If not me, who? The first battle of Leningrad 5-29 September 1941
(Leningrad and the surrounding region)
(1939 Street Map)
The opening German artillery barrage at 1.00am on 5 September caught the Soviet defense in Leningrad in disarray. The main problem was the somewhat chaotic intermingling of 23A and 27A formations in the city as well as the number of formations that had fallen back into the city from the various battles on the outskirts.
STAVKA urgently demanded that Shaposnikov sort out the command structure in the city and pull back damaged units and HQ formations to a reserve. These would be rotated into the battle as needed. By 8 September, some semblance of order had been imposed, 23A was in command of the city, 27A covered the Neva on the shores of Lake Ladoga and took responsibility for those formations pulled back from the city to recuperate. This ability to switch units in and out of the battle was to be of critical importance as the violence of the German assault increased.
The other key response was to reach behind the German lines. In particular the rail junctions at Krasny Luc were repeatedly bombed as they served both the offensives aimed at Leningrad and the battles at Rzev. Slowly the flow of supplies was cut off, and increasingly the German attack faltered at key stages due to the lack of munitions.
(air raids on Krasny Luc)
Equally the PVO squadrons with their new LAGG-3 fighters ensured that no German air raid on the city went unanswered.
(The Soviet airfields were all within German artillery range and a number of fighters were badly damaged as a result)
Combined with direct fire from the guns of the Baltic Fleet, this was to give the Soviets some vital advantages in the coming weeks.
The consequence of the Soviet confusion in the early days of the battle was that the 23 Panzer and 211 Infantry divisions were able to make rapid progress along the Baltic coastline capturing the suburb of Ulyanka and the southern docks at Avtovo in a matter of hours. This was to pose a major threat both to the defence of the central sector and the security of the Baltic Fleet.
At Zvezdnoye, the 115 Rifle Division and 1 NKVD Rifle Division put up a much more effective defense. It wasn't until 10 September and the commitment of their local reserves that the Germans even started to break into this district.
(troops of 1 NKVD Rifle Division at Zvezdnoye)
The attached brigade of KV-1s was key here, with tanks being repaired in the factories just behind the front and returning to action in a matter of hours.
(emergency repairs, under German shellfire)
The eastern flank was anchored on the industrial district of Metallostoy and here riflemen of the 143 Division did not just fight from building to building but from room to room. German pressure told, but each gain came at a cost, with fierce localised Soviet counterblows.
(Soviet riflemen amongst the factories at Metallostoy)
By the 15 September, the Germans in the docks at Avtovo were facing increased resistance and the 27 Pzr (together with 9 Pzr drawn in from their reserves) diverted to try and deal with the threat of the Soviet KV-1s. This gave the fleet additional security and allowed it to shell the advancing Germans over open gun sights. Nonetheless, a major crisis was brewing in the city, as both flanks had now been turned, the rifle divisions had only 10,000 effective men between them and over 60% of the KVs had been destroyed.
(in the circumstances the Soviets used almost any means to ferry supplies to the front line)
(Soviet AA guns defending the Baltic Fleet)
(even amongst the fighting, the factories continued to work, and the workers needed to be fed)
On the morning of the 20th the Germans finally broke through and started to push along the Moskovsky Prospect towards the old centre.
(KV1 firing down Moskovsky Prospect)
Equally they managed to establish a small bridgehead over the Neva in the east at Obukhovskij. It looked as if the city would fall, or at the least all the ground to the south of the Neva would be lost.
House to house fighting continued for the next four days. Shaposnikov gradually fed in reinforcements that allowed the Soviets sometimes to retake ground and always to contest every street, every house as they fell back. However, under strict instructions from STAVKA he also kept back a significant reserve for an organised counter attack.
By the 26th, the Germans reached the bridge at Vladminskey and the old Admiralty building was in ruins.
(the remnants of the famous Admiralty clock)
However, their failure to follow up their early victory in the dock sector was to prove their undoing. With their front line divisions badly depleted, running short of supplies and facing seemingly endless Soviet resistance, they were vulnerable. Three relatively fresh rifle divisions were moved into the Narvksiy sector during the 26th and at 5am on 27 September, they hit the flanks of the overextended 28 Infantry and 27 Panzer at Moskovsky Prospect. At the same time the last few KV1s were commited, and briefly the VVS shifted from bombing their rail net to direct combat support. These divisions crumbled under the weight of this counterblow and unhinged the entire attack.
Suddenly German troops were looking for routes out of the city rather than pressing forward. Most escaped as the Soviet defenders were too exhausted. At midnight on 29 September, the Germans had withdrawn from their positions in the city.
(Moskovsky Prospect at the end of the battle)
However, the respite was brief, the collapse of one prong of their attack had led to a major withdrawal but the German command remained determined to take the city. At 7am on 29 September, led by the fresh 4 Panzer and 24 Infantry, the second battle of Leningrad commenced. However, they were suffering from fuel and supply shortages even as they moved to their attack positions.
To the east of the city, during the first battle the Germans made five attempts to breach the Neva line. Each was easily repelled, with 752 Soviet soldiers killed and 2,204 Germans. However, as the second battle of Leningrad began, it was becoming increasingly clear to Shaposnikov that their sixth attempt was a much more serious attempt to turn the city's defenses from the east.
The agony of Leningrad was just beginning. However, the victory was celebrated across the Soviet Union, finally the Red Army had turned on its tormentor and inflicted a stunning victory.
