The only success so far had been achieved in January 1943, when during Operation Iskra, a land corridor was opened between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union.

However, the land corridor remained within range of German artillery on the Sinyavino Heights, and the Red Army planned a new attack for July 1943.

On 22 July 1943, at 6:35 a.m., after an hour and a half of artillery fire and a massive air strike, the Soviet troops went on the offensive.

The divisions that entered the battle suffered heavy losses, as German units put up fierce resistance and constantly counterattacked.

The German command strengthened its defenses with reserves, sending the 58th, 126th (from the 16th Army), and at the end of the operation the 61st Infantry Divisions and the Soviet offensive was halted.

On the orders of the Stavka, the front commanders Govorov and Meretskov prepared a new offensive only a few weeks after the failure of their first operations.

The German 11th and 290th infantry divisions were surprised by the new artillery concept and so the Soviet attack units succeeded in gaining several hundred meters of terrain on the Sinyavino Heights.

In the days that followed, the units of the Soviet 67th Army continued to run against the German defense in order to advance into the lowlands to Mga.