January thunder

USSR

Leningrad Front , commander - Army General L. A. Govorov , chief of staff - Lieutenant General D. N. Gusev :

• 2nd shock army , commander - Lieutenant General I.I. Fedyuninsky .
• 42nd Army , commander - Colonel General I.I. Maslennikov .
• 67th Army , commander - Lieutenant General V.P. Sviridov .
• 13th Air Army , commander - Colonel General of Aviation S. D. Rybalchenko .

Baltic Fleet , commander - Admiral V.F. Tributs .

Germany

Army Group North , Commander-Field Marshal Georg von Küchler :

• 18th Army , commander - cavalry general Georg Lindeman .
• 1st Air Fleet , Commander - General Kurt Pflugble .

In 1943, Soviet troops, after a series of operations breaking through the siege of Leningrad , seized the initiative in the north-west direction, but failed to completely free the city from the siege. The troops of the German 18th Army were in the immediate vicinity of Leningrad and continued intensive shelling of the city and the “ Victory Roads ”.

I. I. Fedyuninsky so assessed the situation near Leningrad by the end of 1943 ^[2] :

The situation near Leningrad was determined by the general situation on the fronts. The Soviet Army during 1943 inflicted a number of powerful blows to the Nazi troops and forced the enemy to a continuous retreat. By November, the enemy was forced to clear almost two-thirds of the territory it occupied of our country. But near Leningrad, the Nazis, encircling themselves with a powerful line of defensive structures, continued to improve their positions and hoped to keep them as the basis of the entire left wing of the Eastern Front .

In early September 1943, the Soviet command became aware that German troops had begun preparations for a retreat from Leningrad to new defensive lines on the line Narva - Lake Peipsi - Pskov - Ostrov - Idritsa ( Panther line ).

Based on the current situation, the military councils of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts immediately began to develop a plan for a joint large-scale operation with the aim of defeating the 18th German army and completely freeing Leningrad from the blockade.

Since, until the end of 1943, uncertainty remained regarding the plans of the German troops, the Soviet command developed two variants of the offensive. The first option provided for an immediate transition to the pursuit of the enemy in the event of his retreat (Neva 1), and the second - a breakthrough of the echelon defense of the enemy if the German troops continued to maintain their positions (Neva 2).

The command of Army Group Sever quickly enough received information about the preparation of the Soviet troops for the offensive, which prompted G. Küchler to turn to A. Hitler with a request to expedite the withdrawal of troops to the Panther line. However, A. Hitler, guided by the opinion of the commander of the 18th Army G. Lindemann , who assured that his troops would repel a new Soviet offensive, ordered the Army Group "North" to continue the siege of Leningrad ^[3] .

The general concept of the offensive operation of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts was to deliver simultaneous attacks on the flanks of the 18th German army in the Peterhof - Strelna area (Krasnoselsko-Ropshinskaya operation) and in the Novgorod area ( Novgorod-Luga operation ). Then it was planned, encroaching on the Kingisepp and Luga directions, to encircle the main forces of the 18th Army and to develop an attack on Narva , Pskov and Idritsa . The main goal of the upcoming offensive was the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. In addition, it was planned to liberate the Leningrad Region from German occupation and create the prerequisites for a further successful offensive in the Baltic states ^[4] .

According to the final plan of the operation, the troops of the Leningrad Front went on the offensive with the forces of the 2nd shock army from the Oranienbaum bridgehead and forces of the 42nd army from the area southwest of Leningrad. Combining in the area of Krasnoe Selo - Ropsha , the troops of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies were to destroy the enemy’s Peterhof-Strelna group, and then continue the offensive in the south-west direction on Kingisepp and in the south direction on Krasnogvardeysk ^{[~ 1]} , and then to the meadow.

A few days after the start of the operation, the 67th Army was to join the offensive. The army was tasked with liberating the Moscow State University , Ulyanovka , Tosno and, in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, completely regain control of the Kirov and Oktyabrskaya railways. In the future, units of the 67th Army were to develop an attack on Pushkin and Krasnogvardeysk.

At the same time as the troops of the Leningrad Front, the troops of the Volkhov Front went on the offensive, which, after the defeat of the Novgorod group of the enemy, were to rapidly develop an attack on the Meadow. Having united in the Luga region, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts were to surround the main forces of the 18th German army.

