In the chronicle of the Great Patriotic War, among the pages filled with courage, fortitude, and national heroism, there are many, many pages of bitterness, suffering and tragedy. And yet, among many, there is one the most courageous and difficult. This is the Leningrad blockade.
The Battle of Leningrad 1941-1944 included defensive and offensive operations carried out by Soviet troops from July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944 in the northwestern strategic direction with the aim of defending Leningrad and defeating the Nazi group
troops. The battle was attended by troops of the Northern, Northwestern, Leningrad, Volkhov, Karelian and 2nd Baltic fronts, the Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga and Onega military flotillas, long-range aviation units and air defense forces of the country, the working people of Leningrad, the region and partisans.
The Nazis associated the capture of Leningrad with the implementation of major strategic and political goals. They intended to wipe this city off the face of the earth and exterminate the population.
Army Group North deployed in East Prussia (commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb), which included 29 divisions, including 6 tank and motorized divisions, with the support of the 1st Air Fleet (760 aircraft), had the task of delivering the main blow to Daugavpils, Leningrad, destroy the Red Army troops defending in the Baltic states and capture ports on the Baltic Sea, including Leningrad and Kronstadt. In the event that Army Group North was unable to complete the assigned task, the mobile forces of Army Group Center, the Finnish army and formations transferred from Norway were to go on the offensive. Finnish troops had to go on the offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, as well as between Lakes Onega and Ladoga, in order to connect with the Nazi armies on the Siberia River and in the Leningrad region. They were supported by the 5th German Air Fleet (240 aircraft) and the Finnish Air Force (over 300 aircraft).
The offensive of the Nazi troops directly towards Leningrad began on July 10, 1941 from the line of the Velikaya River. Field Marshal Wilhelm Joseph Franz von Leeb, such a self-confident and smug fascist baron, was unable to carry out Hitler’s order to capture Leningrad. He simply did not imagine what great resistance he ran into. But, faced with the heroic defense of the Soviet army and the city's population, he furiously gave orders to subject Leningrad to barbaric, intense artillery shelling and air strikes. After the failure of the Nazi blitzkrieg against Leningrad (January 1942), von Leeb was removed from command and sent into retirement. On May 2, 1945, he was arrested by American military police. In November 1948, he was sentenced by an American military tribunal to a term of 3 years. He, a major Nazi war criminal, for all his “valor” should have been hanging in a noose by the verdict of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal, and he, by the grace of the Americans, should have been given three years. And he didn’t serve three years and was released. Americans have always known and still know today how to understand other people's affairs.
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Siege of Leningrad – military blockade by German, Finnish and Spanish (Blue Division) troops with volunteers from North Africa, Europe and the Italian Navy during the Great Patriotic War of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
Lasted from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944 (the blockade ring was broken on January 18, 1943) - 872 days.
By the beginning of the blockade, the city did not have sufficient supplies of food and fuel.
The only route of communication with Leningrad remained Lake Ladoga, which was within the reach of the artillery and aviation of the besiegers; a united enemy naval flotilla was also operating on the lake. The capacity of this transport artery did not meet the needs of the city. As a result, a massive famine that began in Leningrad, aggravated by the particularly harsh first blockade winter, problems with heating and transport, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths among residents.
The Battle of Leningrad was the longest during the Great Patriotic War, and lasted from July 10, 1941.
to August 9, 1944. During the 900-day defense of Leningrad, Soviet troops pinned down large forces of the German and the entire Finnish army, and contributed to the victories of the Red Army in other sectors of the Soviet-German front. The defense of Leningrad became a symbol of the courage and heroism of the Soviet people and their Armed Forces. Leningraders showed examples of perseverance, endurance and patriotism.
The residents of the city paid a heavy price, whose losses during the blockade amounted to about 1 million people.
During the war, Hitler repeatedly demanded to raze the city to the ground, exterminate its entire population, starve it out, and crush the resistance of the defenders with massive air and artillery strikes. About 150 thousand rain fell on the city.
shells, over 102 thousand incendiary and about 5 thousand high-explosive bombs.
Defense of Leningrad
But his defenders did not flinch.
The defense of Leningrad acquired a nationwide character, expressed in the close cohesion of troops and the population under the leadership of the city defense committee. In July - September 1941, 10 divisions of the people's militia were formed in the city. Despite the most difficult conditions, the industry of Leningrad did not stop its work. During the blockade, 2 thousand tanks, 1.5 thousand aircraft, thousands of guns, many warships were repaired and produced, 225 thousand were manufactured.
machine guns, 12 thousand mortars, about 10 million shells and mines. The city defense committee, party and Soviet bodies did everything possible to save the population from hunger.
Assistance to Leningrad was carried out along the transport route across Lake Ladoga, called the Road of Life.
Transportation during navigation periods was carried out by the Ladoga Flotilla and the North-Western River Shipping Company. On November 22, a military road began to operate, laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which only in the winter of 1941/42.
more than 360 thousand tons of cargo were delivered. Over the entire period of operation, over 1.6 million tons of cargo were transported along the Road of Life, and about 1.4 million were evacuated.
Human. To supply oil products to the city, a pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, and in the fall of 1942, an energy cable was laid. Leningrad was covered from the sea by the Baltic Fleet.
It also provided military transport in the Gulf of Finland and along Lake Ladoga. In the enemy-occupied territory of the Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions, partisans launched an active struggle.
On January 12-30, 1943, an operation was carried out to break the blockade of Leningrad (“Iskra”). Strike groups of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts took part in the operation with the assistance of part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet and long-range aviation. The duration of the operation is 19 days. The width of the combat front is 45 km. The depth of advance of Soviet troops is 60 km. The average daily rate of advance is 3-3.5 km. During the offensive, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke the blockade of Leningrad, creating a corridor 8-11 km wide, which made it possible to restore land communications between the city and the country.
