ITAR-TASS, within the framework of the Leningrad Victory-70 project, talks about the last 50 days of the siege
ITAR-TASS/Archive
Diorama "Breaking the Siege of Leningrad" (Dedicated to the military operation "Iskra").
Museum-reserve "Breakthrough the Siege of Leningrad".
LENINGRAD. 1944 January 18. /TASS/. The breaking of the blockade, which Leningraders had to wait for 16 long months, was a great national holiday for the people. On January 18, 1944, the city celebrated the anniversary of the military operation that predetermined the success of Soviet troops in the Battle of Leningrad. The newspaper "On Guard of the Motherland" wrote:
A year ago, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts won a major victory, which became a bright page in the history of the heroic struggle of the great city against the Nazi invaders. In intense battles, our units broke the German defenses and broke the blockade. Leningrad received a strong land connection with the country. The opportunity was created to radically improve the supply of the city with everything necessary for its life and struggle, and its military position was strengthened. In the battles on the Neva, the villainous plans of the Nazi invaders to strangle the glorious citadel of the Soviet country were finally buried.
LenTASS described the mood of the residents of the front city on that significant day: “ There is no limit to joy. People hug, kiss, shake hands, congratulate each other on breaking the blockade”.
The news of the connection of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in the area of Workers' Village No. 1 came to the besieged city only in the evening of January 18, 1943, and the night shift workers were the first to hear it. Despite the late hour, immediately after the Sovinformburo’s extraordinary message about breaking the blockade was broadcast on the radio, rallies took place at Leningrad factories.
On the morning of January 19, 1943, the streets of Leningrad were decorated with flags, even strangers on the streets hugged and congratulated each other on an important victory. By morning, the artists had finished working on a series of new posters dedicated to breaking the blockade - two days later they could be seen on the streets of the city.
On the same day, the Leningrad City Executive Committee decided to prepare a plan of priority work to restore the city economy.
However, the Red Army failed to build on its success and push back German troops from Leningrad in January 1943. The Germans constantly transferred fresh reserves to this area, and in the period from January 19 to 30, a large amount of artillery, tanks and five divisions transferred from other sectors of the front, including parts of the 4th SS Polizei Division, appeared here. Their actions were actively supported by German aviation. Historians note that German reserves were most actively used against the 67th Lenfront Army - the fascist command believed that the troops advancing from the besieged city were more weakened. As a result, in order to prevent the enemy from reaching Ladoga and again closing the blockade ring, Soviet troops went on the defensive.
Attempts to break through the blockade ring around Leningrad were made several times. For the first time, such a task was assigned to units of the Red Army in September 1941, but the lack of forces and the difficult situation in other sectors of the Soviet-German front did not allow it to be solved either in 1941 or in 1942.
Operation Iskra in 1943, which restored the besieged city’s connection with the country, was preceded by four offensive operations undertaken by troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with the aim of unblocking the city and liberating the occupied areas of the Leningrad region:
The first was undertaken immediately after the formations of the 18th German Army reached Lake Ladoga and the blockade of Leningrad was established. The Soviet command intended to quickly restore the city’s connection with the country. On September 10-26, the 54th Separate Army, the 115th Rifle Division and the 4th Lenfront Marine Brigade launched counter attacks on Sinyavino and Mgu. But the troops were unable to complete the task due to lack of strength: the 54th Army advanced only 6-10 km in the Sinyavinsk direction, and the Lenfront formations, having crossed the Neva on the night of September 20, captured only small bridgehead.
The second Sinyavin operation on October 20-28, 1941 began at the moment of the unfolding offensive of German troops near Tikhvin and was stopped due to the aggravated situation in this direction.
Conducted from November 10 to December 30, 1941 by the forces of the 54th Lenfront Army, the 4th and 52nd separate armies with the assistance of troops of the North-Western Front. Its main goal was the defeat of the Tikhvin group of fascist German troops, the restoration of railway communication in the Tikhvin-Volkhov section, as well as improving the position of the Lenfront and Baltic Fleet troops. The strategic objective of the operation was to prevent the transfer of enemy forces to the Moscow direction.
Thanks to the reinforcements, the 4th, 52nd and 54th armies had superiority over the enemy in men and artillery, but they were inferior in tanks and aircraft. The offensive developed slowly, and the troops' actions lacked synchronization. However, the Soviet units were successful and on December 9 liberated Tikhvin, by the end of December they reached the Volkhov and captured several bridgeheads on its left bank, throwing the Germans back to their original lines.
Units of the Red Army advanced 100-120 km, ensuring through traffic by rail to the Voybokalo station and disrupting the plan to create a second ring of encirclement of Leningrad. They inflicted damage on ten enemy divisions and forced the Germans to transfer five divisions to the Tikhvin direction, thereby creating favorable conditions for a counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow.
A strike by the troops of the Volkhov Front from the Volkhov line and the 54th Army from the Pogost region in the general direction of Lyuban was supposed to encircle and destroy the enemy’s Lyuban group, going to the rear of the German troops blockading Leningrad from the south. Advancing in a wooded and swampy area, in off-road conditions, in deep snow, with a lack of automatic weapons, transport, communications, food and fodder, the troops advanced slowly, encountering stubborn enemy resistance. In addition, there was a lack of organization of the offensive. The Germans managed to regroup eleven divisions and one brigade into the 18th Army zone, dramatically changing the balance of forces.
In September 1942, the German command planned Operation Nordlicht (Northern Lights) to capture Leningrad. To carry it out, the 18th Army was reinforced by formations of the 11th Army transferred from Crimea and several divisions from Western Europe, as well as large artillery and aviation forces.
The Soviet command forestalled the enemy by launching an offensive in the Sinyavinsk direction in August. With counter strikes from the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, it was planned to defeat the enemy’s heavily fortified Mginsk-Sinyavin grouping, restoring Leningrad’s land connection with the country. On August 19, Lenfront troops suddenly went on the offensive, striking at Sinyavino and Tosno. On August 27, troops from the strike group of the Volkhov Front began an offensive from the east. Having broken through the German defenses in the Gontovaya Lipka, Tortolovo sector and repelling counterattacks, by the end of August they reached the approaches to Sinyavino.
