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✍️ #OTD 84 years ago, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nonaggression Pact in Moscow.
Signing the pact was a forced step for the USSR. The Soviet leadership made this difficult decision after taking account of the extremely unfavourable geopolitical situation that had emerged in Europe by August 1939.
👉 First, it was evident to everyone at that time that a large-scale conflict was inevitable. Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 and embarked on a policy designed to militarise the country and expand the German Lebensraum (living space) by occupying Eastern Europe.
👉Second, the Western countries were openly condoning Hitler’s predatory plans because it was a pet idea of theirs to channel the Third Reich’s aggression to the East. Their appeasement policy enabled Germany to carry out the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 and to partition Czechoslovakia in a most cruel and cynical manner later in September.
The Soviet leadership did its utmost to create an anti-Hitler coalition.
However, its attempt to form a tripartite military alliance against Hitler with Britain and France failed to gain traction. Moreover, Poland refused to allow the Red Army to cross its territory in the event of German aggression.
👉 Moscow had to take the Japanese factor into consideration as well, with Japan launching hostilities in the Khalkhin Gol area in May 1938 and the persisting tensions in the relations between the USSR and Japan. A war on two fronts – in the East and the West – was out of the question for the USSR.
The Soviet Union was the last major European power to sign a nonaggression pact with Germany. This document made it possible for the Soviet Union to delay the outbreak of the war for two more years, enabling it to make better preparations for a clash with the world’s most powerful army.
❗️The dramatic events of 1938 and 1939 are graphic evidence of the fact that no one can ensure their security at the expense of the security of others.
Signing the pact was a forced step for the USSR. The Soviet leadership made this difficult decision after taking account of the extremely unfavourable geopolitical situation that had emerged in Europe by August 1939.
👉 First, it was evident to everyone at that time that a large-scale conflict was inevitable. Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 and embarked on a policy designed to militarise the country and expand the German Lebensraum (living space) by occupying Eastern Europe.
👉Second, the Western countries were openly condoning Hitler’s predatory plans because it was a pet idea of theirs to channel the Third Reich’s aggression to the East. Their appeasement policy enabled Germany to carry out the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 and to partition Czechoslovakia in a most cruel and cynical manner later in September.
The Soviet leadership did its utmost to create an anti-Hitler coalition.
However, its attempt to form a tripartite military alliance against Hitler with Britain and France failed to gain traction. Moreover, Poland refused to allow the Red Army to cross its territory in the event of German aggression.
👉 Moscow had to take the Japanese factor into consideration as well, with Japan launching hostilities in the Khalkhin Gol area in May 1938 and the persisting tensions in the relations between the USSR and Japan. A war on two fronts – in the East and the West – was out of the question for the USSR.
The Soviet Union was the last major European power to sign a nonaggression pact with Germany. This document made it possible for the Soviet Union to delay the outbreak of the war for two more years, enabling it to make better preparations for a clash with the world’s most powerful army.
❗️The dramatic events of 1938 and 1939 are graphic evidence of the fact that no one can ensure their security at the expense of the security of others.
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#HistoryOfDiplomacy
📆 #OTD in 1845, Fyodor Martens, a Russian diplomat and famous expert on the history and theory of international law, was born. In Russia he is known above all as the author of Contemporary International Law of Civilised Peoples, a fundamental work that became the first Russian manual on international law.
The future international lawyer was born in Pärnu, Livonia Governorate of the Russian Empire. Having lost his parents when he was a child, he ended up in a St Petersburg orphanage. When he grew up, he was accepted to the law faculty of St Petersburg University thanks to his brilliant academic success.
Later he taught at his alma mater, as well as a number of other leading educational institutions of the Russian Empire. In 1869, he joined the Russian Foreign Ministry, and in 1881 became a permanent member of the Ministry Board. He participated in the Brussels Conference on the Codification of Laws and Customs of War on Land and represented Russia at international conferences of the Red Cross, the Brussels Conference on African Affairs, and many other important international venues.
Holding the Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907 at Russia’s initiative was among Martens’ most important achievements. At the first conference, the Russian expert developed the principles for peaceful resolution of international disputes, and at the second, he led a commission on maritime law, which made a significant contribution to the development of this area of international law.
A provision formulated by Martens was first recorded in the preamble to the Hague Convention of 1899, under which the parties to an armed conflict must first of all be guided by the principles of humanity and the requirements of public conscience (the so-called Martens clause). The theoretical innovations of the Russian diplomat also laid the foundation of the Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.
