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69-873: The Volkhov Front was formed on 17 December 1941 from the left wing of the Leningrad Front and elements of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command ( Stavka Reserve) during the conduct of the Tikhvin Offensive operation under the command of the Army General Kirill Meretskov , with General Grigory Stelmakh (former commander of the 4th Army ) as Chief of Staff and Army Commissar of 1st rank A.I.Zaporozhets. Initially Sokolov 's 26th Army (later 2nd Shock Army ) and Galanin 's 59th Armies were allocated to

138-633: A "racially motivated starvation policy" that became an integral part of the unprecedented German war of extermination against populations of the Soviet Union generally. Civilians in the city suffered from extreme starvation , especially in the winter of 1941–42. From November 1941 to February 1942 the only food available to the citizen was 125  grams of bread per day, of which 50–60% consisted of sawdust and other inedible admixtures. In conditions of extreme temperatures (down to −30 °C (−22 °F)), and with city transport out of service, even

207-542: A distance of a few kilometres to a food distribution kiosk created an insurmountable obstacle for many citizens. Deaths peaked in January–February 1942 at 100,000 per month, mostly from starvation. People often died on the streets, and citizens soon became accustomed to the sight of death. While reports of cannibalism appeared in the winter of 1941–42, NKVD records on the subject were not published until 2004. Most evidence for cannibalism that surfaced before this time

276-529: A result of the siege. At the time, it was not classified as a war crime , however, in the 21st century, some historians have classified it as a genocide , due to the intentional destruction of the city and the systematic starvation of its civilian population. The capture of Leningrad was one of three strategic goals of the German Operation Barbarossa and as a result, Leningrad was the main target of Army Group North . The strategy

345-655: The 54th Army of the Leningrad Front (later incorporated into the Volkhov Front) and the 11th Army of the North-Western Front . Volkhov Front's goal was to move westward, pushing towards the Leningrad Front. In order to do this, it had to deceive the German army in several respects. This was carried out, for instance, by attacking the enemy in a swampy region, the least trafficable area where

414-793: The Baltic Offensive , it advanced in the Narva - Tartu direction, and then towards Tallinn . Following the capture of continental Estonia, elements of the front, along with the Baltic fleet, took part in recapturing the Moonsund archipelago . These were the last offensive operations of the front. Forces of the Leningrad Front were then stationed on the Soviet-Finnish border, and all along the Baltic coast from Leningrad to Riga . Later,

483-790: The Lyuban Offensive Operation to break the Leningrad encirclement . Planned as a combined operation between the Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts on a 30 km frontage, other armies of the Leningrad Front (including the 54th) were supposed to participate at scheduled intervals in this operation. Crossing the Volkhov River Vlasov's army was successful in breaking through the German Eighteenth Army lines and penetrated 70–74 km deep inside

552-883: The Neva River . Another line of defence passed through Peterhof to Gatchina, Pulkovo, Kolpino and Koltushy. In the north the defensive line against the Finns, the Karelian Fortified Region , had been maintained in Leningrad's northern suburbs since the 1930s, and was now returned to service. A total of 306 km (190 mi) of timber barricades, 635 km (395 mi) of wire entanglements, 700 km (430 mi) of anti-tank ditches, 5,000 earth-and-timber emplacements and reinforced concrete weapon emplacements and 25,000 km (16,000 mi) of open trenches were constructed or excavated by civilians. Even

621-829: The Northern Sea Route delivered American Lend-Lease and British food and war materiel supplies to the Murmansk railhead (although the rail link to Leningrad was cut off by Finnish armies just north of the city), as well as several other locations in Lapland . Finnish intelligence had broken some of the Soviet military codes and read their low-level communications. This was particularly helpful for Hitler, who constantly requested intelligence information about Leningrad. Finland's role in Operation Barbarossa

690-607: The 15th Battery of the 192nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, and made an emergency landing . All crew members, including the commander, Lieutenant Hans Turmeyer, were captured on the ground. The commander of the 15th Battery, Lieutenant Alexey Pimchenkov, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . By Monday, 8 September, German forces had largely surrounded the city, cutting off all supply routes to Leningrad and its suburbs. Unable to press home their offensive, and facing defences of

