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WWII On This Day: September 13

What happened on September 13 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1941 and 1942, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1941
Soldiers of the Leningrad Front in trenches before an offensive, 1 September 1941. Used for the opening phase of the siege rather than as a same-day photograph of Mga or Shlisselburg.
Soldiers of the Leningrad Front in trenches before an offensive, 1 September 1941. Used for the opening phase of the siege rather than as a same-day photograph of Mga or Shlisselburg. RIA Novosti archive #58228 / Vsevolod Tarasevich · CC BY-SA 3.0 Source
The Siege of Leningrad

Zhukov takes over the city's immediate defence

Georgy Zhukov replaced Kliment Voroshilov as Leningrad Front commander during the crisis on the southern approaches. The defence concentrated around Pulkovo, Kolpino, the Neva and the Oranienbaum bridgehead while Baltic Fleet personnel and artillery reinforced the land front.

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1942
Red Army soldiers carrying a Soviet flag through the ruins of Stalingrad in 1943.
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R76619 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · Source
Battle of Stalingrad

Sixth Army opens the main assault on central Stalingrad

German divisions attacked into central Stalingrad on 13 September toward Mamayev Kurgan, the railway station and the Volga landing areas. LI Corps sought to break through the Soviet centre, split 62nd Army’s bridgehead and reach the river crossings before the defenders could reinforce them. The attack drove Soviet units back through the central districts and brought German infantry close to the Volga in several places. Railway embankments, ruined blocks and the slopes of Mamayev Kurgan divided the advance into separate fights, while Soviet artillery continued firing from across the river.…

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