Guerrilla warfare. What is guerrilla warfare

The partisan movement (partisan war 1941 - 1945) is one of the sides of the USSR’s resistance to the fascist troops of Germany and the Allies during the Great Patriotic War.

The partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War was very large-scale and, most importantly, well organized. It differed from other popular uprisings in that it had a clear command system, was legalized and subordinated to Soviet power. The partisans were controlled by special bodies, their activities were prescribed in several legislative acts and had goals described personally by Stalin. The number of partisans during the Great Patriotic War numbered about a million people; more than six thousand different underground detachments were formed, which included all categories of citizens.

The purpose of the guerrilla war of 1941-1945. – destruction of infrastructure German army, disruption of food and weapons supplies, destabilization of the entire fascist machine.

The beginning of the guerrilla war and the formation of partisan detachments

Guerrilla warfare is an integral part of any protracted military conflict, and quite often the order to start a guerrilla movement comes directly from the country's leadership. This was the case with the USSR. Immediately after the start of the war, two directives were issued, “To the Party and Soviet organizations of the front-line regions” and “On the organization of the struggle in the rear of German troops,” which spoke of the need to create popular resistance to help the regular army. In fact, the state gave the go-ahead for the formation of partisan detachments. A year later, when the partisan movement was in full swing, Stalin issued an order “On the tasks of the partisan movement,” which described the main directions of the underground’s work.

An important factor for the emergence of partisan resistance was the formation of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD, in whose ranks they were created special groups who were engaged in subversive work and reconnaissance.

On May 30, 1942, the partisan movement was legalized - the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement was created, to which local headquarters in the regions, headed, for the most part, by the heads of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, were subordinate. The creation of a single administrative body gave impetus to the development of large-scale guerrilla warfare, which was well organized, had a clear structure and system of subordination. All this significantly increased the efficiency of the partisan detachments.

Main activities of the partisan movement

• Sabotage activities. The partisans tried with all their might to destroy the supply of food, weapons and manpower to the headquarters of the German army; very often pogroms were carried out in the camps in order to deprive the Germans of sources of fresh water and drive them out of the area.
• Intelligence service. An equally important part of underground activity was intelligence, both on the territory of the USSR and in Germany. The partisans tried to steal or find out the secret plans of the German attack and transfer them to headquarters so that Soviet army was prepared for attack.
• Bolshevik propaganda. Effective fight with the enemy is impossible if the people do not believe in the state and do not follow common goals, therefore the partisans actively worked with the population, especially in the occupied territories.
• Fighting. Armed clashes occurred quite rarely, but still partisan detachments entered into open confrontation with the German army.
• Control of the entire partisan movement.
• Restoration of USSR power in the occupied territories. The partisans tried to raise an uprising among Soviet citizens who found themselves under the yoke of the Germans.

Partisan units

By the middle of the war, large and small partisan detachments existed almost throughout the entire territory of the USSR, including the occupied lands of Ukraine and the Baltic states. However, it should be noted that in some territories the partisans did not support the Bolsheviks; they tried to defend the independence of their region, both from the Germans and from the Soviet Union.

An ordinary partisan detachment consisted of several dozen people, but with the growth of the partisan movement, the detachments began to consist of several hundred, although this happened infrequently. On average, one detachment included about 100-150 people. In some cases, units were united into brigades in order to provide serious resistance to the Germans. The partisans were usually armed with light rifles, grenades and carbines, but sometimes large brigades had mortars and artillery weapons. The equipment depended on the region and the purpose of the detachment. All members of the partisan detachment took the oath.

In 1942, the post of Commander-in-Chief was created partisan movement, which was occupied by Marshal Voroshilov, but the post was soon abolished and the partisans were subordinate to the military Commander-in-Chief.

There were also special Jewish partisan detachments, which consisted of Jews who remained in the USSR. The main purpose of such units was to protect the Jewish population, which was subjected to special persecution by the Germans. Unfortunately, very often Jewish partisans faced serious problems, since anti-Semitic sentiments reigned in many Soviet detachments and they rarely came to the aid of Jewish detachments. By the end of the war, Jewish troops mixed with Soviet ones.

