Breaking the blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. Siege of the city of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War (1941)

Hitler dreamed of sweeping Leningrad off the face of the earth. He realized that the city, which was the cradle of the revolution for the Soviet country, was of considerable importance in maintaining the morale of the Soviet state. He hoped to demoralize the country by destroying Leningrad. The Fuhrer was not interested in the military-industrial and cultural potential of the city. His goal was to force the population to leave the city, in the hope that the massive flow of refugees into the interior of the country to the east would cause discord and confusion in those cities where refugees would appear.

The blockade ring and the first attempts to break the siege

He managed to create a ring around the city. In this he was largely helped by Finnish troops, who closed the exit from the city to the north.

Since the autumn of 1941, the Soviet troops were faced with the task of breaking the blockade of the city at any cost. Attempts to open the ring and ensure communication between Leningrad and the rest of the country by land were made repeatedly.

Soviet troops carried out an offensive from the Sinyavinsk-Shlisselburg ledge along the southern coast of Ladoga. But the German occupiers managed to create powerful fortifications in this zone and the weakened, exhausted soldiers of the Soviet army were never able to move forward.

The Red Army troops concentrated on the left bank of the Neva on an elongated strip about 3 kilometers long and no more than a kilometer wide. This section of the front was called the Nevsky Piglet. The Germans spared no ammunition in shelling this area of ​​land, and Soviet troops suffered numerous losses. In 2 years, the Soviet army lost 50 thousand soldiers on the Nevsky patch.

At the beginning of 1942, the front command attempted to liberate Leningrad from the siege ring with the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts. However, the offensive movement of the Soviet troops was accompanied by huge losses, and ended in a crushing defeat of the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front.

The second attempt to break the blockade was called the Sinyavinsk operation. And although it did not achieve its goal, during this offensive operation the Reichstag’s “Northern Lights” plan, aimed at deepening the blockade, was thwarted.

In April-May 1942, the Germans tried to sink ships standing on the Neva. By the summer, the German command set as its goal to speed up military operations on the Leningrad Front and at the same time the bombing and artillery shelling of the city intensified.

To this end, the Germans deployed new artillery batteries equipped with heavy guns that fired at a distance of up to 25 km. The Nazis outlined several strategically important points in the city, which were fired on daily from these guns.

But Leningrad and its surroundings also managed to turn into a fortification area. Many have been created engineering structures, which made it possible to carry out a hidden regrouping of troops, bringing in reserves, and withdrawing soldiers from the front line. Thanks to these measures, the losses of Soviet troops decreased. Camouflage was organized, reconnaissance was streamlined.

Breaking the blockade

On the morning of January 12, 1943, artillery preparation began, which lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes, after which the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front and the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front launched a massive offensive. By the end of the day they had approached 3 km on each side. The next day, despite the stubborn confrontation of the Germans, the Red Army troops approached another 5-6 km. The distance was reduced by another 2 kilometers on January 14.

The Germans sought to hold the first and fifth workers' villages, strongholds on the flanks of the breakthrough, at any cost. They transferred reserve potential from ammunition and units here. The group located north of the villages tried to break through to its main forces.

On January 18, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts closed in the area of ​​workers' settlements, thereby depriving the German units of their strongholds. During the military operation, Shlisselburg and the entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga were cleared of Germans. Thanks to the broken corridor, land communication between the city and the country was resumed.

Attempts by the 67th and 2nd Shock armies to continue the offensive to the south were hampered by enemy forces, who regularly brought new forces into the Sinyavin area. This forced the Red Army troops to switch to defensive tactics.

On January 14, troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts launched an offensive planned by headquarters in the sector between Leningrad and Novgorod. The complete and final liberation of Leningrad from the blockade ring was carried out on January 21-25, when the armies of the Leningrad Front destroyed the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky fascist formation, and parts of the Volkhov Front liberated Novgorod. On January 27, the city celebrated its liberation with fireworks.

In memory of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad, the “Broken Ring” memorial was erected on the shore of Lake Ladoga.

The blockade of Leningrad was established not with the goal of forcing the city to capitulate, but in order to make it easier to destroy the entire surrounded population. Everyday life in the besieged city turned into the daily exploits of the townspeople, which eventually formed into great victory. The heroic struggle in the blockade ring and changes in the usual life of the city residents.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Evacuation. First wave

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 evacuation plans, the final destination for a large number of them was supposed to be the south 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.

