How Leningrad met January 27, 1944. The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade

In accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 “On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia” and was previously called the Day of Lifting the Siege of the City of Leningrad (1944). In November 2013, the name of the day of military glory was changed to “Day of the complete liberation by Soviet troops of the city of Leningrad from the blockade of its fascist German troops (1944).”

Due to numerous requests from city residents, primarily blockade survivors, the name of the day of military glory was again adjusted; it became known as “The Day of the Complete Liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi Siege (1944).” The new name of this day most accurately reflects not only the role of Soviet troops in the liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, but also the merit of the residents of besieged Leningrad in defending the city.

The heroic defense of Leningrad became a symbol of the courage of the Soviet people. At the cost of incredible hardships, heroism and self-sacrifice, the soldiers and residents of Leningrad defended the city. Hundreds of thousands of those who fought received government awards, 486 received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, eight of them twice.

On December 22, 1942, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was established, which was awarded to about 1.5 million people.

On January 26, 1945, the city of Leningrad itself was awarded the Order of Lenin. Since May 1, 1945, Leningrad has been a hero city, and on May 8, 1965, the city was awarded the Golden Star medal.

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.

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Operation January Thunder

January 27, 1944 - the day of the complete liberation of the city of Leningrad from the blockade by Soviet troops

The terrible blockade of Leningrad, which claimed over 950 thousand lives of ordinary citizens and soldiers killed in battle, lasted 872 days. For almost two and a half years - from September 1941 to January 1944, Nazi troops surrounded the city on the Neva, killing it every day by starvation, bombing and artillery shelling.

Soviet troops managed to break through the blockade only in January 1943, but the blockade was completely lifted only a year later. Then, during the offensive operation “January Thunder,” our troops pushed the invaders far from Leningrad by January 27, 1944. Nowadays this date is celebrated as the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, and January 27 is one of the Days of Military Glory of Russia.

The final lifting of the blockade from the second most important city in the USSR was a very difficult task. For more than two years, the Germans prepared several powerful lines of fortifications here; units of the 3rd SS Panzer Corps held the defense in the direction of the main attack. Near Leningrad, the Germans concentrated most of the heavy artillery of the Third Reich, including all captured guns collected from the captured countries of Europe.

Heavy artillery, freed up after the Germans captured Sevastopol, was also transferred here. In total, there were 256 powerful artillery pieces near Leningrad, including 210 mm and 305 mm Czechoslovak Skoda mortars, 400 mm French railway howitzers and 420 mm German Fat Bertha mortars. This artillery group not only bombarded Leningrad every day, but also ensured the special strength of the German defense lines.

In January 1944, three Soviet fronts were preparing for the operation to lift the blockade - Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic. By this time they numbered about 820 thousand soldiers and officers, almost 20 thousand guns and mortars. They were opposed by the 16th and 18th German armies of Army Group North - 740 thousand soldiers and officers, over 10 thousand guns and mortars.

Directly near Leningrad, the Soviet command managed to create superiority over the enemy - 400 thousand soldiers against 170 thousand Germans, 600 our tanks and self-propelled guns against 200 German ones, about 600 aircraft against 370 German ones. However, near Leningrad, the Germans concentrated a serious artillery group - 4,500 guns and mortars - to siege and shell the city. The Soviet artillery group here consisted of about 6,000 guns, mortars and rocket launchers. Thus, the battles for the final liberation of Leningrad from the siege turned into the most powerful confrontation between artillery fists in the entire Second World War.

Military equipment near St. Isaac's Cathedral. Photo: Anatoly Egorov/RIA Novosti

The operation developed at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command received the code name “January Thunder”. In preparation for the operation on January 1-3, 1944, its details were discussed and agreed upon by Stalin himself and his closest comrade-in-arms, Andrei Zhdanov, who had been in charge of the highest state leadership in the encircled city throughout the years of the blockade.

Returning from Headquarters, at the last meeting of the headquarters of the Leningrad Front on the eve of the offensive, Zhdanov said the following words: “They praise us and thank us for defending the city of Russian glory, for being able to protect it. Now we need to be praised by the Soviet people for our heroism and skill in offensive battles...”

For more than two years of the blockade, the troops of the Leningrad Front proved their heroism in defense, but now they had to attack and break through well-prepared enemy positions. When developing Operation January Thunder, the Soviet command envisaged a simultaneous attack from Leningrad and from the territory of the Oranienbaum bridgehead - a small patch on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, which Soviet troops had held throughout the blockade since 1941.

Our offensive began on January 14, 1944 at 10:40 am after a powerful 65-minute artillery barrage. During the first 24 hours, Soviet troops advanced 4 km, occupying the entire first line of enemy defense with stubborn fighting. The next day the offensive continued after a 110-minute artillery barrage. For three days our troops literally “gnawed through” the lines of German defense - the enemy fought back desperately in well-prepared positions, constantly launching counterattacks. The German defense was effectively supported by powerful artillery, a mass of fortifications and numerous minefields.

