Великий подвиг советских людей во время Второй World War must not be forgotten by descendants. Millions of warriors and civilians brought the long-awaited victory at the cost of their lives, men, women and even children became the only weapon that was directed against fascism. The partisan resistance centers, factories and collective farms operated in the territories occupied by the enemy, and the Germans failed to break the spirit of the defenders of the Motherland. The hero-city of Leningrad became a vivid example of perseverance in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
The fascist strategy was to applya sudden, lightning strike on the areas that the Germans chose as priority. Three army groups before the end of the fall were to capture Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. Hitler estimated the capture of these settlements as a victory in the war. Thus, fascist military analysts planned not only to "decapitate" the Soviet troops, but also to break the morale of the divisions retreating to the rear, to undermine the Soviet ideology. Moscow should be captured after victories in the northern and southern direction, the regrouping and formation of the Wehrmacht’s armies were planned on the approaches to the capital of the USSR.
Leningrad, according to Hitler, wascity symbol of the power of the Soviets, the "cradle of revolution", which is why it was subject to complete destruction along with the civilian population. In 1941 the city was an important strategic point, on its territory there were many engineering and electrical plants. Due to the development of industry and science, Leningrad was a place of concentration of highly skilled engineering and technical personnel. A large number of educational institutions produced specialists for work in various branches of the national economy. On the other hand, the city was geographically isolated and located at a great distance from sources of raw materials and energy. Hitler was helped by the geographical position of Leningrad: its proximity to the borders of the country made it possible to quickly encircle and blockade. The territory of Finland served as a springboard for the basing of fascist aviation at the preparatory stage of the invasion. In June 1941, the Finns enter the Second World War on the side of Hitler. Huge at that time, the military and merchant fleet based in the Baltic Sea, the Germans needed to neutralize and destroy, and use profitable sea routes for their own military needs.
The defense of Leningrad began long before the encirclementcities. The Germans attacked swiftly, on the day tank and motorized formations passed 30 km inland into the territory of the USSR to the north. The creation of defensive lines was carried out in the Pskov and Luga direction. Soviet troops retreated with great losses, losing a large number of equipment and leaving the city and the fortified areas to the enemy. Pskov was captured on July 9, the fascists moved to the Leningrad region in the least short way. For several weeks their attack was delayed by the Luga fortifications. They were built by experienced engineers and allowed the Soviet troops to hold back the onslaught of the enemy for some time. This delay greatly angered Hitler and made it possible to partially prepare Leningrad for the attack of the fascists. In parallel with the Germans on June 29, 1941, the Finnish army crossed the USSR border, the Karelian Isthmus was occupied for a long time. The Finns refused to take part in the attack on the city, but blocked a large number of transport routes connecting the city with the “big land”. The complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade in this direction occurred only in 1944, in the summer. After Hitler’s personal visit to Army Group North and the regrouping of troops, the fascists broke down the resistance of the Lugovsky fortified area and began a massive offensive. Novgorod, Chudovo were captured in August 1941. The dates of the siege of Leningrad, which were ingrained in the memory of many Soviet people, begin in September 1941. The seizure of Petrokrepost by the fascists finally cuts off the city from the land routes of communication with the country, this happened on September 8. The ring is closed, but the defense of Leningrad continues.
An attempt to quickly capture Leningrad failedcompletely. Hitler can not pull the forces from the surrounded city and transfer to the central direction - to Moscow. Quickly enough, the fascists found themselves in the suburbs, but, having met with powerful resistance, they were forced to strengthen and prepare for protracted battles. On September 13, G. K. Zhukov arrived in Leningrad. His main task was the defense of the city, at the time Stalin recognized the situation as almost hopeless and was ready to “hand over” it to the Germans. But with this outcome, the second capital of the state would be completely destroyed along with the entire population, which at that time was 3.1 million people. According to eyewitnesses, Zhukov in these September days was terrible, only his authority and iron will stopped panic among the soldiers defending the city. The Germans were stopped, but Leningrad was kept in a tight ring, which did not give the possibility of supplying the metropolis. Hitler decided not to risk his soldiers, he understood that the city battles would destroy most of the northern army group. He ordered the start of a mass extermination of the inhabitants of Leningrad. Regular shelling, aerial bombardments gradually destroyed the city's infrastructure, food depots, and energy sources. German fortifications were built around the city, which excluded the possibility of evacuating civilians and supplying them with everything they needed. The possibility of the surrender of Leningrad to Hitler was not interested, his main goal was the destruction of this settlement. At the time of the formation of the besieged ring in the city, there were a lot of refugees from the Leningrad region and surrounding areas, only a small percentage of the population managed to evacuate. A large number of people who tried to leave the besieged northern capital gathered at the stations. Among the population began hunger, which Hitler called his main ally during the seizure of Leningrad.
January 18, 1943 - the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad.How far this day was from the fall of the 41st! Massive shelling, food shortages led to massive deaths. Already in November, the limits for the issuance of products on the cards for the population and military personnel were cut. Delivery of all necessary was carried out by air and through Lake Ladoga, which was shot by the Nazis. People started starving fainting, the first deaths from exhaustion and cases of cannibalism were recorded, which were punished with executions.