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 territory 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 the twelfth of September the German command received new order 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 boggle 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.

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 power supply to the residential buildings, and soon the water supply and sewage system 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.

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 from the 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.

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

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.

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 time 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 dangerous trips several times per shift, even when, due to thin ice, they literally risked their lives. Many cars went under the ice.

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.

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.

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.

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, he was only released small plot land. The blockade was not completely lifted. On January 14, 1944, the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic operation began with a powerful artillery strike. Connections of two Soviet armies They fought their way 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.

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, From the moment the blockade was established until the city was completely liberated, exactly 872 days passed.

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.

The offensive of fascist troops on Leningrad, the capture of which the German command attached great strategic and political importance, began on July 10, 1941. In August, heavy fighting was already taking place on the outskirts of the city. On August 30, German troops cut off railways, connecting Leningrad with the country. On September 8, 1941, Nazi troops captured Shlisselburg and cut off Leningrad from the entire country by land. An almost 900-day blockade of the city began, communication with which was maintained only by Lake Ladoga and by air.

Having failed in their attempts to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops inside the blockade ring, the Germans decided to starve the city out. According to all the calculations of the German command, Leningrad should have been wiped off the face of the earth, and the population of the city should have died of hunger and cold. In an effort to implement this plan, the enemy carried out barbaric bombings and artillery shelling of Leningrad: on September 8, the day the blockade began, the first massive bombardment of the city took place. About 200 fires broke out, one of them destroyed the Badayevsky food warehouses. In September-October, enemy aircraft carried out several raids a day. The enemy's goal was not only to interfere with the activities of important enterprises, but also to create panic among the population. For this purpose, particularly intense artillery shelling was carried out at the beginning and end of the working day. In total, during the blockade, about 150 thousand shells were fired at the city and over 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped. Many died during the shelling and bombing, many buildings were destroyed.

The autumn-winter of 1941-1942 was the most terrible time of the blockade. Early winter brought with it cold - heating, hot water there was none, and Leningraders began to burn furniture, books, and dismantled wooden buildings for firewood. The transport was standing still. Thousands of people died from dystrophy and cold. But Leningraders continued to work - administrative institutions, printing houses, clinics, kindergartens, theaters, a public library were working, scientists continued to work. 13-14-year-old teenagers worked, replacing their fathers who had gone to the front.

The struggle for Leningrad was fierce. A plan was developed that included measures to strengthen the defense of Leningrad, including anti-aircraft and anti-artillery. Over 4,100 pillboxes and bunkers were built in the city, 22 thousand firing points were installed in buildings, and over 35 kilometers of barricades and anti-tank obstacles were installed on the streets. Three hundred thousand Leningraders participated in the local air defense units of the city. Day and night they kept their watch at factories, in the courtyards of houses, on the roofs.

In the difficult conditions of the blockade, the working people of the city provided the front with weapons, equipment, uniforms, and ammunition. From the population of the city, 10 divisions of the people's militia were formed, 7 of which became personnel.
(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004 ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

In the autumn on Lake Ladoga, due to storms, ship traffic was complicated, but tugs with barges made their way around the ice fields until December 1941, and some food was delivered by plane. Hard ice was not installed on Ladoga for a long time, and bread distribution standards were again reduced.

On November 22, the movement of vehicles on the ice road began. This transport route was called the "Road of Life". In January 1942, movement along winter road was already permanent. The Germans bombed and shelled the road, but they failed to stop the movement.

In winter, the evacuation of the population began. The first to be taken out were women, children, the sick, and the elderly. In total, about a million people were evacuated. In the spring of 1942, when things became a little easier, Leningraders began to clean up the city. Bread distribution standards have increased.

In the summer of 1942, a pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga to supply Leningrad with fuel, and in the fall - an energy cable.

Soviet troops repeatedly tried to break through the blockade ring, but achieved this only in January 1943. A corridor 8-11 kilometers wide has formed south of Lake Ladoga. In 18 days, a 33-kilometer-long railway was built along the southern shore of Ladoga and a crossing across the Neva was erected. In February 1943, trains with food, raw materials, and ammunition traveled along it to Leningrad.

