Riga Offensive (1944)
Encyclopedia
The Riga Offensive
The Riga Offensive (known in was part of the larger Baltic Offensive on the Eastern Front during World War II
. It took place late in 1944, and drove German forces from the city of Riga
.
coast in the beginning of their Tartu Offensive and at the end of the highly successful Belorussian Offensive
(Operation Bagration), during July and August 1944, and at one point had broken through to the Gulf of Riga
. During August, the German 18th Army had mounted a counter-attack, Operation Doppelkopf
, and supported by the Estonian Omakaitse civil defence battalions, repelled the heavy pressure by the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front. The German Army Group North
's commander, Ferdinand Schörner
designed Operation Aster to pull his troops out of mainland Estonia. The parallel Riga Offensive would see Soviet forces apply further pressure on Army Group North, which still held much of Latvia and Estonia.
level. In the northern segment placed along the line of Lake Võrtsjärv
– Väike Emajõgi
River – railway junction of Valga – Gauja
River, the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front attacked the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions. In fierce battles, the German and Estonian units held their positions.
From the south, the 43rd Army was threatening the approaches to Riga itself, where the German X Corps had been shattered. Schoerner began to move his divisions into the Courland
peninsula, intending to shorten the front and pull back from Riga. A counter-attack was carried out by the XXXIX Panzer Corps of 3rd Panzer Army, temporarily placed under Schörner's overall command, but the Soviet opposition was too strong.
In the meantime, Stavka
had been preparing a new axis of attack under the cover of a further push towards Riga, the new plan being put forward in a directive of September 24.. On September 27, the 16th Army began to report Soviet traffic away from its front, to the south-west. In fact, several major Soviet force concentrations (notably the 4th Shock and 51st
Armies) were being shifted southwards in preparation for a major thrust westwards towards Memel
by the 1st Baltic Front
. German intelligence detected the movement of several of the armies involved, but were unable to detect their destination.
The resulting offensive, the Battle of Memel
, was launched on October 5; Bagramyan's
1st Baltic Front
shattered the Third Panzer Army, finally severing the land connection between the German Army Group Centre
and Army Group North
. Schoerner's forces around Riga and in Courland were now cut off.
On October 9, Schoerner signalled that he would attack towards Memel and try and re-establish the land connection if Riga could be evacuated. Soviet forces were again moving forwards outside Riga, and brought the city within the range of artillery fire on October 10. Leaving a screening force of the 227th Infantry Division
and the guns of the 6th Motorized Anti-Aircraft Division, the 18th Army retreated through Riga into Courland, destroying bridges on its route. Riga was taken by forces of the 3rd Baltic Front
on October 13. Over the next few days Soviet units were reported in action to the west of Riga, stating that German forces had been cleared from the eastern bank of the Lielupe
River by October 17.
, where it remained isolated until the end of the war in Europe.
The Riga Offensive (known in was part of the larger Baltic Offensive on the Eastern Front during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It took place late in 1944, and drove German forces from the city of 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,...
.
Prelude
Soviet forces had advanced towards the BalticBaltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast in the beginning of their Tartu Offensive and at the end of the highly successful Belorussian Offensive
Belorussian Offensive
Operation Bagration was the codename for the Soviet 1944 Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation during World War II, which cleared German forces from the Belorussian SSR and eastern Poland between 22 June and 19 August 1944....
(Operation Bagration), during July and August 1944, and at one point had broken through to the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
. During August, the German 18th Army had mounted a counter-attack, Operation Doppelkopf
Operation Doppelkopf
Operation Doppelkopf and the following Operation Cäsar were German counter-offensives on the Eastern Front late in 1944 in the aftermath of the major Soviet advance in Operation Bagration....
, and supported by the Estonian Omakaitse civil defence battalions, repelled the heavy pressure by the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front. 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...
's commander, Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner was a General and later Field Marshal in the German Army during World War II.-Early life:Schörner was born in Munich, Bavaria...
designed Operation Aster to pull his troops out of mainland Estonia. The parallel Riga Offensive would see Soviet forces apply further pressure on Army Group North, which still held much of Latvia and Estonia.
Red Army
Elements of:- 1st Baltic Front1st Baltic FrontThe First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
(General Hovhannes BagramyanHovhannes BagramyanIvan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
) - 2nd Baltic Front (General Andrei YeremenkoAndrei YeremenkoAndrey Ivanovich Yeryomenko or Yeremenko or Eremenko was a Soviet general during World War II, Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Draft and early service:...
)- 22nd Army22nd Army (Soviet Union)The 22nd Army was a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Moscow Military District. It was active from 1941 to 2010. The order for the formation's dissolution was signed by the Minister of Defence on 1 July 2009....
- 22nd Army
- 3rd Baltic Front3rd Baltic FrontThe 3rd Baltic Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was set up on 21 April 1944 and disbanded on 16 October that year after taking part in the occupation of the Baltic states by the USSR in summer and autumn 1944....