📆 #OTD in 1845, Fyodor Martens, a Russian diplomat and famous expert on the history and theory of international law, was born. In Russia he is known above all as the author of Contemporary International Law of Civilised Peoples, a fundamental work that became the first Russian manual on international law.
The future international lawyer was born in Pärnu, Livonia Governorate of the Russian Empire. Having lost his parents when he was a child, he ended up in a St Petersburg orphanage. When he grew up, he was accepted to the law faculty of St Petersburg University thanks to his brilliant academic success.
Later he taught at his alma mater, as well as a number of other leading educational institutions of the Russian Empire. In 1869, he joined the Russian Foreign Ministry, and in 1881 became a permanent member of the Ministry Board. He participated in the Brussels Conference on the Codification of Laws and Customs of War on Land and represented Russia at international conferences of the Red Cross, the Brussels Conference on African Affairs, and many other important international venues.
Holding the Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907 at Russia’s initiative was among Martens’ most important achievements. At the first conference, the Russian expert developed the principles for peaceful resolution of international disputes, and at the second, he led a commission on maritime law, which made a significant contribution to the development of this area of international law.
A provision formulated by Martens was first recorded in the preamble to the Hague Convention of 1899, under which the parties to an armed conflict must first of all be guided by the principles of humanity and the requirements of public conscience (the so-called Martens clause). The theoretical innovations of the Russian diplomat also laid the foundation of the Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.
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⭐️ #OTD in 1895, outstanding Marshal, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky was born. During the most difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, he headed the General Staff of the Red Army, formulating and coordinating the most important Soviet strategic operations.
A theological seminary graduate, Alexander Vasilevsky had dreamed of becoming an agronomist in his younger years, but World War I disrupted his plans.
The young officer deployed to the front where he quickly became a Staff Captain, a rank similar to Captain in the Soviet and Russian Armed Forces. Vasilevsky then realised that he would pursue a military career for the rest of his life.
Major General Vasilevsky was serving with the General Staff when the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 started. He came to head the General Staff some time later. As a member of the General Headquarters and its representative, he deployed to fronts where the challenges were greatest.
Vasilevsky’s military talents were manifested vividly during the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943). He co-authored the plan for a counteroffensive and directly supervised operations to repel a counterstrike by the Wehrmacht’s Hoth Army Group that tried to relieve the 6th German Army, commanded by Friedrich von Paulus, in and around Stalingrad.
Later, Vasilevsky coordinated operations of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts during the Battle of Kursk, planned and conducted operations to liberate Donbass, the Ukrainian west bank of the Dnieper River, and Crimea.
In February-April 1945, Vasilevsky commanded the 3rd Belarusian Front whose units stormed and seized Konigsberg. In June-August 1945, he commanded Soviet forces in the Far East and contributed to the defeat of Japan’s powerful Kwantung Army in just 24 days.
After the war, Vasilevsky headed the Ministry of the Soviet Armed Forces and actively promoted the national veterans’ movement. An urn with his ashes is currently interred in the necropolis that is part of the Kremlin Wall.
#FacesOfVictory
A theological seminary graduate, Alexander Vasilevsky had dreamed of becoming an agronomist in his younger years, but World War I disrupted his plans.
The young officer deployed to the front where he quickly became a Staff Captain, a rank similar to Captain in the Soviet and Russian Armed Forces. Vasilevsky then realised that he would pursue a military career for the rest of his life.
Major General Vasilevsky was serving with the General Staff when the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 started. He came to head the General Staff some time later. As a member of the General Headquarters and its representative, he deployed to fronts where the challenges were greatest.
Vasilevsky’s military talents were manifested vividly during the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943). He co-authored the plan for a counteroffensive and directly supervised operations to repel a counterstrike by the Wehrmacht’s Hoth Army Group that tried to relieve the 6th German Army, commanded by Friedrich von Paulus, in and around Stalingrad.
Later, Vasilevsky coordinated operations of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts during the Battle of Kursk, planned and conducted operations to liberate Donbass, the Ukrainian west bank of the Dnieper River, and Crimea.
In February-April 1945, Vasilevsky commanded the 3rd Belarusian Front whose units stormed and seized Konigsberg. In June-August 1945, he commanded Soviet forces in the Far East and contributed to the defeat of Japan’s powerful Kwantung Army in just 24 days.
After the war, Vasilevsky headed the Ministry of the Soviet Armed Forces and actively promoted the national veterans’ movement. An urn with his ashes is currently interred in the necropolis that is part of the Kremlin Wall.