Results and significance of guerrilla warfare

Soviet partisans became one of the main forces resisting the Germans and largely helped decide the outcome of the war in favor of the USSR. Good management The partisan movement made it highly effective and disciplined, thanks to which the partisans could fight on an equal basis with the regular army.

Guerrilla warfare- that's what they're called independent actions light detachments separate from the army, sent primarily to the rear and flanks of the enemy. Their goal is mainly to interrupt or impede the communication of the enemy army with the sources of its provisions and recruitment, as well as to destroy these sources. The success of such actions is determined by secrecy and speed of movements; therefore, the troops appointed for them usually consist of one cavalry. The first noticeable manifestation of partisan actions is usually seen in the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War; but the actions of the leaders of the free detachments of that time (Count Mansfeld and others) were still far from what is now understood by the P. war. Only since the introduction of the store system of army rations (by the Minister of War Louis XIV, Louvois), which led to the extreme slowness of movements and the emergence of a communication line, P. war begins to take root more and more. For the first time, its techniques were used with success by Peter the Great during the great Northern War. When Charles XII, due to the depletion of food supplies, decided to move to Ukraine, Peter sent General Ifland with instructions, ahead of the Swedish troops, to slow down their movements and destroy food supplies. During the location of both armies in the winter quarters of P., the war greatly weakened the Swedes and contributed to the Poltava victory. Fully aware of the important strategic significance of partisan actions, Peter established the so-called. "corvolant" - light corps intended for large-scale partisan operations; their cavalry composition was sometimes supported by light cannons. Further development P. war received in the era of Frederick the Great, in the first and especially the second Silesian Wars and in the Seven Years' War. Austrian partisan detachments, led by Menzel, Moraz, Trenck, Frankini, Nadasdy and others, surrounded the enemy army, interrupted its communication with the base, made it extremely difficult to transport everything necessary, forage, collect information about the enemy, and finally, with constant attacks on enemy troops exhausted them. Frederick II, when drawing up a plan of action, constantly takes into account the partisan actions of the enemy and especially carefully prepares to repel them. One of the outstanding examples of partisan actions in the seven-year war is the capture of Berlin by General Gallik in 1757. The military actions of the Spaniards against the French in 1809-1813. fit rather under the name of people's war - a phenomenon that is only in form close to the P. war. The war in our country gained further and very wide development in 1812 and brought great fame to Davydov, Figner, Seslavin, Chernyshev and other leaders of light detachments operating on messages from the Napoleonic army. Napoleon understood the enormous danger of enemy partisan detachments in the rear of the army; from his letters one can see that it was the actions of the partisans that led mainly to the French army to its final death. The partisan detachments of Colomb, Lyutsov and others played a prominent role in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814. After the Napoleonic Wars, the use of P. warfare techniques on a large scale was found only in North American internecine war, when partisan actions reach their apogee and show an unprecedented significance, which was greatly facilitated by railways and telegraph.

Wed. F. Gershelman, "Partisan War" ("Military Collection", 1884, book 3 et seq.).

Guerrilla warfare- a war waged by armed groups hiding among the local population, avoiding open and major clashes with the enemy.
Elements of guerrilla warfare
The following aspects can be distinguished in the tactics of guerrilla actions: Destruction of the enemy’s infrastructure in any form (rail war, destruction of communication lines, high-voltage lines, poisoning and destruction of water pipelines, wells, etc.)
Information warfare (the dissemination of correct and incorrect information in oral (rumours, radio broadcasts) or printed (leaflets, newspapers, networks) form in order to win over the local population and (less often) the enemy himself to one’s side).
Destruction of enemy personnel.
Terror against the enemy is the implementation of actions aimed at intimidation in any form (murder, throwing objects at enemy units with the inscription “It could have been a bomb,” etc.).