The southern coast of Lake Ladoga was cleared of the enemy. Despite the fact that the further offensive of the Soviet troops did not develop, the operation to break the blockade was of great strategic importance and was a turning point in the battle for Leningrad.
The enemy's plan to starve the defenders and residents of the city was thwarted. The initiative to conduct combat operations in this direction passed to the Red Army.
The Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation was carried out by troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and part of the forces of the 2nd Baltic Front, in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet.
As a result of the Leningrad-Novgorod operation, a heavy defeat was inflicted on the German Army Group North and the blockade of Leningrad was finally lifted, almost the entire Leningrad and Novgorod regions, as well as the main part of the Kalinin region, were liberated, Soviet troops entered Estonia. Thus, favorable conditions were created for the defeat of the enemy in the Baltic states.
According to the Federal Law “On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia” dated March 13, 1995.
Leningrad blockade
The siege of Leningrad lasted exactly 871 days. This is the longest and most terrible siege of the city in the entire history of mankind. Almost 900 days of pain and suffering, courage and dedication.
Many years after the breaking of the siege of Leningrad, many historians, and even ordinary people, wondered: could this nightmare have been avoided? Avoid - apparently not. For Hitler, Leningrad was a “tidbit” - after all, here is the Baltic Fleet and the road to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, from where help came from the allies during the war, and if the city had surrendered, it would have been destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth.
Could the situation have been mitigated and prepared for in advance? The issue is controversial and worthy of separate research.
The first days of the siege of Leningrad
On September 8, 1941, in continuation of the offensive of the fascist army, the city of Shlisselburg was captured, thus closing the blockade ring. In the first days, few people believed in the seriousness of the situation, but many residents of the city began to thoroughly prepare for the siege: literally in a few hours all savings were withdrawn from the savings banks, the shops were empty, everything possible was bought up.
Not everyone was able to evacuate when systematic shelling began, but it began immediately, in September, the routes for evacuation were already cut off. There is an opinion that it was the fire that occurred on the first day of the siege of Leningrad at the Badaev warehouses - in the storage of the city's strategic reserves - that provoked the terrible famine of the siege days.
However, recently declassified documents provide slightly different information: it turns out that there was no “strategic reserve” as such, since in the conditions of the outbreak of war it was impossible to create a large reserve for such a huge city as Leningrad was (and about 3 people lived in it at that time). million people) was not possible, so the city fed on imported products, and existing supplies would only last for a week.
Literally from the first days of the blockade, ration cards were introduced, schools were closed, military censorship was introduced: any attachments to letters were prohibited, and messages containing decadent sentiments were confiscated.
Siege of Leningrad - pain and death
Memories of the people's siege of Leningrad who survived it, their letters and diaries reveal to us a terrible picture.
A terrible famine struck the city. Money and jewelry have lost value. The evacuation began in the fall of 1941, but only in January 1942 did it become possible to withdraw a large number of people, mainly women and children, through the Road of Life. There were huge queues at the bakeries where daily rations were distributed. In addition to hunger, besieged Leningrad was also attacked by other disasters: very frosty winters, sometimes the thermometer dropped to -40 degrees.
The fuel ran out and the water pipes froze - the city was left without electricity and drinking water. Rats became another problem for the besieged city in the first winter of the siege. They not only destroyed food supplies, but also spread all kinds of infections. People died and there was no time to bury them; the corpses lay right on the streets. Cases of cannibalism and robbery appeared.
Life of besieged Leningrad
At the same time, Leningraders tried with all their might to survive and not let their hometown die.
Moreover, Leningrad helped the army by producing military products - the factories continued to operate in such conditions. Theaters and museums resumed their activities. This was necessary - to prove to the enemy, and, most importantly, to ourselves: the blockade of Leningrad will not kill the city, it continues to live!
One of the striking examples of amazing dedication and love for the Motherland, life, and hometown is the story of the creation of one piece of music. During the blockade, the famous symphony of D. Shostakovich, later called “Leningrad”, was written. Or rather, the composer began writing it in Leningrad, and finished it in evacuation.
When the score was ready, it was delivered to the besieged city. By that time, the symphony orchestra had already resumed its activities in Leningrad.
On the day of the concert, so that enemy raids could not disrupt it, our artillery did not allow a single fascist plane to approach the city! Throughout the blockade days, the Leningrad radio worked, which was for all Leningraders not only a life-giving spring of information, but also simply a symbol of ongoing life.
The Road of Life is the pulse of a besieged city
From the first days of the siege, the Road of Life began its dangerous and heroic work - the pulse of besieged Leningrad A.
In summer there is a water route, and in winter there is an ice route connecting Leningrad with the “mainland” along Lake Ladoga. On September 12, 1941, the first barges with food arrived in the city along this route, and until late autumn, until storms made navigation impossible, barges walked along the Road of Life. Each of their flights was a feat - enemy aircraft constantly carried out their bandit raids, weather conditions were also often not in the sailors' hands - the barges continued their flights even in late autumn, until the ice appeared, when navigation was in principle impossible.
On November 20, the first horse-drawn sleigh train descended onto the ice of Lake Ladoga. A little later, trucks started driving along the ice Road of Life. The ice was very thin, despite the fact that the truck was carrying only 2-3 bags of food, the ice broke, and there were frequent cases when trucks sank. At the risk of their lives, the drivers continued their deadly flights until spring. Military Highway No. 101, as this route was called, made it possible to increase bread rations and evacuate a large number of people.
The Germans constantly sought to break this thread connecting the besieged city with the country, but thanks to the courage and fortitude of Leningraders, the Road of Life lived on its own and gave life to the great city.
The significance of the Ladoga highway is enormous; it has saved thousands of lives. Now on the shore of Lake Ladoga there is the Road of Life Museum.
Children's contribution to the liberation of Leningrad from the siege. Ensemble of A.E.Obrant
At all times, there is no greater grief than a suffering child. Siege children are a special topic. Having matured early, not childishly serious and wise, they did their best, along with adults, to bring victory closer. Children are heroes, each fate of which is a bitter echo of those terrible days.
