January 27, 1944 - The 900-day siege of Leningrad is ended

For the Soviet Union, Leningrad was an important city for a number of reasons. Firstly, it had been the former Russian capital, having formerly been named “St. Petersburg” (the modern name of the city). Secondly, this single city was responsible for 11% of the Soviet Union’s industrial output by 1939, as well as holding the entire Baltic Fleet, making it a key military target.. Thirdly, the city was seen as the heartland of the Russian Revolution, being named after Vladimir Lenin himself. For these reasons, both the Nazis and the Soviets fought extremely hard to take / hold the city during world war II, the end result being the most deadly siege in history; more than three million total casualties were reported. This was more than twice as many as the second-most deadly siege; The Siege of Jerusalem, 70 AD (1.3 million casualties).

(Destruction caused by early German bombardments of the City)