Battle of Dubovychi
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| Battle of Dubovychi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Front of World War II and German anti-partisan operations | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ukrainian partisans |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sidor Kovpak Semyon Rudnev |
Gen. Blauman | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 killed[1] | 100 killed[2] | ||||||
The Battle of Dubovychi took place as a result of the attack launched by the German forces on the partisan-held settlement as part of the punitive operation against the Soviet partisans, on 23 February 1942.[2]
On 22 February, 1942, German forces detected Soviet partisans who held a ceremonial parade in Dubovychi.[2] The parade was held to celebrate partisan capture of the village, where they put to trial local police collaborators, with around 500 local residents taking part in celebration.[3] This was part of Rudnev's plan to attract German forces. However, German forces didn't dare to attack Dubovychi until 23 February, despite having three times more troops than the partisans.[2]
Battle
On 23 February, at 12pm, German infantry begun to approach Dubovychi from the direction of Zhukov settlement. As the punitive forces were 50 metres away from the village, partisans ambushed the forces. Two hours later, German cavalry approached from direction of another settlement, Yaroslavets. Partisans set up another ambush and withdrew to Dubovychi.[2]
At 15pm, German infantry attacked Dubovychi from the eastern direction. The outcome of the battle was determined by the environment, as the thick leaden rain put German forces into unfavorable position and forced them to retreat.[2]