Children's dance ensemble A.E. Obranta is a special piercing note of the besieged city. During the first winter of the siege of Leningrad, many children were evacuated, but despite this, for various reasons, many more children remained in the city. The Palace of Pioneers, located in the famous Anichkov Palace, went under martial law with the beginning of the war.
It must be said that 3 years before the start of the war, a Song and Dance Ensemble was created on the basis of the Palace of Pioneers. At the end of the first blockade winter, the remaining teachers tried to find their students in the besieged city, and from the children remaining in the city, choreographer A.E. Obrant created a dance group.
It’s scary to even imagine and compare the terrible days of the siege and pre-war dances! But nevertheless, the ensemble was born. First, the guys had to be restored from exhaustion, only then they were able to start rehearsals.
However, already in March 1942 the first performance of the group took place. The soldiers, who had seen a lot, could not hold back their tears looking at these courageous children. Remember How long did the siege of Leningrad last? So, during this considerable time, the ensemble gave about 3,000 concerts. Wherever the guys had to perform: often the concerts had to end in a bomb shelter, since several times during the evening the performances were interrupted by air raid alarms; it happened that young dancers performed several kilometers from the front line, and in order not to attract the enemy with unnecessary noise, they danced without music, and the floors were covered with hay.
Strong in spirit, they supported and inspired our soldiers; the contribution of this team to the liberation of the city can hardly be overestimated. Later the guys were awarded medals "For the Defense of Leningrad".
Breaking the blockade of Leningrad
In 1943, a turning point occurred in the war, and at the end of the year, Soviet troops were preparing to liberate the city.
On January 14, 1944, during the general offensive of the Soviet troops, the final operation to lift the siege of Leningrad began. The task was to deliver a crushing blow to the enemy south of Lake Ladoga and restore the land routes connecting the city with the country. By January 27, 1944, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, with the help of Kronstadt artillery, broke through the blockade of Leningrad. The Nazis began to retreat. Soon the cities of Pushkin, Gatchina and Chudovo were liberated.
The blockade was completely lifted.
Leningrad blockade- a tragic and great page in Russian history, which claimed more than 2 million human lives. As long as the memory of these terrible days lives in the hearts of people, finds a response in talented works of art, and is passed on from hand to hand to descendants, this will not happen again!
The blockade of Leningrad was briefly but succinctly described by Vera Inberg, her lines are a hymn to the great city and at the same time a requiem to the departed.
"Glory to you, great city,
Merging front and rear together. In unprecedented difficulties which
He survived. Fought. Won"
He survived. Fought. Won"
The Great Patriotic War
Battle of Kursk (with photo)
Battle of Stalingrad (with photo)
Poems about WWII
Collapse of the USSR (CIA contribution)
10.7.1941-9.8.1944 during the Great Patriotic War. In July - September 1941, troops of the German Army Group North (Field Marshal W. Leeb) reached the outskirts of Leningrad and Lake Ladoga, and Finnish troops reached the distant approaches to Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus, cutting off the city from the rear of the country. During the 900-day blockade, troops of the Leningrad Front (from September 11, 1941 - Army General G. K. Zhukov, from October 10, 1941 - Major General I. I. Fedyuninsky, from October 26, 1941 - Lieutenant General M. S. Khozin , from 9.6.1942 - Lieutenant General, later Marshal of the Soviet Union L. A. Govorov), the forces of the Baltic Fleet (Vice Admiral V. F. Tributs) and the Ladoga Military Flotilla (Rear Admiral V. S. Cherokov) repelled all enemy attacks. The supply of the city and troops was established along the “Road of Life” (through Lake Ladoga). In January 1943, the blockade was broken in a narrow area along the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov (Army General K. A. Meretskov) and 2nd Baltic (Army General M. M. Popov) fronts went on the offensive (on January 27 they finally liquidated the blockade) and by March 1944 pushed the enemy back 220- 280 kilometers from Leningrad. In June - August 1944, during the Vyborg and Svir-Petrozavodsk operations, Finnish troops were defeated and the threat to Leningrad from the North was removed.
