Narva Offensive (July 1944)
Encyclopedia
This is a sub-article to Battle of Narva
.
The Narva Offensive was a campaign fought between the German army detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front
for the city of Narva
in 24–30 July 1944.
The Soviet breakthrough in Belorussia made the German Army Group North
withdraw a large portion of their troops from Narva to the central part of the Eastern Front
and to Finland
. As there were no more sufficient forces for the defence of the former front line at Narva in July, the army group began preparations for the withdrawal of their forces to the Tannenberg defence line at the Sinimäed Hills 16 kilometres from Narva. While the command of the Soviet Leningrad Front was unaware of the preparations, they designed the Narva Offensive. Shock troops from the Finnish front were concentrated near Narva, giving the Leningrad Front a 4:1 superiority both in manpower and equipment. Before the German forces had implemented the plan, the Soviet 8th Army
launched the offensive with an assault at Auvere
Railway Station. The Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 Estland (1st Estonian) and the 44th Infantry Regiment (which consisted in personnel from East Prussia
) repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses to the 8th Army. The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
and 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland stationed in Ivangorod
left their positions quietly on the night before 25 July. The evacuation was carried out according to Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner
's plans until the 2nd Shock Army
resumed the offensive in the morning of 25 July. Supported by 280,000 shells and grenades from 1,360 assault guns, the army crossed the river north of the town. The II.Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 46 (2nd Estonian) and II.Battalion, Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 47 (3rd Estonian) kept the 2nd Shock Army from capturing the highway behind the retreating Nordland and Nederland detachments. The defensive cost the loss of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 due to their tactical errors. The Soviet forces captured Narva on 26 July.
to propose a withdrawal of the army detachment "Narwa" and the 18th Army
to the line between Riga
and Daugavpils
400 kilometres south of Narva. The aim of the officers was to keep the battle front as short as possible and to use the available troops in the Ukraine. On 12 July, Infantry General Johannes Frießner the commander of the army group proposed the plan to Hitler whose reaction was to stand or die at the Narva Line. Simultaneously, the German Headquarters had intelligence data on the Leningrad Front preparing for the Narva Offensive. The Army Group North were out of reserves. Disregarding Hitler's order, Frießner ordered a new defensive line built, the Tannenberg Line (Tannenbergstellung), with the main defences located on the three Sinimäed Hills fifteen kilometres to the west of Narva. On 21 July, Frießner asked permission to withdraw to the prepared positions. As Hitler was afraid, the Finnish will of resistance would suffer from it, he informed the Finnish Chief of Defence
about his plans. Finding out that the withdrawal to a new line was not considered a problem by the Finnish side, Hitler gave the order to retreat. The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
was to evacuate along Narva–Tallinn
Highway. The 1st Estonian Regiment and the 44th Infantry Regiment were ordered to form the southern (left) rear guard
while the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian and the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian were to cover the highway from the north.
, two artillery brigades, the 328th Separate Heavy Artillery Division, four rocket artillery launcher regiments, the 760th Anti-Tank Regiment, and 62 armoured vehicles. The density of the assault guns in the northern sector was 160 per kilometre of front line. The two armies were to encircle and destroy the III SS Panzer Corps.
rocket artillery launchers, the Estonians went on a counter attack. The 44th Infantry Regiment was saved by the swift movement of artillery behind them clearing their previous positions from the Soviets. Forces of the 117th Rifle Corps reached the headquarters of the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment who still resisted by heavy machine-gun fire in circular defence. The support of the anti-tank weapons of the 14th Company, I.Battalion and the aid provided by the “Nordland“ Division helped to seize the main front line back to the control of the I.Battalion. Subsequent attempts by units of the 8th Army to break through were repelled in a similar way, causing them to loose 3,000 men and 18 tanks, compared to the loss of 800+ troops of the 11th Infantry Division.
bridgehead on the opposite bank of Narva. The Soviet 8th Army threatened to reach the Tannenberg Line before the German units. In the evening of 24 July, unnoticed by the Soviets, the Nederland Brigade and the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark quietly left their positions in the surroundings of Ivangorod. The Soviet scouts found out about the withdrawal while the Pioneer Battalion, Nordland Division were blowing up the bridge. By a mistake made by Günther Wanhoefer in charge of the Pioneer Battalion in placing the explosives, the bridge stayed intact. The Soviet attempt to cross the river was repelled by an improvised defence unit taking control of the Ivangorod side of the bridge again. Under their cover, Wanhoefer attached the explosives and after his defenders had withdrawn, blew the bridge up.
