The contribution of the Totenkopf Division to the battles south of Leningrad has been mentioned earlier, but it was not the only Waffen-SS division assigned to the sector. The Polizei Division had been committed to fighting around Lake Ilmen during the autumn of 1941. It saw heavy fighting in this sector as the Soviet winter offensive was unleashed in November and December. In late January 1942, the Soviet Second Shock Army launched a major offensive to punch through to Leningrad by opening a breach in the German line north of Novgorod. As well as relieving Leningrad, it was hoped that thousands of German troops would also be trapped by this manoeuvre.

Destroying the Second Shock Army

After a good start, 30,000 Soviet cavalrymen broke through the German lines and 70,000 infantrymen soon followed to form a 64km (40-mile) salient. The advance guard of the relief force was only 97km (60 miles) from Leningrad when the Germans struck back. Eight German divisions, including the Polizei, were soon pulled out of the line and sent to seal off the Russian incursion. By 15 March, the Germans were ready to go back on the offensive and the Polizei Division led an assault group to cut the supply line of the Second Shock Army. In freezing weather the Waffen-SS men were able to close the gap on 20 March, trapping 100,000 Russians in a desolate winter wasteland. The Russians still had plenty of fight left in them, and had soon opened a new supply route to their troops over a frozen lake. When the thaw began in April, the Second Shock Army was trapped. The Waffen-SS troops joined forces with army troops to close a tight ring around the Russians, who were now running short of food, ammunition and medical supplies. The agony of the Second Shock Army lasted until July 1942, when the Germans finally snuffed out all resistance. There was one last mass escape attempt by the trapped troops, which allowed thousands of Russians to get to freedom. Out of the 100,000 who joined the battle in January, more than 55,000 were killed or captured. The latter included the Second Shock Army's commander, Lieutenant-General Andrei Vlasov. He would later help Himmler recruit an army of Russians to fight the Soviets.

The Siniavino Offensive

During the summer, the Russians turned their attention to the shortest land route to Leningrad by punching a corridor through the German-occupied Siniavino salient, which brought Nazi forces to the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. The Polizei Division, fresh from its successes against the Second Shock Army, had been brought up to man a key siege line along the Neva River, south of Leningrad. Foreign Waffen-SS volunteers from the Dutch legion, Flemish legion, Norwegian legion and two Latvian battalions were also now in action on the Leningrad Front, fighting on a number of sectors with varying degrees of success.

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