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BATTLE OF LENINGRAD
Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945). The fighting of the Red Army to defend Leningrad and defeat the German troops blocking it in July 1941 - February 1944. The Leningrad battle includes 4 strategic (Leningrad defensive, Tikhvin, Iskra, Leningrad-Novgorod offensive) and three large independent front-line (Lyuban , 3rd Sinyavinskaya, Mginskaya) operations. The Leningrad defensive operation (July 10 - September 30) began with the offensive of the German Army Group North (Field Marshal W. Leeb) on Leningrad from the Pskov region. At the same time, two Finnish armies (South-Eastern and Karelian) went on the offensive in the Karelia region. The attackers were opposed by the troops of the Northern (General M.M. Popov) and Northwestern (General P.P. Sobennikov) fronts. The Germans immediately had to face sharply increased resistance from the Red Army. If in the first three weeks of the war Leeb's armies covered more than 500 km, then from July 10 to July 30 they managed to advance only 100 km. At the beginning of August, the German offensive was stopped at the Luga River, where the Germans had to temporarily go on the defensive in order to regroup their forces. Tallinn, which had not yet been taken, remained in the rear of the German troops, whose defenders held the city until August 28. On August 8, Leeb resumed the offensive in the Kingisepp-Sabek sector in the direction of Krasnogvardeysk. By August 22, the advanced units of the 18th German Army (General G. Küchler) reached the Krasnogvardeisky fortified area and tried to bypass it from the southeast. But these attempts were repulsed by stubborn resistance from Soviet troops. On August 23, the Headquarters divided the Northern Front into the Karelian Front (General V.A. Frolov) for the defense of the Arctic and Karelia, and the Leningrad Front (General M.M. Popov, from September 5, Marshal K.E. Voroshilov). On the other wing of their offensive, the Germans occupied Novgorod on August 19. In an effort to prevent a German breakthrough in this direction, the Soviet command of the forces of the Northwestern Front carried out a series of powerful counterattacks south of Lake Ilmen (from the area of Staraya Russa and Kholm) from August 12 to 25. This onslaught was repelled, and the Soviet troops failed to reach the rear of the Novgorod German group. Meanwhile, covering its right flank with the Volkhov River, the strike force that captured Novgorod moved from here in a northerly direction. On August 20, she occupied Chudovo, from where she launched a powerful blow to the north towards Lake Ladoga. On September 8, the Germans reached Lake Ladoga from the south, captured Shlisselburg and cut off Leningrad from land. The city came under blockade. After this, on September 9, Leeb's troops near Krasnogvardeysk again went on the offensive, trying to take Leningrad by a frontal assault. During this period, the parties threw all their forces into battle. The city was defended by the 42nd (General I.I. Fedyuninsky) and 55th (General I.G. Lazarev) armies. On September 12, General G.K. was appointed commander of the Leningrad Front instead of Marshal Voroshilov. Zhukov, who played an important role in organizing the defense of the city. On the immediate approaches to Leningrad, Leeb had almost no room for maneuver and he had to, regardless of the costs, conduct a persistent frontal attack through areas of dense suburban development. At the cost of heavy losses, his troops advanced 30 km in 10 days. They reached the Pulkovo Heights, where a fierce battle broke out, becoming the culmination of the German offensive. At this point it was stopped by fierce resistance and desperate counterattacks by the city’s defenders. In some places, German units were stopped almost at the city limits (at the last tram stops). In mid-September, the Germans managed to break through to the Gulf of Finland in the Strelna area and cut off the troops located on the coast west of the city (Oranienbaum area) from Leningrad. The troops, pressed to the sea on the Oranienbaum bridgehead, held out until the blockade of Leningrad was completely eliminated (see Oranienbaum bridgehead). At the same time, Soviet troops attacked the Germans from Leningrad and Volkhov from September 10 to 26. This two-pronged attack south of Lake Ladoga was aimed at the village of Sinyavino with the goal of breaking the blockade of Leningrad (1st Sinyavino operation). Although the offensive here did not achieve its final goal (the only success was the capture of a small bridgehead on the left bank of the Neva, the so-called Nevsky Piglet), it pinned down a significant part of the German forces, influencing the outcome of the battle in the Pulkovo Heights and Kolpino area. On September 25, Leeb, having exhausted his reserves, reported to Berlin that he could not continue the offensive with the available forces. Having failed to take the city with a frontal attack, German troops went on the defensive in this direction. This was the first strategic defeat of the Wehrmacht in the war against the USSR. At the same time, the advance of Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus (the area of the old Soviet-Finnish border) and east of Lake Ladoga (on the Svir River) was stopped. The city fell into a 30-month blockade. More than 600 thousand Leningraders died from hunger, bombing and disease. Communication with Leningrad was maintained via Lake Ladoga, the route through which was called the “Road of Life”. The supply along it was far from sufficient. The most critical situation arose in the winter of 1941-1942. Until January 1, 1942, 45,685 tons of food were delivered to the city via the ice of Ladoga and by air, which amounted to just over 18 kg for each blockade survivor during this entire period. At the same time, a considerable part of the food was consumed by the army, which was fed at increased standards. Thus, the daily ration of the population in the winter of 1941-1942. ranged from 466 to 1087 kcal, and for the soldiers defending the city - from 2954 to 3459 kcal. Not having the strength to capture Leningrad with a frontal onslaught, Leeb decided on a deep outflanking maneuver and launched a flank attack east of the city in the direction of Tikhvin - Lodeynoye Pole. By this, the commander of Army Group North sought to achieve two strategic goals: to unite with Finnish troops at the Svir River and to carry out a complete blockade of Leningrad. However, the offensive launched by the Germans in October - November 1941 in the area of Volkhov and Tikhvin ended in failure (see Tikhvin operation). During the German offensive on Tikhvin, Soviet troops launched the 2nd Sinyavinsk operation (October 20-28) with the aim of breaking the blockade of Leningrad. But it had to be stopped due to the transfer of part of the troops to the Tikhvin direction. Having suffered defeat at Tikhvin, the German command was unable to transfer units from the northern front to contain the Soviet offensive near Moscow. The failure of the Germans at Tikhvin also had important international significance. After Tikhvin's success of the Red Army, the Finnish authorities for the first time seriously doubted Germany's capabilities and took a wait-and-see attitude on the Eastern Front. For the failure of the offensive near Leningrad and Tikhvin, as well as for disagreements with Hitler, Field Marshal W. Leeb was removed from the post of commander of Army Group North and replaced by General G. Küchler. In winter - spring 1942, the Red Army tried to break the blockade of Leningrad. For this purpose, the Lyuban operation was carried out (January 7 - April 30). The troops of the Leningrad (General M.S. Khozin) and Volkhov (General K.A. Meretskov) fronts were supposed to launch a two-pronged attack on Lyuban, seize the October Railway and break the blockade of Leningrad. The troops of the Leningrad Front (54th Army) advancing from the northeast to Lyuban broke through the German defenses and reached the approaches to the city, moving forward 75 km. However, the Germans, with the help of reserves