" and the anthem of the Soviet Union playing from the loudspeakers. The assault guns and the machine-guns of the Estonian battalions along with the dive bomber
s destroyed the first attempts of the 2nd Shock Army, until the Estonians ran out of ammunition. The focus of the Soviet attack drifted to the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment causing it to lose coordination and retreat to the estate of Peeterristi on the highway nine kilometres outside Narva. The 131st Rifle Division advanced towards the highway, as the 191st Rifle Division turned south towards Narva to cut the SS panzer corps out.
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane
had saved the unit from the Soviet bombardment by ordering them to dig into new trenches on the night before. Aiming at the II.Battalion's positions according to their data, the artillery of the 2nd Shock Army had hit empty trenches. Inflicting heavy casualties to the 191st Rifle Division, the II.Battalion stopped the Soviets from getting to Narva. As the 131st Rifle Division threatened to cut between the II.battalion, 3rd Estonian and the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian a further five kilometres to the west, Rebane shifted his front segment a kilometre towards the left (west) side and rounded them up to defend the highway by the estate of Olgina
. The battalion repulsed the Soviet assaults and caused great casualties to the 556th and 546th Rifle Regiments.
In the estate of Peeterristi, Major Friedrich Kurg reassembled the 180 troops remained of the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment to keep the 131st Rifle Division away from the highway and counter attacked. The 137-strong Luftflotte 1
was sent into the air to provide cover for the withdrawing III SS Panzer Corps. Despite their efforts, German aircraft were overwhelmed by the 800-plus 13th Air Army. Suffering the near destruction of the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian, the joint Estonian defence line with the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian four kilometres to the east held the Soviet attack, while the III SS Panzer Corps withdrew across the Narva Bridge to the Tannenberg Line. Behind them, the last troops of the SS panzer corps destroyed the highway with road destruction machinery.
The German units that failed to retreat on the agreed timetable, immediately faced heavy Soviet assaults. The main German casualty of the retreat to the Tannenberg Line were the 700 troops of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 General Seyffardt. In the night before 26 July, the regiment was the last to leave Narva, while the Soviets were already gaining control of the highway behind them and Soviet armoured vehicles were crossing the Narva bridge. The II.Battalion, SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 De Ruyter covering the retreat of the General Seyffardt, were rescued from encirclement by the I.Battalion, De Ruyter Regiment. Encircled in the swamps between the highway and the railway, the withdrawing General Seyffardt Regiment was pinned down by the ground-attack aircraft of the 13th Air Army and annihilated by the 191st Rifle Division.
The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was the Soviet attack on 29 July. The shock units of the two Soviet armies suppressed the German resistance on the Lastekodumägi, while the Soviet main forces suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenaderimägi Hill. The Soviet tanks encircled the Grenaderimägi and the westernmost Tornimägi hills. At the same time, Steiner sent out the remaining seven German tanks, which hit the surprised Soviet armoured forces back. This enabled the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment to launch a fierce counter attack led by Hauptsturmführer
Paul Maitla
, re-conquering the central Grenaderimägi to the hands of the multi-national unit in German uniforms. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the Narva Offensive, a few thousands had survived and he Soviet tank regiments were demolished.
With the aid of swift reinforcements, the 2nd Shock Army and 8th Army continued their attacks. The Stavka demanded the destruction of the army detachment "Narwa" and the capture of town of Rakvere
more than a hundred kilometres from Narva by 7 August. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troops by 2 August, while their numerous attempts pursuing unchanged tactics failed to break the multinational defence of the "Narwa". Govorov terminated the Soviet offensive at the Sinimäed Hills on 10 August.
Battle of Narva (1944)
The Battle of Narva was a military campaign between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus on 2 February – 10 August 1944 during World War II....
.
The Narva Offensive was a campaign fought between the German army detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
for the city of Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
in 24–30 July 1944.
The Soviet breakthrough in Belorussia made the German Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
withdraw a large portion of their troops from Narva to the central part of the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and to Finland
Fourth strategic offensive
The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet forces captured East Karelia and...
. As there were no more sufficient forces for the defence of the former front line at Narva in July, the army group began preparations for the withdrawal of their forces to the Tannenberg defence line at the Sinimäed Hills 16 kilometres from Narva. While the command of the Soviet Leningrad Front was unaware of the preparations, they designed the Narva Offensive. Shock troops from the Finnish front were concentrated near Narva, giving the Leningrad Front a 4:1 superiority both in manpower and equipment. Before the German forces had implemented the plan, the Soviet 8th Army
8th Army (Soviet Union)
The 8th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.The 8th Army was formed in October 1939 from the Novgorod Army Operational Group of the Leningrad Military District with the task of providing security of the Northwestern borders of the USSR. The 8th Army was a field...
launched the offensive with an assault at Auvere
Battle of Auvere
Battle of Auvere was a battle in Estonia, stating on July 20, 1944 and ending on July 25. It was a part of the World War II campaign in Narva....