Leningrad Front

By the beginning of 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front defended directly around Leningrad with the forces of three combined arms armies: the 23rd Army defended the lines of defense on the Karelian Isthmus , and occupied the defense of part of the 42nd and 67th armies from the coast of the Gulf of Finland to Gontovaya Lipka . In addition, the front troops held the Oranienbaum bridgehead (up to 50 kilometers along the front and 25 kilometers in depth).

Since the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was not able to significantly strengthen the Soviet troops near Leningrad, the front command carried out a number of regroupings in the troops in order to concentrate forces and assets in the direction of the main attack.

So, the 2nd shock army was redeployed to the Oranienbaum bridgehead, the commander of which V.Z. Romanovsky was replaced by the more experienced I.I. Fedyuninsky . On November 7, 1943, the Primorsky Task Force came under the command of the headquarters of the 2nd shock army, parts of which were gradually transported to the bridgehead by the forces of the Baltic Fleet and transport aviation over several months. In total, from November 5, 1943 to January 21, 1944, 5 rifle divisions, 13 artillery regiments, 2 tank regiments, one self-propelled artillery regiment and one tank brigade ^[5] were transferred to the bridgehead ^[5] —total, about 53,000 people, 2,300 vehicles and tractors , 241 tanks and armored vehicles, 700 guns and mortars, 5800 tons of ammunition, 4000 horses and 14 000 tons of various cargoes ^[6] .

In total, the troops of the front (excluding the 23rd Army) consisted of 30 rifle divisions, 3 rifle brigades, 4 tank brigades and 3 fortified areas - 417,600 soldiers and officers ^[1] . The offensive of the 42nd and 2nd shock armies was supported by about 600 tanks and self-propelled guns , about 6000 guns, mortars and rocket launchers ^[7] . Air support for the front was provided by 461 aircraft of the 13th Air Army , the Leningrad Air Defense Army and 192 aircraft of the Baltic Fleet. The general offensive of the two fronts was supported by long-range aviation formations - a total of 330 aircraft ^[6] .

In addition, naval and coastal artillery of the Baltic Fleet - over 200 guns with a caliber from 100 to 406 millimeters (including artillery guns of the battleships Petropavlovsk , October Revolution , cruisers Kirov, should have contributed to the offensive of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies ”And“ Maxim Gorky ”, as well as Kronstadt forts and fort“ Krasnaya Gorka ” ) ^[6] .

18th German Army

The troops of the Leningrad Front were opposed by part of the forces of the 18th German army . The units of the 3rd SS Panzer Corps (9th and 10th Airfield Divisions, SS Tank and Grenadier Divisions Norland and Motorized SS SS Nederland , as well as one SS SS regiment) kept the area of ​​the Oranienbaum bridgehead and part of the 50th army corps ( 126th , 170th and 215th infantry divisions), which occupied the lines from Peterhof to Pushkin . In addition, the 54th Army Corps ( 11th , 24th , 225th Infantry Divisions) defended from Pushkin to the Neva , and the 26th Army Corps ( 61st , 227th and 212nd Infantry Divisions ) - in the area of Mgi ^[8] .

According to Soviet data, the entire 18th German army numbered 168,000 soldiers and officers, about 4,500 guns and mortars, 200 tanks and self-propelled guns ^[4] . Air support of the entire Army Group “North” was carried out by the 1st Air Fleet using 200 aircraft ^[3] . According to other sources, the 1st Air Fleet totaled 370 aircraft, of which 103 were based near Leningrad ^[9] .

According to German sources, on October 14, 1943, the entire North Army Group (including formations located in the north of Finland ) numbered 601,000 , 146 tanks, 2,398 guns and mortars ^[3] .

In any case, the Soviet troops had significant superiority over the German. In the direction of the main attack, the troops of the Leningrad Front exceeded the enemy in manpower by more than 2.7 times, in artillery - 3.6 times, in tanks - 6 times ^[4] .

Given the extremely unfavorable balance of forces for itself, the German command hoped to maintain its position near Leningrad, relying on the powerful defensive structures of the so-called "Northern Wall". The strongest section of the German defense was in the offensive zone of the 42nd Army , where the main resistance nodes were the settlements of Uritsk , Staro-Panovo , Novo-Panovo , Pushkin, Krasnoe Selo, and also an altitude of 172.3 (Voronaya Gora ). In the event of a forced retreat, German troops had to organizely move from one intermediate position to another. To do this, in the depths of the defense of the 18th Army, the “Autobahn” line, the Oredezhskaya, Ingermanlandskaya, Luzhskaya and other lines were built ^[10] . However, the German troops did not have time to fully prepare all the intermediate defense lines for the beginning of the Soviet offensive ^[8] .

