Siege of Leningrad
Adolf Hitler declared that Leningrad must die of starvation in a speech at Munich on the 8th of November 1941. The German High Command viewed the capture of this city as one of three primary goals within Operation Barbarossa, the massive invasion of the Soviet Union launched on the 22nd of June 1941. Army Group North under Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb advanced toward the suburbs by early August 1941. Hitler was so confident in victory that he had invitations printed for celebrations to be held at the Hotel Astoria inside the city. A directive sent to Army Group North on the 29th of September 1941 stated his ultimate plan was to raze Leningrad and give areas north of the Neva River to Finland. In a conversation with Finnish Foreign Minister Rolf Witting on the 27th of November 1941, Hitler reiterated that the city was to be destroyed completely. The strategy relied on the belief that German scientists calculated the city would reach starvation after only a few weeks without supplies. This approach prioritized bombing and blockade over direct assault because occupying the city would require feeding its population.
The last rail connection to Leningrad was severed on the 30th of August 1941 when German forces reached the Neva River. On the 8th of September, road access ended when troops reached Lake Ladoga at Shlisselburg, leaving just a narrow corridor unoccupied by Axis forces. Bombing on that same day caused 178 fires across the city. By the 8th of September, German forces had largely surrounded the city, cutting off all supply routes to Leningrad and its suburbs. Civilian resistance began immediately as the Council of Deputies organized First response groups on Friday, the 27th of June 1941. Over a million citizens were mobilized for construction of fortifications in the following days. Several lines of defense ran along the perimeter from the mouth of the Luga River to Chudovo, Gatchina, Uritsk, Pulkovo, and through the Neva River. Another line passed through Peterhof to Gatchina, Kolpino, and Koltushy. Civilians constructed thousands of earth-and-timber emplacements and reinforced concrete weapon positions. Even guns from the cruiser were removed to defend the city. The Karelian Fortified Region maintained since the 1930s returned to service against Finnish forces.
Transport across Lake Ladoga was achieved by watercraft during warmer months and land vehicles driven over thick ice in winter. The route became known as the Ice Road or Road of Life. Vital food supplies were transported to the village of Osinovets before being transferred via a small suburban railway into Leningrad. The road also evacuated civilians since no evacuation plans had been executed in the chaos of the first winter. The city remained completely isolated until the 20th of November when the ice road became operational. Vehicles risked becoming stuck in snow or sinking through broken ice caused by constant German bombardments. The Ladoga Flotilla ensured security for the supply route alongside the Leningrad PVO Corps. Over 1,400,000 civilian evacuees including 414,148 children moved between the 29th of June 1941 and the 31st of March 1943 using these routes. They were relocated to the Volga area, the Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan. The Soviet Lyuban Offensive Operation launched on the 7th of January 1942 lasted 16 weeks but failed, resulting in loss of the 2nd Shock Army.
From November 1941 to February 1942 the only food available was 125 grams of bread per day containing 50, 60% sawdust and other inedible admixtures. Deaths peaked in January and February 1942 at 100,000 people per month mostly from starvation. People often died on streets and citizens soon became accustomed to the sight of death. NKVD records show the first use of human meat as food occurred on the 13th of December 1941 with nine cases reported. A report ten days later outlined 13 cases ranging from a mother smothering her 18-month-old child to feed three older ones to a plumber killing his wife to feed sons and nieces. By December 1942 the NKVD had arrested 2,105 cannibals dividing them into two legal categories: corpse-eating and person-eating. The latter were usually shot while former prisoners were sent to prison. In the first six months of 1942 Leningrad witnessed 1,216 murders committed for ration cards. Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery holds half a million civilian victims of the siege alone.
