During the Second World War, the longest and most tragic "lockdown" in history occurred, that is, the Siege of Leningrad. The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the "Blockade of Leningrad" and the "Defense of Leningrad", was a military operation carried out by the Axis powers in World War II in order to capture Leningrad in the Soviet Union.
The siege began on 9 September 1941 and ended on 27 January 1944, lasting 872 days. The siege of Leningrad caused more economic losses and casualties than the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, known as the "Red Meat Grinder", and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, which is considered to be the bloodiest battle in human history. In this battle, 500,000 soldiers were killed or missing in Nazi Germany, 3.5 million soldiers were killed or missing in the Soviet Union, and more than 1 million citizens of Leningrad died.
Hitler launched the Barbarossa project
In a strategic sense at the time, Leningrad was a must for Germany. The capture of Leningrad was, in Hitler's view, an "urgent task." Leningrad, formerly known as Petrograd, is now St. Petersburg, the birthplace of the October Revolution and the second capital of the Soviet Union. Leningrad was the largest industrial center and second largest transportation hub in the SOVIET Union, and an important base for the Soviet Red Banner Baltic Fleet. By occupying Leningrad, control of the entire Baltic Sea could be gained.
On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched the Barbarossa program and launched an offensive against Leningrad. The Germans divided the main army into three routes and launched a large-scale surprise attack on the western border of the Soviet Union. A total of 23 divisions of the 18th and 16th Armies of the German Army Group North and the 4th Tank Group, plus 16 divisions of the Southeast Finnish Army group and the Karelian Army Group, supported by more than 1,600 aircraft from the German Fifth Air Force and the Finnish Air Force, launched a fierce attack on Leningrad from the north and south.
In order to successfully take Leningrad, Hitler also specially selected Field Marshal "Wilhelm Ritter von Loeb" as the commander of Army Group North, and ordered him to take Leningrad by July 21 as planned, and also made a high-profile threat that he would go to Leningrad's "Palace Square" to review the army.
The Soviets swore to resist to the death, and the Germans could not attack for a long time
After the outbreak of the war, the German army was so strong that within a few days it captured Pskov, and then began to attack along the axis from Luga to Leningrad. In the face of the sudden attack of the German army, the Soviet army with Voroshilov as the commander rushed to the battle and was gradually defeated. Under Stalin's pressure, Voroshilov deployed 3 strong lines of defense outside Leningrad. The outermost line of defense, centered on the city of Luga, stretches from Simsk on the west bank of Lake Ilmen in the south to Kingishep at the mouth of the Luga River in the north, lined up along the Luga River, with a total length of about 300 kilometers.
In order to ensure the fortification of this "most important line of defense", Voroshilov deliberately deployed 4 infantry divisions and 3 militia divisions, and later drew 6 divisions and 1 brigade from the Northern Front; at the same time, the sailors of the Soviet Baltic Fleet were also incorporated as naval infantry into the garrison of Leningrad, further strengthening the defense of the Luga River.
Under the sworn resistance of the Soviet army, the Germans suffered heavy losses. Germany's Army Group North was almost entirely held up on the banks of the Luga River, and Hitler's plan to take Leningrad within a month was declared bankrupt. It should be known that the German panzer division broke through the Maginot Line in 20 days, but at this moment it was helpless against the Soviet army that was clinging to Leningrad. The Germans, having advanced to the outskirts of the city, only 16 kilometers from the Winter Palace, were never able to make any further progress.
Embarrassed, Hitler then ordered: "The question of the aftermath of Leningrad must not be merciful, and every Russian must be frightened and trembling." He said: "We will never accept the surrender of Leningrad and Moscow." Hitler's words were also interpreted as the German army wanting to completely destroy Leningrad.
