Q&A · 1:19:26-1:21:22

Why unified partisan command could shorten the war or collapse into infighting

A hypothetical common command could coordinate attacks on German infrastructure, but infighting and difficulty controlling separate movements could defeat the scheme.

Question

How could the panel lead Second World War partisans to victory against Germany?

Short answer

A functioning common command could organize devastating attacks on German infrastructure. If unity failed, coordinating supply drops would be a more limited alternative.

Notes

The question leaves the country unspecified, so the scenario expands to command of every European partisan movement opposing Germany. A functioning common command could concentrate attacks on German infrastructure; one optimistic estimate imagines shortening the war by two years. The competing outcome is constant infighting within an organization that had no historical counterpart. Polish formations are singled out as an example of forces considered aggressive and difficult to coordinate from above. A narrower proposal is to arrange supply drops and leave the groups to conduct their own operations.