Siege of Leningrad, January 1943. Leningrad was encircled and besieged by the Germans from September 8 1941. In January 1943, the city's defenders and troops of the Volkhov Front launched a combined offensive known as Operation Spark. After fierce fighting, the two Russian armies linked up and established a land bridge via which Leningrad's starving inhabitants could be supplied. But the siege was not completely broken for another year. The photographer is unknown.