Day of complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944, January 27)

More than 70 years have passed since the moment when Soviet troops finally managed to lift the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted for almost 900 long and terrible days and nights. Fascist troops surrounded this second most important city in the USSR in September 1941. But, despite numerous fierce battles, constant artillery bombardments and bombings, the most important cultural, industrial and political center of the Soviet state managed to withstand an incredible onslaught of the enemy.

After this, the German command decided to take the northern capital into a ring. And no matter how hard it was for the residents of the city and the soldiers of the Red Army, they nevertheless, at the cost of inhuman efforts, brought closer, as they could, this day of complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. Unfortunately, not everyone lived to see this significant date.

The First Siege of Winter

It must immediately be said that not only the German troops took part in the siege of Leningrad. To this, the Finnish army, the Italian Navy, the Spanish "Blue Division", and volunteers from many European countries have also put their hand. The city was almost completely cut off from the rest of the country. During the siege the main road, supplying its inhabitants with food in the cold season, was the Road of Life. So called the way that ran along the ice of Lake Ladoga. The townspeople suffered incredible privations, and this continued until the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade came.

But the ice road could not fully cover all the needs of such a large city. As a result, Leningrad lost, according to various estimates, from several hundred thousand to one and a half million of its inhabitants. The vast majority of people died of hunger and hypothermia caused by an acute shortage of food and fuel. The first siege winter of 1941-1942 turned out to be the most severe, therefore the main losses occurred precisely at this time. Subsequently, the supply improved a bit, and the townspeople managed to organize subsidiary farms, after which the number of deaths decreased significantly.

Documentary confirmation

Unfortunately, many residents of the city did not wait for the time when the day of the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad came. This page of the Second World War is one of the most terrible and heroic in the history of the country. It is enough only to remember the tragic records in the schoolgirl's diary by Tanya Savicheva. There are only nine pages in it, six of which are devoted to the death of her relatives - her brother, sister, mother, grandmother and two uncles.

Indeed, almost all members of this family perished in the first blockade winter, beginning in December 1941 through May 1942. The very same girl was rescued and evacuated to the Greater Land. But since Tanya's health was thoroughly undermined by many months of malnutrition, she died two years later. She turned 14 then.

Finally came the day of the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad. As it turned out later, Tanya was still mistaken. Her older sister and brother survived, and thanks to them, the whole world recognized her diary. These records have become one of the symbols of that terrible blockade. At the Nuremberg trial, Tanin's diary was presented as evidence of an inhuman and brutal fascist regime.

Road of Victory

In January 1943, the Red Army, having made incredible efforts and putting a large number of its soldiers on the battlefield, conducted an operation code-named "Iskra." During it, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts managed to breach the German defense. As a result, a narrow corridor was built along Lake Ladoga. On it, the overland communication of the blockaded city with the Big Land was restored.

On this site in a short time built a highway and a railway line, which were named "Dear Victory". After that, the country was able to arrange the supply of food and fuel to the city, as well as evacuate the majority of the civilian population, especially women and children. But this did not end the blockade of Leningrad. The day of liberation of the city will come only in a year.

The turning point

In 1943, the Red Army carried out a number of important strategic operations. These include the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle on the Orel-Kursk Bulge, the Donbass and the Dnieper. As a result, by the year 1944 a very favorable situation had developed, which to a significant degree brought the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. On January 27 this will happen, and until then the fascist troops were still a serious threat. The Wehrmacht did not lose its fighting capacity, as evidenced by the military operations conducted by him. Under his control, there were still significant parts of the territory of the USSR.

By that time, the second front in Western Europe had not yet been discovered, and this was in the hands of fascist Germany, since it allowed Hitler to concentrate all his fighting power in the east. The same military actions that were conducted in Italy, had no serious consequences and had virtually no effect on the Wehrmacht. Therefore, the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade was constantly postponed.

Plans for the liberation of the city

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

First of all, it was necessary to break Army Group North, to unblock the city of Leningrad and to liberate the Baltic states. In the southern direction, it was required to clear not only the Crimea but also the Right-bank Ukraine from the fascist troops, and then to reach the border of the Soviet Union.

The day of the complete liberation of the city of Leningrad from blockade brought, as they could, the soldiers of the 2nd Baltic, Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, as well as the soldiers of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.

Battles for the Northern Capital

The offensive began on 14 January. From the Oranienbaum bridgehead attacked the 2nd shock, and the next day - and the 42nd Army of the Leningrad Front. Immediately, Volkhovsky joined them. I must say that the enemy troops had a well-organized line of defense, and at the same time they offered stubborn resistance. Also at the speed of the offensive of the Red Army was affected by a marshy wooded area. In addition, the unexpected January thaw prevented the maneuvering of armored vehicles.

Five days after the offensive began, the Soviet troops managed to liberate Krasnoye Selo and Ropsha. By this time, the Peterhof-Strelninskaya fascist grouping was partially surrounded and destroyed, and its remains - were thrown from the blockaded city for 25 km. Under the same threat was the Mginsky compound, but the Germans withdrew their troops in time. The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944) was rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, the Red Army drove invaders from other cities.

