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

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72 THE SOVIET PARTISAN MOVEMENT a census of the population in which all individuals not native to the place were to be shown with the date of their arrival. These lists were to be constantly checked by means of snap roll calls. Collective punitive measures were to be carried out for noncompliance of orders. Natives were forbidden to travel from one village to another and no one was to be allowed to leave his community except in exceptional cases and then only with the permission of the garrison commander. Permits for such travel were to be dated and bear the route and the place to be visited, and were to be valid for but one day. All permits were to be turned in on the date of expiration and any person found on the roads without a pass was to be arrested and, if not belonging to the nearest village, executed as a partisan. 56 Effect of the Manpower Shortage in the Rear Even with this increased awareness on the part of the Army High Command of the turn events in the occupied areas and the improved procedures for dealing with it, the efforts to establish secure control of the rear left much to be desired and did little to retard the growth of the movement. This was due primarily to the attitude of the people. Even the victory at Vyazma in October only momentarily stayed a steady deterioration of public morale and a growing hostility toward the Germans. The reasons were always the same-fear of a Soviet return, the German failure to improve the food situation, and, as ever, the land tenure question. In the central and northern sectors the individual Russian more and more was coming to look on the German as an enemy, not as a "liberator." As a result he became obstinate and disrespectful, and began to support the partisans, tacitly if not openly. The unchecked "clearing” actions of the Einsatzgruppen and police units, during which many people were executed without proof of Communist Party affiliation or Jewish blood, hurt the German cause immensely, and the continued pilfering and illegal requisitioning by the troops, especially that of the security units, did nothing to improve the situation. 57 In these matters there was little the security commands could do. As far as feeding the people in the devastated areas, they faced the hard and fast policies of the economic administration, and when some limited food stocks were available there was insufficient transportation for equitable distribution. There was no chance for a practical psychological approach with OKW refusing to allow the Wehrmacht Propaganda Division to make any open commitments on any subject; as a result many 56 12 Inf. Div., Ic/Ia, Nr. 607/41. 17.XI.41. in Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, op. cit., VII, pp: 49-51. 57 Bericht, Wi Stab Sued, 16.X.41. Wi/ID 2.1355; Lagebericht, Ortskdtr "Rshev'', 8.XI.41., in KTB, Korueck 582. 17326/11; Anl. 12 z. Lagebericht, Wi Stab "Krasnowardeisk," Okt 41. Wi/ID 2.189.
GERMAN OCCUPATION POLICIES IN OPERATION 73 points of difference between the occupiers and the occupied, often simple in themselves but with explosive possibilities when taken in aggregate, went unresolved. And the land tenure question was out of the Army orbit. Although the forces in the field made repeated recommendations that the state and collective farms be broken up and the acreage distributed to the peasants as a gesture of German good will, their recommendations were ignored. 58 The army and army group rear areas had been specifically charged with guaranteening the unimpeded supply of the armies and the exploitation of the country for the use of the military. Had the natives accepted matters quietly as in Poland and France, the units originally allotted for this task would have sufficed. But with the campaign as yet unended and the partisan movement and general civilian disaffection on the rise, there were simply not enough troops available to protect the supply lines and still bring the huge territories under adequate police control. It was strictly a problem of men and materiel. On 1 October the Army Group Center Rear Area, where the greatest amount of resistance existed, was responsible for the security of some 137,000 square miles of country, an area slightly smaller than the state of Texas and more than five times Pennsylvania. For this task, it had available on paper three security divisions, two second-rate infantry divisions, 59 and an SS brigade. Several of the better elements of these units had been drawn into the front lines. The 707th Infantry Division, with but two infantry regiments and only one motorized supply company, had an area of responsibility of 35,000 square miles. 60 Korueck 582 in the rear of the Ninth Army covered 6,900 square miles including more than 1,500 villages plus collective farms. To secure this area it had available, in addition to headquarters personnel, 16 companies of 80 to 90 men each, a total of less than 1,400, for railroad, supply installation, headquarters, and PW camp guards. Of these, once the static details were mounted, less than 300 men remained for patrols and antipartisan action. 61 On 5 October the commandant of the army group rear area reported that the security divisions and the 339th Infantry Division were so far understrength that after static rail line guards were posted there were too few troops remaining to mount any offensive action against the partisans or exercise effective control. 62 58 Op. Sit. Rpt 86, 17 Sep 41 (doc. 31 51 ), prosecution document book in N.M.T. op. cit. (Case 9); rpt, Army Group South to OKH, 6 Oct 41. in KTB, H. Geb. Sued. 16407/8. 59 The 707th and 339th Divs had only two infantry regiments each. 60 Hist Div, EUCOM, "Protection of Lines of Communication in the East," 21 Apr 47, p. 3. MS 0-102. Foreign Studies Br., OCMH. 61 Ltr, Korukck 582 to Ninth Army, 22 Sep 41. 17326/15. 62 Bericht, H. Geb. Mitte, Nr. 940/41 geh., 5.X.41., Anl. 137 z. Anlagenband II z. KTB I, H. Geb. Mitte, I.IX-31.XII.41. 14684/3.
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F I N L A N D Kholrn MOSCOW S. R. A
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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WASHINGTON 2
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PREFACE The purpose of this text is
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viii PART TWO . 1941-1942: THE PERI
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x PART THREE. 1943-1944: THE PERIOD
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2 THE SOVIET PARTISAN MOVEMENT Euro
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4 THE SOVIET PARTISAN MOVEMENT Whit
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6 THE SOVIET PARTISAN MOVEMENT mile
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Map 3. Period of German Offensives,
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PREINVASION PLANNING 9 Still doubti
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PREINVASION PLANNING 11 Chart 1 - O
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PREINVASION PLANNING 13 visions wer
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PREINVASION PLANNING 15 limited obj
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PREINVASION PLANNING 17 and philoso
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PREINVASION PLANNING 19 district Ko
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PREINVASION PLANNING 21 torates, on
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F N L A N O Map 4. Period of Soviet
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Chart 3 ORGANIZATIOUIF A PARTISAN B
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THE PARTISAN MOVEMENT REACHES MATUR
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CHAPTER 10 THE PARTISANS AND THE C
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THE PARTISANS AND THE CAMPAIGN OF 1
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PARTISAN CONCENTRATIONS IN SECTOR O
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164 on the rail lines of the centra
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166 Soviet propaganda aimed at the
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THE DECISIVE MONTHS: JANUARY—JUNE
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THE DECISIVE MONTHS: JANUARY-JUNE 1
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15 Anl. 43 z. KTB, H. Gr. Nord. 14.
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ARMY GROUP CENTER REAR AREA' WINTER
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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE The Soviet Pa
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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 217 United Sta
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the soviet partisan movement 1941-1944 by edgar m. howell

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