#FacesOfVictory
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🛡 Today, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation marks its 21st anniversary.
#OTD in 2002, the Collective Security Treaty was assigned the status of an international regional organisation, and the CSTO Charter was adopted.
In 2004, the #CSTO was granted the status of observer at the UN GA. The Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariats of the United Nations and the CSTO was signed in Moscow in 2010.
The Organisation comprises six member states: Russia 🇷🇺, Armenia 🇦🇲, Belarus 🇧🇾, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 and Tajikistan 🇹🇯.
The CSTO upholds three major aspects of cooperation:
• political cooperation;
• military cooperation;
• countering new challenges and threats.
📄 The Organisation's activity is regulated by the Collective Security Strategy until 2025, a policy document that charts the main goals of the development of CSTO.
The member states coordinate their efforts in the joint fight against international terrorism and extremism, illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons, organised transnational crime, illegal migration and other threats to stability in the CSTO area.
The collective security system includes a military component, the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force.
By working together, the CSTO member states have created an integral and effective mechanism for jointly addressing security issues and for promoting their collective interests on the international arena.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: The international authority of the CSTO is evidence of the Organisation's achievements and recognition of its capabilities. <...> As we continue to advance our security initiatives in the region, our voice will become increasingly influential (from FM Sergey Lavrov's interview for the film "CSTO Allies - 30 Years Guarding Collective Security", Moscow, June 7, 2022).
☝️ Russia regards the continued strengthening and development of all-round cooperation with CSTO member states, and enhancing its international role as a foreign policy priority.
#OTD in 2002, the Collective Security Treaty was assigned the status of an international regional organisation, and the CSTO Charter was adopted.
In 2004, the #CSTO was granted the status of observer at the UN GA. The Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariats of the United Nations and the CSTO was signed in Moscow in 2010.
The Organisation comprises six member states: Russia 🇷🇺, Armenia 🇦🇲, Belarus 🇧🇾, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 and Tajikistan 🇹🇯.
The CSTO upholds three major aspects of cooperation:
• political cooperation;
• military cooperation;
• countering new challenges and threats.
📄 The Organisation's activity is regulated by the Collective Security Strategy until 2025, a policy document that charts the main goals of the development of CSTO.
The member states coordinate their efforts in the joint fight against international terrorism and extremism, illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons, organised transnational crime, illegal migration and other threats to stability in the CSTO area.
The collective security system includes a military component, the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force.
By working together, the CSTO member states have created an integral and effective mechanism for jointly addressing security issues and for promoting their collective interests on the international arena.
💬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: The international authority of the CSTO is evidence of the Organisation's achievements and recognition of its capabilities. <...> As we continue to advance our security initiatives in the region, our voice will become increasingly influential (from FM Sergey Lavrov's interview for the film "CSTO Allies - 30 Years Guarding Collective Security", Moscow, June 7, 2022).
☝️ Russia regards the continued strengthening and development of all-round cooperation with CSTO member states, and enhancing its international role as a foreign policy priority.
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Sobibor, which was created exclusively to exterminate Jews and prisoners of war, operated from May 15, 1942, to October 15, 1943.
Up to six echelons carrying up to 2,000 people each, including adults, the elderly and children, arrived at the camp every day. Brutal death expected all of them.
One of the most efficient human extermination systems developed by the Nazis was put in place at the camp. The gas chamber, which the prisoners called "the baths", could take up to 800 people.
🕯 Over the period of the camp’s existence, the Nazis brutally murdered up to 250,000 people, according to different data.
Of the 550 prisoners who were at the camp during the uprising, more than a hundred refused to take part in it, hoping that the Nazis would show them mercy. All of these prisoners were exterminated by the Nazi on the following day.
In the next few weeks after the escape, the Nazis staged a real hunt for the fugitives.
On hearing the news of the uprising in Sobibor, SS-Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler became enraged and gave the order to liquidate the camp. The Nazis ploughed the ground on the camp site and planted cabbage with potatoes there, thus not only trying to hide their crimes but also destroy the memory of the prisoners’ heroic feat. But their efforts were in vain.
The history of Sobibor became part of the charges at the Nuremberg trials and the stories told by witnesses and participants in the uprising formed the basis of a number of books and several feature films.
#Victory78 #Sobibor
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🎖 #OTD in 1908, Dmitry Ustinov was born – the legendary People’s Commissar of Armaments during the Great Patriotic War & World War II – it was he who ensured that the Soviet military industrial complex was evacuated during the first months of the war, and surpassed the Axis potential, contributing greatly to the Victory over Nazism.
