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Home , Battle of Moscow, Hero City, Karelian Front, Lake Ladoga, Mga, Mga Offensive

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020

LADOGA FLOTILLA: AND LENINGRAD DEFENCE

Mikhail A. Shlyakhtunov

The Department of General Military Training, Military Training Centre, Aviation Institute (National Research University), 4 Highway, Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation. Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT: The historical events always arouse close attention of the scientists all over the world. It is important not only to discover the course of history but also to study the reasons of the past events to make the tragedies not happen again. The Leningrad is considered the bloodiest episodes of the World War Second and Great Patriotic War. The researches study the contribution of all the troops who put the efforts to release Leningrad from the blockade circle and supply the citizens with all the necessary things during this period. The Ladoga flotilla took part in constructing the Road of Life, its protection and further defence of the city. Taking into consideration the situation on Leningrad front, the tasks that were put to the military units were extremely difficult and demanded great courage and bravery from the defenders. The Ladoga Flotilla was created before the World War Second and also took part in Soviet-Finish War. In the period between two wars it was reorganized and since June 1941 began to resist the enemy in the area of Ladoga. Its contribution was praised by the government and all the types of the troops of flotilla were awarded with the deferent orders and medals. KEYWORDS: Leningrad blockade, Ladoga flotilla, Military council, Leningrad front, transportation, Ladoga

I. INTRODUCTION Ladoga Lake is located in the northwest part of and is considered to be one of the largest in . Its surface area is 17,700 square km [1]. Ladoga Flotilla is based on the Ladoga Lake. This lake is located on the north-west of Russia and is considered to be one of the largest lakes in Europe. During the World War 2 it was a scene of the international navy powers and the frozen lake was the one and only way to supply Leningrad during blockade and that was why the way through it was also called the road of life [2; 3]. A special role in the defence of Leningrad, in particular, in arranging the supply of a blocked city, was played by the Ladoga Naval Flotilla. It was created during the period of the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939-1940. It was established on the 11th of October 1939. The flotilla was based in and in New Ladoga and was considered to be the powerful combat unit [4]. After finishing the Soviet-Finnish war, the flotilla was re- based to Lahdenpohja. In the beginning of June 1941 (just before the Germany invasion into the on the 22nd of June 1941) there were based:  headquarters and political advocacy division: 34 people;  training ship division: 173 people;  175th anti-aircraft battery: 90 people;  148th local separate rifle platoon: 41 people;  Ladoga section of MaCS (Monitoring and Communication Service): 43 people;  fire brigade: 18 people;  first-aid post: 8 people;  weather station: 16 people. The main part of the militaries were the cadets and the flotilla combat training directed on training but not on tasks for the combat units. Mainly, it was the rear, reserve base of the Red Flag Baltic Fleet [5; 6]. The aim of the article is the analysis of the geographical and tactical characteristics of the Ladoga theatre of operations and the role of the Ladoga flotilla in Leningrad blockade, the cargo transportation and providing the security of the “road of life”. The novelty of the article is that there is specified the composition of the Ladoga flotilla and its role in the “road of life” not only for the civil people but also for the soldiers.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW There is still the great interest in the events of the World War 2 and the Great Patriotic War as a part of it. This topic was the interest not only because there had been involved many countries and the loses were

