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	Underground and guerrilla struggle in Bryansk region during 1941-1943 The roots of patriotism and combat traditions of the Bryansk population go far back into the past. The Bryansk residents defended courageously their land against numerous invaders -the Khazars and the Pechenegs, the Polovtsians and the Tartar-Mongols, the Lithuanians, the Germans and the Sweeds, the Poles and the French. Our ancestors fought heroically in the battles of Kulikovo (1380) and Grunwald (1410) while liberating Moscow from the Poles (1612) in the battles of Poltava (1709) and Borodino (1812). A lot of feats of arms were fixed in the historic materials of the unprecedented defence of Sevastopol (1854-1855), the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), the Russian-Japanese war (1904-1905), the First world war and the Civil war. The hardest testament in history for the Bryansk population alongside with all Soviet people was the Great Patriotic war. Our fathers and grandfathers covered themselves with undying glory in its battlefields. The aim of fascist Germany in the invasion of the Soviet Union was not only to occupy the territory of the country and rob its riches but also to exterminate physically most of the population and make the rest the slavers of the German capitalists and landlords. This criminal idea of the German fascists found its fulfilment in a program worked out long before the war against the Soviet Union. Already in December 1940 Hitler declared openly: "If we want to create our Great German empire, we must, first of all, drive out Slavonic peoples - the Russians, the Ukranians, the Belorussians, the Poles, the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Bulgarians". Number 21 Directive about war against USSR was approved by Hitler on December 18, 1940. It received the code name of "Barbarossa plan". The strategic aim of this plan was to defeat the main forces of the Red Army, concentrated in the west of the Soviet Union, and to capture by a lightning stroke the most important economic and military regions of the USSR. In special "Directives to economical management of the newly occupied eastern regions" (The so -called "Herring's green paper-case") in the "Ost" plan, worked out by Himmler, in many other documents were developed and concretized measures to invade the East European Countries, including the Soviet Union and to rob and exterminate physically the population of the Soviet Union by means of hunger, terror, violence etc. Giving his approval to these monstrous plans at the meeting of high generals on March 30, 1941, Hitler said: "This is the question of extermination. If we don't consider it this way, the communist danger will appear in 30 years even if we defeat the enemy. ...We must take all we need from Russia... We have to work out the scheme of reduction of the alien population. The hierarchy of masters should enslave a mass of slaves". In his notes to the "Ost" plan in July, 1941, chief of colonization department of Eastern ministry Wattzel, touching "the Russian question" wrote: "It is not only the point off defeating the state with the centre in Moscow, the matter is to defeat the Russians as a nation, divide them, and if according to this idea the German policy is carried out in the eastern regions, there will appear the possibility to eliminate the danger that the Russian people present to our nation". These "ideas" were the political bases of Hitler's "new order" in the occupied territory. Using temporary advantages, at the cost of great losses, the German army managed to occupy by the end of November, 1941 the Baltic countries, Belorussia, most of the Ukraine and all Bryansk territory. From the very beginning of their invasion of our territory, the fascist occupants started abolishing the Soviet order, created their administrative units in towns and villages, the aim of that was to help the Hitler Germans actively to rob and exterminate Russian people. The Soviet people, being aware of their responsibility for the destiny of Motherland, never knelt before the Nazies, they stepped courageously on the way of merciless struggle against the enemy. The people used different ways and methods of resistance; they deranged all activities of the enemy in economic, political and military fields, organized underground and armed struggle against the enemy. The Party committees grounding their activities on the resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee, issued on July 18,1941, set up a broad network of underground party and Komsomol units even before the fascists came. In the Orel region (it included the Bryansk territory before the war) were formed in good time partisan detachments and guerrilla groups. The future guerrillas were taught blasting technique, reconnaissance and combat skills. Partisan bases, stocks of firearms, ammunition, clothes and food were laid in the forests. The commanders and commissars of guerrilla groups were appointed, as a rule, the secretaries of the underground party and komsomol committees, leaders of executive committees, economical executives. By September, 1941 there, in the Bryansk territory, were formed 72 partisan detachments, 91 guerrilla groups, 330 blasting groups. All who could hold arms joined the guerrilla detachments. People came in groups, families, settlements. The