The Nazis hastily transferred six fresh divisions, including one tank, to the breakthrough area, which allowed them to stop the advance of Soviet troops and launch strong flank counterattacks. During September, Lenfront troops sought to overcome the enemy’s defenses on the left bank of the Neva and develop an offensive towards Sinyavino, towards the troops of the Volkhov Front.
On September 26, units of the Nevsky Operational Group captured a bridgehead in the Moscow Dubrovka area, where stubborn fighting took place. But Lenfront troops were unable to expand the captured bridgeheads or break through the enemy’s defenses to the full depth and connect with the Volkhov Front. By order of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the troops retreated to their original lines, maintaining a small bridgehead on the left bank in the Moscow Dubrovka area.
The Sinyavinsk operation of 1942 did not solve the problem of releasing the siege of Leningrad. However, as a result of the active actions of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, the enemy’s plan to storm the city was thwarted.
Preparations for the offensive operation in the area of Lake Ladoga were carried out throughout December 1942, and were completed by the deadline set by Headquarters - January 1, 1943.
Through the joint efforts of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, defeat the enemy group in the Lipka-Gaitolovo-Moskovskaya Dubrovka-Shlisselburg area and thus break the siege of the mountains. Leningrad. By the end of January 1943, the operation would be completed.
However, the weather interfered with the fighting. At the end of December, the commanders of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, Colonel General Leonid Govorov and Army General Kirill Meretskov, asked the Supreme Command to postpone the start of the offensive until January 10-12 due to extremely unfavorable weather conditions. The military leaders explained the need for a delay by the fact that the thaw was prolonged near Leningrad, the ice cover on the Neva was not stable enough, and the swamps were impassable - the soil in them was frozen only 15-20 cm, which was not enough for the movement of tanks. In addition, serious fluctuations in air temperature - from 0 to minus 15 degrees - created fogs, which made it difficult to observe the enemy. In such conditions, launching an offensive was risky. This request was granted by the Headquarters, and the start of Operation Iskra was scheduled for January 12, 1943.
Our troops had to carry out Operation Iskra in extremely difficult conditions; Hitler’s troops turned the positions they occupied into powerful fortified areas with an extensive system of concrete field structures, with a large number of anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles. The enemy's defense also relied on very advantageous heights and other natural boundaries. The enemy defenses on the left bank of the Neva were especially powerful. Having fortified themselves here, the Nazis had open water up to 800 meters wide in front of them. Even a frozen river presented an extremely strong barrier, since there were no shelters on the ice. It was visible and shot through from a steep, steep bank occupied by the enemy, the height of which in the breakthrough area ranged from 5 to 12 meters. Hitler's troops reinforced this natural obstacle with a dense network of barbed wire and minefields."Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy ZhukovFrom the book "Memories and Reflections"
In the breakthrough area, for every kilometer of the front, the 18th Army of the German Army Group North, under the command of Colonel General G. Lindemann, had over 20 strong firing points, each sector was defended by large forces of infantry, 12 mounted and 20 manual ones were concentrated on each square meter machine guns. Such serious enemy positions forced the command of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts to be especially careful in planning the offensive. At the same time, the Soviet military leaders, remembering the previous failures in the Leningrad direction, did not experience excessive optimism.
It was planned to break the blockade on the Mginsk-Shlisselburg ledge, in the Shlisselburg-Sinyavino area on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. This 15 km wide section of German defense was called the “bottleneck”. The reinforced 67th Army of the Lenfront and the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front were ordered to deliver decisive blows. To ensure their actions, the forces of the 13th and 14th Air Armies, part of the artillery of the Baltic Fleet and the Ladoga Military Flotilla were allocated.
The order to begin the offensive was read to the troops on the evening of January 11, 1943. At night, sappers began preparatory work. The offensive began on the morning of January 12. The air temperature that day dropped to 23 degrees below zero. The weather made its own adjustments to the offensive scenario, forcing us to abandon the massive use of aviation, but small groups of attack aircraft made combat sorties.
Georgy Zhukov wrote in his memoirs about the beginning of the operation:
“The blow of the Soviet troops, which the Nazis had been expecting for a whole year, was still unexpected for them that day, especially in strength and skill. In this battle we managed to achieve tactical surprise, although the enemy knew that we were preparing to break the blockade. He may , even foresaw where exactly the attacks of the Soviet troops would be delivered: the very configuration of the front spoke of this. Day after day, on the proposed breakthrough site, the Germans erected more and more new defensive structures, pulled together their selected units here, and again and again supplied resistance nodes with fire weapons, created over more than sixteen months of blockade. But when exactly, on what day and hour, with what forces we would begin the operation - the German command did not know...
At 9:30 am the frosty morning silence was broken by the first salvo of artillery preparation. On the western and eastern sides of the Shlisselburg-Mginsky corridor, the enemy simultaneously fired thousands of guns and mortars from both fronts. For two hours a firestorm raged over enemy positions in the directions of the main and auxiliary attacks of the Soviet troops. The artillery cannonade of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts merged into a single powerful roar, and it was difficult to make out who was firing and from where. Ahead, black fountains of explosions rose, trees swayed and fell, and logs of enemy dugouts flew upward. Above the ground, here and there, gray clouds appeared, quickly settling in the severe frost - evaporation from the swamps opened by the fire. For every square meter of the breakthrough area, two or three artillery and mortar shells fell.".
The density of artillery in the breakthrough sector of the Leningrad Front troops was about 144 guns and mortars per 1 km of front, in the offensive sector of the Volkhov Front - 180 guns and mortars per 1 km. In total, more than 4.5 thousand guns fired at German positions, the actions of which were reinforced by twelve separate Katyusha divisions. The 45th Rifle Division advanced from the famous Nevsky Piglet - a tiny piece of land in the Nevskaya Dubrovka area, which Soviet troops held for about 400 days. The Nevsky Piglet entered the history of the Great Patriotic War as a symbol of courage, heroism and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers, as well as one of the the bloodiest areas of the battle. Every day its defenders repelled 12-16 attacks, about 50 thousand mines, shells and aerial bombs fell on them. Soviet troops suffered huge losses here, and due to difficulties in evacuating the wounded, the percentage of irretrievable losses was very high. Historians still cannot name the exact number of Soviet losses on this section of the front; There are figures ranging from 50 to 250 thousand people, but none of them is final today.