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 significant for any country but also because of the fact that many documents that were interested not only for the scientists but also for the ordinary people had been lost and there were still lots of questions to be clear. This war was considered to be the most terrible because of the numerous loses of people. The total number of died during the World War2 was 55 million people and 27 million of them were Soviet Union people [7; 8]. There are a few events that are in the focus of the researchers’ attention. They are the Poland invasion (the beginning of the war), the Battle for Stalingrad (the current name of the city is ) and Leningrad blockade with its road of life, etc. [9]. The of Leningrad started on the 8th of , ended on the 27th of and lasted for 872 days. Leningrad (the current name is ) was surrounded by Nazi and Finnish armies. During only 1942 there died 650 thousand of Leningrad citizens [10; 11; 12]. Hitler had long considered Leningrad a key objective in the invasion. It served as the home base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, and its more than 600 factories made it second only to Moscow in industrial output. On the 31st of August 1941 the German army captured the town of that was the last Leningrad’s railway connection. In a week later, they captured Shlisselburg and cut off the last open roadway. By September 8, a water route via nearby stood as Leningrad’s only reliable connection to the outside world. The German continued to move forward and by the end of September 1941 the was on the suburbs of Leningrad. They did not want to conquer the city with the big population and Hitler had chosen the other plan: simply to wait for it to starve to death [13; 14; 15]. Leningrad would be conquered if the Soviet soldiers did not hold a small part of the western shore of Lake Ladoga (around 40 km) and did not give a chance to close the blockade circle. In the middle of this space was organized the Osinovets Naval Base that provided the connection of Leningrad with “main land” [16]. The fresh supplies were made across the Lake Ladoga with some food and fuel in the barges during the autumn and I the trucks and sleds during the winter when the lake was covered with ice. The Ladoga route had become to be known as the road of life [17; 18]. In January 1944 a successful Soviet drove the Germans westward from the city’s outskirts, ending the siege. In 1965 Leningrad got the title of the [19].

III. METHODS The study is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The principle of objectivity determines the desire of the researcher to the fullest possible reflection of the entire spectrum of historical judgments and estimates. The principle of historicism involves the consideration of the object in specific historical conditions. Gathering the historical information about the studying period, analyzing and comparison of the maps of the studying period and the historical and archive documents have influenced upon the disclosure of the topic and have been accepted as the main research methods. The source study method allows you to critically examine and objectively interpret the documents presented in the study.

IV. RESULTS The military flotilla as part of the Soviet Navy was based on Lake Ladoga and adjacent waterways. It existed in the period 1939 − 1940 and 1941 − 1944 and participated in the Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic War. The contribution of Ladoga flotilla into the defence of Leningrad can be divided into two types: the help of the Ladoga fleet in supporting the road of life and the military battles. The landing operations and military transportation became very important tasks for the Ladoga sailors at the initial stage of the blockade (September – November 1941), despite the catastrophic situation with food supplies. Only on November 18, 1941 the ships of the flotilla switched mainly to the delivery of food for Leningrad. This delay was connected with the attempts to break the blockade in the fall of 1941 and restore land communications. The military flotilla carried out the following tasks: operational transportation of army units; providing the blocked city with replenishment, ammunition and equipment; transportation of military goods from Leningrad until left the war on September 19, 1944.

The Road of Life The road of life that was built at Ladoga Lake supplied Leningrad citizens with the food, fuel and ammunition for the city defence. Ladoga fleet did the organization of transportation of goods, road construction, repair and

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 restoration and road maintenance activities and work, the construction of structures and operation of the [20; 21; 22]. The construction of the road started in November 1941 in the southern part of the Schlusselburg Bay where the distance between the shores was only thirty kilometres. In the road took part several units. The Ladoga Fleet was represented by the hydrographer Lieutenant E. Churov. Besides him there were several other men and ten sailors who watched the group from the enemy attack. The weather was extremely cold but still the lake was not totally covered with the ice and there was strong wind. Lieutenant E. Churov was in front of the group and each 500 or 600 meters they thrilled the ice checking its thickness and marking the future road across Schlusselburg Bay. On November 17th the group reached Kabona and the future road being marked. With the load of flour, the group successful came back to Osinovets and Churovmade a report on the expedition to the command. After this report the construction of the truck and railway road through Ladoga Lake started [23]. The laying of the normal gauge railway line began on the ice of Lake Ladoga on the basis of the decision of the State Defense Committee of November 21, 1942. The total length of the line was 35 km. On the west bank, it was supposed to adjoin the station Lake Ladoga of the October Railway and in the east - to the station Kabona. The construction of the track’s upper structure was pile-ice. The daily capacity of the pile-ice railway was determined at 6000 tons (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. The ice and water road of the food supplies to Leningrad during the siege