It is desirable (but not necessary) that the partisans in their struggle receive assistance from any state, organization, etc. The nature of assistance can be different - financial, assistance with equipment (weapons primarily), informational assistance (instructions, manuals and instructors) ).
Theory of guerrilla warfare
Mao Zedong called guerrilla warfare the most effective means resistance to the authorities (dictatorial, colonial or occupation) and put forward the basic idea of ​​guerrilla warfare: “The enemy advances - we retreat, the enemy stops - we disturb, the enemy retreats - we pursue.” Guerrilla warfare implies the presence of a partisan base and a partisan area. Latin American guerrillas supplemented the theory of guerrilla warfare with tactics of isolating the region as a result of transport sabotage and defeating the enemy, deprived of the opportunity to receive outside help.
Story
The concept itself arose in the 18th century, and originally meant, according to ESBE, “independent actions of light detachments separate from the army, directed primarily to the rear and flanks of the enemy.” Such detachments, mainly cavalry, which were tasked with disrupting communications, bore the French name partie, hence the word “partisan”, and from it, in turn, “guerrilla warfare”. It is curious that in the 19th century in Russian they said “party” and not “partisan detachment” - the latter looked like a tautology.

However, already during the Napoleonic Wars, “partisans” also began to be called irregular detachments of civilians waging guerrilla warfare. At the same time, the Spanish designation for guerrilla warfare was born - “guerrilla” (Spanish guerrilla, “small war”).

Guerrilla warfare has a long history. The first in history to practice it were the Scythians in the war against the Persians in the 6th century. BC e. In modern times, guerrilla warfare showed its effectiveness in the fight against French troops in Spain 1808-1814 and in Russia (Patriotic War of 1812). Guerrilla warfare methods were widely used by all sides during the Russian Civil War; Of the partisan commanders of that era, Nestor Makhno became the most famous. Guerrilla methods were also widely practiced during the Second World War, especially in the occupied territories of the USSR, where the partisan movement was organized and supplied from Moscow, as well as in Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, and at the last stage of the war - in Italy. In the post-war years, a wide partisan movement developed in the western regions of the USSR (see Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Forest Brothers). In the second half of the 20th century, guerrilla warfare methods were actively used by radical movements in Third World countries, including: Angola
Vietnam
Guatemala
Iraq
Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Army of the People (FARC-EP)
Cuba
Peru
Salvador
Türkiye - Kurdistan Workers' Party
Philippines

In Russia, partisan methods were used by Chechen separatists in the First and Second Chechen wars. In a broad sense, all kinds of insurrectionary movements and wars of irregular groups (for example, tribal) with regular armies were of a partisan nature.
Legal aspect
Participants in the partisan movement initially do not meet the requirements for combatants by the Hague Convention “On the Laws and Customs of War on Land” of 1907, since when participating in hostilities they disguise themselves as civilians (they have neither uniform nor insignia, they carry weapons hidden) and force the occupation authorities to apply harsh measures to the entire population. In accordance with the Hague Convention, partisans, when captured, do not enjoy the rights of prisoners of war, and are also put on trial.

Guerrillas gained the status of legal combatants only with the adoption of the IV Hague Convention, which outlined 4 conditions under which a militia member would be considered a combatant and not a criminal, and would be subject to exactly the same privileges as regular army soldiers.

Firstly, they have at their head a person responsible for his subordinates

In order for a partisan to have the status of a combatant, he must belong to some kind of militarily organized detachment, headed by responsible person. Submission to the commander in the detachment is an important sign of the legitimacy of the actions of the partisan detachment. It depends on the type of organization whether they should be treated as prisoners of war and enjoy the corresponding privileges. The responsibility of the commanders of partisan detachments may include responsibility before the law and jurisdiction of military courts. In a word, if a partisan wants to enjoy the privileges of a combatant, he must act as an integral part of a detachment that acts on behalf of the state, and not as an organ of the interests of the individuals composing it.

The meaning of this paragraph lies in the moral and legal law persons to conduct combat operations against enemy combatants. The subordination of a militia to a command associated with the government transfers the combatant from the scope of criminal law (for the use of weapons, murder, etc.) to the sphere of humanitarian law, that is, shifts this responsibility to the state of which he is a representative. And also the presence of a commander guarantees that the detachment subordinate to him will act within the framework of the laws and customs of war.

Secondly, they have a specific distinctive sign that is clearly visible from a distance

“Humanitarian law obliges the state to conduct military operations only against combatants, and this requires that the guerrillas be distinguished from the civilian population. By donning a uniform or insignia, the guerrilla renounces the privileges of the civilian population and becomes a combatant. Firstly, this gives him the right to take part in hostilities, and secondly, it allows the combatants to comply with the norms of humanitarian law, distinguishing partisans from the civilian population.”

