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 daily exploits of the townspeople, which ultimately resulted in a 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 definitely be one of the key figures on the scene of 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. On Nuremberg trials His words were voiced and recorded by M. Borman:
“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. It's closed west side. Finland was advancing from the north. In the east there is a wide and very capricious in terms of navigation Ladoga lake. 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 German army. According to Operation Barbarossa, Army Group North was to destroy everything 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 geographical dispersion Soviet divisions, German troops were able to deliver powerful blows to them part by part. Enemy artillery bombardments mowed down the ranks of the defenders. In this case, a significant role was played by the significant advantage of the attackers in personnel and, at their disposal, a large number of tanks and planes.
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.
Very a short time 10 divisions were formed from unprepared but eager 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 large number of these was to become the south of the Leningrad region. But that’s where the German units were heading. Therefore, in a hurry, 170 thousand children were returned back to Leningrad.
But it was not only children who were taken away. A planned evacuation of the city’s adult population also took place. Over the summer, 164 thousand workers left Leningrad, who were evacuated along with their enterprises. The first wave of evacuation was characterized by the extreme reluctance of residents to leave the city. IN protracted war they simply didn’t believe it. 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 - Railway, 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 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 conscious communists did not allow the brave souls to completely forget themselves, and some riots there was no reason for this.
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 supply opportunities. 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 designed to ensure that, once in hopeless situation and enduring suffering, a person loses the will to fight. But the Russians did not lose it. And this axiom Once again was proven by the siege of 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 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 food supply(albeit in the very minimum quantity) 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. It was no longer just at stake here 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 Leningradskaya heroic defense 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. U German military leaders There were clear orders to break resistance by destroying warehouses, waterworks, power plants and power supplies with artillery strikes.
Life of besieged Leningrad
The Soviet leadership did not consider it necessary to notify citizens about real picture what happened 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 main task townspeople
The worse the situation at the front became, the more gloomy the mood was in the city. It was not just that the city was surrounded by troops. Many cities of the Soviet Union fell victim to enemy aggression. There was a danger that the Germans would capture Leningrad. And this couldn’t help but frighten me. But the overall picture was shaped by other tones. After all, there was a shortage of food exactly as long as the blockade of Leningrad lasted. After some time, the supply of electricity to residential buildings stopped, and soon the water supply and sewerage systems also failed.
In addition to the fact that it was physically difficult, the situation was very depressing psychologically. One of the historian-researchers very aptly described the condition of people with the expression “tearing the fabric of life.” Habitual way of life life was completely disrupted. The city was constantly bombed. In addition, I had to work even more than in Peaceful time. And all this against the backdrop of chronic malnutrition.
And yet the city lived. He didn’t just survive, but lived and functioned as if he continued 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.
Most pressing problem During the time that the blockade lasted, there was always a search for food. System ration cards, according to which goods were sold, 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
| 18.07 – 30.09 1941 | 1.10 – 13.11 1941 | 20.11 – 25.12 1941 | 26.12.1941 – 31.01.1942 | February 1942 | |
| Workers | 800 grams | 400 grams | 250 grams | 350 grams | 500 grams |
| Employees | 600 grams | 200 grams | 125 grams | 200 grams | 400 grams |
| Dependents | 400 grams | 200 grams | 125 grams | 200 grams | 300 grams |
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 knitted themselves warm sweaters and socks, which were 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 action was noted in the local newspaper as 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 this is also the contribution of children to the protection hometown, while the blockade continued, is not limited. 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, damage to cultural and historical monuments Leningrad.
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 frozen in ice rivers. 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 died down, I connected Soviet aviation. The military band struck up the “Internationale,” and the infantry rushed to the attack. The training, which took place over several months, did not pass without a trace. Losses among the Red Army soldiers were minimal. They quickly reached the border of the fortifications, and, using crampons, hooks and assault ladders, climbed right up the ice wall close to the enemy and were able to break through the blockade. On the morning of January 18, 1943, in the northern suburbs of Leningrad, Soviet units moving towards each other finally met. They liberated Shlisselburg and relieved the coast of Lake Ladoga from the blockade.
