No escape from the people’s revenge!

No escape from the people’s revenge!
I. Rabichev, 1941

In fighting against a guerilla warfare, the ratio is nine versus one or ten versus one.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - an Indonesian retired military general and statesman and the sixth President of Indonesia

In 1941 German forces were rapidly moving on the territory of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were in the zone of occupation. In July 1941 the Communist Party issued a directive which was organizing and regulating the partisan movement.

And it was organized well: the discipline was similar to the regular Red Army’s, all partisans swore partisan oath, the arms’ and ammunition supplies from the battlefront became regular starting from 1942. And of course the orders were given from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s (Joseph Stalin) headquarters.

Its goal of partisans was simple: to disrupt logistics of the German forces, to destroy valuable resources and to kill personnel and soldiers of the enemy. Their advantages were hard to beat as diversionist groups were formed of locals who knew the area well and were always supported by the civilians. Also partisan regiments were usually small and next to impossible to find and eliminate even with ample forces.

But one the keys to partisan's self-sacrifice and courage was the fact that very many of them had nothing to lose – as the occupation forces had left no roof over their heads and no relatives alive. This is why the partisan old man on the poster above stands in front of burning village houses and a gallows.

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