Offensive of the 2nd Shock and 42nd Armies, January 14 - 20

According to the plan of the operation , the troops of the 2nd shock army from the Oranienbaum bridgehead were the first to go on the offensive on January 14 , and the troops of the 42nd army from the Pulkovo area in a day.

The night before the start of the offensive, the rifle units of the 2nd shock army advanced to the neutral zone and dug in 150-350 meters from the front line of the enemy, and sappers made passages in minefields and wire fences ^[2] . At the same time, heavy artillery and night bombers struck at the defense nodes and artillery positions of the enemy.

At 10:40 a.m., after a 65-minute artillery preparation and a massive attack by attack aircraft, two rifle corps of the 2nd strike army - the 43rd ( 48th , 90th , 98th) - went on the offensive on a 10-kilometer section of the front. infantry divisions) and the 122nd ( 11th , 131st and 168th infantry divisions).

On the first day of the offensive, the units of the 48th, 90th and 131st rifle divisions achieved the greatest success, the advance of which was supported by the 152nd tank brigade, as well as the 222nd and 204th tank regiments. By the end of the day, Soviet troops advanced 4 kilometers forward, captured the first line of defense of the enemy, occupied the strong points of Porozhka and Gostilitsa, and in some areas wedged into the second line of German defense ^[11] .

All day on January 14, artillery of the 42nd and 67th armies conducted continuous shelling of enemy positions in the areas of Pulkovo Heights and Mgi in order to disorient the enemy and prevent him from knowing where and when the next strike would be delivered.

On January 15, after a 110-minute artillery preparation, in which 2300 guns and mortars took part, they launched an offensive of the formation of three rifle corps of the 42nd Army on the 17-kilometer section of the Ligovo -Redkoe-Kuzmino front. Units of the 30th Guards Rifle Corps ( 45th , 63rd , 64th Rifle Divisions), advancing directly behind the artillery rampart, with minimal losses, advanced 4.5 kilometers by the end of the first day of the offensive. The attacks of the 109th ( 72nd , 109th , 125th Rifle Divisions) and the 110th ( 56th , 85th , 86th Rifle Divisions) infantry corps were less successful ^{[12 ]} .

In the following days, the formations of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies slowly but stubbornly advanced towards Ropsha and Krasnoye Selo towards each other. The German troops put up fierce resistance and, whenever possible, launched desperate counterattacks.

Units of the 2nd shock army only by the end of the third day managed to advance up to 10 kilometers and complete the breakthrough of the enemy’s main defensive line at the front to 23 kilometers ^[4] . This allowed I.I. Fedyuninsky to form a mobile group (the 152nd tank brigade , as well as several rifle and artillery units) on the morning of January 17 , which was tasked with rapidly developing the offensive, capturing and holding Ropsha.

Even more stubborn battles unfolded in the offensive zone of the 42nd Army. A large number of anti-tank ditches and minefields, as well as effective enemy artillery fire, caused large losses in the tank units of the army, which could not properly support the advance of infantry formations. Despite this, the Soviet infantry continued to advance stubbornly. So, on January 16 , parts of the 30th Guards Rifle Corps, moving forward another 3 to 4 kilometers, reached the Krasnoe Selo - Pushkin highway. On the same day, parts of the 109th Rifle Corps took the strong Finnish Koyrovo defense unit, and parts of the 110th Corps took Alexandrovka ^[11] .

On the morning of January 17, the commander of the 42nd Army brought into battle the 291st Infantry Division and the mobile group (1st Leningrad Red Banner, 220th Tank Brigade, as well as two self-propelled artillery regiments) with the task of supporting the advance of the 30th Guards Rifle Corps , take possession of Red Selo, Duderhof and Crow Mountain .

The commander of Army Group North was forced to request permission from A. Hitler to withdraw units of the 26th Army Corps of the 18th Army from the Mginsky ledge in order to free several divisions to strengthen defense southwest of Leningrad . Having not received a clear answer, G. Kühler decided to transfer a number of formations ( 21st , 11th , 225th infantry divisions and other units) to the Krasnoye Selo region, but this measure did not help ^[13] . Soon, German troops began a hasty retreat south from Strelna , Volodarsky and Gorelovo .