However, this day is not considered the end of the blockade. After all, only a small plot of land was liberated. The blockade was not completely lifted. On January 14, 1944, the Leningrad-Novgorod War began with a powerful artillery strike. strategic operation. Formations of the two Soviet armies fought towards each other, crashing into the very heart of the echeloned German defense. They managed to first widen the gap and then push the enemy 100 km away from the city.
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 blockade of Leningrad was broken three years after the siege began. All this time, attempts to break through did not stop. Heroic Help civilian population and the dedication of the defenders of Leningrad saved the city from destruction. How it was possible and what price had to be paid.
Since the autumn of 1941, the city of Leningrad was captured by German troops in a blockade ring. Since large losses of personnel on both sides were expected during the assault on Leningrad, the enemy command decides to simply starve civilians to death. Thereby minimizing your losses. Therefore, during the Battle of Leningrad, the main goal of the army of the Soviet Union was to break through the blockade ring.
The city did not have sufficient food supplies from the very beginning. And this was known to both the Soviet and German commands. Bread cards were introduced in the city even before the siege of Leningrad began. At first this was only a preventive measure, and the standard of bread was sufficient - 800 grams per person. But already on September 2, 1941, it was reduced (the blockade ring was closed on September 8), and in the period from November 20 to December 25, the norm was cut to 250 grams of bread for workers and 125 grams for employees, children and dependents.
The only connecting thread between the besieged city and the country was the shores of Lake Ladoga. Along it, first on ships and later on ice, food was delivered to the city. Residents of besieged Leningrad continued to evacuate along the same route. This path along Lake Ladoga was known as the Road of Life. But, despite all the efforts and heroism of the people working there, this flow was not sufficient to save the city. Although thanks to him it was possible to save thousands and thousands of lives. Moving along it in itself is fraught with enormous dangers. In addition, we had to constantly fear attacks from enemy aircraft.
Road along Lake Ladoga - “Road of Life”
Events of 1941
Despite the fact that at the same time a large-scale Wehrmacht offensive was unfolding, which resulted in the Battle of Moscow, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters paid no less attention to the Leningrad Front. Stalin gave a personal order to prevent the capture of Leningrad at any cost. Zhukov conveyed this idea to the soldiers as simply as possible. He explained that the family of anyone who left their position without permission or succumbed to panic would be shot.
Even before the ring of the enemy blockade closed, railway communication between Leningrad and the rest of the country was interrupted. Therefore, the 54th Army received orders to launch an offensive in the direction of the village of Mgi in order to take possession of the railway section and restore communications with Leningrad. While the army was being pulled to this direction, the Germans captured Shlisselburg, thereby closing the encirclement ring.
In this regard, the assignment of the 54th Army was immediately changed. They had to break through the blockade before the German units had time to thoroughly fortify themselves. They began to act immediately. Tenth of September soviet soldiers began to attack the enemy. They were able to recapture several sections of land, but after just two days they were thrown back by powerful enemy counterattacks. starting positions. Day after day the Red Army soldiers renewed their attacks. They attacked different time, and tried to break through different sections of the front. But everything was unsuccessful. Break through enemy blockade failed. For such a failure, Marshal of the Soviet Union Kulik was removed from office.
Meanwhile, Zhukov, whose task was the direct defense of the city from enemy attempts to capture Leningrad, did not dare to weaken the main forces and come to the rescue. However, he allocated part of the Neva operational group to break through the ring. They managed to win back a small piece of land, with an area of only two kilometers. Later it was called Nevsky Piglet. These few kilometers cost the lives of 50,000 Soviet soldiers. Although, as is the case with many other battles of the Great Patriotic War, these data are disputed. There are those who call the figure 260 thousand people. According to statistics, soldiers arriving here lived from 5 minutes to 52 hours. 50 thousand shells hit the Nevsky patch per day.
The attacks came one after another. Over a period of 43 days, 79 attacks were carried out. In hindsight, these terrible sacrifices were in vain. It was not possible to make a hole in the German defense. But at the time when these bloody battles took place, this piece of land was the only hope for breaking the blockade of Leningrad. And in the city people were literally dying of hunger. And they died by the thousands, just walking down the street. Therefore, they fought without looking back.