By January 17, Soviet troops managed to break through the enemy’s long-term defenses and bring the 152nd Tank Brigade, formed in besieged Leningrad back in 1942, into the breach. Its T-34 tanks broke through to Ropsha, and German troops between Leningrad and the Oranienbaum bridgehead were under threat of encirclement. Hitler's command had to begin the retreat of its troops near Volkhov in order to free up some of its reserves to fend off the Soviet offensive near Leningrad.

However, the enemy failed to stop the “January Thunder” - on the morning of January 20, 1944, Soviet troops advancing from the Oranienbaum bridgehead and from Leningrad met south of the village of Ropasha, encircled and then destroyed part of the enemy group. In just six days of continuous fighting, the troops of the Leningrad Front completely destroyed two German divisions and inflicted significant damage on another five enemy divisions. In addition, north of Krasnoe Selo, a German artillery group created specifically for shelling Leningrad was destroyed. 265 guns were captured, including 85 heavy mortars and howitzers. The shelling of the city on the Neva, which lasted two years, was stopped forever.

Throughout the next week, Soviet troops continued their offensive, pushing the enemy further away from Leningrad. On January 24, the city of Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) with its famous palaces, plundered by the German occupiers, was liberated.

During the January offensive, the troops of the Leningrad Front lost about 20 thousand people killed. German losses near Leningrad from January 14 to 26 amounted to about 18 thousand killed and over 3 thousand captured.

The result of the offensive operation “January Thunder” was the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad, our troops broke through the well-prepared enemy defenses and threw them back to a distance of 60-100 km from the city. At the end of January, the attacking troops of the Leningrad Front reached the Estonian border.

On January 27, 1944, in agreement with Stalin, the command of the Leningrad Front officially announced the final lifting of the blockade. In the city on the Neva, a victorious salute was given for the first time - 24 salvoes from 324 guns.

On that day, the command’s address to the troops and residents of the city said: “Citizens of Leningrad! Courageous and persistent Leningraders! Together with the troops of the Leningrad Front, you defended our hometown. With your heroic work and steely endurance, overcoming all the difficulties and torments of the blockade, you forged weapons of victory over the enemy, devoting all your strength to the cause of victory. On behalf of the troops of the Leningrad Front, we congratulate you on the significant day of the great victory near Leningrad.”

More than 70 years have already passed since the moment when Soviet troops finally managed to lift the siege 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 encircle the Northern capital. And no matter how hard it was for the residents of the city and the soldiers of the Red Army, they still, at the cost of superhuman efforts, brought closer, as best they could, this day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. Unfortunately, not everyone lived to see this significant date.

The first winter of the siege

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 main highway supplying its inhabitants with food during the cold season became the Road of Life. This was the name of the path that ran along the ice. The townspeople suffered incredible hardships, and this continued until the day came of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

But the ice road could not fully cover all the needs of such a large 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 from starvation and hypothermia caused by severe shortages of food and fuel. The first blockade 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 evidence

Unfortunately, many city residents did not wait until the day the siege of Leningrad was completely lifted. This page of the Second World War is one of the most terrible and heroic in the history of the country. It is enough just to remember the tragic entries in the schoolgirl’s diary. There are only nine pages in it, six of which are dedicated to the death of people close to her - a brother, sister, mother, grandmother and two uncles.

Indeed, almost all members of this family died in the first winter of the siege, from December 1941 to May 1942. The girl herself was rescued and evacuated to the mainland. But since Tanya’s health was seriously 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 learned about her diary. These recordings became one of the symbols of that terrible blockade. At the Nuremberg trials, Tanya's diary was presented as evidence of the inhuman and brutal fascist regime.

Victory Road

In January 1943, the Red Army, having made incredible efforts and put a large number of its soldiers on the battlefield, carried out an operation codenamed “Iskra”. During it, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts managed to make a hole in the German defense. As a result, a narrow corridor was laid along Lake Ladoga. It was through this that the land connection between the besieged city and the mainland was restored.

A highway and a railway line, which were called the “Victory Road,” were quickly built on this site. After this, the country was able to organize the supply of food and fuel to the city, as well as evacuate the majority of the civilian population, and primarily women and children. But the blockade of Leningrad did not end there. The day of liberation of the city will come only in a year.

Turning point

In 1943, the Red Army carried out a number of important strategic operations. These include the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Donbass and the Dnieper. As a result, by 1944 a very favorable situation had developed, which significantly 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 combat operations it carried out. Significant parts of the USSR territory still remained under his control.

By that time, the second front had not yet been opened in Western Europe, and this was beneficial since it allowed Hitler to concentrate all his combat power in the east. The same military actions that were carried out in Italy did not have serious consequences and had virtually no impact on the Wehrmacht. Therefore, the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade was constantly postponed.

Plans to liberate the city

At the very end of 1943, the Headquarters decided to develop a whole series of strikes against enemy troops. Offensives were planned from Leningrad to the Black Sea, with special attention paid to the flanks of the Soviet-German front.

