The defensive battles of the Red Army of 1941 are traditionally divided into many operations. In one of them, the Tikhvin defensive operation, which had already grown in 1941 into the Tikhvin offensive operation, the presence on the river Volkhov and Lake Ilmen armed flotilla was of great importancer. Unfortunately, only encyclopedic articles are devoted to the Volkhov's rivermen and their participation in the war. Based on scattered information, the combat route of the Ilmen Flotilla that

more »

... ed during the defensive battles of 1941 was restored. The ship's composition of the flotilla was established, and the biography of the vessels was traced. It was shown that the tasks of the flotilla were mainly to evacuate people and property, as well as repel attacks by German aircraft. In connection with the retreat of the Soviet army, individual flotilla vessels entered the Ladoga flotilla and other formations.