The Narva offensive (18–24 March 1944)[4] was a campaign fought between the German XXXXIII Army Corps and the Soviet 59th Army for the Narva Isthmus. At the time of the operation, Joseph Stalin was personally interested in taking Estonia, viewing it as a precondition for forcing Finland out of the war. The Soviet tank assault at Auvere railway station was stopped by the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion. Fierce fighting continued for another week, when Soviet forces had suffered many casualties and switched over to the defensive.
The defeat in the preceding Narva offensive came as an unpleasant surprise to the leadership of the Leningrad Front, blaming it on the arrival of the freshly conscripted 20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division who were motivated to resist the looming Soviet re-occupation.[5] Since the beginning of January, the Leningrad Front had lost 227,440 troops killed, wounded, or missing, which constituted more than half of the men who participated in the Leningrad–Novgorod strategic offensive. Both sides rushed in reinforcements.[6][7] The 59th Army was brought to Narva and the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps was placed under the command of the Leningrad Front. After this deployment, the Narva sector acquired the highest concentration of forces on the Eastern Front in March 1944.[6]
Preceding combatedit
The newly arrived 59th Army attacked westwards from the Krivasoo bridgehead south of the city of Narva and encircled the strongpoints of the 214th Infantry Division and two Estonian Eastern Battalions. The resistance of the encircled units gave the German command enough time to move in a platoon from the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 23 "Norge" and to stop the units of the 59th Army.
Designedit
The objective of the Soviet offensive was the headquarters of the XXXXIII Army Corps on the Lastekodumägi height in the Sinimäed Hills next to the highway between Narva–Tallinn, sixteen kilometres west of Narva. The defence was built up as an array of posts between the hills and the railway.
46th, 260th and 261st Separate Guards Heavy Tank and 1902nd Self-propelled Artillery regiments[8]
3rd Breakthrough Artillery Corps – Major General N. N. Zhdanov
3rd Guards Tank Corps – Major General I. A. Vovchenko
Combat activityedit
The six Soviet divisions, armoured vehicles and artillery of the 109th Rifle Corps and the newly arrived 6th Rifle Corps attacked the weakened 61st Infantry Division at the defence of Auvere station. The 162nd Grenadier Regiment was shaken by the massive preparatory artillery bombardment and air attack. The Soviet 930th Regiment broke through the thinned-out defence line of the 61st Infantry Division through to the railway, pushing towards the headquarters of the XXXXIII Army Corps.[9] Six Soviet T-34 tanks were destroyed by the two Tiger tanks of Lieutenant Otto Carius, forcing the Soviet infantry to withdraw.[10][11]
Casualtiesedit
The German side claimed that on 17–22 March, their 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion destroyed 38 tanks, four self-propelled guns and 17 assault guns.[3][11]
BrigadeführerHyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz's kampfgruppe . The kampfgruppe destroyed the eastern tip of the Soviet bridgehead on 6 April. Strachwitz, inspired by this success, tried to eliminate the whole bridgehead, but was unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for his tanks.[10] By the end of April, the parties had mutually exhausted their strengths. Relative calm settled on the front until late July, 1944.[2][7]
Referencesedit
^F.I.Paulman (1980). "Nachalo osvobozhdeniya Sovetskoy Estoniy". Ot Narvy do Syrve (From Narva to Sõrve) (in Russian). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat. pp. 7–119.
^ abWilhelm Tieke (2001). Tragedy of the faithful: a history of the III. (germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing.
^David M. Glantz (2001). (PDF). Glemson, South Carolina: Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
^V. Rodin (October 5, 2005). "Na vysotah Sinimyae: kak eto bylo na samom dele. (On the Heights of Sinimäed: How It Actually Was)" (in Russian). Vesti. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ abL. Lentsman (1977). Eesti rahvas Suures Isamaasõjas (Estonian Nation in Great Patriotic War) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat.
^ abLaar, Mart (2005). "Battles in Estonia in 1944". Estonia in World War II. Tallinn: Grenader. pp. 32–59.
^Операция "Нева-2" http://www.rkka.ru/memory/baranov/6.htm chapter 6, Baranov, V.I., Armour and people, from a collection "Tankers in the combat for Leningrad"Lenizdat, 1987 (Баранов Виктор Ильич, Броня и люди, из сборника "Танкисты в сражении за Ленинград". Лениздат, 1987)
^Евгений Кривошеев; Николай Костин (1984). "I. Sraženie dlinoj v polgoda (Half a year of combat)". Битва за Нарву, февраль-сентябрь 1944 год (The Battle for Narva, February–September 1944) (in Russian). Tallinn: Eesti raamat. pp. 9–87.
^ abOtto Carius (2004). Tigers in the Mud: The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius. Stackpole Books.
^ abMart Laar (2006). Sinimäed 1944: II maailmasõja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimäed Hills 1944: Battles of World War II in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak.
