The blockade of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) lasted from January 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944. The only way to get help from the "mainland" was Lake Ladoga, open to the enemy's aviation, artillery and fleet. Lack of food, harsh weather conditions, problems with heating and transportation systems made these 872 days a hell for the residents of the city.
Instructions
Step 1
After Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, enemy troops immediately moved to Leningrad. By the end of summer and the beginning of autumn 1941, all transport routes with the rest of the Soviet Union were cut off. On September 4, daily shelling of the city began. On September 8, the soldiers of the "North" group took the source of the Neva. This day is considered to be the beginning of the blockade. Thanks to the "iron will of Zhukov" (according to the historian G. Salisbury), the enemy troops were stopped 4-7 kilometers from the city.
Step 2
Hitler was convinced that Leningrad must be wiped off the face of the earth. He gave the order to surround the city in a tight ring and constantly shell and bomb. At the same time, not a single German soldier was supposed to enter the territory of besieged Leningrad. In October-November 1941, several thousand incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. Most of them go to food warehouses. Thousands of tons of food were burned.
Step 3
In January 1941, there were almost 3 million inhabitants in Leningrad. At the beginning of the war, at least 300 thousand refugees from other republics and regions of the USSR arrived in the city. On September 15, the norms for issuing food on food ration cards were significantly reduced. In November 1941, famine began. People began to faint at work and on the streets of the city, dying of physical exhaustion. Several hundred people were convicted of cannibalism in March 1942 alone.
Step 4
Food was delivered to the city by air and along Lake Ladoga. However, for several months of the year, the second route was blocked: in the fall, so that ice was strong enough to withstand the cars, and in the spring, until the ice melted. Lake Ladoga was constantly bombarded by German troops.
Step 5
In 1941, the fighters of the front line received 500 grams of bread per day, the able-bodied population working for the good of Leningrad - 250 grams, soldiers (not from the front line), children, old people and employees - 125 grams each. Apart from bread, they were given practically nothing.
Step 6
In the city, only part of the water supply network worked, and mainly due to street water heaters. It was especially difficult for people in the winter of 1941-1942. In December, more than 52 thousand people died, in January-February - almost 200 thousand. People died not only from hunger, but also from the cold. Plumbing, heating and sewerage were cut off. Since October 1941, the average daily temperature has been 0 degrees. In May 1942 the temperature dropped below zero several times. The climatic winter lasted 178 days, that is, almost 6 months.
Step 7
At the beginning of the war, 85 orphanages were opened in Leningrad. Each month, each of 30 thousand children was allocated 15 eggs, 1 kilogram of fat, 1.5 kilograms of meat and the same amount of sugar, 2, 2 kilograms of cereals, 9 kilograms of bread, a pound of flour, 200 grams of dried fruit, 10 grams of tea and 30 grams of coffee … The city leadership did not suffer from hunger. In the Smolny canteen, officials could take caviar, cakes, vegetables and fruits. In party sanatoriums every day they gave me ham, lamb, cheese, balyk, and pies.
Step 8
The turning point in the food situation came only at the end of 1942. In the bread, meat and dairy industries, food substitutes began to be used: cellulose for bread, soy flour, albumin, animal blood plasma for meat. Nutritional yeast began to be made from wood, and vitamin C was obtained from the infusion of coniferous needles.
Step 9
From the beginning of 1943, Leningrad gradually strengthened. Communal services resumed their work. A covert regrouping of Soviet troops was carried out around the city. The intensity of enemy shelling decreased.
Step 10
In 1943, Operation Iskra was carried out, as a result of which part of the enemy's armies were cut off from the main forces. Shlisserlburg and the southern coast of Lake Ladoga were liberated. The "Road of Victory" appeared on the shore: a highway and a railway. By 1943, the city had about 800 thousand inhabitants.
Step 11
In 1944, Operation January Thunder and the Novgorod-Luga offensive operation were carried out, which made it possible to completely liberate Leningrad. On January 27 at 20:00 in honor of the lifting of the blockade, a fireworks took place in the city. 24 volleys were fired from 324 artillery pieces. During the blockade, more people died in Leningrad than in the armies of the United States and England during the entire Second World War.
