The Battle of Leningrad is an extensive complex of defensive and offensive actions by Soviet troops to defend the Northern capital against advancing German and Finnish troops. In total, the heroic defense of Leningrad lasted (until complete victory in the battle) from 07/10/41 to 08/09/44.
The line of defense of Leningrad passed not only in the Leningrad region. Battles within the framework of this battle also took place in the western part of the Kalinin region, in the Estonian SSR and in the south of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
Leningrad blockade
When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet leadership understood that Leningrad would certainly be one of the key figures in the unfolding military operations. He ordered the organization of a commission to evacuate the city. It was necessary to remove the population, enterprise equipment and military cargo. However, no one expected the blockade of Leningrad. The German army had the wrong tactics.
Residents on the street of besieged Leningrad near buildings
And Hitler, according to the testimony of people from his circle, had a special attitude towards the capture of Leningrad. We should not forget that the German Fuhrer was not just a military strategist. First of all, he was a talented politician, and knew the value of ideology and the objects that symbolize it. Hitler didn't need the city. He was supposed to disappear from the face of the earth under German artillery fire. Plunge into the swamps on which, contrary to generally accepted norms, it was once erected. The brainchild of Peter the Great and the place of birth and victory of Bolshevism, hated by Hitler, during the Battle of Leningrad had to be destroyed. And to do this, first of all, not for military reasons (although this moment was also important for a successful advance towards Moscow), but in order to undermine the morale of Soviet citizens.
Hitler didn’t even need this territory. Neither the city itself nor the suburbs of Leningrad. At the Nuremberg trials his words were voiced, which were recorded by M. Bormann:
“The Finns are laying claim to the Leningrad region. Raze Leningrad to the ground in order to then give it to the Finns.”
Leningrad geographically turned out to be on the outskirts of the fighting country. The Germans captured the Baltic states very quickly. This closed the west side. Finland was advancing from the north. In the east lies the wide and very capricious Lake Ladoga in terms of navigation. Therefore, in order to surround Leningrad with a blockade ring, it was enough to capture and hold literally several strategically important points.
Residents of besieged Leningrad go to the Neva for water
German plans
While storming the Soviet Union, the German command attached special meaning to the conquest of Leningrad. According to enemy plans, the forces of the army group “North” under the command of Field Marshal von Leeb were supposed to cut off Leningrad from the eastern and southeastern sides with the right flank. The group included the 16th and 18th field armies and the 4th tank group.
The 16th Army was to consolidate the success. Formations of the 18th Army were given the task of cutting off and destroying the armed forces of the USSR on the territory of Estonia. The Finnish armies - Karelian and South-Eastern - were supposed to advance in the area of the Karelian Isthmus and between Onega and Ladoga, which was required to connect with the German army in the vicinity of Leningrad and capture the city.
The assault of the army group “North” was supported by the German 1st Air Fleet, and the activities of the enemy army concentrated on the territory of Finland were supported by units of the 5th Air Flotilla of Germany and the Finnish Air Force.
On the eve of the blockade
The first days of the war were very successful for the German army. According to Operation Barbarossa, Army Group North was supposed to destroy all Soviet troops in the Baltic states, developing an offensive, occupy all Baltic naval bases and capture Leningrad by the end of July. The first part of the plan went pretty smoothly. Due to the surprise of the attack and the geographical dispersion of the Soviet divisions, German troops were able to deliver powerful blows to them unit by unit. Enemy artillery bombardments mowed down the ranks of the defenders. In this case, a significant role was played by the attackers’ significant advantage in personnel and the large number of tanks and aircraft at their disposal.
German soldier in a trench near Leningrad
In the meantime, the German leadership was making plans, and also intoxicated by the successes of past campaigns and the smooth start of the current one, the German army bravely advanced towards its intended goals, Soviet troops hastily erected defenses and prepared evacuation. Leningraders were rather cool about the possibility of evacuating. They were reluctant to leave home. But the call to help units of the Red Army in defense, on the contrary, was reacted with great enthusiasm. Both old and young offered their help. Women and men willingly agreed to work on the preparation of defensive structures. After the call to form a people's militia, military registration and enlistment offices were literally inundated with thousands of applications.
In a very short time, 10 divisions were formed from unprepared, but eager to fight residents. They were ready to fight to the death for their homes, their wives and children. These newly minted troops included college students, naval personnel, and ship personnel. They were formed into ground brigades and sent to the front. Thus, the command of the Leningrad district was replenished with another 80 thousand soldiers.
Stalin orders Leningrad not to surrender under any circumstances and to defend it to the last soldier. In addition to ground fortifications, air defense was also organized. It used anti-aircraft guns, fighter planes, searchlights, barrage balloons and radar stations.
