On January 18, 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken. There was a year left until the blockade was completely lifted...

By the end of 1942, the situation near Leningrad continued to be difficult: the troops of the Leningrad Front and the Baltic Fleet were isolated, and there was no land connection between the city and the “Big Land”. During 1942, the Red Army twice attempted to relieve the city. However, both the Lyuban and Sinyavin offensive operations were unsuccessful. The area between the southern coast of Lake Ladoga and the village of Mga (the so-called “Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge”), where the distance between the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts was the shortest (12-16 km), was still occupied by units of the German 18th Army.
On November 18, 1942, the command of the Leningrad Front presented its proposals to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief for preparing a new offensive near Leningrad. During the “Shlisselburg Operation” in December 1942, it was planned, together with the Volkhov Front, to “lift the blockade from Leningrad” and “ensure the construction of a railway along the Ladoga Canal,” and during the “Uritsk Operation” in February 1943, to restore land communications with Oranienbaum bridgehead.
After studying the proposed plan by the Supreme High Command Headquarters, it was decided to abandon the “Uritsk Operation”, and the plan for the “Shlisselburg Operation” was approved by Directive No. 170696 of December 2, 1942. The operation was given the code name "Iskra" and a readiness date was set for it - January 1, 1943.
The offensive plan was outlined in more detail in Directive No. 170703 of the Supreme Command Headquarters of December 8. The troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts were instructed to “defeat the enemy grouping in the area of ​​Lipka, Gaitolovo, Moskovskaya Dubrovka, Shlisselburg and thus break the siege of Leningrad” and by the end of January 1943, complete the operation and reach the Moika-Mikhailovsky-Tortolovo river line. In addition, the directive spoke about the preparation and conduct of the “Mga Operation” in the first half of February with the goal of defeating “the enemy in the Mga area and clearing the Kirov railway. roads with access to the Voronovo-Sigolovo-Voitolovo-Voskresenskoye line.”
Thus, even at the planning stage, the Soviet command planned to conduct the operation in two stages. If at the first stage of the offensive the task was to break the blockade of Leningrad, then at the second stage of the operation in February it was supposed to defeat the enemy group in the Mga area and ensure a strong railway connection between Leningrad and the country.

Almost a month was allotted for the preparation of the operation, during which the troops began comprehensive preparations for the upcoming offensive.
Particular attention was paid to organizing interaction between the strike groups, for which the command and headquarters of the two fronts coordinated their plans, established demarcation lines and worked out interactions, conducting a series of war games based on the real situation. It was decided that if the troops of one of the fronts fail to reach the line planned for them, then the troops of the other will not stop advancing, but continue to move towards them.
Since the Soviet troops had no experience in overcoming the enemy’s layered defense, a special place in the training was occupied by the training of formations in offensive operations in wooded and swampy areas and the assault on fortified enemy positions, for which training fields and special towns were created in the rear. The commander of the Leningrad Front, L.A. Govorov, alternately led units and units from the front line to the second echelon for the purpose of conducting training on offensive topics. In addition, troops of the 67th Army practiced crossing the Neva on ice within the city limits and establishing crossings for heavy artillery and tanks.
The commander of the Leningrad Front developed methods and principles for the use of artillery in the upcoming operation. By decision of L.A. Govorov, artillery groups were formed: long-range, special purpose, counter-mortar. Guards mortar units were consolidated into a separate group. By the beginning of the operation, thanks to reconnaissance efforts, the Soviet command had a fairly detailed understanding of the enemy’s defenses, and at the same time, they managed to hide the direction of the main attack from the enemy.
At the end of December, due to a thaw, the ice on the Neva was not strong enough and the swamps were difficult to pass, therefore, agreeing with the proposal of the commander of the Leningrad Front, the Supreme High Command Headquarters postponed the start of the operation to January 12, 1943.