First of all, it was necessary to defeat Army Group North, release the city of Leningrad and liberate the Baltic states. In the southern direction, it was necessary to clear not only Crimea, but also Right Bank Ukraine from fascist troops, and then reach 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 soldiers of the 2nd Baltic, Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, as well as soldiers of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.

Fights for the Northern capital

The offensive began on January 14. From the Oranienbaum bridgehead, the 2nd Shock Army launched an attack, and the next day, the 42nd Army of the Leningrad Front. Volkhovsky immediately joined them. It must be said that the enemy troops had a well-organized line of defense, and at the same time offered stubborn resistance. Also, the swampy and wooded area affected the speed of the Red Army's advance. In addition, the unexpected January thaw hampered the maneuvering of armored vehicles.

Five days after the start of the offensive, Soviet troops managed to liberate Ropsha. By this time, the Peterhof-Strelninsk fascist group was partially surrounded and destroyed, and its remnants were driven back 25 km from the besieged city. The Mginsk formation was under the same threat, but the Germans withdrew their troops in time. The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944) was rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, the Red Army was driving out the invaders from other cities.

Liberation of Novgorod

It happened on January 20th. It is worth noting that before the war Novgorod was a fairly large cultural, scientific and industrial center. It’s hard to imagine, but in one of the most ancient Russian cities, no more than 40 buildings survived. The Nazis did not spare the greatest monuments of ancient Russian painting and architecture. The Savior on Ilyin was also completely destroyed. All that was left of them was the charred skeletons of the walls. St. Nicholas and St. Sophia Cathedrals were partially destroyed and looted. The Novgorod Kremlin also suffered greatly.

It seems that the cause of such enormous destruction in the city could have been the plan of the German military-political leadership. It said that the Novgorod lands were to be settled by East Prussian colonists, so 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 melt it down.

Guerrilla movement

Ten days after the liberation of Novgorod, Soviet troops managed to recapture Slutsk, Pushkin and Krasnogvardeysk from the Germans, reaching the line in the lower reaches of the Luga River. There they occupied several bridgeheads. At the same time, the Soviet partisan detachments operating in those parts also became more active. To fight them, the German command sent one battalion from each of the existing field divisions, as well as separate security divisions. In response, the Central Partisan Headquarters launched a series of attacks on the rear of the fascist troops.

Liberation of the Northern capital

Finally, the long-awaited day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad arrived (1944). 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 had been completely lifted. After this, tens of thousands of miraculously surviving residents and defenders rushed to the streets of the city.

At exactly 20:00, 24 salvoes from 324 guns were fired, which were accompanied by fireworks, as well as illumination from anti-aircraft searchlights. In Moscow there were also ceremonial artillery salutes and fireworks. It is interesting that the only exception was made for the city on the Neva during the entire war. The rest of the fireworks were launched only in Moscow.

Further advance

Despite the fact that the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade had finally arrived, 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 units 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 carried out, our troops destroyed the long-term fascist defenses and drove the invaders back to the Baltic states. The heaviest fighting continued until March, but the Red Army was still unable to liberate Narva. The Volkhov Front was disbanded, and its troops were transferred: one part to the Leningrad Front, and the other to the 2nd Baltic Front.

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 huge losses in equipment and manpower. And this is in conditions of a catastrophic shortage of ammunition! Therefore, the Headquarters decided to transfer the troops to a defensive mode.

Memorial Day

In 1995, a Federal Law was adopted, according to which January 27 is celebrated - the Day of Military Glory of Russia (Day of Lifting the Siege of the City of Leningrad). In 2013, the president signed a new document regarding 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 Nazi Siege.

January 27 is a symbol of courage, incredible hardships, self-sacrifice and heroism of both Soviet soldiers and ordinary city residents. Hundreds of thousands of people who fought for Leningrad were awarded various government awards. 486 people began to bear the highest title of Hero of the USSR, 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 discussed. Some political scientists and historians have suggested that if Stalin’s totalitarian regime had allowed the city to be surrendered to German and Finnish troops, then such unjustified casualties on the part of civilians would have been avoided, and January 27 - the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad - 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 facility. Its fall would certainly have caused irreparable consequences, possibly influencing the outcome of the war. The fact is that Leningrad held significant enemy forces around itself, which were 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 morale of not only the Soviet people, but also the Red Army as a whole.

Plans of Germany and its allies

Hitler's leadership did not simply count on capturing 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 entry in the diary made by the Chief of Staff of the German Ground Forces, Franz Halder. It said that Hitler made an unequivocal decision regarding Moscow and Leningrad, which was the need to “raze them to the ground.” The Germans were not going to support 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 he devastated this territory. They also believed that occupying a city with a huge population was unprofitable for them, since they did not have such large food supplies. This suggests the conclusion that “civilized Europeans,” which were considered the Germans and Finns, proposed to completely destroy the Soviet city and condemn its inhabitants to starvation.

Be that as it may, the Great Victory was won, and such a holiday as the Day of Lifting 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 attack of the Nazi invaders and their allies.

The siege of Leningrad is one of the most terrible and difficult pages in the history of our country.