brought into battle (7 divisions), managed to stop this offensive. From the southeast, units of the Volkhov Front (2nd Shock Army) were advancing on Lyuban. However, the attackers were unable to expand their flanks. Their persistent advance took on an awl-like character - the depth of the breakthrough turned out to be 2.5 times greater than the width of the offensive zone. The German command did not fail to take advantage of this configuration. With flank attacks, the Germans cut the narrow neck of the Lyuban ledge, and the 2nd Shock Army was surrounded. Its commander, General A.A. Vlasov surrendered and went over to the enemy’s side. The encirclement of the 2nd Shock Army caused the failure of the Lyuban operation. Now all forces were thrown into rescuing the group in trouble. During fierce battles from June 10 to 19, Soviet troops broke through a narrow corridor to the encircled people, along which by July 10 the remnants of the 2nd Shock Army were withdrawn to their own. Having suffered heavy losses (over 400 thousand people) in the Lyuban operation and during the withdrawal of the 2nd Shock Army from encirclement, the Red Army temporarily went on the defensive. After this success, the German command in August 1942 began to prepare a new offensive near Leningrad, for which the 11th Army of Field Marshal E. Manstein, a specialist in the siege of fortresses, was transferred here from near Sevastopol. However, the troops of the Leningrad (General L.A. Govorov) and Volkhov (General K.A. Meretskov) fronts forestalled the impending offensive and themselves attacked the Germans south of Lake Ladoga, trying to break through the blockade of Leningrad with counter strikes. Thus began the 3rd Sinyavinsk operation (August 19 - October 10). Throughout September there were fierce battles here. With a huge effort, the Germans managed to repel the onslaught. On October 10, Soviet troops retreated to their original positions. But the German command had to abandon plans for a new attack on Leningrad. Having lost 60 thousand people in the autumn battles. and having used up a significant part of the ammunition, German troops forever lost the opportunity to seize the initiative in the Leningrad direction. The beginning of 1943 was marked by a fateful turn in the Battle of Leningrad - the breaking of the blockade of the city. During Operation Iskra (January 12-30, 1943), which was carried out under the general leadership of General G.K. Zhukov, troops of the Leningrad (General L.A. Govorov) and Volkhov (General K.A. Meretskov) fronts, delivering counter attacks south of Lake Ladoga, united on January 18 at Shlisselburg. As a result, the city and the “mainland” were connected by a 10 km wide corridor. A railroad was built here, called the “Road of Victory.” For breaking the blockade of Leningrad, Zhukov received the rank of marshal. However, attempts by the Red Army in February - March 1943 to expand the corridor were stopped by the stubborn defense of German troops in the area of the settlements of Mga - Sinyavino, turned into powerful bastions. In the summer of 1943, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts again tried to expand the Shlisselburg corridor. However, the Mginsk operation they carried out (July 22 - August 22) did not bring the desired result. The attackers failed to eliminate the Mginsky ledge, where the Germans created a powerful, defense in depth. The complete liquidation of the blockade and the defeat of German troops near Leningrad occurred during the Leningrad-Novgorod operation (January 14 - March 1, 1944). The Battle of Leningrad was the longest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, becoming an example of the courage of soldiers and civilians. (In a number of publications, the Battle of Leningrad is extended until August 8, 1944, expanding its scope until the end of the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation, i.e., the time of the final defeat of the Finnish troops). The losses of the Red Army in only seven major operations of the Battle of Leningrad (including the withdrawal of the 2nd Shock Army from encirclement) amounted to about 1.5 million people. A special medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was issued for participants in the battles for the city.
Soon after the start of the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad found itself in the grip of enemy fronts. The German Army Group North (commanded by Field Marshal W. Leeb) was approaching it from the southwest; The Finnish army (commander Marshal K. Mannerheim) targeted the city from the north-west. According to the Barbarossa plan, the capture of Leningrad was supposed to precede the capture of Moscow. Hitler believed that the fall of the northern capital of the USSR would bring not only a military gain - the Russians would lose the city, which is the cradle of the revolution and has a special symbolic meaning for the Soviet state. The Battle of Leningrad, the longest of the war, lasted from July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944.
In July-August 1941, German divisions were suspended in battles on the Luga line, but on September 8 the enemy reached Shlisselburg and Leningrad, which was home to about 3 million people before the war, was surrounded. To the number of those caught in the blockade, we must add approximately 300 thousand more refugees who arrived in the city from the Baltic states and neighboring regions at the beginning of the war. From that day on, communication with Leningrad became possible only by Lake Ladoga and by air. Almost every day Leningraders experienced the horror of artillery shelling or bombing. As a result of the fires, residential buildings were destroyed, people and food supplies were killed, incl. Badaevsky warehouses.
The blockade organized by the Nazis was aimed specifically at the extinction and destruction of Leningrad. On September 22, 1941, a special directive noted: “The Fuhrer decided to wipe out the city of Leningrad from the face of the earth. It is planned to surround the city with a tight ring and, through shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground... In this war, waged for the right to exist, we are not interested in preserving at least part of the population.” On October 7, Hitler gave another order - not to accept refugees from Leningrad and push them back into enemy territory. Therefore, any speculation - including those spread today in the media - that the city could have been saved if it had been surrendered to the mercy of the Germans should be classified either as ignorance or a deliberate distortion of historical truth.
At the beginning of September 1941, Stalin recalled Army General G.K. from near Yelnya. Zhukov and told him: “You will have to fly to Leningrad and take command of the front and the Baltic Fleet from Voroshilov.” Zhukov's arrival and the measures he took strengthened the city's defenses, but it was not possible to break the blockade.
Before the war, the metropolis of Leningrad was supplied, as they say, “on wheels”; the city did not have large food reserves. Therefore, the blockade threatened a terrible tragedy - famine. On September 2, we had to strengthen the food saving regime. From November 20, 1941, the lowest norms for the distribution of bread on cards were established: workers and engineers - 250 g, employees, dependents and children - 125 g. First-line soldiers and sailors - 500 g. Mass death of the population began. In December, 53 thousand people died, in January 1942 - about 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand. The preserved pages of the diary of little Tanya Savicheva do not leave anyone indifferent: “Grandmother died on January 25. ... “Uncle Alyosha on May 10... Mom on May 13 at 7.30 in the morning... Everyone died. Tanya is the only one left." Today, in the works of historians, the numbers of dead Leningraders vary from 800 thousand to 1.5 million people. Recently, data on 1.2 million people has increasingly appeared. Grief came to every family. During the battle for Leningrad, more people died than England and the United States lost during the entire war.