On January 18, Soviet troops achieved the final turn of the battle in their favor.

On the offensive site of the 2nd shock army, the 122nd rifle corps, with the support of tank units after a fierce battle, took Ropsha and, together with the 108th rifle corps and the mobile group, entered the battle from the second echelon of the army, continued their offensive to the east.

On the same day, the rifle units of the 42nd Army launched an assault on Red Village and Raven Mountain; tank units continued the offensive towards the units of the 2nd shock army. Fierce battles for these key strongholds continued for several days. On the morning of January 19, a simultaneous strike from both sides of a part of the 63rd Guards Rifle Division stormed the Voronya Gora, and parts of the 64th Guards and 291st Rifle Divisions liberated Krasnoe Selo ^[11] .

On the evening of January 19, in the area of Russo-Vysotsky , the advance detachment of the 168th division of the 2nd shock army and the soldiers of the 54th engineering battalion, which was part of the mobile group of the 42nd army, met. However, taking advantage of the fact that a solid front line has not yet been established, a significant part of the German group, having thrown heavy weapons, was able to break out of the encirclement.

On the morning of January 20, the main forces of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies, meeting in the area south of Ropsha , completely surrounded and then destroyed the remains of the enemy’s Petergof-Strelna group. In just six days of continuous fighting, the troops of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies destroyed two German divisions, inflicting substantial damage on five more divisions. About 1,000 enemy soldiers and officers were captured. In addition, to the north of Krasnoye Selo, the German artillery group, which was created specifically for the shelling of Leningrad, was destroyed. A total of 265 guns were captured, including 85 heavy ones ^[13] .

The situation of the parties by January 20

The defeat of the Peterhof-Strelna group, as well as the liberation of Novgorod by the troops of the 59th Army of the Volkhov Front, created favorable conditions for the further offensive of the Soviet troops.

The primary task of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts was the final liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. A necessary condition for this was the speedy release of the main railway communication between the city and the country - the October Railway ^[14] .

To solve this problem, the Military Council of the Leningrad Front decided to transfer the strike from south-west to south-east. The troops of the 42nd Army were tasked, advancing on Krasnogvardeysk , Pushkin and Tosno , to get on the flank and rear of the enemy group, which continued to hold positions in the area of Ulyanovka , Mgi and Tosno. In the future, it was planned, in cooperation with the troops of the 67th Army and the right wing of the Volkhov Front, to surround and destroy the 26th and 28th German army corps in a short time, to restore control of the October Railway and thereby completely free Leningrad from the enemy blockade .

At the same time, the troops of the 2nd shock army were to continue their offensive to the southwest in the general direction of Voiskovitsy - Vysokoklyuchevaya , bypass Krasnogvardeisk from the southwest and thereby contribute to the advance of the 42nd army, firmly providing its right flank ^[14] .

However, the Soviet command soon had to make significant adjustments to the plan of the further offensive, since on the night of January 21 the divisions of the 26th Army Corps began an organized retreat from the Minsko-Sinyavinsky ledge.

Continuation of the offensive, January

On January 21, the troops of the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front and the 8th Army of the Volkhov Front , having noticed the beginning of the retreat of the enemy, went on the offensive. Within a few hours, the Mga was liberated, and soon control over the Kirov Railway was completely restored. However, the Soviet troops failed to develop the offensive immediately. Parts of the 26th Army Corps , fixed on the intermediate line of the Autobahn along the October Railway , provided fierce resistance ^[15] .

The retreat of German troops from the Mgi region forced the command of the Leningrad Front to change the plan for a further offensive. The adjusted operation development plan was submitted to the Supreme High Command Headquarters on January 22 and immediately approved.

Now the main task of the front was the speedy liberation of Krasnogvardeisk - a key hub of the enemy's railway and highway communications. Then it was planned by the forces of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies to deliver the main blow in the direction of Kingisepp and Narva . At the same time, the 67th Army in the auxiliary direction was to enter the Ulyanovka - Tosno line and, in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, completely take control of the October Railway. In the future, the army was tasked, advancing on Vyritsa and Siversky , to contribute to the main strike of the front ^[16] .

Thus, the command of the Leningrad Front hoped to cut off the retreat routes to the main forces of the 18th Army in the direction of Narva and force the German troops to retreat to the city of Luga , which was attacked by the troops of the 59th Army of the Volkhov Front.