January 27- Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad by Soviet troops from the blockade of it by Nazi troops (1944)

16 long months residents of the northern capital were waiting for liberation from the fascist encirclement.

In 1941 Hitler launched military operations on the outskirts of Leningrad in order to completely destroy the city.

In July - September 1941, 10 divisions of the people's militia were formed in the city. Despite the most difficult conditions, the industry of Leningrad did not stop its work. Assistance to the blockade survivors was carried out on the ice of Lake Ladoga. This transport route was called the “Road of Life”. On January 12-30, 1943, an operation was carried out to break the blockade of Leningrad ( "Spark").

September 8, 1941 the ring around the important strategic and political center has closed.

January 12, 1944 At dawn, artillery cannonade thundered. The first blow dealt to the enemy was extremely strong. After two hours of artillery and air preparation, the Soviet infantry moved forward. The front was broken through in two places, five and eight kilometers wide. Later, both sections of the breakthrough were connected.

January 18 The blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Germans lost tens of thousands of their soldiers. This event meant not only a major failure of Hitler's strategic plans, but also his serious political defeat.

January 27 As a result of the offensive operations of the Leningrad, 20th Baltic and Volkhov fronts, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, the main forces of the enemy group of forces "North" were defeated and the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. The front line moved away from the city by 220-280 kilometers.

The defeat of the Nazis near Leningrad completely undermined their positions in Finland and other Scandinavian countries.

During the blockade, about 1 million inhabitants died, including more than 600 thousand from hunger.

During the war, Hitler repeatedly demanded that the city be razed to the ground and its population completely destroyed.

However, neither shelling and bombing, nor hunger and cold broke its defenders.

Beginning of the blockade

Soon after the start of World War II Leningrad found itself in the grip of enemy fronts. The German Army Group North (commanded by Field Marshal W. Leeb) was approaching it from the southwest; The Finnish army (commander Marshal K. Mannerheim) targeted the city from the north-west. According to the Barbarossa plan, the capture of Leningrad was supposed to precede the capture of Moscow. Hitler believed that the fall of the northern capital of the USSR would bring not only a military gain - the Russians would lose the city, which is the cradle of the revolution and has a special symbolic meaning for the Soviet state. The Battle of Leningrad, the longest of the war, lasted from July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944.

In July-August 1941 German divisions were stopped in the battles on the Luga line, but on September 8 the enemy reached Shlisselburg and Leningrad, which was home to about 3 million people before the war, was surrounded. To the number of those caught in the blockade, we must add approximately 300 thousand more refugees who arrived in the city from the Baltic states and neighboring regions at the beginning of the war. From that day on, communication with Leningrad became possible only by Lake Ladoga and by air. Almost every day Leningraders experienced the horror of artillery shelling or bombing. As a result of the fires, residential buildings were destroyed, people and food supplies were killed, incl. Badaevsky warehouses.

At the beginning of September 1941 Stalin recalled Army General G.K. from near Yelnya. Zhukov and told him: “You will have to fly to Leningrad and take command of the front and the Baltic Fleet from Voroshilov.” Zhukov's arrival and the measures he took strengthened the city's defenses, but it was not possible to break the blockade.

The Nazis' plans for Leningrad

Blockade, organized by the Nazis, was aimed specifically at the extinction and destruction of Leningrad. On September 22, 1941, a special directive noted: “The Fuhrer decided to wipe out the city of Leningrad from the face of the earth. It is planned to surround the city with a tight ring and, through shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground... In this war, waged for the right to exist, we are not interested in preserving at least part of the population.” On October 7, Hitler gave another order - not to accept refugees from Leningrad and push them back into enemy territory. Therefore, any speculation - including those spread today in the media - that the city could have been saved if it had been surrendered to the mercy of the Germans should be classified either as ignorance or a deliberate distortion of historical truth.

Food situation in the besieged city

Before the war, the metropolis of Leningrad was supplied, as they say, “on wheels”; the city did not have large food reserves. Therefore, the blockade threatened a terrible tragedy - famine. On September 2, we had to strengthen the food saving regime. From November 20, 1941, the lowest norms for the distribution of bread on cards were established: workers and technical workers - 250 g, employees, dependents and children - 125 g. First-line soldiers and sailors - 500 g. Mass death of the population began.

In December, 53 thousand people died, in January 1942 - about 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand. The preserved pages of the diary of little Tanya Savicheva do not leave anyone indifferent: “Grandmother died on January 25. ... “Uncle Alyosha on May 10... Mom on May 13 at 7.30 in the morning... Everyone died. Tanya is the only one left." Today, in the works of historians, the numbers of dead Leningraders vary from 800 thousand to 1.5 million people. Recently, data on 1.2 million people has increasingly appeared. Grief came to every family. During the battle for Leningrad, more people died than England and the United States lost during the entire war.

"Road of Life"

The salvation for the besieged was the “Road of Life” - a route laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which, from November 21, food and ammunition were delivered to the city and the civilian population was evacuated on the way back. During the period of operation of the “Road of Life” - until March 1943 - 1,615 thousand tons of various cargo were delivered to the city by ice (and in the summer on various ships). At the same time, more than 1.3 million Leningraders and wounded soldiers were evacuated from the city on the Neva. To transport petroleum products along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, a pipeline was laid.