However, the city did not give up. Its residents and leadership then did everything possible to live and continue to fight. The salvation for the besieged was the “Road of Life” - a route laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which, from November 21, food and ammunition were delivered to the city and the civilian population was evacuated on the way back. During the period of operation of the “Road of Life” - until March 1943 - 1,615 thousand tons of various cargo were delivered to the city by ice (and in the summer on various ships). At the same time, more than 1.3 million Leningraders and wounded soldiers were evacuated from the city on the Neva. To transport petroleum products along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, a pipeline was laid.
Although Leningrad (as in other regions of the USSR during the war) had its own scoundrels among the authorities, the party and military leadership of Leningrad basically remained at the height of the situation. It behaved adequately to the tragic situation and did not at all “get fat,” as some modern researchers claim. In November 1941, the secretary of the city party committee, Zhdanov, established a strictly fixed, reduced food consumption rate for himself and all members of the military council of the Leningrad Front. Moreover, the leadership of the city on the Neva did everything to prevent the consequences of a severe famine. By decision of the Leningrad authorities, additional food was organized for exhausted people in special hospitals and canteens. In Leningrad, 85 orphanages were organized, accepting tens of thousands of children left without parents. In January 1942, a medical hospital for scientists and creative workers began operating at the Astoria Hotel. Since March 1942, the Leningrad City Council allowed residents to plant personal vegetable gardens in their yards and parks. The land for dill, parsley, and vegetables was plowed even near St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Despite the fact that the city was under severe blockade conditions, its industry continued to supply the troops of the Leningrad Front with the necessary weapons and equipment. Exhausted by hunger and seriously ill, workers carried out urgent tasks, repairing ships, tanks and artillery. Employees of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing preserved the most valuable collection of grain crops. In the winter of 1941, 28 employees of the institute died of starvation, but not a single box of grain was touched.
Leningrad dealt significant blows to the enemy and did not allow the Germans and Finns to act with impunity. In April 1942, Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and aircraft thwarted the German command's operation "Aisstoss" - an attempt to destroy from the air the ships of the Baltic Fleet stationed on the Neva. Counteraction to enemy artillery was constantly improved. The Leningrad Military Council organized a counter-battery fight, which resulted in a significant reduction in the intensity of shelling of the city. In 1943, the number of artillery shells that fell on Leningrad decreased by approximately 7 times.
The unprecedented self-sacrifice of ordinary Leningraders helped them not only defend their beloved city. It showed the whole world where the limits of Nazi Germany and its allies were.
Despite all the mistakes, miscalculations, and voluntaristic decisions, the Soviet command took maximum measures to break the siege of Leningrad as quickly as possible. Four attempts were made to break the enemy ring. The first - in September 1941; the second - in October 1941; the third - at the beginning of 1942, during a general counter-offensive, which only partially achieved its goals; the fourth - in August-September 1942. The siege of Leningrad was not broken then, but Soviet sacrifices in offensive operations of this period were not in vain. In the summer and autumn of 1942, the enemy failed to transfer any large reserves from near Leningrad to the southern flank of the Eastern Front. Moreover, Hitler sent the command and troops of Manstein’s 11th Army to take the city, which otherwise could have been used in the Caucasus and near Stalingrad. The Sinyavinsk operation of 1942 on the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts was ahead of the German attack. Manstein's divisions intended for the offensive were forced to immediately engage in defensive battles against the attacking Soviet units.
The heaviest battles in 1941-1942. took place on the “Nevsky Piglet” - a narrow strip of land on the left bank of the Neva, 2-4 km wide along the front and only 500-800 meters deep. This bridgehead, which the Soviet command intended to use to break the blockade, was held by Red Army units for about 400 days. A tiny piece of land was at one time almost the only hope for saving the city and became one of the symbols of the heroism of the Soviet soldiers who defended Leningrad. The battles for the Nevsky Piglet claimed, according to some sources, the lives of 50,000 Soviet soldiers.
And only in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pulled towards Stalingrad, the blockade was partially broken. The course of the unblocking operation of the Soviet fronts (Operation Iskra) was led by G. Zhukov. On a narrow strip of the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, 8-11 km wide, it was possible to restore land communications with the country. Over the next 17 days, railroads and roads were built along this corridor. January 1943 was a turning point in the Battle of Leningrad.
The situation in Leningrad improved significantly, but the immediate threat to the city continued to remain. In order to completely eliminate the blockade, it was necessary to push the enemy back beyond the Leningrad region. The idea of such an operation was developed by the Supreme Command Headquarters at the end of 1943. Forces of the Leningrad (General L. Govorov), Volkhov (General K. Meretskov) and 2nd Baltic (General M. Popov) fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega flotillas The Leningrad-Novgorod operation was carried out. Soviet troops went on the offensive on January 14, 1944 and liberated Novgorod on January 20. On January 21, the enemy began to withdraw from the Mga-Tosno area, from the section of the Leningrad-Moscow railway that he had cut.
On January 27, to commemorate the final lifting of the siege of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, fireworks went off. Army Group North suffered a heavy defeat. As a result of the Leningrad-Novgorod war, Soviet troops reached the borders of Latvia and Estonia.
The defense of Leningrad had enormous military-strategic, political and moral significance. Hitler's command lost the opportunity to most effectively maneuver its strategic reserves and transfer troops to other directions. If the city on the Neva had fallen in 1941, then German troops would have united with the Finns, and most of the troops of the German Army Group North could have been deployed south and struck the central regions of the USSR. In this case, Moscow could not have resisted, and the whole war could have gone according to a completely different scenario. In the deadly meat grinder of the Sinyavinsk operation in 1942, Leningraders saved not only themselves with their feat and indestructible fortitude. Having pinned down the German forces, they provided invaluable assistance to Stalingrad and the entire country!
