The Siege of Leningrad (now known as St Petersburg)

  

The siege that the city of Leningrad endured for two and a half years during the Second World War was the worst suffered by any city in modern times. The destruction, in human lives and in the foundation of the city itself was immense. Leningrad(St Petersburg) lies on a narrow strip of land bounded on one side by the Baltic Sea and on the other by Lake Ladoga. By August 1941, the Finns attacking from the north had sealed off the city from that direction. On August 30 the Germans captured the small town of Mga and cut the last rail link to the rest of the Soviet Union. The seige had begun.

Leningrad's food supplies were limited, and several other factors made the situation worse. Few people had been evacuated, food was still being sent out of the city as the Germans surrounded it and constant bombing destroyed the main food warehouse. During the Winter of 1941-42 the daily ration was as low as two slices of bread per person. Thousands died every day of hunger and illness, often caused by the inedible ingredients such as wood shavings put in the bread to increase its bulk. Very soon there were no domestic animals to be seen in Leningrad. Dogs, cats and the citys pigeons went to feed the starving people. Leather was even boiled to make Jelly.

In mid November of 1941, the famous "Road of Life" across the frozen lake was opened, but it was not until mid January 1942 that more food was entering the city than was being eaten. One January 1 there was less than two days supply of food left. Hundreds of thousands starved to death during the Winter, the coldest for decades. The bodies were kept in the snow or in one room of an apartment while the survivors lived in another. There were very few places to dig graves and even fewer people with strength to dig them. Many were not buried until the spring thaw. By Mid 1942 the population of the city was down to one third of its size just eight months earlier. It was estimated that 1.5 million people either died in the fight or of starvation.

The first break in the German lines was achieved in January of 1944, 880 days after it had begun.

 

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