Partisans on the Eastern Front

For many civilians on the Eastern Front, partisan groups offered a way to escape their oppressors – and fight back

In the rear areas of the German advance, in those places under German occupation, a large number of partisan groups began fighting back against the Nazis. These groups were controlled directly from Moscow, with the tactical and operational aspects dictated by Lev Mekhlis, head of the Main Administration of Political Propaganda of the Army and NKVD. The groups were occasionally bolstered by Red Army soldiers who had escaped the slaughter, providing the partisans with knowledge and training. One particular unit that excelled itself in the early days of the movement was that led by Mihay Filipovich Shmyrev. On one occasion his unit ambushed a group of German soldiers bathing in a river, killing 25 to 30 of them. As a result of the partisan groups’ attacks, the Nazi forces conducted merciless anti-partisan campaigns, resulting in yet more slaughter.