The feat of the defenders of Leningrad, who defended their city under the most difficult trials, inspired the entire army and country, and earned deep respect and gratitude from the states of the anti-Hitler coalition.
In 1942, the Soviet government established the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad,” which was awarded to about 1.5 million defenders of the city. This medal remains in the memory of the people today as one of the most honorable awards of the Great Patriotic War.
M.Yu. Myagkov Doctor of History,
Scientific Director of the Russian Military Historical Society
O.A. Rzheshevsky Doctor of Historical Sciences,
Scientific Director of the Center for the History of Wars and Geopolitics of the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Plans of the parties
The German plan "Barbarossa" set the following tasks for Army Group North (commander - Field Marshal von Leeb): the defeat of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, the capture of the Baltic ports and Leningrad. By the end of June and beginning of July 1941, von Leeb's forces captured Lithuania, Latvia and part of Estonia. The troops of the Northwestern Front retreated deeper and deeper into the territory of the USSR, but the Nazis never achieved massive encirclement and complete defeat.
Leningrad, the second largest city in the USSR, was an important communications hub and scientific and industrial center. In the pre-war years, about 12% of all-Union industrial output was produced here. The loss of Leningrad would have deprived the USSR of access to the Baltic Sea and cut off the northern regions with the most important ports - Murmansk and Arkhangelsk - from the country.
In addition, the capture of the northern capital had enormous ideological and political significance for the German elite, therefore, for Army Group North, the capture of Leningrad was one of the most important tasks. After the capture of the city, according to Hitler’s plan, it should have been completely destroyed. The capture of Leningrad would allow the Nazis to free up large masses of troops and use them in the attack on Moscow.
The plans of the German command included an attack by the 4th Panzer Group to cut off the city from the south and southeast and an assault by the infantry divisions of the 16th Army. The 18th Army was supposed to completely capture Estonia, take possession of Tallinn and the Moonsund Islands. The troops of the German allies - the Finns - were supposed to pin down the Red Army units in the Petrozavodsk and Karelian directions by their actions. If the actions of Army Group North were not successful, the mobile troops of Army Group Center, as well as Finns and German units transferred from Norway, were to enter the battle. Air support and cover for enemy troops was assigned to the 1st Air Fleet.
The Germans had to be confronted by troops of the Northwestern and Northern fronts. Since July 4, 1941, the Northwestern Front was commanded by Lieutenant General P. P. Sobennikov. The front received the task of preventing enemy forces from breaking through to Novgorod, Staraya Russa and Luga. The northern front of Lieutenant General M. M. Popov held the defense on the Karelian Isthmus, in Karelia, and also covered the defense line from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ilmen. By the time the fighting began in the Leningrad direction, a specially created Luga operational group was also advanced to the line of the Luga River, consisting of six rifle divisions, two militia divisions, two divisions of the Leningrad Military School, as well as a separate mountain rifle brigade. Work was actively carried out to create several defensive belts around Leningrad - more than 100 thousand people were involved in this work. From the air, Soviet troops covered the aircraft of the 7th Air Defense Fighter Command, the Northern and Baltic Fleets under the overall command of Aviation Major General A. A. Novikov.
The general course of the battles in the summer - autumn of 1941
On July 10, the German army began an offensive on the southwestern and northern approaches to Leningrad. By this time, the divisions of the Northwestern Front opposing the Germans were already badly battered in the battles of the first days of the war. Many of them were seriously short-staffed. Considering that the Northwestern Front covered an offensive zone approximately 500 kilometers wide, there was a serious danger that it would not be possible to stop the Germans. To strengthen the tank group of the North-Western Front, the 3rd tank and 163rd motorized divisions were transferred from the troops of the Northern Front to its composition.
North of Pskov, the Soviet troops were hit by two tank, infantry and motorized divisions of the 41st motorized corps of the Germans. Our troops were forced under their onslaught to retreat to the city of Gdov. After this, the Germans struck from a different direction, bypassed Luga, reached the Plyussa River and started a battle with the forces of the Luga operational group. Its formations and units defended themselves on a wide front, and it was not possible to completely close it: between individual centers of resistance there were gaps of up to 25 km, not occupied by troops.
Despite all the difficulties, the Luga defensive position offered stubborn resistance to the Germans. The fighting went on day and night, settlements and key positions changed hands several times. The Germans decided to change the direction of the attack and the main forces of the 41st Motorized Corps turned towards Kingisepp. On July 14, the enemy created two bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Luga River. This maneuver was discovered by intelligence. The command of the North-Western Front began at an accelerated pace to transfer reserve forces to the Kingisepp direction. German crossings were attacked by Soviet aircraft. Since July 14, Soviet troops tried to “knock down” the Germans from the bridgehead.
On July 16, a group of Soviet tanks was concentrated near the Weimarn station, which included ten KVs, eight T-34s, two and a half dozen T-26s and BT-7s, and a small number of light tanks of other types. On July 17, six more KV tanks from the 1st Tank Division arrived. Until July 21, this group was used in the battles near Kingisepp. The traditional problems of the Red Army at the beginning of the war: poor reconnaissance, illiterate organization of infantry and artillery support, poor communications - led to the fact that tank attacks were not successful. It was not possible to eliminate the German bridgehead.
Despite this, it should be noted that the defense of the Luga line was carried out very decisively. German units suffered heavy losses. Regarding the actions of Soviet aviation, the commander of the German ground forces, von Brauchitsch, who was inspecting Army Group North at that time, even wrote: “The superiority of aviation is on the enemy’s side.” In fact, Soviet aviation in this sector of the front was almost twice as quantitative as German aviation.