759-662: The 48th Army in the western sector between the Gulf of Finland and the Slutsk – Mga position. The Leningrad Fortified Region, the Leningrad garrison, the Baltic Fleet forces, and Koporye , Pulkovo, and Slutsk–Kolpino operational groups were also present. According to Zhukov, "Before the war Leningrad had a population of 3,103,000 and 3,385,000 counting the suburbs. As many as 1,743,129, including 414,148 children were evacuated" between 29 June 1941 and 31 March 1943. They were moved to

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828-513: The Finnish positions. The proximity of the Finnish border – 33–35 km (21–22 mi) from downtown Leningrad – and the threat of a Finnish attack complicated the defence of the city. At one point, the defending front commander, Popov , could not release reserves opposing the Finnish forces to be deployed against the Wehrmacht because they were needed to bolster the 23rd Army's defences on

897-497: The Finns advanced to within 20 km (12 mi) of the northern suburbs of Leningrad at the 1939 Finnish-Soviet border, threatening the city from the north; they were also advancing through East Karelia , east of Lake Ladoga, and threatening the city from the east. The Finnish forces crossed the pre-Winter War border on the Karelian Isthmus by eliminating Soviet salients at Beloostrov and Kirjasalo, thus straightening

966-454: The Front's formation. The Front also included Meretskov's 4th Army and Klykov 's 52nd Army . The Front's air support was provided by the 14th Air Army ( Russian : 14-я воздушная армия ) of General-Major I.P. Zhuravlev . The 8th Army that was formed in early January was also added to the Front. Initially the Front held a frontage of 250 km. The Front's neighbouring formations were

1035-523: The German rear area. The other armies (Volkhov Front's 4th, 52nd, and 59th Armies, 13th Cavalry Corps, and 4th and 6th Guards Rifle Corps), however, failed to provide the required support, and Vlasov's army became stranded. Permission to retreat was refused. With the counter-offensive in May 1942, the Second Shock Army was finally allowed to retreat, but by now, too weakened, it was annihilated. Vlasov

1104-590: The German weakness compensated for the difficulty in movement. This constituted a deception because the Soviets have been focusing their attacks on a very narrow attack sector (16 kilometers). Secondly, Meretskov also directed a series of false and diversionary maneuvers. There was the case of tactical strategy that made the Germans believe the troops were amassing in the Malaya Vishera, which is located east of

1173-569: The Karelian Isthmus. Mannerheim terminated the offensive on 31 August 1941, when the army had reached the 1939 border. Popov felt relieved, and redeployed two divisions to the German sector on 5 September. Subsequently, the Finnish forces reduced the salients of Beloostrov and Kirjasalo , which had threatened their positions at the sea coast and south of the River Vuoksi. Lieutenant General Paavo Talvela and Colonel Järvinen,

1242-453: The Leningrad Front took over the town of Narva . On April 21, 1944, parts of the Leningrad front were broken off to create the 3rd Baltic Front. In June 1944, the Leningrad front, along with the Baltic fleet had successfully carried out the Vyborg operation. As a result of which, Finland would later leave the German side of the war. From September–November 1944, the front participated in

1311-556: The Leningrad front included: Following November 25, 1942, the structure of the Leningrad front constantly increased, it subsequently included: Siege of Leningrad [REDACTED] Army Group North : 1941 : 85,371 total casualties 1942 : 267,327 total casualties 1943 : 205,937 total casualties 1944 : 21,350 total casualties Total : 579,985 casualties Glantz estimate: 3,473,066 casualties 1942 1943 1944 Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Air war The siege of Leningrad

1380-768: The Leningrad front was reinforced with elements of the recently disbanded 2nd Baltic Front . These forces were primarily stationed near the Courland Pocket , with the task of containing the German Army Group Courland , which would continue to resist Soviet forces up until the end of war in Europe . On June 24, 1945, the Leningrad front was reorganized into the Leningrad Military District . Upon its creation in August 1941,

1449-549: The Reich in Generalplan Ost , it is clear Hitler intended to utterly destroy the city and its population. According to a directive sent to Army Group North on 29 September 1941: After the defeat of Soviet Russia there can be no interest in the continued existence of this large urban center. [...] Following the city's encirclement, requests for surrender negotiations shall be denied, since the problem of relocating and feeding

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1518-458: The Road of Life ( Russian : Дорога жизни ), was effected over the southern part of Lake Ladoga and the corridor of land which remained unoccupied by Axis forces between Lake Ladoga and Leningrad. Transport across Lake Ladoga was achieved by means of watercraft during the warmer months and land vehicles driven over thick ice in winter (hence the route becoming known as the "Ice Road"). The security of

