More than 70 years have passed since the moment when the Soviet troops finally managed to lift the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted almost 900 long and terrible days and nights. Fascist troops surrounded this second most important city in the USSR in September 1941. But, despite numerous fierce battles, constant artillery shelling and bombing, the most important cultural, industrial and political center of the Soviet state managed to withstand the incredible onslaught of the enemy.
After this, the German command decided to take the Northern capital into the ring. And no matter how hard it was for the residents of the city and the fighters of the Red Army, but nevertheless, at the cost of inhuman efforts, they brought closer, as best they could, this day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. Unfortunately, not everyone survived to this significant date.
First blockade winter
It must be said right away that not only German troops took part in the siege of Leningrad. The Finnish army, the Italian Navy, the Spanish Blue Division, and volunteers from many European countries had a hand in this. The city was almost completely cut off from the rest of the country. During the siege, the Road of Life became the main highway supplying its residents with food in the cold season. So called the path that ran along the ice of Lake Ladoga. The townspeople suffered incredible hardships, and this continued until the day came when Leningrad was completely liberated from the fascist blockade.
But the ice road could not fully cover all the needs of such a big city. As a result, Leningrad lost, according to various estimates, from several hundred thousand to one and a half million of its inhabitants. The vast majority of people died of starvation and hypothermia, caused by acute shortages of food and fuel. The first siege winter of 1941-1942 turned out to be the most severe, so the main losses occurred precisely at this time. Subsequently, the supply improved slightly, and the townspeople themselves managed to organize subsidiary plots, after which the number of deaths decreased significantly.
Documentary confirmation
Unfortunately, many residents of the city did not wait for the time when the day came for the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. This page of the Second World War is one of the most terrible and heroic in the history of the country. It is enough to recall the tragic entries in the diary of schoolgirl Tanya Savicheva. It has only nine pages, six of which are dedicated to the death of her relatives - brother, sister, mother, grandmother and two uncles.
Indeed, almost all members of this family died in the first blockade winter, from December 1941 to May 1942. The girl herself was saved and evacuated to the mainland. But since Tanya’s health was thoroughly undermined by months of malnutrition, she died two years later. She was only 14 years old then.
Finally, the day came for the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad. As it turned out later, Tanya was still mistaken. Her older sister and brother survived, and thanks to them the whole world knew about her diary. These notes became one of the symbols of that terrible blockade. At the Nuremberg trials, Tannin's diary was presented as evidence of the inhuman and brutal fascist regime.
Victory road
In January 1943, the Red Army, making incredible efforts and putting a large number of its soldiers on the battlefield, conducted an operation code-named "Spark." During it, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts managed to breach the German defense. As a result, a narrow corridor was laid along Lake Ladoga. On it, the land connection of the besieged city with the mainland was restored.
In this area, in a short time, a highway and a railway line were laid, which were called the “Victory Road”. After that, the country got the opportunity to organize the supply of food and fuel to the city, as well as to evacuate the majority of the civilian population, especially women and children. But the blockade of Leningrad did not end there. The day of the liberation of the city will come only in a year.
Tipping point
In 1943, the Red Army carried out a number of important strategic operations. These include the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge, in the Donbass and the Dnieper. As a result, by 1944 there was a very favorable situation, which largely brought closer the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. This will happen on January 27, and until then the fascist troops still posed a serious threat. The Wehrmacht did not lose its combat effectiveness, as evidenced by the military operations conducted by him. Significant parts of the territory of the USSR still remained under his control.
By that time, a second front in Western Europe had not yet been opened, and this was in the hands of fascist Germany, as it allowed Hitler to concentrate all his military power in the east. The same military operations that were carried out in Italy had no serious consequences and had practically no effect on the Wehrmacht. Therefore, the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade was constantly postponed.
City Liberation Plans
At the very end of 1943, the Headquarters decided to develop a series of attacks on enemy troops. Offensives were planned from Leningrad to the Black Sea, with particular attention being paid to the flanks of the Soviet-German front.
First of all, it was necessary to break up the Army Group “North”, to unblock the city of Leningrad and liberate the Baltic states. In the southern direction, it was required to clear not only the Crimea, but also the Right-Bank Ukraine from the fascist troops, and then go to the border of the Soviet Union.
The day of the complete liberation of the city of Leningrad from the blockade was brought closer, as best they could, by fighters of the 2nd Baltic, Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, as well as fighters of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
Fights for the Northern Capital
The offensive began on January 14th. From the Oranienbaum bridgehead, the 2nd shock attacked, and the next day the 42nd army of the Leningrad Front. Immediately Volkhovsky joined them. I must say that the enemy troops had a well-organized line of defense, and at the same time put up stubborn resistance. Also, the swamp-woodland affected the speed of the Red Army offensive. In addition, the January thaw that unexpectedly began prevented the maneuvering of armored vehicles.
Five days after the start of the offensive, Soviet troops managed to liberate the Red Village and Ropsha. By this time, the Peterhof-Strelninsk fascist group was partially surrounded and destroyed, and its remnants were cast back 25 km from the besieged city. The Mginsky Union was also under the same threat, but the Germans withdrew their troops on time. The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944) was rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, the Red Army drove invaders from other cities.