It should also be noted that partisans cannot be placed in a worse position than a soldier of the regular army, therefore, there can be no question of a broad interpretation of the “clearly visible” distinctive sign; and also, a certain distinctive sign should not interfere with the camouflage of partisans, since in modern conditions, careful camouflage of troops is one of the most important principles of warfare.

“The requirement for a distinctive sign and the open carrying of weapons in a number of cases would put the partisans in clearly worse conditions in relation to regular troops, since the very nature of partisan actions requires secrecy and the most careful camouflage. And if fulfilling these requirements in individual guerrilla operations turned out to be impossible, then this would be explained by the tactics of partisan operations, and not at all by the tactics of guerrilla warfare. Consequently, such failure would not deprive the partisan movement of its legal character, or the partisans themselves - the international legal status recognized by the conventions."

Third, openly carry weapons

Many people think that the badge is enough to consider him a combatant. And a person who openly carries a weapon, but does not have distinctive signs, does not necessarily belong to the partisan movement. It should also be borne in mind that partisans use the same methods of combat as combat units, and therefore can resort to cunning and camouflage. Subsequently, this clause was clarified in Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1978.

Fourth, observe the norms and customs of war

This point is extremely important. This point is not a sign, but an important condition, by fulfilling which the partisan receives the right to be called a combatant. This condition is aimed at humanizing military operations and in their actions the partisan is obliged to comply with the laws and customs of war. This condition is indisputable and the most important of all listed. Aimed at humanizing armed conflicts, the requirement that partisans comply with the laws and customs of war is aimed at suppressing attempts to turn the war into an orgy. At the same time, this requirement is in no way connected with the specifics of partisan warfare. It is also mandatory for other combatants, including members of the regular armed forces. It follows from this that violations of the laws and customs of war committed by individual partisans entail corresponding legal consequences only in relation to the violator. But these violations do not in any way affect legal status partisan detachment as a whole.

It should be mentioned that for non-compliance with the laws, it is not the entire detachment that is responsible, but the person who broke the law.

Representatives of states whose peoples in the recent past participated in such (guerrilla) conflicts argued that in existing conditions the only chance for success of the resistance movement, compensating to some extent for the technical superiority of the enemy, was in non-compliance with some strict rules (primarily the second and third) enshrined in the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the third Geneva Convention of 1949.

A clearer definition of the status of guerrillas was given in the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1978.

The second and third of the traditional conditions were to be observed by persons wishing to be treated as combatants and, therefore, as prisoners of war in the event of capture. The conditions have become much more flexible. Instead of requiring a specific distinctive sign, it was stated “that combatants are required to distinguish themselves from the civilian population while they are engaged in an attack or military operation, which is a preparation for an attack” (First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1978, Art. 44(3)).

Regarding the duty to bear arms, it was recognized that “there are situations where, due to the nature of hostilities, an armed combatant cannot distinguish himself from the civilian population, he retains his status as a combatant, provided that in such situations he openly carries his weapon: in the time of each military clash; And
at a time when he is in full view of the enemy during deployment into battle formations preceding the start of an attack in which he must take part" (First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1978, paragraph 3, article 44)

To avoid these difficulties, another important article was adopted providing that, in case of doubt, the status of a prisoner of war, and therefore a combatant, is presumed. (First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1978, Article 45 (1,2)) The provisions of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, as well as the sick and wounded, fully apply to partisans.

Along with the desire of the world community to protect partisans and participants in national liberation movements, it is necessary to mention some problems that may arise in connection with granting partisans the status of combatants.

First, it must be remembered that combatant status is not only a privilege. The status of a combatant implies that the person who possesses it is a direct object of hostilities, that is, violence can be applied to him during hostilities, up to and including physical destruction. And since the fact remains indisputable that partisans are visually more similar to the civilian population than to soldiers of the regular army, then confusion may arise, the victim of which may be the least protected persons in an armed conflict - the civilian population.