1587-545: The Soviet Baltic Fleet navy aviation made over 100,000 air missions to support their military operations during the siege. German shelling and bombing killed 5,723 and wounded 20,507 civilians in Leningrad during the siege. To sustain the defence of the city, it was vitally important for the Red Army to establish a route for bringing a constant flow of supplies into Leningrad. This route, which became known as

1656-594: The Soviet troops of the Northwestern Front retreated towards Leningrad. On 10 July, both Ostrov and Pskov were captured and the 18th Army reached Narva and Kingisepp, from where advance toward Leningrad continued from the Luga River line. This had the effect of creating siege positions from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga , with the eventual aim of isolating Leningrad from all directions. The Finnish Army

1725-696: The Soviets evacuated Tallinn. On 23 August, the Northern Front was divided into the Leningrad Front and the Karelian Front , as it became impossible for front headquarters to control everything between Murmansk and Leningrad. Marshal Georgy Zhukov states, "Ten volunteer opolcheniye divisions were formed in Leningrad in the first three months of the war, as well as 16 separate artillery and machine-gun opolcheniye battalions." On 6 August, Hitler repeated his order: "Leningrad first, Donetsk Basin second, Moscow third." Arctic convoys using

1794-649: The Volga area, the Urals, Siberia and Kazakhstan. By September 1941, the link with the Volkhov Front (commanded by Kirill Meretskov ) was severed and the defensive sectors were held by four armies: 23rd Army in the northern sector, 42nd Army in the western sector, 55th Army in the southern sector, and the 67th Army in the eastern sector. The 8th Army of the Volkhov Front had the responsibility of maintaining

1863-476: The Volkhov region. This gave the impression that the Volkov Front's target was Novgorod while the attack took place elsewhere. Meretskov's front's aimed to inflict the main blow south to Chudovo while the 8th army's main target was north of Mga. Andrey Vlasov was named Deputy Commander under Meretskov and in charge of the 2nd Shock Army ( Russian : 2-ая Ударная Армия ). On January 7, 1942, he spearheaded

1932-405: The bombings, as well as the city's largest shopping bazaar. Hundreds of people had run from the street into the store to take shelter from the air raid. Artillery bombardment of Leningrad began in August, increasing in intensity during 1942 with the arrival of new equipment. It was stepped up further in 1943, when several times as many shells and bombs were used as in the year before. Against this,

2001-516: The city organised by Marshal Zhukov , the Axis armies laid siege to the city for "900 days and nights". The air attack of Friday, 19 September, was particularly brutal. It was the heaviest air raid Leningrad suffered during the war, as 276 German bombers hit the city killing 1,000 civilians. Many of those killed were recuperating from battle wounds in hospitals that were hit by German bombs. Six air raids occurred that day. Five hospitals were damaged in

2070-412: The city was responsible for 11% of all Soviet industrial output. It has been said that Adolf Hitler was so confident that he would capture Leningrad that he had invitations printed to the victory celebrations to be held in the city's Hotel Astoria . Although various theories have been put forward about Germany's plans for Leningrad, including making it the capital of the new Ingermanland province of

2139-596: The city, although hard fighting continued along his front throughout October and November. The 14th Army of the Soviet Red Army defended Murmansk and the 7th Army defended Ladoga Karelia; thus they did not participate in the initial stages of the siege. The 8th Army was initially part of the Northwestern Front and retreated through the Baltics. It was transferred to the Northern Front on 14 July when

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2208-504: The city. Although Soviet forces managed to open a narrow land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943, the Red Army did not lift the siege until 27 January 1944, 872 days (125 weeks) after it began. The siege became one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history , and it was possibly the costliest siege in history due to the number of casualties which were suffered throughout its duration. An estimated 1.5 million people died as

2277-506: The commander of the Finnish Coastal Brigade responsible for Ladoga, proposed to the German headquarters the blocking of Soviet convoys on Lake Ladoga. The idea was proposed to the Germans on their own behalf going past both Finnish Navy HQ and General HQ. Germans responded positively to the proposition and informed the slightly surprised Finns – who apart from Talvela and Järvinen had very little knowledge of

