French Greek The
Greek resistance during
World War II arose in response to the
triple occupation of Greece by
Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy, and
Bulgaria from April 1941 to October 1944. Germany controlled strategic areas like
Athens and
Crete, Italy held most of the mainland and islands until its
surrender in September 1943, and Bulgaria annexed parts of
Macedonia and
Western Thrace. As early as the
Battle of Crete in the last third of May 1941,
German paratroops encountered mass resistance from the civilian population. Among the earliest acts of defiance, on May 30, 1941, students
Manolis Glezos and
Apostolos Santas tore down the Nazi swastika from the
Acropolis. In June 1941, soon after the fall of Crete, the
Supreme Committee of Cretan Struggle (AEAK) was formed. It was the first armed resistance organization, launching intelligence gathering and organizing the evacuation of stranded
Allied soldiers to Egypt. , 1941 The occupation’s hardships, including the
Great Famine of 1941–42, which claimed the lives of approximately 300,000 civilians, fueled resistance. Resistance groups, known as
andartes, created "
Free Greece" by mid-1943, controlling roughly 30,000 km² with 750,000 inhabitants. To counter resistance, harsh
reprisals against civilians were extensively inflicted. Entire villages were burned and mass executions carried out, such as the massacres of
Kandanos (June 1941, ~180 killed),
Kommeno (August 1943, ~320 killed),
Viannos (September 1943, ~500 killed),
Kalavryta (December 1943, ~500 killed),
Distomo (June 1944, ~218 killed), and the shootings of
Kaisariani (May 1944, 200 killed). Such collective punishment targeting civilians in response to partisan actions left nearly 1 million homeless and 50,000–70,000 executed overall. The largest resistance groups were the communist-led
National Liberation Front (EAM) and its military arm, the
Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), with over 50,000 members by 1944, and the republican, anti-communist
National Republican Greek League (
EDES), led by
Napoleon Zervas with ~12,000 fighters. EAM/ELAS dominated rural areas, conducting sabotage and guerrilla warfare, while EDES was active in northern Greece. Smaller organizations such as
PEAN were active in cities. PEAN's most spectacular act was the bombing of the collaborationist
ESPO's headquarters in 1942, who was trying to recruit volunteers for a "Greek Legion" to fight in the
Eastern Front alongside Germans. A rare joint operation occurred in November 1942, when ELAS, EDES, and British
SOE agents destroyed the
Gorgopotamos viaduct in
Operation Harling, disrupting Axis supply lines. However, ideological tensions led to ELAS attacking groups like
EKKA and clashing with EDES in 1943–44, amid fears of a communist post-war takeover. These conflicts, alongside battles against collaborationist
Security Battalions, foreshadowed the
Greek Civil War. After the German withdrawal in October 1944, EAM/ELAS’s attempt to seize control clashed with British-backed EDES and government forces. This erupted into the
Dekemvriana (December 1944–January 1945), a 37-day conflict in Athens where ELAS fought British troops and anti-communist factions, resulting in thousands of deaths and marking the first phase of the Greek civil war, driven by Cold War rivalries and internal divisions.
Hungarian Hundreds of Hungarians fought in the Slovak National Uprising notably in the Nógrádi and Petőfi groups (after
Petőfi Sándor, Hungarian poet from the
Hungarian War of Independence). They also appeared in significant numbers in 20 other units, but unfortunately this did not have an effect on the
Kassa declaration (Kassai nyilatkozat). Many activists fought abroad like Kilián György activist and soldier in Poland or Szalvai Mihály politician, who fought in Moscow and Yugoslavia. Many have been martyrs in the
French Resistance like Elek Tamás and Botzor József. The Sovereignty movement took over multiple newspapers including the Népszava, the Magyar Nemzet, and the Szabad Szó, to propagate
anti-fascist and
anti-german sentiment. Their main goal being to break away from the
Axis powers. Most of these groups were decentralised, multiple paramilitary groups worked in Budapest in parallel. The most famous of which operated in
Angyalföld, under Gidófalvy Lajos, who died a heroic death while trying to prevent the blowing up of the Elizabeth Bridge. They forged papers, protected the Ferdinánd-bridge, took over vehicles, weapons and multiple factories.