For the offensive, strike groups of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts were formed, which were significantly reinforced by artillery, tank and engineering formations, including from the reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters. The Leningrad Front received one rifle division, 4 rifle brigades, as well as an anti-aircraft artillery division, and the Volkhov Front received 5 rifle divisions, 3 rifle and ski brigades and one engineer brigade.
In total, the strike groups of the two fronts numbered 302,800 soldiers and officers, about 4,900 guns and mortars (76 mm caliber and above), more than 600 tanks and 809 aircraft.
Soviet troops had more than five times superiority over the enemy in forces and means and were well provided materially for conducting long-term combat operations.
The basis of the strike group of the Leningrad Front was the 67th Army, built in two echelons before the offensive. The first echelon consisted of the 45th Guards, 268th, 136th, 86th Rifle Divisions, 61st Tank Brigade, 86th and 118th Separate Tank Battalions. The second echelon consisted of the 13th, 123rd rifle divisions, 102nd, 123rd, 142nd rifle brigades, and the army reserve - 152nd and 220th tank brigades, 46th rifle division, 11th , 55th, 138th rifle, 34th and 35th ski brigades.
The offensive was supported by artillery of the army, front and Baltic Fleet - a total of about 1,870 guns and mortars and the 13th Air Army with 414 aircraft.
The shock group of the Volkhov Front consisted of the 2nd shock army, part of the forces of the 8th army.
The first echelon of the 2nd Shock Army consisted of the 128th, 372nd, 256th, 327th, 314th, 376th Rifle Divisions, 122nd Tank Brigade, 32nd Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment, 4 separate tank battalions. The second echelon included the 18th, 191st, 71st, 11th, 239th rifle divisions, 16th, 98th and 185th tank brigades. The army reserve consisted of the 147th Infantry Division, 22nd Infantry, 11th, 12th and 13th Ski Brigades.
On the left flank of the offensive, part of the forces of the 8th Army operated: the 80th, 364th Infantry Divisions, the 73rd Marine Brigade, the 25th Separate Tank Regiment and two separate tank battalions.
The offensive was supported by the artillery of the front and two armies with about 2,885 guns and mortars and the 14th Air Army with 395 aircraft.

On the night of January 12, Soviet bombers launched a massive attack on enemy positions in the breakthrough zone, as well as on airfields and railway junctions in the rear.
At 9:30 in the morning, simultaneously, the artillery of both fronts began artillery preparation, which continued in the offensive zone of the 67th Army for 2 hours 20 minutes, and 1 hour 45 minutes in the offensive sector of the 2nd Shock Army.
At 11:50, under the cover of the “wall of fire” and machine gun fire from the 16th fortified area, 4 divisions of the first echelon of the 67th Army began crossing the Neva. Each division was reinforced by four or five artillery and mortar regiments, an anti-tank artillery regiment and one or two engineer battalions. The attack was also supported by 147 light tanks and armored vehicles, the weight of which could withstand the ice on the Neva.
On the first day, success was achieved in the central sector thanks to the artillery preparation of the 38th Guards Mortar Regiment and the subsequent offensive by the 268th Division and the 86th Separate Tank Battalion in the area north of the 2nd Gorodok and the 136th Division and the 61st Tank Battalion brigades in the Maryino area. By the end of the day, having broken the resistance of the enemy’s 170th Infantry Division, Soviet troops were able to capture a bridgehead about 6 kilometers wide and up to 3 kilometers deep on the left bank of the Neva. Immediately after this, engineering units began building a crossing in the Maryino area for medium and heavy tanks, which was completed only by January 14.
On the flanks of the 67th Army, the offensive developed less successfully. On the right flank in the area of ​​the Nevsky “patch” the 45th Guards Rifle Division and the 118th separate tank battalion operated. One regiment of the division, striking directly from the bridgehead, managed to advance only 500-600 meters and capture only the first enemy trench. The other two regiments of the division, when crossing the Neva in the area of ​​the 8th State District Power Plant, suffered heavy losses and did not achieve success, and the 118th separate tank battalion lost all its vehicles by the end of the day on January 13th. On the left flank of the general offensive in the Shlisselburg area, the 86th Infantry Division was stopped by heavy enemy fire and failed to cross the Neva. The command decided not to continue attacks in this area. The division was withdrawn to its starting line, and at the end of the day it was transported to a bridgehead captured by the 136th Infantry Division in the Maryino area, with the task of attacking Shlisselburg from the South the next day.
At 11:15, the 2nd Shock Army went on the offensive, and at 11:30, units of the 8th Army. Since the artillery was unable to suppress all firing points, and the peat bogs turned out to be impassable even in winter, the offensive developed with great difficulty. On the right flank and in the central section of the offensive, the 128th, 372nd, 256th Infantry Divisions managed to break through the defenses of the German 227th Infantry Division and advance up to 2 kilometers forward, but they could not take the Lipka and Rabochiy Poselok No. 8 strongholds. On the left flank of the offensive, only the 327th Infantry Division achieved success, which managed to capture most of the strong point in the Kruglaya grove. The 376th Infantry Division in the area south of the Kruglaya grove, as well as the 80th, 256th Infantry Divisions and the 73rd Marine Brigade of the 8th Army did not achieve success. The defense of the units of the 1st German division was not broken and the offensive in this sector did not receive further development until the end of the operation.

