Did you know that Russia has a "city of heroes"?
In the USSR, it was not only the people who were awarded the honorary title of "hero", but also entire cities.
Monument to the heroes of the "Battle of Stalingrad" in Volgograd.
In the Soviet Union, 12 cities were awarded the title of "City of Heroes" in recognition of their heroic performance against the Nazis during World War II, 9 of which are in today's Russian Federation, 2 in Ukraine and 1 in Belarus. There you will also find the Fortress of Brest, which was given the unique title of "Hero Fortress".
Smolensk
Walls of the Smolensk Fortress.
In mid-July 1941, the German Army Group Center broke through Smolensk and occupied most of the city. Since ancient times, Smolensk has been known as Russia's "western shield". Three Soviet armies in Smolensk were in trouble at the same time, bravely resisting fiercely.
Bloody battles fought from side to side, raging in every street and every building
Bloody battles raged on every street and every building. Some urban areas went from side to side and back from the other, and some combat units lost more than half of their fighters. In early August, the Soviets broke through the barrier and left Smolensk after suffering heavy losses. However, the enemy also suffered heavy losses and lost valuable time to march to Moscow before the cold hit.
Murmansk
Murmansk "Monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War".
Only a few hundred kilometers from the Finnish border, Murmansk was occupied by the Germans, a large, permanent port that was sabotaged by the German and Finnish offensives due to the careful planning of the Red Army and the successful operations of the Northern Fleet (including landing teams at Sapadenalytsa Bay in Bossaya in July-August 1941).
After being defeated, the enemy carried out a massive bombardment of Murmansk. The number and density of this bombing was second only to Stalingrad. In October 1944, during Operation Petsamo-Hilknes, the Red Army decisively repelled the Wehrmacht.
St. Petersburg (Leningrad)
Victory Square, St. Petersburg.
Leningrad, the second most important city in the Soviet Union, was completely blockaded by Army Group North and its ally Finland on 8 September 1941, and the only route to Leningrad was the water passage of Lake Ladoga.
During the 872 days of siege in Leningrad, there were numerous air raids, artillery fires and brutal famines that killed 600,000 inhabitants. After becoming a powerful stronghold, the city did not survive until 27 January 1944, when the blockade was lifted.
Moscow
Victory Park in Moscow.
On September 30, 1941, Army Group Center was carrying out Operation Typhoon to occupy Moscow, and the fall of the country's most important political center and large transportation hub would have disastrous consequences for the Soviet Union and call into question its prospects.
The capital was defended by regular troops and civilians, who were busy building fortifications on the road to the capital, and the fierce fighting exhausted the strength of the German army until the arrival of reinforcements from Siberia and the Far East, and on December 5, the Soviet army launched a full-scale counteroffensive, and the almost successful enemy was repulsed by 100-250 km.
Sevastopol
Monument to the "Soldiers and Sailors" in Sevastopol.
In October 1941, the defensive battle at Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, lasted 250 days, and by being cut off from the main forces, the city bravely repelled the enemy attacking at sea and on land, and the number of enemies repelled far exceeded its own number.
The defenders succeeded in stopping two enemy attacks, but on the third defensive, the exhausted Soviet army did not hold the city. Sevastopol fell in July 1942, and only two years later, on 9 May 1944 the Red Army managed to retake it.
Tula
Tula's "Defending the Fatherland Sky" memorial complex.
Tula, located south of Moscow, experienced the attacks of German Operation Typhoon from October to November 1941 and moscow, the worst days of the war, when the city was almost completely surrounded by the enemy and survived the fall thanks to the brave resistance and constant counteroffensive of the Soviet army.
Tula's successful defenses pinpointed some of the Germans and prevented Heinz Guderian's Second Panzer Army from reaching Moscow from the south. On October 6, 1941, Soviet troops stationed in Tula began a full-scale counteroffensive, repelling the Germans from Moscow by about 130 kilometers.
Kerch
The kerthane obelisk of glory on Mount Mitrida.
This ancient city in the eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula has been a bloody battlefield many times during the course of the war. In November 1941, Kerch was captured by Erich von Manstein's 11th Army, and on 30 December Soviet forces landed on the Kerch Peninsula to retake it. The city had to be abandoned again in May 1942 and remained under Nazi occupation until April 11, 1944.
During the course of the battle, Kerch was almost completely destroyed. Writer and war correspondent Peter Pavlenko, who visited Kerch in 1942, recalled: "When I saw Stalingrad, I was not shocked because I had already been to Kerch. ”
Novosibirsk
Monument to the "Marathi Island" in Novorossiysk.
In September 1942, fierce fighting took place in Novorossiysk, an important port on the Black Sea in the SOVIET Union. After suffering heavy losses, germany did not succeed in capturing the entire city, leaving the southeastern region to the Soviet army.
In the winter of 1943, the first battle to liberate the city began, and on February 4, under the command of Major Cesar Kunnikov, Soviet landing teams landed in the southern part of the city. The Soviet army successfully occupied a bridgehead of 30 square kilometers and held out for 225 days. On September 16, 1943, the Soviets completely liberated the city.
Volgograd (Stalingrad)
Monument to the "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" in Volgograd.
The first defensive phase of the Battle of Stalingrad was the most difficult for the Soviets, and in the fierce battle the city was almost razed to the ground, they lost most of the city and retreated to the Volga, where they exhausted and began their final defense.
On November 19, 1942, german troops were trapped in the battle of the city, and the Red Army surrounded the Wehrmacht Sixth Army and eventually defeated it. Never before had the Third Reich experienced such a catastrophic defeat, the Battle of Stalingrad became a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front.