[11] Benefiting from the disorder, the Soviet 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions supported by the 98th Tank Regiment assaulted the positions of the "Nordland" Division seizing the eastern side of the Lastekodumägi. "Combat in Estonia in 1944". [27] Soviet tanks broke through in the southeastern section of the front as the Estonian assault team commanded by Hauptsturmführer Oskar Ruut, the 11th Infantry Division (consisting of personnel from East Prussia) and the 300th Special Purpose Division repelled them while suffering heavy casualties. (On the Heights of Sinimäed: How It Actually Was)" (in Russian)). The eastern hill was known to Estonians as the Lastekodumägi (Orphanage Hill; Kinderheimhöhe in German). Each of them began with a massive artillery barrage and ended with a German counterattack, restoring the previous positions. The gaps created in the attacking infantry and tank line by the German artillery did not stop the Soviet advance. V. Rodin (5 October 2005). The most severe battles took place between 27 and 30 July. The Germans have called the position the Tannenberg Line invoking the memory of the German victory over the Russians at the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914. Running out of ammunition, the German troops used Soviet grenades and automatic weapons taken from the fallen. On 10 August the leaders of the Red Army decided to end the attacks on the Sinimäed Hills. The Battle of Tannenberg Line (German language: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; Estonian language: Sinimägede lahing, View from the summit of the Grenaderimägi towards Lastekodumägi hill, After defending the Narva bridgehead for six months, the German forces fell back to the Tannenberg Line in the hills of Sinimäed (Russian: Синие горы) on 26 July 1944. Die deutsche Seite stellte hierbei 153.000 Mann, die russische Seite 191.000 Soldaten ins Feld. The crushing defeat occurred barely a month into the conflict, but it became emblematic of the Russian Empire’s experience in … [5][7] The headquarters of the newly arrived Flemish 6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Langemarck were destroyed and almost all of their officers wounded. The Battle of Tannenberg Line (German: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; Estonian: Sinimägede lahing; Russian: Битва за линию «Танненберг») was a military engagement between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front. On 2 August Harald Riipalu`s battle group (parts of the 45th Estonian SS Regiment and 113th Security Regiment) foiled a breakthrough attempt by the Red Army at Putki. The counterattack by the headquarters guards company was repelled and Obersturmbannführer Hans Collani, seeing a Soviet tank from his headquarters doorstep, shot himself dead. They suffered heavy casualties, but ordered an air and artillery assault aimed at destroying the withdrawing German units. The final forceful attack by the Red Army took place on 5 August. His observations turned out to be erroneous as Steiner ordered the last German tanks from the reserve (they were commanded by Paul-Albert Kausch), into the battle. [8], On 14 September, the Riga Offensive was launched by the Soviet 1st, 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts. The Sinimäed Hills passed from one side to the other many times. There are about 20 000 buried in the Red Army cemeteries in the same region. They used their 122 mm guns to fire directly at the strong points showing any signs of life and destroyed the remaining bunkers. In the front from Putki along the Narva River to Lake Peipsi – the 300th Special Duty Division Staff, under which were subordinated the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th Estonian Border Defence Regiments. Battle of Tannenberg Line. J.J.Fedorowicz, Winnipeg, A.Aasmaa (1999). The Battle of Tannenberg Line (German: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; Estonian: Sinimägede lahing; Russian: Битва за линию «Танненберг») was a military engagement between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for the strategically important Narva Isthmus from 25 July to 10 August 1944. Das Heer des Deutschen Ordens unter Hochmeister Ulrich von Jungingen sowie Aufgebote der preußischen Landstände und eine unbekannte … [19] The Soviets were forced to retreat from the Grenaderimägi Hill. The hills are less than imposing and resemble gently sloping mounds rather than defensible heights. The Soviets had anticipated the attack and had moved their self-propelled anti-aircraft units to the Lastekodumägi. [7] With artillery fire preventing any reinforcements sent in from the German rear, the Soviet 8th Army went on the attack and drove a wedge into the north flank of the 11th Infantry Division. Frustrating this plan was the Russians' lack of a good quality railroad network. [2][7] A meeting convened by von Scholz, laid the tactics for the implementation of the orders. As no successful breakthrough was