By noon, 11 Soviet divisions went on the offensive in the sector from Moscow Dubrovka to Shlisselburg. At the offensive site of the 136th Infantry Division, a brass band played “The Internationale” (at that time the anthem of the USSR). The first to move were assault groups consisting of sappers and infantrymen. They had to climb the high icy banks of the Neva with the help of hooks, ladders and so-called “cats” - metal climbing devices. The Germans met the advancing Soviet units with hurricane fire, but were unable to stop the attackers. By the end of the first day of the offensive, the distance between the 67th Army of the Lenfront and the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front advancing towards each other was 8 km.
The long-awaited connection of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts occurred after six days of the offensive on the eastern outskirts of Workers' Village No. 1. Here at 9:30 a.m. on January 18, soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 123rd rifle brigade of the Leningrad Front and soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 1240th met regiment of the 372nd Infantry Division of the Volkhov Front.
At 11:45, another meeting of the regiments took place - units of the 269th Regiment of the 136th Infantry Division of the Leningrad Front and the 424th Regiment of the 18th Infantry Division of the Volkhov Front met to the north-west of Workers' Village No. 5. At exactly noon, the soldiers of these divisions also met south of this Workers' Village.
At two in the afternoon a red flag was raised over Shlisselburg. The entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga was cleared of enemy troops. A corridor 8-11 km wide was broken through the German defense. In the evening, a message about breaking the blockade was read out in Leningrad.
In the January battles of 1943, Soviet troops inflicted enormous losses on the Nazis in manpower and equipment: repelling the advance of the Red Army, the Wehrmacht lost over 70 thousand troops killed and wounded, and more than 2 thousand were captured. 344 enemy aircraft, 110 tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, the Germans lost more than 300 guns and mortars, more than 800 machine guns, a large number of cars, tractors, railway cars and carts. Soviet troops captured large trophies. Also, the artillery and mortars of the Red Army destroyed 470 fortified units and dugouts, 25 well-equipped observation posts, and defeated and suppressed 172 enemy artillery and mortar batteries.
Historians estimate the total losses of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in Operation Iskra in January 1943 at 115 thousand people. Of these, Lenfront's losses: more than 12 thousand people killed, over 28.9 thousand wounded. Losses of the Volkhov Front: more than 21.6 thousand killed, about 52 thousand wounded.
For the besieged city, breaking the blockade primarily meant restoring communications with the mainland. Already on the evening of January 18, 1943, the State Defense Committee approved a new plan for the construction of a railway line, which, through the Volkhovstroy station, was supposed to connect Leningrad directly with the east of the country. On the same day, railway engineers arrived in Shlisselburg, just liberated from the Germans, who by February 8, 1943 were to build more than 30 km of road and two bridges across the Neva and Nazia. Within 17 days, a road was built through the breakthrough area.
Breaking the blockade improved the economic situation of the city, the supply of troops and the population. A continuous flow of food, fuel and raw materials entered Leningrad, which made it possible to develop additional production capacities and begin a larger-scale restoration of the urban economy.
The military significance of breaking the blockade was that it finally destroyed the plans of the Nazi command to take Leningrad by storm, and in this sense, historians and military officers see Operation Iskra as a turning point in the entire Battle of Leningrad of 1941-44. From the moment the blockade was broken, the initiative in this section of the Soviet-German front passed to the Red Army.
Latitude: 55.75, Longitude: 37.62 Time zone: Europe/Moscow (UTC+03:00) Moon phase calculation for 01/01/1944 (12:00) To calculate the phase of the moon for your city, register or log in.
On the date 18.01.1944 V 12:00 The moon is in phase “Third quarter (to come 01/18/1944 at 18:33)”. This 23 lunar day in the lunar calendar. Moon in zodiac sign Libra ♎. Illumination percentage Moon is 53%. Sunrise Moon at 00:13, and sunset at 11:53.
Moon in a sign Scales. A good time to relax after hard work due to the Virgo moon. It is best not to start something new and global, but to quickly complete what was previously started and planned.
A good and quite fruitful period for business cooperation based on mutual understanding and the absence of any disagreements. The negative aspect is the increasing difficulty in decision making.
You can hesitate for a long time between all the pros and cons, look for both advantages and disadvantages, think about it, but still not come to a final judgment. Therefore, it is best to postpone making important decisions to another, more favorable time.
January 18, 1944 at 12:00 - 23 lunar day. Quite a controversial period. Presumably associated with bullying, harassment, persecution. Jealousy and envy on the part of partners are possible. It is better to be careful and not start new things.
The moon is in phase Third quarter. The ideal time to complete things started during the waxing Moon. Surgical operations have the most favorable outcome. Any wounds heal as quickly as possible and without complications. The time is favorable for planting “underground” vegetables.
Day of the week - Tuesday, this day is under the protection of Mars, so it is full of energy. Good luck awaits strong, strong-willed people in whom energy is in full swing.
If you develop vigorous activity on this day, success awaits you. However, on Tuesday it can be difficult to concentrate and choose the right path to solve the problem. But if you have thought about everything in advance, then go ahead, without a shadow of a doubt!
This is a suitable day for physical activity (athletes and summer residents should take note of this). The energy you expended will be easily and quickly restored. For those who are engaged only in mental work on this day, it is useful to alternate intellectual exercises with exercises.
