German anti-partisan operations in World War II

The forms of resistance varied depending on place and time, and so did the Germans' countermeasures. Both the scale of resistance and the severity of German reprisals were much more limited in the West than in the East. In the context of the German campaign against so-called "partisans" in the occupied territories, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler framed security operations as a struggle for the survival of the Reich. He cast local resistance not as legitimate military opposition but as a form of criminality threatening the German people, thereby justifying draconian measure. As he explained in December 1941: The Germans concentrated on short-term victories against the partisans As the war progressed and the number of Nazi-occupied territories grew, so did the number and strength of resistance movements. Throughout the war, regular formations of German army, auxiliary police formations (Ordnungspolizei) and their helpers (Schutzmannschaft or Hilfspolizei) participated in anti-partisan operations. The struggle of Germans versus the partisans can be described as a stalemate, eventually ended by the German military defeat in the regular war. After the war, brutal German tactics used against the partisans were one of the charges presented at the Nuremberg Trials (see legality of the Commando Order and Hostages Trial). ==Operations by country and territory==

German-occupied Poland (one of the largest battle of the Polish partisans); summer 2007 The Polish resistance movement was formed soon after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and quickly grew in response to the brutal methods of the German occupation. Polish resistance had operatives in the urban areas, as well as in the forests (leśni). Throughout the war, the Polish resistance grew in numbers, and increased the scale of its operations, requiring the Germans to devote an increasing amount of resources (personnel, equipment and time) to deal with the partisan threat. Polish partisans were particularly active in the Zamość region (see the Zamość Uprising). Sturmwind I and Sturmwind II ("Hurricane") in June 1944 were the largest German operations against the Polish leśni partisans, based on the "cauldron operations" Germans developed to deal with the Soviet partisans (see also battle of Osuchy). German losses in those operations amounted to about 1,300 fatalities and similar number of wounded; partisan losses were similar. Soon afterward, the Polish resistance launched a series of major operations against the Germans (Operation Tempest), of which the Warsaw Uprising was the best known. In Operation Tempest, Polish partisans challenged the Germans in a series of open battles for the control of vital strategic areas. The Germans were not prepared for the vast scale of the Polish operation, but had the advantage of numbers and better equipment; further, when the Polish partisans had to operate without the support of the advancing Red Army, they were significantly less effective. In areas where the Soviets cooperated with the Poles, the Germans were much less able to suppress the partisans, but where the Soviets did not advance to aid the Poles, as was the case with the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans were able to concentrate enough regular army and anti-partisan units to defeat the Polish insurgents. The tactics and policies the Germans developed in Poland served as a template for similar operations against the Soviet partisans. German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union In early 1941 Germans set up special units – Wehrmacht Security Divisions – to deal with securing the rear and carrying out anti-partisan duties. Another 32,000 Italian partisans were killed abroad (in the Balkans and, to a lesser extent, in France). Thousands to tens of thousands of Italian civilians were killed in reprisals by the German and Italian Fascist forces. , Rome, in March 1944, shortly before the Ardeatine massacre In addition, following the Italian armistice, the Germans collectively rounded up and interned Italian soldiers, even those not actively involved in the Resistance. Italian soldiers captured by the Germans numbered around 650,000-700,000 (some 45,000 others were killed in combat, executed, or died during transport), of whom between 40,000 and 50,000 later died in the camps. After disarmament by the Germans, the Italian soldiers and officers were confronted with the choice to continue fighting as allies of the Nazi German army (either in the armed forces of the Italian Social Republic, the German puppet regime in northern Italy, or in Italian "volunteer" units in the German armed forces) or, otherwise, be sent to detention camps in Germany. Only 10 percent agreed to cooperate with the Third Reich, with the remainder refusing to enroll or continue fighting for Germany and were instead interned under terrible conditions. The Nazis designated the interned Italian soldiers as Italienische Militär-Internierte ("Italian military internees") to deny them prisoner of war status and the rights granted by the Geneva Convention. The actions of the Italian soldiers who refused to further cooperate with the Nazis were eventually recognized as an act of unarmed resistance. Axis-occupied Yugoslavia After the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav resistance forces consisted of the Partisans. The Partisans were a communist-led movement propagating pan-Yugoslav tolerance ("brotherhood and unity") and incorporating republican, left-wing, and liberal elements of Yugoslav politics. The Partisans organized after the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union