Oranienbaum Bridgehead

The Oranienbaum bridgehead is an area on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland near the town of Lomonosov, cut off from the main Soviet forces during the Great Patriotic War. In September 1941, units of the 8th Army and the naval infantry brigade stopped the German Army Group "North" here, holding a territory of 60 by 25 kilometers. The supply of the bridgehead, where in January 1942 there were 19,000 Red Army soldiers against 50,000 German soldiers, was carried out only across the Gulf of Finland from Kronstadt and Leningrad. In January 1944, the 2nd Shock Army transferred here went on the offensive, linking up with the troops advancing from Leningrad.