Caspian Transport Corridor in the period of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945)

Annotation

The topic of assessing the assistance provided to the USSR during the Great Patriotic War by the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition is an urgent scientific task. The article analyzes the role of the Caspian Transport Corridor in 1941–1945. This was one of the routes along which lend-lease cargo was delivered to the USSR. The Caspian Transport Corridor was part of the Persian (Trans-Iranian, Southern) route connecting Iranian ports with the Soviet ports of Astrakhan, Guryev, and Makhachkala. This route acquired particular importance in the summer of 1942 when the railways connecting the Caucasus with the European part of Russia were cut by the enemy. The Caspian Sea route became the most important waterway through which not only cargo from the allies was delivered but also oil, weapons, food, medicine, and the evacuation of people were carried out. The USSR government took active measures to protect Caspian communications. The forces of the Caspian military flotilla ensured the safety of maritime transport including the protection of the Astrakhan sea roadstead where cargo was transferred from sea vessels to river vessels. A transport blockade of the Caspian by the enemy would have paralyzed the supply of the front and rear which would have led to a catastrophe since oil and lend-lease supplies coming through the Caspian corridor were vital for the country's military industry.

Keywords

• Caspian route
• Caspian transport corridor
• lend-lease
• Persian transport route
• Great Patriotic War
• Iran
• allies
• Caspian military flotilla
• Trans-Iranian transport route
• World War II
• Volga
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