Fighting for the village of Baksan as an example of the Crimean partisans’ tactics development

The general issues of the partisan war in the Crimea are well studied, but some specific aspects remain unexplored. Such research is relevant for the cornerstone process of searching for the forms and methods of partisan warfare and the development of specific tactics. The research objective was to study this phenomenon using one of the most vivid examples. The article investigates the operational situation and search for tactics by the partisan formations in the Crimea through the case of fighting for the village of Baksan in the Zuyskiy district in 1942. The research focuses on the process of decision-making by such command structures as the Central Headquarters of the Crimean partisan movement, the partisan district, and the commanders of individual detachments. The author uses archival sources for reconstructing the combat activity of the detachments and command staff, and identifying the main features and problems, primarily concerning the interaction between different formations. New documents are also introduced into research circulation. As a result, using the methods of historical science (primarily the problem-based chronological method) made it possible to trace the process of finding and changing the tactics of partisan warfare at the initial stage of its deployment.