such groups were supported by a significant number of inhabitants (up to several thousand), who provided shelter, food, and information. Leon Șușman's resistance group In the Apuseni Mountains region of Transylvania, the most active group was led by Leon Șușman, a former member of the Iron Guard who had been sentenced for his participation in the Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom. The group mainly hid in the woods and acquired part of its armament from an Iron Guard band that the Germans parachuted in the area in 1944–45. Suspicion within the group was high, and one of the members was shot in 1954 by his comrades. To eliminate this resistance group, the Securitate used informers against them and intercepted the correspondence of family members. The group was eliminated after an attack by Securitate troops, both sides suffering a casualty each during the battle. An armed group called "The National Defense Front-The Haiduc Corps" was headed by a former officer of the Royal Army who participated in the war against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, Major Nicolae Dabija. Resistants from this group robbed the Tax Office in Teiuș, armed with a rifle and handguns. The Securitate learned about the location of this group after an arrested resistant revealed their location on and about their strength. The Securitate decided to attack the rebels on the morning of 4 March 1949; Securitate forces led by Colonel Mihai Patriciu charged the peak where the rebels were located, with a gunfight and later hand-to-hand combat occurring. The Securitate suffered three deaths and three others wounded, possibly also due to friendly fire. Seven or eleven partisans died in the battle, and further twelve were captured. Dabija escaped along with two others; however, he was arrested on 22 March 1949 after a local villager, whose barn he was sleeping in, notified the authorities of his presence. On 28 October 1949, seven members of the group, including Major Nicolae Dabija, were executed in Sibiu. Infiltration of the resistance movement Resistance groups were the target of systematic and enduring military actions from fully armed regular troops of the Securitate. The strength of the Securitate troops could vary from platoon to battalion up to regiment, including armoured vehicles, artillery, and occasionally even aviation. The insurgent groups sustained losses consisting of dead and wounded captured by the Securitate. They also fell victim to treason from supporters or infiltrated persons,