LENINGRAD. 1944 January 18. /TASS/. The breaking of the blockade, which Leningraders had to wait for 16 long months, was a great national holiday for the people. On January 18, 1944, the city celebrated the anniversary of the military operation that predetermined the success of Soviet troops in the Battle of Leningrad. The newspaper "On Guard of the Motherland" wrote:
A year ago, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts won a major victory, which became a bright page in the history of the heroic struggle of the great city against the Nazi invaders. In intense battles, our units broke the German defenses and broke the blockade. Leningrad received a strong land connection with the country. The opportunity was created to radically improve the supply of the city with everything necessary for its life and struggle, and its military position was strengthened. In the battles on the Neva, the villainous plans of the Nazi invaders to strangle the glorious citadel of the Soviet country were finally buried.
LenTASS described the mood of the residents of the front city on that significant day: “ There is no limit to joy. People hug, kiss, shake hands, congratulate each other on breaking the blockade”.
The news of the connection of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in the area of Workers' Village No. 1 came to the besieged city only in the evening of January 18, 1943, and the night shift workers were the first to hear it. Despite the late hour, immediately after the Sovinformburo’s extraordinary message about breaking the blockade was broadcast on the radio, rallies took place at Leningrad factories.
On the morning of January 19, 1943, the streets of Leningrad were decorated with flags, even strangers on the streets hugged and congratulated each other on an important victory. By morning, the artists had finished working on a series of new posters dedicated to breaking the blockade - two days later they could be seen on the streets of the city.
On the same day, the Leningrad City Executive Committee decided to prepare a plan of priority work to restore the city economy.
However, the Red Army failed to build on its success and push back German troops from Leningrad in January 1943. The Germans constantly transferred fresh reserves to this area, and in the period from January 19 to 30, a large amount of artillery, tanks and five divisions transferred from other sectors of the front, including parts of the 4th SS Polizei Division, appeared here. Their actions were actively supported by German aviation. Historians note that German reserves were most actively used against the 67th Lenfront Army - the fascist command believed that the troops advancing from the besieged city were more weakened. As a result, in order to prevent the enemy from reaching Ladoga and again closing the blockade ring, Soviet troops went on the defensive.
Attempts to break through the blockade ring around Leningrad were made several times. For the first time, such a task was assigned to units of the Red Army in September 1941, but the lack of forces and the difficult situation in other sectors of the Soviet-German front did not allow it to be solved either in 1941 or in 1942.
Operation Iskra in 1943, which restored the besieged city’s connection with the country, was preceded by four offensive operations undertaken by troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with the aim of unblocking the city and liberating the occupied areas of the Leningrad region:
The first was undertaken immediately after the formations of the 18th German Army reached Lake Ladoga and the blockade of Leningrad was established. The Soviet command intended to quickly restore the city’s connection with the country. On September 10-26, the 54th Separate Army, the 115th Rifle Division and the 4th Lenfront Marine Brigade launched counter attacks on Sinyavino and Mgu. But the troops were unable to complete the task due to lack of strength: the 54th Army advanced only 6-10 km in the Sinyavinsk direction, and the Lenfront formations, having crossed the Neva on the night of September 20, captured only small bridgehead.
The second Sinyavin operation on October 20-28, 1941 began at the moment of the unfolding offensive of German troops near Tikhvin and was stopped due to the aggravated situation in this direction.
Conducted from November 10 to December 30, 1941 by the forces of the 54th Lenfront Army, the 4th and 52nd separate armies with the assistance of troops of the North-Western Front. Its main goal was the defeat of the Tikhvin group of fascist German troops, the restoration of railway communication in the Tikhvin-Volkhov section, as well as improving the position of the Lenfront and Baltic Fleet troops. The strategic objective of the operation was to prevent the transfer of enemy forces to the Moscow direction.
Thanks to the reinforcements, the 4th, 52nd and 54th armies had superiority over the enemy in men and artillery, but they were inferior in tanks and aircraft. The offensive developed slowly, and the troops' actions lacked synchronization. However, the Soviet units were successful and on December 9 liberated Tikhvin, by the end of December they reached the Volkhov and captured several bridgeheads on its left bank, throwing the Germans back to their original lines.
Units of the Red Army advanced 100-120 km, ensuring through traffic by rail to the Voybokalo station and disrupting the plan to create a second ring of encirclement of Leningrad. They inflicted damage on ten enemy divisions and forced the Germans to transfer five divisions to the Tikhvin direction, thereby creating favorable conditions for a counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow.
A strike by the troops of the Volkhov Front from the Volkhov line and the 54th Army from the Pogost region in the general direction of Lyuban was supposed to encircle and destroy the enemy’s Lyuban group, going to the rear of the German troops blockading Leningrad from the south. Advancing in a wooded and swampy area, in off-road conditions, in deep snow, with a lack of automatic weapons, transport, communications, food and fodder, the troops advanced slowly, encountering stubborn enemy resistance. In addition, there was a lack of organization of the offensive. The Germans managed to regroup eleven divisions and one brigade into the 18th Army zone, dramatically changing the balance of forces.
In September 1942, the German command planned Operation Nordlicht (Northern Lights) to capture Leningrad. To carry it out, the 18th Army was reinforced by formations of the 11th Army transferred from Crimea and several divisions from Western Europe, as well as large artillery and aviation forces.
The Soviet command forestalled the enemy by launching an offensive in the Sinyavinsk direction in August. With counter strikes from the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, it was planned to defeat the enemy’s heavily fortified Mginsk-Sinyavin grouping, restoring Leningrad’s land connection with the country. On August 19, Lenfront troops suddenly went on the offensive, striking at Sinyavino and Tosno. On August 27, troops from the strike group of the Volkhov Front began an offensive from the east. Having broken through the German defenses in the Gontovaya Lipka, Tortolovo sector and repelling counterattacks, by the end of August they reached the approaches to Sinyavino.
The Nazis hastily transferred six fresh divisions, including one tank, to the breakthrough area, which allowed them to stop the advance of Soviet troops and launch strong flank counterattacks. During September, Lenfront troops sought to overcome the enemy’s defenses on the left bank of the Neva and develop an offensive towards Sinyavino, towards the troops of the Volkhov Front.