Girl fighters are on combat duty on the roof of a house
The effectiveness of air defense can be judged by the first raid, carried out on June 23, 1941 - literally on the second day of the war. Not a single enemy plane broke through to the city. During the first summer, 17 raids were carried out, in which more than one and a half thousand aircraft took part. Only 28 units broke through to Leningrad. And 232 planes never returned anywhere - they were destroyed.
By July 10, 1941, German tank units were 200 km from Leningrad. Had they continued to advance at such a brisk pace, the army would have reached the city in 10 days. By this time, the front of the 11th Soviet Army had already been broken through. It seemed that nothing would stop us from taking Leningrad on the move. However, not all German generals agreed with this point of the plan. Even before the attack, there were thoughts that a siege could significantly simplify the task and save the lives of German soldiers.
"Nevsky Piglet"
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.
Evacuation. First wave
The evacuation of residents from besieged Leningrad had to take place in several stages. Already on June 29 - a week after the start of the war - the first echelons carried 15 thousand children away from the city. In total, 390 thousand children had to leave Leningrad. Unfortunately, according to the evacuation plans, the final destination for a large number of them was supposed to be the south of the Leningrad region. But that’s where the German units were heading. Therefore, in a hurry, 170 thousand children were returned back to Leningrad.
But it was not only children who were taken away. A planned evacuation of the city’s adult population also took place. Over the summer, 164 thousand workers left Leningrad, who were evacuated along with their enterprises. The first wave of evacuation was characterized by the extreme reluctance of residents to leave the city. They simply did not believe in a protracted war. And leaving our homes and breaking away from our usual way of life was both undesirable and somewhat scary.
Evacuation of children from Leningrad
The evacuation continued under the supervision of specially created committees. All available routes were used - railways, highways and country roads. The situation was further complicated by the fact that, with the advance of German troops, a wave of refugees from surrounding areas poured into Leningrad. People had to be accepted and, in the shortest possible time, transported further into the interior of the country. All summer, all the structures involved in the evacuation process worked hard. When the evacuation began, train tickets stopped going on sale. Now only those who were subject to evacuation could leave.
According to the commission, before the start of the siege of Leningrad, 488 thousand Leningraders and 147.5 thousand refugees who arrived in the city were taken out of the city.
On August 27, 1941, railway communication between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union was interrupted. On September 8, all land communications were finally interrupted. After the Germans managed to capture Shlisselburg. This date became the official day of the beginning of the blockade in Leningrad. There were almost 900 days of terrible, exhausting struggle ahead. But then the Leningraders did not yet suspect this.
The first days of the siege of Leningrad
Regular shelling of Leningrad began several days before the start of the siege. On September 12th, the German command received a new order from Hitler. The assault on the city was called off. The soldiers had to strengthen their existing positions and prepare for defense. The blockade ring had to be strong and indestructible. And the city had to be constantly bombarded with artillery fire.
Shelling of Leningrad
The first days of the siege of Leningrad were characterized by very different moods of the residents. Often – diametrically opposed. Those who firmly believed in the existing regime believed that the Red Army could cope with the German troops. And those who allowed the surrender of Leningrad were sure that Hitler simply could not be worse than Stalin. There were even those who quite openly expressed the hope that the Bolshevik regime would fall. True, the vigilant and conscientious communists did not allow the brave souls to completely forget themselves, and there were no mass riots on this basis.
Ordinary residents could not possibly know that the plans of the fascist blockade did not include the liberation of civilians from anything. A professor at the University of St. Petersburg, as a historian, explained in an interview with TASS:
“The Nazi leadership, starting on August 21, 1941, quite clearly defined its intentions regarding Leningrad. The Germans intended to tighten the blockade ring as tightly as possible, depriving the city of the possibility of supply. And then the enemy counted on the fact that the city would capitulate quickly enough, not having the resources to provide for the multi-million population.”
Yes, the German leadership calculated that the food supply would be depleted very quickly. This means that, having weighed the incommensurability of losses and suffering, if not the Soviet government, then certainly the Soviet citizens themselves will stop their senseless resistance. But they miscalculated. They miscalculated in the same way as with the blitzkrieg. They miscalculated in the same way as with such familiar “boilers”, widely used by the German army in the Second World War. This tactic was also calculated on the fact that when finding oneself in a hopeless situation and enduring suffering, a person loses the will to fight. But the Russians did not lose it. And this axiom was once again proven by the besieged Leningrad. Not brilliant staff officers. Not the professional skill of commanders. And ordinary people. Who have not lost the will to live. Who continued to fight day after day for as long as the siege of Leningrad lasted.
Residents of besieged Leningrad collect boiling water while in a bomb shelter
On the ice of the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga
With the onset of winter and freeze-up, hostilities engulfed the ice-covered waters of the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga.