Understanding the danger of the situation, the commander of the Army Group "North" did everything possible to strengthen the defense of Krasnogvardeisk. The 225th and 227th infantry divisions deployed from the Mgi area were sent to help the defensive units of the 11th , 61st , 170th , 126th and 215th infantry divisions in this area. At the same time, G. von Küchler asked A. Hitler to allow the withdrawal of troops from the Oktyabrskaya Railway line and from the areas of Pushkin and Slutsk , but received a categorical order to keep Krasnogvardeysk at all costs. For this, the OKH allocated the 12th Panzer Division and the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion to the 18th Army ^[15] .

On January 21, having regrouped forces, the troops of the Leningrad Front continued their offensive on Krasnogvardeysk. Parts of the 123rd and 117th (from the reserve of the front) rifle corps of the 42nd Army, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, reached the approaches of Krasnogvardeisk on January 22, but were unable to conquer the city on the spot. At the same time, the divisions of the 110th Rifle Corps (from January 22 as part of the 67th Army), striking south-east, bypassed Pushkin and Slutsk from the west and practically surrounded the defending units of the 215th and 24th infantry divisions of the enemy.

At this time, the units of the 2nd shock army, bypassing Krasnogvardeisk from the west, continued the offensive in the direction of Kingisepp. The German units of the 61st, 227th, 170th and 10th airfield divisions, retreating to Estonia , destroyed bridges, mined roads and, clinging to strong points, showed fierce resistance ^[2] , which somewhat slowed forward 43- go and 122nd corps of the 2nd shock army.

Fierce battles for Krasnogvardeisk, Pushkin and Slutsk, as well as on the Oktyabrskaya Railway line lasted several days. On January 24, parts of the 110th Rifle Corps captured Pushkin and Slutsk, and parts of the 118th Rifle Corps of the 67th Army took control of Ulyanovka. By January 29, units of the 54th Army of the Volkhov Front had completely liberated the October Railway.

On January 25, the 42nd Army, with the support of the 123rd and 117th Rifle Corps, with the support of tanks, artillery and aviation, launched a decisive assault on Krasnogvardeisk. Fierce street fighting lasted almost a day. January 26 at 10:00 in the morning Krasnogvardeisk was completely released. In the battles for the city, the 120th, 224th , 201st rifle divisions , the 31st Guards Tank Regiment and other formations and units were especially distinguished ^[17] .

The liberation of Krasnogvardeysk meant the collapse of a solid front of German defense - the 18th Army was cut into two unequal parts. The main group (about 14 divisions) retreated from the east, northeast and north in the direction of the Luga, and the western group (about 5 - 6 divisions), breaking up into separate unconnected small battle groups, retreated west to Narva ^{[8] [18]} . For this reason, the troops of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies, which continued the offensive in the western and south-western directions, moved forward quite quickly. The commander of the Leningrad Front, L. A. Govorov, believed that the main efforts should be concentrated in this direction, as this would immediately begin the liberation of Estonia. At the same time, the possibility was taken into account, if necessary, of deploying part of the front forces to strike from the boundary of the Luga River to Gdov and Pskov ^[16] .

Acting on the Narva direction, the troops of the 2nd shock army captured Volosovo , cut the railway Krasnogvardeisk-Kingisepp and by January 30 reached the Luga River. On the night of February 1, the 109th, 189th and 125th rifle divisions of the 109th corps (transferred to the 2nd shock army from the 42nd army), with the support of the 152nd tank brigade, attacked after artillery preparation and due to skillful Kingisepp was stormed by a roundabout maneuver. German troops, unable to organize defense along the Luga River, were forced to hastily retreat to the line on the Narva River ^[19] .

At the same time, developing the offensive in a southwestern direction, the 42nd Army’s formations advanced 50 kilometers in three days and reached the Luga River by January 30, occupying a bridgehead on its western shore in the Greater Sabsk region .

The offensive of the 67th Army, operating on the Tosno-Vyritsa-Siversky line, did not develop so rapidly. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of units of the 12th Panzer, 212nd, 126th and 11th Infantry Divisions, which covered the withdrawal of units of the 54th, 26th, 28th and army corps from the areas of Pushkin, Slutsk, Tosno, Lyuban and Chudovo , formations of the 67th Army on January 27 took possession of Vyritsa, and by January 30 - Siversky. However, the German units continued to maintain their positions southeast of Krasnogvardeisk and south of Siversky, and only after three days of fierce fighting did Soviet forces force them to retreat ^[15] .

