GERMAN FURY, SOVIET HEROISM AND EPIC BATTLEFIELDS
April 26 ⇾ MAY 10
Private tour departures available all year round
DAY 1 to DAY 3 - Saint Petersburg (Leningrad)
Meet-and-greet at Saint Petersburg International Airport and introductory briefing about the region, the route and the set of rules to observe while travelling in post Soviet Russia.
We’ll spend the following days touring St. Petersburg aka Leningrad (we prefer the latter), mostly focussing on the wartime history of the city, as well as on its rich Soviet-era architectural and monumental legacy.
Siege of Leningrad: the Блокада Ленинграда (Blokada Leningrada) was a 872-day military siege of the city undertaken from the south by Nazi Germany and from the north by the Axis-allied Finnish Army. The siege began on 8 September 1941, when the Wehrmacht severed the last road to the city. Although Soviet forces managed to open a narrow land corridor to the city on 18 January 1943, the Red Army did not lift the siege until 27 January 1944. The blockade became one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, and possibly the costliest in casualties suffered. Some historians, from both the former Soviet Union and the West, classify it as genocide.
Meals and overnights in Saint Petersburg.
DAY 4 to DAY 6 - Moscow
Morning transfer by high-speed train to Moscow, the former capital of the Soviet Union and the current capital of the Russian Federation.
As we did in Saint Petersburg, we’ll devote the next two days to the city’s wide array of Soviet architectural gems, gargantuan monuments, splendid metro stations, unique socialist artworks, enchanting mosaics, and imposing WWII memorials commemorating the triumph of the Red Army in the Battle of Moscow.
Battle of Moscow: the Битва за Москву (Bytva za Moskvu) was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant battles on a 600-km wide sector of the Eastern Front. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow. The city was one of the primary military and political objectives for Axis forces in their invasion of the Soviet Union. The German strategic offensive, named Operation Typhoon, called for two pincer offensives simultaneously severing the Moscow–Leningrad railway from the north and advancing directly towards Moscow from the west. Initially, the Soviet forces conducted a strategic defence of the Moscow region by constructing three defensive belts, deploying newly raised reserve armies, and bringing troops from Siberia and the Soviet Far East. As the Nazi offensives were halted, a Soviet strategic counter-attack and smaller-scale operations forced the Wehrmacht back to its original positions further west. It was a major setback for the Third Reich, and the end of the idea of a quick German victory in the USSR.
Meals and overnights in Moscow.
DAY 7 - Tula
Early morning transfer to Tula, the provincial capital of the namesake oblast.
We’ll make a few stops en route to visit a selection of the most remarkable Soviet monuments amongst the many that are scattered along the road connecting Moscow to Tula.
We will arrive in Tula around lunch time and spend the rest of the day touring the rich Soviet legacy of the city and learning about the key role that Tula played during WWII.
Tula Hero City: during the World War II, the city was known for its massive production of armaments. Tula became the target of a German offensive between Friday, October 24 and December 5, 1941. The heavily fortified city held out, however, and the German Second Panzer Army was stopped before reaching Tula’s outskirts. The city secured the southern flank during the Battle of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was later awarded the title of Hero City in 1976.
Dinner and overnight in Tula.
DAY 8 - Kaluga and Bryansk
We have a long day ahead of us as we’ll first head for Kaluga, the cradle of space exploration, and then drive towards Bryansk.
Both Kaluga and Bryansk offer an abundant cornucopia of Soviet-era architecture, monumentalism and public art to their guests; Kaluga being more centred around the USSR’s endeavours in the field of cosmonautics, while Bryansk being more focussed on the celebration of its essential contribution to the strenuous defence of the Soviet Motherland against the invading German Army.
