Connections cut off along the lake shore
By the end of 1942, Leningrad relied mainly on Lake Ladoga’s shipping and winter ice routes for connections with the Soviet interior. German occupation around Shlisselburg and Sinyavino separated Soviet forces east of the city. The sparsely settled strip contained forests, peat bogs, ditches and fortified positions. Regaining even a few kilometers required overcoming natural obstacles and an established network of defensive fire.
Earlier Soviet breakthrough attempts had failed. Supreme High Command Directive No. 170696 of 2 December 1942 approved a new plan, specified Iskra, or Spark, as its communications codename, and required readiness by 1 January 1943. The forces had to wait for ice strong enough for infantry and armored vehicles to cross the river. The attack began on 12 January.
Coordinating two assault groups
From the west, the 67th Army of Govorov’s Leningrad Front would cross the Neva and attack eastward. From the east, the Volkhov Front’s 2nd Shock Army would advance toward it under Fedyuninsky’s direct supervision. They were to meet between Shlisselburg and Sinyavino and cut through the occupied strip along the lake. River, forest and marsh restricted routes, while bringing in follow-on forces would affect the result after a breakthrough.
The December directive assigned coordination between the fronts to Voroshilov; Zhukov also helped coordinate operations. The converging attacks would compress the German salient. The defending 18th Army had linked positions across villages, woods and peat ground, allowing artillery and infantry to resist frontal attacks and fire into the advancing forces’ flanks. Soviet artillery, engineers and follow-on formations had to work together to keep leading units from becoming isolated.
Training, roads and the frozen Neva
Preparation extended beyond assembling troops. Soldiers rehearsed ice crossings, climbing steep banks and attacks on simulated strongpoints. Engineers built roads, communication trenches and vehicle passages at night. Frozen forest and marsh might still fail to bear tanks and heavy artillery, making rearward routes vital for second-echelon forces and timely supplies.
Artillery preparation began on the morning of 12 January 1943, followed by the 67th Army’s infantry crossing the Neva ice. The 136th and 268th Rifle Divisions gained footholds in some sectors. The 86th Rifle Division’s northern frontal crossing was blocked, forcing a move south to cross and then advance toward Shlisselburg. The 2nd Shock Army attacked from the east, with fighting divided among workers’ settlements, woods and ditches.
References: [2]
The link-up on 18 January and unfinished objectives
The 372nd Rifle Division attacked Workers’ Settlement No. 8 from the east, initially slowed by counterattacks and flanking fire. Soviet reinforcements subsequently entered the fight and sought routes around strongpoints. German forces concentrated around the Sinyavino heights to preserve their line and southern withdrawal routes. Soviet units advanced at different rates, while severe cold, snow and forest complicated air and artillery support.
On the morning of 18 January, leading units of the 123rd Rifle Brigade and 372nd Rifle Division made contact near Workers’ Settlement No. 1. Shlisselburg was retaken that day, opening a land corridor roughly eight to eleven kilometers wide south of Lake Ladoga. Some German troops withdrew south and retained nearby heights. Engineers still needed to turn the narrow corridor into roads and a railway capable of sustained supply.
References: [2]
Turning the corridor into a railway
The State Defense Committee ordered construction of a Shlisselburg–Polyany railway on the day of the link-up, reallocating personnel and materials previously intended for a railway over Lake Ladoga’s ice. Construction of about thirty-three kilometers began from both ends on 22 January. Engineers and railway workers cleared mines and unexploded shells, laid tracks over marshland and built a bridge over the Neva while German troops on nearby heights could observe and shell the works.
The priority was to open the line first and improve it afterwards. Track laying was completed by 5 February and through transport began. Using transport records, Sobolev distinguishes two often combined moments: a food train reached Leningrad’s Novaya Derevnya station on the afternoon of 6 February, followed by a welcome ceremony at Finland Station on 7 February. Difficult construction separated the military breakthrough from a usable supply route.
References: [3]
Better supplies while the city remained at the front
The new railway operated under fire, with its initial condition restricting speed. Transport staff arranged nighttime movements and gradually improved the route and operating organization, bringing food, fuel and ammunition into the city by land. Sobolev records increased bread rations from 22 February. The captured corridor began changing daily supply, adding a route alongside ice transport.
Sobolev quotes a letter that poet Olga Berggolts wrote to relatives and friends on 8 February, describing the other side of the breakthrough: Leningrad remained a frontline city facing prolonged difficulty. Nearby heights and artillery continued to threaten transport. A larger offensive in January 1944 finally lifted the siege completely. Iskra had opened the land passage that supplied city and army during continuing combat.
References: [3]