in June 1941 Finland’s army, reequipped by Hitler, joined the assault on the Soviet Union. German troops thrust from northern Norway to reach positions within thirty miles of Murmansk. The Finns showed no enthusiasm for advancing much beyond their 1939 frontier, but on 15 September, with their aid the Germans completed the encirclement of Leningrad. The ensuing siege of the city—the tsars’ St. Petersburg, with its elegant avenues, baroque palaces and seaside quays—became an epic that continued for more than two years. It assumed a character unique in its horror, and cost its defenders and
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