Italian On 28 October 1922,
Benito Mussolini and his fascist paramilitary troops, the
Blackshirts,
marched on Rome, seized power, and the following day Mussolini became
Duce (Prime Minister) of Italy. He thenceforth
established a dictatorship centered around his
fascist doctrine, and in 1936 Mussolini formed the
Axis powers with
Nazi Germany. In July 1943,
fascist Italy crumbled; Mussolini was turned in by the
monarchy and placed under arrest by his government. On 8 September 1943, when the
armistice of Cassibile was announced, Germans invaded Italy and liberated Mussolini, putting him in charge of the
Italian Social Republic, a collaborationist regime and puppet state of the Third Reich. Subsequently, the
Italian resistance movement, alongside the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army, fought the German and Fascist forces. One of the most important episodes of resistance by Italian armed forces after the armistice was the battle of
Piombino,
Tuscany. On 10 September 1943, during
Operation Achse, a small German flotilla, commanded by
Kapitänleutnant Karl-Wolf Albrand, tried to enter the harbor of Piombino but was denied access by the port authorities. When not in direct battles with the Red Army or special
NKVD units, they significantly delayed the consolidation of Soviet rule through ambush, sabotage, assassination of local Communist activists and officials, freeing imprisoned guerrillas, and printing underground newspapers. On 1 July 1944,
Lithuanian Liberty Army (LLA) declared a state of war against the Soviet Union and ordered all its able members to mobilize into platoons, stationed in forests and not leave Lithuania. The departments were replaced by two sectors – operational, called
Vanagai (Hawks or Falcons; abbreviated VS), and organizational (abbreviated OS).
Vanagai, commanded by Albinas Karalius (codename Varenis), were the armed fighters while the organizational sector was tasked with
passive resistance, including supply of food, information, and transport to
Vanagai. In the middle of 1944, the LLA had 10,000 members. The Soviets killed 659 and arrested 753 members of the LLA by 26 January 1945. Founder
Kazys Veverskis was killed in December 1944, the headquarters were liquidated in December 1945. This represented the failure of highly centralized resistance, as the organization was too dependent on Veverskis and other top commanders. In 1946 remaining leaders and fighters of LLA started to merge with Lithuanian partisans. In 1949 all members of presidium of
Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters - captain Jonas Žemaitis-Tylius, Petras Bartkus-Žadgaila, Bronius Liesys-Naktis ir Juozas Šibaila-Merainis came from LLA.
Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania (Lithuanian:
Vyriausiasis Lietuvos išlaisvinimo komitetas, VLIK), was created on 25 November 1943. VLIK published underground newspapers and agitated for resistance against the Nazis. The Gestapo arrested the most influential members in 1944. After the reoccupation of Lithuania by the Soviets, VLIK moved to the West set its goal to maintain non-recognition of Lithuania's occupation and dissemination of information from behind the Iron Curtain – including the information provided by the Lithuanian partisans. Former members of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, Lithuanian Liberty Army,
Lithuanian Armed Forces,
Lithuanian Riflemen's Union formed the basis of Lithuanian partisans. Farmers, Lithuanian officials, students, teachers, and even pupils joined the partisan movement. The movement was actively supported by the society and the Catholic church. It is estimated that by the end of 1945, 30,000 armed people stayed in forests in Lithuania. The partisans were well-armed. During the 1945-1951 Soviet repressive structures seized from partisans 31 mortars, 2,921 machine guns, 6,304 assault rifles, 22,962 rifles, 8,155 pistols, 15,264 grenades, 2,596 mines, and 3,779,133 cartridges. The partisans usually replenished their arsenal by killing
istrebiteli, members of Soviet secret police forces or by purchasing ammunition from Red Army soldiers. Every partisan had binoculars and few grenades. One grenade was usually saved to blow themselves and their faces to avoid being taken as prisoners, since the physical tortures of Soviet MGB/NKVD were very brutal and cruel, and be recognized, to prevent their relatives from suffering. Captured Lithuanian Forest Brothers themselves often faced torture and
summary execution while their relatives faced
deportation to Siberia (cf.