Memorial "Nevsky Piglet"
Attempts to break the blockade of Leningrad in 1942
In January 1942, troops near Leningrad were ordered to encircle and destroy the German 18th Army located south of the city. To accomplish this task, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts had to act in concert and move towards each other. On January 7th the Volkhov Front set out. It took them a week to start crossing the Volkhov. The breakthrough was a success, and the 2nd Army began to build on its success by penetrating the enemy’s ranks. She managed to advance 60 km. But the Leningrad Front, for its part, was unable to advance. For three months the 2nd Army held its position. And then the Germans cut it off from the main forces, thus cutting off the ability of the Volkhov Front to send reinforcements. None of the groups on the Leningrad Front managed to break through. The soldiers were surrounded. They were unable to break through the ring. Within four months, the 2nd Army was completely destroyed.
In the summer they set another task, not so grandiose. The troops had to break through a small corridor to make it possible to restore land connections with the besieged city. This time the Leningrad Front began to act. It seemed unsuccessful. However, according to the plan, this advance was only supposed to distract the enemy. Eight days later the offensive began Volkhov Front. This time it was possible to bring it closer to half the distance to the connection with Leningradsky. But this time too, the Germans managed to push back the Soviet troops to their original positions. As a result of this operation to break the enemy siege, as before, a large number of people died. German side lost 35 thousand people in these battles. USSR – 160 thousand people.
Breaking the blockade
The next attempt was made on January 12, 1943. The area chosen for the offensive was very difficult, and the Leningrad soldiers suffered from exhaustion. The enemy fortified himself on the left bank of the river, which was higher than the right. On the slope the Germans installed in tiers fire weapons, which reliably covered all approaches. And the slope itself was prudently filled with water, turning it into an impregnable glacier.
The Leningrad soldiers who took part in the offensive trained intensely for several months, literally rehearsing everything they would have to do during the attack. On the appointed day in the morning, artillery salvoes fired simultaneously from both fronts, which lasted more than two hours. As soon as the artillery fell silent, targeted airstrikes began. And immediately after them they went forward assault groups. With the help of "crampons", hooks and assault ladders, they successfully overcame the ice barrier and rushed into battle.
This time the resistance was broken. Although German groups fought desperately, they had to retreat. The most brutal battles took place on the flanks of the breakthrough. Even after the German groups were surrounded there, they continued to fight. The German command began hastily sending reserves to the breakthrough site, trying to close the gap and restore the encirclement. But this time they failed. A corridor 8 kilometers wide was conquered and held. In just 17 days, a road and railway were built along it.
Lifting the blockade of Leningrad
Breaking the siege of Leningrad in 1943 was very important. Thanks to the resulting corridor, it became possible to evacuate the remaining civilians and provide the troops with the necessary supplies. But complete withdrawal The blockade of Leningrad occurred only after another year of bloody battles.
The plan for the next military operation was developed, like the previous one, by Govorov. He presented him to the Supreme Commander's Headquarters in September 1943. Having received approval, Govorov began preparations. As in the case of the previous operation, he sought to work out everything to the smallest detail in order to achieve the goal while suffering the least possible losses. The operation began on January 14, 1944. Its final result was to be the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad.
According to all the rules of military affairs, the beginning was again made by powerful artillery preparation. After this, the 2nd Army moved from the Oranienbaum bridgehead. At the same time, the 42nd Army advanced from the Pulkovo Heights. This time they managed to break through the defense. Moving towards each other, the groupings of these armies in hot battles wedged themselves deep into the enemy’s defenses. They completely defeated the Peterhof-Strelninsk German group. On January 27, 1944, the blockade survivors managed to push back the enemy group 100 kilometers from the city. The terrible siege was finally lifted.
Realizing the importance of the event of lifting the blockade of Leningrad, commanders Zhdanov and Govorov decided to take an unprecedented step - they turned to Stalin with a request to allow the victorious fireworks to be fired not in Moscow, as was customary, but in Leningrad itself. The great city, which withstood the great test, was allowed to do this. On the twenty-seventh of January, to commemorate the day of breaking the siege of Leningrad, 324 guns in the city fired four salvos.
