Belarusian partisans Belarusian partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Belarusian resistance during World War II , including against Nazi Germany and collaborationism during World War II . World War II . In August 1941 about 231 partisan detachments were operating already . The units totaled 437 by the end of the 1941 , comprising more than 7 , 200 personnel . The Fareinigte Partizaner Organizacje was formed on January 21 , 1942 in the Vilna Ghetto . It took on the motto : " We will not allow them to take us like beasts to the slaughter . " This was the first Jewish resistance organization that was established in the ghettos of Nazi - occupied Europe during World War II . Unlike in other ghettos , where the underground resistance was coordinated to some extent with the officials of the local Jewish establishment , Vilna ' s Jacob Gens , head of the ghetto , cooperated with German officials in stopping armed struggle . The FPO brought together socialist - Zionists , right - wing conservatives , communists and Bundist s . It was headed by Yitzhak Wittenberg , Josef Glazman , and Abba Kovner . The goals of the FPO were to establish self - defense in the ghetto , to sabotage German industrial and military activities and to join the partisan and Red Army ’ s fight against the Nazis . However , as the front line moved further away , the logistical conditions steadily worsened for the partisan units , as the resources ran out , and there was no wide - scale support from over the front line until March 1942 . One outstanding difficulty was the lack of radio communication , which wasn ' t addressed until April 1942 . The support of the local people was also insufficient . So , for several months , partisan units in Belarus were virtually left to themselves . Especially difficult for the partisans was the winter of 1941 - 1942 , with severe shortages in ammunition , medicine and supplies . The actions of partisans were prevailingly uncoordinated . In the circumstances , the German pacification operations in summer and fall 1941 were able to curb partisan activity significantly . Many units went underground , and generally , in late 1941 - early 1942 , the partisan units weren ' t undertaking the significant military operations , limiting themselves to sorting out the organizational problems , building up the logistics support and gaining influence with the local people . By the incomplete data , in the end of the 1941 , 99 partisan detachments and about 100 partisan groups operated in Belarus . In Winter 1941 - 1942 , 50 partisan detachments and about 50 underground organisations and groups operated in Belarus . In the period of December 1941 , the German guard forces in the Army Group « Center » rear comprised 4 security divisions , 2 SS brigades , 260 companies of different branches of service . The Battle of Moscow turned the tide in the morale of the partisans and of the local people in general . However , the real turning point in the development of the partisan movement in Belarus , and , in fact , on the German - occupied territories in general , came in the course of the Soviet winter offensive of 1942 . Vitebsk gate and West Belarus . The turning point in the development of the Soviet partisan movement came with the opening of the Vitsyebsk gate , the corridor connecting the Soviet and German - occupied territories , in February 1942 . The partisan units were included in the overall Soviet strategical developments shortly after that , and the centralized organizational and logistical support had been organized , with Gate ' s existence being the very important facilitating factor . As early as the spring of 1942 the Soviet partisans were able to effectively harass German troops and significantly hamper their operations in the region . The Germans treated the local population abysmally ( with the notable exception of the fraction of the civil administration headed by Wilhelm Kube ) , maintained kolkhoz es in East and restored land possessions in West , collecting heavy food taxes , rounded up and sent young people to work in the Germany . Overwhelmingly , Jews and even small - scale Soviet activists would feel more secure in the partisan ranks . The direct boost to the partisan numbers were the Red Army POWs of the local origin , who were let out " to the homes " in Fall 1941 , but ordered by Germans to return to the concentration camps in March 1942 . In the Spring 1942 , the aggregation of the smaller partisan units into brigades began , prompted by the experience of the first year of war . The coordination , numerical buildup , structural rework and now established logistical feed all translated to the greatly increased partisan units military capability , which showed , e . g . , in the increased number of diversions on the railroads , reaching hundreds of engines and thousands of cars destroyed by the end of the year . In 1942 , the terror campaign against the territorial administration , which was manned by the local people ( " collaborators and traitors " ) was additionally emphasized . This resulted , however , in the definite split of the local people ' s sympathies , resulting in the beginning of the organisation of the anti - partisan units with native personnel in 1942 . By the November 1942 , Soviet partisan units in Belarus numbered about 47 , 000 personnel . In January 1943 , out of 56 , 000 partisan personnel , 11 , 000 were operating in the West Belarus , which was 3 . 