Feat of Leningrad

However, the city did not give up. Its residents and leadership then did everything possible to live and continue to fight. Despite the fact that the city was under severe blockade conditions, its industry continued to supply the troops of the Leningrad Front with the necessary weapons and equipment. Exhausted by hunger and seriously ill, workers carried out urgent tasks, repairing ships, tanks and artillery. Employees of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing preserved the most valuable collection of grain crops.

Winter 1941 28 employees of the institute died of starvation, but not a single box of grain was touched.

Leningrad dealt significant blows to the enemy and did not allow the Germans and Finns to act with impunity. In April 1942, Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and aircraft thwarted the German command's operation "Aisstoss" - an attempt to destroy from the air the ships of the Baltic Fleet stationed on the Neva. Counteraction to enemy artillery was constantly improved. The Leningrad Military Council organized a counter-battery fight, which resulted in a significant reduction in the intensity of shelling of the city. In 1943, the number of artillery shells that fell on Leningrad decreased by approximately 7 times.

Unparalleled self-sacrifice ordinary Leningraders helped them not only defend their beloved city. It showed the whole world where the limits of Nazi Germany and its allies were.

Actions by the leadership of the city on the Neva

Although Leningrad (as in other regions of the USSR during the war) had its own scoundrels among the authorities, the party and military leadership of Leningrad basically remained at the height of the situation. It behaved adequately to the tragic situation and did not at all “get fat,” as some modern researchers claim.

In November 1941 The secretary of the city party committee, Zhdanov, established a strictly fixed, reduced food consumption rate for himself and all members of the military council of the Leningrad Front. Moreover, the leadership of the city on the Neva did everything to prevent the consequences of a severe famine. By decision of the Leningrad authorities, additional food was organized for exhausted people in special hospitals and canteens. In Leningrad, 85 orphanages were organized, accepting tens of thousands of children left without parents.

In January 1942 A medical hospital for scientists and creative workers began operating at the Astoria Hotel. Since March 1942, the Leningrad City Council allowed residents to plant personal vegetable gardens in their yards and parks. The land for dill, parsley, and vegetables was plowed even near St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Attempts to break the blockade

Despite all the mistakes, miscalculations, and voluntaristic decisions, the Soviet command took maximum measures to break the siege of Leningrad as quickly as possible. Were undertaken four attempts to break the enemy ring.

First– in September 1941; second– in October 1941; third- at the beginning of 1942, during a general counter-offensive, which only partially achieved its goals; fourth– in August–September 1942

The siege of Leningrad was not broken then, but Soviet sacrifices in offensive operations of this period were not in vain. Summer-autumn 1942 the enemy failed to transfer any large reserves from Leningrad to the southern flank of the Eastern Front. Moreover, Hitler sent the command and troops of Manstein’s 11th Army to take the city, which otherwise could have been used in the Caucasus and near Stalingrad.

Sinyavinsk operation 1942 The Leningrad and Volkhov fronts were ahead of the German attack. Manstein's divisions intended for the offensive were forced to immediately engage in defensive battles against the attacking Soviet units.

"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.

Operation Spark

And only in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pulled towards Stalingrad, the blockade was partially broken. The course of the unblocking operation of the Soviet fronts (Operation Iskra) was led by G. Zhukov. On a narrow strip of the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, 8-11 km wide, it was possible to restore land communications with the country.

Over the next 17 days, railroads and roads were built along this corridor.

January 1943 became a turning point in the Battle of Leningrad.

The final lifting of the siege of Leningrad

The situation in Leningrad has improved significantly, but the immediate threat to the city continued to remain. In order to completely eliminate the blockade, it was necessary to push the enemy back beyond the Leningrad region. The idea of ​​such an operation was developed by the Supreme Command Headquarters at the end of 1943. Forces of the Leningrad (General L. Govorov), Volkhov (General K. Meretskov) and 2nd Baltic (General M. Popov) fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega flotillas The Leningrad-Novgorod operation was carried out.

Soviet troops went on the offensive on January 14, 1944. and already on January 20 Novgorod was liberated. On January 21, the enemy began to withdraw from the Mga-Tosno area, from the section of the Leningrad-Moscow railway that he had cut.

January 27 To commemorate the final lifting of the siege of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, fireworks thundered. Army Group North suffered a heavy defeat. As a result of the Leningrad-Novgorod war, Soviet troops reached the borders of Latvia and Estonia.

The importance of the defense of Leningrad

Defense of Leningrad had enormous military-strategic, political and moral significance. Hitler's command lost the opportunity to most effectively maneuver its strategic reserves and transfer troops to other directions. If the city on the Neva had fallen in 1941, then German troops would have united with the Finns, and most of the troops of the German Army Group North could have been deployed south and struck the central regions of the USSR. In this case, Moscow could not have resisted, and the whole war could have gone according to a completely different scenario. In the deadly meat grinder of the Sinyavinsk operation in 1942, Leningraders saved not only themselves with their feat and indestructible fortitude. Having pinned down the German forces, they provided invaluable assistance to Stalingrad and the entire country!