Several decades have passed. People who personally saw besieged Leningrad have grown old. Many of them have already died. But the contribution of the defenders of Leningrad has not been forgotten. The Great Patriotic War is rich in tragic and heroic events. But the day of the liberation of Leningrad is still remembered today. Of the seven desperate attempts to break through, for each of which thousands of soldiers paid with their lives, only two were successful. But these achievements were no longer surrendered by Soviet troops. German attempts to restore the blockade were unsuccessful.
The blockade of the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the Great Patriotic War was carried out by German troops from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944 with the goal of breaking the resistance of the city’s defenders and taking possession of it.
When undertaking an attack on the USSR, the fascist German leadership gave exclusively important capture of Leningrad. It planned to strike Army Group North from East Prussia in the north-east direction and two Finnish Army Groups from the south-eastern part of Finland in the south and south-east directions to destroy the Soviet troops located in the Baltic States, to capture ports on the Baltic Sea, including Leningrad and Kronstadt, acquire the most convenient sea and land communications for supplying their troops and a favorable starting area for striking in the rear of the Red Army troops covering Moscow. The offensive of fascist German troops directly to Leningrad 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 the railways connecting Leningrad with the country.
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.
The only military-strategic route passed through Lake Ladoga. transport route, which connected besieged Leningrad with the country in September 1941 - March 1943. It was called by Leningraders "The Road of Life". During navigation periods, transportation along the "Road of Life" was carried out along the waterway on ships of the Ladoga military flotilla and ships of the North-Western River Shipping Company, during freeze-up - along the ice road by vehicle.
German troops made numerous attempts to capture the city, but were unable to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops inside the blockade ring. Then the Nazis 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 city’s population 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. 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. During the shelling and bombing, many buildings in Leningrad were destroyed.
The city created extremely difficult conditions for the residents and the troops defending it. In the blocked city (with its suburbs), although the evacuation continued, 2.887 million residents remained, including 400 thousand children.
Food supplies were extremely limited. Since the beginning of the introduction card system(since July 18, 1941) the norms for the distribution of food to the city population were repeatedly reduced. In November-December 1941, a worker could receive only 250 grams of bread per day, and employees, children and the elderly - only 125 grams.
The bread was raw and contained up to 40% impurities.
In the autumn of 1941, famine began in Leningrad. Surrogate bread was almost the only food product for most blockade survivors; other food (meat, fats, sugar) was provided in extremely limited quantities, intermittently.
In the second half of November 1941, a highway was built on the ice of Lake Ladoga. Ammunition, weapons, food, medicine, fuel were transported along it, and the sick, wounded, and disabled were evacuated from Leningrad (from September 1941 to March 1943, more than 1.6 million tons of cargo were transported to Leningrad, about 1.4 million were evacuated Human). The work of the route did not stop, despite the bombing, shelling, and bad weather. With the start of operation of the Ladoga highway, the bread ration began to gradually increase (from December 25, 1941 - 200-350 grams).
The disruption of stable communications with the country and the cessation of the regular supply of fuel, raw materials and food had a catastrophic effect on the life of the city. Fuel reserves have run out. Electricity supply to residential buildings was cut off, trams and trolleybuses stopped. In January 1942, due to severe frosts The central heating, water supply and sewerage networks were out of order. Utilities stopped working. Residents went to fetch water from the Neva, Fontanka, and other rivers and canals. IN residential buildings temporary stoves were installed. The dismantling of wooden buildings for fuel was organized.
Acute lack of nutrition, early cold weather, grueling walks to work and home, constant nervous tension undermined people's health. The death rate increased every week. The most weakened people were sent to hospitals, hospitals were created for patients with dystrophy, children were placed in orphanages and nurseries.
Leningraders selflessly overcame the consequences of the blockade winter. At the end of March - beginning of April 1942, they completed a huge job of sanitary cleaning of the city. In the spring of 1942, navigation began on Lake Ladoga. Water transportation became the main means of overcoming the consequences of the blockade winter and reviving the urban economy.
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. In December 1942, residential buildings began to be connected to the electrical grid.
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. 300 thousand Leningraders participated in local units air defense cities. Day and night they kept their watch at factories, in the courtyards of houses, on the roofs.
