8. Becoming known afterward as the “Little Stalingrad of the North”, more than 150,000 individuals lost their lives during the retaking of the Russian city of Velikiye Luki during the winter of 1943-1944
Executed by members of the Red Army’s Kalinin Front as part of the wider Operation Mars, the Velikiye Luki Offensive was launched on November 19, 1943. Designed to recapture the eponymous city, initially seized by the Wehrmacht on July 19, 1941, as part of Operation Barbarossa, Velikiye Luki was regarded as an important strategic asset, possessing a north-south railroad as well as a separate railway network and overseeing an assortment of bridges. Heavily fortified by the Germans, as a result, the Soviet offensive, unable to simply advance, successfully sought to encircle the city and cut off land routes to isolate the enemy.
Refusing the chance for an early breakout by Hitler, the garrison was ordered to hold at all costs whilst a relief force sought to counter-attack from the south to break the encirclement. Resulting in an escalation of soldiers on both sides, the Soviets repeatedly sought to breach the city despite fighting against entrenched troops in harsh winter and precipitating major casualties. Nevertheless, suffering depletion in supplies and ammunition, following repeated failed attempts to break the encirclement, the German garrison was forced to surrender on January 16, 1944. Suffering a combined total exceeding 150,000 casualties, the liberation and captured transport network exposed critical German lines to further encirclement and flanking.