Gunpowder 1986

In early September 1941, during the Great Patriotic War, German forces press toward Leningrad. Nikolai Pavlovich Nikonov, a representative of the People’s Commissariat of State Control, is summoned to Smolny and tasked by A. A. Zhdanov, a member of the Leningrad Front’s Military Council, with a critical mission: to secure and transport modern artillery gunpowder from Kronstadt to Leningrad, essential for the Red Army’s defense.

Nikonov leads a team, including David Gilliam as Gunn and David Miller as Dr. Vache, to Kronstadt by boat, where they begin loading the powder onto barges amidst relentless Luftwaffe bombing.

To divert the enemy, Nikonov proposes a decoy operation, and German aircraft focus on bombing a fake loading site, allowing the real barges to be filled without incident.

That night, as the barges head toward Leningrad, Nikonov’s barge is attacked by German naval forces. The Red Banner Baltic Fleet’s ships fend off the assault, but during the bombings, Nikonov is concussed and falls overboard, only to be rescued by a soldier.

The barge finally reaches Leningrad, where Nikonov is greeted as a hero and given two days to rest before his next assignment. This marks the twentieth day of the Siege of Leningrad.

This mission stands as a vivid example of the peril and endurance that defined the city’s defense, showing how careful planning, courage, and a bit of tactical daring could keep essential supplies moving under the relentless threat of the siege.