Alexei Fedorov is one of the most famous partisans of the Great Patriotic War. His exploits are still remembered by the descendants of the winners. Thanks to personal courage, heroism and ingenuity, he immortalized himself by forever writing his name in history.
The image of General Alexei Fedorov is an example to the younger generation.
Youth
On March 17, 1901, Alexei Fedorov was born in the village of Pilot Kamenka. Date of birth is sometimes indicated on March 30 - according to the old style. Born in a family of simple peasants. The village was near Dnepropetrovsk. Alexey graduated from high school there. From an early age he had to work hard, helping his parents. In his teenage years, he increasingly sees the terrifying gulf between the wealthy and poor classes that took place in the Russian Empire. Therefore, after the outbreak of the civil war, he joins the Bolsheviks, wanting to establish the power of the Soviets. Having signed up as a volunteer in the recently created Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, he fights on various fronts against the White Guards and foreign interventionists. After the war, he returns home.
In the twenty-seventh year, Alexei Fedorov joined the Communist Party. His party ticket is still in the museum. In peacetime, decides to devote time to education. Five years later, he graduated from the construction college in Chernihiv. After graduation, he decides to stay there. He takes an active citizenship. Participates in various social movements. In the thirty-eighth, he holds the post of secretary of the regional commissariat of Chernigov. On the eve of the war he works there.
Start of war
After the invasion of the Nazi invaders into the territory of the Soviet Union, the Headquarters instructs to urgently create partisan detachments.
They should have included NKVD officers who were surrounded by the Red Army and the local population. The political and organizational core consisted of party members and representatives of local councils. For this, the regional committees went underground, while maintaining their pre-war structure. By the end of August of the forty-first, advanced German units had approached Chernigov. Alexei Fedorov did not flee to the rear and decided to stay in order to lead the resistance on the spot. He is appointed the head of the underground regional party committee.
At this time, thanks to his combat experience, he organized his own partisan detachment. It was then that his organizational talent was revealed. Alexei Fedorov is one of the founders of guerrilla warfare tactics .
Fight tactics
Partisan detachments began to form from the first days of the war. In accordance with the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander, Alexei Fedorov immediately outlined the main tasks of the underground detachments. First of all, it was anti-fascist propaganda in the occupied territories. For these purposes, special agents were used.
They carried out outreach to civilians. Among the goals were raising morale, denying defeatist sentiments, inciting to active actions to fight the Nazis. Partisans came to settlements and agitated workers to join the ranks of the Resistance. Visual agitation was also widely used. Partisans, mainly in the dark, pasted leaflets and posters. In addition to their content, they were also a symbol of the Resistance. The presence of leaflets showed that there are people who do not agree to accept the new order, are ready to fight. This inspired hope in the local population.
Sabotage and attack
The main task of the partisan detachments was the fight against the Nazis. As methods used sudden raids and ambushes. Destroyed officers and prominent figures of the occupation administrations. Alexei Fedorov developed an effective tactic for attacking the enemy’s manpower. With the help of scouts, partisans collected information about the strength of the enemy in the village. Then contacts were established with the local population, which could provide support.
After this, the partisans, armed with light small arms and grenades, staged a raid. It was a sudden attack on the enemy rear positions and a quick retreat before reinforcements arrived. Sometimes ambushes were arranged along the roads leading to the attacked settlement. Thus, the first units of the Nazis who came to the aid were destroyed before they had time to study the situation.
First days
In the forests of Chernihiv oblast, one of the first partisan detachments in central Ukraine was created, led by Alexei Fedorov. Partisan knew the area very well, and therefore his soldiers managed to escape from the punitive detachments of the Nazis. In the early days, a lot of problems were revealed. There was not enough food, equipment, weapons, supplies. But the main problem was the almost complete lack of communication with the command. Partisan groups were poorly coordinated and did not know what goals to give preference to. At this time, the Nazi army was rapidly advancing, and the Soviet command simply did not have time to establish contact with the underground.
Therefore, Fedorov decides to personally manage operations and develop strategic fight plans.
As a weapon, the detachment used both rifles found in pre-prepared hiding places and captured German assault rifles. The underground also collected weapons thrown on the battlefield.
Underground
Fedorov’s detachment took refuge in the Elena Forest. There they created a sophisticated system of camouflage and defensive lines. Therefore, the Nazis could not find them. Partisans staged regular raids and sabotage actions from the forest. The German command turned its attention to this problem and sent additional forces. The Nazis blocked all roads from the forest, while not daring to enter it. But even in such conditions, the Fedors continued to carry out their task. In the winter of forty-second, they contacted the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Partisan activization
By the spring of the same year, partisans began to show great activity. On their account - more than a thousand destroyed German soldiers and officers. The detachment also took an active part in the rail war. Underground workers undermined the railroad tracks and derailed the enemy echelons, thereby constraining the Nazi infrastructure and preventing them from transferring forces to the front in a timely manner.
Then, in many clandestine leaflets, the omnipresent partisan, Aleksei Fedorov, was indicated. The hero of national resistance became a true legend, which instilled fear in the Nazis and instilled hope in Soviet citizens. In order to deal with the Resistance, the German command had to remove regular troops from the front line and transfer them to the rear.
Alexey Fedorov: Hero of the Soviet Union
At the end of March, more than seven thousand Nazis went to the Elena Forest to finally deal with the partisans, whose number did not exceed a thousand people. Fierce battles ensued. All day the forest burned and shuddered from hostilities. Despite the superior enemy forces, Fedorov managed to escape from the environment. For this breakthrough, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
After this, several partisan brigades turned out to be subordinate to Fedorov. The Soviet major general terrified the German occupation forces from Orel to Vinnitsa, making constant raids and sabotage. In less than a year, the partisans destroyed more than five hundred enemy echelons in the Kovel area. After the war, the whole world knew who Alexei Fedorov was. Photo of the partisan was printed by both the Soviet and foreign press. In the post-war period, Fedorov held various posts in the party.
He died in 1989, was buried in Kiev at the
Baykovsky cemetery.