Preparing for a new assault on the city in the summer of 1942, the Nazis decided to destroy large ships in advance in order to prevent crushing attacks by naval artillery on the advancing columns of their troops. First of all, they wanted to break the connection between Kronstadt and Leningrad. To this end, at the end of the winter of 1941-1942, the enemy began mining the Neva Bay. Special teams at night transported magnetic mines across the ice to the areas of future fairways and lowered them to the bottom through ice holes. In turn, the command of the Baltic Fleet organized sea patrols on sports ice boats, and in the most dangerous areas there were ski detachments that tracked enemy ski slopes, looked for ice holes and destroyed mines, and often engaged in battle with enemy reconnaissance and enemy ambushes. The largest operation on the ice of the Gulf of Finland in the winter of 1941-1942 was the battle to capture the islands of Bolshoi Tyuters and Gogland abandoned by Soviet troops in the fall. On the last day of 1941, a detachment of 180 people under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Barinov was landed on the edge of the ice near the island of Lavensari from the icebreaker Ermak, which broke through at great risk from besieged Leningrad. Next, the detachment had to act independently. Having completed a 43-kilometer forced march across the ice of the Gulf of Finland, the paratroopers occupied the island of Tyuters, and two days later captured the island of Gogland. To navigate in difficult conditions among the hummocks and watersheds, the detachment was joined by a group of hydrograph guides, whose main tool was a five-inch compass on a sled. Unfortunately, the command of the Baltic Fleet and the Leningrad Front was unable to ensure the consolidation of the achieved success and in the spring of 1942 the islands again passed into the hands of the enemy.
Fleet hydrographers made a great contribution to the creation and organization of the work of the Road of Life. It was they who, in the shortest possible time, completed work on equipping fairways in the southern part of Lake Ladoga, along which the first transports with food passed on September 12, 1941. Well understanding the significance of this communication, the command of the Leningrad Front and the Baltic Fleet began in advance to develop plans and measures for the creation and use of ice roads through Ladoga. On the night of November 16, lieutenants V.I. Dmitriev, E.P. Churov and three sailors, armed with simple hydrographic equipment - sleds with compasses, maps, lines and ice picks - went onto the ice and surveyed the Osinovets-Kobona route, and then the Kobona-Karedzhi-Osinovets route. And already on November 23, the first trucks with food for Leningrad set off across the ice. However, the commander of the Ladoga Flotilla received a directive from the Front’s Military Council: “Continue to transport cargo by gunboats and transports from Novaya Ladoga to Osinovets and back until the last possible opportunity.” On November 27, the last convoy left Novaya Ladoga, consisting of the gunboat Bira, two transports and a detachment of minesweepers. Instead of the usual 10-12 hours in clear water, the transition lasted seven days.
Almost at the same time, the forces of the 80th Division of the 8th Army and the ski naval battalion were supposed to strike the enemy east of Shlisselburg. On the night of November 26, army columns headed by hydrograph guides set off from Osinovets across the ice of Lake Ladoga. However, despite the intensifying frost, large clearings and thin ice encountered along the way forced us to abandon the planned operation...
Few people know that, along with the Ladoga Road of Life, there were ice routes connecting Kronstadt with the southern and northern shores of the Gulf of Finland, as well as an ice route between the Shepelevsky lighthouse and the islands of Seskar and Lavensari. During the winter of 1941 alone, more than 200 thousand people, more than 40 thousand vehicles, about 30 tanks and hundreds of heavy weapons and other equipment passed along the Gorskaya - Kronstadt - Malaya Izhora highway. Ice roads continued to function in the winter of 1942-1943. Despite the fact that the winter turned out to be warm, in three months more than 270 thousand people, about 350 thousand vehicles, 1,240 guns and other military equipment were transferred along the ice routes.
German politics
An interesting look at Leningrad under the siege from the opposite – German – side. After the rapid advance of the fascist army in the Baltic states, the soldiers expected a repeat of the European blitzkrieg. At that time, Operation Barbarossa was still unfolding like clockwork. Of course, both members of the command and ordinary privates understood that Leningrad simply would not surrender. The history of Russia testified to this. This is precisely why, because of the stubborn resistance in the past, Hitler was so wary of this city. He really wanted to destroy it even before the capture of Moscow.
Finland took the side of Germany in World War II. And it was their army that advanced in the northern direction. And they still had fresh memories of the Finnish war, in which the Soviet Union had already been defeated once. Therefore, in general, the expectations of the advancing fighters were the most rosy.
When the order came to start the blockade, the Wehrmacht soldiers even became somewhat depressed. Spending a long time in cold trenches was very different from being billeted in cozy French houses. Hitler motivated his decision by the fact that in this way military forces would be saved. You just have to wait until hunger begins in the city. And help in this by destroying food warehouses with artillery fire. The fire had to be fired powerfully, massively and regularly. Nobody was going to save the city. His fate was sealed.
