Publishers’ Description

From the publisher’s notes, you’ll quickly grasp the basic facts surrounding the siege of Leningrad:

The siege of Leningrad (1941-1944) was the longest and deadliest in modern history, with over one million deaths from cold, disease, starvation, and bombardment.

The siege of Leningrad was the longest ever endured by a modern city, and the deadliest siege in recorded history. It lasted for nearly 900 days, from late August 1941 to late January1944, bringing unparalleled hardship to the population. Out of over three million persons inthe city more than one million lost their lives through cold, disease and starvation, bombs and artillery fire. The severe winter of 1941-42 was by far the worst period of the siege, when food reserves ran out, rations dropped to a little over three ounces of bread perperson per day and regular supplies of water, fuel, and electricity stopped. Its epic suffering and endurance earned Leningrad the title of ‘Hero City of the Soviet Union’.

This book is from an article in issue 123 of After the Battle magazine - the joint authors were Karel Margry and Ron Hogg.

This is another ‘then and now’ compendium from the After the Battle series of books. It serves to outline the basic pattern of their prior books, with this table of contents:

• Forward 6
• Leningrad 8
• Operation Barbarossa 10
• Leningrad Prepares For Siege 13
• Renewed German Offensive 25
• The Baltic Fleet Withdraws To Leningrad 28
• Leningrad Isolated 29
• The Finns Close The Ring From The North 36
• Beginning Of The Siege 38
• Winter 1941-42 53
• The ‘Road Of Life’ – Across Lake Ladoga 63
• 1942: Failed Attempts To Lift The Siege 77
• 1943: The Blockade Is Broken 86
• 1944: End Of The Siege 90
• Conclusion 95

As previously reviewed ATB (After The Battle) series books, this book provides a great deal of photographic insight about the siege. As important, it provides a contemporary look at most of those locations in recent time. In looking at the many 1941-44 images, there appears to be a wealth photographic history, much of which could serve as references needed by those modelers in dioramas and period staging for models themselves.

I have enclosed a very small collection of the photographs taken in and around Leningrad, each of which is accompanied by the comparison photo captured during WW II and in recent years. Though there are some exceptions, the vast majority of these places can be seen in current times (with the various differences in street signs, traffic lights, aerials, cross walks, etc. now different).

This a great book and though it leaves most of the German losses to the readers further research, it certainly provides amply photographic evidence of the price paid by the Russians who served during that terrible siege and the horrific price of all warfare. Readers will quickly and graphically gain an appreciation for the hardships facing the Russians on a daily basis. Just reading the section about the ‘ice bridge’ across Lake Ladoga and the photos of that frozen lake gives new meaning to the phrase ‘when hell freezes over.’

I strongly recommend this book for historians in general and modelers as previously noted. I would like to thank Casemate for providing this book for review as well as IPMS/USA for the review opportunity.