusian land from the invaders began. In this regard, the underground bodies and partisan formations faced new tasks: to organize close cooperation with the regular units of the Red Army, to provide them with all kinds of assistance. When planning combat operations, the command of the fronts took into account the capabilities of the partisans. So, on November 10 - 30, the Red Army carried out the Gomel-Rechitsa operation. In the course of it, the partisans paralyzed the movement on the railways, released and held until the approach of the Soviet troops 34 settlements and crossing the Berezina River. From January 8 to January 20, 1944, the Mozyr-Kalinkovichi operation was carried out. During fierce battles, Soviet troops, with the participation of the partisans of the Minsk and Polessky partisan formations, defeated the Mozyr-Kalinkovichi grouping of the enemy.
At the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944. partisan formations of Belarus consisted of 157 brigades and 83 separate detachments, in which more than 300 thousand partisans fought. During the autumn offensive of the Red Army from September 25 to November 1, 1943, the second stage of Operation Rail War was carried out under the code name Concert. The Belarusian partisans played a decisive role in it. They blew up tens of thousands of rails, derailed more than a thousand echelons, destroyed 72 railway bridges, exterminated more than 30 thousand enemy soldiers and officers. It was one of the most significant and striking operations in partisan activity. In total, during the 1st and 2nd stages, more than 200 thousand rails were blown up.
The fascist command, concerned about the scope of the partisan movement, in the winter of 1943-1944. pulled together significant forces to destroy the partisans on the territory of Belarus. Especially strong battles unfolded in the Polotsk-Lepel zone in April - May 1944. The enemy had a significant superiority in manpower, equipment and weapons. During the 25-day battles, the Germans suffered heavy losses. The partisans were also bled. On May 5, they broke through the enemy ring near the city of Ushachi. Other punitive operations of the Germans against Belarusian partisans were also unsuccessful.
In total, during the years of occupation, the invaders carried out more than 140 punitive operations. They were attended by 5 security, 1 infantry, 1 special purpose, 1 motorized SS, 2 field training divisions, as well as units of the 3rd tank, 2nd, 4th and 9th field armies of the Wehrmacht, allied troops and police units. The purpose of these expeditions was not only to suppress the partisan movement, but also to carry out Hitler's plan"Ost", aimed at a sharp reduction in the human potential of Belarus. The partisan formations dealt a decisive blow to the enemy during the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration". From June 20, 1944 to full release Belarus continued the 3rd stage of the operation "Rail War". All partisans of the republic participated in it. The most important railway lines were completely put out of action, and enemy transportation along all roads was partially paralyzed.
In Belarus, as in other occupied regions of the country, the invaders carried out their misanthropic program of mass extermination of Soviet people. According to the "Ost" plan, 75% of the Belarusians were to be evicted or destroyed, 25% of the Belarusians were to be Germanized. On the territory of Belarus, the Nazis created more than 260 concentration camps. In the Trostenets death camp, the Nazis killed more than 200 thousand people. The Nazis carried out more than 100 punitive operations, during which they burned villages along with the population. During the occupation, the German invaders killed more than 3 million Soviet citizens in Belarus, took about 380 thousand people to Germany for hard labor.
The actions of the partisans in cooperation with the advancing Red Army were of great strategic importance.
The underground and partisan struggle of the Belarusian people against the Nazi invaders was one of the decisive conditions for the defeat of the enemy invasion, the collapse of the occupation regime. During the war, partisans and underground fighters inflicted huge losses on the fascist army in terms of manpower and equipment. Sabotage on communications and communication lines disrupted or slowed down the transportation of troops, equipment and cargo. Political work among the population of the occupied territories instilled in the Soviet people confidence in victory over the enemy.
During the Great Patriotic War, over 370,000 partisans fought the enemy in Belarus. The fight was international. Along with the Belarusians, representatives of 70 nationalities and nationalities of the Soviet Union took part in it. In the ranks of the partisans were about 4 thousand foreign anti-fascists, including 3 thousand Poles, 400 Slovaks and Czechs, 235 Yugoslavs, 70 Hungarians, 60 French, about 100 Germans and others.
From June 1941 to July 1944, the partisans of Belarus put out of action about 500 thousand military personnel of the occupation troops and puppet formations, officials of the occupation administration, armed colonists and accomplices (of which 125 thousand people were irretrievable losses), blew up and derailed 11128 enemy echelons and 34 armored trains, defeated 29 railway stations, 948 enemy headquarters and garrisons, blew up, burned and destroyed 819 railway and 4710 other bridges, killed more than 300 thousand rails, destroyed over 7300 km. telephone and telegraph communication lines, shot down and burned 305 aircraft at airfields, knocked out 1355 tanks and armored vehicles, destroyed 438 guns of various calibers, blew up and destroyed 18700 vehicles, destroyed 939 military depots. During the same period, the partisans of Belarus took the following trophies: guns - 85, mortars - 278, machine guns - 1,874, rifles and machine guns - 20,917. The total irretrievable losses of Belarusian partisans in 1941-1944, according to incomplete data, amounted to 45 thousand people .