The feat of the defenders of Leningrad, who defended their city under the most difficult trials, inspired the entire army and country, and earned deep respect and gratitude from the states of the anti-Hitler coalition.

In 1942, the Soviet government established “the”, which was awarded to about 1.5 million defenders of the city. This medal remains in the memory of the people today as one of the most honorable awards of the Great Patriotic War.

January 27 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia. The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

On January 14, 1944, the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky operation (“January Thunder”) began by the troops of the Leningrad Front against the 18th German Army, which was besieging Leningrad. This operation was part of the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic operation. As a result, on January 27, the siege of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, was ended.

General situation

On September 8, 1941, the Germans, with the support of the Finnish army, closed a ring around Leningrad, the second most important strategic, political, economic and cultural center of the country. On January 18, 1943, the blockade was broken, and the city had a corridor of land communication with the country. After breaking the enemy blockade of Leningrad in January 1943, the situation in the besieged city improved in many ways. The resumption of land connections with the mainland made it possible to increase food supply standards. They began to meet the standards established for other major industrial centers. The situation with fuel has also changed significantly.

However, Soviet troops failed to completely liberate the city from the siege. The troops of the German 18th Army were in close proximity to Leningrad and continued intensive artillery shelling of the city and the Victory Road railway. Leningrad continued to live in a front-line situation. The Germans shelled the city. In September, for example, 5 thousand shells fell on it. German aircraft bombed the city 69 times in March - May. True, already in the fall of 1943, in the northwestern direction, as a result of an increase in the number and more coordinated actions of the fighter aviation of the fronts, the Leningrad Air Defense Army and the air defense systems of the Baltic Fleet, the air situation improved. Soviet aviation gained air supremacy, which led to a sharp decrease in the intensity of enemy raids on troops and directly on Leningrad. On the night of October 17, the last bomb fell on the city.

Despite the continued difficult combat conditions and labor shortages, Leningrad industry increased the output of military products. Thus, the city resumed production of large-caliber naval artillery. In the third quarter, mass production of artillery shells and mines for all types of mortars began. The construction of small ships and boats began, primarily the minesweepers desperately needed by the fleet. At the same time, strict savings were made in raw materials, fuel and electricity. The work of 85 large industrial enterprises was partially restored. By the end of the year, 186 such enterprises were already operating in the besieged city.

I. I. Fedyuninsky assessed the situation near Leningrad by the end of 1943: “The situation near Leningrad was determined by the general situation at the fronts. During 1943, the Soviet Army inflicted a number of strong blows on the Nazi troops and forced the enemy into continuous retreat. By November, the enemy was forced to clear almost two-thirds of the territory of our Motherland that he had captured. But near Leningrad, the Nazis, having encircled themselves with a powerful line of defensive structures, continued to improve their positions and hoped to hold them as the basis of the entire left wing of the Eastern Front.”

As a result, the task of ensuring the security of Leningrad, as well as military-strategic considerations related to the further conduct of the war, the development of the offensive on the northern flank of the Soviet-German front, required the complete lifting of the blockade and the liberation of the Leningrad region. Its implementation opened the way to the Baltic states, facilitated the liberation of Karelia and the defeat of Finland, and the entry of the fleet into the vastness of the Baltic.

Strengths of the parties

The German Army Group North (18th and 16th armies), commanded by Field Marshal General G. Küchler, consisted of 741 thousand soldiers and officers, 10,070 guns and mortars, 385 tanks and assault guns, 370 aircraft. Over the course of two and a half years, the enemy created strong defensive positions with reinforced concrete field fortifications, numerous bunkers, a system of wire obstacles and minefields. All settlements in the defensive zones were turned by the Germans into resistance centers and strongholds. Particularly powerful fortifications were located in the area south of the Pulkovo Heights and north of Novgorod. The Nazis were confident in the indestructibility of their “Northern Wall”.

The German Army Group North was opposed by the troops of the Leningrad (without the 23rd Army), Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts, numbering 1252 thousand soldiers and officers, 20183 guns and mortars, 1580 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1386 combat aircraft.

Soviet soldiers are firing machine guns at the enemy near the old station building of the Detskoye Selo station near Leningrad. Pushkin, Leningrad region

Plans of the parties. Preparing the operation

At the beginning of September 1943, the Soviet command became aware that German troops had begun preparing a retreat from Leningrad to new defensive lines on the line Narva River - Lake Peipsi - Pskov - Ostrov - Idritsa (Panther Line). Based on the current situation, the military councils of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts immediately began to develop a plan for a joint large-scale operation with the goal of defeating the 18th German Army and completely liberating Leningrad from the siege. Since until the end of 1943 uncertainty remained regarding the plans of the German troops, the Soviet command developed two offensive options. The first option provided for an immediate transition to pursuing the enemy in the event of his retreat (“Neva 1”), and the second - a breakthrough of the enemy’s layered defense in the event that German troops continued to hold their positions (“Neva 2”).