With the advent of cold weather, the situation is muchcomplicated, advancing first, the most severe, winter. The Siege of Leningrad, the “road of life” - these are concepts inseparable from each other. All engineering communications were violated in the city, there was no water, heating, sewage system did not work, food supplies were running out, urban transport was not functioning. Thanks to the qualified doctors who remained in the city, it was possible to avoid mass epidemics. Many people died on the street on the way home or to work, most of Leningradians did not have enough strength to carry dead relatives to the cemetery, so the corpses lay on the streets. Created sanitary brigades could not cope with such a number of deaths, not everyone was able to bury.
The winter of 1941-42 was much colder.average meteorological indicators, but there was Ladoga - the road of life. Under the constant fire of the invaders, cars and carts were driving across the lake. They brought food and necessary things to the city, and in the opposite direction, people exhausted by hunger. The children of besieged Leningrad, who were evacuated over the ice to different parts of the country, still remember all the horrors of the freezing city.
According to the grocery card dependents (children andold men), who could not work, were given 125 grams of bread. Its composition varied depending on what was available to the bakers: shakes from bags of corn grits, linen and cotton cake, bran, wallpaper dust, etc. From 10 to 50% of the ingredients that were part of the flour were inedible , cold and hunger have become synonymous with the concept of "the blockade of Leningrad."
The road of life, passing through Ladoga, savedof many people. As soon as the ice cover gained strength, trucks began to roll over it. In January 1942, the city authorities had the opportunity to open canteens at factories and factories, the menu of which was made specifically for exhausted people. In hospitals and established orphanages give out enhanced nutrition, which helps to survive the terrible winter. Ladoga is a road of life, and this name, which Leningraders gave to the ferry, fully corresponds to the truth. Food and essential goods were collected for the blockade, as well as for the front, by the whole country.
In a dense ring of enemies, fighting with the cold,hunger and constant bombing, Leningrad residents not only lived, but also worked to win. On the territory of the city the factories produced military products. The cultural life of the city did not stop in the most difficult moments, unique works of art were created. Poems about the blockade of Leningrad cannot be read without tears, they are written by the participants of those terrible events and reflect not only the pain and suffering of people, but also their desire for life, hatred of the enemy and fortitude. Shostakovich's symphony is imbued with the feelings and emotions of Leningrad. Libraries and some museums partially worked in the city, and at the zoo, depleted people continued to care for non-evacuated animals.
Without heat, water and electricity, workers stood bymachine tools, putting the remnants of their life forces into victory. Most of the men went to the front or defended the city, therefore women and teenagers worked in factories and plants. The transport system of the city was destroyed during massive shelling, so people went to work on foot for several kilometers, in a state of extreme exhaustion and in the absence of roads cleared of snow.
Полное освобождение Ленинграда от блокады увидели not all of them, but their daily feat brought that moment closer. Water was taken from the Neva and burst pipelines, houses were burned with stoves, burning remnants of furniture in them, chewing on leather belts and wallpapers, pasted with paste, but they lived and resisted the enemy. Olga Bergholz wrote poems about the blockade of Leningrad, the lines from which became winged, they were carved on monuments dedicated to those terrible events. Her phrase "no one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten" today is of great importance for all caring people.
The worst side of any war is itsnon-selectivity in the choice of victims. Hundreds of thousands of children died in the occupied city, many died in the evacuation, but the rest participated in the approach of victory on a par with adults. They stood at the machines, collecting shells and ammunition for the front line, were on duty at night on the roofs of houses, neutralizing the incendiary bombs that the Nazis had thrown at the city, raising the spirit of the soldiers holding the defenses. The children of besieged Leningrad became adults at the moment when the war came. Many teenagers fought in the regular units of the Soviet army. The hardest of all was the little ones who lost all their relatives. For them, orphanages were created, where the older ones helped the younger ones and supported them. A surprising fact is the creation during the blockade of the children's dance ensemble A. E. Obrant. Guys were gathered all over the city, treated for exhaustion, and began rehearsals. More than 3000 concerts during the blockade gave this famous ensemble, he performed at the front, in factories and in hospitals. The contribution of young artists to the victory was appreciated after the war: all the guys were awarded with the medals "For the Defense of Leningrad".
Освобождение Ленинграда было для советского leadership of the primary task, but the possibilities for offensive action and resources in the spring of 1942 was not. Attempts to break the blockade were carried out in the autumn of the 41st year, but they did not produce results. German troops strengthened quite well and surpassed the Soviet army in terms of armament. By the autumn of 1942, Hitler had significantly exhausted the resources of his armies and therefore made an attempt to capture Leningrad, which was supposed to free up troops that were in the north.