IN harsh conditions During the blockade, the working people of the city provided the front with weapons, equipment, uniforms, and ammunition. 10 divisions were formed from the city population people's militia, seven of which became personnel. In 1941-1944, two thousand tanks, 1.5 thousand aircraft, 4,650 naval and field guns, 850 warships and vessels of various classes were manufactured and repaired in the city; produced 225 thousand machine guns, 12 thousand mortars, 7.5 million shells and mines.
Soviet troops repeatedly tried to break through the blockade ring, but achieved this only in January 1943. A corridor 8-11 kilometers wide was formed south of Lake Ladoga, restoring Leningrad’s land connection with the country.
A railway and a highway were built through it within 17 days. The establishment of land communications eased the situation for the population and troops in Leningrad.
The blockade of Leningrad was lifted completely during the Leningrad-Novgorod operation, carried out by Soviet troops from January 14 to March 1, 1944.
The artillery shelling of the city, which killed about 17 thousand people and injured about 34 thousand, stopped. The enemy's plans to destroy Leningrad and force the defending Soviet troops to surrender failed.
January 27, 1944 became the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the siege. On this day in Leningrad it was given festive fireworks (the only exception during the Great Patriotic War, other fireworks were carried out in Moscow).
It lasted almost 900 days and became the bloodiest blockade in the history of mankind: over 641 thousand inhabitants died from starvation and shelling (according to other sources, at least one million people). At the Nuremberg trials, the number of 632 thousand people appeared. Only 3% of them died from bombing and shelling, the rest died of starvation.
Victims of the blockade were buried in all city and suburban cemeteries, the places of the most mass graves being Piskarevskoye Cemetery and Serafimovskoye Cemetery.
The feat of the city’s defenders was highly appreciated: over 350 thousand soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were awarded orders and medals, 226 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", which was established in December 1942, was awarded to about 1.5 million people.
On January 26, 1945, the city of Leningrad itself was awarded the order Lenin.
On December 22, 1942, by Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was established, which was awarded to about 1.5 million defenders of the city.
For the first time, Leningrad was named a hero city in Stalin’s order of May 1, 1945. In 1965, he was officially awarded this title.
In May 1965 the city awarded a medal"Golden Star".
Federal Law "On the Days military glory and memorable dates of Russia" dated March 13, 1995 (with subsequent amendments) January 27 was established as the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944).
The memorial ensembles of Piskarevskoye and Seraphim cemeteries are dedicated to the memory of the victims of the siege and the fallen participants in the defense of Leningrad, and the Green Belt of Glory was created around the city along the former siege ring of the front.
The anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Leningrad in St. Petersburg is celebrated as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Siege. This day was first celebrated in 1990.
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the first days of the siege of Leningrad
On September 8, 1941, on the 79th day of the Great Patriotic War, a blockade ring closed around Leningrad
The Germans and their allies advancing on Leningrad had the categorical goal of its complete destruction. The headquarters of the Soviet command allowed for the possibility of surrendering the city and began the evacuation of valuables and industrial facilities in advance.
Residents of the city knew nothing about the plans of either side, and this made their situation especially alarming.
About the “war of tactics” on the Leningrad front and how it affected the besieged city - in the TASS material.
German plans: war of annihilation
Hitler's plans did not leave Leningrad any future: the German leadership and Hitler personally expressed intentions to raze the city to the ground. The same statements were made by the leadership of Finland, Germany’s ally and partner in the military operations for the siege of Leningrad.
In September 1941, Finnish President Risto Ryti directly stated to the German envoy in Helsinki: “If St. Petersburg no longer exists as a large city, then the Neva would be best border on Karelian Isthmus... Leningrad must be liquidated as a large city."
Supreme Command ground forces The Wehrmacht (OKH), giving the order to encircle Leningrad on August 28, 1941, defined the tasks of Army Group North advancing on the city as the most dense encirclement. At the same time, an attack on the city by infantry forces was not envisaged.
Vera Inber, Soviet poetess and prose writer
On September 10, the First Deputy People's Commissar of the NKVD of the USSR, Vsevolod Merkulov, arrived in Leningrad on a special mission, who, together with Alexei Kuznetsov, the second secretary of the regional party committee, was supposed to prepare a set of measures in the event of the forced surrender of the city to the enemy.
“Without any sentimentality, the Soviet leadership understood that the struggle could develop even according to the most negative scenario,” the researcher is confident.