The position of Army Group North has deteriorated significantly. The German command could not strengthen it either through strategic reserves or through the transfer of forces from other army groups, since they were constrained by the powerful offensive of Soviet troops in the southwestern and western directions. Throughout 1943, it was as if Army Group North did not exist for Hitler. From July 1943 to January 1944, Küchler had to transfer several of the most combat-ready divisions to Army Groups Center and South. In order to somehow compensate for the withdrawal of troops from the northwestern direction, several less combat-ready divisions and brigades were transferred there.

The command of Army Group North had information about the preparation of Soviet troops for an offensive, which forced G. Küchler to turn to Hitler with a request to speed up the withdrawal of troops to the Panther Line. However, the Fuhrer, guided by the opinion of the commander of the 18th Army G. Lindemann, who assured that his troops would repel a new Soviet offensive, ordered Army Group North to continue the siege of Leningrad. The German High Command assigned the troops of Group North the task of firmly defending their positions and continuing the blockade of Leningrad. Stabilization of this section of the Russian Front made it possible to reliably cover the approaches to the Baltic states and its naval bases, preserve the freedom of action of the German fleet in the Baltic Sea and ensure sea communications with Sweden and Finland.

The Soviet Headquarters, with some adjustments, approved the ideas of the military councils of the fronts for the planned operation. Its general plan was to defeat the Peterhof-Strelny and Novgorod groups of the 18th German Army with simultaneous strikes by troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, and then, developing an offensive in the Kingisepp and Luga directions, complete the defeat of this army. At the next stage, through the offensive of all three fronts in the directions of Narva, Pskov and Idritsa, it was planned to defeat the German 16th Army and completely liberate the Leningrad and Kalinin regions. The actions of ground forces were to be supported by the 13th, 14th and 15th air armies and long-range aviation, as well as artillery and aviation of the Baltic Fleet.

The offensive was prepared with great care. Troops were regrouped at the fronts to create strike groups. The 2nd Shock Army under the command of General I. I. Fedyuninsky was secretly transported by ship from Leningrad and Lisiy Nos to the Oranienbaum area. The defenders of this small coastal bridgehead, located west of Leningrad, surrounded by a semi-ring of enemy troops, covered Kronstadt from land, and the Kronstadt fortress supported them with its batteries. The Oranienbaum seaside bridgehead was to play an important role in the defeat of the opposing enemy. From November 1943 to January 1944, 53 thousand people, 658 guns, many tanks, cars, tractors, tens of thousands of tons of ammunition and other military cargo were delivered here by sea in difficult weather conditions. At the same time, the Germans were misled: until the very last moment they believed that the Soviet command was transferring troops from the bridgehead to the city.

Offensive

On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front under the command of General L.A. Govorov went on the offensive. The troops of the 2nd Shock Army broke through from the Oranienbaum bridgehead in the direction of Ropsha. Initially, the artillery of the army and the Baltic Fleet dealt a powerful blow to the enemy, dropping over 100 thousand shells and mines on the Nazi positions. Then the infantry went on the attack, acting in close cooperation with tanks and artillery. The Nazis stubbornly resisted, every meter of land was conquered in battle. The next day the fierce fighting continued. Fedyuninsky's troops repulsed up to 30 counterattacks.

The 42nd Army of General I.I. Maslennikov advanced towards them with fierce fighting, striking from the Pulkovo Heights area. On the third day of the operation, the 2nd Shock Army completed the breakthrough of the enemy's main defense line, advancing 8-10 km in depth and expanding the breakthrough to 23 km. On January 19, Ropsha, a powerful stronghold of the enemy’s defense, was taken. On the same day, troops moving from the Pulkovo Heights took Krasnoye Selo by storm. Here there was a meeting between units of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies of the Leningrad Front. The Peterhof-Strelniy group of the German 18th Army was defeated.

Thus, in six days of offensive battles, the troops of the Leningrad Front advanced 25 km into the depths of enemy defenses. The German artillery, which shelled Leningrad from the Duderhof-Voronya Gora area, fell silent forever.

German PzKpfw IV tank destroyed during Operation January Thunder

Machine gunner V. Kh. Timchenko knocks down a German road sign with the butt of his machine gun. The photo was taken during the operation to finally lift the siege of Leningrad

On January 14, the Volkhov Front under the command of General K. A. Meretskov also went on the offensive. The main blow here was delivered north of Novgorod in difficult conditions of wooded and swampy terrain by the 59th Army under the command of General I.T. Korovnikov. After an hour and a half of artillery preparation, the breakthrough tanks and infantry moved towards enemy positions.