narva, offensive, march, 1944, this, article, battle, narva, part, eastern, front, world, soviet, beginning, estonian, operation, february, april, 1944, date18, march, 1944locationnarva, estoniaresultgerman, defensive, victorybelligerentsgermanysoviet, unionco. This is a sub article to Battle of Narva Narva offensive 18 24 March 1944 Part of Eastern Front World War II Soviet map of the beginning of the Estonian Operation February April 1944 Date18 24 March 1944LocationNarva EstoniaResultGerman defensive victoryBelligerentsGermanySoviet UnionCommanders and leadersKarl von OvenIvan KorovnikovStrength1 infantry division some artillery armoured vehiclesand aircraft6 rifle divisions2500 artillery100 armoured vehicles 1 800 aircraft 2 Casualties and losses38 armoured vehicles21 artillery pieces 3 The Narva offensive 18 24 March 1944 4 was a campaign fought between the German XXXXIII Army Corps and the Soviet 59th Army for the Narva Isthmus At the time of the operation Joseph Stalin was personally interested in taking Estonia viewing it as a precondition for forcing Finland out of the war The Soviet tank assault at Auvere railway station was stopped by the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion Fierce fighting continued for another week when Soviet forces had suffered many casualties and switched over to the defensive Contents 1 Background 1 1 Preceding combat 1 2 Design 2 Deployments 2 1 German 2 2 Soviet 3 Combat activity 4 Casualties 5 Aftermath 6 ReferencesBackground editFurther information Narva offensive 15 28 February 1944 and Narva offensive 1 4 March 1944 The defeat in the preceding Narva offensive came as an unpleasant surprise to the leadership of the Leningrad Front blaming it on the arrival of the freshly conscripted 20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division who were motivated to resist the looming Soviet re occupation 5 Since the beginning of January the Leningrad Front had lost 227 440 troops killed wounded or missing which constituted more than half of the men who participated in the Leningrad Novgorod strategic offensive Both sides rushed in reinforcements 6 7 The 59th Army was brought to Narva and the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps was placed under the command of the Leningrad Front After this deployment the Narva sector acquired the highest concentration of forces on the Eastern Front in March 1944 6 Preceding combat edit The newly arrived 59th Army attacked westwards from the Krivasoo bridgehead south of the city of Narva and encircled the strongpoints of the 214th Infantry Division and two Estonian Eastern Battalions The resistance of the encircled units gave the German command enough time to move in a platoon from the SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 23 Norge and to stop the units of the 59th Army Design edit The objective of the Soviet offensive was the headquarters of the XXXXIII Army Corps on the Lastekodumagi height in the Sinimaed Hills next to the highway between Narva Tallinn sixteen kilometres west of Narva The defence was built up as an array of posts between the hills and the railway Deployments editGerman edit 61st Infantry Division General Gunther Krappe Artillery Command No 113 Tank squadron of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion Lieutenant Otto CariusSoviet edit 6th Rifle Corps Major General Semyon Mikulski 3 divisions 109th Rifle Corps Major General Ivan Alferov 3 divisions 46th 260th and 261st Separate Guards Heavy Tank and 1902nd Self propelled Artillery regiments 8 3rd Breakthrough Artillery Corps Major General N N Zhdanov 3rd Guards Tank Corps Major General I A VovchenkoCombat activity editThe six Soviet divisions armoured vehicles and artillery of the 109th Rifle Corps and the newly arrived 6th Rifle Corps attacked the weakened 61st Infantry Division at the defence of Auvere station The 162nd Grenadier Regiment was shaken by the massive preparatory artillery bombardment and air attack The Soviet 930th Regiment broke through the thinned out defence line of the 61st Infantry Division through to the railway pushing towards the headquarters of the XXXXIII Army Corps 9 Six Soviet T 34 tanks were destroyed by the two Tiger tanks of Lieutenant Otto Carius forcing the Soviet infantry to withdraw 10 11 Casualties editThe German side claimed that on 17 22 March their 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion destroyed 38 tanks four self propelled guns and 17 assault guns 3 11 Aftermath editMain article Battle of Narva 1944 Brigadefuhrer Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross Zauche und Camminetz s kampfgruppe The kampfgruppe destroyed the eastern tip of the Soviet bridgehead on 6 April Strachwitz inspired by this success tried to eliminate the whole bridgehead but was unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for his tanks 10 By the end of April the parties had mutually exhausted their strengths Relative calm settled on the front until late July 1944 2 7 References edit F I Paulman 1980 Nachalo osvobozhdeniya Sovetskoy Estoniy Ot Narvy do Syrve From Narva to Sorve in Russian Tallinn Eesti Raamat pp 7 119 a b Toomas Hiio 2006 Combat in Estonia in 1944 In Toomas Hiio Meelis Maripuu Indrek Paavle eds Estonia 1940 1945 Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity Tallinn pp 1035 1094 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Wilhelm Tieke 2001 Tragedy of the faithful a history of the III germanisches SS Panzer Korps Winnipeg J J Fedorowicz Publishing David M Glantz 2001 The Soviet German War 1941 1945 Myths and Realities PDF Glemson South Carolina Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs Clemson University Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 09 Retrieved 2009 07 22 V Rodin October 5 2005 Na vysotah Sinimyae kak eto bylo na samom dele On the Heights of Sinimaed How It Actually Was in Russian Vesti a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b L Lentsman 1977 Eesti rahvas Suures Isamaasojas Estonian Nation in Great Patriotic War in Estonian Tallinn Eesti Raamat a b Laar Mart 2005 Battles in Estonia in 1944 Estonia in World War II Tallinn Grenader pp 32 59 Operaciya Neva 2 http www rkka ru memory baranov 6 htm chapter 6 Baranov V I Armour and people from a collection Tankers in the combat for Leningrad Lenizdat 1987 Baranov Viktor Ilich Bronya i lyudi iz sbornika Tankisty v srazhenii za Leningrad Lenizdat 1987 Evgenij Krivosheev Nikolaj Kostin 1984 I Srazenie dlinoj v polgoda Half a year of combat Bitva za Narvu fevral sentyabr 1944 god The Battle for Narva February September 1944 in Russian Tallinn Eesti raamat pp 9 87 a b Otto Carius 2004 Tigers in the Mud The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius Stackpole Books a b Mart Laar 2006 Sinimaed 1944 II maailmasoja lahingud Kirde Eestis Sinimaed Hills 1944 Battles of World War II in Northeast Estonia in Estonian Tallinn Varrak 59 23 00 N 28 12 00 E 59 3833 N 28 2000 E 59 3833 28 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Narva offensive 18 24 March 1944 amp oldid 1181886747, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