Besides it, a narrow gauge railway was designed parallel to the main track. It was supposed to adjoin the east coast to the ways of station Kabona and in the west - to the Cabotage junction. It was intended primarily to ensure the construction of the main railway gauge [24] and as a symbol of east and west connection [25]. During the winter and spring time the task of the goods transportation was done by the trucks ZIS-5 and GAZ-AA. By 1941 − 1942 they brought 361109 tons of the cargos and evacuated more than 500 thousand people from Leningrad. To make the road be safer it was supported and protected by the aviation and the anti- aircraft batteries settled on the ice [26]. On the eastern and western shores the route through the lake and transshipment bases were guarded by the 20 fighter aircraft and the 60 guns of caliber 76-85 mm until the blockade break. Besides it, 27 small-caliber guns and 63 anti-aircraft machine guns were platooned along the entire route. For the whole period of the route duration its objects were shot by the enemy aircrafts or ties for 141 times. 287 bombs were dropped in total. Three enemy aircrafts were hit and five planes were shot down by the anti- aircraft artillery fire and machine guns [27]. When the ice melted and the ice route stopped its work, the Ladoga military flotilla took care of all the goods and people transportation. The warships and civilian ships came through the lake in summer, as well as in winter, day and night, in bad weather and storm, under aerial bombardment. They brought necessary cargoes in the besieged city and evacuated Leningraders. The fascists threw air fleet against Ladoga waterway. They made 169 raids during summer and autumn, in which took part tens and hundreds of the aircraft. It was hard time. The bombed ships sank, coastal facilities burned, people died, and there were many wounded. However, nothing could break the morale of the Ladoga Flotilla sailors. The waterway worked smoothly, providing life to Leningraders and the resilience of the Leningrad Front troops.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020