In September, the Germans launched Operation NorthRadiance ”, which failed due to the counterattack of the Soviet troops who were striving to lift the blockade. Leningrad of 1943 was a well-fortified city, defenses were built by the forces of the townspeople, but its defenders were significantly depleted, so breaking the blockade from the city was impossible. However, the successes of the Soviet army in other areas made it possible for the Soviet command to start preparing a new attack on the fascist fortifications.
January 18, 1943 breakthrough of the blockade of Leningradmarked the beginning of the liberation of the city. The operation involved military units of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, they were supported by the Baltic fleet and the Ladoga flotilla. Preparation was carried out within a month. Operation Iskra was developed from December 1942, it envisaged two phases, the main one of which was to break the blockade. Further advance of the army was to completely remove the encirclement from the city.
The start of the operation was scheduled for January 12, at thisAt the same time, the southern shore of Lake Ladoga bound up strong ice, and the surrounding impassable swamps were frozen to a depth sufficient for the passage of heavy equipment. Shlisselburg ledge was securely reinforced by the Germans due to the presence of bunkers, minefields. Tank battalions and mountain rifle divisions did not lose their ability to resist after a massive Soviet artillery artillery preparation. The fighting took a protracted nature, for six days the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke through the enemy defenses, moving towards each other.
January 18, 1943 the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad wascompleted, the first part of the developed Iskra plan has been completed. As a result, the encircled grouping of German troops was ordered to leave the encirclement and connect with the main forces, which occupied more advantageous positions and were additionally staffed and fortified. For residents of Leningrad, this date has become one of the major milestones in the history of the blockade. The formed corridor was no more than 10 km wide, but it made it possible to lay railway tracks for the full supply of the city.
Гитлер полностью потерял инициативу на северном direction. The divisions of the Wehrmacht had a strong defensive position, but could no longer take the recalcitrant city. Having achieved their first success, the Soviet troops planned to launch a large-scale offensive in the southern direction, which would completely lift the blockade of Leningrad and the region. In February, March and April 1943, the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts attempted to attack the Sinyavsky group of the enemy, which were called the operation "Polar Star". Unfortunately, they failed, there were many objective reasons that did not allow the army to develop an offensive. Firstly, the German grouping was significantly strengthened by tanks (“tigers” were used for the first time in this area), aviation and mountain rifle divisions. Secondly, the line of defense created by the fascists by that time was very powerful: concrete bunkers, a large number of artillery. Thirdly, the offensive had to be carried out on territories with difficult terrain. Marshland significantly hampered the movement of heavy guns and tanks. Fourthly, when analyzing the actions of the fronts, clear errors of command were revealed, which led to large losses of equipment and people. But a start was made. The liberation of Leningrad from the blockade became a matter of thorough preparation and time.
The main dates of the siege of Leningrad are not carvednot only on the stones of memorials and monuments, but also in the heart of each participant. This victory was given by the great blood of Soviet soldiers and officers and the millions of deaths of civilians. In 1943, the considerable successes of the Red Army along the entire length of the front line made it possible to prepare an offensive in the north-western direction. The German group created the "Northern Val" around Leningrad - a line of fortifications that could withstand and stop any attack, but not the Soviet soldiers. The lifting of the blockade of Leningrad on January 27, 1944 is the date that symbolizes victory. Much was done for this victory, not only by the troops, but also by the people of Leningrad themselves.
Operation "The January Thunder" began on January 14, 1944.three fronts (Volkhovsky, 2nd Baltic, Leningrad), the Baltic Fleet, partisan formations (which at that time were quite strong military units), the Ladoga Navy with the support of aviation. The offensive developed rapidly, the fascist fortifications did not save Army Group North from defeat and disgraceful retreat in a southwesterly direction. Hitler could not understand the reason for the failure of such a powerful defense, and the German generals who fled from the battlefield could not explain. On January 20, Novgorod and the adjacent territories were liberated. The complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad on January 27 was the reason for the festive salute in the exhausted but unconquered city.
The date of liberation of Leningrad is a holiday forall residents of the once united country of the Soviets. There is no point arguing about the significance of the first breakthrough or final liberation, these events are equivalent. Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved, although it took two times more to achieve this goal. The January 18, 1943 breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad gave residents the opportunity to connect with the mainland. The city’s supply of food, medicines, energy, raw materials for factories has resumed. However, the main thing was that there was a chance to save many people. Children, wounded soldiers, exhausted by hunger, sick Leningraders and defenders of this city were evacuated from the city. The year 1944 brought a complete lifting of the blockade, the Soviet army began its victorious march through the territory of the country, victory was near.
The defense of Leningrad is an immortal feat.millions of people, there is no justification for fascism, but there are no other examples in the history of such steadfastness and courage. 900 days of famine, hard work under shelling and bombing. Death went backwards for every resident of besieged Leningrad, but the city survived. Our contemporaries and descendants should not forget about the great feat of the Soviet people and their role in the fight against fascism. This will be a betrayal of all the dead: children, the elderly, women, men, soldiers. The hero city of Leningrad should be proud of its past and build the present regardless of all the renames and attempts to distort the history of the great opposition.