The memorial ensembles of the Piskarevsky Cemetery and the Seraphim Cemetery are dedicated to the memory of the victims of the siege and the fallen participants in the defense of Leningrad; the Green Belt of Glory was created around the city along the former siege ring of the front.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

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. After many years after breaking 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

September 8, 1941, continuing the offensive 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 siege of Leningrad in the Badaev warehouses - in the repository of the city's strategic reserves - provoked a terrible famine during the blockade 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. Besides hunger besieged Leningrad Other disasters also attacked: 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

Simultaneously Leningraders They 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. It was necessary to prove to the enemy, and, most importantly, to ourselves: Leningrad blockade 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! During all the days of the siege, the Leningrad radio worked, which was for all Leningraders not only life-giving spring 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 blockade, the Road of Life began its dangerous and heroic work - pulse besieged LeningradA. 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 often not in the sailors’ hands either - 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. In the first winter 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 began to lifting the blockade of Leningrad. 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, carried out breaking the siege of Leningrad. The Nazis began to retreat. Soon the cities of Pushkin, Gatchina and Chudovo were liberated. The blockade was completely lifted.

Tragic and great page Russian history, which claimed more than 2 million human lives. While the memory of these terrible days lives in the hearts of people, finds a response in talented works of art, is passed from hand to hand to descendants - this will not happen again! Siege of Leningrad briefly, but Vera Inberg succinctly described her lines as a hymn to the great city and at the same time a requiem for the departed.

The war of 1941-1945 is full of dramatic and tragic pages. One of the worst was the siege of Leningrad. Briefly speaking, this is the story of a real genocide of the townspeople, which stretched almost until the very end of the war. Let's remember once again how all this happened.

Attack on the “city of Lenin”

The offensive against Leningrad began immediately, in 1941. A group of German-Finnish troops successfully moved forward, breaking through the resistance of Soviet units. Despite the desperate, fierce resistance of the city’s defenders, by August of that year all the railways that connected the city with the country were cut, as a result of which the main part of the supply was disrupted.

So when did the siege of Leningrad begin? It would take a long time to briefly list the events that preceded this. But the official date is September 8, 1941. Despite the fiercest fighting on the outskirts of the city, the Nazis were unable to take it “at once.” Therefore, on September 13, the artillery shelling of Leningrad began, which actually continued throughout the war.

The Germans had a simple order regarding the city: wipe it off the face of the earth. All defenders had to be destroyed. According to other sources, Hitler simply feared that during a massive assault the losses of German troops would be unreasonably high, and therefore gave the order to begin the blockade.

In general, the essence of the blockade of Leningrad was to ensure that “the city itself fell into one’s hands, like a ripe fruit.”

Population information

It must be remembered that at that time there were at least 2.5 million inhabitants in the blockaded city. Among them were about 400 thousand children. Almost immediately problems with food began. Constant stress and fear from bombings and shelling, a lack of medicine and food soon led to the fact that the townspeople began to die.

It was estimated that during the entire blockade, at least a hundred thousand bombs and about 150 thousand shells were dropped on the heads of the city residents. All this led to both massive deaths of civilians and catastrophic destruction of the most valuable architectural and historical heritage.

The first year was the most difficult: German artillery managed to bomb food warehouses, as a result of which the city was almost completely deprived of food supplies. However, there is also the exact opposite opinion.

The fact is that by 1941 the number of residents (registered and visitors) numbered about three million people. The bombed Badayev warehouses simply physically could not accommodate such an amount of food. Many modern historians quite convincingly prove that there was no strategic reserve at that time. So even if the warehouses had not been damaged by the German artillery, this delayed the onset of famine in best case scenario for a week.

In addition, just a few years ago, some documents from the NKVD archives concerning the pre-war survey of the city’s strategic reserves were declassified. The information in them paints an extremely disappointing picture: “ Butter covered with a layer of mold, stocks of flour, peas and other cereals are affected by mites, the floors of storage facilities are covered with a layer of dust and rodent droppings.”

Disappointing conclusions

From September 10 to 11, the responsible authorities carried out a complete inventory of all food available in the city. By September 12, a full report was published, according to which the city had: grain and ready-made flour for about 35 days, supplies of cereals and pasta were enough for a month, and supplies of meat could be extended for the same period.