quotation). Reprisals against anti-Soviet farms and villages were harsh. The NKVD units, named ''People's Defense Platoons
(known by the Lithuanians as pl. stribai
, from the – destroyers'', i.e., the
destruction battalions), used shock tactics such as displaying executed partisans' corpses in village courtyards to discourage further resistance. The report of a commission formed at a
KGB prison a few days after the 15 October 1956, arrest of
Adolfas Ramanauskas ("Vanagas"), chief commander of the
Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, noted the following:
Juozas Lukša was among those who managed to escape to the West; he wrote his memoirs in
Paris -
Fighters for Freedom. Lithuanian Partisans Versus the U.S.S.R. and was killed after returning to Lithuania in 1951.
Pranas Končius (code name
Adomas) was the last Lithuanian anti-Soviet resistance fighter, killed in action by Soviet forces on 6 July 1965 (some sources indicate he shot himself in order to avoid capture on 13 July). He was awarded the
Cross of Vytis posthumously in 2000. Benediktas Mikulis, one of the last known partisans to remain in the forest, emerged in 1971. He was arrested in the 1980s and spent several years in prison.
Polish The order to organize partisan groups was issued by the Marshal of Poland
Rydz-Śmigły on 16 September 1939. The first sabotage groups were created in Warsaw on 18 September 1939. Each battalion was to choose 3 soldiers who were to sabotage the enemy's war effort behind the front lines. The sabotage groups were organized before Rydz-Śmigły's order was received. Independently, the
Separated Unit of the Polish Army created in late 1939 in Poland is often recognized as the first partisan unit of World War II. The situation amongst the Polish partisans and the situation of the Polish partisans were both complicated. The founding organizations that led to the creation of the Home Army or
Armia Krajowa, also known as AK, were themselves organized in 1939. Home Army was the largest Polish partisan organization; moreover, organizations such as peasant
Bataliony Chłopskie, created primarily for self—defense against the Nazi German abuse, or the armed wing of the
Polish Socialist Party and most of the nationalist
National Armed Forces did subordinate themselves, before the end of the World War II, to the very Home Army. The communist
Gwardia Ludowa remained indifferent and even hostile towards the Home Army, and of two Jewish organizations, the
Jewish Military Union did cooperate with the Home Army, when the leftist and pro-Soviet
Jewish Combat Organization did not. Both Jewish combat organizations staged the
Ghetto uprising in 1943.
Armia Krajowa staged
Warsaw Uprising in 1944, amongst other activities.
Bataliony Chłopskie fought mainly in
Zamość Uprising. The Polish partisans faced many enemies. The main enemies were the Nazi Germans, Ukrainian nationalists, Lithuanian Nazi collaborators, and even the Soviets. In spite of the ideological enmity, the Home Army did launch a massive sabotage campaign after the Germans began
Operation Barbarossa. Amongst other acts of sabotage, the Polish partisans damaged nearly 7,000 locomotives, over 19,000 railway cars, over 4,000 German military vehicles and built-in faults into 92,000 artillery projectiles as well as 4710 built-in faults into aircraft engines, just to mention a few and just in between 1941 and 1944. In Ukraine and southeastern Poland, the Poles fought against the Ukrainian nationalists and UPA (
Ukrainian Insurgent Army) to protect the ethnic Poles from mass murder visited upon them during the
massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. They were aided, until after the war was over, by the Soviet partisans. At least 60,000 Poles lost their lives, the majority of them civilians, men, women, and children. Some of the victims were
Poles of Jewish descent who had escaped from the
ghetto or
death camp. The majority of the Polish partisans in Ukraine assisted the invading Soviet Army. Few of them were mistreated or killed by the Soviets or the Polish communists. In Lithuania and Belarus, after a period of initial cooperation, the Poles defended themselves against the Soviet partisans as well as fought against the Lithuanian Nazi collaborators. The Poles failed to defeat the Soviet Partisans, but did achieve a decisive victory against the Lithuanian Nazi collaborators,
Battle of Murowana Oszmianka. Afterwards, about half of the Polish partisans in Lithuania assisted the invading Soviet Army, and many ended up mistreated and even killed by the Soviets and the Polish communists.