The Sinyavino Offensive began on the 19th of August 1942 as a Soviet attempt to break the siege in early autumn. The 2nd Shock and 8th armies aimed to link up with forces of the Leningrad Front. The offensive started on the 27th of August 1942 with small-scale attacks by the Leningrad front pre-empting Operation Nordlicht by a few weeks. After parts of the 2nd Shock Army were encircled and destroyed the Soviet offensive was halted though German forces also abandoned their planned attack. Operation Iskra started in the morning of the 12th of January 1943 as a full-scale offensive conducted by the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts. Red Army units overcame powerful German fortifications south of Lake Ladoga. On the 18th of January 1943 the Volkhov Front's 372nd Rifle Division met troops of the 123rd Rifle Brigade opening an 8-mile wide land corridor. The Spanish Blue Division faced a major Soviet attempt to break the siege in February 1943 when the 55th Army attacked positions at Battle of Krasny Bor near the main Moscow-Leningrad road. Despite heavy casualties Spaniards held ground against a force seven times larger supported by tanks.
Judges at the High Command trial ruled that cutting off every source of sustenance from without is deemed legitimate under existing law. The Soviet Union failed to ban use of starvation in the 1949 Geneva Convention although it accepted legality of starvation as weapon of war in principle. Starvation became criminalized later in the twentieth century. Some 21st century historians including Timo Vihavainen and Nikita Lomagin have classified the siege as genocide due to systematic starvation and intentional destruction of civilian population. On the 18th of March 2024 Russian foreign ministry issued statement via TASS saying siege was genocide. Military historian Victor Davis Hanson affirms that more than one million died amid mass starvation epidemic cannibalism and daily barrages greater death toll than any siege in history. Journalist Harrison Salisbury estimated total deaths attributable to hunger over 1,000,000 with overall total between 1.3 and 1.5 million souls.
Every year on the 27th of January military parade takes place on Palace Square celebrating lifting of siege. Close to 3,000 soldiers and cadets participate including historical reenactors in Red Army uniforms and wartime tanks such as T-34. Musical support provided by Massed Military Bands of St Petersburg Garrison under Senior Director of Music of Western Military District. The Green Belt of Glory began when local poet Mikhail Dudin suggested erecting ring of monuments linking places heaviest fighting into belt gardens around city. Monument erected the 29th of October 1966 at 40th kilometer Road of Life near village Kokkorevo designed by Konstantin Simun pays tribute to lives saved via frozen Ladoga and many broken by siege. Another monument erected the 9th of May 1975 in Victory Square features huge bronze ring pointing toward site where Soviets broke through encircling German forces. Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery remains best known burial place for civilian and soldier victims during siege.
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Common questions
When did Adolf Hitler declare that Leningrad must die of starvation?
Adolf Hitler declared that Leningrad must die of starvation in a speech at Munich on the 8th of November 1941. The German High Command viewed the capture of this city as one of three primary goals within Operation Barbarossa, the massive invasion of the Soviet Union launched on the 22nd of June 1941.
How many civilians were evacuated from Leningrad during the siege?
Over 1,400,000 civilian evacuees including 414,148 children moved between the 29th of June 1941 and the 31st of March 1943 using these routes. They were relocated to the Volga area, the Urals, Siberia, and Kazakhstan.
What was the daily bread ration for Leningrad residents from November 1941 to February 1942?
From November 1941 to February 1942 the only food available was 125 grams of bread per day containing 50, 60% sawdust and other inedible admixtures. Deaths peaked in January and February 1942 at 100,000 people per month mostly from starvation.
When did German forces completely surround Leningrad and cut off all supply routes?
By the 8th of September, German forces had largely surrounded the city, cutting off all supply routes to Leningrad and its suburbs. The last rail connection to Leningrad was severed on the 30th of August 1941 when German forces reached the Neva River.
Who estimated that more than one million died during the Siege of Leningrad?
Military historian Victor Davis Hanson affirms that more than one million died amid mass starvation epidemic cannibalism and daily barrages greater death toll than any siege in history. Journalist Harrison Salisbury estimated total deaths attributable to hunger over 1,000,000 with overall total between 1.3 and 1.5 million souls.