Liberation of Novgorod
It happened on January 20. It is worth noting that before the war, Novgorod was a fairly large cultural, scientific and industrial center. It is hard to imagine, but in one of the most ancient Russian cities, no more than 40 buildings survived. The fascists did not spare the greatest monuments of ancient Russian painting and architecture. The churches of Peter and Paul in Kozhevniki and Savior on Ilyin were completely destroyed. All that remained of them was the charred skeletons of the walls. St. Nicholas and St. Sophia Cathedrals partially destroyed and plundered. The Novgorod Kremlin was also badly damaged.
It is thought that the plan of the German military-political leadership could become the cause of such a tremendous destruction in the city. It stated that the Novgorod lands were subject to settlement by East Prussian colonists, therefore, they tried to destroy all evidence of the historical and cultural presence of the Russian people. Even the monument, dedicated to the millennium of Russia, was dismantled. The Germans were going to put it to remelting.
Partisan movement
Ten days after the liberation of Novgorod, Soviet troops managed to recapture the Germans Slutsk, Pushkin and Krasnogvardeysk, while leaving the line in the lower reaches of the Luga River. There they occupied several bridgeheads. At the same time, Soviet partisan detachments operating in those parts became more active. To fight them, the German command threw one battalion from each of the available field divisions, as well as separate security divisions. In response, the Central Partisan Headquarters inflicted a series of attacks on the rear of the fascist troops.
Liberation of the Northern Capital
Finally, that long-awaited day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad (1944) came. On January 27, the text of the order to the soldiers of the Leningrad Front was read out on local radio. It reported that the blockade was lifted completely. After that, tens of thousands of miraculously surviving residents and his defenders rushed to the streets of the city.
Exactly at 20:00, 24 volleys of 324 guns were fired, which were accompanied by fireworks, as well as illumination from anti-aircraft searchlights. In Moscow, too, there were solemn artillery salutes and fireworks. Interestingly, the only exception for the entire time of the war was made for the city on the Neva. The rest of the fireworks were launched only in Moscow.
Further offensive
Despite the fact that the day finally came to the full liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, the Red Army continued to attack the retreating German units in the Luga, Narva and Gdov directions. The Germans responded with desperate counterattacks. Sometimes they managed to encircle some parts of the Red Army. On February 4, Soviet troops liberated Gdov, as a result of which they reached Lake Peipsi. On February 15, they managed to break through the Luga defensive line.
As a result of the operations, our troops destroyed the long-term fascist defense and threw the invaders back into the Baltic states. The hardest battles continued until March, but still the Red Army was never able to liberate then Narva. The Volkhov Front was disbanded, and its troops were transferred: one part to Leningradsky, and the other to the 2nd Baltic.
With the onset of spring 1944, Soviet units reached the well-fortified German Panther line. But for almost two months of continuous and fierce fighting, the Red Army suffered enormous losses in technology and manpower. And this is in the midst of a catastrophic shortage of ammunition! Therefore, the Stavka decided to transfer troops to the defensive regime.
Day of Remembrance
In 1995, they adopted the Federal Law, in accordance with which it is celebrated on January 27 - the Day of Military Glory of Russia (the Day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad). In 2013, the president signed a new document on this date. Some changes were made to it regarding the new name: The Day of Military Glory was renamed the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.
January 27 is a symbol of courage, incredible deprivation, self-sacrifice and heroism of both Soviet soldiers and ordinary residents of the city. Hundreds of thousands of people who fought for Leningrad were awarded various government awards. 486 people began to wear the highest title of Hero of the USSR, and eight of them - twice.
Military myths
Despite the fact that more than 70 years have passed since these tragic events took place, the topic of the blockade of the Northern capital remains hotly debated. Some political scientists and historians have suggested that if Stalin's totalitarian regime allowed the surrender of the city to German and Finnish troops, then such unjustified casualties by civilians would have been avoided, and January 27, the day Leningrad was completely liberated, would not have become so sad in the history of the country.
Saying this, people forget that the Northern capital was the most important military-strategic object. Its fall would certainly have caused irreparable consequences, possibly affecting the outcome of the war. The fact is that Leningrad held significant enemy forces around itself, which was Army Group North. Having captured the city, these German troops could be deployed to storm Moscow or conquer the Caucasus. In addition, in this situation, it was necessary to take into account the moral factor, since the loss of Leningrad could significantly undermine the fighting spirit of not only the Soviet people, but also the Red Army as a whole.
The plans of Germany and its allies
The Hitlerite leadership did not simply count on the capture of the largest military-political and industrial center of the Soviet Union, which was the city on the Neva. It planned to completely destroy Leningrad. And proof of this is the diary entry made by the Chief of Staff of the German Army Franz Halder. It said that Hitler made an unambiguous decision regarding Moscow and Leningrad, which consisted of the need to "level them with the ground." The Germans were not going to maintain and feed these cities with a huge population.
In addition, Finland laid claim to the entire Leningrad region, and Hitler promised to give it up as soon as it devastates this territory. They also believed that the occupation of a city with a huge population was disadvantageous to them, since they did not have such large food supplies. From this the conclusion suggests itself that the "civilized Europeans", whom the Germans and Finns were considered to be, offered to completely destroy the Soviet city, and its inhabitants to be doomed to starvation.
Be that as it may, the Great Victory was won, and such a holiday as the Day of the lifting of the siege of the city of Leningrad (1944, January 27) exists, and people remember the victims that the country suffered as a result of the Nazi invaders and their allies.