Soviet partisans in Latvia

The Soviet partisans in Latvia were Soviet partisans who were deployed to Latvia and attempted to wage guerrilla warfare against the German armed forces during the German occupation of Latvia. Partisan activity was singularly unsuccessful in Latvia due to the general resistance of the population to the Soviet regime that the partisans represented.

Background and origins
The war between Germany and the Soviet Union broke out after one year of Soviet occupation in Latvia. In the month of June and July the German Army occupied territory of Latvia. On May 30, 1942 the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement was organized in Moscow. The Staff had its liaison networks in the Military Councils of the Fronts and Armies. The territorial Staffs were subsequently created, dealing with the partisan movement in the respective Soviet Republics and in the occupied provinces. On January 6, 1943 the Latvian Partisan Movement Headquarters was organized. The partisans recruited in these units had an organized hierarchy system, a system of subordination, and a system of wages similar of the Red Army. Selection, preparation, armament and leadership of the units were the responsibility of the leadership of the Red Army.

The partisan warfare
The first Soviet partisan units sent into territory of Latvia from the end of 1941 to mid 1944 were quickly annihilated. Activity picked up in the second half of 1942, one year after the first winter war, but real work by the partisans in Latvia started only in 1943 after the German Army Group B stalled at Stalingrad and Kursk. The partisan regiment "Par Padomju Latviju" was organized and started training June 1942 in Leningrad and from Staraya Russa, three small Latvian partisan units (about 200 men) headed for Latvia. July 7, the regiment with combat reached Latvian Kārsava region, but there the German found and dispersed them with great losses and only several partisans escaped. Next partisan unit was formed September 1942 by Moscow from volunteers, from 201st Latvian Riflemen Division and Latvian partisan regiment "Par Padomju Latviju" combatants. These units commander was Vilis Samsons. March this unit renamed to Latvian Partisan Brigade. This partisan regiment combat began East of Latvian borders and only at the end of 1943 they entered the territory of Latvia. Since the local population in Latvia would not support Soviet partisans, they could not gain a foothold. From January 1943 the Red Partisans in Latvia were under the leadership of Arturs Sproģis. Another prominent commander was Vilis Samsons, who later became a Soviet historian. His 3,000-man unit is credited with the destruction of nearly 130 German trains; however, this seems to be a fabrication. Altogether Latvia had 24 partisan units, as also 33 smaller groups. From March 1944 until July they formed 4 partisan brigades: 1st Brigade with about 3000 men (commander V. Samsons) fought Northern and Northeastern Latvia. 2nd Brigade (about 1500 men, commander P. Ratins) fought Latvian center. 3rd Brigade (about 500 men, commander Otomars Oškalns) fought Zemgale, and 4th Brigade, also with about 500 men. Leningrad partisan brigade, which consisted only of Russians (commander M. Klementjevs) fought around Lake Lubāns. In 1944 and 1945 in Courland they formed many small partisan units (2 to 12 men each) but very active. Most noted was "Sarkana bulta". The Latvian Red partisans suffered great losses, and many from smaller groups were completely eliminated. The Red partisan movement in Latvia ended in October 1944.

According to statistics of Communist Party of Latvia, from 1941 to 1944 4055 military trained, armed and tested soldiers, organizers and lookouts were deployed to Latvia from the USSR. On January 4, 1944 Latvian Partisan Movement Headquarters had 812 soldiers at its disposal. This testifies that 3243 (80%) of the soldiers early deployed to Latvia either died, were wounded, or were declared missing in action. The Soviet partisans in Latvia, except those in the forests of Courland in 1944-45 and Lubāns swamps, did not threaten the German Army and its military resources, but rather participated in acts of terror against civilians, served as lookouts for the Red Army, and created lists of enemies of the Soviets that were later used for deportation and extermination of civilians.

People

 * Vassili Kononov
 * Otomars Oškalns
 * Arturs Sproģis
 * Imants Sudmalis

Local resistance
Many Latvians were actively involved in the resistance movement against the policies of the German occupation regime. Daugavpils was the scene of fierce Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.

After World War II
After the end of World War II, resistance continued against the Soviet regime. From 1945 to 1956, around 40,000 were involved in the national partisan resistance movement. In Latvia the number of active combatants peaked at between 10,000 and 15,000, while the total number of resistance fighters was as high as 40,000. One author gives a figure of up to 12,000 grouped in 700 bands during the 1945 – 1955 decade, but definitive figures are unavailable. Over time, the partisans replaced their German weapons with Russian ones. The Central Command of Latvian resistance organizations maintained an office on Matīsa Street in Riga until 1947. In some 3,000 raids, the partisans inflicted damage on uniformed military personnel, party cadres (particularly in rural areas), buildings, and ammunition depots. Communist authorities reported 1,562 Soviet personnel killed and 560 wounded during the entire resistance period. In Latvia, preparations for partisan operations were begun during the German occupation, but the leaders of these nationalist units were arrested by Nazi authorities. Longer-lived resistance units began to form during the last months of the war; their ranks were composed of a good number of Latvian Legion soldiers as well as civilians. The Latvian Forest Brothers were most active in the border regions. Areas where they were most active included Dundaga, Taurkalne, Lubāna, Aloja, and Līvāni. In the eastern regions, they had ties with the Estonian Forest Brothers; in the western regions, with the Lithuanians. As in Estonia and Lithuania, the partisans were killed off and infiltrated by the MVD and NKVD over time, and as in Estonia and Lithuania, Western assistance and intelligence was severely compromised by Soviet counter-intelligence and Latvian double agents such as Augusts Bergmanis and Vidvuds Sveics. Furthermore, the Soviets gradually consolidated their rule in the cities, help from rural civilians was not as forthcoming, and special military and security units were sent to control the partisans. The last groups emerged from the forest and surrendered to the authorities in 1957.