Movement of German soldiers under besieged Leningrad
In general, this situation did not contradict any existing military ethics. These unwritten rules were contradicted by something else - the German command was forbidden to accept surrender. Nikita Lamagin speaks about this: “Capitulation as an act of war would impose on the Nazi leadership the need to think about the civilian population.” In practice, this means that the food supply (even in the most minimal quantities) of several million people would fall on the Germans. And they themselves have already experienced what it means to deliver food across the vast Russian expanses and roads that are unsuitable for this.
History professor Lamagin continues: “Moreover, any attempts to break out of the city, be it women, old people or children, had to be prevented, first with barrage fire, and then with destruction fire.”
And there have been such attempts. People fleeing one by one literally came to the German trenches. They were simply pushed back to return to where they came from. That was the order. Hitler's position on this issue was consistent. He was going to exterminate the Slavs, and now the opportunity to do this presented itself. What was at stake here was no longer just a military victory and division of territories. It was about the continued existence of millions of people.
Leningradskaya street after the end of the German shelling
With the passage of time, questions inevitably arise about whether it was possible to avoid the horrors that the siege of Leningrad brought in 1941-1943. Hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. Not from shelling, not from explosions, but from hunger slowly and painfully devouring the body. Even against the backdrop of all the horrors that occurred during the Great Patriotic War, this page of history continues to amaze the imagination. An incredibly high price was paid by the siege survivors for the defense of Leningrad during the siege.
Hitler's plans were not known to the general public. And the heroic defense of Leningrad will remain truly heroic. But today, having documents and eyewitness accounts, it is known for certain that the residents of Leningrad had no chance to save their lives during the enemy blockade by simply surrendering the city and entrusting themselves to the mercy of the winner. This winner did not need prisoners. German commanders had clear orders to crush resistance by destroying warehouses, waterworks, power plants and electrical supplies with artillery strikes.
Residents of Leningrad leave their homes destroyed by German troops
Participants in the battle
The purpose of the battle was as follows:
- defend Leningrad;
- defeat the German army group “North” and the Finnish army on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus and between Onega and Ladoga.
The armed forces of the following fronts took part in this battle at different periods:
- Northern;
- Northwestern;
- Leningradsky;
- Volkhovsky;
- Karelian;
- 2nd Baltic.
In addition, the battle was attended by Long-Range Aviation (LAR) and the Air Defense Forces of the USSR, armed formations of the Baltic Fleet, Peipus, Ladoga and Onega combat flotillas, groups of partisans, residents of the city and region.
Life of besieged Leningrad
The Soviet leadership did not consider it necessary to notify citizens about the real picture of what was happening at the front. Information about the progress of the war was briefly reported, but most often the information was sporadic and incomplete. And ignorance breeds anxiety and fear. In addition, soon the fighting began to get very close. People from the front appeared in the city who could convey the news first-hand. And such people came not in dozens, but in thousands. Soon food disappeared from the shelves. The search for food became the main task of the townspeople.
The worse the situation at the front became, the more gloomy the mood was in the city. It was not just that the city was surrounded by troops. Many cities of the Soviet Union fell victim to enemy aggression. There was a danger that the Germans would capture Leningrad. And this couldn’t help but frighten me. But the overall picture was shaped by other tones. After all, there was a shortage of food exactly as long as the blockade of Leningrad lasted. After some time, the supply of electricity to residential buildings stopped, and soon the water supply and sewerage systems also failed.
In addition to the fact that it was physically difficult, the situation was very depressing psychologically. One of the historian-researchers very aptly described the condition of people with the expression “tearing the fabric of life.” The usual way of life was completely disrupted. The city was constantly bombed. In addition, we had to work even more than in peacetime. And all this against the backdrop of chronic malnutrition.
Famine in Leningrad
And yet the city lived. He not only survived, but lived and functioned, as if continuing to breathe deeply. From the very day the blockade began, which ultimately lasted almost 900 days, Leningraders never ceased to believe in very early liberation. This hope gave strength to the residents of the besieged city throughout the three years.
The most pressing problem during the time that the blockade lasted was always the search for food. The system of food cards, which were used to sell goods, was introduced from the very beginning. But this did not save us from an acute shortage of the most necessary products. The city simply did not have the necessary food supplies.
At the very beginning, the Germans managed to set fire to the Badayev warehouses with bombs. Sugar, flour and butter burned there. Many Leningraders saw this enormous fire, and they understood perfectly well what it meant for them. There was even an opinion that the famine began precisely because of this fire. But these warehouses did not have enough food to supply the townspeople. At that time, about three million people lived in Leningrad. And the city itself has always depended on imported products. It simply did not have autonomous reserves. Now the besieged population of Leningraders was supplied with food along the Road of Life.
