Leningrad, Siege of, was a blockade of the city of Leningrad in the Soviet Union by German and Finnish troops during World War II (1939-1945). Leningrad is now St. Petersburg, Russia. The siege lasted 872 days, from September 1941 to January 1944. Historians estimate that about 1.7 million Soviet people, including military personnel and civilians, may have died in and around Leningrad during the siege. But the enemy failed to capture the city. Leningrad’s defense was a critical event in the war. Had the city fallen, the Germans could have exerted more pressure on the Soviet capital, Moscow, and possibly conquered it.
Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941. The German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the destruction of Leningrad, an important center for industry and weapons production. By September 8, the blockade was complete. Virtually the only connection that Leningrad maintained with the rest of the Soviet Union was across nearby Lake Ladoga, which German aircraft patrolled.
German artillery and aircraft bombarded Leningrad throughout the siege. The blockade produced severe shortages of fuel, food, and raw materials. During the winter and spring of 1941-1942, nearly 1 million Leningraders died from a combination of starvation and extreme cold. Bread was the only food that was regularly available, and the daily bread ration dropped as low as about 41/2 ounces (125 grams) for nonworkers and children. The temperature fell to – 40 °F (– 40 °C) in early 1942. Because of the frigid weather, however, Lake Ladoga froze, enabling the Soviets to build roads across the ice. Trucks delivered food to the city by means of the roads, and hundreds of thousands of starving Leningraders were evacuated over them.
In January 1943, the Soviet Red Army retook enough land along Lake Ladoga’s southern coast to extend a rail line into the city. But the siege continued until Jan. 27, 1944, when German troops retreated before the advancing Red Army.
