The Estonian conscripts fought to defend their country against the looming Soviet reoccupation.

The Soviet Estonian offensive was a follow-on of the Leningrad–Novgorod offensive. Its aim was to reconquer Estonia, which was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. Although Narva was not the main direction of the Soviet offensives on the Eastern Front in 1944, the Baltic Sea seemed the quickest way to Joseph Stalin for taking the battles to the German ground and seizing control of Finland.

The Soviet Estonian offensive stalled after securing several bridgeheads over the Narva River and facing the Nazi German Wotan Line. The fierce fighting starting in February stopped at the end of April. With the Narva offensive, 24–30 July 1944, the Red Army captured the town of Narva, as the German troops retreated 16 kilometres to the southwest to continue fighting at their prepared positions. The German forces managed to block the Soviet advance to the Baltic ports for nearly six months due to the nature of the terrain and the resistance of the international troops.

Background

Breaking through the Narva isthmus situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus was of major strategic importance to the Soviet Armed Forces. The success of the Estonian operation would have provided unobstructed advance along the coast to Tallinn, forcing Army Group North to escape from Estonia for fear of being besieged. For the Baltic Fleet trapped in an eastern bay of the Gulf of Finland, Tallinn was the closest exit to the Baltic Sea. The ejection of Army Group North from Estonia would have made southern Finland subject to air and amphibious attacks originating from Estonian bases.

The retreat of Army Group North from the surroundings of Leningrad made the commanders of Finland realise that soon it may be too late to start negotiations with the Soviet Union. On 31 January 1944, General Field Marshal Keitel sent a letter to the Finnish Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim, claiming that the retreat of Army Group North to the Panther Line constituted no danger whatsoever to Finland.

Battlefield terrain

The town of Narva is situated along the river of the same name. The river stretches from Lake Peipus northward to the Gulf of Finland. The corridor of land from Lake Peipus to the coast is about forty five kilometres wide, creating a natural choke-point for military operations. The terrain is predominately low-lying with the highest areas being around 100 meters in elevation. Much of the land is swamp and cut by numerous waterways, with other areas heavily forested. This combination of aspects meant the land was by and large well-suited for defence as the waterways, swamps, and forests tend to channelise an attacker's movements. The fighting to the east of Narva had left a large number of German troops stranded on the wrong side of the front. Simultaneously, the 122nd Rifle Corps crossed the river south of the town in Vääska settlement, establishing a bridgehead in the Krivasoo swamp 10 kilometres south of Narva town. Despite the heroics of the Soviet commanders, only a small platoon commanded by Lieutenant Morozov fortified themselves on the west bank. In their report on 8 February, the War Council of the Leningrad Front saw the preparations for the landings across the Narva river as unsatisfactory: Army General Leonid A. Govorov of Leningrad Front ordered the 2nd Shock Army to break through the German defence line north and south of Narva town, move the front fifty kilometres westwards and continue towards the town of Rakvere. The artillery of the 2nd Shock army opened fire on all German positions on 11 February. The 30th Guards Rifle Corps, an elite unit usually used in breaching defence lines, joined the Soviet units attempting to seize the Auvere station.

Meerapalu landing operation

Seeing the condition of the front, Hitler ordered the 20th Estonian SS-Volunteer Division to be replaced on the Nevel front and transported to the Narva front. The arrival of the Estonian Division coincided with the prepared landing operation by the left flank of the Leningrad Front to the west coast of Lake Peipus, 120 kilometres south of Narva. The Estonian Division was placed at the Yershovo bridgehead on the east coast of Lake Peipus. The 374th Soviet Rifle Regiment crossed Lake Peipus on 14 February, seized the coastal village of Meerapalu in a surprise attack, and formed a bridgehead. On the next day, the Soviet units were expelled from the west coast by the I.Battalion, Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 Estland and an East Prussian battalion of the 44th Grenadier Regiment. Estonian sources estimate the Soviet casualties to be in the thousands. A battalion of the 44th Grenadier Regiment regained Piirissaar island on 17 February.

Mereküla landing operation

To break the last resistance, simultaneously with preparing the Meerapalu landing operation, Govorov ordered the 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade to prepare for an amphibious attack to the German rear in Narva. Another amphibious unit was intended to land after them. in seven and a half hours of fierce fighting, the Soviet beachhead was annihilated. After the offensive, the weakened Soviet 30th Guard Rifle Corps was replaced by the 10th Rifle Corps. As this was the main Soviet direction of attack for the moment, The Soviet bridgehead was reinforced with the 1078th Rifle Regiment increasing the number of the defenders to 776 with 14 assault guns. The Red Army command was convinced in the well-placed artillery fire hitting back every possible attack. With the hand grenades being passed on along the trenches, the bridgehead was squeezed in from the north by the "rolling" tactics. The SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark took the Siivertsi cemetery attacking from the northern suburbs of Narva

Soviet bombing raids against Estonian cities

The Soviet Long Range Aviation, subordinated directly to the Headquarters of Soviet Armed Forces, was committed to the task of bombing key Estonian towns of Petseri, Tartu, and the national capital Tallinn.