Leningrad Defense The furious Nazis decided to liquidate the "Road of Life". There was the small island of Sukho approximately in the middle of the waterway between the eastern and western shores of Ladoga Lake. There was a lighthouse and one artillery battery on the island. If the Nazis managed to capture the island, it would inflict a heavy blow on the highway and would significantly reduce the volume of traffic. In the morning on the 22nd of October 1942 more than 30 large landing fascist barges and boats armed with guns and machine guns approached the island of Sukho and began shelling using the low cloud cover and heavy rain. Standing on patrol near the island a minesweeper opened fire on an approaching armada. The located on the island antiaircraft battery also opened fire. For the sailors on the island it was hopeless battle but they managed to ask the commander for a help in time. In 30 minutes, the hundreds of military aircraft passed over the lake. In several minutes the Germans lost most part of their landing ships and boats. The approaching ships of the Ladoga flotilla finished off the remaining ones afloat. In this battle, the fascist military flotilla was completely defeated on Lake Ladoga [28]. Leningrad was released from the blockade circlein January 1944 by thepowerful blow of the Leningrad and fronts troops and the sailors of the Red Flag Baltic Fleet. On the 27th of January the city saluted to the valiant army and navy sailors. However, the enemy troops continued to stand on the River between Ladoga and Onega lakes.The preparation for the Vidlitsko-Tuloksinsky operation started in summer 1944. The Ladoga flotilla task was to land a large paratrooper group behind enemy lines in the area between the Vidlitsa and Tuloksa rivers, located 70 km from the front line. The successful landing of the paratroopers would allow crossing the railroad and highway that were next to the lake shore and, thereby, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to plant rein for cements and making an organized retreat [29]. The dozens of flotilla ships with landing troops left on a clear June day. They calmly passed through Ladoga Lake. During the paratroopers landing, the enemy aviation tried to prevent landing but they bombed randomly and the operation finished successfully. At the same time the troops broke through the enemy’s defenses on the Svir River and began to develop an offensive. As a result, 40.000 people of the enemy troops were sandwiched between the troops of the 7th Front Army and the landed troops. The fascist retreating troops made a big impact on the part of the paratroopers. It seemed that Soviet Army had only a narrow part of the coast line and it looked like the paratroopers could be dropped into water. But Ladoga flotilla provided the second landing of the paratrooper’s echelon and closed the escape routes for enemy troops. The ships of Ladoga flotilla took part in the troops transfer operations. Due to order No 0042 signed by the Commander of the Leningrad Front G. K. Zhukov on September 14, 1941, the flotilla transferred the parts of the 4th Marine Brigade from the islands of , , Krestovye, and Hiunsima. During the night of the 19th and 20th of September parts of the brigade, in collaboration with other units, crossed the and captured the bridgehead, later called the “Nevsky patch”. The transfer units’ operations were successful and the flotilla was able to strengthen the garrison of the city at the tensest moment of September 1941. It should be noted that the transportation of army units was of the exceptional importance. The special conditions were created for each of these operations. An uninterrupted communication was established, the air defence was strengthened, a regulatory service was created, and the routes were developed and there were built such necessary port objects as the piers, moorings and gangways. In some cases, the transportations were done in the night time because of the matters of security and secrecy. In general, there were transferred 20334 soldiers and commanders, 12 tankettes, 129 guns, 103 cars and tractors, 974 horses and other military equipment from the west to the east cost of the lake since October 24 till November 18, 1941. The Ladoga flotilla was not once attracted to regroup army units during the offensive operations of Soviet troops in the summer and autumn of 1943. The flotilla ships provided the transfer of the 86th Infantry Division and 73rd Marine Rifle Brigade that became a part of the 67th Army since 23rd till 26th of July during the Mginsky operation [30]. The government praised the military affairs of theLadoga flotilla. It was awarded the Order of the Red Flag. The order of the Supreme Commander sounded on the radio with the congratulations to the personnel of the ships and units of the Ladoga Flotilla. A group of officers and sailors, including medical workers, was awarded with the orders and medals of the Soviet Union.

V. DISCUSSION Currently, the issues about the Great Patriotic War started to study more and more often. The scientists try to structure its different stages and providing the military operations, etc. The study, comparison and analysis of statistics of the large-scale are operations in particular relevance. Special interest creates the operations that changed the course of the war, such as the , Stalingrad and , the Kursk Bulge, and the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. The Ladoga flotilla made a strategic contribution into the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Due to the flotilla actions Leningrad was provided not only with the goods for people’s surviving but also carried the

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 military production that was necessary for the front and was produced in the city. By organizing the delivery of goods to the besieged city, the population was able to receive additional food products from the "mainland". Even being located at the lake the Ladoga fleet supported Karelian front with landing the troops. This was a turning point in the struggle for Leningrad. It had many successful operations since the very first moments of the military actions. From 12 to 27 August 1941, there were evacuated 22,995 military personnel (of which about 4,000 were wounded), 260 guns, 9 , 75 tractors, 748 vehicles, 5,013 horses, 1213 wagons. The operation carried out by the Ladoga Naval Flotilla was the first successful evacuation of an isolated coastal bridgehead in World War II [31].

VI. CONCLUSION The experience, accumulated before the Great Patriotic War, played a certain role in the organization of a developed naval formation in the conditions of a large war. During the first weeks of the war the Ladoga flotilla became to be able to promote the lakeside flanks of the ground forces. The vital importance in the defense of Leningrad was the daily leadership of the General Headquarters by the heroic struggle of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, the Red Flag Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga Flotilla and the entire population of the city. The General Headquarters solved the problem of the blocked citizen’s nutrition entrusting this to the units of Ladoga fleet. Due to its well-established work, the soldiers of the did not lose heart, acted together, showing persistence and strength of character, will to live, thereby, instilling fortitude in the civilians of besieged Leningrad.

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