The Oranienbaum Bridgehead ( in Russian) was an isolated portion of the

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

in Russia, which was retained under Soviet control during the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

in World War II. It played a significant role in protecting the city.

History

The area is located near the town of Lomonosov (formerly Oranienbaum) and centred on the Krasnaya Gorka Fort complex. The Germans approached Leningrad in early September 1941 and reached the Gulf of Finland on 7 September, isolating an area long and up to deep along the Baltic coast. This area was fortified and defended by the soldiers of the Red Army and sailors of the Baltic Fleet. An attempt to link up with the main Soviet forces around Leningrad, the Strelna Peterhof operation ( ru) was mounted from 5 to 10 October but failed. On 2 November 1941, the 19th Rifle Corps was reorganised as the 2nd Neva Operations Group, then quickly the Coastal Operations Group, of the Leningrad Front to defend the pocket. It initially included the 48th Rifle Division and the 2nd and 5th Naval Rifle Brigades, under the former commander of the 19th Rifle Corps, General Antonov. Later the garrison included the 48th Rifle Division, the 98th Rifle Division, the 168th Rifle Division and parts of the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

which provided gunfire support and supply. The commander between 1942 and 1943 was General Vladimir Romanovsky. He was replaced by Ivan Fedyuninsky in December 1943. In November 1943, the 2nd Shock Army was sent into the bridgehead. A component of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive was the Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive which helped break the Siege of Leningrad. On 14 January 1944, the 2nd Shock Army attacked from the bridgehead and linked with Soviet forces attacking from Leningrad.

Monuments

Several monuments from the Green Belt of Glory are located within the former bridgehead.

References

''This article incorporates material from Russian Wikipedia''
St Petersburg Encyclopedia (Russian)

- Russian Language Site

{{coord missing, Leningrad Oblast Siege of Leningrad Baltic Sea operations of World War II World War II aerial operations and battles of the Eastern Front Military operations of World War II involving Germany