Railway Station. The Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 Estland (1st Estonian) and the 44th Infantry Regiment (which consisted in personnel from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
) repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy losses to the 8th Army. The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, also known as Kampfverband Waräger, Germanische-Freiwilligen-Division, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 11 or 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, was a Waffen SS, Panzergrenadier division recruited from foreign volunteers...
and 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland stationed in Ivangorod
Ivangorod
Ivangorod is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the right bank of the Narva River by the Russian-Estonian border, west of St. Petersburg. Population: The town is known for the Ivangorod fortress....
left their positions quietly on the night before 25 July. The evacuation was carried out according to Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
's plans until the 2nd Shock Army
2nd Shock Army
The 2nd Shock Army was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to overcome difficult defensive dispositions in order to create a tactical penetration of sufficient breadth and...
resumed the offensive in the morning of 25 July. Supported by 280,000 shells and grenades from 1,360 assault guns, the army crossed the river north of the town. The II.Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 46 (2nd Estonian) and II.Battalion, Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 47 (3rd Estonian) kept the 2nd Shock Army from capturing the highway behind the retreating Nordland and Nederland detachments. The defensive cost the loss of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 due to their tactical errors. The Soviet forces captured Narva on 26 July.
German
The Soviet success in Belorussia and Ukraine brought the Oberkommando des HeeresOberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
to propose a withdrawal of the army detachment "Narwa" and the 18th Army
German Eighteenth Army
The 18th Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-World War I:The 18th Army was formed in 1918 by the German OHL and commanded by General Oskar von Hutier.-World War II:...
to the line between Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
400 kilometres south of Narva. The aim of the officers was to keep the battle front as short as possible and to use the available troops in the Ukraine. On 12 July, Infantry General Johannes Frießner the commander of the army group proposed the plan to Hitler whose reaction was to stand or die at the Narva Line. Simultaneously, the German Headquarters had intelligence data on the Leningrad Front preparing for the Narva Offensive. The Army Group North were out of reserves. Disregarding Hitler's order, Frießner ordered a new defensive line built, the Tannenberg Line (Tannenbergstellung), with the main defences located on the three Sinimäed Hills fifteen kilometres to the west of Narva. On 21 July, Frießner asked permission to withdraw to the prepared positions. As Hitler was afraid, the Finnish will of resistance would suffer from it, he informed the Finnish Chief of Defence
Chief of Defence (Finland)
The Chief of Defence is the Chief of Defence and commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, under the authority of the Commander in Chief, President of Finland. He commands the Finnish Army, the Finnish Air Force, the Finnish Navy and is assisted by the Defence Command...
about his plans. Finding out that the withdrawal to a new line was not considered a problem by the Finnish side, Hitler gave the order to retreat. The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
The III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The...
was to evacuate along Narva–Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
Highway. The 1st Estonian Regiment and the 44th Infantry Regiment were ordered to form the southern (left) rear guard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
while the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian and the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian were to cover the highway from the north.
Soviet
For the commencement of the Narva Offensive Operation on 24 July, most of the Soviet units and artillery were concentrated in the Krivasoo Bridgehead in the south. The Soviet operational goals were Auvere Railway Station and the borough of Sirgala placed north from the Soviet bridgehead. The first attack by the 8th Army was to be conducted by the 117th and the 122nd Rifle Corps. The rest of the 8th Army included the 124th and 112th Rifle Corps. Their goal was to break through the German defence of the railway station, while the 2nd Shock Army was to breach the defence of the III SS Panzer Corps stationed by the Narva River north of city. The 2nd Shock Army included the 131st and the 191st Rifle Divisions, the 109th Rifle Corps, the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps8th Estonian Rifle Corps
The 8th 'Estonian' Rifle Corps was a formation in the Soviet Army, created on 6 November 1942, during World War II. The 8th 'Estonian' Rifle Corps 1st...
, two artillery brigades, the 328th Separate Heavy Artillery Division, four rocket artillery launcher regiments, the 760th Anti-Tank Regiment, and 62 armoured vehicles. The density of the assault guns in the northern sector was 160 per kilometre of front line. The two armies were to encircle and destroy the III SS Panzer Corps.