The heaviest of the air assaults was at Tallinn, on 9 March. A week before, the Mayor of Tallinn had given an order to the city dwellers to leave the town, but the evacuation failed. The extent of the attack was beyond the expectations of the local people and the headquarters of the Army Group North. A bombing run consisting of 300 IL-4 planes throwing 3068 bombs, 1725 of them explosive and 1300 incendiary, inflicted heavy damage to the city. The fire brigades were scarce on water, as Soviet saboteurs had blown up the city pumping station before the air raid. Military damage was minor, with a few military installations and supply stores destroyed. The major military loss was the burning of a million litres of fuel in the fuel depot. Of the enterprises with some military importance, the "Luther" plywood factory and the "Urania-Werke"-run cable factory were destroyed. Most of the bombs fell on the dwellings and public buildings, including the Estonia Theatre, St. Nicholas Church, the city synagogue, four cinemas, and the Tallinn City Archives with their collection of medieval documents. A large part of the wooden suburbs burnt down and the city centre suffered major damage. According to the official report, 757 people were killed, of whom 586 were civilians, 50 were military personnel, and 121 were prisoners-of-war. 213 had serious injuries, 446 had minor injuries. Amongst the injured were 65 military servicemen and 75 prisoners-of-war. Later, more victims were found, with the number of deaths estimated at up to 800.

A bombing raid against Tartu conducted on the night before 26 March destroyed dwellings and public buildings in the city centre and killed 67 citizens.

Regarding the high number of civilian casualties and low damage to military and strategic installations in the cities, the Soviet bombing raids were conducted primarily to destroy the resistance morale of the local civilians. More Estonians felt an urge to fight against the Soviet advance. A slogan was written on the ruins of the Estonia Theatre, saying: On 22 March, the 61st Infantry Division repelled ten Soviet assaults. On the same day in Ivangorod, the Red Army troops annihilated the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 De Ruyter, 5th Company and broke in the regiment's rear. SS regimental headquarters troops assaulted the 150-man Soviet force, destroying them in heavy fighting, and retaking the regiment's trenches.

As Strachwitz had predicted, the Rifle Corps counterattacked on the following day. It was repelled by the 23rd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment, inflicting heavy casualties on the Soviet Rifle Corps.

The "east sack" defenders of the Krivasoo bridgehead, defended by the Soviet 6th and the 117th Rifle Corps, were confused by Strachwitz Battle Group's deception attack on 6 April, intending to leave an impression of aiming to cut them out from the west flank. The actual assault came directly at the 59th Army from Auvere station, starting with heavy bombardment. The forest in the positions of the 59th Army was ignited and bombed by dive bombers. At the same time, the 61st Infantry Division and the Strachwitz tank squadron pierced deep into the 59th Army defense, separating the two rifle corps from each other and forcing them to retreat to their fortifications. Govorov was outraged by the news, sending in the freshly re-deployed 8th Army.

The 8th Army repelled the German attack, lasting from 19 to 24 April. The Germans lost 2,235 troops as dead and captured in the offensive, while the total of German casualties in April was 13,274, all causes. The Soviet casualties in April are unknown, but are estimated by Mart Laar to at least 30,000 men for all purposes. However, the Soviet force was unaware of the recently constructed Tannenberg line, granting the German side an element of surprise. The aim of the officers was to keep the battle front as short as possible and to use the available troops in Ukraine. Forces of the 117th Rifle Corps reached the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS 45 Estland who resisted by heavy machine-gun fire in circular defense. The support by the anti-tank weapons of the 14th Company and the aid of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland helped to seize the main front line back to the control of the Estonian Regiment.

In general, the withdrawal was completed according to the German plans. The Leningrad Front also lost 462 armoured vehicles and 260 bombers during the period. The share of the battles around Narva is unknown. Estonian historian Mart Laar believes that, considering the length of the operation, roughly half of the losses can be accounted for the battle of Narva. According to his account, from 1 March to 14 September, the Leningrad Front lost 76,301 troops as dead or missing and 303,291 as wounded or sick in the Narva campaign. An estimated half of them account for March and April. Excluding the losses in the Narva operation, 24–30 July 1944 (accounted within the losses in the Battle of Tannenberg Line), Laar's estimates of the Soviet losses in the Battle for Narva Bridgehead total at approximately 65,000 dead or missing and 235,000 wounded or sick. During the following months until 30 July 1944, additional 34,159 German soldiers were lost, 5,748 of them dead and 1,179 missing in action.

Leningrad Front – Army General Leonid Govorov

  • 2nd Shock Army – Lieutenant General Ivan Fedyuninsky
  • 43rd Rifle Corps – Major General Anatoli Andreyev
  • 109th Rifle Corps – Major General Ivan Alferov
  • 124th Rifle Corps – Major General Voldemar Damberg
  • 8th Army – Lieutenant General Filipp Starikov
  • 6th Rifle Corps – Major General Semyon Mikulski
  • 112th Rifle Corps – Major General Filipp Solovev
  • 115th Rifle Corps – (HQ with no troops assigned by 1 Apr 1944)
  • 59th Army – Lieutenant General Ivan Korovnikov
  • 117th Rifle Corps – Major General Vasili Trubachev
  • 122nd Rifle Corps – Major General Panteleimon Zaitsev

Separate corps and divisions:

  • 8th Estonian Rifle Corps – Lieutenant General Lembit Pärn
  • 14th Rifle Corps – Major General Pavel Artyushenko
  • 30th Guards Rifle Corps – Lieutenant General Nikolai Simonyak
  • 45th Guards Rifle Division
  • 63rd Guards Rifle Division
  • 64th Guards Rifle Division

::Attached to the Corps 31st, 46th, 260th and 261st Separate Guards Heavy Tank and 1902nd Separate Self-propelled Artillery regiments

  • 124th Rifle Division – Colonel Papchenko Danilovich
  • 3rd Breakthrough Artillery Corps – Major General N. N. Zhdanov
  • 3rd Guards Tank Corps – Major General I. A. Vovchenko

German

Military formations subordinated to the Army Group Narwa (as of 1 March 1944)