1-276-547 - Art Media/Heritage Images

Siege of Leningrad, January 1943. Leningrad was encircled and besieged by the Germans from September 8 1941. In January 1943, the city's defenders and troops of the Volkhov Front launched a combined offensive known as Operation Spark. After fierce fighting the two Russian armies were able to link up and establish a land bridge via which Leningrad's starving inhabitants could be supplied. The siege would not be completely broken for another year however.