The Partisans

Composed of peasants, villagers and isolated Russian troops, by this time the Russian partisan forces numbered close to 142,000. Although the effects of the partisans can not be accurately measured, they were a constant thorn in the side of the …

1943-07-22

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Composed of peasants, villagers and isolated Russian troops, by this time the Russian partisan forces numbered close to 142,000. Although the effects of the partisans can not be accurately measured, they were a constant thorn in the side of the German High Command. They harassed supply convoys, blew up bridges and rail lines, and disrupted lines of communication. As the Germans were engaged in their Orel/Belgorod assault of the Kursk Salient, the partisan forces were called upon to engage and tie down German reinforcements and rear echelon units. The Kovpak Partisan Brigade assaulted support and reconnaissance elements of the German 8th Panzer Division, which was engaged in the assault of the Orel wing of the Kursk Salient.

Bryansk Forest, Belorussia

The Soviet Partisans were members of Resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against the Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The activity emerged after Nazi Germany's Operation Barbarossa was executed from mid-1941 on. It was coordinated and controlled by the Soviet government and modeled on that of the Red Army. The partisans made significant contributions to the war by frustrating German plans to exploit occupied Soviet territories economically, gave considerable help to the Red Army by conducting systematic strikes against Germany's rear communication network, disseminated political work among the local population by publishing newspapers and leaflets, and succeeded in creating and maintaining a feeling of insecurity among German forces. Soviet partisans also operated on interwar Polish and Baltic territories occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939–1940, but they had significantly less support there and often clashed with local national partisan groups, as well as German-controlled auxiliary police.

Wikipedia: Soviet Partisans

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