There was enough oil left for exactly 45 days, but sugar and ready-made confectionery products were stored for two months at once. There were practically no potatoes and vegetables. In order to somehow stretch the flour reserves, 12% of ground malt, oatmeal and soybean flour were added to it. Subsequently, they began to put oil cakes, bran, sawdust and ground tree bark there.

How was the food issue resolved?

From the very first days of September, food cards were introduced in the city. All canteens and restaurants were immediately closed. Livestock owned by local enterprises Agriculture, was immediately slaughtered and delivered to procurement points. All feed of grain origin was taken to flour mills and ground into flour, which was subsequently used to make bread.

Citizens who were in hospitals during the blockade had their rations cut out from their coupons for that period. The same procedure applied to children who were in orphanages and institutions preschool education. Almost all schools have canceled classes. For children, the breaking of the siege of Leningrad was marked not so much by the opportunity to finally eat, but by the long-awaited start of classes.

In general, these cards cost the lives of thousands of people, as cases of theft and even murders committed in order to obtain them sharply increased in the city. In Leningrad in those years, there were frequent cases of raids and armed robberies of bakeries and even food warehouses.

Persons who were caught in something similar were treated with little ceremony and were shot on the spot. There were no ships. This was explained by the fact that every stolen card cost someone their life. These documents were not restored (with rare exceptions), and therefore the theft doomed people to certain death.

Residents' sentiments

In the first days of the war, few people believed in the possibility of a complete blockade, but many began to prepare for such a turn of events. In the very first days of the German offensive, everything more or less valuable was swept off store shelves, people withdrew all their savings from the Savings Bank. Even jewelry stores were empty.

However, the onset of famine abruptly canceled out the efforts of many people: money and jewelry immediately became worthless. The only currency was ration cards (which were obtained exclusively through robbery) and food products. In city markets, one of the most popular goods were kittens and puppies.

NKVD documents indicate that the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad (a photo of which is in the article) gradually began to instill anxiety in people. Many letters were confiscated in which townspeople reported plight in Leningrad. They wrote that there weren’t even cabbage leaves left in the fields; the old flour dust from which they used to make wallpaper glue was no longer available anywhere in the city.

By the way, during the most difficult winter of 1941, there were practically no apartments left in the city whose walls were covered with wallpaper: hungry people simply tore them off and ate them, since they had no other food.

Labor feat of Leningraders

Despite the enormity of the current situation, courageous people continued to work. Moreover, to work for the benefit of the country, producing many types of weapons. They even managed to repair tanks, make cannons and submachine guns literally from “scrap material.” All the weapons obtained in such difficult conditions were immediately used for battles on the outskirts of the unconquered city.

But the situation with food and medicine became more difficult day by day. It soon became obvious that only Lake Ladoga could save the inhabitants. How is it connected with the blockade of Leningrad? In short, this is the famous Road of Life, which was opened on November 22, 1941. As soon as a layer of ice formed on the lake, which theoretically could support cars loaded with products, their crossing began.

The beginning of famine

Famine was approaching inexorably. Already on November 20, 1941, the grain allowance was only 250 grams per day for workers. As for dependents, women, children and the elderly, they were entitled to half as much. At first, the workers, who saw the condition of their relatives and friends, brought their rations home and shared them with them. But this practice was soon put to an end: people were ordered to eat their portion of bread directly at the enterprise, under supervision.

This is how the siege of Leningrad took place. The photos show how exhausted the people who were in the city at that time were. For every death from an enemy shell, a hundred people died of terrible hunger.

It should be understood that “bread” in this case meant a small piece of sticky mass, which contained much more bran, sawdust and other fillers than flour itself. Respectively, nutritional value such food was close to zero.

When the blockade of Leningrad was broken, people who received fresh bread for the first time in 900 days often fainted from happiness.

To top off all the problems, the city water supply system completely failed, as a result of which the townspeople had to carry water from the Neva. In addition, the winter of 1941 itself turned out to be extremely harsh, so doctors simply could not cope with the influx of frostbitten and cold people, whose immunity was unable to resist infections.

