[2], The Oberkommando des Heeres believed it was crucial to stabilize the front on the Narva River. [1] The ejection of the Army Group North from Estonia would have made Finland subject to air and amphibious attacks originating from Estonian bases. Shock troops from the Finnish front were concentrated near the town, giving the Leningrad Front a 4:1 superiority both in manpower and equipment. Over the radio in English, the government declared its neutrality in the war. This helped the Estonians to organise a new resistance movement in the late 1980s, regain their independence in 1991, and then rapidly develop a modern society. Neither Soviet airplane could spot the camouflaged Germans. The finale of the battle took place on August 3. The resistance of the encircled units gave the German command time to move in all available forces and to stop the 59th Army units' advance. In July and August 1944, at the verdant hills of northeastern Estonia, the calmness was broken in what would become a bloodbath. In history and during the First World War, fierce fighting was a common element at these strategic important hills. The elevation above sea level rarely rises above 100 meters in the area and the land is cut by numerous waterways, including the Narva and Plyussa Rivers. In a backyard,... Sweden is still relatively spared from toll roads. Before the German forces had implemented their plan, the Soviet 8th Army launched their offensive; the Battle of Auvere was the result. There were no other east-west transportation routes capable of sustaining troop movement on a large scale in the region. The ensuing offensive continued for another week[8] until the Soviet forces had suffered enough casualties to switch over to a defensive stance. The German battle group destroyed the eastern tip of the bridgehead on 6 April. On 1 September, Finland announced the cessation of military cooperation with Germany to sign an armistice with the Soviet Union. The Baltic Offensive resulted in the expulsion of the German forces from Estonia, a large part of Latvia, and Lithuania. Please authorize your Instagram account in the. Requesting Rennenkampf to divert to the southwest to provide aid, he ordered Second Army to begin falling back to the southwest to regroup (Map). The battle also marked the debut of General Paul von Hindenburg and his chief of staff, General Erich Ludendorff, as a highly effective duo on the battlefield. [11] The Army Group North evacuated the civilian population of Narva. [2] The order of battle of the Leningrad Front as of 1 March 1944:[18], At the start of the Narva Offensive (July 1944), the Leningrad Front deployed 136,830 troops,[21] 150 tanks, 2,500 assault guns and 800+ aircraft. One of the largest cavalry skirmishes of the age, the Battle of Tannenberg featured the combined forces of the Poles and Lithuanians against the Order of the Having escaped the encirclement, but unable to face Tsar Nicholas II after the defeat, Samsonov committed suicide. "Phase III: The Soviet Occupation of Estonia from 1944". In six months had the Germans and the Allies defended the bridgehead of Narva to prevent Soviet troops to cross the river which separated Estonia from Russia. The Battle of Atlanta in the American Civil War, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, Germany - 13,873 (1,726 killed, 7,461 wounded, 4,686 missing), Russia - 170,000 (78,000 killed/wounded/missing, 92,000 captured). Attacking the Russian right, they drove back elements of the VI Corps near Seeburg and Bischofstein. [13] His wish was an order to the commanders of the Leningrad Front, with their heads at stake. German troops had dug themselves into the mud in the field and therefore did the artillery just a little damage. Using this freedom to his advantage, Model managed to fall back and begin establishing a line along the Narva River with a strong bridgehead on the eastern bank in Ivangorod.