On January 13-17, the fighting became protracted and fierce. The enemy put up stubborn resistance, relying on numerous defense units. To achieve the final turning point in the battle, the Soviet command began introducing second echelons of armies into battle from the second day of the operation.
In the offensive zone of the 67th Army, the advance in the direction of Workers' Village No. 5 of the 136th Infantry Division, which was assigned the main forces of the 61st Tank Brigade, was of decisive importance. To secure the flanks of the group advancing on Rabochy settlement No. 5, on January 13, the 123rd Rifle Brigade was brought into battle in the direction of Rabochiy settlement No. 3, and in the following days - the 123rd Infantry Division and the 152nd Tank Brigade in the direction of Sinyavino and Workers' settlement No. 6. After several days of fierce fighting, the 123rd brigade managed to take Workers' settlement No. 3 and reach the outskirts of Workers' settlements No. 1 and No. 2, and the 136th division reached Workers' settlement No. 5, but could not take it on the move I could.
For several days, the 86th Infantry Division and a battalion of armored vehicles of the 61st Tank Brigade fought fiercely on the approaches to Shlisselburg. The attack on the city was also supported by the 34th Ski Brigade on the right flank and the 55th Rifle Brigade, advancing across the ice of Lake Ladoga. By the evening of January 15, Soviet units reached the outskirts of the city. The German garrison of Shlisselburg found itself in a critical situation, but continued to hold the city.
On the right flank of the 67th Army, the offensive of the 45th Guards Division in the following days was again unsuccessful, even despite the introduction of the reserves of the 45th Guards Division itself and part of the forces of the 13th Rifle Division into battle. A difficult situation also developed in the offensive sector of the 268th Infantry Division, which bypassed the 8th State District Power Plant from the north and north-east. However, Soviet artillery failed to destroy enemy firing points in this strong point, as well as in the 1st and 2nd Gorodki, which hampered the advance of both the 268th Rifle Division and the 45th Guards Division. In addition, German troops, having received reinforcements from the 5th Mountain Rifle and 96th Infantry Divisions, constantly launched violent counterattacks, including with the support of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion in order to reach the flank, successfully advancing in the direction of the working Village no. 5 Soviet units. For several days the 268th Infantry Division had to fight heavy defensive battles and even abandon a number of conquered positions. However, the enemy never managed to reach the Neva. Having repelled German counterattacks, Soviet troops continued the offensive, but by January 20, the 268th and 123rd rifle divisions, as well as the 102nd and 142nd rifle brigades, brought into battle from reserve in this sector, only managed to block a powerful enemy stronghold in the area of ​​the 1st and 2nd Gorodki and the 8th State District Power Plant, but did not capture it. Also, during a week of fierce fighting, the 45th Guards Rifle Division did not achieve any significant results.
In the offensive zone of the 2nd Shock Army, the enemy, relying on strongholds in Lipka and Workers' Villages No. 7 and No. 8, continued to resist fiercely. On January 13, despite the entry into battle of the 18th Infantry Division, the 98th Tank Brigade in the direction of Rabochiy Poselok No. 5 and the 71st Infantry Division south of the Kruglaya grove, the formations of the 2nd Shock Army were unable to achieve any significant advance. one direction. In the following days, the command of the 2nd Shock Army continued to build up the strike force mainly in the area from the Kruglaya grove to Gaitolov, bringing into battle the 11th, 191st, 239th Rifle Divisions, 13th Ski and 122nd tank brigade. However, attempts to expand the breakthrough front to the south ended with virtually no results. The only success in this direction was achieved by the 256th Infantry Division, which on January 14 managed to take Podgornaya station, Rabochy settlement No. 7 and reach the approaches to Sinyavino.
In the area of ​​Lipka, which was still held by the enemy, the 12th Ski Brigade was sent in support of the 128th Infantry Division with the task of bypassing Lipka on the ice of Lake Ladoga and attacked the enemy from the rear.
At the center of the offensive of the 2nd Shock Army, on January 15, the 372nd Division took Workers' Villages No. 8 and No. 4, and on January 17 reached Workers' Village No. 1. By this time, the 18th Infantry Division and the 98th Tank Brigade had already been there for several days fought a fierce battle on the outskirts of Workers' Village No. 5, which was also attacked from the west by the 136th Division and the 61st Tank Brigade of the 67th Army.

Breaking the blockade of Leningrad.

By January 18, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts were separated by only a few kilometers. The German command, understanding the seriousness of the situation, allowed the remaining encircled units in the Shlisselburg and Lipka areas to make their way south to Sinyavino, for which the “Hüner group” had to hold Workers’ Villages No. 1 and No. 5 until the last possible opportunity.

Meeting of soldiers of the 2nd shock and 67th armies, January 18, 1943, photograph by D. Kozlov.

On January 18, 1943, at 9:30, the 1st separate rifle battalion of the 123rd separate rifle brigade of the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front, led by the deputy commander for political affairs, Major Melkonyan, senior lieutenant Kalugov, sergeant Anisimov, met with units of the 372nd division of the 2nd 1st shock army of the Volkhov Front, led by Major Melnikov and the commander of the 440th reconnaissance company, Senior Lieutenant Ishimov, on the eastern outskirts of Workers' Village No. 1. At 10:30 they were joined by the commander of the 372nd Infantry Division, Colonel Radygin, who took further command.
On January 18, German troops launched a counterattack from the area of ​​Workers' Village No. 5 against the 136th Infantry Division to ensure a breakthrough of their encircled units. The attack was repulsed and the 136th Infantry Division, pursuing the enemy, broke into Workers' Village No. 5, where at approximately 12:00 noon it linked up with units of the 18th Infantry Division of the 2nd Shock Army. A little later on the same day, formations of the 86th Infantry Division and a battalion of armored vehicles of the 61st Tank Brigade completely cleared Shlisselburg of the enemy, and at the end of the day the advanced units of the 34th Ski Brigade established contact with the 128th Infantry Division and the 12th Ski brigade of the 2nd Shock Army, which finally took Lipki.
Thus, on January 18, 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken.