Fire at Badaevsky warehouses
The norms of bread sold on ration cards changed depending on the developing situation. The table “Norms for the distribution of bread to the Leningrad population during the siege” indicates how much bread workers, employees and dependents received, including children. People stood in huge lines every day to get the bread they were entitled to on their coupons.
Standards for issuing bread to the Leningrad population during the siege
| 18.07 – 30.09 1941 | 1.10 – 13.11 1941 | 20.11 – 25.12 1941 | 26.12.1941 – 31.01.1942 | February 1942 | |
| Workers | 800 grams | 400 grams | 250 grams | 350 grams | 500 grams |
| Employees | 600 grams | 200 grams | 125 grams | 200 grams | 400 grams |
| Dependents | 400 grams | 200 grams | 125 grams | 200 grams | 300 grams |
Leningraders queuing for bread
But under these conditions people continued to work. The Kirov plant, which produced tanks, produced products during the blockade. The children went to school. City services worked, order was maintained in the city. Even institute employees came to work. Later, eyewitnesses who survived the blockade will tell you that those who survived were those who continued to get out of bed in the morning and do something, adhere to some kind of schedule and rhythm. Their will to live did not fade. And those who preferred to save energy by stopping leaving the house most often quickly died in their own homes.
The history of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing is very indicative. Academician Vavilov at one time collected a rich collection of plants, both cultivated and wild. To collect it, 110 special expeditions were made. Plant specimens were collected literally all over the world. The selection fund contained several tons of seeds and tubers from 250 thousand samples. This collection is still recognized as the richest on the planet. Institute employees came to work and heated the premises to save priceless specimens from the forty-degree frost. During the first winter of the siege, 28 employees of this institute died of hunger. Having potatoes, rice and other grains on hand. They didn't touch them.
Academician Vavilov
Behind the stern is the Okhta Sea
Yes, we are not talking about the Okhotsk Sea, but specifically about the Okhta Sea - that’s what the submariners called a small section of the Neva just above the Liteiny Bridge with a depth of about 20 meters, where they underwent an accelerated course of combat training, putting their boats in order after the hardest winter of the siege.
The command of the submarine brigade faced the urgent task of preparing ships and crews for going to sea and operating on the enemy’s sea communications. According to the directive of the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov’s main task for the fleet in 1942 was “to inflict maximum damage on the enemy on his communications and clog the Finnish skerries with mines.” Despite heavy losses, 51 submarines remained in the Baltic Fleet. The boats had to break through two lines of anti-submarine lines in the Gulf of Finland, break out into the vast Baltic Sea and disrupt enemy shipping. It was assumed that submarine combat would continue throughout the summer campaign throughout the Baltic Sea. A submarine is preparing to set sail from besieged Leningrad.
It seems that the fleet command did not objectively assess the level of mine danger and the capabilities of its ships, which had to operate with virtually no air support in conditions of white nights, which precluded a long stay on the surface. The mine situation was especially difficult in the area of the islands of Hapasari, Gogland, Bolshoy Tyuters, Nargen and the Porkkala-Udd Peninsula, where in the first half of May 1942 the Nazis laid additional minefields. These minefields formed the basis of the Gogland (“Sea Urchin”) and Nargen-Porkkalaudd (“Rhinoceros”) anti-submarine positions. On Goglandskaya there were 177 mines per mile, on Nargen-Porkkalauddskaya - 98. The Nazis were also active in the Kronstadt area, where their boats laid 14 magnetic mines in the open part of the Sea Canal. In order to block the access to the sea for our submarines and block them in the Neva Bay, the fascist naval command created a special group of destroyer aircraft to mine the Kronstadt fairways from the air. In a short time, these aircraft dropped 413 bottom proximity mines, including those equipped with special self-destruct traps, the design of which was not yet known to Baltic Fleet specialists.
The submarines moved from Leningrad to Kronstadt and further to the island of Lavensari on the surface; they were covered by fire and a smoke screen from surface ships and boats. After this, having charged the batteries and received updated intelligence data, the boats continued moving on their own. They had to overcome more than 200 miles without security and escort at the greatest possible depth, but no closer than 10-15 meters from the bottom in order to avoid being blown up by bottom mines. Having crossed the Gogland anti-submarine position, the boats had to surface to charge batteries in the area where enemy anti-submarine ships and submarines were constantly patrolling and patrolling. Then - crossing another mine position and moving to the designated patrol area. And all this in shallow water conditions and long daylight hours. As a result, the Baltic Fleet lost 12 submarines out of 45 included in the submarine force in the 1942 campaign, while, according to the latest updated data, submariners sank 22 ships with a total displacement of 41,326 gross register tons. The relatively modest achievements of Soviet submariners, paid for in great blood, nevertheless bore fruit. The appearance of Soviet submarines off the coast of Sweden, where German ships had previously sailed as if in peacetime with their running lights turned on, forced the enemy to take measures to strengthen the anti-submarine defense system, introduce a convoy system, increase the density of minefields and move ship routes closer to the Swedish shores and in shallow water. In September, due to the lack of security ships in Finnish and German ports, there was a large accumulation of transport and cargo, which was eagerly awaited at the front and at German enterprises.