He gained this high post at the age of only 32, having risen from a fitter to People’s Commissar of Armaments. He was appointed to that post on June 9, 1941, less than two weeks before Nazi Germany’s treacherous attack on the Soviet Union. The first few months of the war were especially difficult. Ustinov worked 20 hours a day to evacuate defence plants from the endangered areas and to launch military production in besieged Moscow and Leningrad.
📈 The young commissar was assigned a vital and seemingly insurmountable task – to prevail over the German military machine, which the whole of Europe was supplying with weapons. Ustinov worked selflessly to attain that goal. During the war, the Soviet Union produced nearly twice as many weapons as Germany and the countries it occupied.
Ustinov greatly contributed to the production of artillery guns and rifles and to the challenging scientific and technological task of creating new armaments. During his term in office, the manufacturing of artillery guns increased fivefold and of rifles, by 22 times.
After the war, Ustinov was appointed Minister of the Defence Industry of the USSR contributing immensely to strengthening the defence capabilities of our country. In 1976, he received the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
🕯 Dmitry Ustinov died in 1984 and was the last person whose ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
#FacesOfVictory
He gained this high post at the age of only 32, having risen from a fitter to People’s Commissar of Armaments. He was appointed to that post on June 9, 1941, less than two weeks before Nazi Germany’s treacherous attack on the Soviet Union. The first few months of the war were especially difficult. Ustinov worked 20 hours a day to evacuate defence plants from the endangered areas and to launch military production in besieged Moscow and Leningrad.
📈 The young commissar was assigned a vital and seemingly insurmountable task – to prevail over the German military machine, which the whole of Europe was supplying with weapons. Ustinov worked selflessly to attain that goal. During the war, the Soviet Union produced nearly twice as many weapons as Germany and the countries it occupied.
Ustinov greatly contributed to the production of artillery guns and rifles and to the challenging scientific and technological task of creating new armaments. During his term in office, the manufacturing of artillery guns increased fivefold and of rifles, by 22 times.
After the war, Ustinov was appointed Minister of the Defence Industry of the USSR contributing immensely to strengthening the defence capabilities of our country. In 1976, he received the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
🕯 Dmitry Ustinov died in 1984 and was the last person whose ashes were interred in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
#FacesOfVictory
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📅 #OTD in 1944, the Battle for the Arctic ended. The Red Army prevented the Nazis’ efforts to envelop Soviet territory from the north and block military supply routes.
👉 The enemy wanted to destroy bases of the Soviet Navy’s Northern Fleet and to seize the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The Nazis believed that, by seizing Murmansk and the Kirov Railway, they would thwart Lend Lease shipments to central Soviet regions.
Although the enemy’s high command had deployed 97,000 German and Finnish service personnel, who outnumbered Red Army units totalling 57,000 officers and soldiers, the Arctic blitzkrieg failed completely. Units of the Red Army’s Northern, and later Karelian, Front retained control over naval bases and prevented the enemy from reaching the strategically important railway.
▪️ Al that time, the Nazis did not abandon attempts to seize Murmansk or to raze it to the ground. Luftwaffe aircraft conducted 792 air strikes and dropped 185,000 bombs.
Although Murmansk was destroyed almost completely, it did not surrender. During the war, the city handled 1.2 million tonnes of Lend Lease shipments. Hitler deployed elite Luftwaffe, U-boat and Kriegsmarine (surface warship) units to thwart these deliveries.
🤝 Royal Navy warships helped Soviet sailors in their efforts to ensure safe deliveries. They escorted freighters from North Atlantic ports to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. In 1941-1944, about 1,400 warships sailed along the extremely dangerous Arctic convoy routes.
Finland withdrew from the war following the defeat of its forces in the Vyborg offensive operation. In the autumn of 1944, this created favourable conditions for a Soviet offensive. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive, Red Army units defeated the enemy in the Soviet Arctic and started liberating Norway from German occupation.
🎖 On December 5, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR instituted the Medal for the Defence of the Soviet Arctic, with about 353,000 people receiving this decoration.
👉 The enemy wanted to destroy bases of the Soviet Navy’s Northern Fleet and to seize the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The Nazis believed that, by seizing Murmansk and the Kirov Railway, they would thwart Lend Lease shipments to central Soviet regions.
