Ms.+Bongiovanni+Sample

=**SEIGE OF LENINGRAD ** **Location: Leningrad, Soviet Union **= =**Time: June 1941 - March 1943 ** **By: Ms. Bongiovanni **=
 * [[image:whsww2pd3:Bongiovanni1.jpg width="524" height="401" align="center" caption="Soldiers fighting in Russia"]] ||
 * Soldiers fighting in Russia ||

 Important Events in the Seige of Leningrad:
 * 1) 1. In 1941, Hitler developed Operation Barbarossa. This was his plan to invade the Soviet Union. This plan went against the previous agreement with Stalin, the Hitler Stalin Pact. In this pact, Hitler vowed that he would not attack the Soviet Union.
 * 2) On June 22, 1941 Hitler officially invaded the Soviet Union. He did this by moving his tanks into the Soviet territory.
 * 3) The Soviet Union was caught by complete surprise, and they were not prepared.
 * 4) After a few weeks, Germany had gained 500 miles of the Soviet Union. It was not looking good for the Soviet Union.
 * 5) As the Soviet union people and troops retreated, they used the scorched earth method. This meant that they destroyed everything between the enemy and the Soviet troops. This put Germany at a great disadvantage because they did not have any resources. Although many people died, they would not surrender.
 * 6) Hitler put the city of Leningrad under seige. This meant that he surrounded the city, and would not let the people leave. He planned on starving the people until they surrendered.
 * 7) Hitler then moved to Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union.
 * 8) As winter approached, the weather got really bad. The German armies were not equipped with winter clothes, but Hitler would not let them retreat. FInally, in March of 1943, the Germans retreated due to the weather.


 * [[image:whsww2pd3:Bongi2.jpg caption="Soldiers fighting in the dead of Winter"]] ||
 * Soldiers fighting in the dead of Winter ||

Winner The clear winner of this battle was the Soviet Union. They refused to give up and surrender, even though they did not have food or resources. Eventually, they pushed Hitler out of their country.
 * [[image:whsww2pd3:Bongi3.jpg caption="A reinactment of the seige"]] ||
 * A reinactment of the seige ||

Signifiance This battle was a significant battle throughout the course of World War II. Once Hitler invaded Russia, he clearly isolated his country. This was his biggest mistake as a military general. The Soviet Union had the largest army in Europe, and he had turned them against him. Since the Soviet Union proved that they were able to stand up to Hitler, they proved they could win the war. This battles indicates a turning point in the war.

First Hand Account I was just a little girl when the Seige of Leningrad took place. It was a very scary event for me regardless of my age. Throughout the battle, death and fear surrounded me. While we were under siege, we were rarely allowed to go out of our homes. The Germans were bombing us constantly. First, the bombed the factories and the fields so we were unable to get food to survive. Next, the began bombing innocent civilians. We were so hungry we began eating anything we could find. We ate cows, horses, cats and dogs. We were desperate for food. Many people were mixed with emotions the day Stalin announced the siege was over. Sadness swept throughout the land mourning the people who had been lost in the past year, but relief was felt by all due to the end of the siege.

Primary Source Tanya Savicheva was 12 years old when she experienced the Seige of Leningrad. Her diary provides both facts and feels about her experiences. Check out pictures and excepts from her diary HERE.

MLA citation Beck, Roger B.. et. al. //World History: Patterns of Interaction//. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2009. Print. = =