5 less per 10 thousand local people than in the East , and even more so ( up to 5 - 6 factor ) if accounting for the much more efficient evacuation measures in the East in 1941 . This discrepancy wouldn ' t be sufficiently explained by the German treatment of local people , nor by the quick German advance in 1941 , nor by the social circumstances then existing in these regions . There is strong evidence , that this was decision of the central Soviet authorities , who abstained from the greater buildup of the Partisan forces in West Belarus , and let Polish underground military structures to grow unopposed in these lands in 1941 - 1942 , in the context of relations with the Polish government in exile of Sikorsky . Certain level of military cooperation , imposed by the respective commands , was noted between Soviet partisans and Armia Krajowa ( AK ) , the people of Polish nationality were , to a degree , exampled from the terror campaign in 1942 . After the break of diplomatic relations between USSR and Polish government in exile in April 1943 , the situation changed radically . From this moment on , AK was treated as hostile military force . In late May 1943 , Uderzeniowe Bataliony Kadrowe , with permission of the headquarters of the Home Army , concentrated its forces ( 200 men ) around Wyszkow . The Germans soon found out about it and surrounded the Poles . A skirmish ensued , in which 4 Poles were killed and 8 wounded . German losses were estimated at 15 killed and 22 wounded . Those who were not caught , divided themselves into two groups and headed north , to Bezirk Bialystok . On June 11 , 1943 , the UBK forces under Major Stanislaw Pieciul ( " Radecki " ) of the 4th Battalion engaged the Germans near the village of Pawly ( Bielsk Podlaski County ) . 25 Poles and approximately 40 Germans died . In July 1943 the Uderzeniowe Bataliony Kadrowe units , active in Bezirk Bialystok , consisted of five Battalions . Altogether , there were 200 fighters , and during a number of skirmishes with the Germans ( including the 1943 Polish underground raid on East Prussia ) , 138 of them were killed . These heavy losses were criticized by the headquarters of the Home Army , who claimed that the UBK was profusely using lives of young Polish soldiers . On August 17 , 1943 , upon the order of General Tadeusz Bor - Komorowski , the UBK was included into the Home Army . Soon afterwards , all battalions were transferred to the area of Nowogrodek . 1943 - 1944 . The buildup of the Soviet partisan force in the West Belarus was ordered and implemented during 1943 , with nine brigades , 10 detachments and 15 operational groups transferred from the Eastern to Western lands , effectively tripling the Partisan force there ( to 36 , 000 in December 1943 ) . It is estimated that ~ 10 , 000 - 12 , 000 personnel were transferred , and about same number came from the local volunteers . The buildup of the military force was complemented by the ensuing buildup of the underground Communist Party structures and propaganda activity . The Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad , certain curbing of the terror campaign ( actually since December 1942 , formally in February 1943 ) and amnesty promised to repenting collaborators were a significant factors in the 1943 growth of the Soviet partisan forces . Desertions from the ranks of the German - controlled police and military formations strengthened , with sometimes whole units coming over to Soviet partisan side , including the Volga Tatars battalion ( 900 personnel , February 1943 ) , and the Gil - Rodionov ' s 1st Russian People ' s brigade of the SS ( 2 , 500 personnel , August 1943 ) . Summarily , about 7 , 000 people of miscellaneous anti - Soviet formations joined the Soviet partisan force , while about 1 , 900 specialists and commanders were inserted in the Belarusian lands in 1943 . However , the local people comprised the core of the personnel influx in the Soviet partisan force . Itzhak Rudnicki was active in the Wilno Ghetto underground movement from 1942 to 1944 . In February 1943 , he joined the Belarusian partisans in the Wilno Battalion of the Markov Brigade , a primarily non - Jewish unit in which he had to contend with antisemitism . Apart from a foray infiltrating the Wilno Ghetto in April 1943 to meet with underground leader Abba Kovner , he stayed with the partisans until the end of the war , fighting the Germans and their collaborators in the Narocz Forest in Belarus . In the Fall 1943 , the partisan force in BSSR totaled about 153 , 000 , and by the end 1943 about 122 , 000 , with about 30 , 000 put behind the front line in the course of liberation of eastern parts of BSSR ( end 1943 ) . The partisan movement was so strong that by 1943 - 1944 there were entire regions in occupied Belarus , where Soviet authority was re - established deep inside the German held territories . There were even partisan kolkhozes that were raising crops and livestock to produce food for the partisans . The Bielski partisans ' activities were aimed at the Nazis and their collaborators , such as Belarusian volunteer policemen or local inhabitants who had betrayed or killed Jews . They also conducted sabotage missions . The Nazi regime offered a reward of 100 , 000 Reichsmarks for assistance in the capture of Tuvia Bielski , and in 1943 , led major clearing operations against all partisan groups in the area . Some of these groups suffered major casualties , but the Bielski partisans fled safely to a more remote part of the forest , and continued to offer protection to the noncombatants among their band . During the process of reorganization of the Nowogrodek Area of the Armia Krajowa , the Uderzeniowe Bataliony Kadrowe units created a battalion , which became part of the 77th Infantry Regiment of the Armia Krajowa , under Boleslaw Piasecki . In February 1944 the battalion had around 700 soldiers ( some sources put the number at around 500 ) . The unit took