 Approximately two weeks later, the Red Army regained control of the Moscow–Leningrad railway, and on Joseph Stalin declared that the Siege of Leningrad was lifted, and that German forces were expelled from the Leningrad Oblast.The lifting of the 900-day-long blockade was celebrated in Leningrad on that day with a 324-gun salute.The strategic offensive ended a month later on 1 March, when Stavka ordered the troops of the Leningrad Front to a follow-on operation across the Narva River, while the 2nd Baltic was to defend the territory it gained in pursuit of the German XVI Army Corps.