Talk:Partisan (military)

Terminology

The difference written here between partisan and guerilla is far from accurate, a partisan is not neccesarily fighting an occupying force. For example, the Irish War of Independence was most definitely a Guerrilla War against an occupying force. Perhaps it should the other way round? Guerrillas are merely men who use hit and run or ambush tactics, who they're fighting has no effect. - User: Dalta

legal

the fact is that, unlike terrorists, partisans are still legally considered uniformed members of a nation's armed forces -- sure? Can you give a source? Please compare It is a violation of the laws of war to engage in combat without meeting certain requirements, among them the wearing of a distinctive uniform or other easily identifiable badge and the carrying of weapons openly at Laws of war. --Pjacobi 22:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

Looking at the history, this change was made in Feb 2006 by an anonymous IP, in response to a discussion on 18th and 19th century irregular warfare: [1] [2]. Needless to say, what "partisan" meant in the 18th and 19th centuries is rather different to what it means today. I'll edit the article to reflect this. -- Hongooi 15:49, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Etymology

Hm... when the term partyzant was used for first time in Polish? I think "partia" as for partisan groups were used during XVII century during the Deluge, but the term preferred were then "zagonczyk" and "wojna szarpana" instead of "partyzantka"... But I wonder whether the partyzant came into Polish from outside, or was coined in Poland... Szopen 08:47, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the word Partisan first came to existence in Persia. It refers to the Parthians. A group of Proto-Iranians who invented this special method of fighting and resistance against Greek Seleucids who had occupied Persia then. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.71.21.61 (talk) 03:30, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

No, it didn't. It came to us from the Latin via the Italian, partigiano - one who belongs to a particular party. Look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary. If the Parthians deserve credit, it's for the Parthian shot.Humphrey20020 (talk) 14:34, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

You are correct; the term comes from the Latin part-, pars via Italian, French. See Oxford English Dictionary:

partisan, n.2 and adj. ... Etymology: < Middle French, French partisan adherent of a party (last quarter of the 15th cent. as partysan), combatant in a small unit (1678), combatant not in the regular army (1827), also as adjective in sense 'declaring oneself in favour of' (1580), 'factious' (1616) < Italian partigiano (in regional (chiefly northern) use also partesano, partisano) defender of a party (1312), also as adjective in sense 'partial, biased' (14th cent.) < parte part n.¹ + -igiano, suffix found in many ethnic names (e.g. parmigiano parmesan adj.) ... and occasionally in occupational terms.

— "partisan, n.2 and adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2019.

part, n.1 ... Etymology: Originally < classical Latin part-, pars (see below); subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman ... and Old French, Middle French ... < classical Latin part- , pars one of the portions into which a thing may be divided ... [Compare] Italian parte (10th cent. ...).

— "part, n.1." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2019.

In light of this, I'm removing the first paragraph under "History" ("Rustaham Suren ... Partigiano."). In the absence of etymological connection, the content on the Parthians and Suren doesn't seem to bear any further relevance to the article. The remaining sentence ("The word Partisan is derived from the Italian word Partigiano.") is still (technically) true, but doesn't really contribute anything meaningful on its own. If anyone wants to add a separate "Etymology" section with the corrected information, feel free.

People's Liberation Army - 'prime example'?

I can't find any souces for a Vietnamese 'People's Liberation Army' - the best fit I can find is the Vietnam People's Army, but that does not appear to have been particularly a guerilla organization. Does anyone have any sources for either interpretation, or should this prime example (note sarcasm) just be removed? ― GrimRevenant 01:41, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

The Viet Cong should be here! AThousandYoung (talk) 06:22, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Unlawful Combatants

It might be helpful to have a small section comparing partisan to the modern concept of the "unlawful combatant". Comments? Kriegaffe 12:44, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Partisans (Yugoslavia)

Does someone mind if I add link to "Partisans (Yugoslavia)"? They were indeed more relevant group that most of other mentioned in the article. Mcampos69 (talk) 17:51, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

C19 partisans - details needed

Partisans in the mid-19th century were substantially different from raiding cavalry, or from unorganized/semi-organized guerrilla forces. - this needs details. How did they differ from raiding cavalry and guerrillas? Equipment? Training? Role? Something else? Wardog (talk) 13:35, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

File:Bunker of lith partisans.jpg Nominated for Deletion

An image used in this article, File:Bunker of lith partisans.jpg, has been nominated for deletion at Wikimedia Commons in the following category: Deletion requests April 2012 What should I do? Don't panic; a discussion will now take place over on Commons about whether to remove the file. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion, although please review Commons guidelines before doing so. If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use) If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used. To take part in any discussion, or to review a more detailed deletion rationale please visit the relevant image page (File:Bunker of lith partisans.jpg) This is Bot placed notification, another user has nominated/tagged the image --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 01:11, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

Anti-Fascist/Totalitarian

All the examples of partisans are anti-Nazi or anti-Soviet, the two having a similar (genocidal) flavor despite attempts to exterminate each other during the conflict called WWII. The "extras" section lists such fascists as "5th Column," something I think partisans have/would attempt to mitigate. What I think is happening here is typical of WP: an attempt to redefine popular democracy as (unpopular) oligarchy, as in "I met the [academic, normalized] teacher at the door w/ a smok'n .44). --John Bessa (talk) 00:10, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Western Europe

Why is this article largely limited to eastern Europe? What about partisans in Western Europe, not to mention Asia.Royalcourtier (talk) 05:08, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

WOLVERINES!

Would be fictional partisans, should there be a part about partisans in works of fiction? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.251.65.75 (talk) 06:26, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Xhevdet Bajgora, CSA Partisan?

I would really appreciate a source for this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 47.156.187.151 (talk) 20:10, 8 November 2018 (UTC)

Partisan word origin? (Scott Atran)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/nov/29/taliban-army-expat-jihadists Xerxes2500 (talk) 07:55, 25 October 2019 (UTC)

The name "partisan", which probably stems from the resistance of the Parthian people to Roman occupation 2,100 years ago, was first systematically applied to Jewish zealots — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xerxes2500 (talk • contribs) 22:03, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Soviet guerilla.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 22:40, 26 July 2020 (UTC)