Historians believe that neither Stalin nor the command of the Leningrad Front knew about the Germans’ refusal to plan to storm the city and about the transfer of the most combat-ready units of the 4th tank army Gepner on Moscow direction. Therefore, until the blockade was lifted, this plan of special measures to disable the most important strategic facilities in the city existed and was periodically checked.
"IN notebooks Zhdanova ( First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. - Approx. TASS) at the end of August - beginning of September there is a record that it is necessary to create illegal stations in Leningrad, keeping in mind that the possibility of continuing the fight against the Nazis and the occupiers can occur in conditions when the city is surrendered,” says Nikita Lomagin.
Leningraders: in the ring of ignorance
Leningraders followed the developments of events from the first days of the war, trying to predict the fate of their hometown. The Battle of Leningrad began on July 10, 1941, when Hitler's troops crossed the then border of the Leningrad region. Siege diaries indicate that already on September 8, when the city was subjected to massive shelling, most of the townspeople realized that the enemy was nearby and tragedy could not be avoided. One of the dominant moods of these months was anxiety and fear.
“Most of the townspeople had a very poor idea of the situation in the city, around the city, at the front,” says Nikita Lomagin. “This uncertainty was characteristic of the mood of the townspeople for quite a long time.” In mid-September, Leningraders learned about the difficult situation at the front from military personnel who found themselves in the city for redeployment and other reasons.
Since the beginning of September due to very difficult situation With food, the rules of the supply system began to change.
Leningraders said that not only the food, but even the smell of it, had disappeared from the stores, and now the trading floors smelled of emptiness. “The population began to think about some additional ways to find food, about new survival strategies,” explains the historian.
“During the blockade, there were a lot of proposals from below, from scientists, engineers, inventors, on how to solve the problems that the city faced: from the point of view of transport, from the point of view various kinds food substitutes, blood substitutes,” says Nikita Lomagin.
The fire at the Badayevsky warehouses on the first day of the siege, where 38 food warehouses and storerooms burned down, had a particular effect on the townspeople. The supply of food they carried was small and could have lasted the city for a maximum of a week, however, as rations tightened, Leningraders became increasingly confident that this particular fire was the cause mass starvation in the city.
bread grain and flour - for 35 days;
cereals and pasta - for 30 days;
meat and meat products - for 33 days;
fats - for 45 days.
The norms for issuing bread at that time were:
workers - 800 g;
employees - 600 g;
dependents and children - 400 g.
The mood of the townspeople worsened as changes occurred at the front. In addition, the enemy actively carried out propaganda activities in the city, of which the so-called whisper propaganda was especially widespread, spreading rumors about the invincibility of the German army and the defeat of the USSR. Artillery terror also played a role - constant massive shelling to which the city was subjected from September 1941 until the blockade was lifted.
Historians say that the totality of tragic circumstances that disrupted the normal course of life of Leningraders reached its peak in December 1941, when food standards became minimal, most enterprises stopped working due to a lack of electricity, and water supply, transport, and other city infrastructure practically stopped working.
“This set of circumstances is what we call a blockade,” says Nikita Lomagin. “It’s not just the encirclement of the city, it’s the shortage of everything against the backdrop of hunger, cold and shelling, the cessation of the functioning of traditional connections for the metropolis between workers, engineers, enterprises, teachers, institutions, etc. The rupture of this fabric of life was an extremely severe psychological blow."
The only link connecting the urban space during the blockade was the Leningrad radio, which, according to the researchers, united both the meaning of the struggle and the explanation of what was happening.
“People wanted to hear news, receive information, emotional support and not feel lonely,” says Lomagin.
From the end of September 1941, historians note, the townspeople began to expect an early lifting of the blockade. No one in the city could believe that it would last long. This belief was strengthened by the first attempts to liberate Leningrad, made in September-October 1941, and later by the success of the Red Army near Moscow, after which Leningraders expected that, following the capital, the Nazis would be driven back from the city on the Neva.
“No one in Leningrad believed that this would last for a long time until January 1943, when the blockade was broken,” says a researcher at the State memorial museum defense and blockade of Leningrad Irina Muravyova. “Leningraders were constantly waiting for a breakthrough and release of the city.”
