Leningrad–Novgorod offensive

The operation involved three fronts: The Leningrad Front, the Second Baltic Front and the Volkhov Front. The total Soviet strength was 1,241,000 men, 10,070 guns, 385 tanks and 370 planes plus the Soviet Baltic Fleet. --> ==Background==

After Operation Barbarossa, German troops had encircled Leningrad, and began the siege of Leningrad. Several operations had been designed by the Soviet commanders in the area to liberate the outskirts of Leningrad from the Germans. In the fall of 1943, preparations had begun to design another plan to retake the outskirts of Leningrad from the Germans, after the only partially successful Operation Iskra in January that year which had followed the failed Sinyavino Offensive of late 1942. The first staff meeting was held on 9 September 1943, two years and a day after the beginning of the siege. Two plans, Neva I and Neva II, were conceived. Neva I was to be implemented if the Germans, pressured on different fronts, withdrew their forces from Leningrad on their own accord to reinforce the pressured areas. Both Stavka and Leningrad believed this was possible. Neva II, therefore, would be implemented if the Germans did not withdraw from Leningrad within the coming months. The offensive would be three-pronged, driving from the foothold at Oranienbaum that had been captured earlier that year, the Pulkovo Heights and from the fortifications around Novgorod. The offensive was planned to start in the winter, when sufficient numbers of troops and artillery could be moved across the ice without incident. ==Preparations==

Soviet The Baltic Fleet had been assigned the task of transporting the Second Shock Army under the command of Ivan Fedyuninsky over Lake Ladoga to Oranienbaum. From 5 November 1943, onwards the Fleet transported 30,000 troops, 47 tanks, 400 artillery pieces, 1,400 trucks and 10,000 tons of ammunition and supplies from the wharves at the Leningrad factories, Kanat and the naval base at Lisy Nos to Oranienbaum. When the shipments were complete, the artillery was positioned along the entire length of the Leningrad, Second Baltic and Volkhov fronts at a concentration of 200 guns per kilometer, including 21,600 standard artillery pieces, 1,500 Katyusha rocket guns, and 600 anti-aircraft guns. A final meeting took place on 11 January in Smolny. ==Combat activity==

Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha offensive: 14–31 January 1944 In the late hours of 13 January 1944 long-range bombers from the Baltic Fleet attacked the main German command points on the defensive line. On 14 January troops from both the Oranienbaum foothold and Volkhov Front attacked, followed the next day by troops of the 42nd Army under the command of Ivan Maslennikov from the Pulkovo Heights. and the Volkhov Front pushed the Germans back about three miles. It thawed on the 16th, and the Second Shock Army managed to move forward 23 kilometers. On the 19th, the Second Shock Army captured Ropsha and the 63rd Guards Rifle Division, part of the 42nd Army, drove the Germans out of Krasnoye Selo. By 26 January German troops had been pushed 100 kilometers away from the city, and the Moscow–Leningrad Railroad line had been opened. which was inconceivable during the siege due to blackout. Novgorod–Luga offensive : 14 January – 15 February 1944 On 14 January Soviet troops of the Volkhov Front launched an offensive from the Novgorod area towards Luga against a part of the 18th German Army. The aim was freeing the October Railway and encircling, together with the troops of the Leningrad Front, the main forces of the 18th Army in the Luga region. The offensive did not develop as rapidly as planned before the operation. The German 18th Army suffered a heavy defeat, but still wasn't destroyed and retained a significant part of its combat potential, which prevented the Soviet troops in the spring of 1944 to break through the Panther–Wotan line and begin the liberation of the Baltics. One of the reasons for this development was the lack of coordination between the 2nd Baltic Front and the Volkhov Front, which allowed the German command to move significant forces from the 16th Army to the Luga area. By 15 February the troops of the Volkhov Front, as well as the 42nd and 67th Army of the Leningrad Front, reached Lake Peipus, having pushed the enemy 50–120 kilometers to the west. In total 779 cities and settlements were liberated, including Novgorod, Luga, Batetsky, Oredezh, Mga, Tosno, Lyuban and Chudovo. The restoration of control over the strategically important railways, especially Kirov and October, was of great importance. Staraya Russa – Novorzhev Offensive : 18 February – 1 March 1944 On 18 February, Soviet troops of the 2nd Baltic Front, carried out this operation in cooperation with part of the Leningrad Front against the German 16th Army of Army Group "North" with the aim of liberating the area southwest of Lake Ilmen and creating the conditions for further offensives. As a result of the operation, the Soviet troops, pursuing the retreating enemy, advanced up to 180 kilometers to the west, liberating many cities and towns, including Staraya Russa, Novorzhev, Dno and Putoshka. Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive : 1 February – 1 March 1944 Overview ==Aftermath==

In Soviet propaganda, this offensive was listed as one of Stalin's ten blows. ==References==