Secondly, according to many lawyers, there is also a problem that the partisans do not comply with international law. R. Bindschendler, discussing this topic, writes: “if one of the most industrially developed countries with the most modern weapons is drawn into a war with an underdeveloped state, then the latter, not having first-class weapons, resorts to guerrilla warfare. In order to compensate for material weakness during the war, the partisans refuse legal norms, limiting the warring parties. The other side, not remaining indifferent to these steps, takes the same actions, which leads to an escalation of violations of humanitarian law.”

“It must be emphasized that the legitimacy of partisan movements is closely related to the lawful, fair nature of the war of the state on whose side the partisans are acting. A completely different international legal assessment should be given to the actions of all kinds of irregular detachments that the aggressor may resort to, calling them “partisans”... in reality this is not a partisan movement, but one of the types of intervention, a gross violation of the generally accepted norms of modern international law.”
Literature
Alexander Tarasov. Chairman Mao's theory of guerrilla warfare. // Bumbarash-2017, 1998, No. 4.
Artsibasov I. N., Egorov S. A. Armed conflict: law, politics, diplomacy. Moscow 1992 “International Relations” pp. 113,114,110
Kozhevnikov. International law. Moscow 1981 “International Relations” p.417
Nakhlik Stnaislav E. Brief essay on humanitarian law. International Committee of the Red Cross 1993 pp. 23, 25
Kolesnik S. “Protection of human rights in armed conflicts” 2005
First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1978
IV Hague Convention

see also
Urban guerrilla
Guerrilla movements

Irish Republican Army Volunteer Manual. Textbook

What is guerrilla warfare?

What is guerrilla warfare?

A people under the yoke of foreign forces can achieve their freedom only through guerrilla warfare. The enemy's overwhelming advantage in state power and state institutions, the presence of repressive bodies and a large regular army, the availability of material resources and the monopoly of propaganda, which can only be overcome by special guerrilla underground tactics and strategy.

Guerrilla warfare can be defined as: resistance to enemy forces, that is, struggle. In this struggle, the partisans or underground act as the warhead of the resistance.

Until World War II, military textbooks ignored guerrilla warfare completely. But during this war it became obvious that guerrilla warfare could not be ignored. England established a separate army to fight the partisan movement. It would seem strange to reckon with partisans in the age of atomic bombs.

Chief of Staff of the British armed forces Field Marshal William Slim says: “A fragmented type of warfare, whether the fragmentation is caused either by the profile of the terrain or the enemy’s weapons, requires two things: trained and determined junior commanders, and detachments of independent, physically trained and well-disciplined fighters.

The success of future ground operations depends on the presence of just such commanders and fighters who are ready to operate in small independent units. They must be ready to fight without established communications, and be guided only by circumstances, and rely only on themselves and the resources of the population of a given territory.

Invisible, unheard and unsuspected, they will creep up on the enemy, and when he discovers that they are very close, he will no longer be able to launch a nuclear strike without destroying himself.”

Hence the strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare in the nuclear age - dissolution in the enemy environment.

As the last one shows Iraq war- The Iraqis did just that. It was pointless for the Iraqis to stand in an open field against the obviously superior US army and its overwhelming air power. Therefore, the Iraqis ahead of time created hidden bases of the guerrilla underground and dissolved in the underground movement, which has been delivering successful strikes against the enemy for three years now.

Ordinary war.

In a conventional war, the whole essence of military maneuvers is to achieve material, numerical and military superiority at the right time and in the right place. The guerrillas are unable to deliver one massive blow, so they deliver many small strikes. The partisans constantly deliver small blows, biting into the enemy and not giving him a break. They hit - they disappeared, they hit - they disappeared again, and so on until the enemy was completely exhausted.

A regular army depends on many types of support: air, ground, communications, supplies, equipment, artillery, reserves, flanks, and so on. They have a lot of different weapons. Plans are being made General Staff and are betrayed down on command. The attacks are carried out under the cover of air, missile and artillery preparations. Armored vehicles make a breakthrough in enemy defenses. For the most part, the soldiers do not even understand what is happening in this moment time. They rely on commanders. And as all military experience shows, it was completely in vain. Regular army soldiers are trained to act as cogs in a machine, and when that machine stops, they are all incapacitated and dead.

Guerrilla warfare.