On September 26, units of the Nevsky Operational Group captured a bridgehead in the Moscow Dubrovka area, where stubborn fighting took place. But Lenfront troops were unable to expand the captured bridgeheads or break through the enemy’s defenses to the full depth and connect with the Volkhov Front. By order of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the troops retreated to their original lines, maintaining a small bridgehead on the left bank in the Moscow Dubrovka area.
The Sinyavinsk operation of 1942 did not solve the problem of releasing the siege of Leningrad. However, as a result of the active actions of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, the enemy’s plan to storm the city was thwarted.
Preparations for the offensive operation in the area of Lake Ladoga were carried out throughout December 1942, and were completed by the deadline set by Headquarters - January 1, 1943.
Through the joint efforts of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, defeat the enemy group in the Lipka-Gaitolovo-Moskovskaya Dubrovka-Shlisselburg area and thus break the siege of the mountains. Leningrad. By the end of January 1943, the operation would be completed.
Continuation
However, the weather interfered with the fighting. At the end of December, the commanders of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, Colonel General Leonid Govorov and Army General Kirill Meretskov, asked the Supreme Command to postpone the start of the offensive until January 10-12 due to extremely unfavorable weather conditions. The military leaders explained the need for a delay by the fact that the thaw was prolonged near Leningrad, the ice cover on the Neva was not stable enough, and the swamps were impassable - the soil in them was frozen only 15-20 cm, which was not enough for the movement of tanks. In addition, serious fluctuations in air temperature - from 0 to minus 15 degrees - created fogs, which made it difficult to observe the enemy. In such conditions, launching an offensive was risky. This request was granted by the Headquarters, and the start of Operation Iskra was scheduled for January 12, 1943.
Our troops had to carry out Operation Iskra in extremely difficult conditions; Hitler’s troops turned the positions they occupied into powerful fortified areas with an extensive system of concrete field structures, with a large number of anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles. The enemy's defense also relied on very advantageous heights and other natural boundaries. The enemy defenses on the left bank of the Neva were especially powerful. Having fortified themselves here, the Nazis had open water up to 800 meters wide in front of them. Even a frozen river presented an extremely strong barrier, since there were no shelters on the ice. It was visible and shot through from a steep, steep bank occupied by the enemy, the height of which in the breakthrough area ranged from 5 to 12 meters. Hitler's troops reinforced this natural obstacle with a dense network of barbed wire and minefields."
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov
From the book "Memories and Reflections"
In the breakthrough area, for every kilometer of the front, the 18th Army of the German Army Group North, under the command of Colonel General G. Lindemann, had over 20 strong firing points, each sector was defended by large forces of infantry, 12 mounted and 20 manual ones were concentrated on each square meter machine guns. Such serious enemy positions forced the command of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts to be especially careful in planning the offensive. At the same time, the Soviet military leaders, remembering the previous failures in the Leningrad direction, did not experience excessive optimism.
It was planned to break the blockade on the Mginsk-Shlisselburg ledge, in the Shlisselburg-Sinyavino area on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. This 15 km wide section of German defense was called the “bottleneck”. The reinforced 67th Army of the Lenfront and the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front were ordered to deliver decisive blows. To ensure their actions, the forces of the 13th and 14th Air Armies, part of the artillery of the Baltic Fleet and the Ladoga Military Flotilla were allocated.
The order to begin the offensive was read to the troops on the evening of January 11, 1943. At night, sappers began preparatory work. The offensive began on the morning of January 12. The air temperature that day dropped to 23 degrees below zero. The weather made its own adjustments to the offensive scenario, forcing us to abandon the massive use of aviation, but small groups of attack aircraft made combat sorties.
Georgy Zhukov wrote in his memoirs about the beginning of the operation:
“The blow of the Soviet troops, which the Nazis had been expecting for a whole year, was still unexpected for them that day, especially in strength and skill. In this battle we managed to achieve tactical surprise, although the enemy knew that we were preparing to break the blockade. He may , even foresaw where exactly the attacks of the Soviet troops would be delivered: the very configuration of the front spoke of this. Day after day, on the proposed breakthrough site, the Germans erected more and more new defensive structures, pulled together their selected units here, and again and again supplied resistance nodes with fire weapons, created over more than sixteen months of blockade. But when exactly, on what day and hour, with what forces we would begin the operation - the German command did not know...
At 9:30 am the frosty morning silence was broken by the first salvo of artillery preparation. On the western and eastern sides of the Shlisselburg-Mginsky corridor, the enemy simultaneously fired thousands of guns and mortars from both fronts. For two hours a firestorm raged over enemy positions in the directions of the main and auxiliary attacks of the Soviet troops. The artillery cannonade of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts merged into a single powerful roar, and it was difficult to make out who was firing and from where. Ahead, black fountains of explosions rose, trees swayed and fell, and logs of enemy dugouts flew upward. Above the ground, here and there, gray clouds appeared, quickly settling in the severe frost - evaporation from the swamps opened by the fire. For every square meter of the breakthrough area, two or three artillery and mortar shells fell.".
The density of artillery in the breakthrough sector of the Leningrad Front troops was about 144 guns and mortars per 1 km of front, in the offensive sector of the Volkhov Front - 180 guns and mortars per 1 km. In total, more than 4.5 thousand guns fired at German positions, the actions of which were reinforced by twelve separate Katyusha divisions. The 45th Rifle Division advanced from the famous Nevsky Patch - a tiny piece of land in the Nevskaya Dubrovka area, which Soviet troops held for about 400 days.
Nevsky Piglet - a symbol of courage
The bridgehead on the left bank of the Neva was created by order of the Soviet command in September 1941. In the area of Moscow Dubrovka, significant forces were concentrated in order to destroy the Shlisselburg-Sinyavin group of the German 18th Army with a blow towards the 54th Army. For almost a year and a half, Soviet troops repeatedly tried to launch an attack on Mga and Sinyavino from here to break the blockade of Leningrad. By April 1942, the size of the bridgehead reached 4 km along the front and 500-800 meters in depth.