Although the enemy’s high command had deployed 97,000 German and Finnish service personnel, who outnumbered Red Army units totalling 57,000 officers and soldiers, the Arctic blitzkrieg failed completely. Units of the Red Army’s Northern, and later Karelian, Front retained control over naval bases and prevented the enemy from reaching the strategically important railway.
▪️ Al that time, the Nazis did not abandon attempts to seize Murmansk or to raze it to the ground. Luftwaffe aircraft conducted 792 air strikes and dropped 185,000 bombs.
Although Murmansk was destroyed almost completely, it did not surrender. During the war, the city handled 1.2 million tonnes of Lend Lease shipments. Hitler deployed elite Luftwaffe, U-boat and Kriegsmarine (surface warship) units to thwart these deliveries.
🤝 Royal Navy warships helped Soviet sailors in their efforts to ensure safe deliveries. They escorted freighters from North Atlantic ports to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. In 1941-1944, about 1,400 warships sailed along the extremely dangerous Arctic convoy routes.
Finland withdrew from the war following the defeat of its forces in the Vyborg offensive operation. In the autumn of 1944, this created favourable conditions for a Soviet offensive. During the Petsamo-Kirkenes offensive, Red Army units defeated the enemy in the Soviet Arctic and started liberating Norway from German occupation.
🎖 On December 5, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR instituted the Medal for the Defence of the Soviet Arctic, with about 353,000 people receiving this decoration.
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📅 #OTD in 1943, the Allies leaders representing the USSR, the United States, and the United Kingdom opened their first World War II-era conference.
🇷🇺 🇺🇸🇬🇧 From November 28 to December 1, 1943, the Big Three — Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars Joseph Stalin, President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill — gathered in Tehran to discuss key strategic matters for the Allies with a special focus on opening the Second Front in Europe.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of the Red Army’s strategic advances in the summer and autumn of 1943, which helped convince the Western leaders of the inevitable defeat of the Third Reich and the need to outline a post-war framework for Europe.
In Tehran, the leaders reached a preliminary agreement on the Polish border, tracing it along the so-called Curzon Line of 1920 in the east and along the River Oder in the west, which meant that territories of western Ukraine and Belarus were rightfully recognized as parts of the USSR.
🤝 To sum up the conference proceedings, the Leaders issued the Declaration of the Three Powers, stating that they had concerted their plans for the destruction of the German forces and reached complete agreement as to the scope and timing of the operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south. In the declaration, they also expressed their determination to work together in war and in the peace that [would] follow.
📄 From the document: “We came here with hope and determination. We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit and in purpose.”
On November 29, at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Churchill presented Stalin, with the Sword of Stalingrad, a ceremonial longsword forged by command of King of Great Britain George VI as a token of homage to the courage and heroism the Soviet people in general and the defenders of Stalingrad in particular.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of the Red Army’s strategic advances in the summer and autumn of 1943, which helped convince the Western leaders of the inevitable defeat of the Third Reich and the need to outline a post-war framework for Europe.
In Tehran, the leaders reached a preliminary agreement on the Polish border, tracing it along the so-called Curzon Line of 1920 in the east and along the River Oder in the west, which meant that territories of western Ukraine and Belarus were rightfully recognized as parts of the USSR.
🤝 To sum up the conference proceedings, the Leaders issued the Declaration of the Three Powers, stating that they had concerted their plans for the destruction of the German forces and reached complete agreement as to the scope and timing of the operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south. In the declaration, they also expressed their determination to work together in war and in the peace that [would] follow.
📄 From the document: “We came here with hope and determination. We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit and in purpose.”
On November 29, at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Churchill presented Stalin, with the Sword of Stalingrad, a ceremonial longsword forged by command of King of Great Britain George VI as a token of homage to the courage and heroism the Soviet people in general and the defenders of Stalingrad in particular.
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Operation Ring was part of a large-scale Soviet counteroffensive near Stalingrad, which followed 125 days of the heroic defence of the city. The Red Army launched an attack on November 19, and by the end of the year the 6th Army, commanded led by Friedrich Paulus, was trapped between the Don and Volga rivers.
The encircled enemy force retained its combat strength with 250,000 troops, 4,130 artillery guns and mortars, 300 tanks and 100 planes, but the troops’ morale, psychological and physical condition were in a desperate state. Nevertheless, Berlin ordered Paulus to stand to the end.
On January 8, the command of the Don Front issued an ultimatum to the occupying army, proposing that it put an end to the futile resistance and accept the capitulation terms. But Paulus rejected the offer of the Soviet command.