The partisans are a completely different matter, the partisan receives strength from the population, from the people - otherwise, he fights himself, and therefore he must be independent and self-sufficient. If necessary, the partisan must fight alone, with the weapons at his disposal, and this, naturally, is not the most best weapon. The partisan must find everything he needs himself; he is his own supplier. His stamina and endurance must be enormous, and therefore he must be physically tough, and have an astute mind. And above all, he must know what and for what he is fighting - for the liberation of his homeland from foreign pro-Israeli influence, leadership and abuse.

The guerrilla must move quickly and hit hard. He must adapt, and must constantly change his methods. The partisans must be prepared so that they can scatter during the retreat and regroup later. The task of the partisans is never to hold the defense or to hold locality or another territory.

What the guerrillas must do is:

The guerrillas must wear down the enemy with constant threats and attacks. The guerrillas must attack all the time and from all directions. Guerrillas must plan their withdrawals and counter-attacks, and avoid encounters with the enemy not on their own initiative.

Tactics must change constantly. Combat units must operate regardless of terrain conditions and lines of communication. This is what it means to be self-sufficient. The partisan never makes himself a target for the enemy. The partisan was brave in attack and skillful in retreat. Its main advantage is mobility.

Action plans should be simple, understandable to all participants, and, if possible, rehearsed.

The main effect of the partisans is surprise! To give the enemy a surprise, you must have excellent intelligence. The partisans must know everything about the enemy: his battle formation and dislocation, his strength, his weaknesses - even the plan of his counterinsurgency activity. Excellent intelligence and information activities build morale, and for guerrillas, morale is everything. This spirit - morality - gives the partisans their certainty, determination and victory.

If a partisan enters into battle, it must be cruel, merciless and to the end. The road may be long, the sacrifices may be great, but the partisans have the spirit, determination and will to win, and therefore the partisans cannot fail to win. Every day, set and achieve, at least small, goals. Small successes will add up to big victories, strengthening the morale of the people - this is the goal of guerrilla warfare, which brings ultimate victory.

Guerrilla warfare strategy.

The strategy of guerrilla warfare is to create many centers of resistance in the country, and force the occupying forces to lock themselves in major cities. This is done by creating obstacles to the movement of occupation forces and damaging communications and communications. Gradually, the centers of partisan resistance are intertwined into one territory controlled by them.

After this, the task is to lure the enemy out of his fortress and beat him. The point of the entire strategy is to inflict as much as possible through surprise and mobility. swipe at the very weakness and dissolve. You need to be sure that the enemy has no forces in this place. You need to hit a weak point, and not at heavily fortified objects. Later, when the enemy is forced to transfer forces in pursuit of the partisans, he will begin to expose important objects, and then it may be possible to strike at them.

Guerrillas must do three things:

1). Suck human and material resources from the enemy.

2). To be the vanguard of the entire people in liberating their country from foreign, even disguised pro-Israeli influence.

3). Destroy the entire leadership of the occupation power.

The partisans are sucking human and material resources from the enemy by the mere fact of their existence and the constant threat to the enemy. The partisans must remember that their task is not to hold anything, but not to allow the enemy to hold it either.

The partisans are the vanguard of their people, constantly inspiring them with the goals of their movement. The enemy takes it out on the population, further strengthening their hatred of the enemy. This makes the people inveterate and stubborn, and this is very important, because in the long term, it is the resources of the people that ensure victory over the foreign regime under any of its guise, open tyranny or a more sophisticated pro-democratic and pro-Western shell.

The partisans actually destroyed the occupation administration when it introduced martial law, and thus signed that it could no longer lead conventional methods. In reality, by martial law, the enemy recognizes that he is alien to the conquered people, and that this people does not want him.

When the enemy thus realizes his alien position, he makes every effort to destroy the partisan and underground movement. And the partisans’ first priority is to ensure the failure of his plans.

The basic principles of any war can be reduced to these five:

1). Saving power.

2). Protection and awareness of the enemy's evil plans.

3). Surprise, and, conversely, the surprise of one’s actions for the enemy.

4). Aggressiveness and determination to knock the wind out of the enemy.

5). Purposefulness in carrying out your plans.

These general principles also good for guerrilla warfare.