In fact, the German army, which had advanced to Novka, south of Leningrad, had posed a great threat to the soldiers and civilians in the city of Leningrad, where the German artillery was able to directly attack the city of Leningrad, and it was really "under the city". At a critical moment, commander Voroshilov called on the soldiers and civilians of the city to say: "At the gate of Leningrad, block the enemy's way forward with our chests." Marshal Zhukov, who rushed to Leningrad as Stalin's representative, also denied all plans for retreat, and he called on all soldiers and civilians to swear to die against the enemy, saying: "You cannot retreat one step, and retreat means shooting!" ”
Siege: Leningrad became an island of "death"
At this time, Hitler ordered the Germans to form a siege network, intending to trap leningrad soldiers and civilians in the city. On August 22, 1941, the Germans began to occupy the lines of communication around Leningrad; on September 8, 1941, the Germans began a massive blockade of Leningrad, cutting off its supply lines.
At this time, Leningrad had become an isolated island. Under the attack of heavy artillery and aircraft, the public facilities in the city were seriously damaged, and countless palaces and houses were instantly reduced to ruins. And with supplies cut off, the people fell into famine. The winter period from November 1941 to February 1942 was a difficult period, and the only food ration for the citizens was 125 grams of "bread" per day, which was actually made of wood chips and some other inedible mixture, which was almost difficult to swallow. Coupled with the cold climate, many citizens will fall down in the process of walking to the food distribution kiosk. Hundreds of people die of starvation every day in Leningrad, and in the worst months, the monthly death toll is as high as 100,000, and the vast majority die of starvation. People had to steal firewood from the fences as fuel to keep out the cold, and the birds and rats in the city were quickly eaten. After running out of food, the city began to see the tragic situation of "human cannibalism". To this end, the police of Leningrad formed a special unit to patrol the city and immediately executed the captured "cannibals".
The civilians and civilians of Leningrad were thus locked off in a city with no coal, no food, and no clean water for more than two years. War, hunger, murder and disease have made Leningrad a dead city of "corpses." Residents write their names in the palms of their hands early to ensure that their bodies are recognized after death.
The prolonged siege has gradually numbed people. Recalling the experience after the war, someone said, "Men are more likely to collapse and have higher mortality rates than women." Women are so tired that they stop menstruating... So many people died, people's emotions became cold, and then few people cried. ”
The diary of 11-year-old girl Tanya Savicheva was also made public after the war. She recorded in her diary how her family died in despair of starvation, writing: "Everyone died, and only Tanya remained. Unfortunately, despite the siege, the girl eventually died of nutritional disorders. Tanya Savicheva's diary later became evidence of the Later Nazi Nuremberg Trials.
Leningrad launched a great counteroffensive
Under the stubborn resistance of the Soviet army, the German army besieging Leningrad had become the end of the crossbow. Although the Germans continued to increase their offensive during this period, they were never able to move any further.
During the most difficult days of the winter of 1941, the soldiers and civilians of Leningrad miraculously built a transport line on the frozen lake to connect the east and west shores of Lake Ladoga. This was the only way out of Leningrad's contact with the outside world, and due to factors such as weather, geography and German artillery bombardment, the death rate of this transport line was also very high, so it was also called the "Road of Life".
Although the supply of goods brought in by this transport line was extremely limited, the situation in the city gradually improved compared with the early days of the siege. The soldiers and civilians of Leningrad were miraculously subjected to severe cold and hunger. Hitler's attempt to force Leningrad to surrender through a "siege" of the city was a complete failure.
At the beginning of 1944, the Soviet High Command issued a combat order to break through the blockade of Leningrad. On January 14 of the same year, millions of soviet fronts launched a massive counteroffensive against the Germans, and after 13 days of continuous fighting, the Soviets opened the railway line from Leningrad to Moscow; on January 27, 1944, the German army encircling Leningrad was completely defeated, and the siege was finally declared a failure.
With their indomitable fighting spirit, the Leningrad army and people thwarted Hitler's strategic attempt to occupy Leningrad and won the final victory in the "Leningrad Campaign." Britain's Evening Banner praised "the resistance to the Siege of Leningrad as an example of mankind's glorious victory in the face of incredible tests" and said that there may never again be a "comparable resistance" in world history as the Siege of Leningrad.