The year 1943 was no less difficult for submariners. From March to June, two rows of anti-submarine nets and nine six-tier lines of mines were installed at the Nargen-Porkkalaudda anti-submarine line, the number of which increased to 11,118 pieces. Two stationary underwater hydroacoustic stations were equipped. A ship patrol of 14–20 ships and boats is organized along the networks. By 1943, the enemy had planted 13,541 mines on the Gogland barrier. In addition, enemy aircraft and boats were deployed on the fairways from the island. Kotlin to o. Lavensari 384 contact and 113 non-contact min. The total number of mines in the Gulf of Finland by the end of 1943 was about 45,000. In this campaign, the submarine forces of the Baltic Fleet lost 5 ships without achieving a single confirmed victory. The last months of enemy domination in the Baltic were passing.
It is noteworthy that at the end of June - beginning of July 1943, two “baby” submarines “M-77” and “M-79” were transferred to Lake Ladoga to solve reconnaissance and anti-shipping tasks. On the lake by that time, the enemy, who had abandoned active operations against the ships of the Ladoga flotilla after the defeat at Suho Island in October 1942, had a small naval group, consisting mainly of Finnish boats and armed ships of small displacement. The enemy also had a small group of Italian torpedo boats and German airborne artillery self-propelled barge-catamarans of the Siebel type, delivered by rail through Finnish territory. The enemy essentially had no anti-submarine defense on the lake. The mine danger also seemed insignificant. Until the end of 1943, the “babies” made 12 military campaigns on the lake. In August - September, the submarine "M-77" under the command of Lieutenant Commander I.M. Tatarinova went out to the northern coast of the lake several times to search for enemy ships, but did not find objects of attack. In October - November, the boat successfully landed several reconnaissance and sabotage groups and took part in navigation support for the landing in Mustalahti Bay on October 12. "M-79" under the command of Guard Captain 3rd Rank S.Z. Trashchenko made four more trips before the freeze-up - mainly for reconnaissance purposes and to land a reconnaissance group. "Malyutki" continued their service on Ladoga in 1944, performing reconnaissance missions and providing cover for the landing of amphibious troops in the Tuloksa area (south of Vidlitsa) at the end of June.
The road of life
The only connecting link between the city sandwiched in the blockade ring and the rest of the world was Lake Ladoga. The Ladoga flotilla was used to supply food during the siege of Leningrad. Great difficulties were created by the fact that this lake was very difficult for navigation. In addition, the Germans did not stop bombing food ships. Right along the coast of Lake Ladoga, the aid brought was hastily unloaded. It was possible to deliver only a small part of the products it needed to the city. But even this small amount, transmitted across the lake, played a role. If this road of life did not exist, the deaths that resulted from the terrible famine would have been many times greater.
In winter, when navigation was impossible, the road of life was laid directly on the ice. Tents were set up on the snowy surface of the lake, where, if necessary, truck drivers could receive technical assistance and warm up. The road along Lake Ladoga was guarded by two lines of barriers, also installed directly on the ice. At one end the trucks were carrying food, and at the other - a large number of people who continued to be evacuated from the city. Many truck drivers made several dangerous trips per shift, even when, due to thin ice, they literally risked their lives. Many cars went under the ice.
How the palaces in Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Peterhof were looted
The famous Amber Room. It is sometimes called the eighth wonder of the world. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Tsarskoe Selo to look at this amazing creation. Undoubtedly, the amber cabinet is the main exhibit of the Catherine Palace. During the war, the fascist invaders turned it into ruins. Before the war, the palace had more than 40 thousand unique exhibits; 30 thousand were stolen by the Nazis during the war. The Amber Room also disappeared. And only since 2003, thanks to the amazing skill of Russian restorers, the Amber Room again amazes everyone with its unique decoration. Other palaces in Pavlovsk, Gatchina, and Peterhof were also looted and blown up.
“In the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace, soldiers of the German Blue Division set up a stable, and there were also warehouses there. In the Pavlovsk Palace there was a Gestapo in the central building. Right where the most beautiful museum halls are now, they were tortured and shot in the gallery,” says Evgeniy Yurkevich, candidate of historical sciences.