made in the Sinimäed Hills, the Red Army was unable to establish control on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland and therefore Finland`s exit from the war was also delayed until the beginning of September. This is a sub-article to Battle of Narva (1944). Vesti. Behind them at the summit of the Grenadermägi, stood the "Nederland". Estonian State Archive, Fund 32. Survive the deadly battles by working together with your four man squad and utilizing your distinctive skills. [32], In the evening of 29 July, the army detachment "Narwa" counted 113–120 Soviet tanks destroyed, almost half of them in the battles of 29 July. By 1944 it was fairly routine practice for Stavka to assign its operating fronts new and more ambitious missions while the Soviet Armed Forces were conducting major offensive operations. The ver… They shot down several German bombers and afterwards turned their fire on the German infantry. [12] South from Lastekodumägi, the Soviet forces broke through the defense of the "Danmark" Regiment and seized control of most of the hill by night time. (Looking Back. [4] Steiner ordered an air assault using dive bombers from Tallinn Airport. ### ##### ##### run east to west. [7] The small number of German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and shortage of aeroplane fuel gave the Soviets massive air superiority. A series of follow-up battles (First Masurian Lakes) destroyed most of the First Armyas well and kept the Russians off balance until the spring of 1915. [7][28] Overall on 3 August, twenty Soviet tanks were destroyed. [5] The 8th Army received similar additions to their forces with the 112th and 117th Corps ordered to join the attacks. [34], Russian author G.F. Krivosheev, in his account "Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century", lists 665,827 casualties suffered by the Leningrad Front in 1944, 145,102 of them as dead, missing in action, or captured. An older map, but it checks out Spoiler. [12], In the morning of 27 July, the Soviet forces began another powerful artillery barrage toward the Sinimäed. "Sinimäed – kangelaste surmamäed (Sinimäed Hills – Hills of Death for Heroes" (in Estonian). Additionally, Russian trains operate… Sturmbannführer Wilhelm Rehmann left the battlefield, as Leutnant George D'Haese stepped in to bring the brigade back to combat-readiness. The Komsomol organiser, V.I. To the German's good fortune, Soviet intelligence overestimated the strength of the defenders to more than 60 tanks and 800 pieces of artillery[4] while in fact there were just one tank and 70–80 guns left at the Tannenberg Line. Kodukolle. F.I.Paulman (1980). The Eastern Front was the line of fighting that occurred along the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Russia. After the German counterattack, the tactical situation at the Tannenberg Line remained unclear. [7] The arrival of the German tanks came unexpectedly for the Soviet armor. [7], The morning of 29 July began with the preparatory artillery fire of 25,000 shells fired by the Soviets. On 17 September, the 3rd Baltic Front launched the Tallinn Offensive from the Emajõgi River Front joining Lake Peipus with Lake Võrtsjärv. Battle of Tannenberg Line is similar to these military conflicts: Narva Offensive (July 1944), Battle for Narva Bridgehead, Narva Offensive (15–28 February 1944) and more. While having a great psychological effect, the "Katyushas" or so-called "Stalin organs" were inaccurate, causing little damage to the well dug-in German troops. Battalions, 3rd Estonian subordinated to Bachmeier had 20 to 30 men each. [5], In the era of the Soviet Union, losses in the Battle of Tannenberg Line were not mentioned in Soviet sources. Though t… [4] On 1 August, no combat took place, as both parties reorganized their forces. The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the few decisive battles of the First World War. 109th Rifle Corps - Major General Ivan Alferov, 124th Rifle Corps Colonel Mikhail Papchenko, 21st Engineers Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Vasilkov, 112th Rifle Corps - Major General Filipp Solovev, 117th Rifle Corps - Major General Vasili Trubachev. [4] Despite its extreme strategic importance, the Battle of Narva wasn't the key and decisive battle of WWII, therefore, it is unclear why did the Soviet revived there the tool they hadn't used since 1942. Battle of Tannenberg. The 72nd Rifle Division assaulted the II. At the same time the German military leaders decided to abandon Narva in order to organize its front and strengthen its forces on other battlefronts, first and foremost in Belarus, where the Red Army was crushing the Mitte army group. [5][7][17], On 3 August, the Soviets made a stronger attempt with the preparatory artillery fire of 25,000–30,000 shells reaching the level of the attack of 29 July. [7] At a portion of the German 11th Infantry Division near the borough of Sirgala in the south, the Soviet tanks aimed to break through. [7], By