Naval
Infantry.
Heavy cruiser Maxim
Gorky at Leningrad 1942.
The Red Banner Baltic Fleet (Krasnoznamyonnyy Baltiyskiy Flot,
KBF) suffered heavy losses during the evacuation of Tallinn on
28/29 August, but by the beginning of the siege of Leningrad it
still had enough warships left to provide considerable naval
gunfire support to Soviet ground troops. The heavyweights were the
battleships Marat and October Revolution, each with 12 305mm guns
that could hurl 470kg high-explosive shells out to 24km, and the
heavy cruisers Kirov and Maxim Gorky, each with nine 180mm guns
that could fire 97kg shells out to 33km. Additionally, the
incomplete heavy cruiser Petropavlovsk (ex-Lutzow), purchased from
Germany in 1940, had two operational 8in. gun turrets. The KBF also
had seven operational Gnevny-class destroyers, as well as a number
of smaller warships. In addition, the KBF operated a railway
battery with four 180mm guns, as well as a naval test range near
Toksovo that had a single 406mm gun, a 356mm gun and two 305mm
guns. Once the Germans mined the Gulf of Finland, the KBF could not
risk moving around much and the fuel-oil shortage virtually
immobilized the largest warships. Nevertheless, even from their
anchorages the Soviet warships could bombard targets around Pushkin
and Krasnoye Selo. On the receiving end, the Germans found the
Soviet heavy naval gunfire discouraging but not very accurate.
Amazingly, less than 30 per cent of Soviet naval gunfire used an
observer - often it was just fired at area targets - which greatly
diminished its effectiveness. Yet the KBF fired over 25,000 rounds
against German ground troops during September 1941, which played a
major role in stopping the enemy's final lunge toward the city.
During the course of the siege of Leningrad, the KBF provided
over 125,000 sailors to fight in ground units, comprising nine
rifle brigades, one ski regiment, 38 separate battalions and 32
artillery batteries. The 1st Naval Rifle Brigade played a crucial
role in holding Leningrad in 1941 but was virtually destroyed,
while the 2nd, 5th and 6th naval rifle brigades helped to hold the
Oranienbaum bridgehead. The 4th Naval Rifle Brigade was tasked with
defending the ice road over Lake Ladoga in the winter of 1941/42
and spent virtually the entire winter on the ice.
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