Battle of Bryansk: the Орловско-Брянская Oперация (Orlovsko-Bryanskaya Operatsiya) was a twenty-day battle conducted in October 1941 as a part of the overall Moscow campaign. Returning from the Kiev operation, Nazi General Heinz Guderian attacked in an unexpected direction capturing Bryansk and Oryol with few casualties thereby encircling two Soviet formations. A third Soviet formation was encircled by the Wehrmacht infantry north of Bryansk. However, the encircled Red Army units continued fighting, delaying the drive on Moscow for two weeks. This delay, as well as the casualties taken by the Wehrmacht liquidating the pockets contributed to the German collapse at the gates of Moscow. As a result of this battle, the Germans occupied Bryansk until they were expelled by the Red Army on 17 September 1943 as a part of the Smolensk Campaign. While he was recovering from injuries sustained in the battle, Red Army conscript Mikhail Kalashnikov began working on the firearm that would one day become the AK-47.
Dinner and overnight in Bryansk.
DAY 9 - Oryol and Kursk
Transfer to Oryol, a City of Military Glory—an honorary title bestowed upon the citizenry of Soviet cities, where soldiers had displayed courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic War, aka WWII.
We’ll spend the morning in Oryol, visiting the city’s most important Soviet and pre-Soviet sights, and then transfer to Kursk, a strategic city close to the Ukrainian border that entered into legend when a massive tank battle between the advancing Soviet Army and the retreating Wehrmacht was fought in its proximity.
Battle of Kursk: the Курская Битва (Kurskaya Bytva) was a colossal tank battle between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front during July and August 1943. The battle began with the launch of the German offensive Operation Citadel, on 5 July, which had the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks on its base from north and south simultaneously. After the German offensive stalled on the northern side of the salient, on 12 July the Soviets commenced their Kursk Strategic Offensive with the launch of Operation Kutuzov against the rear of the German forces in the northern side. On the southern side, the Soviets also launched powerful counterattacks the same day, one of which led to a large armoured clash, the Battle of Prokhorovka. On 3 August, the Soviets began the second phase of the Kursk Strategic Offensive with the launch of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev against the German forces in the southern side of the Kursk salient. Aware months in advance that the attack would fall on the neck of the Kursk salient, the Soviets built a defence in depth designed to wear down the German armoured spearhead. The Germans delayed the offensive while they tried to build up their forces and waited for new weapons, giving the Red Army time to construct a series of deep defensive belts and establish a large reserve force for counter-offensives. The battle was the final strategic offensive that the Germans were able to launch on the Eastern Front.
Dinner and overnight in Kursk.
DAY 10 To Day 11 - Voronezh
Morning transfer to Voronezh, an important transportation hub sitting on the Southeastern Railway, which connects European Russia with the Ural Mountains, Siberia, the Caucasus and Ukraine.
We’ll have an entire day to explore this large city of almost one million inhabitants that brims with history and culture. More specifically, our visit to Voronezh will follow the leitmotiv of our entire journey across Western Russia—retracing the dramatic and compelling history of the Great Patriotic War through its most significant sites, monuments and memorials.
Battle of Voronezh: the Воронежско-Ворошиловградская Oперация (Voronezhsko-Voroshilovgradskaya Operatsiya) was a battle fought in and around the strategically important city of Voronezh on the Don river, 450 km south of Moscow, from 28 June-24 July 1942, as opening move of the German summer offensive in 1942. The city was defended by the troops of the Soviet 40th Army. The German powerful armoured forces moved forward with little delay and the only natural barrier before the city was the Devitsa River, an arm of the Don running through Semiluki, a short distance to the west. For reasons that are unclear, the bridge over the Devitsa was not destroyed, and the German forces were able to sweep aside the defensive forces placed there and reach the outskirts of Voronezh on 7 July. The Soviets then mounted a successful counterattack and poured reserves into the city and a Stalingrad-like situation broke out, with the Nazis clearing the city street by street with flamethrowers with tanks giving fire support. The battle until 24 July, when the final Soviet forces west of the Don were defeated and Voronezh was captured. The Soviet forces recaptured the city in the Second Battle of Voronezh of 1943.
Dinner and overnight in Voronezh.
DAY 12 - Donbass
From Voronezh we’ll head south across the windswept steppes of the Donbass, a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia, which has recently become notorious because of the fratricidal conflict fought between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian local rebel forces.
We’ll stick to the uncontested Russian side of the region, well clear of the breakaway republics of the Ukrainian Donbass; if you are a journalist, however, we can assist you with permits, logistics and fixers — contact us for more information about our media tours.