2346-848: The defence of a single city are six times greater than the United States’ total death toll during the entirety of World War II" and that "In terms of drama, symbolism and sheer human suffering, however, the Battle for Leningrad has no peer either in the Great Patriotic War or in any other modern war". Military historian Victor Davis Hanson further affirmed that "Leningrad was civilization's most lethal siege" and that "More than one million died at Leningrad amid mass starvation, epidemic, cannibalism and daily barrages—a greater death toll than any siege in history". The crippling starvation and famine extended beyond Leningrad itself, affecting

2415-418: The destruction of the Red Army forces around the city. By 15 September, Panzer Group 4 was to be transferred to Army Group Centre so it could participate in a renewed offensive towards Moscow. The expected surrender did not materialise although the renewed German offensive cut off the city by 8 September. Lacking sufficient strength for major operations, Leeb had to accept the army group might not be able to take

2484-451: The first winter of the war, and the city was completely isolated until 20 November, when the ice road over Lake Ladoga became operational. Vehicles risked becoming stuck in the snow or sinking through broken ice caused by constant German bombardments, but the road brought necessary military and food supplies in and took civilians and wounded soldiers out, allowing the city to continue resisting the enemy. The two-and-a-half-year siege caused

2553-597: The frontline so that it ran along the old border near the shores of Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, and those positions closest to Leningrad still lying on the pre-Winter War border. According to Soviet claims, the Finnish advance was stopped in September through resistance by the Karelian Fortified Region; however, Finnish troops had already earlier in August 1941 received orders to halt the advance after reaching their goals, some of which lay beyond

2622-460: The general command of Admiral Vladimir Tributs . The Ladoga Flotilla under the command of V. Baranovsky, S.V. Zemlyanichenko, P.A. Traynin, and B.V. Khoroshikhin also played a major military role in helping with evacuation of the civilians. The first success of the Leningrad air defence took place on the night of 23 June. The Ju 88A bomber from the 1st Air Corps KGr.806 was damaged by the AA fire of

2691-617: The greatest destruction and the largest loss of life ever known in a modern city. On Hitler's direct orders the Wehrmacht looted and then destroyed most of the imperial palaces, such as the Catherine Palace , Peterhof Palace , Ropsha , Strelna , Gatchina, and other historic landmarks located outside the city's defensive perimeter, with many art collections transported to Germany. A number of factories, schools, hospitals and other civil infrastructure were destroyed by air raids and long range artillery bombardment. The 872 days of

2760-438: The guns from the cruiser Aurora were removed from the ship to be used to defend Leningrad. The 4th Panzer Group from East Prussia took Pskov following a swift advance and reached Novgorod by 16 August. After the capture of Novgorod, General Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group continued its progress towards Leningrad. However, the 18th Army – despite some 350,000 men lagging behind – forced its way to Ostrov and Pskov after

2829-493: The lake Road of Life . During the blockade, the front executed various offensive and defensive operations, until finally with the help of the Baltic and Volkhov Front , the blockade was lifted. From June 1942, Leonid Govorov had been the commander of the front, and in June 1944, he was awarded the title Marshal of the Soviet Union . In January 1943, forces of the Leningrad front made their first advances in years when they took

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2898-566: The logistic route to the city in coordination with the Ladoga Flotilla. Air cover for the city was provided by the Leningrad military district PVO Corps and Baltic Fleet naval aviation units. The defensive operation to protect the 1,400,000 civilian evacuees was part of the Leningrad counter-siege operations under the command of Andrei Zhdanov , Kliment Voroshilov, and Aleksei Kuznetsov . Additional military operations were carried out in coordination with Baltic Fleet naval forces under

2967-408: The old border and continuing the offensive to Leningrad. I said that the capture of Leningrad was not our goal and that we should not take part in it. Mannerheim and Minister of Defense Walden agreed with me and refused the offers of the Germans. The result was a paradoxical situation: the Germans could not approach Leningrad from the north..." There was little or no systematic shelling or bombing from

3036-479: The outskirts of Leningrad, initiating the two-and-a-half-year-long siege of Leningrad . Although Finnish forces to the north stopped at the old Finnish–Soviet border, the Leningrad front suffered severe losses on the Finnish Front . From September 8, soldiers of the front were forced to conduct operations under the conditions of a blockade, with very little supply. Some supplies did reach the city however via