The front has stabilized: who won?
The front near Leningrad stabilized on September 12. The German offensive was stopped, but the Nazi command continued to insist that the blockade ring around the city shrink closer and demanded that the Finnish allies fulfill the conditions of the Barbarossa plan.
He assumed that the Finnish units, having rounded Lake Ladoga from the north, would meet Army Group North in the area of the Svir River and thereby close the second ring around Leningrad.
“It was impossible to avoid the blockade of Leningrad under those conditions,” says Vyacheslav Mosunov.
“Up until the start of the Great Patriotic War, the defense of Leningrad was built primarily on the condition that the enemy would attack from the north and west,” the historian notes. “The Leningrad Military District, which had the most extensive territory, from the very beginning of hostilities was focused on the defense of the northern approaches to the city. This was a consequence of pre-war plans."
Alexander Werth, British journalist, 1943
Question about the announcement of Leningrad open city could never arise, as it did, for example, with Paris in 1940. War fascist Germany against the USSR was a war of extermination, and the Germans never made a secret of this.
In addition, the local pride of Leningrad was of a peculiar nature - an ardent love for the city itself, for its historical past, for the wonderful literary traditions associated with it (this primarily concerned the intelligentsia) here was combined with the great proletarian and revolutionary traditions of the city’s working class. And nothing could bind these two sides of the love of Leningraders for their city into one stronger whole than the threat of destruction hanging over it.
In Leningrad, people could choose between a shameful death in German captivity and an honorable death (or, if they were lucky, life) in their own unconquered city. It would also be a mistake to try to distinguish between Russian patriotism, revolutionary impulse and Soviet organization or ask which of these three factors played more important role in saving Leningrad; all three factors were combined in that extraordinary phenomenon that can be called “Leningrad in the days of the war.”
"For German command the offensive turned into an actual military defeat, notes Vyacheslav Mosunov. - Of the 4th Panzer Group, only one 41st Motorized Corps was able to fully complete its task without additional help. He managed to break through the defenses of the 42nd Army and complete the task of capturing the Dudergof Heights. However, the enemy was unable to take advantage of his success."
For several years Leningrad was surrounded by siege fascist invaders. People were left in the city without food, heat, electricity or running water. The days of the blockade are the most difficult test, which the residents of our city endured with courage and dignity..
The blockade lasted 872 days
On September 8, 1941, Leningrad was besieged. It was broken through on January 18, 1943. By the beginning of the blockade, Leningrad did not have sufficient supplies of food and fuel. The only way of communication with the city was Lake Ladoga. It was through Ladoga that the Road of Life ran - the highway along which food supplies were delivered to besieged Leningrad. It was difficult to transport the amount of food needed for the entire population of the city across the lake. During the first winter of the siege, famine began in Gol, and problems with heating and transport appeared. In the winter of 1941, hundreds of thousands of Leningraders died. On January 27, 1944, 872 days after the start of the siege, Leningrad was completely liberated from the Nazis.
On January 27, St. Petersburg will congratulate Leningrad on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the fascist blockade. Photo: www.russianlook.com
630 thousand Leningraders died
During the blockade, over 630 thousand Leningraders died from hunger and deprivation. This figure was announced at the Nuremberg trials. According to other statistics, the figure could reach 1.5 million people. Only 3% of deaths occurred due to fascist shelling and bombing, the remaining 97% died from starvation. Dead bodies lying on the streets of the city were perceived by passers-by as an everyday occurrence. Most of those who died during the siege are buried at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery.
During the years of the siege in Leningrad, hundreds of thousands of people died. Photo from 1942. Archive photo
Minimum ration - 125 grams of bread
The main problem of besieged Leningrad was hunger. Employees, dependents and children received only 125 grams of bread per day between November 20 and December 25. Workers were entitled to 250 grams of bread, and personnel of fire brigades, paramilitary guards and vocational schools - 300 grams. During the blockade, bread was prepared from a mixture of rye and oat flour, cake and unfiltered malt. The bread turned out to be almost black in color and bitter in taste.