On January 18, 1943, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke the blockade of Leningrad. Although the military success achieved was quite modest (the width of the corridor connecting the city with the country was only 8 - 11 kilometers), the political, material, economic and symbolic significance of breaking the blockade cannot be overestimated. In the shortest possible time, the Polyany-Shlisselburg railway line, a highway and several bridges across the Neva were built. On February 7, the first train from the “mainland” arrived at the Finland Station. Already in mid-February, food supply standards established for other industrial centers of the country began to apply in Leningrad. All this radically improved the situation of the city residents and the troops of the Leningrad Front.
Breaking the blockade became a turning point in the battle for Leningrad. Even the theoretical possibility of an assault on Leningrad by German troops was finally removed - the initiative in the North-Western direction finally passed to the Soviet troops. In this situation, the Supreme Command Headquarters considered it possible not only to build on the success achieved and restore control over the Kirov Railway, but also to carry out an even larger-scale operation - to completely lift the blockade of Leningrad and liberate the entire Leningrad region. However, Operation Polar Star ended in failure. Soviet troops near Leningrad failed to develop the offensive, defeat the German Mginsk-Sinyavin group, ensure a strong railway connection between the city and the country, and also push the enemy to a distance excluding artillery shelling. It was possible to completely liberate Leningrad from the enemy blockade only in January 1944 during the Leningrad-Novgorod operation.
The total losses of Soviet troops during Operation Iskra (January 12 - 30) amounted to 115,082 (33,940 - irrevocably), while the Leningrad Front lost 41,264 people (12,320 - irretrievably), and the Volkhov Front - 73,818 people (21,620 - irreversibly). In addition, Soviet troops lost 41 tanks, 417 guns and mortars and 41 aircraft during this period.

00:21 — REGNUM On this day 75 years ago, January 18, 1943, Soviet troops broke the enemy blockade of Leningrad. It took another year of stubborn fighting to completely eliminate it. The day of breaking the blockade is always celebrated in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Today the President of Russia will visit the residents of both regions Vladimir Putin, whose father fought and was seriously wounded in the battles on Nevsky Piglet.

The breaking of the blockade was the result of Operation Iskra, which was carried out by troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, which united south of Lake Ladoga and restored the land connection between Leningrad and the “Mainland”. On the same day, the city of Shlisselburg, which “locks” the entrance to the Neva from Ladoga, was liberated from the enemy. Breaking the blockade of Leningrad became the first example in military history of releasing a large city by a simultaneous attack from the outside and from the inside.

The strike forces of the two Soviet fronts, which were supposed to break through the enemy’s powerful defensive fortifications and eliminate the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge, included more than 300 thousand soldiers and officers, about 5 thousand guns and mortars, more than 600 tanks and more than 800 aircraft.

On the night of January 12, the positions of the German fascists were subjected to an unexpected air raid by Soviet bombers and attack aircraft, and in the morning massive artillery preparation began using large-caliber guns. It was carried out in such a way as not to damage the ice of the Neva, along which the infantry of the Leningrad Front, reinforced with tanks and artillery, soon moved on the offensive. And from the east, the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front went on the offensive against the enemy. She was given the task of capturing numbered workers' settlements north of Sinyavino, which the Germans had turned into fortified strongholds.

During the first day of the offensive, the advancing Soviet units, with heavy fighting, managed to advance 2-3 kilometers deep into the German defense. The German command, facing the threat of dismemberment and encirclement of its troops, organized an urgent transfer of reserves to the site of the breakthrough planned by the Soviet units, which made the battles as fierce and bloody as possible. Our troops were also reinforced with a second echelon of attackers, new tanks and guns.

On January 15 and 16, 1943, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts fought for individual strongholds. On the morning of January 16, the assault on Shlisselburg began. On January 17, Podgornaya and Sinyavino stations were taken. As former Wehrmacht officers later recalled, control of the German units in the areas of the Soviet offensive was disrupted, there were not enough shells and equipment, the single line of defense was crushed, and individual units were surrounded.

The Nazi troops were cut off from reinforcements and defeated in the area of ​​workers' settlements; the remnants of the defeated units, abandoning their weapons and equipment, scattered through the forests and surrendered. Finally, on January 18, units of the shock group of troops of the Volkhov Front, after artillery preparation, went on the attack and linked up with the troops of the Leningrad Front, capturing workers’ villages No. 1 and 5.

