Supply trucks on their way to Leningrad on the Road of Life

The Road of Life (Russian: Дорога жизни, doroga zhizni) was the transport route across the frozen Lake Ladoga, which provided the only access to the besieged city of Leningrad in the winter months during the Great Patriotic War. The road forms part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Map of lake Ladoga Towpath Bridge between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (from a photograph taken ca. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... The Eastern Front1 was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State...

The Siege of Leningrad itself lasted for 880 days from September 1941 to January 1944, as German and Finnish forces cut off all land access to the city. Over one million citizens of Leningrad died from starvation, exposure and German bombardments. The Road of Life began to operate on November 20, 1941 when the first convoy of horse-pulled sleighs brought supplies to the city. Shortly thereafter, the ice road began receiving truck traffic. Via the Road of Life, supplies could be brought into the city, and civilians evacuated to the still Soviet-controlled opposite coast. During the winter 1941–42 the ice line of "Road of Life" operated for 152 days, till April 24. About 514 000 city inhabitants, 35 000 wounded soldiers, industrial equipment were evacuated from Leningrad during the first winter of blockade. While the road was protected by anti-aircraft artillery on the ice and fighter planes in the air, truck convoys were constantly attacked by German artillery and airplanes, making travel dangerous. Some survivors therefore bitterly recall the route as a "Road of Death". Combatants Germany Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhem von Leeb Georg von Küchler Kliment Voroshilov Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and an estimated 1 million civilians from starvation The Siege of Leningrad (Russian: блокада Ленинграда (transliteration: blokada Leningrada... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Ice Road in northern British Columbia, Canada Ice roads are temporary highways formed by using frozen rivers and lake surfaces. ...

During 1942 an oil pipeline ("Artery of Life") via Ladoga lake was built: its length was 29 km, of which 21 km ran under water at depth of 12.5 m.

During the following winter, the Road of Life began to operate once again. On December 20, 1942 horse traffic began, and on December 24, 1942, motor vehicles began to operate. Construction of the pile and ice railway of 30 km long also began.

Subsequently, Operation Spark — a full-scale offensive of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts — started in the morning of January 12, 1943. After heavy and fierce battles, the Red Army units overcame the powerful German fortified zones to the South of Lake Ladoga, and on January 18, 1943 the two fronts met, opening a land corridor to the besieged city. Almost immediately, both truck and rail traffic began to bring supplies to Leningrad. Operation Spark (1943) (Russian: Операция Искра, operatsia iskra) was a military operation by the Red Army during January 12 —January 18, 1943 which intended to create a land connection to break the siege of Leningrad conducted by the German Wehrmacht. ... The Leningrad Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. ... The Volkhov Front was a Front (i. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Red Army flag The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...

The city of Leningrad was still subject to at least a partial siege, as well as air and artillery bombardment, until a Soviet offensive broke through the German lines, lifting the siege in January 1944.

For the heroism of its population, Leningrad was the first city to be awarded the honorary title Hero City in 1945. Hero City (город-герой or gorod-geroy in Russian) is an honorary title awarded to twelve cities and one city-fortress in the Soviet Union for outstanding heroism during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945. ...

References

External links

• Details about the pipeline