The Nazis plundered the entire pearl necklace of St. Petersburg. The Nazis took most of the valuables to the Reich. Today, here and there, objects stolen by the Nazis turn up at auctions and in private collections. It is known that many fascist bosses handed over the loot to the Americans and the British in order to buy themselves a quiet existence.
“For example, some sets from the Catherine Palace ended up in the collection of the well-known Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller, who after the war safely fled to the United States,” says Evgeniy Yurkevich. “He was very good friends with Harry Truman - so good friends that he lived in Washington, and on his birthday he loved to appear in full Nazi uniform with all his awards. In order to prevent the presidents of the United States from betraying him, he gave them either Catherine’s services or something else that was stolen from our palaces, museums and estates.”
Children's contribution to the liberation of Leningrad
The Leningrad Regional Committee decided to involve schoolchildren in the defense cause. On October 21, 1941, this appeal was published in the Smena newspaper. The children responded with great enthusiasm. And their contribution was truly enormous. In any task that was within the capabilities of their little, not yet strong hands, they gave their all one hundred percent.
At first, the tasks were quite pioneering. During the siege, children went from house to house and collected scrap metal, which was used for processing and making ammunition. Schoolchildren managed to send literally tons of both ferrous and non-ferrous metal to Leningrad factories. Soon, empty containers were needed to package a flammable mixture like a Molotov cocktail. And here the schoolchildren did not disappoint either. In just one week they collected more than a million bottles.
Then it was time to collect warm clothes for the needs of the army. This time the children did not limit themselves to simple rounds. They themselves knitted warm sweaters and socks, which they then sent to the soldiers at the front. In addition, they wrote letters and sent small gifts to the soldiers - notepads, pencils, soap, handkerchiefs. There were a lot of such parcels.
Children of besieged Leningrad near the garden beds on Mytninskaya embankment
In hospitals, children were on duty along with adults. For how many days did the siege of Leningrad last, these little orderlies worked together with everyone else. They helped as best they could - they read to the wounded, helped them write and send letters home. The children cleaned the wards and washed the floors. These little orderlies performed the serious work that adults would do, freeing up the nurses, who thus had more time to help the wounded.
They were even in places where there was absolutely no place for children. It was decided that the children would be on duty with the adults. Little guys were on duty on cold roofs and attics, ready to extinguish the falling incendiary bombs and the fires that had already started because of them. They carried sand upstairs, which they covered the floor with in a thick layer to prevent fire, and filled huge barrels with water into which they could throw a fallen bomb.
The children bravely stood at their posts until the blockade was lifted. “Sentries of Leningrad roofs” - that’s what they were called. When during air raids everyone descended into bomb shelters, they climbed into the attics under the roar of falling and exploding shells; during the ongoing bombing, the guys vigilantly watched to defuse in time those bombs that would fall on the area entrusted to them. And they counted how many of these bombs they managed to extinguish. Here are some surviving data: Gena Tolstov (9 years old) - 19 bombs, Oleg Pegov (9 years old) - 15 bombs, Kolya Andreev (10 years old) - 43 bombs. About the last boy, Kolya, it is specified that he was “with his comrades.” The document does not say how old they were. And it's all. Nine-year-old children defending their duty to neutralize deadly projectiles. We will never know how many of them did not return from these duties.
"Sentries of Leningrad roofs"
Or here is another case described. Vitya Tikhonov saw an incendiary bomb on the street ready to explode. He grabbed her by the tail and pulled her into the sand. Vita was seven years old. He didn't even have the strength to lift this shell. But he knew what to do with it. And did. And his act was noted in the local newspaper as a real feat. But these, although impressive to the core, are the most gentle stories. The Leningrad heroic defense knows many other cases. Here is one of the episodes from the duty of teenager Pasha Lovygin.
During the next shelling of Leningrad by enemy artillery, two incendiary bombs burned through the roof of the house where Pasha was on duty and fell into the attic. The guy quickly grabbed them by the metal stabilizers, which burned his hands unbearably (there was simply no time left to neutralize them one by one, grabbing them with iron tongs) and threw them into the prepared barrels of water. But then he saw that at the other end of the attic a third bomb was already flaring up. It had to be extinguished there. And Pasha received such painful burns that he fell from unbearable pain. And then I saw the fourth burning bomb. He managed to extinguish it too. After which the young man was forced to be sent to the hospital, where other victims of the blockade were already located.
But the children’s contribution to the defense of their hometown, while the blockade continued, is not limited to this. They, hungry and exhausted, stood at their machines to replace their fathers and brothers who had gone to the front. And sometimes even take up the baton of a worker who has died of exhaustion. They worked full shifts, trying to keep up with, and sometimes exceeding, the skilled worker norm. They volunteered to build defensive structures. But most people knew shovels and picks almost only from pictures. They dug trenches and ensured that the streets were blocked with anti-tank fortifications.
