The Siege began on September 8th, 1941 as soon as the World War came to Russia. However, in a tactical decision to save valuable resources, Hitler decided to bypass Leningrad, and rush the blitzkrieg toward Moscow. However, this meant the beginning of one of the longest and most costly sieges in war history, as German troops completed their encirclement of the city. The Germans had plans to "wipe Leningrad from the face of the earth through demolitions," but this would only be possible after the city surrendered. A condition that would never be met.
Hunger and cold took its toll on the Russian inhabitants, as Germans severed all roads supplying the city, and tossed bombs toward the city in hopes of preventing supplies from reaching the civilians. Sparse supplies were barged into the city by truck and sled, and fed the starving population meager rations, leaving the two million remaining citizens barely surviving. However, their perseverance and years spent in misery paid off in early 1943, as Soviet offenses broke the German encirclement, and replenished the city's supplies once more. Nearly three years after the beginning of the siege, a final push from the Soviets drove the Germans westward, ultimately ending the lethal siege.
After the German's unconditional surrender in 1945, the city of Leningrad was awarded with the first title Hero City of the Soviet Union. The inhabitants' unwavering endurance through the most lethal siege in war history was celebrated, and were recognized as true heroes of the war. The sacrifice and suffering that the civilians endured for the duration of the siege proved to influence the outcome of the war, inspiring the Soviet war effort as a whole, and displaying heroism for the world to see.
Sources:
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/history/great-patriotic-war-and-siege-of-leningrad/
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/leningrad.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/siege-of-leningrad
https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Leningrad
Andrew, I really liked how you discussed in detail the Siege of Leningrad and also its consequences. I was very surprised by the fact that as a result of the siege, there were over 1 million Russian deaths, more than the total number of casualties suffered by the American and the British over the entirety of World War II. I also found it very surprising why the people inside the city of Leningrad did not surrender at all during the 900-day period. I found out that Leningrad had an initial population of roughly 3 million before the siege, and it had maintained a population of 1 million throughout the entire war. There were also an "extremely large number of Soviet soldiers at Leningrad." Thus, the Germans were unable to take control over Leningrad despite the fact that they were able to surround it and cut off its resources. Additionally, I also learned that the defense of the city against the siege was initiated by Marshal Zhukov. Its amazing how the people inside Leningrad persisted throughout the siege and even outlasted it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.quora.com/How-was-Leningrad-not-captured-by-Germany-and-Finland