Despite the fact that none of the attempts to develop the offensive or expand the bridgehead was successful, the Nevsky patch pinned down significant German forces. Only on February 17, 1943 did the Germans leave their positions in front of the bridgehead. The Nevsky Piglet entered the history of the Great Patriotic War as a symbol of courage, heroism and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers, as well as one of the bloodiest battle sites. Every day its defenders repelled 12-16 attacks, about 50 thousand mines, shells and aerial bombs fell on them. Soviet troops suffered huge losses here, and due to difficulties in evacuating the wounded, the percentage of irretrievable losses was very high. Historians still cannot name the exact number of Soviet losses on this section of the front; There are figures ranging from 50 to 250 thousand people, but none of them is final today.
Continuation
By noon, 11 Soviet divisions went on the offensive in the sector from Moscow Dubrovka to Shlisselburg. At the offensive site of the 136th Infantry Division, a brass band played “The Internationale” (at that time the anthem of the USSR). The first to move were assault groups consisting of sappers and infantrymen. They had to climb the high icy banks of the Neva with the help of hooks, ladders and so-called “cats” - metal climbing devices. The Germans met the advancing Soviet units with hurricane fire, but were unable to stop the attackers. By the end of the first day of the offensive, the distance between the 67th Army of the Lenfront and the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front advancing towards each other was 8 km.
The long-awaited connection of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts occurred after six days of the offensive on the eastern outskirts of Workers' Village No. 1. Here at 9:30 a.m. on January 18, soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 123rd rifle brigade of the Leningrad Front and soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 1240th met regiment of the 372nd Infantry Division of the Volkhov Front.
At 11:45, another meeting of the regiments took place - units of the 269th Regiment of the 136th Infantry Division of the Leningrad Front and the 424th Regiment of the 18th Infantry Division of the Volkhov Front met to the north-west of Workers' Village No. 5. At exactly noon, the soldiers of these divisions also met south of this Workers' Village.
At two in the afternoon a red flag was raised over Shlisselburg. The entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga was cleared of enemy troops. A corridor 8-11 km wide was broken through the German defense. In the evening, a message about breaking the blockade was read out in Leningrad.
In the January battles of 1943, Soviet troops inflicted enormous losses on the Nazis in manpower and equipment: repelling the advance of the Red Army, the Wehrmacht lost over 70 thousand troops killed and wounded, and more than 2 thousand were captured. 344 enemy aircraft, 110 tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, the Germans lost more than 300 guns and mortars, more than 800 machine guns, a large number of cars, tractors, railway cars and carts. Soviet troops captured large trophies. Also, the artillery and mortars of the Red Army destroyed 470 fortified units and dugouts, 25 well-equipped observation posts, and defeated and suppressed 172 enemy artillery and mortar batteries.
Historians estimate the total losses of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in Operation Iskra in January 1943 at 115 thousand people. Of these, Lenfront's losses: more than 12 thousand people killed, over 28.9 thousand wounded. Losses of the Volkhov Front: more than 21.6 thousand killed, about 52 thousand wounded.
For the besieged city, breaking the blockade primarily meant restoring communications with the mainland. Already on the evening of January 18, 1943, the State Defense Committee approved a new plan for the construction of a railway line, which, through the Volkhovstroy station, was supposed to connect Leningrad directly with the east of the country. On the same day, railway engineers arrived in Shlisselburg, just liberated from the Germans, who by February 8, 1943 were to build more than 30 km of road and two bridges across the Neva and Nazia. Within 17 days, a road was built through the breakthrough area.
Breaking the blockade improved the economic situation of the city, the supply of troops and the population. A continuous flow of food, fuel and raw materials entered Leningrad, which made it possible to develop additional production capacities and begin a larger-scale restoration of the urban economy.
The military significance of breaking the blockade was that it finally destroyed the plans of the Nazi command to take Leningrad by storm, and in this sense, historians and military officers see Operation Iskra as a turning point in the entire Battle of Leningrad of 1941-44. From the moment the blockade was broken, the initiative in this section of the Soviet-German front passed to the Red Army.
Troops of the 2nd Shock and 42nd armies of the Leningrad Front fought fierce battles with the enemy in the direction of Ropsha.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 136 partisans of the Vitebsk region were awarded the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" of the 1st degree and 184 people were awarded the medal of the 2nd degree.
The State Defense Committee adopted a resolution “on urgent measures to help the ferrous metallurgy industry.”
The construction of the third stage of the Moscow Metro, 7.2 km long, has been completed.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree on awarding orders and medals to workers of local industry and industrial cooperation of the RSFSR for ensuring the supply of military convoys and medical equipment to the Soviet Army in 1942-1943.
The battles for Krasnoe Selo began. The Strelna-Krasnoye Selo-Gatchina highway has been cut, and the fate of the Nazis still in the immediate suburbs of Leningrad, including their carefree artillery group, is sealed. And yet, with the stubbornness of the doomed, the Nazis continue to shoot at Leningrad. Shells exploded today in the city from 12:55 to 15:10. About 30 people were injured from the shelling.
The torpedo boats of the 2nd Novorossiysk brigade of torpedo boats for the entire period [meaning the time of the operation] were at the disposal of the landing headquarters of the Kerch naval base, the Azov military flotilla of the Black Sea Fleet. The torpedo boats were assigned the following tasks:
1. Cover the landing force during the transition and at the landing sites from exposure from enemy surface ships and watercraft.
2. Actively destroy enemy high-speed landing barges and torpedo boats.
3. Carrying out mobile patrol and acting on enemy communications in the Kamysh-Burun, Kop-Takyl areas.
4. Transportation of commanding officers, rescue of people in distress.
In total, 18 boats took part in hostilities during this period, of which torpedo boat No. 105 was twice damaged in combat, was repaired and returned to Taman again to carry out combat missions. Torpedo boats Nos. 94, 104, 114, 35, 65, 75, 76, 96 had battle damage, were repaired and again sent to Taman to carry out combat operations. Thus, during this period, a total of 28 boats took part in hostilities, with repetition.
