A guerrilla commander teaching his fighters to use weapons, near Smolensk, in 1941

German soldiers shooot people classified as partisans, in 1941.

A partisan is an armed fighter, who is not part of the regular troops of a country or state. The term comes from Italian, where it meant member of a political party. There is no separate legal status for partisans in international law. The law of war uses four criteria to legally define someone as a prisoner of war, if the person is captured:

1. There is someone at the head of the organisation, who assumes liability
2. They can be identified by a sign or mark, which is visible from far away
3. They carry their weapons openly
4. They adhere to the customs and laws of war, during their operation.