Comparison of forces
The standing manpower in the Krivasoo Bridgehead was 46,385 Soviets attacking against the 17,100 German troops at the defence of Auvere station. Northwards from Narva, the situation was similar. The Soviet artillery had an eightfold superiority over its German counterpart. The Soviet air force consisted of 546 bombers against 49 German dive bombers. However, the Soviet headquarters were unaware of the recently constructed Tannenberg line, granting the army detachment "Narwa" an element of surprise.Auvere
In the morning of 24 July, the Soviet assault commenced with 30-50 batteries firing 17,000 shells and grenades (2,000 tons), inflicting significant casualties to the 1st Estonian Regiment stationed in the estate of Auvere and the 44th Infantry Regiment in the borough of Sirgala. After two hours of preparatory artillery fire, the two units were attacked by the 13th Air Army. Three German and eight Soviet bombers were shot down in the air combat. Under the artillery cover, the Soviet 122nd Rifle Corps and a tank brigade pierced into the East Prussian positions, while the 117th Rifle Corps encircled the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment who reformed themselves in a circular defence. Relieved by a company of the armoured Kausch’ Kampfgruppe and three NebelwerferNebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer was a World War II German series of weapons originally designed to deliver chemical weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's so-called Chemical Troops ...
rocket artillery launchers, the Estonians went on a counter attack. The 44th Infantry Regiment was saved by the swift movement of artillery behind them clearing their previous positions from the Soviets. Forces of the 117th Rifle Corps reached the headquarters of the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment who still resisted by heavy machine-gun fire in circular defence. The support of the anti-tank weapons of the 14th Company, I.Battalion and the aid provided by the “Nordland“ Division helped to seize the main front line back to the control of the I.Battalion. Subsequent attempts by units of the 8th Army to break through were repelled in a similar way, causing them to loose 3,000 men and 18 tanks, compared to the loss of 800+ troops of the 11th Infantry Division.
Withdrawal of III SS Panzer Corps
The Soviet attack at Auvere and Sirgala forced the III SS Panzer Corps to a hasty withdrawal from their positions in the IvangorodIvangorod
Ivangorod is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the right bank of the Narva River by the Russian-Estonian border, west of St. Petersburg. Population: The town is known for the Ivangorod fortress....
bridgehead on the opposite bank of Narva. The Soviet 8th Army threatened to reach the Tannenberg Line before the German units. In the evening of 24 July, unnoticed by the Soviets, the Nederland Brigade and the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark quietly left their positions in the surroundings of Ivangorod. The Soviet scouts found out about the withdrawal while the Pioneer Battalion, Nordland Division were blowing up the bridge. By a mistake made by Günther Wanhoefer in charge of the Pioneer Battalion in placing the explosives, the bridge stayed intact. The Soviet attempt to cross the river was repelled by an improvised defence unit taking control of the Ivangorod side of the bridge again. Under their cover, Wanhoefer attached the explosives and after his defenders had withdrawn, blew the bridge up.
2nd Shock Army landing across the Narva
In the morning of 25 July 1360 Soviet assault guns fired 280,000 shells and grenades at the positions of the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment and II.Battalion 3rd Estonian Regiment across the Narva River. The shock made the trenches collapse on both sides of the front line. After the artillery strike, the bombers and assault guns moved in to destroy the remaining strong points. The 131st and the 191st Rifle Corps were ordered to cross the river on boats and rafts, accompanied by "Svyaschennaya VoynaSvyaschennaya Voyna
Svyashchennaya Voyna was one of the most famous Soviet songs associated with the Second World War. It was written by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach in 1941 upon the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union...
" and the anthem of the Soviet Union playing from the loudspeakers. The assault guns and the machine-guns of the Estonian battalions along with the dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s destroyed the first attempts of the 2nd Shock Army, until the Estonians ran out of ammunition. The focus of the Soviet attack drifted to the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment causing it to lose coordination and retreat to the estate of Peeterristi on the highway nine kilometres outside Narva. The 131st Rifle Division advanced towards the highway, as the 191st Rifle Division turned south towards Narva to cut the SS panzer corps out.
Defence of III SS Panzer Corps' withdrawal
The Soviet advance to Narva was faced by the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian Regiment deployed by the Narva River. SS-ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane
Alfons Rebane
Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane, known simply as Alfons Rebane was an Estonian military commander. He was the most highly decorated Estonian military officer in the course of the Second World War, serving in various German military units against the armed forces of the Soviet Union.After World War...
had saved the unit from the Soviet bombardment by ordering them to dig into new trenches on the night before. Aiming at the II.Battalion's positions according to their data, the artillery of the 2nd Shock Army had hit empty trenches. Inflicting heavy casualties to the 191st Rifle Division, the II.Battalion stopped the Soviets from getting to Narva. As the 131st Rifle Division threatened to cut between the II.battalion, 3rd Estonian and the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian a further five kilometres to the west, Rebane shifted his front segment a kilometre towards the left (west) side and rounded them up to defend the highway by the estate of Olgina
Olgina
Olgina is a small borough in Vaivara Parish, Ida-Viru County in northeastern Estonia....