part in the Operation Tempest , fighting the Germans around Lida and Wilno ( see : Wilno Uprising ) , where it suffered heavy losses . V Wileńska Brygada Armii Krajowej , commanded by Zygmunt Szendzielarz ( Łupaszko ) , fought against the German army and SS units in the area of southern Wilno Voivodeship , but was also frequently attacked by the Soviet Partisans paradropped in the area by the Red Army . In April 1944 , Zygmunt Szendzielarz was arrested by Lithuanian police and handed over to the German Gestapo . Łupaszko escaped or was released in unknown circumstances at the end of April . In reprisal actions his brigade captured several dozen German officials and sent several threatening letters to Gestapo but it remains unknown if and how these contributed to his release . On June 12 , 1944 General Tadeusz Bór - Komorowski , Commander - in - Chief of the Armia Krajowa , issued an order to prepare a plan of liberating Wilno from German hands . The Armia Krajowa districts of Vilnius and Navahrudak planned to take control of the city before the Soviets could reach it . The Commander of the Armia Krajowa District in Wilno , General Aleksander Krzyżanowski " Wilk " , decided to regroup all the partisan units in the northeastern part of Poland for the assault , both from inside the city and from the outside . On June 23 , two squads of V Wileńska Brygada , commanded by " Maks " and " Rakoczy " , attacked the Lithuanian policemen in Dubingiai . The starting date was set to July 7 . Approximately 12 , 500 Armia Krajowa soldiers attacked the German garrison and managed to seize most of the city center . Heavy street fighting in the outskirts lasted until July 14 . In Wilno ' s eastern suburbs , the Armia Krajowa units cooperated with reconnaissance groups of the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front . Soviets enter . General Krzyżanowski wanted to group all of the partisan units into a re - created Polish 19th Infantry Division . However , the advancing Red Army entered the city on July 15 , and the NKVD started to intern all Polish soldiers . In August the commander of all Home Army units in the Wilno area , Gen . Aleksander Krzyżanowski " Wilk " ordered all six brigades under his command to prepare for the Operation Tempest - a plan for an all - national uprising against the German forces occupying Poland . In what became known as the Operation Ostra Brama , the V Brigade was to attack the Wilno suburb of Zwierzyniec in cooperation with the advancing units of the 3rd Belorussian Front . However , for fear of being arrested with his units by the NKVD and killed on the spot , Zygmunt Szendzielarz - Łupaszko - decided to disobey the orders and instead moved his unit to central Poland . The Operation Ostra Brama was a success and the city was liberated by Polish soldiers , but the Polish commander was then arrested by the Soviets and the majority of his soldiers were sent to Gulags and sites of detention in the Soviet Union . It is uncertain why Szendzielarz was not court - martialled for desertion . It is highly probable that in fact his unit was moved out of the battlefield by Gen . " Wilk " himself , due to the fact that Łupaszka ' s unit has been long involved in fights with the Soviet partisans and he did not want to provoke the Red Army . Regardless , after crossing into Podlaskie and Białystok area in October , the brigade continued the struggle against withdrawing Germans in the ranks of the " Białystok Home Army Area " . After the region was overrun by the Soviets , Łupaszka ' s unit remained in the forests and Łupaszka decided to wait for the outcome of Russo - Polish talks held by the Polish Government in Exile . At the same time the unit was reorganized and captured enough equipment to fully arm 600 men with machine guns and machine pistols . After the governments of the United Kingdom and United States broke the pacts with Poland and accepted the Polish Committee of National Liberation as the provisional government of Poland , Łupaszka restarted the hostilities - this time against a new oppressor , in the ranks of Wolność i Niezawisłość organization . However , after several successful actions against the NKVD units in the area of Białowieża Forest , it became apparent that such actions would result in a total destruction of his unit . During the battles for liberation of Belarus , partisans considered the fourth Belorussian front . After the liberation of BSSR , about 180 , 000 partisans joined the Soviet Army in 1944 . During the 1941 - 1944 period , the turnaround in the Soviet partisan force in Belarus was about 374 , 000 , about 70 , 000 in urban underground , and about 400 , 000 in the reserve of the partisan force . Among Soviet partisans in Belarus were people of 45 different ethnic backgrounds and 4 , 000 foreigners ( including 3 , 000 Poles , 400 Czechs and Slovaks , 300 Yugoslavians , etc . ) . Around 65 % of Belarusian partisans were local people . As part of the Nazis ' effort to combat the enormous Belarusian resistance during World War II , special units of local collaborationists were trained by the SS ' s Otto Skorzeny to infiltrate the Soviet rear . In 1944 thirty Belarusians , known as " Čorny Kot " ( " Black Cat " ) and personally led by Michał Vituška , were airdrop ped by the Luftwaffe behind the lines of the Red Army , which had already liberated Belarus during Operation Bagration . They experienced some initial success due to disorganization in the rear of the Red Army , and some other German - trained Belarusian nationalist units also slipped through the Białowieża Forest in 1945 . Vituška managed to escape to the West following the war , along with several other Belarusian Central Rada leaders .