Siege of Leningrad

8 September 1941 – 27 January 1944 blockade of Leningrad by the Axis

The siege of Leningrad was a siege in Leningrad during World War II.[1] The siege started on 8 September 1941, when the last road to the city was severed.

Siege of Leningrad
Part of Eastern Front (World War II)

Soviet antiaircraft battery in Leningrad near Saint Isaac's Cathedral, 1941
Date8 September 1941
Location
Result Siege lifted (Soviet victory)
Territorial
changes
Axis forces are repelled 60–100 km (37–62 mi) away from Leningrad.
Belligerents
 Nazi Germany
Template:Country data Republic of Finland[2][3] >
Naval support:
 Italy[4]
 Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Initial: 725,000 Initial: 930,000
Casualties and losses
Nazi Germany Army Group North:
1941
: 85,371 total casualties[5]
1942: 267,327 total casualties[6]
1943: 205,937 total casualties[7]
1944: 21,350 total casualties[8]
Total: 579,985 casualties

Soviet Union Northern Front:
1,017,881 killed, captured or missing[9]
2,418,185 wounded and sick[9]
Total: 3,436,066 casualties

Russian estimate of killed, captured or missing:[10]
Baltic Fleet: 55,890
Leningrad Front: 467,525
Total: 523,415
Soviet civilians:
642,000 during the siege, 400,000 at evacuations[9]

Although the Soviet Union forces managed to open a narrow path to the city on 18 January 1943, the siege was only stopped on 27 January 1944, 872 days after it began. It is thought of as one of the most destructive sieges ever to happen. It was possibly the heaviest in terms of casualties, killing over 1 million innocent people. Also, because of the siege, no food was allowed to enter Leningrad, leaving the residents to eat things such as:

Because of the German operations, no people or supply trucks were allowed to enter or leave the city, leaving the occupants without food often for weeks or months.[11]

Related pages change

References change

  1. Andrews, Evan. "The Siege of Leningrad". HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  2. Brinkley & Haskew 2004, p. 210
  3. Wykes 1972, pp. 9–21
  4. Baryshnikov 2003; Juutilainen 2005, p. 670; Ekman, P-O: Tysk-italiensk gästspel på Ladoga 1942, Tidskrift i Sjöväsendet 1973 Jan.–Feb. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 5–46.
  5. "Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Army/Army Group, 1941". Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Army/Army Group, 1942". Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Army/Army Group, 1943". Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Army/Army Group, 1944". Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Glantz 2001, pp. 179
  10. Krivosheev, G. F. (1997). Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century. ISBN 9781853672804. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  11. Network, Warfare History (2020-09-13). "How Leningrad Survived the Siege". The National Interest. Retrieved 2021-05-20.