Who is a partisan and what does he do?

The article tells about who the guerrillas are when the guerrilla military formations arise and what tactics they use.

War

People are fighting almost their entire history of existence. Over the centuries, our ancestors improved methods and tactics of waging wars. And one of these tactics is guerrilla, and those who use it are called partisans. But who is a partisan and how is he different from a regular soldier? We will talk about this in this article.

Definition

The partisan is called the one who engages in armed struggle in territory that was occupied by the enemy (or hostile political forces) with the use of guerrilla methods.

The word "partisan" is used mainly as a general designation of a person entering into non-state military detachments. Simply put, those who are not part of the regular army. Usually, partisan detachments are formed either spontaneously or in an organized manner. In the first case, they consist of military forces, which during the fighting were torn from the main part of the army and (or) local residents, who are fighting for their land. And in the second case, the partisan detachment could be formed in advance and deliberately left behind the advancing enemy. So now we know who the guerrillas are.

The unofficial nature of such detachments is usually connected with the fact that the purpose of partisans is a struggle against power in the country or its military and political regime. But most often the guerrillas are fighting with the occupying forces of the enemy army. To do this, they use various methods of guerrilla warfare in the rear of the enemy - terror, sabotage and so on. Now we know who the guerrillas are.

Methods of guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is one of the forms of war that is carried out by members of armed formations hiding in the forests or among the local population. Its meaning is to avoid major protracted collisions. The methods of guerrilla movement include:

• Destruction of the enemy's infrastructure - the undermining of railways, highways, communication lines, electricity, water supply, etc.
• Ideological and information war - the dissemination among the local population of rumors, facts about the actual situation at the front or the political situation in the country. Also, these methods are used to attract a doubting population to their side or even an enemy soldier.
• Destruction and capture of enemy manpower.

So now we know who the guerrillas are and what methods of struggle they use.

Support

Usually partisans are supported by the government and army of the part of the country that is not occupied by the enemy. Or the authorities of sympathetic countries. For example, during the Great Patriotic War, guerrillas regularly accepted parcels dropped from the "big earth". They contained weapons, ammunition, food, medicines and everything necessary for living behind the enemy and fighting him.

Partisans in Russia and the USSR

In the USSR and Russia, guerrilla movements made a very large contribution to the fight against foreign invaders, both during the war of 1812 and during the Great Patriotic War. In the post-war period, every boy knew who the guerrillas were. This word was synonymous with masculinity and courage of people who for a long time fought the fascist invaders in their rear.

Partisan detachments at that time were used to limit the supply of enemy armies, destroy the enemy's manpower, reduce their fighting spirit and for reconnaissance.

The use of the term

The meaning of the word "partisan" is now known to us. And this term is usually not used to refer to different terrorist groups and separatists, although they all have almost identical characteristics with partisan detachments and methods of warfare. Such informal military formations are called bandits, terrorists or armed opposition. This is connected with the fact that during the period of the Russian Empire and the USSR, the guerrillas were those who fought against the common enemy of the country and its people - the French, the fascist invaders, whiteguards and other forces. Therefore, this word carried a positive coloration. True, it does not have this in all countries. So we figured out what "guerrilla" means.