This strategic value was certainly not lost on Czar Peter the Great when he captured the position from the Swedes in 1703 and promptly founded his new Capital nearby. The privileged overview of the bay provided by the island would inspire successive governments to fortify it and its surroundings so as to create an impenetrable barrier for hostile fleets wishing to descend on Saint Petersburg. The island of Kotlin, on which Kronstadt is situated, lay rather strategically right in the middle of Neva Bay, just over twenty kilometres from the Leningrad waterfront.

The bulk of the Soviet Baltic Fleet had to be relocated to the comforting and dissuasive defences of port Kronstadt as part of this desperate attempt to consolidate and grasp victory in a long, drawn-out engagement. The Soviet military command had made a strong effort to fortify this bastion of last resort after the German war machine had advanced at a frightening speed and with devastating efficiency through the Eastern front in the early stages of the war. Berlin knew all too well of its importance, for Leningrad (Now Saint Petersburg), the most important industrial centre and culturally symbolic city in Russia, was coming closer and closer to complete encirclement by the German army.

This was one of several aerial attacks carried out by the Luftwaffe on the Naval city of Kronstadt.

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