3105-537: The population cannot and should not be solved by us. In this war for our very existence, we can have no interest in maintaining even a part of this very large urban population. Hitler's ultimate plan was to raze Leningrad and give areas north of the River Neva to the Finns . Army Group North under Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb advanced to Leningrad, its primary objective. By early August, Army Group North

3174-560: The pre-Winter War border. After reaching their respective goals, the Finns halted their advance and started moving troops to East Karelia. For the next three years, the Finns did little to contribute to the battle for Leningrad, maintaining their lines. Their headquarters rejected German pleas for aerial attacks against Leningrad and did not advance farther south from the Svir River in occupied East Karelia (160 kilometres northeast of Leningrad), which they had reached on 7 September. In

3243-617: The proposition – that transport of the equipment for the Ladoga operation was already arranged. The German command formed the international naval detachment (which also included the Italian XII Squadriglia MAS ) under Finnish command and the Einsatzstab Fähre Ost under German command. These naval units operated against the supply route in the summer and autumn of 1942, the only period

3312-435: The rail link between Leningrad and Moscow. Tallinn was captured on 28 August. Finnish military forces were north of Leningrad, while German forces occupied territories to the south. Both German and Finnish forces had the goal of encircling Leningrad and maintaining the siege perimeter, thus cutting off all communication with the city and preventing the defenders from receiving any supplies – although Finnish participation in

3381-435: The road to the besieged city was severed when the Germans reached Lake Ladoga at Shlisselburg , leaving just a corridor of land between Lake Ladoga and Leningrad which remained unoccupied by Axis forces. Bombing on 8 September caused 178 fires. On 21 September 1941, German High Command considered how to destroy Leningrad. Occupying the city was ruled out "because it would make us responsible for food supply". The resolution

3450-400: The siege caused extreme famine in the Leningrad region through disruption of utilities, water, energy and food supplies. This resulted in the deaths of up to 1,500,000 soldiers and civilians and the evacuation of 1,400,000 more (mainly women and children), many of whom died during evacuation due to starvation and bombardment. According to journalist Harrison E. Salisbury on the death toll of

3519-532: The siege mainly consisted of a recapture of lands lost in the Winter War . The Germans planned on lack of food being their chief weapon against the citizens; German scientists had calculated the city would reach starvation after only a few weeks. On Friday, 27 June 1941, the Council of Deputies of the Leningrad organised "First response groups" of civilians. In the next days, Leningrad's civilian population

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3588-452: The siege, "A total for Leningrad and vicinity of something over 1,000,000 deaths attributable to hunger, and an over-all total of deaths, civilian and military, on the order of 1,300,000 to 1,500,000 seems reasonable." According to military historian David M. Glantz , "the number of soldiers and civilians who perished during the Battle for Leningrad amounted to the awesome total of between 1.6 and two million souls. These figures associated with

3657-543: The southeast, the Germans captured Tikhvin on 8 November, but failed to complete their encirclement of Leningrad by advancing further north to join with the Finns at the Svir River. On 9 December, a counter-attack of the Volkhov Front forced the Wehrmacht to retreat from their Tikhvin positions in the Volkhov River line. On 6 September 1941, Germany's chief of staff, Alfred Jodl, visited Helsinki. His main goal

3726-493: The summer of 1942. Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in Leningrad holds half a million civilian victims of the siege alone. Economic destruction and human losses in Leningrad on both sides exceeded those of the Battle of Stalingrad , the Battle of Moscow , or the bombing of Tokyo . The siege of Leningrad ranks as the most lethal siege in world history , and some historians speak of the siege operations in terms of genocide , as

3795-481: The supply route was ensured by the Ladoga Flotilla, the Leningrad PVO Corps, and route security troops. Vital food supplies were thus transported to the village of Osinovets, from where they were transferred and transported over 45 km (28 mi) via a small suburban railway to Leningrad. The route had to be used also to evacuate civilians, since no evacuation plans had been executed in the chaos of

3864-419: The surrounding satellite cities as well and de facto including them into the blockade dynamics. The city of Pushkin, with half under formal German occupation and the other half serving as a de facto frontline, experienced similar conditions to those within Leningrad. Pushkinites were dying of mass hunger, the city was regularly shelled by Soviet forces, and the Germans did not introduce ration cards for bread until

