Narva Offensive (July 1944)

The Soviet success in Belorussia and Ukraine brought the Oberkommando des Heeres 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.[8] The aim of the officers was to keep the battle front as short as possible and to use the available troops in the Ukraine.[8] 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.[9] 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.[9] 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.[4][5]

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.[5] 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 Corps, 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.[5][10]

In the morning of 24 July, the Soviet assault commenced with 30-50 batteries firing 17,000 shells and grenades (2,000 tons),[5] 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[12] who reformed themselves in a circular defence.[4][7] Relieved by a company of the armoured Kausch’ Kampfgruppe and three Nebelwerfer rocket artillery launchers, the Estonians went on a counterattack.[4][13] The 44th Infantry Regiment was saved by the swift movement of artillery behind them clearing their previous positions from the Soviets.[1][14] 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.[1][13] 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.[1][2] Subsequent attempts by units of the 8th Army to break through were repelled in a similar way, causing them to lose 3,000 men[10] and 18 tanks, compared to the loss of 800+ troops of the 11th Infantry Division.[5]

The Soviet attack at Auvere and Sirgala forced the III SS Panzer Corps to a hasty withdrawal from their positions in the Ivangorod bridgehead on the opposite bank of Narva. The Soviet 8th Army threatened to reach the Tannenberg Line before the German units.[4][5][15] The Soviet scouts found out about the withdrawal while the Pioneer Battalion of the Nordland Division were blowing up the bridge. Due a mistake in placing the explosives, the bridge stayed intact.[1]

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.[10] 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 Voyna" and the anthem of the Soviet Union playing from the loudspeakers.[10] The assault guns and the machine-guns of the Estonian battalions along with the dive bombers destroyed the first attempts of the 2nd Shock Army, until the Estonians ran out of ammunition.[12] 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.[1][2] The 131st Rifle Division advanced towards the highway, as the 191st Rifle Division turned south towards Narva to cut the SS panzer corps out.[12]

The Soviet advance to Narva was faced by the II.Battalion, 3rd Estonian Regiment deployed by the Narva River. SS-Obersturmbannführer 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.[1] 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 counterattacked. 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.[5]

The German units that failed to retreat on the agreed timetable, immediately faced heavy Soviet assaults.[2][4][10] The main German casualty of the retreat to the Tannenberg Line were the 700 troops of the SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 48 General Seyffardt.[1][16] 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.[1][10][16]