ON THE LENINGRAD FRONT    By the end of January Soviet troops restored Leningrad's land link with the rest of the country. Until then the besieged city had been connected with the rest of the country by the "Road of Life" across the Ladoga Lake. In winter the road ran on ice and in summer cargoes were carried by ship. The 8-11 kilometer wide land corridor established by Soviet troops restored the city's communication with the country. In appreciation for their courage about 22 thousand soldiers were awarded medals. 25 soldiers were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.       ON THE MOSCOW FRONT   By early August the frontline ran 250-300 kilometers from Moscow. From August 7th to October 2nd -- during the Smolensk campaign - Soviet troops advanced 200-250 kilometers westwards. On September 25th Soviet troops liberated Smolensk. More than 135 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in Smolensk during the Nazi occupation and in battles, more than 87 thousand had been transported to Germany as slave labour. All industrial enterprises had been destroyed. Early in October the Soviet Army entered Eastern Belorussia. On November 25th Soviet forces liberated Gomel, a regional center in Belorussia. About 100 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in the city during the Nazi occupation.    ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT   From November 1942 to early March Soviet troops advanced 600-700 kilometers westward and liberated more than 480 thousand square kilometers of the territory. By February 4th Soviet troops liberated a considerable part of the Caucasus. By early October the Battle for the Caucasus ended with the liberation of Novorossiisk. Soviet forces had driven the enemy out of about 200 thousand square kilometers. About 600 thousand people were awarded the Medal for the Defense of the Caucasus. In January Soviet troops routed the Voronezh group of the German troops. In February Soviet troops knocked the enemy out of Kursk. 3 thousand civlians had been shot, 10 thousand had died from epidemics and hunger and 10 thousand had been transported as slave labour to Germany during the occupation. On February 9th Soviet troops liberated Belgorod. On February 14th Soviet troops liberated Rostov-on Don. 40 thousand civilians had been killed by the Nazis, 53 thousand had been transported to Germany. All industrial enterprises had been destroyed. In March a German counter-offensive made Soviet forces leave several of the recently-liberated districts in Donbass and the cities of Kharkov and Belgorod. The Soviet troops retreated 100-150 kilometers. THE BATTLE OF KURSK The Battle of Kursk that caught the attention of the whole world lasted from July 5th to August 24th. Taking part in the battle were more than 4 million people, over 69 thousand guns and mortars, more than 13 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces and up to 12 thousand combat aircraft. On July 12 the biggest head-on tank clash in the Second World War took place near the village of Prokhorovka. Up to 1200 tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces participated in the battle from both sides. During the battle that lasted one day the enemy lost over 10 thousand people and up to 400 tanks. As a result, the German troops failed to seize Kursk from the south. In July-August Soviet troops began an offensive from Kursk in two directions: northwards - to the city of Orel and southwards - to the cities of Belgorod and Kharkov. During the Battles of Kursk and Orel the Soviet pilot - First Lieutenant A.P.Maresiev - continued to fly his fighter plane even after he had had both legs amputated. He was made Hero of the Soviet Union. On August 5th Soviet troops drove the enemy out of Orel and Belgorod. More than 11 thousand people had been killed by the Nazis in Orel and more than 20 thousand had been transported as slave labour to Germany. On August 24th Soviet troops liberated Kharkov. According to preliminary information, about 300 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed by the Nazis in the city and its region, about 160 thousand had been transported to Germany. Moscow marked the liberation of Kharkov with fireworks and gun-salute. More than 100 thousand Soviet soldiers, officers and generals were awarded with orders and medals in appreciation for their courage during the Battle of Kursk. 180 people were made Heroes of the Soviet Union. By the second half of September September Soviet troops had liberated Donbass - the main coal field in the European part of the Soviet Union. More than 167 thousand civilians had been killed by the Nazis in Donbass's main city - Stalino. By September Soviet troops had liberated almost the whole of Eastern Ukraine and reached the left bank of the Dnieper River. On November 6th Soviet troops liberated the Ukrainian capital Kiev. More than 195 thousand Soviet citizens had been executed in the city during the Nazi occupation. More than 100 thousand had been transported to Germany. On December 22nd the Battle for the Dnieper was over. Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper and established a bridgehead on its right bank.   _____________________________________________________________________ 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945       With the use of photos from the book "Great Patriotic War in Photos and Films".