The blockade of Leningrad was broken. On the same day, Shlisselburg was completely liberated, and the entire southern shore of Lake Ladoga came under the control of the Soviet command, which soon made it possible to connect Leningrad with the country by road and railway and save hundreds of thousands of people who remained in the city besieged by the enemy from starvation.

According to historians, the total combat losses of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts during Operation Iskra amounted to 115,082 people, of which 33,940 were irrecoverable. Soldiers and officers of the Red Army sacrificed themselves to save Leningraders who did not surrender to the enemy from painful death. Militarily, the success of Operation Iskra meant the final loss of the enemy's strategic initiative in the northwestern direction, as a result of which the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad became inevitable. It happened a year later, on January 27, 1944.

“Breaking the blockade eased the suffering and hardships of Leningraders, instilled confidence in victory in all Soviet citizens, and opened the way to the complete liberation of the city, - the speaker of the upper house recalled today, January 18, in her blog on the website of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko. — Residents and defenders of the city on the Neva did not allow themselves to be broken, they withstood all the tests, once again confirming that greatness of spirit, courage and dedication are stronger than bullets and shells. In the end, it is not force that always triumphs, but truth and justice.”

As already reported IA REGNUM, on the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the blockade, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the region. He will lay flowers at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, where many thousands of Leningrad residents and defenders of the city are buried, visit the military-historical complex "Nevsky Piglet" and the Proryv panorama museum, in the Kirovsky district of the Leningrad region, meet with veterans of the Great Patriotic War and representatives of search engines detachments working on the battlefields of that war.

Veterans and survivors of the blockade of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, activists of social, military-historical and youth movements will gather at noon at a solemn meeting at the Sinyavinsky Heights memorial, dedicated to breaking the blockade, in the village of Sinyavino, Kirov district of the Leningrad region.

At 17:00 in the center of St. Petersburg there will be a ceremony of laying flowers at the memorial sign “Days of the Siege”. During the event, students of the association of teenage and youth clubs “Perspective” of the Central District will read poems about the Great Patriotic War, and blockade survivors will share stories about life and death in the besieged city. Candles will be lit in memory of the victims, after which flowers will be laid at the memorial plaques.

The siege of Leningrad by German and Finnish troops lasted 872 days, from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944. During the blockade, according to various sources, from 650 thousand to 1.5 million people died, mainly from starvation. The blockade was completely lifted on January 27, 1944.

Background

In place of the politics of the 90s, when everything connected with the Soviet Union was attacked, Russia remembered patriotic education and the preservation of the spiritual foundations that unite Russian citizens. The most important place was occupied by the memory of the victory in the Great Patriotic War as a manifestation of mass patriotism and heroism of the Soviet people.
At the same time, attempts to distort military history continue both from foreign journalists, historians and artists, and inside Russia. A RANEPA survey in 2015 showed that 60% of Russian citizens notice such distortions in the domestic media, and 82.5% in the foreign press.
A particularly fierce struggle against the legacy of the Great Patriotic War is being waged in countries that directly or indirectly support fascist ideas: primarily in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad found itself between two fires. From the southwest, through the Baltic states, the German Army Group North (commanded by Field Marshal W. Leeb) rushed towards the city. From the north and north-west, the Finnish army (commander Marshal K. Mannerheim) aimed at the city together with German troops.

From September 8, 1941, Leningrad found itself under a siege that lasted 900 days and nights. The most difficult test for its inhabitants was hunger. From November 20, 1941, the lowest standards for the issuance of bread on cards were established: workers and technical workers - 250 g, employees, dependents and children - 125. First line units and warships - 500 g, Air Force flight technical personnel - 500 g, all other military units - 300. Mass death of the population began. Physical overexertion, cold, lack of electricity and heating, water, sewerage and other basic living conditions further reduced people’s ability to resist starvation. In December, 53 thousand people died, in January 1942 - more than 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand, in March - more than 95 thousand people. The preserved pages of little Tanya Savicheva’s diary leave no one indifferent:

“Grandmother died on January 25th. ... “Uncle Alyosha on May 10... Mom on May 13 at 7.30 am... Everyone died. Tanya is the only one left."

In total, up to 1 million people died in Leningrad during the siege. Grief came to every family. In front of mothers and fathers, their sons and daughters died, children were left without parents. The salvation for hundreds of thousands of besieged was the “Road of Life” - a route laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which, from November 21, food and ammunition were delivered to the city and on the way back the civilian population, mainly women and children, was evacuated. Along the “Road of Life” - until March 1943 - 1,615 thousand tons of various cargo were delivered to the city by ice (and in the summer on various ships). At the same time, 1,376 thousand Leningraders and many thousands of wounded soldiers were evacuated from the city on the Neva. In total, during the blockade, 1,750 thousand people were evacuated from the city - the only case in history of the evacuation of such a huge number of residents from a besieged city. To transport petroleum products along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, a pipeline was laid.

