Partisan (military)

Soviet partisans in Belarus 1943 Yugoslav Partisans marching in the liberated city of Bitola, now in the Republic of Macedonia. Interrogation of a Soviet partisan by German Paratroopers, Ukraine 1943 Underground bunkers of the Forest Brothers

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation, usually by some kinds of terrorist activity. The term can apply to the field element of resistance movements that opposed German rule in several countries during World War II.

History

As early as the 12th century in Europe, if not before, war parties or detachments from the main body were frequently used on raids to gather or destroy supplies. The French term "partisan" was used in the 17th century to describe the leader of a war party. Techniques of partisan warfare were described in detail in Johann von Ewald's Abhandlung über den kleinen Krieg (1789).^[1]

The initial concept of partisan warfare was the use of troops raised from the local population in a war zone, or in some cases regular forces, that would operate behind enemy lines to disrupt communications, seize posts or villages as forward operating bases, ambush convoys, impose war taxes or contributions, raid logistical stockpiles, and compel enemy forces to disperse and protect their base of operations. It was this concept of partisan warfare that would later form the basis of the "Partisan Rangers" of the American Civil War. In that war, Confederate States Army Partisan leaders, such as John S. Mosby, operated along the lines described by Von Ewald (and later by both Jomini and Clausewitz). In essence, 19th century American partisans were closer to Commando or Ranger forces raised during World War II than the "partisan" forces operating in occupied Europe. Such fighters would have been legally considered uniformed members of their country's armed forces.

One of the first manuals of partisans' tactics in the 18th century was The Partisan, or the Art of Making War in Detachment...^[2] by de Jeney, Hungarian military officer served in Prussian Army as captain of military engineers during Seven Years' War - published in London, 1760. Partisans in the mid-19th century were substantially different from raiding cavalry, or from unorganized/semi-organized guerrilla forces. The Russian partisans played a crucial part in the downfall of Napoleon. Their fierce resistance and persistent inroads helped compel the French emperor to flee Russia in 1812.

It was during World War II that the current definition of "partisan" became the dominant one—focusing on irregular forces in opposition to an attacking or occupying power. Soviet partisans, especially those active in Belarus, were able to effectively harass German troops and significantly hamper their operations in the region. As a result, Soviet authority was re-established deep inside the German-held territories. There were even partisan kolkhozes that were raising crops and livestock to produce food for the partisans. However, Soviet partisans would also indiscriminately attack civilians. The communist Yugoslav partisans were a leading force in the liberation of their country during the People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia.

Examples

• Albanian Partisans
• Armenian irregular units
• Armia Krajowa
• Armia Ludowa
• Bataliony Chłopskie
• Forest Brothers
• Franc Tireurs Partisans
• Greek Resistance
• Italian resistance movement
• Jewish partisans
• Jewish Combat Organization
• Kuperjanov Battalion
• Partisan Ranger Act
• Polish resistance movement in World War II
• Slovak National Uprising
• Soviet partisans
• Ukrainian Insurgent Army
• Yugoslav Partisans
• Werwolf
• 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Mosby's Rangers)
• Operation Anthropoid

See also

• Fifth column
• Asymmetric warfare
• Guerilla warfare
• Irregular military
• Resistance movement
• Unconventional warfare

References