and were initially supported by the Soviets. The Partisans received universal Allied recognition in place of the Chetniks after the Tehran Conference in 1943. By the time of this conference, the degree of Chetnik-Axis collaboration was indicated to have increased greatly. During the war, the Axis forces mounted a number of operations against the partisans. Former Yugoslav historiography recognized seven major offensives, of which the fourth and the fifth came close to defeating the partisan forces, and the seventh almost captured their headquarters. German-occupied France In France, as in the rest of occupied Western Europe, Germans used different, milder policies than in the East. Part of the reason for this was that the scale of resistance facing German authorities was much smaller. A large part of France remained under autonomous Vichy regime. Hence from the very beginning of the occupation, much of the police duties were carried out by local (French) forces. Around 1943, as the French Resistance grew in size (due to the Vichy regime accepting the deportation of Frenchmen for forced labor in Germany), German anti-partisan operations in France became more serious. The Germans deployed military units against the resistance groups, and managed to create a large and successful counter-network of covert collaborators, which succeeded in infiltrating many cells of the French Resistance. The first major German military operation against the French Resistance took place in early 1944 in the mountainous region of the French Alps and French Jura. The French resistance forces went to ground and reorganized soon after the German operation ended. Soon afterward, another operation where the French Resistance challenged the Germans to a battle at Plateau de Glieres in Savoy ended in a German victory. Despite this defeat and London's advice to avoid head-on confrontation, in the aftermath of the Allied invasion of France (D-Day) the French Resistance openly challenged German forces in several areas. After several early Resistance successes, German countermeasures became particularly harsh. Once seriously threatened, German forces resorted to brutality and terror that had been mostly unheard of previously on the Western front (but commonplace on the Eastern). The largest atrocity occurred in Oradour-sur-Glane, where the Germans massacred 642 local inhabitants and burned the village. German terror tactics proved successful in the short term, as the shocked Resistance pulled back. Around July and August, Germans launched their largest operations against the Maquis du Vercors. Similar to the "cauldron operations" employed in the Soviet Union, 10,000 German troops encircled and destroyed a 4,000-strong local partisan force, also committing atrocities against the local civilian population, in order to terrorize the locals and to prevent the surviving partisans from regrouping in the villages. ==List of anti-partisan operations==

France , where German forces, composed of Russians and Ukrainians, killed partisans and inhabitants'' • Fruhling and Vercors (January 1944 – July 1944) — action to suppress FFI activity in Vercors Massif, France followed by main German action to retake Vercors Massif, France Poland • Sturmwind I and Sturmwind II ("Hurricane") (June 1944) — largest anti-partisan action in Poland (see Battle of Osuchy) Soviet Union • Spadshchansky Forest (October 19 – November, 1941) anti-partisan operations in Ukraine: , near Putyvl • Hornung (March–April 1942) — anti-partisan operation in the Soviet Union • Bamberg (March 26 – April 6, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Hłusk, Bobrujsk • Operation ? (May 9 – 12, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Kliczów, Bobrujsk • Hannover (May–June 1942) — anti-partisan operation in the Soviet Union • Operation ? (beginning of June 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Słowodka, Bobrujsk • Operation ? (June 15, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Borki, Białystok County • Operation ? (June 21, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Zbyszin • Operation ? (June 25, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Timkowczi • Operation ? (June 26, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Studenka • Vogelsang (June–July 1942) — anti-partisan operation in the Soviet Union • Adler (July 15 – August 7, 1942) Anti-partisan operation centered on the Chechivichi region of Belarus: Bobrujsk, Mohylew, Berezyna • Operation ? (July 18, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Jelsk • Greif (August 14–20, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Orsza, Witebsk • Sumpffieber (August 22 – September 21, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: White Ruthenia • Operation ? (September 22–26, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Małoryta • Blitz (September 23 – October 3, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Polotsk, Witebsk • Karlsbad (October 11–23, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Orsza, Witebsk • Nürnberg (November 23–29, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Dubrowka • Hamburg (December 10–21, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Niemen-Szczara • Altona (December 22–29, 1942) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Słonim • Franz (January 6–14, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Grodsjanka • Peter (January 10–11, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Kliczów, Kolbcza , Minsk, 1942/1943. • Operation ? (January 18–23, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Słuck, Mińsk, Czerwień • Erntefest I (until January 28, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Czerwień, Osipowicze • Schneehase (January 28 – February 15, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Polotsk, Rossony, Krasnopole • Waldwinter (until February 1, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Sirotino-Trudy • Hornung (February 8 – 26, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Lenin, Hancewicze • Erntefest II (until February 9, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Słuck, Kopyl • Winterzauber (February 15 – end of March 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Oświeja, Latvian border • Kugelblitz (February 22 - March 8, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Polotsk, Oświeja, Dryssa, Rossony • Nixe (until March 19, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Ptycz-Mikaszewicze, Pińsk • Föhn (until March 21, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Pińsk • Donnerkeil (March 21 – April 2, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Polotsk, Witebsk • Frühjahrsbestellung (April 18–22, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in north-west Russia: Kudever', Novorzhev • Volyn and Polissia (May–July, 1943) — anti-partisan operations in north-western Ukraine: Volyn, Polissia • Draufgnger II (May 1–9, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Rudnja and Manyly forest • Maigewitter (May 17–21, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Witebsk, Suraż, Haradok • Cottbus (May 20 – June 23, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Lepel, Begomel, Uszacz • Weichsel (May 27 – June 10, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Dniepr-Prypeć Triangle southwest of Homel • Zigeunerbaron ("Gypsy Baron") (May – June 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Soviet Union in preparations for the Zitadelle ("Citadel") • Ziethen (June 13–16, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Rzeczyca • Seydlitz (June 25 – July 27, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Owrucz-Mozyrz • Günther (until July 14, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Wołoszyn, Łohojsk • Hermann (July 13 – August 11, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Iwie, Nowogródek, Wołoszyn, Stołpce • Operation ? (July 30, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Mozyrz • Fritz (September 24 – October 10, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Głębokie • Operation ? (October 9–22, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Stary Bychów • Heinrich (November 1–18, 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Rossony, Polotsk, Idrica • Otto (December 12, 1943 – January 1, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Oświeja • Operation ? (December 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Spasskoje • Operation ? (December 1943) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Biały • Operation ? (January 14, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Oła • Operation ? (January 22, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Baiki • Wolfsjagd (February 3–15, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Hłusk, Bobrujsk • Sumpfhahn (until February 19, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Hłusk, Bobrujsk • Operation ? (beginning of March 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Berezyna, Bielnicz • Auerhahn (April 7–17, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Bobrujsk and 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS RONA (1st Russian), spring 1944. • Frühlingsfest (April 17 - May 12, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Polotsk, Uszacz • Kormoran (May 25 – June 17, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Wilejka, Borysów, Mińsk • Pfingsrose (June 2–13, 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Talka • Pfingstausflug (June 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Sienno • Windwirbel (June 1944) — anti-partisan operation in Belarus: Chidra Yugoslavia • Uzice (27 September – 15 October 1941) — attempts to suppress partisans in western Serbia • Battle of Dražgoše (January 9–11, 1942) — the first direct confrontation between the Slovene Partisans and Nazi Germany armed forces; it ended with brutal reprisals of German forces against the villagers and the destruction of the village • Second anti-Partisan Offensive (January 17–23, 1942) — attempts to suppress partisans in eastern Bosnia • Ozren (26 January – 4 February 1942) — two attempts to suppress partisans near Ozren, Bosnia • Trio (March 31 – June 1942) — also known as the Third anti-Partisan Offensive, action against partisans in region of southern Bosnia • Operation Alfa (October 5–10, 1942) — an Italian-Chetnik military operation carried out in the Prozor region • Risnjak (1942) — Italian action against partisans in coastal Croatia and Montenegro • Fall Weiss ("Case white") (January – April 1943) — also known as the Fourth anti-Partisan Offensive; operations in Yugoslavia • Schwarz ("Black") (May 15 – June 16, 1943) — Fifth anti-Partisan Offensive, Action against partisans in Yugoslavia • Delphin ("Dolphin") (15 November – 1 December 1943) — Action on central Dalmatian islands • Adler (November 1943) anti-partisan operation on the north Dalmatian coast, between Karlobag and Zadar (Yugoslavia) • Kugelblitz ("Lightning Ball") (late 1943 and early 1944) — part of the Sixth anti-Partisan Offensive, anti-partisan action near Vitebsk • Schneestorm ("Snowstorm") (December 1943) — part the Sixth anti-Partisan Offensive, anti-partisan action near Jajce • Rösselsprung ("Knight's-move") (May 25 – July 3, 1944) — Seventh anti-Partisan Offensive; Action against the Yugoslav Partisan HQ • Feuerzange ("Fire-Tong") (1944) — Action against Dalmatian Islands in the Adriatic ==See also==