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‘We were going deaf from the cannons’: Nazi Siege of Leningrad lifted 75 years ago True blood sacrifice: How starving donors helped end Nazi siege of Leningrad 75 years ago
(about 11 hours later)
The Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War II, regarded as one of the longest and deadliest in history, was lifted on January 18, 1943. RT recalls the sacrifices of the people and the fierce battle to break the blockade.The Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War II, regarded as one of the longest and deadliest in history, was lifted on January 18, 1943. RT recalls the sacrifices of the people and the fierce battle to break the blockade.
The people in Leningrad (modern day St. Petersburg), who had to resort to eating rats, their pets and even glue in order to survive, still donated blood for wounded frontline soldiers fighting the Nazis. Between the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 and the end of that year, 25,865 people had become donors in the besieged city, according to a newly-released documentary entitled, 'The Siege Blood.' The WWII Siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) began in September 1941, when the Nazi German army severed the last remaining road leading to and from the city. The Soviet Union’s second-largest city almost entirely cut off for 872 days, until January 18, 1943 – a dramatic day that most Leningraders would remember forever.
The entire Leningrad Front was aided solely by the blood provided by the city’s population. A special blood substitute fluid was developed at the local Blood Transfusion Institute. It contained 10 percent of blood type O, which could then be transfused to a person with any of the four blood types. Save for the precarious “Road of Life” over the frozen lake in winter, the besieged had no chance of getting vital supplies while having to survive daily enemy shelling and aerial bombardment.
Every frontline nurse carried what came to be known as the "Leningrad vial," – a container filled with the substitute blood and fitted with a special device to allow direct transfusions on the battlefield. The blood in the vials saved numerous lives at a time when it was declared a strategic resource, on par with metal and gasoline. There were about 5,000 type O carriers in Leningrad during the siege, according to the documentary. In 1944, 2,000 people were recognized for their heroics when an Honorable Donor Pin was introduced in the Soviet Union. The rest had died of hunger, cold or killed by Nazi bombs. Even then, the encircled city’s population – who had to resort to eating rats, their pets and even glue in order to survive – showed staggering resilience and will to fight back. In a feat that most would find hard to imagine, the near-starved civilians donated blood to wounded frontline soldiers fighting the Nazis.
For many, sharing their blood became a means of survival. The local authorities provided additional food supplies to the donors in addition to the strict daily rationing of just 125 grams of bread. The scriptwriter of 'The Siege Blood,' Leningrad native Dmitry Karalis, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta his mother became a donor in order to save his sister, who had been born a month before the start of the siege. Some 35,865 people had become donors in the besieged city up to the end of 1941, according to a newly released documentary titled ‘The Siege Blood.’
The donor rations were not much, though, consisting of some 200 grams (less than half a pound) of bread, 40 grams of meat, 30 grams of fish, 30 grams of butter, 30 grams of sugar and half an egg for the ten days before the blood donation, which amounted to 170 ml (some 6 oz) once a month. Still, Karalis says, the meager increases in the rations allowed his infant sister, who is now 77 years old, to survive the horrors of the time. The entire Leningrad Front was aided solely with the blood provided by the city’s population. Every paramedic – most of them were women – carried what came to be known as the “Leningrad vial,” a container filled with the substitute blood and fitted with a special device to allow direct transfusions on the battlefield.
The blockade of Leningrad was smashed on January 18, 1943, as part of the Red Army’s Operation Iskra ("Spark"). The battle lasted over two weeks and saw thousands killed on both sides. Mikhail Udaltsov, who took part in the fighting, told Sputnik the Russian offensive was preceded by a massive artillery barrage.“Cannons were hitting from all sides – we were going deaf from the cannonade,” he recalled. Transfusion blood contained in the vials saved numerous lives at a time when it was declared a strategic resource, on a par with metal and gasoline. For many though, donating blood was necessary to survive as the authorities would provide additional food to donors in addition to the strict daily ration of just 125 grams of bread. The writer behind ‘The Siege Blood,’ Leningrad native Dmitry Karalis, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper that his mother became a donor in order to save his sister, who had been born a month before the start of the siege.
"We were given a sled with a shield. Pushing the sled with long sticks and hiding behind the shield, we forced our way to the other bank [of the Neva river]. There was shooting all around us. Everybody shouted whatever they could. Everybody wanted to survive. They fell, they rose, and went on running." The donor rations were not enough, though. Normally, a 10-day food allowance consisted of some 200 grams (less than half a pound) of bread, 40 grams of meat, 30 grams of fish, 30 grams of butter, 30 grams of sugar, and half an egg. Still, Karalis said, the meager increases in rations allowed his infant sister, who is now 77, to survive the horrors of the time.
Upon reaching the other bank, where the Nazi troops were positioned, Udaltsov and his comrades abandoned the shield-sled. But then, “it turned out that the German dugouts were not damaged by the artillery. We were met with intense machine-gun fire.”
This is where the Soviets suffered the most casualties, Udaltsov said. The Nazis had poured water on the banks of the Neva and let it freeze over, making the climb near impossible, and leaving the attacking Red Army troops in the open. The attack succeeded nevertheless, and the siege of Leningrad was broken. The blockade of Leningrad was finally breached on January 18, 1943 as part of the Red Army’s Operation Iskra (“Spark”). The Soviet troops started to smash German lines, crossing the frozen Neva River, but defeating the entrenched enemy was anything but easy. Mikhail Udaltsov, a war veteran who took part in the 1943 battle, told Sputnik that the Soviet offensive was preceded by a massive artillery barrage. “Cannons were hitting from all sides – we were going deaf from the cannonade,” he recalled.
When the Shlisselburg fortress, located at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga, was liberated, all 19 ditches outside were filled with bodies of thousands of people, Udaltsov recalled. To cross the Neva, Soviet troops storming enemy defenses were provided with sleds, mounted with armored shields. “Pushing the sled with long sticks and hiding behind the shield, we forced our way to the other bank [of the Neva River],” said Udaltsov, who was just 17 when the war began. “There was shooting all around us. Everybody shouted whatever they could. Everybody wanted to survive. They fell, they rose, and went on running.”
The siege of Leningrad began on September 8, 1941. For 872 days, the city was cut off entirely from the rest of the country with no food or vital supplies and under constant enemy shelling and bombing. The dire situation was made even worse by the extreme winter of 1941-42, when temperatures plunged to -40 degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit). This left the city's water supply network frozen. The total civilian death toll from a combination of hunger, cold and Nazi bombs, is still unclear. It is estimated that at least 600,000 people perished, but the real number could well be over a million casualties. This is where Soviet troops suffered the most casualties, Udaltsov said. The Nazis had poured water on the banks of the Neva and let it freeze over, making the climb almost impossible, leaving the attacking Red Army troops in the open. The assault nevertheless succeeded, and the siege of Leningrad was broken.
The total civilian death toll from a combination of hunger, cold and Nazi bombs is still unclear. It is estimated that at least 600,000 people perished, but the real number could well be over a million casualties.
According to the German war plans for Leningrad, the city would have ceased to exist, and its residents would perish due to hunger, deadly diseases and the perils of Nazi occupation. It was only for the heroic resilience of Soviet soldiers, and the sacrifices made by Leningraders, that Hitler’s brutal plans were thwarted.