noon on 29 July, the Soviet forces had almost seized control of the Tannenberg Line. From a strategic point of view, the battle, which was to become known as the Battle of Tannenberg, was not a key event on the Eastern Front during WWI, neither leading to the final defeat of the Russian Empire, nor even to an end to the Russian occupation of East Prussia. Simultaneously, the Soviet platoons were climbing up the Grenaderimägi under intensive German bombardment. On 29 July a battle group made up of members of the 1st Battalion of the 45th Estonian SS Regiment, led by Battalion Commander Paul Maitla, recaptured Grenaderi Hill. [2][7] Soviet infantry started climbing up the Grenaderimägi. The men of the "Nederland" who survived the artillery bombardment, retreated down the slopes of the Grenaderimägi pursued by the Soviet units. This is a sub-article to Battle of Narva.. During World War I the fortifications at the hills were part of Petrograd’s first line of defence. Juli des Jahres 1410 im Ordensland Preußen unweit der Orte Tannenberg und Grünfelde ausgefochten. [5][9], In the afternoon of 29 July, the Soviet forces made eight attempts to regain control of the Grenaderimägi. The forest on the Sinimäed Hills was entirely destroyed, with the trees cut down to a height of two–three metres. [5] The goal set by the War Council of the 2nd Shock Army was to break through the defense line of the III SS Panzer Corps at the Lastekodumägi, force their way to the town of Jõhvi in the west and reach the Kunda River by 1 August. The Soviet Air Force and artillery covered the German positions with bombs and shells, destroying most of the forest on the hills. Perhaps east significantlyp Russia's ally, the French accomplished their goals the Germans withdrew two corps frwai the western front priar to the Battle of the Marne. 023363 of the Head of the Political Department of the 2nd Shock Army on 30 July 1944. [18] After the counterattack, only one German Panther tank remained unscathed. Another front section manned by the East Prussians of the 11th Infantry Division was situated a few kilometres further south, against the 8th Army in the Krivasoo bridgehead. [7] According to some veterans, it appeared that low flying Soviet bombers were attempting to hit every individual German soldier jumping between craters, from time to time getting buried under the soil by the explosions of Soviet shells. The Soviet attack concentrated at the Lastekodumägi and the Danmark Regiment south of it. The strike from the Red Army’s artillery forces on 30 July was the greatest of the battle – about 30 000 shells and mines were fired. [4][14] On the western terrace of the Grenaderimägi, Kampfgruppe Bachmeier and the III.Battalion, 3rd Estonian kept resisting. With the last anti-tank gun of the "Langemarck" destroying the Soviet armoured force, the Soviets were denied a breakthrough. [2][7] Such reinforcements were beyond the capacities of Army Group North. Among the Soviet tank commanders, starshina S. F. Smirnov destroyed five German strong points. [26] When the artillery barrage ended, the freshly drafted II.Battalion, Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 46 (2nd Estonian) returned fire after inflicting severe casualties on the assaulting Soviets and counterattacked, reclaiming the Grenaderimägi. The platoon commanded by lieutenant Lapshin broke through to the top of the Grenaderimägi. For the 1944 battle in Estonia, see Battle of Tannenberg Line. Steiner placed them behind the westernmost Tornimägi hill in readiness positions. About 2 000 German soldiers who died or were killed between 24 July and 12 August 1944 are buried in cemeteries in Narva, Jõhvi and Toila. On the hills, the formations of Gruppenführer Felix Steiner's III SS (Germanic) Panzer Corps halted their withdrawal and moved into defensive positions. The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the most significant battles of World War I and especially important to the Eastern Front. [5] Soviet tank forces were also restored, with 104 armored vehicles at their command. By the night of 28 July, the battle had subsided. [5] Several troops of the Estonian Division stayed in Estonia. [7] During the night before 6 August, six tanks were knocked out. It was aimed at capturing Riga and cutting off Army Group North in Courland, western Latvia. [7][25] The report presented the false assertion that the Germans had captured the Grenaderimägi only on 30 July.[5]. EVTÜ, Saku, A.Aasmaa (1999). Karl Sulger (2002). The Allied battle plan prior to the war had been based on France and the United Kingdom halting the German armies in the West while the huge Russian armies could be organized and brought to the Eastern Front. On the western terrace of t… The 117th Rifle Corps stood ready to break through the last of the German defenses. The army detachment "Narwa" replaced its units with the less damaged detachments in the first days of August. 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