As a result of the party-political work carried out, the political and moral state of the personnel is high, each of the fighters, foremen and officers of the brigade is burning with a constant desire to go into battle to destroy the enemy.
Every night, weather permitting, the torpedo boats went on a combat mission. The personnel worked with great effort, overcoming all difficulties, with love and unquenchable desire they carried out all orders and combat missions, remembering the oath taken by the detachment commander, Comrade Konstantinov, at the cemetery of their fallen comrades. The officers, foremen and enlisted personnel, who came from a wonderful family of Pacific people, did not lose the glorious traditions of the Black Sea boatmen in the first battles. They inflicted serious blows on the Nazis. This detachment has 3 sunk high-speed landing barges to its combat record.
The personnel of boats No. 14, 44, 54, 64, 85, 94, 96, 114 showed endurance and stamina in battle, the ability to use their weapons, and the high class of a Soviet warrior. Torpedo boat No. 64 went several times to enemy communications, then was transferred to Chushka to transport officials to Crimea and back. Day and night these tasks were carried out with great skill and enthusiasm. For the exemplary performance of combat and auxiliary tasks, the crew received gratitude from Comrade Voroshilov.
On the afternoon of December 27, this boat was sent to rescue people from torpedo boat No. 121 in distress. On this trip, the crew acted just as boldly and bravely, showing courage and skill. The boat was hit by 2 Me-109s. From the first attack, the enemy vultures managed to take out both engines, and the boat was left without power. On the boat, the radio operator Comrade Fedotov was killed, several people were wounded, including the commander of the boat, Lieutenant Sorokoput Fedor Ignatievich, a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). There was a fire in the car. Despite being seriously wounded, the commander continued to command. During the second approach, the commander of the torpedo boat was killed, and chief petty officer Vasily Nikolaevich Kovertsev, the foreman of the engine group, received 3 wounds. There were 3 healthy people left on the torpedo boat. The boat received more than 300 holes.
In this situation, people bravely fought both fire and water and repelled attacks from enemy aircraft. One plane was hit by machine-gun fire, subsequent attacks were carried out by only one enemy plane, on which the boats did not stop firing.
The boat boatswain, Chief Petty Officer Estrin, seemed rooted to the machine gun, boldly and decisively repelling enemy attacks one after another. Following the example of his boatswain, machine gunner Bobylev, despite his injuries, was at his combat post, his machine gun fired without delay. The thrice-wounded commander of the motorists' squad, Comrade Kovertsev, constantly sealed the holes, fought steadfastly and kept the boat afloat, he was helped by motorists Kharitonov and Penkov, they put out the fire, repaired over a hundred large and small holes and started one engine.
After the death of the boat commander, the boat boatswain Comrade Estrin took the helm, showing high knowledge in maritime affairs, he extremely skillfully used the smoke released from Chushka, entered it, evaded the attack of an enemy aircraft and brought the boat to his base, thus saving people and boat.
Torpedo boats No. 44 and 85 went out every night to enemy communications in the area of Kamysh-Burun and Kop-Takyl. For a long time the enemy did not appear in this area, but on the night of December 29-30, torpedo boats No. 44 and 85 discovered an enemy caravan consisting of 4 high-speed landing barges. The boat commanders decided to attack. Torpedo boat No. 85 (commanded by Senior Lieutenant Podymakhin) attacked first, the torpedo went straight to the target, the enemy barge exploded and sank.
Torpedo boat No. 44 approached the barges at such a close distance that it was no longer possible to fire a torpedo from a torpedo boat, there would not be enough distance to deploy the helicopter. As a result, he had to retreat and attack, the torpedo hit the target, and in front of the torpedo boat’s personnel, the barge caught fire and sank.
Commander of artillery boat No. 96, candidate party member Art. During the days of the battles for Crimea, Lieutenant Pilipenko made dozens of bold and daring military raids. In recent days, the crew of this boat sank an enemy fast landing barge and shot down an enemy aircraft. The communists of this boat vol. Chernov, Dyachenko and others occupied the vanguard role in all ongoing military operations. Here is one combat exit.
The ships with ammunition were heading to the Crimean coast, they were escorted by the boat Art. Lieutenant Pilipenko, the signalmen carefully scanned the sea. Halfway to the ammunition unloading site, the boat overtook the ships and took the lead. Soon the boatmen noticed the silhouettes of 4 high-speed barges. Enemy barges, hiding in the shadow of the shore, waited in ambush for the approach of our ships.
Senior Lieutenant Pilipenko boldly approached and was the first to open fire on the enemy from a short distance. The RS shells and the bullets of the shooters Generalov, Dyachenko, Kuzmin and Nikolaev hit the target. While firing back, the enemy barges retreated under the protection of their batteries. The path for the landing ships was cleared. Soon the unloading began.
In the midst of unloading, a German searchlight found and illuminated our ships. The enemy's coastal artillery opened intense fire, interacting with the coastal defenses, and high-speed barges appeared.
Vladimir Pilipenko moved towards rapprochement. From a short distance, the boatmen opened powerful fire on the enemy from all types of weapons, including RS shells. After shells exploded, a fire broke out on one of the barges, after some time strong explosions followed, and the barge slowly sank into the water. The remaining 3 enemy barges approached the sinking barge and began to pick up people floating around it.
The boat Pilipenko again went on the attack, the enemy barges, firing back, retreated to the west.
In December, the torpedo boats of a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Lieutenant Prokopov, and a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Lieutenant Latoshinsky, won a major victory - with a well-aimed strike of torpedoes, they sank 2 enemy high-speed landing barges in the Kerch Strait.
The boatmen went out into the strait at nightfall to carry out combat patrol. Approaching the area where enemy barges were most likely to appear, the boats turned off their engines and began to drift. Not much time passed, and an enemy searchlight from the shore momentarily illuminated the surface of the sea. The sailors noticed the silhouettes of ships. The commanders decided to attack them. The crew of Lieutenant Prokopov's boat was the first to strike the enemy. Following the well-aimed shot of the torpedo, a huge explosion shook the air. One fascist barge was sent to the bottom.