guerrilla groups began mass activities in October - December, 1941. Of great importance for the development of the guerrilla movement was the Moscow defeat of the German troops in the end of 1941 - the beginning of 1942. The partisans began to liberate settlements driving out Hitler troops. The German command had to recognize the force of the partisan movement. In his order № 1, issued on February 15,1942, General Wlatsman stated: "According to our intelligence data, there's a good number of guerrillas. They are well-clad, have good horses, good quantity of skis and camouflage cloaks. In Russian settlements people sympathize with the guerrillas and help them. 50 per cent of soldiers have to be awake when the troops are supposed to have rest. The posts are set up obligatory where the troops are quartered. Patrolling is organized between the posts". During January and the first half of February, 1942 the people's resistance movement became general uprising. On February 14, the guerrillas, supported by the population, liberated from the occupants all Dyatkovo district, including its centre -the town of Dyatkovo. The Soviet power was reestablished in the district and the nearby settlements of other districts. The liberated territory was about 2 500 square kilometers. Thus the first partisan region on the Bryansk soil was formed. The partisan movement took a full swing in the southern Bryansk districts: Suzemsky, Sevsky, Komarichesky, Vygonichesky and Bryansky. By April, 1942 another big partisan region was formed here, the territory of which was 12 000 square kilometers. More then 500 settlements with the population of more than 200 thousand were liberated. The Soviet power was reestablish here too. Besides this, two partisan zones were formed - Kletnyanskaya and Novozybkovskaya. The territory of those was wore than 6 000 square kilometers. About 150 settlements were controlled by the partisans. The soviet power was not reestablished here. Collective and State farms began working in the partisan territories, the district party and Komsomol, also economic structures were reinstalled, the restored local enterprises started to work. Those were clothes and shoe factories, food producing enterprises, shops where arms and military equipment were repaired. Medical institutions, means of communication and other enterprises to supply guerrillas with what they needed, were restored. One of the most important points was to supply the guerrillas with arms, ammunition, food, clothes, shoes and medical service. All what they needed the folk revengers won from the enemy. Besides, they constantly received aid from the population. For example, only in the southern zone in June, 1942 the people gathered in the battlefields and supplied the guerrillas of Trubchevsky, Suzemsky, Navlinsky, Brasovsky, Sevsky districts with 13 tanks, 2 tankettes, 5 armoured vehicles, 137 mortars, 11 guns, 12 300 rifles, 5 000 shells, 7 000 mines, 112 heavy machine-guns, 395 machine-guns, 5 mln cartridges. During May, 1942 the population of the Trubchevsky district gathered for the partisans 4 500 poods grain, 6 000 poods potatoes, 10 centners butter and 45 000 eggs. The similar aid was rendered to the guerrillas in other districts. With the formation of the partisan regions and zones the guerrillas were supplied with food by the state and collective farms, which grew grain, harvested it and sent to the partisans and also gave it to the population. An active part in the underground and guerrilla struggle against Hitler troops took komsomol members, showing unprecegented in history heroism. From 80 to 90 per cent of guerrilla and underground organizers were the komsomol members and youth. As a rule they were in the most dangerous places. They were machine-gunners, mortar-men, demolition-men, scouts. Many of them were detachments' companies', platoons' commanders etc. History never knew so mass women participation in the underground and guerrilla struggle against the enemy. There were 15,8 per cent of women in the Bryansk guerrilla detachments. This is the highest level in Russia. They were commanders and commissars of guerrilla groups, machine-gunners, demolition-men, scouts, medical sisters and nurses. Many underground groups included mainly girls. They worked hard to demoralize enemy soldiers, to gather intelligence data, to supply the guerrillas with medical stuff. They were given other important tasks. From what was said above one can see that women and girls were on equal terms with men in the struggle against the enemy. The main task of the national struggle in the rear of the enemy was to help the Red Army to defeat Hitler troops. The partisan movement in the rear of the fascist troops became the second front. It was openly recognized by the Germans themselves. By their activities the partisans disorganized the rear of the enemy, restricted its manouvrebility, caused casualties of personell, damaged technical means and equipment, blew up communications, prevented the enemy from robbing the population and sending people to work in Germany against their will. One of the most tasks for the guerrillas was sabotage on the railway communications.
	© Комитет по делам печати, телерадиовещания и средств массовых коммуникаций Брянской области - 2003 © Администрация Губернатора Брянской области и Правительства Брянской области - 2015