On our rambling around (post) Soviet Donbass we will visit several USSR-era monuments and WWII memorial complexes while slowly heading south for the archetypical Soviet mining town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.
Donbass Campaign: the Донбасская Oперация (Donbasskaya Operatsiya) was a strategic operation of the Red Army on the Eastern Front of World War II with the goal to liberate the Donbass, one of the most important coal-mining areas in the USSR and beating heart of the Soviet industry. The swamping Soviet advance across the Donbass plains began on August 13, 1943 and on September 1, German troops had already begun to retreat along the entire front . On September 8, 1943, Soviet troops liberated Stalino, present-day Donetsk, the capital of the Donbass. During the withdrawal, Nazi commander Erich von Manstein ordered scorched earth actions, and Soviet partisans hampered the retreating German Army. As a result of the Soviet victory, the German Army had been forced to fall back more than 300 kilometres on the Panther–Wotan Line along the Dnieper, which was still under construction.
Dinner and overnight in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.
DAY 13 to DAY 14 - Volgograd (Stalingrad)
From Kamensk-Shakhtinsky we’ll head eastwards for Volgograd (Stalingrad), a heroic Soviet city that really needs no introduction: it was here, amid bombed out buildings and corpse-filled streets, that the spiralling course of WWII, aka the Great Patriotic War, was eventually changed for good.
En route to Stalingrad we’ll make two more Soviet stops en route to visit the impressive Tank Monument in Tatsinskaya and the awe-inspiring Unified Fronts Memorial near Kalach-na-Donu, erected to commemorate the meeting between the Soviet soldiers from the Southwestern Front and those who had just liberated Stalingrad during the Red Army counterattack near the city as part of Operation Uranus.
We’ll then devote the following day entirely to Stalingrad and the almost mythical namesake battle—the largest and deadliest in the history of mankind.
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring once famously said: a thousand years hence, every German will speak with awe of Stalingrad and remember that it was there that Germany put the seal on her victory; well, history proved him wrong as he didn’t reckon with the indomitable spirit of the Soviet people, who stalwartly and relentlessly fought for every single inch of their glorious motherland.
Besides enjoying an extensive tour through Stalingrad’s de-rigueur Soviet sights (Mamaev Kurgan Memorial Complex, Stalingrad Battle Panorama Museum, Alley of Heroes, Central Railway Station, Pavlov’s House, Lenin Square, Volgograd Hotel, Flour Mill, Stalingrad Planetarium), we’ll take also some time to experience less solemn but equally compelling facets of the city such as the colourful central bazaar and the melancholic city beach.
A vast plethora of modernist shapes, Soviet mosaics, and socialist-realist bass-reliefs will accompany us throughout our visit: an urban paradise for the art-and-architecture enthusiasts amongst us.
Just south of Stalingrad, we’ll also visit Lysaya Gora, home to a majestic obelisk commemorating yet another victory of the invincible Red Army, and Krasnoarmeysk, where we will stare in awe at a giant Lenin Statue towering above the entrance of the Volga-Don Canal and dwarfing even the nearby lighthouse.
Battle of Stalingrad: marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, the Сталинградская Битва (Stalingradskaya Bytva) was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated two million total casualties. After their defeat at Stalingrad, the German High Command had to withdraw considerable military forces from the Western Front to replace their losses. The German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intense Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The battle degenerated into house-to-house fighting, as both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the Volga River. On 19 November, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, a two-pronged attack targeting the weaker Romanian and Hungarian armies protecting the 6th Army's flanks. The Axis flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler was determined to hold the city at all costs and forbade the 6th Army from attempting a breakout; instead, attempts were made to supply it by air and to break the encirclement from the outside. Heavy fighting continued for another two months. At the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad, having exhausted their ammunition and food, surrendered after five months, one week and three days of fighting.
Meals and overnights in Volgograd.
DAY 15 - A FAREWELL TO ARMS
After having enjoyed a last Soviet meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Volgograd International Airport.
Do you wish to spend more time in Russia and explore further offbeat Soviet remnants? Get in touch for more info on our private tours around Russia!
End of the tour.
2995 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Russia (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
