Leningrad strategic defensive

Leningrad Strategic Defensive
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 10 July – 30 September 1941 Location Pskov Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Estonia, Leningrad Oblast, the Baltic Sea Result German victory, a siege laid to Leningrad
Belligerents
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Wilhelm von Leeb G. Reinhardt G. Küchler	P. Sobennikov P. Kurochkin M. Popov K. Voroshilov G. Zhukov V. Tributs
Units involved
Army Group North 4th Panzer Group 16th Army 18th Army	unknown
Strength
517,000	725,000
Casualties and losses
60,000	214,000 were killed or captured 1,492 tanks destroyed 9,889 artillery pieces lost 1,702 aircraft destroyed 733,300 small arms lost Total: 345,000 casualties

Frontline on 10 July 1941

Leningrad Strategic Defensive Operation is the term in Soviet historiography for the defensive operations in the arear south of Leningrad of the Red Army and Soviet Navy during World War II from 10 July to 30 September 1941. The following operations are considered as part of the strategic operation:

Kingisepp-Luga Defensive 10 July – 23 September 1941

Soltsy-Dno Offensive 15–20 July 1941

Tallinn Defensive 5– 22 August 1941

Staraya-Russa Offensive 8–23 August 1941

Demyansk Defensive 6–26 September 1941

Positions of the German forces at the start of the operation

After the start of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the German Army Group North, consisting of the 18th, the 4th Panzer Group and 16th Armies, had made a spectacular advance through the Baltics states.
In two and a half weeks, Lithuania and Latvia had been overrun and on 9 July, the 4th Panzer Group had already reached Pskov in Russia and the southern shore of Lake Peipus, with a bulge to the north-east towards Slavkovich. On the left flank of the bulge was the XXXXI Motorized Corps and on the right the LVI Motorized Corps.
The German 18th Army had advanced along the coast and pursued the Soviet 8th Army from its position on the border. The Soviet 8th Army was able to break contact and establish new defensive lines farther to the rear of the pre-war borders. On 10 July the German 18th Army, helped by the local Forest Brothers, had entered Southern Estonia and was positioned with its left flank occupying positions north of the city of Pärnu, along the Pärnu River through the Võhma District and then south-east to Tartu and Lake Peipus.
The 16th Army was at that time on the southern flank of the Army Group around the Velikaya River and west of Novorzhev. The Infantry of the 16th Army was lacking behind the 4th Panzergroup because of the difference in speed, but also because it was asked to support Army Group Center on its right flank.

Area covered during the operation

Territory

The campaign was conducted in the area to the northwest of the Kalinin Region to the Baltic Sea. In the north the land line of operations was limited to the shores of the Gulf of Finland, north of the Gulf Soviet troops were engaged in the Arctic-Karelia Strategic Defensive and the defense of the Hanko Peninsula. In the east the German troops reached the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, south along the Kirisha River to Kirishi, then south along the Volkhov River to Veliky Novgorod, including the city, then along the western side of Lake Ilmen to Staraya Russa, from there to the north end of Lake Vella and from the western boundary of the lake to the north shore of Lake Seliger to the region west of Peno. South of the border demarcation operated the forces of German Army Group Center. The width of the fighting front was roughly 450 kilometers and advanced a total of 270–300 kilometers due to Soviet withdrawals.

Background and operational plans of the forces involved

German plans

On 10 July, it was decided that Panzer Group 4 was to launch a two-pronged attack, without waiting for the slower infantry to arrive.
The XXXXI Panzer Corps of Georg-Hans Reinhardt was to attack towards the city of Luga, while LVI Panzer Corps of Erich von Manstein was to advance toward Lake Ilmen in a flanking movement.

Soviet plans

Civilians working on the Luga defensive line in the summer of 1941.

On 4 July, General Georgy Zhukov, chief of the General Staff, gave the Military Council of the Northern Front instructions to defend Leningrad. The guideline envisaged the construction of a defensive line between Narva, Luga and Staraja Russa and expanding it to a depth of 10 to 15 km. From the end of June, three divisions of national people's militia were recruited in Leningrad and used to occupy the Luga line. On 6 July, General Konstantin Piadyshev was appointed commander of the new line of defense along the Luga River, and the Northern Front Military Council decided to strengthen the Luga section by transferring the 237th Rifle Division from Petrozavodsk and the 21st and 24th Tank Division of the 10th Mechanized Corps from Karelia. Stawka Guideline No. 260 of 7 July ordered that the commander of the Northern front immediately transferred the 70th and 177th Rifle Division to the commander of the Northwestern Front.

When the German breakthrough began to emerge south of Lake Peipus, the troops of the new line of defense were combined on 6 July to form the Luga Operational Group under General Konstantin Piadyshev's command. The Leningrad Infantry School (2000 men), the Kingisepp Militia and the Leningrad Gun and MG Infantry School (1900 men) soon concentrated in the area east of the city of Narva. A separate mountain rifle brigade (5800 men), which was recruited in Leningrad, was designed to secure the Luga line. The defined line of defense extended almost 250 kilometers in length from the Gulf of Finland along the rivers Luga, Mshaga, Luga Shelon to Lake Ilmen.

The Luga Operational Group consisted of 4 rifle divisions: 70th, 111th, 177th and 191st rifle division as well as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd division of the national militia and the 41st Rifle Corps with the 90th, 235th and 118th rifle divisions.

Order of battle

Main article: Order of battle for the Leningrad Strategic Defensive Operation

The German ground forces were supported by Luftflotte 1 which was reinforces by the 8th Fliegercorps as the operation progressed.

Course of the operation

Offensive of the 41st Motorized Corps (10-14 July)

On 10 July 1941, the advanced units of German Army Group North, breaking the line of the Velikaya River, continued their attack on Leningrad. The XXXXI Panzer Corps, under command of Georg-Hans Reinhardt and consisting of two panzer, motorized and infantry divisions and supported by aviation, pushed the 118th Rifle Division back to Gdov, and the 90th and 111th Rifle Divisions to Luga. On July 12, German troops clashed with cover units of the Luga defensive line in the Plyussa River area and were stopped during stubborn fighting. Unable to bypass the defending troops from the flanks because of the swampy terrain, Reinhardt left the 269th Infantry Division at Luga, and diverted the main forces of the XXXXI Panzer Corps towards the north-west and by 14 July captured two bridgeheads on the right bank on the Luga River near the villages of Ivanovskoye and Bol'shoy Sabsk in the area of ​​Kingisepp. The German troops were stopped at these positions by the forces of the Luga Operational Group and were only able to continue the offensive a month later. Meanwhile, a large gap was formed between the two Corps of the 4th Panzer Group, which was now divided into two parts heading in different directions. Furthermore, the swampy-wooded area of ​​the Leningrad region seriously impeded the independent actions of the tank units.

Results of the operations

Main article: Siege of Leningrad

The retreating Soviet forces (and civilians alike) were cut off the Soviet mainland in Leningrad, isolated from the bulk of Soviet-controlled territory by the Finns and Lake Ladoga. Despite many costly attempts, the Soviets did not lift the siege completely until January 1944.

The Soviet Baltic Fleet abandoned Tallinn. The Germans conquered Estonia and a large strip of Western Russia up to southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, although some strong-points of Soviet defence held out.

Operations continued on the outskirts of Leningrad include the 1st and Second Sinyavino Offensives from 10 September – 28 October 1941. The Tikhvin Defensive from 16 October – 18 November 1941. To the south only the Demyansk Offensive from 7 January – 25 May 1942 took place.