The children of besieged Leningrad were dying of hunger. Photo from 1942. Archive photo
1.5 million evacuees
During three waves of evacuation of Leningrad, people were taken from the city to total 1.5 million people - almost half of the city's total population. The evacuation began a week after the start of the war. Explanatory work was carried out among the population: many did not want to leave their homes. By October 1942, the evacuation was completed. In the first wave, about 400 thousand children were taken to the Leningrad region. 175 thousand were soon returned back to Leningrad. Starting from the second wave, evacuation was carried out along the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga.
Almost half of the population was evacuated from Leningrad. Photo from 1941. Archive photo
1500 loudspeakers
To alert Leningraders about enemy attacks on the city streets, 1,500 loudspeakers were installed. In addition, messages were broadcast through the city radio network. The alarm signal was the sound of a metronome: its fast rhythm meant the beginning of an air attack, and its slow rhythm meant a release. Radio broadcasting in besieged Leningrad was around the clock. The city had an ordinance prohibiting turning off radios in homes. Radio announcers talked about the situation in the city. When the radio broadcasts stopped, the sound of the metronome continued to be broadcast on the air. Its knock was called the living heartbeat of Leningrad.
More than 1.5 thousand loudspeakers appeared on the streets of the city. Photo from 1941. Archive photo
- 32.1 °C
The first winter in besieged Leningrad was harsh. The thermometer dropped to -32.1 °C. average temperature month it was - 18.7 °C. The city did not even record the usual winter thaws. In April 1942, the snow cover in the city reached 52 cm. Negative air temperatures remained in Leningrad for more than six months, lasting until May inclusive. Heating was not supplied to the houses, sewerage and water supply were turned off. Work in factories and factories stopped. The main source of heat in houses was the potbelly stove. Everything that burned was burned in it, including books and furniture.
The winter in besieged Leningrad was very harsh. Archive photo
6 months siege
Even after the blockade was lifted, German and Finnish troops besieged Leningrad for six months. The Vyborg and Svirsko-Petrozavodsk offensive operations of Soviet troops with the support of the Baltic Fleet made it possible to liberate Vyborg and Petrozavodsk, finally pushing the enemy back from Leningrad. As a result of the operations, Soviet troops advanced 110-250 km in a western and southwestern direction, and the Leningrad region was liberated from enemy occupation.
The siege continued for another six months after the blockade was broken, but German troops did not penetrate into the city center. Photo: www.russianlook.com
150 thousand shells
During the siege, Leningrad was constantly subjected to artillery shelling, which was especially numerous in September and October 1941. Aviation carried out several raids a day - at the beginning and at the end of the working day. In total, during the siege, 150 thousand shells were fired at Leningrad and more than 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped. The shells destroyed 3 thousand buildings and damaged more than 7 thousand. About a thousand enterprises were put out of action. To protect against artillery shelling, Leningraders erected defensive structures. Residents of the city built more than 4 thousand pillboxes and bunkers, equipped 22 thousand firing points in buildings, and erected 35 kilometers of barricades and anti-tank obstacles on the streets.
The trains transporting people were constantly attacked by German aircraft. Photo from 1942. Archive photo
4 cars of cats
Domestic animals were brought to Leningrad from Yaroslavl in January 1943 to fight hordes of rodents that threatened to destroy food supplies. Four carriages of smoky cats arrived in the newly liberated city - it was smoky cats that were considered the best rat catchers. A long line immediately formed for the cats that were brought. The city was saved: the rats disappeared. Already in modern St. Petersburg, as a sign of gratitude to animal deliverers, monuments to the cat Elisha and the cat Vasilisa appeared on the eaves of houses on Malaya Sadovaya Street.
On Malaya Sadovaya there are monuments to cats who saved the city from rats. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
300 declassified documents
The Archival Committee of St. Petersburg is preparing an electronic project “Leningrad under siege.” It involves placement on the portal “Archives of St. Petersburg” virtual exhibition archival documents on the history of Leningrad during the siege. On January 31, 2014, 300 scanned images will be published. high quality historical papers about the blockade. The documents will be combined into ten sections, showing different aspects of life in besieged Leningrad. Each section will be accompanied by comments from experts.
Samples of food cards. 1942 TsGAIPD St. Petersburg. F. 4000. Op. 20. D. 53. Original Photo: TsGAIPD St. Petersburg
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
© AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
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