61st Infantry Division, was supposed to hold the corridor between Workers Settlements Nos. 1 and 5 but was no longer able to do it. Later that day the Soviet forces captured Workers Settlement No. 5 after repelling a strong German counterattack. The lead elements from the 67th Army's 136th Rifle Division and 2nd Shock Army's 18th Rifle Division linked up to the north of the settlement at 11:45. Group Huhner became cut off too and was ordered to break out through the forested area toward Siniavino before the main Soviet forces arrived and made a breakout impossible. Group Huhner abandoned its artillery and heavy equipment and ran "the gauntlet of fire" before reaching Siniavino on 19 January. The breakout was costly for both sides. By early afternoon, the Soviet forces cleared Shlisselburg and Lipka of German forces and started liquidating the forces remaining in the forests south of Lake Ladoga. From 19 to 21 January, the Soviet forces eliminated the encircled German forces and tried to expand their offensive southward towards Siniavino. However, the 18th Army significantly reinforced its positions there with the SS Police, 21st Infantry, and soon after the 11th Infantry and 28th Jäger Divisions. The Soviet forces captured Workers Settlement No. 6 but were unable to advance any further. Front line stabilises, railway construction There were no changes in the front line after 21 January as a result of Operation Iskra. The Soviet forces were unable to advance any further, and instead started fortifying the area to thwart any German attempt at re-establishing the blockade. On 21 January, work started on the rail line linking Leningrad to the rest of the country through the captured corridor. The plan from the State Defense Committee written on 18 January, ordered the construction to be finished in 20 days. The work was completed ahead of schedule and trains began delivering supplies on 6 February. The operation officially ended on 30 January. Aftermath Operation Iskra was a strategic victory for the Soviet forces. From a military perspective, the operation eliminated the possibility of the capture of the city and a German–Finnish link up, as the Leningrad Front was now very well supplied, reinforced and able to co-operate more closely with the Volkhov Front. For the civilian population, the operation meant that more food was able to reach the city, as well as improved conditions and the possibility of evacuating more civilians