the soviet partisan movement 1941-1944 by edgar m. howell

CHAPTER 4
EARLY RUSSIAN RESISTANCE AND GERMAN
COUNTERMEASURES
The initial German attack in June 1941 was hardly under way before
the first signs of guerrilla-like opposition appeared. There was no question
of a popular rising: the mass of the people had no part in it. It
consisted in the main of the continued resistance of groups of bypassed
Red Army personnel, some scattered demolitions by small groups of
saboteurs parachuted or infiltrated into the German rear, and the
activity of hastily formed units of Communist Party members and
officials of the Peoples' Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD)
directed toward maintaining some sort of political control over the
natives or completing the destruction initiated by the Red Army in its
"scorched earth" policy.
The First Resistance
Bypassed Red Army Units
Of the groups offering the earliest opposition, the bypassed Red
Army units posed the most immediate problem because for the most
part they were still armed and in many cases retained some semblance
of military organization. Tens of thousands of such personnel were
scattered over the rear in troop units of all sizes: and while huge numbers
were taken prisoner the nature of the terrain was such, especially in
the central and northern sectors and to some extent on the left flank of
Army Group South that the final elimination of all of their many small
centers of resistance proved well nigh impossible. The task, which
would have been difficult for even the first-line infantry units in the
face of difficult and relatively unmapped terrain and inadequate intelligence,
became almost insurmountable for the security divisions and
police battalions that took over the job as the fighting moved further to
the east. The expanse of territory to be covered was too great an
obstacle, and many enemy units remained--a sizeable reservoir of
manpower to harass communications. Even as early as the first days
of July their stubborn resistance to mopping up operations created many
critical situations, and pockets continued to appear far to the rear as late
1
Teil 2, KTB 1, H.Geb. Sued, 21.VI.--31.VIII.41. 16407/17.
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