Despite all the mistakes, miscalculations, and voluntary decisions, the Soviet command took maximum measures to supply Leningrad and break its blockade as quickly as possible. Four attempts were made to break the enemy ring. The first - in September 1941, on the third day after Nazi troops cut off land communications with the city; the second - in October 1941, despite the critical situation that had developed on the approaches to Moscow; the third - in January 1942, during a general counteroffensive that only partially achieved its goals; the fourth - in August - September 1942. And only in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pulled towards Stalingrad, the blockade was partially broken (Operation Iskra). On a narrow strip of the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, 8-11 km wide, it was possible to restore land communications with the country. Over the next 17 days, railroads and roads were built along this corridor. January 1943 was a turning point in the Battle of Leningrad.

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

ORDER OF THE COMMANDER OF THE LENINGRAD FRONT 67TH ARMY ON OPERATION "ISKRA", January 11, 1943

For the seventeenth month, fascist hordes have been standing at the gates of Leningrad, besieging our hometown... Neither bombing, nor artillery shelling, nor hunger, nor cold, nor all the sacrifices, torment and hardships to which the fascist barbarians subjected and are subjecting Leningrad, broke the resolve of the defenders Leningrad, faithful sons of our Soviet fatherland, who decided to defend Leningrad from enemies until their last breath. In a heroic struggle that has no examples in history, the troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the working people of Leningrad, responding blow to blow, defended Lenin’s beloved city from the Nazi invaders and locked its gates with a strong castle, turning it into an impregnable fortress of defense.

Strengthening the defense of Leningrad, its defenders firmly believed that the desired hour of liberation of Leningrad would come, that there would be a holiday on our street. Knowing this, they accumulated their forces day after day in order to go on a decisive offensive at a favorable moment, join their forces to the forces of the country going to the rescue of Leningrad, break through the ring of the enemy blockade and fulfill the historical task of uniting Leningrad with the entire country.

Comrades! This favorable moment has now arrived.

In the battles for the city of Lenin, the troops of the Leningrad Front became stronger, tempered and prepared themselves for offensive battles. Our valiant Red Army inflicts one crushing blow after another on the enemy in the south and on the central front. The enemy's forces are undermined. The enemy rushes about in confusion, forced to disperse its forces between many fronts.

The long-awaited hour of the liberation of Leningrad has come, the hour of bloody reckoning with the German monsters, the hour of our merciless revenge on the enemy for all his atrocities.

You, valiant soldiers, commanders and political workers of the 67th Army, had the great honor of liberating Leningrad from the enemy blockade. Rise up, warriors, to fight for the liberation of Leningrad, to the merciless extermination of the hated barbarian occupiers, to bloody retribution with the enemy for the sacrifices, torment and suffering of the Leningraders, for our tortured brothers and sisters, wives and mothers, for the desecrated land, for the devastated and plundered cities and villages, for our friends and comrades who died in battle.

Comrades!

The combat task assigned to you is not simple or easy. Victory never comes by itself, it must be won. The enemy is cunning and cruel, he will cling and resist with all his might. He knows that our victory at Leningrad will greatly hasten the final defeat of Nazi Germany. The more decisive and bold the pressure must be, the stronger and more furious our attacks must be!

Comrades! The troops of the Volkhov Front are advancing towards the troops of the Leningrad Front to solve a single combat mission. They, just like the troops of our front, are armed with powerful equipment, they, just like our troops, are inspired by the will to victory and determination to liberate Leningrad from the siege. We will squeeze the enemy into a mighty vice on both sides, crush him with the joint efforts of both fronts. Honor and glory to that unit and division of the Leningrad Front that will be the first to unite with the troops of the Volkhov Front!

I ORDER:

The troops of the 67th Army should go on a decisive offensive, defeat the opposing enemy group and join forces with the troops of the Volkhov Front, who are fighting towards us, and thereby break the siege of the city of Leningrad.

The Military Council of the Leningrad Front is firmly convinced that the troops of the 67th Army will fulfill their duty to the Motherland with honor and skill.

Dare in battle, match only those in front, show initiative, cunning, dexterity!

Death to the German scoundrels!

Glory to the brave and courageous warriors who know no fear in the fight!(...)

For Leningrad, for the Motherland, for! Forward!

Commander of the Leningrad Front, Lieutenant General of Artillery Govorov

Members of the Military Council of the Front Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Zhdanov, Major General Shtykov, Solovyov

Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Front, Lieutenant General Gusev

The Great Patriotic War. Military historical essays. Book 2. Fracture. M., 1998.

January 18 is a special date for Russians and especially for St. Petersburg residents. On this day back in 1943, during the Great Patriotic War, the blockade of Leningrad was broken.
Despite the fact that the city remained besieged for another year, with the breaking of the blockade the situation on the entire Leningrad Front improved significantly.

