Aleksey 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, forever inscribing his name in history.
The image of General Alexei Fedorov is set as an example for the younger generation.
Youth
On March 17, 1901, Alexei Fedorov was born in the village of Pilot Kamenka. The date of birth is sometimes indicated on the thirtieth of March - according to the old style. Born into a family of simple peasants. The village was located near Dnepropetrovsk. Alexei graduated from high school there. From an early age, he had to work hard, helping his parents. In his teenage years, he increasingly notices the horrifying gap between the we althy and the poor classes, which took place in the Russian Empire. Therefore, after the start of the civil war, he joins the Bolsheviks, wanting to establish the power of the Soviets. Enlisting as a volunteer in the newly created Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, he fights on various fronts against the Whites and foreigninterventionists. Returns home after the end of the war.
In the twenty-seventh year, Alexei Fedorov joins the Communist Party. His party card is still kept in the museum. In peacetime, he decides to devote time to education. Five years later, he graduated from a construction technical school in Chernihiv. After completing his studies, he decides to stay there. Takes an active civic position. 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 were supposed to include NKVD officers, encircled Red Army soldiers and the local population. The political and organizational core consisted of party members and representatives of local councils. To do this, the regional committees went underground, while maintaining their pre-war structure. By the end of August 1941, advanced German units approached Chernigov. Alexei Fedorov did not run to the rear and decided to stay in order to lead the resistance on the spot. He is appointed head of the underground regional party committee.
At this time, thanks to his combat experience, he organizes his own partisan detachment. It was then that his organizational talent was revealed. Alexei Fedorov is one of the founders of the tactics of guerrilla warfare.
Fight tactics
Partisan detachments startedformed from the first days of the war. In accordance with the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Alexei Fedorov immediately outlined the main tasks of the underground detachments. First of all, it was anti-fascist propaganda in the occupied territories. Special agents were used for these purposes.
They carried out explanatory work with the civilian population. Among the goals were raising morale, denying defeatist sentiments, inciting active actions to fight the Nazis. The partisans came to the settlements and agitated the workers to join the ranks of the Resistance. Visual propaganda was also widely used. The guerrillas, mainly in the dark, put up 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 and are ready to fight. This gave hope to the local population.
Sabotage and attacks
The main task of the partisan detachments was to fight the Nazis. Surprise raids and ambushes were used as methods. Officers and prominent figures of the occupation administrations were annihilated. Alexei Fedorov developed an effective tactic for attacking enemy manpower. With the help of scouts, the 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 that, the partisans, armed with light infantryweapons and grenades, staged a raid. It was a surprise attack on the rear positions of the enemy and a quick withdrawal before the arrival of reinforcements. Sometimes ambushes were set up along the roads leading to the attacked settlement. Thus, the first detachments of the Nazis who arrived to help were destroyed without having time to study the situation.
First days
One of the first partisan detachments in central Ukraine was created in the forests of Chernihiv region, led by Alexei Fedorov. The partisan knew the area perfectly, and therefore his fighters managed to escape from the punitive detachments of the Nazis. In the early days, a lot of problems were exposed. There were not enough provisions, equipment, weapons, supplies. But the main problem was the almost complete lack of communication with the command. Partisan groups poorly coordinated among themselves and did not know which goals to give preference to. At this time, the Nazi army was advancing rapidly, 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 plans for the fight.
As a weapon, the detachment used both rifles found in previously prepared caches and captured German machine guns. The underground also collected weapons left on the battlefield.
Underground
Fedorov's detachment took refuge in the Elensky forest. There they created a complex system of camouflage and defensive lines. Therefore, the Nazis could not find them. From the forest, the partisans staged regular raids and sabotage actions. Germanthe 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 Fedorovites continued to fulfill their task. In the winter of 1942, they contacted the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Activation of partisans
Already by the spring of the same year, the 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. The underground fighters undermined the railway tracks and derailed the enemy trains, thereby shackling the infrastructure of the Nazis and preventing them from transferring forces to the front in a timely manner.
Then, in many underground leaflets, the ubiquitous partisan Alexei Fedorov was mentioned. The hero of the popular resistance became a true legend that inspired fear in the Nazis and instilled hope in Soviet citizens. 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 Yelenovsky 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 the fighting. Despite the superior forces of the enemy, Fedorov managed to escape from the encirclement. For this breakthrough, he was awarded title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
After that, several partisan brigades became subordinate to Fedorov. The Soviet major general terrified the German occupation troops from Orel to Vinnitsa, making constant raids and sabotage. In less than a year, the partisans destroyed more than 500 echelons of the enemy in the Kovel region. After the end of the war, the whole world found out who Alexei Fedorov was. The photo of the partisan was printed by both the Soviet and foreign press. In the post-war period, Fedorov held various positions in the party.
Died in 1989, buried in Kyiv at the Baikove cemetery.