. The battalion repulsed the Soviet assaults and caused great casualties to the 556th and 546th Rifle Regiments.
In the estate of Peeterristi, Major Friedrich Kurg reassembled the 180 troops remained of the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment to keep the 131st Rifle Division away from the highway and counter attacked. The 137-strong Luftflotte 1
Luftflotte 1
Luftflotte 1 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed February 1, 1939 from Luftwaffengruppenkommando 1 in Berlin...
was sent into the air to provide cover for the withdrawing III SS Panzer Corps. Despite their efforts, German aircraft were overwhelmed by the 800-plus 13th Air Army. Suffering the near destruction of the II.Battalion, 2nd Estonian, the joint Estonian defence line with the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian four kilometres to the east held the Soviet attack, while the III SS Panzer Corps withdrew across the Narva Bridge to the Tannenberg Line. Behind them, the last troops of the SS panzer corps destroyed the highway with road destruction machinery.
The German units that failed to retreat on the agreed timetable, immediately faced heavy Soviet assaults. The main German casualty of the retreat to the Tannenberg Line were the 700 troops of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 General Seyffardt. In the night before 26 July, the regiment was the last to leave Narva, while the Soviets were already gaining control of the highway behind them and Soviet armoured vehicles were crossing the Narva bridge. The II.Battalion, SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 De Ruyter covering the retreat of the General Seyffardt, were rescued from encirclement by the I.Battalion, De Ruyter Regiment. Encircled in the swamps between the highway and the railway, the withdrawing General Seyffardt Regiment was pinned down by the ground-attack aircraft of the 13th Air Army and annihilated by the 191st Rifle Division.
Result
In general, the withdrawal was completed according to the Steiner's plans. The De Ruyter Regiment started digging in on the left (northern) flank of the Tannenberg Line, the units of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) in the centre, and the Nordland Division on the right (southern) flank. The Red Army captured Narva, ending the six-month struggle for the city. While the Soviets celebrated victory, their strategic goal – the encirclement of the III SS Panzer Corps and the destruction of Army Group North – remained unreached.Aftermath
The Soviet vanguard 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions attacked the Tannenberg Line and conquered a part of the easternmost of the three hills, the Lastekodumägi. An anti-tank unit of the Danmark Regiment returned the hill to the hands of the army detachment "Narwa" in the following night. Subsequent attempts of the Soviet tanks to conquer the hills were repulsed by the III SS Panzer Corps on the following day. The SS Reconnaissance Battalion 11 and the ferocious counter attack of the I.Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment 47 (3rd Estonian) at the night before 28 July, subsequently collapsed under the Soviet tank fire while the I.Battalion was destroyed. In a pitched battle, carried into the next day without a break, the Soviet 2nd Shock Army and 8th Army forced the "Narwa" into new positions at the central of the three hills, the Grenaderimägi.The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was the Soviet attack on 29 July. The shock units of the two Soviet armies suppressed the German resistance on the Lastekodumägi, while the Soviet main forces suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenaderimägi Hill. The Soviet tanks encircled the Grenaderimägi and the westernmost Tornimägi hills. At the same time, Steiner sent out the remaining seven German tanks, which hit the surprised Soviet armoured forces back. This enabled the I.Battalion, 1st Estonian Regiment to launch a fierce counter attack led by Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Paul Maitla
Paul Maitla
Paul Maitla was an Estonian military commander. He is one of the four Estonian soldiers who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, re-conquering the central Grenaderimägi to the hands of the multi-national unit in German uniforms. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the Narva Offensive, a few thousands had survived and he Soviet tank regiments were demolished.
With the aid of swift reinforcements, the 2nd Shock Army and 8th Army continued their attacks. The Stavka demanded the destruction of the army detachment "Narwa" and the capture of town of Rakvere
Rakvere
Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the county seat of Lääne-Viru County, 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland.-History:The earliest signs of human settlement dating back to the 3rd-5th centuries AD have been found on the present theatre hill. Probably to protect that settlement, a wooden...
more than a hundred kilometres from Narva by 7 August. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troops by 2 August, while their numerous attempts pursuing unchanged tactics failed to break the multinational defence of the "Narwa". Govorov terminated the Soviet offensive at the Sinimäed Hills on 10 August.