Preparation

Almost a month was allotted for the preparation of the operation, during which the troops began comprehensive preparations for the upcoming offensive. Particular attention was paid to organizing interaction between the strike groups, for which the command and headquarters of the two fronts coordinated their plans, established demarcation lines and worked out interactions, conducting a series of war games based on the real situation.

Operation Spark

According to the plans of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Soviet troops, with attacks from two fronts - Leningrad from the west and Volkhov from the east - were supposed to defeat the enemy group holding the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge.

Command of the fronts was entrusted to Lieutenant General L.A. Govorov and Army General K.A. Meretskov. The interaction was coordinated by representatives of the Headquarters - Army General G.K. Zhukov and Marshal K.E. Voroshilov. On January 12, 1943, after artillery preparation, which began at 9:30 a.m. and lasted 2:10 a.m., the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front launched a powerful attack from west to east.

The offensive was supported by the 2nd shock and 8th armies of the Volkhov Front, ships, coastal artillery and aviation. Despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, by the end of January 13, the distance between the armies was reduced to 5-6 kilometers, and on January 14 - to two kilometers. The command of the fascist German troops, trying to hold Workers' Villages No. 1 and 5 at any cost, transferred its units from other sectors of the front.

The enemy group unsuccessfully tried several times to break through to the south to its main forces. And 6 days later, on January 18, on the outskirts of Rabochy settlement No. 1 near Shlisselburg, units of the 123rd Infantry Brigade of the Leningrad Front joined forces with units of the 372nd Division of the Volkhov Front. On the same day, Shlisselburg and the entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga were completely liberated.

By January 18, 1943, about 800 thousand people remained in the city. Around midnight, a message was broadcast on the radio that the blockade had been broken. The townspeople began to take to the streets, shouting and cheering. All of Leningrad was decorated with flags. There was hope that their hometown would be liberated. And although the blockade ring was completely lifted only, and as a result of breaking the blockade ring, only a narrow corridor was recaptured - a strip of peat bog, the significance of this day for the future fate of Leningrad can hardly be overestimated.

During the offensive operation of the Soviet troops, after fierce battles, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts united in the area of ​​Worker settlements No. 1 and 5. On the same day, Shlisselburg was liberated. The entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga has been cleared of the enemy. A corridor 8-11 kilometers wide, cut along the coast, restored the land connection between Leningrad and the country. In seventeen days, a road and a railway (the so-called “Victory Road”) were built along the coast.

Raise the red flags
Over the free Neva,
Hello, full of courage
Leningrad is fighting!

The siege of Leningrad lasted almost 900 days. It was finally lifted in the winter of 1944, after Stalin’s successful First Strike, which opened the account for a series of offensive operations by the Red Army.

Museum Diorama “Breaking the Siege of Leningrad”

A few kilometers from the Nevsky Piglet, on the left bank ramp of the Ladoga Bridge, there is a museum-diorama “Breaking the Siege of Leningrad”, opened in May 1985. In front of the diorama are tanks raised from the bottom of the Neva and restored. The exhibition is slowly expanding; the white KV-1 appeared on the site this year, on the anniversary of the lifting of the blockade. According to the museum’s aunties, two witnesses of those battles survived at this site - two old linden trees crippled by shells. All the other trees around were planted after the war. Here is one of them - right next to the bridge, with the top broken off.
The main exhibition of the museum, a diorama, is dedicated to Operation Iskra in January 1943. Its size is impressive - 40x8 meters. Which show the battles of the operation.

The picturesque canvas measuring 40 x 8 m tells about the seven-day battles of Operation Iskra in January 1943. The observation deck offers a grandiose panorama of the battle. A close-up shows the crossing of the Neva by units of the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front under the command of General L.V. Govorov. From the east, troops of the Volkhov Front under the command of General K. A. Meretskov are making their way towards the Leningraders. On January 12, 1943, with a counter strike, the troops of our two fronts broke through the fascist German defenses on the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge, defeated the enemy group and on January 18, 1943 met in the 1st and 5th Workers' Villages. In the liberated territory in the breakthrough zone, the Polyany-Shlisselburg railway with a bridge across the Neva was built in 18 days. Called by the people the “Road of Victory,” it allowed us to accumulate forces for the complete liberation of the Leningrad land from the Nazi invaders in January 1944.

Reconstruction of the blockade breaking

On the recreated battlefield there is a complete picture of the fighting: tanks, aircraft and infantry. For the sake of this memorable date, reenactors from all over Russia, as well as from Poland, Estonia and even Brazil, came to St. Petersburg.

Almost the same place where the battles took place in 1943 was chosen for reconstruction. Reenactors used exact copies of historical military equipment, including T-60 tanks. The most important moment of the operation was the reunification of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, as a result of which the fascist troops themselves found themselves surrounded.

