The highway, which passed through the Ladoga during the Great Patriotic War, is rightly called the Road of Life. Since from the autumn of 1941 to the winter of 1943 it was almost the only way to blocked Leningrad, where there was a catastrophic lack of provisions. You will learn more about the Road of Life from this article.
The beginning of the blockade
The blockade of the hero city of Leningrad began on September 8, 1941, when German troops closed the encirclement, taking Shlisselburg. It was through this city that the last route that connected Leningrad with the Soviet Union passed. Therefore, the last hope to save the inhabitants from starvation was only winter and the ice of Lake Ladoga.
First deliveries to the starving
It should be noted that the reservoir had very difficult navigational conditions, and all supply routes were built bypassing Ladoga. Not a single pier or pier was equipped on the shores of the lake. But this did not prevent the command from starting food supplies in September. The route of the Road of Life passed from Volkhov to Novaya Ladoga and then by water to the Osinovets lighthouse. In mid-September, the first two barges came here, on the decks of which were more than 700 tons of grain and flour. Since then, the date of September 12 is considered the day when the Ladoga Road of Life began to work. Until the end of 1941 alone, about 60 thousand tons of various cargoes were delivered to a distressed city and 33.5 thousand people were evacuated. The basis of all the goods transported along the Road of Life was fodder, food, fuel and ammunition. The Great Patriotic War, the blockade of Leningrad and the equipment of the Road of Life are perhaps the most important of various heroic events.
The road of life
There was not enough food, medicine, and ammunition. The problem was to be solved by the Road of Life (passing along the ice). At the end of November, Soviet intelligence agents conducted a total reconnaissance of the lake and the future highway, and on November 20 the first convoy headed by Lieutenant M. Murov set off on ice from Vaganovsky descent to Leningrad. At 350 sledges 63 tons of flour were loaded. Already in the morning of November 21, the convoy arrived at the site, which justified the operation and made it clear to the command what the Road of Life is for supplying Leningraders.
The next day, 60 loaded GAZ-AA (one and a half) trucks were sent to the blocked city, captain V. Porchunov commanded the transportation. The road of life to war earned at full capacity, only during the first winter 360 thousand tons of cargo were transported, of which 260 thousand were food. The cars, returning to the mainland, always took the city population into their bodies, evacuating about 550 thousand people in the first year of the blockade. Thanks to systematic transportation, the norms of food distribution in Leningrad increased and the population began to starve less.
New supply phase
The next stage of navigation along Lake Ladoga began at the end of May 1942, cargo ships transported more than 1 million cargo in both directions, of which 700 thousand were in Leningrad. 445 thousand people from the civilian population were evacuated to the mainland. About 300 thousand troops were delivered to the front in the opposite direction.
The summer of the 42nd made it possible to lay a pipeline along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, which made it possible to supply fuel to the city, and a cable for supplying electricity from the Volkhov hydroelectric station.
From mid-December 1942 to March 1943, the legendary Road of Life began to operate again. During this period, more than 200 thousand various cargoes were transported and 100 thousand people were evacuated.
On January 18, 1943, the Red Army conquered Shlisselburg from the enemy, and the blockade of Leningrad was broken. Immediately after this event, a railway was laid along which, without any problems, all the goods necessary for the city went. Subsequently, this road was called the Victory Road. But, despite this, the Ladoga route continued to operate until the final lifting of the blockade from the city, that is, until January 1944.
Route description
Answer the question: "What is the Road of Life?" - impossible without a thorough description of its route. It began at the Finnish train station and by land followed to the shore of Lake Ladoga, and then directly along the frozen lake. At the same time, the main route of the Road of Life passed just 25 kilometers from enemy positions on the shore, from where shelling of moving convoys was carried out. Drivers of loaded vehicles constantly risked their lives, moving under the fire of German artillery and aircraft and risking falling into the ice of the lake. But, despite all the difficulties, from five to eight tons of different cargo passed every day on the road.
During the use of the legendary road, a curious fact was established: the most terrible thing when driving on ice is not German bombers, but movement at a resonant speed. In this position, any car went under the ice in the place where a heavy-loaded convoy passed several hours ago. Therefore, the speed of movement on each section of the lake was strictly regulated.
The fate of the Road of Life
As you know, in the spring of 1943, when the ring of the blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Road of Life was replaced by the new Victory Road, which was a railway line from Volkhov to Leningrad. But in winter, food was delivered to the city along the old route - through Lake Ladoga.
The Great Patriotic War, the blockade of Leningrad in particular, are vivid examples of sincere patriotism and fortitude. Millions of people did not surrender to the enemy and suffered all the hardships and difficulties of the war years. What is the Road of Life? This is one of the many feats of the Soviet people during the war years.