Liberation of Novgorod

It happened on the 20th of January. It is worth noting that before the war Novgorod was a fairly large cultural, scientific and industrial center. It is hard to imagine, but in one of the most ancient Russian cities, no more than 40 buildings survived. They did not spare the fascists and the greatest monuments of ancient Russian painting and architecture. The temples of Peter and Paul were completely destroyed in Kozhevniki and Savior on Ilin. From them there were only burned skeletons of walls. The St. Nicholas and St. Sophia cathedrals were partially destroyed and looted. The Novgorod Kremlin has also suffered greatly.

It seems that the plan of the German military-political leadership could become the reason for such grandiose destruction in the city. It said that the Novgorod lands were to be settled by the East Prussian colonists, that's why they tried to destroy all the evidence of the historical and cultural presence of the Russian people. Even the monument, timed to the millennium of Russia, was dismantled. The Germans were going to set it on remelting.

Guerrilla movement

Ten days after the liberation of Novgorod, Soviet troops managed to repel Slutsk, Pushkin and Krasnogvardeisk from the Germans, leaving at the same time to the line in the lower reaches of the Luga River. There they occupied several bridgeheads. At the same time, the Soviet partisan detachments that were active in those parts became more active. To fight them, the German command threw one battalion from each of the available field divisions, as well as separate guard divisions. In response, the Central Partisan Headquarters inflicted a series of attacks on the rear of the fascist troops.

Liberation of the Northern Capital

Finally, came the long-awaited day of lifting the siege of Leningrad (1944). On January 27, the text of the order to the soldiers of the Leningrad Front was read by local radio. It reported that the blockade was completely removed. After that, tens of thousands of miraculously surviving residents and his defenders hurried to the streets of the city.

Exactly at 20:00, 24 volleys were fired from 324 guns, which were accompanied by fireworks, as well as illumination from antiaircraft searchlights. In Moscow, too, there were solemn artillery salutes and fireworks. It is interesting that for the city on the Neva made the only exception during the war. The remaining salutes were only launched in Moscow.

Further offensive

Despite the fact that the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade finally came, the Red Army continued to attack the retreating German units on the Luga, Narva and Gdov tracks. The Germans responded with desperate counterattacks. Sometimes they managed to take in the encirclement of some parts of the Red Army. February 4, Soviet troops liberated Gdov, as a result of which came to the Peipsi Lake. On February 15 they managed to break through the Luga defensive line.

As a result of the conducted operations, our troops destroyed the long-term fascist defense and threw the invaders into the Baltics. The heaviest fighting lasted until March, but still the Red Army failed to free Narva. The Volkhov Front was disbanded, and its troops were transferred: one part - to Leningrad, and the other - to the second Baltic.

With the onset of the spring of 1944, the Soviet units reached the well-fortified German line "Panther". But for almost two months of continuous and fierce fighting the Red Army suffered huge losses in technology and in manpower. And this is in conditions of a catastrophic shortage of ammunition! Therefore, the Stavka decided to transfer troops to the defensive regime.

Day of Remembrance

In 1995, the Federal Law was passed, according to which the 27th of January is celebrated the Day of Russia's Military Glory (the Day of the Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad). In 2013, the President signed a new document on this date. In it, some changes were made concerning the new name: The Day of Military Glory was renamed the Day of the Complete Liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

January 27 is a symbol of courage, incredible hardship, self-sacrifice and heroism of both Soviet soldiers and ordinary residents of the city. Hundreds of thousands of people who fought for Leningrad were awarded various government awards. 486 people began to wear the highest title of Hero of the USSR, eight of them - twice.

Military Myths

Despite the fact that, since these tragic events took place, more than 70 years have passed, the issue of the blockade of the Northern capital remains still hotly debated. Some political analysts and historians suggest that if Stalin's totalitarian regime allowed the city to be handed over to German and Finnish troops, then such unjustified casualties on the part of civilians would be avoided, and on January 27 - the day of complete liberation of Leningrad - would not become so sad In the history of the country.

Speaking in this way, people forget that the Northern capital was the most important military-strategic object. Its fall would necessarily cause irreparable consequences, possibly affecting the outcome of the war. The fact is that Leningrad retained around itself a considerable enemy force, which was Army Group North. Having seized the city, these German troops could be thrown to the assault of Moscow or the conquest of the Caucasus. In addition, in this situation it was necessary to take into account the moral factor, since the loss of Leningrad could greatly undermine the morale of not only the Soviet people, but also of the Red Army as a whole.

Plans of Germany and its allies

The Hitlerite leadership not only counted on seizing the largest military-political and industrial center of the Soviet Union, which was the city on the Neva. It planned to completely destroy Leningrad. And proof of this is the entry in the diary, made by the Chief of Staff of the German Army, Franz Halder. It said that Hitler made an unequivocal decision regarding Moscow and Leningrad, which consisted in the necessity of "leveling them to the ground." These towns with a huge amount of population the Germans did not want to keep and feed.

In addition, Finland claimed the entire Leningrad region, and Hitler promised to give it back as soon as it devastated this territory. They also believed that the occupation of a city with a huge amount of population is unprofitable for them, since they do not have such large supplies of food. This suggests the conclusion that "civilized Europeans," who were considered Germans and Finns, offered to completely destroy the Soviet city, and its inhabitants doomed to starvation.

Whatever it was, the Great Victory was won, and such a holiday as the Day of the lifting of the siege of the city of Leningrad (1944, January 27) exists, and people remember the sacrifices that the country suffered as a result of the attack by the German fascist invaders and Their allies.