Soviet victory The Rail War (Russian: Рельсовая война, romanized: Relsovaya voyna; Belarusian: Рэйкавая вайна, romanized: Rejkavaja vajna; Ukrainian: Рейкова війна, romanized: Reikova viina) was the name for a World War II action of Soviet partisans and the German Kampfgruppen des NKFD as their auxiliary force in the Soviet Union, especially in German-occupied Byelorussia and Ukraine.

The operations were carried out with the intention of disrupting German logistics via the destruction of rail lines, thus preventing the travel of equipment and manpower to the front.

In June 1943, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia adopted a resolution calling for the destruction of German rail lines, as well as a general strike of rail workers in order to prevent their reconstruction.

In fact, Ilya Starinov, one of the primary saboteurs, helped organise the latter two operations.

[1] German forces (including SS troops and the Kaminsky Brigade) conducted anti-partisan operations which killed 7000 partisans and left a swathe of blazing villages; Soviet air attacks were made against the partisan hunters.