Star Media - Soviet Storm WWII in the East Series 1 (2011) Part 5 The Siege of Leningrad

On 22nd June 1941, Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa–the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia. Four million troops, backed by 19 panzer divisions, fought their way east, confident of total victory within a just few short months. They were wrong. Instead of collapsing, the Soviet Union held strong and–under the utterly ruthless leadership of Josef Stalin–fought a savage, four year war of attrition on a scale the world had never before witnessed. Over 30 million people would be slaughtered in the horror, most of them civilians. Four out of every ten German soldiers to be killed in WWII would die fighting the Russians. The Red Army suffered ten times as many dead as the Western Allies combined. Hitler and Stalin were prepared to accept losses on any scale in the pursuit of victory. Soviet Storm tells the complete story of the War on the Eastern Front, profiling the epic campaigns and battles, revealing the tactics employed by both sides and exposing the true horrors of a conflict almost unimaginable in its sheers cruelty and depravity. Here were the greatest civilian losses the largest battle and the biggest tank battle–Kursk–the world has ever seen. This was war on a scale and ferocity never seen before as Hitler and Stalin battled for the future of the world. Soviet Storm WWII In The East tells the incredible stories from the Second World War's biggest and bloodiest theatre of war. Told from an unprecedented Russian perspective the episodes explore some of the most devastating battles of World War II from the Red Army's catastrophic encirclement at Kiev in 1941 to the notorious Rzhev meat-grinder. The series also looks at the dramatic recovery of the Soviet air force from it's almost total destruction in the first days of the war, the role of Baltic Sea Fleet submarines, the brutal partisan war fought against a backdrop of Nazi genocide, and the crucial role of Soviet secret intelligence. Across 18 episodes the biggest battles, the key personalities and the decisive weapons of the war are examined in depth including legendary tanks like the T-34 and the Tiger, and less well-known Soviet aircraft such as the Ilyushin 2 flying tank or the superb Lavochkin La-5 fighter. From the German invasion of 22nd June 1941 through to the brutal fighting outside the gates of Moscow, the savage street-fighting of Stalingrad, and the long, bloody road to Berlin, this is an epic retelling of the world s most devastating conflict. Especially produced to mark the 75th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa with unrivalled access to rare and and previously unseen combat film from military archives, Soviet Storm WW2 in the East is by far the most detailed and extensive film history of the war on the Eastern Front ever released.

Part 5 The Siege of Leningrad

Leningrad, a vital and large Baltic sea port, is facing the entire weight of Army Group North. The Soviets have no reserves to spare as the Battle of Moscow is about to begin. Wilhelm von Leeb's Army Group North fails to take Leningrad, but begins a horrible siege that will last 872 days, in which over a million civilians will die of starvation and disease. The takeover of Leningrad was of strategic importance for the German Command. On the 8th of September 1941 the Germans reached Lake Ladoga and the city turned out to be cut off from the 'mainland'. Death from starvation began to threaten the population of Leningrad. The ships of the Baltic Fleet, anti-aircraft guns, artillery and troops of the Red Army defended the city and the 'life road' that became operable after the frosts. Multiple attempts of the Soviet Command to break though the encirclement failed one after another. The enemy is rushing to Leningrad, but the resistance of the Soviet troops is delaying the advance of the Nazis, the extended desperate battles give the Soviet people time and a chance to prepare for the imminent blockade. Particularly fierce battles are being fought near Staraya Russa, where for the first time weapons never before seen by them fall into the hands of German soldiers. This weapon does not look like an artillery system, but it is. On the truck-mounted frame, rockets are attached and when launched, completely cover the target area under fire. These are the famous “Katyushas” - multiple rocket launchers, a new generation of weapons. In the Baltic, Hitler needs to neutralize the Baltic fleet actively involved in the defence of Leningrad, now sustaining serious casualties from German air-raids and explosions on minelayers.

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