3933-573: The town of Shlisselburg from German forces, thus restoring communications between Leningrad and the rest of the country. In mid and late-January 1944 the Leningrad front, along with the Volkhov Front , the 1st Baltic Front and the 2nd Baltic Front , pushed back Army Group North and broke the 28-month-long blockade. Several days later, these forces would completely liberate all of the Leningrad Oblast and Kalinin Oblast . Six months later,

4002-417: The units were able to operate as freezing waters then forced the lightly equipped units to be moved away, and changes in front lines made it impractical to reestablish these units later in the war. The Leningrad Front (initially the Leningrad Military District ) was commanded by Marshal Kliment Voroshilov . It included the 23rd Army in the northern sector between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, and

4071-655: Was a prolonged military siege undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg ) on the Eastern Front of World War II . Germany 's Army Group North advanced from the south, while the German-allied Finnish army invaded from the north and completed the ring around the city. The siege began on 8 September 1941, when the Wehrmacht severed the last road to

4140-428: Was anecdotal. Anna Reid points out that "for most people at the time, cannibalism was a matter of second-hand horror stories rather than direct personal experience". Indicative of Leningraders' fears at the time, police would often threaten uncooperative suspects with imprisonment in a cell with cannibals. Dimitri Lazarev, a diarist during the worst moments in the Leningrad siege, recalls his daughter and niece reciting

4209-424: Was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg ) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. The Leningrad Front was immediately given the task of containing the German drive towards Leningrad and defending the city from the approaching Army Group North . By September 1941, German forces to the south were effectively stopped on

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4278-401: Was informed of the danger and over a million citizens were mobilised for the construction of fortifications . Several lines of defences were built along the city's perimeter to repel hostile forces approaching from north and south by means of civilian resistance. In the south, the fortified line ran from the mouth of the Luga River to Chudovo, Gatchina , Uritsk , Pulkovo and then through

4347-409: Was laid out in Hitler's Directive 21 , "The mass of the Finnish army will have the task, in accordance with the advance made by the northern wing of the German armies, of tying up maximum Russian (sic – Soviet) strength by attacking to the west, or on both sides, of Lake Ladoga." The last rail connection to Leningrad was severed on 30 August 1941, when the Germans reached the Neva River. On 8 September,

4416-424: Was motivated by Leningrad 's political status as the former capital of Russia as well as by Leningrad's political status as the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution and its symbolic status as the ideological center of Bolshevism , hated by the Nazi Party , the city's military importance as a main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet , and its industrial strength, including its numerous arms factories. In 1939,

4485-430: Was seriously over-extended, having advanced on a widening front and dispersed its forces on several axes of advance. Leeb estimated he needed 35 divisions for all of his tasks, while he only had 26. The attack resumed on 10 August but immediately encountered strong opposition around Luga . Elsewhere, Leeb's forces were able to take Kingisepp and Narva on 17 August. The army group reached Chudovo on 20 August, severing

4554-542: Was taken prisoner by the Wehrmacht troops on July 6, 1942. The Front was disbanded and its elements reorganised as the Volkhov Operational Group and incorporated into the Leningrad Front on 23 April 1942. The Front was reformed on the 9 June 1942 from the Volkhov Operational Group of the Leningrad Front and served until 15 February 1944, participating in the relief of the Siege of Leningrad and taking part in other operations including: Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front ( Russian : Ленинградский фронт )

4623-461: Was then expected to advance along the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga. The last rail connection to Leningrad was cut on 30 August, when the German forces reached the River Neva. In early September, Leeb was confident Leningrad was about to fall. Having received reports on the evacuation of civilians and industrial goods, Leeb and the OKH believed the Red Army was preparing to abandon the city. Consequently, on 5 September, he received new orders, including

4692-480: Was to lay the city under siege and bombardment, starving its population. "Early next year, we [will] enter the city (if the Finns do it first we do not object), lead those still alive into inner Russia or into captivity, wipe Leningrad from the face of the earth through demolitions, and hand the area north of the Neva to the Finns." On 7 October, Hitler sent a further directive signed by Alfred Jodl reminding Army Group North not to accept capitulation. By August 1941,

4761-404: Was to persuade Mannerheim to continue the offensive. In 1941, President Ryti declared to the Finnish Parliament that the aim of the war was to restore the territories lost during the Winter War and gain more territories in the east to create a " Greater Finland ". After the war, Ryti stated: "On 24 August 1941 I visited the headquarters of Marshal Mannerheim. The Germans aimed us at crossing

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