“Bad weather made it difficult for the artillery to conduct targeted fire, and due to low clouds, aviation was not able to take part in the preparation of the offensive at all and came into action only on the second day. Some of the tanks were stuck in the swamp: a sudden thaw, unusual for January, turned the hummocky ice fields overgrown with bushes into a muddy mess.” However, these obstacles did not stop our troops. “Separate regiments of the 6th and 14th Rifle Corps,” recalled Marshal K. A. Meretskov, “reached the attack line a few minutes before the end of the artillery barrage, and when the artillery shifted the fire into the depths, these regiments burst into the enemy’s defenses. The blow turned out to be so powerful, sudden and swift that the first position of Hitler’s defense immediately passed into our hands, and on January 15 the Novgorod-Chudovo railway was cut.”

The southern group of troops of this army crossed Lake Ilmen across the ice at night and cut the Novgorod-Shimsk railway, which created a threat to enemy communications from the south. The troops of the 59th Army successfully broke through the main enemy defense line north of Novgorod. Field Marshal Küchler removed the 24th and 21st divisions from near Mga and Chudovo, and the 290th and 8th divisions from near Soltsy and Staraya Russa and threw them into the Lyuboliad region to close the gap. However, Soviet troops continued their offensive.

On the morning of January 20, the northern and southern groups of the advancing troops united west of Novgorod. On the same day, the ancient Russian city was cleared of the Nazis by a decisive assault. “I came to Novgorod as soon as he was released,” recalled K. A. Meretskov. - There was dead silence on the streets. About forty buildings in the entire city remained intact. The greatest monuments of antiquity, the pride and decoration of ancient Russian architecture, were blown up.” At the same time, the 8th and 54th armies of the Volkhov Front actively pinned down enemy forces in the Tosno, Lyuban and Chudov directions, preventing the German command from transferring troops from there to Novgorod.

The German command, seeing the threat of encirclement of the 18th Army, withdrew its formations and units from the eastern ledge of Tosno and Chudovo. The offensive unfolded along the entire front from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ilmen. The troops of the Leningrad Front liberated Pushkin, Pavlovsk, Gatchina and by the end of January reached the Luga River line. The Volkhov Front, advancing in the direction of Luga and Shimsk, liberated the cities and railway stations of Mga, Tosno, Lyuban, Chudovo. The Oktyabrskaya Railway was cleared of Germans. At the same time, the 2nd Baltic Front under the command of General M. M. Popov pinned down the German 16th Army.

Thus, the Red Army crushed the Northern Wall and completely eliminated the enemy blockade of Leningrad. On the evening of January 27, a ceremonial artillery salute of 324 guns thundered in the city on the Neva. The entire Soviet people joyfully celebrated the historic victory together with the Leningraders.

Leningraders paint over the inscription on the wall of a house warning of artillery shelling after the final liberation of the city from the enemy blockade. The inscriptions “Citizens! During artillery shelling, this side of the street is the most dangerous” were applied in Leningrad on the northern and northeastern sides of the streets, since the city was shelled from the southern (Pulkovo Heights) and southwestern (Strelna) directions

Hitler's headquarters, as usual in the case of a heavy defeat at the front, hid its real reasons. But the commander of Army Group North, Field Marshal Küchler, was replaced by Colonel General V. Model, who enjoyed the reputation of a “strategic defense specialist.”

Soviet troops continued to develop their offensive. On February 1, the 2nd Shock Army of the Leningrad Front crossed Luga and captured Kingisepp by storm. The 42nd Army, advancing further south, entered Gdov, liberated by the partisans, on February 4. The Volkhov Front, having defeated the Luga enemy group, captured Luga on February 12. Soon after this, it was disbanded and its armies were transferred to the Leningrad Front. The advancing formations reached the line of the Narva River. The German 18th Army was retreating. The 16th Army also retreated. Pursuing her, the troops of the 2nd Baltic Front liberated Staraya Russa on February 18, and then the city of Kholm.

On the right wing of the Leningrad Front, troops entered the territory of Soviet Estonia, and on the left flank, in cooperation with the 2nd Baltic Front, they occupied an important railway junction - the Dno station. By the end of February, the advancing Soviet troops stopped at the Narva-Pskov-Ostrov line, where they took up defensive positions. It was necessary to regroup forces, replenish troops, equipment and ammunition, and tighten up the rear.

Residents of Leningrad at the stock exchange building greet the news of the lifting of the blockade of the city

Results

As a result of a month and a half continuous offensive in the northwestern direction, the Red Army inflicted a heavy defeat on Army Group North and threw it back 220 - 280 km to the west. 3 German divisions were destroyed and 17 divisions were defeated. Almost the entire territory of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions was liberated from the German invaders. During the offensive operation near Leningrad and Novgorod, the southern and southeastern approaches to Leningrad were cleared of Germans. Only on the northern outskirts of this city were there still Finnish troops who participated in its blockade. It was necessary to defeat them on the Karelian Isthmus and in South Karelia.

The Great Battle of Leningrad, one of the most significant and bloody battles of the Great War, lasting 900 days, ended in victory for the Red Army and the entire Soviet people. Despite severe trials and enormous sacrifices, the hero city survived the fierce struggle.

Leningraders watch fireworks on Suvorov Square to commemorate the lifting of the blockade

Leningraders and Red Army soldiers at the order to the troops of the Leningrad Front to lift the blockade of the city