On the left flank of the Luga line, von Manstein’s 56th Motorized Corps was making its way to Leningrad through Novgorod. On July 14, near the city of Soltsy, troops of the 11th Army of the North-Western Front struck Manstein’s flank and rear. They were supported from the air by more than 200 aircraft. The counterattack near Soltsy became possible due to the fact that a 100-kilometer gap had formed between the units of the 56th Corps and the 16th German Army. The Soviet 11th Army was reinforced with a tank and two rifle divisions taken from the Northern Front and the Luga Operational Group.
The Soviet counterattack was launched in such a way as to encircle, cut through, and then destroy the German troops. To prevent the Germans from retreating south, across the Shelon River, the commander of the 11th Army, General Morozov, deployed the 202nd Motorized Division along the shore.
The Soviet counterattack created a critical situation for the Germans. Our units from the north struck the flank of the 8th German Panzer Division, while simultaneously crossing Shelon in the south. On July 17, 1941, the 237th and 70th rifle divisions cut off the retreat routes for German tankers. The 8th Division was surrounded. At the same time, the enemy’s 3rd motorized division was attacked from the north and northeast and was badly battered. The 11th Army acted competently and boldly, but, unfortunately, it did not have enough strength to completely defeat the 8th Division. The Germans broke out of the encirclement, but it took the 8th Division about a month to restore combat effectiveness. On July 19, Hitler was forced to issue a directive to stop the attack on Leningrad until the main forces of the 18th Army arrived.
Already in mid-July, it became clear to the German command that they could not capture Leningrad right away. The problem could only be solved by the consistent defeat of the Red Army troops in this direction. Hitler insisted that the main efforts of Army Group North be concentrated in the direction of Novgorod and Lake Ladoga. For reinforcement, it was planned to attract the 3rd Panzer Group of Hermann Hoth from Army Group Center, but the military, in particular Franz Halder, chief of staff of the Wehrmacht ground forces, opposed it.
By the beginning of August, German troops were already about 100 kilometers from Leningrad, and they still had enough forces to capture the city. Realizing this, the Soviet Headquarters of the Supreme High Command took all possible measures to strengthen and strengthen the defense on this section of the front. New reserves were transferred, the construction of defensive lines continued: hundreds of thousands of people dug trenches, ditches, and built wire fences. On July 23, the Luga operational group was divided into three sectors: Kingisepp, Luga and eastern, each of which was directly subordinate to the front command. This was supposed to improve the leadership of the defenders of Leningrad. Subsequently, the eastern section was first transformed into the Novgorod Army Group, and then the 48th Army was created on its basis, transferred to the subordination of the North-Western Front.
The Germans were also engaged in regrouping and reorganization at the end of July - beginning of August. Their troops were divided into three groups. The northern group was supposed to advance on Leningrad through the Koporye Plateau. The attack of the central group took place along the Luga-Leningrad highway. The troops of the southern group were supposed to bypass the city from the East, in the Novgorod direction, cut off Leningrad from land communications and connect with Finnish units. For reinforcement, the 8th Aviation Corps was transferred to Army Group North.
The Germans launched an offensive in the Novgorod direction on August 8, 1941. On this day, the 41st Motorized Corps of the 4th Tank Group struck from the Luga bridgehead. Two days later, Manstein's 56th Corps entered the battle, having been late in arriving at the deployment site. After little progress, German troops became stuck in Soviet defenses. Only on the fourth day of fighting did the Nazis manage to make a breakthrough in the Shimsk area. The Soviet 48th Army began to retreat north. On August 16-19, the enemy captured Novgorod and began to advance further along the left bank of the Volkhov.
In the Kingisepp direction, from August 8, for three days, German attacks had to be repelled not only by fire, but also by bayonets. After the Nazis brought the 8th Panzer Division to the battlefield, the Red Army began to slowly retreat in the eastern and northeastern directions. On August 16, the Germans broke into Narva and Kingisepp. On August 18, Soviet troops reached the Koporye Plateau. By the twentieth of the month, the situation had developed in such a way that their position became overwhelming in relation to the German units. Fearing a counterattack, the Germans concentrated all the efforts of the strike group against these Red Army troops. Under pressure from ground forces and continuous German air strikes, Soviet troops retreated to the coast of the Gulf of Finland. In general, in this section of the front the Germans managed to advance only 60 kilometers in a month.
On August 10, fierce fighting broke out again in the Luga direction. The Germans suffered serious losses, but the position of the Red Army units worsened. The command of the Northwestern Front tried to organize a counterattack with the forces of the 34th Army in the Staraya Russa area. Support for the counterattack was assigned to the 11th Army. On August 12, the 34th Army went on the offensive and by August 18 reached the approaches to Staraya Russa, deeply enveloping the flank of the enemy group at Novgorod and Chudov. The Germans were forced to hastily transfer the SS motorized division “Totenkopf” and Manstein’s 56th Corps from the Novgorod direction in order to direct them against the 34th Army. Air opposition to the Soviet offensive also intensified. Due to the lack of air defense systems in the Soviet units, as well as poorly organized command and control, the 34th Army was never able to build on its initial success and was forced to withdraw. Having failed, the counterattack near Staraya Russa only slightly eased the situation of the 48th Army in the Luga sector of defense.
After the defeat at Staraya Russa and the withdrawal of Soviet troops across the Lovat River, the threat to Leningrad increased significantly. On August 23, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command divided the Northern Front into Karelian and Leningrad. Three armies were deployed along the Volkhov River to cover the Volkhov and Tikhvin directions.
On August 25, the Germans resumed their attack on Leningrad from Chudovo. On August 29, near the city of Kolpino, the 55th Army of General I. Lazarev was able to delay the enemy’s advance. On the same day, the Karelian, Leningrad and Northwestern fronts came under direct subordination to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.
On August 30, the Germans captured Mga, Ivanovskoye and Pokrovskoye, cutting the last railway that connected Leningrad with the rest of the Soviet Union. On September 8, Shlisselburg was captured. The northern capital of the USSR was completely blocked by land; all communication was now possible only by air or by Lake Ladoga. The long siege of Leningrad began, which lasted almost 900 days.