Reconstruction of World War II battle in Tosno area of Leningrad to brake Leningrad Blockade. Pictured: vehrmacht tankist The Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation by the Axis powers to capture Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) during World War II. The siege started on 8 September 1941, when the last land connection to the city was severed. Although the Soviets managed to open a narrow land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943, the total lifting of the siege took place on 27 January 1944, 872 days after it began. The Siege of Leningrad was one of the longest and most destructive sieges of a major city in modern history and it was the third most costly in terms of casualties, after the World War II battles of Berlin and Stalingrad. The capture of Leningrad was one of three strategic goals in Hitler`s initial plan, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, for invading and conquering the Soviet Union. Hitler`s strategy was motivated by Leningrad`s political status as the former capital of Russia and the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution, its military importance as a main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and its industrial strength, housing numerous arms factories.