Soviet Soviet partisans during World War II, especially
those active in Belarus, effectively harassed
German troops and significantly hampered their operations in the region. As a result, Soviet authority was re-established deep inside the German-held territories. In some areas partisan
collective farms raised crops and livestock to produce food. However this was not usually the case and partisans also requisitioned supplies from the local populace, sometimes involuntarily. According to many accounts, Soviet partisans in
Finland, were less coordinated and controlled by the Soviet government, and known to have attacked villages and indiscriminately targeted the populace, killing entire families. The war crimes committed in Finland by Soviet partisans were investigated by the
National Bureau since 1999. However, Russia refused access to Soviet archives and the investigation ended in 2003. Partisan warfare was routinely distorted in the Soviet Union. According to historian Veikko Erkkilä the Russian attitude towards civilian atrocities has been marred by the Great Patriotic War propaganda. In
East Karelia, most partisans attacked Finnish military supply and communication targets, but inside Finland proper, almost two-thirds of the attacks targeted civilians, killing 200 and injuring 50, mostly women, children and elderly.
Ukrainian The
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, Ukrayins’ka Povstans’ka Armiya; UPA) was a
Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later
partisan army that engaged in a series of
guerrilla conflicts during
World War II in concert with
Nazi Germany against the
Soviet Union,
Czechoslovakia, and both
Underground and
Communist Poland. The group was the military wing of the
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists—
Bandera faction (the OUN-B), originally formed in
Volyn in the spring and summer of 1943. Its official date of creation is 14 October 1942, day of
Intercession of the Theotokos feast. The OUN's stated immediate goal was the re-establishment of a united, independent
national state on Ukrainian ethnic territory. Violence was accepted as a political tool against foreign as well as domestic enemies of their cause, which was to be achieved by a national revolution led by a dictatorship that would drive out the occupying powers and set up a government representing all regions and social groups. The organization began as a
resistance group and developed into a
guerrilla army. During its existence, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought against the Poles and the Soviets as their primary opponents, although the organization also rarely fought against the Germans starting in February 1943. From late spring 1944, the UPA and
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists-B (OUN-B)—faced with Soviet advances—also cooperated in many instances with German forces and Soviet forces against the invading Germans, Soviets, and Poles in the hope of creating an independent Fascist Ukrainian state. The UPA committed
ethnic cleansing of the Polish population of
Volhynia and
East Galicia.
Yugoslav shouting "
Death to fascism, freedom to the people!" moments before his execution in
German-occupied Valjevo The
Yugoslav Partisans or the National Liberation Army (officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia), was Europe's most effective anti-Nazi
resistance movement. It was led by the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia during
World War II. Its commander was Marshal
Josip Broz Tito. They were a leading force in the liberation of their country during the
People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia. By late 1944, the total forces of the Partisans numbered 650,000 men and women organized in four
field armies and 52
divisions, which engaged in
conventional warfare. By April 1945, the Partisans numbered over 800,000. Shortly before the end of the war, in March 1945, all resistance forces were reorganized into the regular armed force of Yugoslavia and renamed the Yugoslav Army. It would keep this name until 1951, when it was renamed
Yugoslav People's Army.
Postwar Yugoslavia was one of only two European countries that were largely liberated by its own forces during World War II. It received significant assistance from the Soviet Union during the
liberation of Serbia, and substantial assistance from the
Balkan Air Force from mid-1944, but only limited assistance, mainly from the British, prior to 1944. At the end of the war, no foreign troops were stationed on its soil. Partly as a result, the country found itself halfway between the two camps at the onset of the
Cold War.
Belarusian and Russian Partisan movements have emerged in
Russia and
Belarus after the beginning of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
South Korean ==Notable partisan groups and battles==