On January 31, Field Marshal Paulus and the generals and officers of his headquarters capitulated. The last remnants of German resistance were liquidated on February 2.
The Operation Koltso resulted in the defeat of 22 German divisions and 149 separate units, lead to the capture of over 91,000 troops, including 24 generals.
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🎖 #OTD in 1943, the Siege of Leningrad was broken as the result of Operation Iskra (Spark). After 16 months of heroically battling the Nazi invaders, the Soviet Union’s second most important city regained its land connection to the rest of the country.
▪️ The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days. For most of that time, the only way to get to the city was by air or via the sole transport route across the ice of Lake Ladoga – the Road of Life.
Soviet troops tried to break the siege several times. They succeeded on January 18, 1943, following Operation Iskra conducted by the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with air support from the Baltic Fleet.
To lift the siege, the Soviet command decided to focus its strikes on the narrowest part of the bulge in the German defence adjoining Lake Ladoga near Shlisselburg. This area was the best option for mounting two swift counterstrikes – from the west (from within the ring) and from the east.
On January 18, the Red Army broke the encirclement after heavy fighting. A narrow 11 km-wide corridor was formed on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga for supplies and evacuation.
✍️ From Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s memoirs: “I saw the joy with which the fighters of the fronts that broke the siege rushed toward each other. Heedless of the enemy shelling from Sinyavino Heights, they met each other in warm, brotherly embrace. This was truly a hard-won joy!”
☝️ Lifting the blockade primarily meant restoring the besieged city’s connection to the mainland. The railway was repaired three weeks after the breakthrough and the first trains with food and ammunition headed for Leningrad. Power supply improved as well.
On January 18, 2018, the Proryv (Breakthrough) panoramic museum was opened on the site where the troops of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva River. It depicts the dramatic events of January 13, 1943, the second day of Operation Iskra.
▪️ The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days. For most of that time, the only way to get to the city was by air or via the sole transport route across the ice of Lake Ladoga – the Road of Life.
Soviet troops tried to break the siege several times. They succeeded on January 18, 1943, following Operation Iskra conducted by the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with air support from the Baltic Fleet.
To lift the siege, the Soviet command decided to focus its strikes on the narrowest part of the bulge in the German defence adjoining Lake Ladoga near Shlisselburg. This area was the best option for mounting two swift counterstrikes – from the west (from within the ring) and from the east.
On January 18, the Red Army broke the encirclement after heavy fighting. A narrow 11 km-wide corridor was formed on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga for supplies and evacuation.
✍️ From Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s memoirs: “I saw the joy with which the fighters of the fronts that broke the siege rushed toward each other. Heedless of the enemy shelling from Sinyavino Heights, they met each other in warm, brotherly embrace. This was truly a hard-won joy!”
☝️ Lifting the blockade primarily meant restoring the besieged city’s connection to the mainland. The railway was repaired three weeks after the breakthrough and the first trains with food and ammunition headed for Leningrad. Power supply improved as well.
On January 18, 2018, the Proryv (Breakthrough) panoramic museum was opened on the site where the troops of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva River. It depicts the dramatic events of January 13, 1943, the second day of Operation Iskra.
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This bitter battle lasted 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ days on the banks of the Don and Volga rivers, at the walls of Stalingrad, and finally in the city itself. The Battle for Stalingrad surpassed all previous battles in world history in its scale and intensity.
Up to 2.1 million people took part in the battle on both sides at a given time.
By late June, 1942, the enemy had concentrated at a front some 600–650 kilometres long from Kursk to Taganrog up to 35 percent of the infantry and over 50 percent of the tank and motorised divisions from the overall number of forces on the Soviet-German front.
☝️ However, their plans to win because of significant forces in this area were not destined to come true.
The Battle of Stalingrad includes two periods:
Defensive: from July 17 to November 18, 1942
Offensive: from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.
There were no long pauses or lulls in the battle - the fighting was continuous. Stalingrad for the Nazi was a kind of "mill", which grinded thousands of German soldiers and officers.
The invaders lost a quarter of its forces on the Soviet-German front during this battle with the total losses, including the dead and wounded, prisoners of war and those who went missing, totalling around 1.5 million people. This led Germany to announce its first national day of mourning during the war.
The victory in Stalingrad created conditions enabling Soviet forces to mount a large-scale counteroffensive aimed at expelling the invaders from the Motherland.
☝️ Not only did this massive feat increase the international prestige of the USSR & the Red Army, but also helped strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition.
📖 Learn more
#Victory79
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