(General Ivan MaslennikovIvan MaslennikovIvan Ivanovich Maslennikov , General of the Army, was a Soviet military and NKVD commander of Army and Front level during World War II. A career Red Army officer, Maslennikov was transferred to NKVD system in 1928, and remained there until the German invasion of 1941, progressing from a...
)
Wehrmacht
- Army Group NorthArmy Group NorthArmy 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...
(General Ferdinand Schoerner)- Sixteenth Army (General Carl HilpertCarl HilpertCarl Hilpert was an officer in the German Army during World War II.Hilpert was born in Nuremberg, Bavaria....
) - Eighteenth Army (General Ehrenfried-Oskar BoegeEhrenfried-Oskar BoegeEhrenfried-Oskar Boege was a German general who held several Corps level commands during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield...
)
- Sixteenth Army (General Carl Hilpert
- Elements of Army Group CentreArmy Group CentreArmy Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
temporarily reassigned to Army Group North- Third Panzer Army (General Erhard RausErhard RausErhard Raus was a Austrian Colonel General during World War II. He commanded the 6th Panzer Division during the early years of the war on the Eastern Front before taking Army and Army Group commands....
)
- Third Panzer Army (General Erhard Raus
The offensive
The Soviet forces launched a ferocious attack on the Riga axis on September 14, 1944. Within 4 days, the German 16th Army had suffered serious damage, while in the 18th Army's sector, ten of the eighteen German divisions had been reduced to KampfgruppeKampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
level. In the northern segment placed along the line of Lake Võrtsjärv
Võrtsjärv
Lake Võrtsjärv is a lake in southern Estonia with an area of 270 km² . It is the second largest lake of Estonia. The shallow lake is 33.7 m above sea level. The river Emajõgi flows from Lake Võrtsjärv to Lake Peipus.-External links:**...
– Väike Emajõgi
Väike Emajõgi
The Väike Emajõgi, is a river in southern Estonia that drains into Lake Võrtsjärv....
River – railway junction of Valga – Gauja
Gauja
The Gauja is one of the longest rivers in Latvia, with a length of and a catchment area of . Its source is in the hills southeast of Cēsis. It first flows east and north and forms the border with Estonia for about . South of Valga and Valka, it turns west towards Valmiera, continuing southwest...
River, the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front attacked the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions. In fierce battles, the German and Estonian units held their positions.
From the south, the 43rd Army was threatening the approaches to Riga itself, where the German X Corps had been shattered. Schoerner began to move his divisions into the Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
peninsula, intending to shorten the front and pull back from Riga. A counter-attack was carried out by the XXXIX Panzer Corps of 3rd Panzer Army, temporarily placed under Schörner's overall command, but the Soviet opposition was too strong.
In the meantime, Stavka
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
had been preparing a new axis of attack under the cover of a further push towards Riga, the new plan being put forward in a directive of September 24.. On September 27, the 16th Army began to report Soviet traffic away from its front, to the south-west. In fact, several major Soviet force concentrations (notably the 4th Shock and 51st
51st Army (Soviet Union)
The 51st Army was a field army of the Red Army that saw action against the Germans in World War II on both the southern and northern sectors of the front. In particular, it was involved in the Crimean debacle of May 1942, and the final cutting-off of German forces in the Courland area next to the...
Armies) were being shifted southwards in preparation for a major thrust westwards towards Memel
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
by the 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
. German intelligence detected the movement of several of the armies involved, but were unable to detect their destination.
The resulting offensive, the Battle of Memel
Battle of Memel
The Battle of Memel or the Siege of Memel took place when the Soviets launched their Memel Offensive Operation in late 1944. The offensive led to a three-month siege against German forces in a small bridgehead in the town and its port....
, was launched on October 5; Bagramyan's
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
shattered the Third Panzer Army, finally severing the land connection between the German Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
and 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...
. Schoerner's forces around Riga and in Courland were now cut off.
On October 9, Schoerner signalled that he would attack towards Memel and try and re-establish the land connection if Riga could be evacuated. Soviet forces were again moving forwards outside Riga, and brought the city within the range of artillery fire on October 10. Leaving a screening force of the 227th Infantry Division
227th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 227th Infantry Division named "Rheinisch-Westfälische" was created on 26 August 1939 in Krefeld. The Division was deployed for the last time in February 1945 in the Tuchola Forest.-Commanding officers:...
and the guns of the 6th Motorized Anti-Aircraft Division, the 18th Army retreated through Riga into Courland, destroying bridges on its route. Riga was taken by forces of the 3rd Baltic Front
3rd Baltic Front
The 3rd Baltic Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was set up on 21 April 1944 and disbanded on 16 October that year after taking part in the occupation of the Baltic states by the USSR in summer and autumn 1944....
on October 13. Over the next few days Soviet units were reported in action to the west of Riga, stating that German forces had been cleared from the eastern bank of the Lielupe
Lielupe
The Lielupe is a river in central Latvia. Its length is 119 km . The surface area of its basin is 17,600 km²...
River by October 17.
Aftermath
Army Group North had been driven into the Courland PocketCourland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
, where it remained isolated until the end of the war in Europe.