Soon, a second high-speed barge was sunk by a torpedo strike from Lieutenant Latoshinsky’s boat.
During the torpedo attack, our boats were fired upon by heavy artillery fire from enemy barges and coastal defenses. Skillfully maneuvering, the communist commanders safely brought their boats out from under fire. All boats acted clearly and harmoniously in battle. Particularly high combat skill and courage were shown by the boatswains - foreman of the 1st article, candidate member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Medvedev and chief foreman, member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Stepanov, motorists - group foreman, candidate member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Bogdanenko , Komsomol member Smirnov and others. The general leadership of the combat operations of the boats was carried out by the brave and experienced sailor Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Commander Afrikanov.
Examples of courage and bravery in battles with the enemy are shown by the communist boat captain-lieutenant, candidate member of the CPSU (b), Postnikov. One night, 8 enemy high-speed barges tried to paralyze our communications and prevent landing ships from approaching the unloading site. Postnikov's boat boldly entered into battle with superior enemy forces.
Communists Falchenko and Yakimov were the first to open fire on the enemy. Four barges turned away and disappeared, the second four went to attack the boat. The brave boatmen did not flinch, skillfully maneuvering, they intensified fire on the enemy. During the battle, the boat received several holes and damage. Communists Pavlovsky, Zhigalkin and Volobuev quickly repaired the holes and repaired the damage, and the boatmen forced the enemy barges to flee again. The path for our landing craft was clear. This is how the communists and the entire brigade personnel selflessly fight for our Motherland, respond with military deeds to the order and report of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the 26th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Head of the political department of the 2nd Novorossiysk brigade
torpedo boats of the Black Sea Fleet
captain 3rd rank D. Konyushkov
CVMA, f. 2092, op. 1, d. 283, l. 1-16. Script.
On the LENINGRAD front, in the area south of ORANIENBAUM, a few days ago our troops went on the offensive, broke through the heavily fortified long-term German defenses and are successfully developing a further offensive.
On the VOLKHOV front, north of NOVGOROD, a few days ago our troops went on the offensive, broke through the heavily fortified German defenses and are successfully developing an offensive.
During January 18, north of NOVOSOKOLNIKI, our troops fought forward and occupied more than 40 settlements, including TULUBYEVO, USTYE, GAYAREVO, FEFELOVO, GLAZYRI, KOSHELI, GVOZDOVA, BOYAKI, PETRUSHINO, TERENINO, SHUGUROVO, DEMYAKHI, RYZHENINO and Zheleznodorovo home station SHUBINO.
South-west of NOVOGRAD-VOLYNSKY, our troops captured the regional center of the Kamenets-Podolsk region, the city and large railway station of SLAVUT, and also occupied several other settlements.
In other sectors of the front there was reconnaissance, artillery and mortar fire, and at a number of points local battles.
During January 17, our troops on all fronts knocked out and destroyed 147 German tanks. In air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire, 33 enemy aircraft were shot down.
North of Novosokolniki our troops continued their offensive. Units of the N-formation, moving along the railway, captured the Shubino station, and also occupied more than 40 settlements. In this area, Soviet units encountered a powerful line of enemy fortifications. Breaking through this German defense, our fighters captured a number of heavily fortified strongholds.
In one sector, the Germans launched seven fierce counterattacks one after another, but were repulsed with heavy losses. Up to 800 enemy soldiers and officers, 5 German tanks and 18 guns were destroyed. Two artillery batteries, 17 mortars, 60 machine guns, three ammunition depots and other trophies were captured. Prisoners were taken.
South-west of the city of Novograd-Volynsky, our troops quickly advanced forward and stormed the regional center of the Kamenets-Podolsk region - the city and large railway station of Slavuta. Many weapons, rolling stock and warehouses with military equipment were captured. Several other settlements are also occupied. In the battle for one of these points, our units, together with the partisans, destroyed two companies of the Nazis and captured 10 guns, 24 machine guns and up to 100 machine guns.
To the west and southwest of the city of Lyubar, a few days ago, enemy infantry and tanks tried to encircle the Soviet units that had advanced forward with attacks from both sides. One group of Germans managed to wedge into our defenses and capture two settlements. Then our troops launched a counterattack to the enemy and completely restored the situation. Up to 2 thousand enemy corpses remained on the battlefield. Several dozen German tanks and 22 armored personnel carriers were destroyed. 15 serviceable tanks, 5 armored vehicles, 24 guns and other trophies were captured from the Germans. A significant number of prisoners were taken.
An enemy tanker with a displacement of 6,000 tons was sunk in the Barents Sea.
In the Black Sea, our pilots destroyed two enemy torpedo boats.
At the beginning of January, the German command sent a large punitive detachment against the Rivne partisans. The Nazis had the task of defeating the partisans and capturing the bridge across the river under their control. One group of partisans took the fight and detained the Germans. At this time, the main forces of the detachment entered the enemy’s flank and dealt him a sudden blow. The Nazis hastily retreated, leaving 180 corpses of their soldiers and officers on the battlefield. 14 Germans were captured.
In one sector of the 2nd Baltic Front, the son of the director of the post office in Berlin, the commander of the 3rd battalion of the 68th regiment of the 23rd German infantry division, Hans Joachim Schwede, was captured. The prisoner of war said: “I served in the 68th regiment for over five years. I took part in the Polish and French campaigns. During the entire Polish campaign, only a few people in the regiment were out of action. In France, rifle companies lost an average of 5-6 soldiers killed and 10- 15 people wounded. In Russia, our losses are incomparable. In just two weeks of fighting in the Nevel area, the division lost more than 3 thousand people killed and was forced to retreat.
For the third year now, German troops in Russia have suffered one defeat after another. The German army is bleeding. However, the matter is not limited to huge losses in people and equipment. Changes that were fatal for Germany took place. Now the German soldier has already lost the consciousness of his superiority over other soldiers. It was replaced by a feeling of uncertainty and fear, a consciousness of the superiority of the Russian soldier over the German one. This is the most terrible blow dealt to the German army in recent times.”
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