Nevsky Pyatachok

The area between Shlisselburg and the bend of the Neva to the south represented the land link between the Soviet-controlled territory and the city defence perimeter.

The Red Army objective was to retain this narrow stretch of the shore and prevent German forces from completing the blockade, thus allowing transports to reach the population in besieged Leningrad with food, medication and other supplies.

On 20 September 1941 a small group of Soviet soldiers under Captain Vasily Dubik managed to cross the river using fishing boats and homemade rafts and establish the bridgehead, but they failed to enlarge it.

[4] Although the south-eastern perimeter of the siege was temporarily penetrated, Soviet forces only managed to open a 10–12 km wide corridor, meaning all traffic passed under the fire of German guns.

[5] After the war, a tradition began in which the children of Leningrad schools took summer trips to the area to search for the remains of the many who died there.