Poems dedicated to breaking the blockade

Raise red flags! (January 18, 1943) A. Prokofiev


So the brothers met,
The sky became red.
Is there a tighter hug?
Is there a brighter joy?
He knows the beautiful city,
What's on the dangerous path
Better than our brotherhood
We can't find it anywhere.
There was a storm here,

Here she poured for love
Noble, scarlet
And sacred blood.
Raise the red flags
Over the free Neva,
Hello, full of courage
Leningrad is fighting!

Three Minute Celebration (Breaking the blockade) Sergei Narovchatov

Three more salvos at the bastards!
And then at eleven forty
We are the first of the Volkhovites to rush in
To the burning First Village.
From the other end, past the shaky walls,
Crucified by fire in the wind,
Are they people or fascists through the foggy darkness?
They glide in smoky camouflage suits.
To battle! But the spark of unexpected meetings
A word flashed in the distance.
Russian speech is becoming brighter and wider
It's burning towards us!
And where the destroyed pillbox stood frozen -
At least put a monument over them, -
The St. Petersburg resident shakes hands with the Volkhov man,
They kiss. You can't separate me!
Life should not be valued
Taking risks again and again
So that not us, so others can survive
Until that big day.
And right on the street flasks from belts
We pick it up and in the bright morning
For our victory, for the memory of it
At the celebration we drink for three minutes.
We kiss again. Time doesn't wait.
Having formed the battle formations,
Forever inseparable, go on a hike together
Until the last breath and shot.
I knew the holidays of summer and winter -
Just touch the memory.
In the gold mines of Kolyma
I drank blue fire.
I respected the customs of Kabarda,
I remember the festivities in the Urals,
I drank on first-name terms with all of Fergana
At the construction site of the Grand Canal.
I walked towards cheerful speeches,
No matter where you wander around the world,
But I have never seen a better celebration,
Than three minutes it is.

Photo of breaking the blockade

Photo Breaking the siege of Leningrad

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On January 18, 1943, during the operation of Soviet troops codenamed “Iskra,” the blockade of Leningrad was broken in the area of ​​Workers’ Village No. 1 near Shlisselburg.

During Operation Iskra (in the German version Zweite Ladoga-Schlacht - Second Battle of Lake Ladoga), offensive actions of Soviet troops were carried out in the Leningrad direction from January 12 to January 30, 1943. The operation was carried out by the forces of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with the assistance of part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga military flotilla and long-range aviation with the aim of breaking the blockade of Leningrad.

The assigned task during the operation was completed. Despite the fact that the city remained under enemy siege for another whole year, with the breaking of the blockade, the supply of the northern capital significantly improved. The situation on the entire Leningrad Front also changed significantly - the German Army Group North finally lost its strategic initiative.

According to the plans of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Soviet troops, with attacks from two fronts - Leningrad from the west and Volkhov from the east - were supposed to defeat the enemy group holding the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge. Command of the fronts was entrusted to Lieutenant General L.A. Govorov and Army General K.A. Meretskov. The interaction was coordinated by representatives of the Headquarters - Army General G.K. Zhukov and Marshal K.E. Voroshilov.

On January 12, 1943, after artillery preparation, which began at 9:30 a.m. and lasted 2:10 a.m., the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front launched a powerful attack from west to east. The offensive was supported by the 2nd shock and 8th armies of the Volkhov Front, ships, coastal artillery and aviation. Despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, by the end of January 13, the distance between the armies was reduced to 5-6 kilometers, and on January 14 - to two kilometers. The command of the fascist German troops, trying to hold Workers' Villages No. 1 and 5 at any cost, transferred its units from other sectors of the front. The enemy group unsuccessfully tried several times to break through to the south to its main forces.

On January 18, 1943, after bloody offensive battles, on the outskirts of Rabochy settlement No. 1 near Shlisselburg, units of the 123rd Infantry Brigade of the Leningrad Front united with units of the 372nd Division of the Volkhov Front. On the same day, Shlisselburg and the entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga were completely liberated. The blockade of Leningrad was broken.

By this time, about 800 thousand people remained in the city. Around midnight, a message was broadcast on the radio that the blockade had been broken. The townspeople began to take to the streets, shouting and cheering. All of Leningrad was decorated with flags. There was hope that their hometown would be liberated. And although the blockade ring was completely lifted only on January 27, 1944, and as a result of breaking the blockade ring, only a narrow corridor was recaptured - a strip of peat bog, the significance of this day for the future fate of Leningrad can hardly be overestimated.

A corridor 8-11 kilometers wide, punched along the coast from the Volkhov Front to Shlisselburg, restored the land connection between Leningrad and the country. Construction of the Shlisselburg-Polyany railway, 36 km long, began along the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. On February 6, trains began traveling along the new “Road of Life” to Leningrad. The first, main step towards the liberation of Leningrad had been taken.