Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was one of the prime objectives of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. On July 8, 1941, the German Fourth Panzer Army severed the city's land contact with the Soviet interior by taking the fortress at Shlisselburg. The Finns, allied with the Germans, advanced to recover Karelia, which had been lost to the Soviets in the recent Russo-Finnish War. Having recovered this territory, however, Finnish forces did not push on to the city itself. Had they done so, Leningrad would probably have fallen early in the campaign.

By the middle of July 1941, German Army Group North was within 60 miles of Leningrad and, by the middle of September--following intensive long-range artillery bombardment, which commenced on September 1--it had largely enveloped the city.

Adolf Hitler was confident that the siege would quickly prove effective. The city had some 2.6 million inhabitants (of whom 100,000 were refugees from points west), but food stores were sufficient for only one, perhaps two months. It seemed a relatively easy matter to starve Leningrad into submission, but Hitler did not count on the endurance and resourcefulness of the Soviet people. Leningrad was the cultural and scientific center of the Soviet Union, and its proud citizens were determined to defend it. Scientists at the Leningrad Scientific Institute rapidly developed a process for making flour out of shell-packing mixed with paste stripped from wallpaper. This significantly stretched meager food resources--as did the consumption of horses, dogs, cats, and rats. Additionally, small amounts of food and other provisions were brought across frozen Lake Ladoga--until November 9, 1941, when German forces captured Tikhvin, thereby cutting the route to the lake and rendering the German blockade apparently absolute.

After Tikhvin fell, the Soviets surreptitiously began cutting a road farther north, through forest lands. By the end of November, the road was partially ready, and supplies were once again transported via frozen Lake Ladoga. A relief convoy reached Leningrad on November 26 via this route, delivering 33 tons of food--a magnificent achievement but a supply that represented barely one-third of the city's daily requirement. When the forest road was completed on December 6, more food could be brought in, but by this time, Soviet forces had retaken Tikhvin, which once again opened the shorter route. Nevertheless, food rations remained barely above starvation level throughout the siege.

Soviet forces attempted to lift the siege with operations conducted during January-April 1942, but the Germans held. The Soviet Baltic fleet was the key military means of defending the city, supplemented by coastal artillery and aircraft. Despite all defensive efforts, however, the Germans landed some 150,000 artillery shells in Leningrad and dropped some 4,600 bombs. . .

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