Key battles in WW1/WW2

Seige of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad was the deadliest seige in history and was one of the largest losses of civilian life on the eastern front as the city held out under seige for nearly over 3 years. As the Red army was trapped after the rapid advance of the Axis powers and after Germany had cut off the Soviets from the South and then soon after the Finnish declared war and attacked from the North and cut them off from all sources of supplies and ammunition. Let's see how the Seige lasted.

Summer 1941, the Axis launched operation Barbarossa to swiftly knock the Soviet union out of the war and to eliminate the threats of war. After many encirclements, troops lost and the capture of the Baltic states. Leningrad was vulnerable to invasion. The Red army couldn't contain the German attacks and many fell to injuries and were killed. The land based communications to Leningrad were ceased and they had to hold out for long as possible. 700,000 men were trapped in Leningrad and they could only defend themselves against the Germans. Finland had gained all their lost territories from the prior Winter war in 1940. The Red army didnt have any reserves to send to Finland because they were so heavily focused on the Axis attacks on the Southern front.

Many of the people in Leningrad had been caught in the midst of the war and the food reserves were bombed and destroyed. Which left the people to fend for themselves and would line up in bread lines that were miles long everyday that was literally made of Wood glue and Sawdust. And even some of the people responded by doing in acts of cannibalism. But because of the persistence of the people to help the Soviets survive for 3 years it denied the Germans any chance to capture the city. However after 3 years of invasion. The defence of Moscow, the Caucasus campaign, the defeat at Stalingrad and the retreat. The city was slowly being relieved. And in 1943 after a series of counter attacks, the Red army reestablished land connections with Leningrad as the German army group North began to dwindle in numbers barely numbering 600,000 men to nearly 1,200,000 Soviets. And by 1944 they counter attacked and the city was finally free from seige which we can see the miracle of surviving in Leningrad for nearly 3 years straight.