By the end of January 1944, the forces of the Leningrad Front, in collaboration with the troops of the Volkhov Front , severely defeated the 18th German army , advanced 70-100 kilometers, liberated a number of settlements (including Krasnoye Selo , Ropshu , Krasnogvardeysk , Pushkin , Slutsk ) and created the prerequisites for a further offensive. Although the Leningrad-Novgorod operation continued, the main task of the entire strategic offensive was completed - Leningrad was completely freed from the blockade.

On January 21, L. A. Govorov and A. A. Zhdanov , not doubting the success of the further offensive, appealed to JV Stalin with a request to permit permission to publish and publish on this subject in connection with the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade and from artillery shelling of the enemy. an order to the troops of the front and in honor of the victory to produce in Leningrad on January 27 a salute with twenty-four artillery salvoes of 324 guns ^[20] .

Despite the fact that only by January 29, Soviet troops completely regained control of the Oktyabrskaya Railway , on January 27 the order of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front was read out on the radio, which said that Leningrad was completely free from the blockade. In the evening, almost the entire population of the city took to the streets and gleefully watched the artillery salute, which was held in honor of this historic event.

The war correspondent P. N. Luknitsky recalled ^[21] :

Above Leningrad there is a distant scattering of small small flies soaring ... Volleys of three hundred twenty-four guns roll from the city to us through dark fields, under a low foggy sky, along the meanders of the icy Neva. Hundreds of multi-colored rockets, rising in the dark distance above the huge city buildings, like exotic flowers on thin stems, bend and slowly fall. We, soldiers and officers unfamiliar to each other, feeling like relatives and close people, are incredibly excited by this sight. We stand, watch, keep silent, and my chest is constricted - it seems that for the first time in the whole war I want to cry. When the fireworks ended, we shouted “Hurray!”, Shook hands with each other, hugged.

USSR

The losses of Soviet troops in the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky operation can only be estimated approximately.

According to the statistical study “Russia and the USSR in the Wars of the 20th Century”, the Leningrad Front , throughout the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation , from January 14 to March 1, 1944 , lost 227,440 people killed, missing and wounded ( 56 of them 564 people - irretrievable losses, 170 876 people - sanitary). In addition, the loss of the Baltic Fleet over the same period amounted to 1,461 people (169 people - irretrievable losses, 1292 people - sanitary) ^[1] . It is difficult to establish what part of the losses falls on the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky operation, since the fighting in February was also extremely fierce. In addition, it should be borne in mind that since February 15, the front has included three combined armies of the disbanded Volkhov Front , whose losses in battles in the second half of February are included in the total losses of the Leningrad Front in the entire strategic offensive.

Germany

The 18th German army in the battles against the troops of the Leningrad Front in January 1944 suffered a heavy defeat and suffered significant losses, but, at the same time, was not defeated and retained a significant part of its combat potential.

According to the report of the command of the 18th Army, the loss of German troops operating against the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts , by January 29, amounted to 14,000 people killed and 35,000 people wounded ^[22] . These figures, apparently, are very approximate, since accounting for the number and loss of personnel of the army headquarters in January 1944 was carried out sporadically ^[23] , all the more it is impossible to indicate how much of the loss falls on the battles against the troops of the Leningrad Front.

The Russian literature often cites data on German losses indicated in the reports of the Sovinformburo . So, according to the January 19 report , the troops of the Leningrad Front by that time had inflicted a heavy defeat on 7 enemy infantry divisions, destroying 20,000 and capturing 1,000 German soldiers and officers ^[24] . The January 26 report states that during the offensive from January 14 to January 25, 1944, the Leningrad Front troops defeated 10 infantry divisions and inflicted heavy losses on 2 infantry divisions, captured large trophies (619 cannons of various calibers, including heavy guns from 150 to 406 millimeters - 116, mortars - 454, self-propelled guns - 20, tanks - 60, armored vehicles - 24) and destroyed 158 tanks, 445 guns and mortars, 901 vehicles. Moreover, the total losses of the German troops amounted to only over 40,000 soldiers and officers killed and up to 3,000 - prisoners ^[25] .

For successful actions during the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky operation, by order of the Supreme Commander, distinguished formations and units were given an honorary name in honor of their special participation in the liberation of the most important cities during the operation ^[26] :

Krasnoselsky

Ropshinsky

Pushkinsky