Consequences of the first winter

By the beginning of winter, the bread ration was almost doubled. Alas, this fact was not explained by the breaking of the blockade or the restoration of normal supplies: it was simply that by that time half of all dependents had already died. NKVD documents testify to the fact that the famine took completely incredible forms. Cases of cannibalism began, and many researchers believe that no more than a third of them were officially recorded.

It was especially bad for children at that time. Many of them were forced to remain alone for long periods of time in empty, cold apartments. If their parents died of starvation at work or if they died during constant shelling, the children spent 10-15 days completely alone. More often than not, they also died. Thus, the children of the siege of Leningrad bore a lot on their fragile shoulders.

Front-line soldiers recall that among the crowd of seven-eight-year-old teenagers in the evacuation, it was the Leningraders who always stood out: they had creepy, tired and too adult eyes.

By mid-winter 1941, there were no cats or dogs left on the streets of Leningrad; there were practically no crows or rats. Animals have learned that it is better to stay away from hungry people. All the trees in city squares had lost most of their bark and young branches: they were collected, ground and added to flour, just to increase its volume a little.

The siege of Leningrad lasted less than a year at that time, but during the autumn cleanup, 13 thousand corpses were found on the streets of the city.

The road of life

The real “pulse” of the besieged city was the Road of Life. In summer it was a waterway through the waters of Lake Ladoga, and in winter this role was played by its frozen surface. The first barges with food passed through the lake on September 12th. Navigation continued until the thickness of the ice made it impossible for ships to pass.

Each flight of the sailors was a feat, since the German planes did not stop the hunt for a minute. We had to go on flights every day, in all weather conditions. As we have already said, cargo was first sent across ice on November 22. It was a horse-drawn train. After just a couple of days, when the ice thickness became more or less sufficient, the trucks set off.

No more than two or three bags of food were placed on each car, since the ice was still too unreliable and the cars constantly sank. Deadly flights continued until spring. The barges took over “on watch.” The end of this deadly merry-go-round was only brought about by the liberation of Leningrad from the siege.

Road number 101, as this route was then called, made it possible not only to maintain at least a minimum food standard, but also to remove many thousands of people from the blockaded city. The Germans constantly tried to interrupt communications, sparing no expense on shells and fuel for aircraft.

Fortunately, they did not succeed, and on the shores of Lake Ladoga today there is a monument “Road of Life”, and also a museum of the Siege of Leningrad has been opened, which contains a lot of documentary evidence of those terrible days.

The success in organizing the crossing was largely due to the fact that the Soviet command quickly attracted fighter aircraft to defend the lake. In winter, anti-aircraft batteries were mounted directly on the ice. Note that the measures taken have given a very positive results: Thus, already on January 16, more than 2.5 thousand tons of food were delivered to the city, although the delivery of only two thousand tons was planned.

The beginning of freedom

So when did the long-awaited lifting of the siege of Leningrad take place? As soon as the German army suffered its first major defeat near Kursk, the country's leadership began to think about how to liberate the imprisoned city.

The lifting of the blockade of Leningrad began on January 14, 1944. The task of the troops was to break through the German defense at its thinnest point in order to restore the city's land communication with the rest of the country. By January 27, fierce fighting began, in which the Soviet units gradually gained the upper hand. This was the year the siege of Leningrad was lifted.

The Nazis were forced to begin a retreat. Soon the defense was broken through an area about 14 kilometers long. Columns of food trucks immediately started heading into the city along this route.

So how long did the siege of Leningrad last? It is officially believed that it lasted 900 days, but the exact duration is 871 days. However, this fact does not in the slightest degree detract from the determination and incredible courage of its defenders.

Liberation Day

Today is the day of lifting the blockade of Leningrad - January 27th. This date is not a holiday. Rather, it is a constant reminder of the horrific events that the city's residents were forced to go through. To be fair, it should be said that the real day of lifting the siege of Leningrad is January 18, since the corridor we were talking about was broken through on that very day.

That blockade claimed more than two million lives, and mostly women, children and old people died there. As long as the memory of those events is alive, nothing like this should happen again in the world!

Here is the entire blockade of Leningrad in brief. Of course, it is possible to describe that terrible time quite quickly, but the siege survivors who were able to survive it remember those terrifying events every day.