Children at work in besieged Leningrad
The years of siege took countless lives. And it's terrible. But no less terrible is the fact that they took away their childhood from an entire generation of children. Yes, war is always terrible. And she doesn't spare anyone. But in the case of the blockade of Leningrad, what is terrifying is that it was an absolutely deliberate extermination of the civilian population. And including children. But, in spite of everything, they could not be exterminated either physically or morally. And this was also their help. The soldiers receiving the parcels, members of the city militia standing guard, and ordinary citizens. They saw with their own eyes that they had something to fight for and someone to protect. With their example, the little defenders of Leningrad inspired those around them.
Preparing for decisive action
In April 1942, Leonid Govorov was appointed commander of the Leningrad military district. He was supposed to lead the troops defending the city. Two months later, Govorov was appointed by Headquarters as commander of all forces of the Leningrad Front. The new commander approached his duties very responsibly. He spent a lot of time on plans, diagrams and calculations, trying to use every opportunity to improve the defense. The map of the environment was thoroughly studied by him. Govorov also looked for non-standard approaches to solving problems.
Thus, due to the fact that he reorganized the location of the artillery of the Leningrad front, the intensity of enemy artillery decreased significantly. Firstly, due to the fact that now Soviet soldiers, thanks to an increase in firing range (this was influenced by a change in deployment), hit German guns and disabled them. Secondly, due to the fact that the Germans had to spend a significant part of the shells fighting this very artillery. As a result, the number of shells falling within the city decreased by 7 times. This helped save thousands more lives. In addition, the damage caused to cultural and historical monuments of Leningrad has also decreased.
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov
At the same time, Govorov was not just a theorist. He personally inspected the defensive structures created according to his designs. If it was impossible to calmly walk through the trenches he inspected without ducking, the commanders responsible for this sector personally dealt with stern superiors. The results were not long in coming. Losses from enemy sniper bullets and shell fragments began to decline sharply.
Govorov prepared very carefully for the operation to break the blockade. He understood perfectly well that the soldiers had no experience in breaking through the ring of serious fortifications. And he will not have a second attempt at liberating Leningrad. Therefore, he gradually withdrew individual units from the front line and trained them. Then these units returned to their positions, giving way to the next batch of fighters. So, step by step, Govorov honed the skills of his fighters.
And there was something to hone. In that part of the blockade ring that the Soviet troops were going to storm, the Germans fortified themselves on a high six-meter bank. They abundantly flooded its slopes with water, thereby turning it into a real glacier. But we still had to get to this glacier. Eight hundred meters of ice-bound river. Unprotected open area. We should not forget that by this time the siege of Leningrad had lasted for more than two years. The soldiers were weakened by prolonged hunger. But the commander believed that his fighters would break through the cordon ring. Govorov even shouted “Hurray!!!” during the attack he forbade it so that people would not waste their strength. Instead, the advance was accompanied by the playing of a military band.
Breakthrough and lifting of the blockade of Leningrad
On January 12, 1943, Soviet troops were ordered to begin implementing Operation Iskra to break the blockade. The offensive of the Leningrad front began with a massive two-hour artillery bombardment of German positions. Before the last explosion had time to die down, Soviet aviation became involved. The military band struck up the “Internationale,” and the infantry rushed to the attack. The training, which took place over several months, did not pass without a trace. Losses among the Red Army soldiers were minimal. They quickly reached the border of the fortifications, and, using crampons, hooks and assault ladders, climbed right up the ice wall close to the enemy and were able to break through the blockade. On the morning of January 18, 1943, in the northern suburbs of Leningrad, Soviet units moving towards each other finally met. They liberated Shlisselburg and relieved the coast of Lake Ladoga from the blockade.
However, this day is not considered the end of the blockade. After all, only a small plot of land was liberated. The blockade was not completely lifted. On January 14, 1944, the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic operation began with a powerful artillery strike. Formations of the two Soviet armies fought towards each other, crashing into the very heart of the echeloned German defense. They managed to first widen the gap and then push the enemy 100 km away from the city.
Leningrad-Novgorod strategic operation
How many days did the siege of Leningrad last?
The beginning of the siege of Leningrad is counted from the moment the Germans captured the city of Shlisselburg on September 8, 1941. It ended on January 27, 1944. Thus, exactly 872 days passed from the moment the blockade was established until the city was completely liberated.
The resilience of the defenders of Leningrad was noted by the country's leadership. It was awarded the honorary title of Hero City. In 1945, only four cities in the Soviet Union received such recognition. Poems were dedicated to the hero city of Leningrad, and many volumes of books were written about the feat of its inhabitants. Research into events related to the blockade is still ongoing.
Hero City Leningrad
