Battle of Tannenberg Line

This is a sub-article to Battle of Narva (1944).

hill was known to Estonians as the Lastekodumgi (Orphanage Hill; Kinderheimhhe in German). The central
was the Grenaderimgi (Grenadier Hill; Grenadierhhe)
and the westernmost was the Tornimgi (Tower Hill, also
known in German as or 69.9 or Liebhhe (Love Hill)).
The heights have steep slopes and rise 2050 m above
the surrounding land.

The Battle of Tannenberg Line (German: Die Schlacht

um die Tannenbergstellung; Estonian: Sinimgede lahing;
Russian: ) was a military engagement between the German Army Detachment
"Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front. They fought
for the strategically important Narva Isthmus from 25
July to 10 August 1944. The battle was fought on the
Eastern Front during World War II. The strategic aim of
the Soviet Estonian Operation was to reoccupy Estonia
as a favourable base for the invasions of Finland and East
Prussia. Several Western scholars refer to it as the Battle
of the European SS for the 24 volunteer infantry battalions
from Denmark, East Prussia, Flanders, Holland, Norway,
and Wallonia within the Waen-SS. Roughly half of the
infantry consisted of local Estonian conscripts motivated
to resist the looming Soviet re-occupation. The German force of 22,250 men held o 136,830 Soviet troops.
As the Soviet forces were constantly reinforced, the casualties of the battle were 150,000200,000 dead and
wounded Soviet troops and 157164 tanks.

The formations of Gruppenfhrer Felix Steiner's III SS

(Germanic) Panzer Corps halted their withdrawal and
moved into defensive positions on the hills. The 4th
SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland started
digging in on the left (north) ank of the Tannenberg
Line, units of the 20th Waen Grenadier Division of the
SS (1st Estonian) in the centre, and the 11th SS Volunteer
Panzergrenadier Division Nordland on the right (south)
ank. Another front section manned by the East Prussians of the 11th Infantry Division was situated a few kilometres further south, against the 8th Army in the Krivasoo bridgehead.[5]

The Soviet Marshal Leonid Govorov considered the

Tannenberg Line as the key position of Army Group
North and concentrated the best forces of the Leningrad
Front.[9] Additional 122nd, 124th Rie Corps and divisions from 117th Rie Corps were subordinated to
1 Background
General Ivan Fedyuninsky, commanding the 2nd Shock
Army.[5] The goal set by the War Council of the 2nd
Main articles: Battle of Narva (1944) and Narva OenShock Army was to break through the defense line of the
sive (July 1944)
III SS Panzer Corps at the Orphanage Hill, force their
After defending the Narva bridgehead for six months,
way to the town of Jhvi in the west and reach the Kunda
River by 1 August.[4] To accomplish this, Govorov was
ordered to destroy communications behind the German
forces and conduct air assaults on the railway stations of
Jhvi and Tapa on 26 July.[4]

2 Comparison of forces
2.1 Soviet
There is no complete overview of the order of the Soviet
forces or the detachment sizes in the Battle of Tannenberg Line.[5] For the attack on 29 July, Leonid Govorov
concentrated all of the capable Soviet units, consisting of
View from the summit of the Grenadier Hill towards the Orphan- eleven divisions and six tank regiments.[2][7] The Soviet
age Hill
units that had suered losses were brought up to strength
with fresh manpower. The delivery of Soviet heavy arthe German forces fell back to the Tannenberg Line in tillery complimented the nine divisions of the 109th, the
the hills of Sinimed (Russian: ) on 26 July 117th and the 122nd Rie Corps.[5] The 109th and 117th
1944. The three hills run east to west. The eastern Corps were concentrated close to the Sinimed, while the
1

2 COMPARISON OF FORCES

122nd Rie Corps to the southern section by the church

of Vaivara Parish. The positions of the 11th Infantry
Division were mainly attacked by the 35,000-strong 8th
Army with their 112th Rie Corps, two fresh Tank Regiments, 1,680 assault guns, deployed in nine artillery regiments and 150 armoured vehicles.[7] The armored forces
included the brand new IS-2 tanks with extra armour and
122mm gun. The weakness of the tank was its limited
ammunition capacity (only 28 rounds) and long reloading
time for its main gun. The forces were supported by the
576-strong 13th Air Army.[7] The Soviet order of battle
(available data as of 28 July 1944):[5]
Leningrad Front - Marshal Leonid Govorov
2nd Shock Army - Lieutenant General Ivan
Fedyuninsky
109th Rie Corps - Major General Ivan
Alferov
72nd Rie Division - Ilya Yastrebov
109th Rie Division - Major General
Nikolai Truzhkin
125th Rie Division - Colonel Vassili Zinovev

Total: 28,000 infantrymen, 518 pieces of artillery, 174

tanks and 44 self-propelled guns
Separate Corps and Divisions (possibly subordinated to
one the above-mentioned Armies):[5]
8th 'Estonian' Rie Corps - Lieutenant General
Lembit Prn
11th Rie Division
43rd Rie Division
98th Rie Division
123rd Rie Division
189th Rie Division
206th Rie Division

2.2 German

Against the Soviet forces, a few tired German regiments

without any reserve troops stood at their positions, battered by the Soviet artillery. The commander of the
Army Detachment Narwa, General der Infanterie, Anton Grasser, assessed the German capacity as insucient
122nd Rie Corps
against the Soviet attack. While sucient in ammunition
124th Rie Corps Colonel Mikhail Papchenko and machine-guns, the combat morale of the Germanic
131st Rie Division - Major General Pyotr volunteers was under heavy pressure while the spirit of
some Estonian troops had already been severely damaged
Romanenko
in Grassers opinion.[2][7] However, the following com191st Rie Division - Major General Ivan Bubat proved the opposite.[7] The small number of Gerrakovski
man Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and shortage of aero21st Engineers Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel plane fuel gave the Soviets massive air superiority.[2][7]
Vasilkov
Grassers conclusion was short:[2][7]

Leaving diplomatic formulation aside, Grasser anTotal: 26,850 infantrymen, 458 pieces of artillery, 112 nounced that without immediate reinforcements, the Sotanks
viets would inevitably break through the Tannenberg Line
on 29 June.[2][7] Such reinforcements were beyond the capacities of Army Group North. The commander of the
8th Army - Lieutenant General Filipp Starikov
Army Group, Ferdinand Schrner, had repeatedly called
Adolf Hitler's attention to the fact that virtually no divi 2nd Masurian Rie Division
sion consisting of Germans was left at the Tannenberg
377th Rie Division
Line, which was threatening to collapse. These calls had
112th Rie Corps - Major General Filipp no eect, as Hitlers response remained to stand or die.[7]
Solovev
The German order of battle (as of 28 July 1944) was:[5]
48th Rie Division - Colonel Yakov Army Detachment "Narwa" - General der Infanterie AnKoevnikov
ton Grasser
117th Rie Corps - Major General Vasili
Trubachev
120th Rie Division - Major General
Alexandr Batluk
201st Rie Division - Major General Vyacheslav Yakutovich
256th Rie Division - Major General
Anatoli Koziyev

III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps - SS-Gruppenfhrer

Felix Steiner
11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland - SS-Brigadefhrer Joachim
Ziegler
SS Panzergenadier Regiment 23 "Norge" SS-Obersturmbannfhrer Fritz Knchlein

3
SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 "Danmark" - SS-Sturmbannfhrer Albrecht
Krgel

3 Combat
3.1 Orphanage Hill

20th Waen Grenadier Division of the SS

(1st Estonian) - SS-Brigadefhrer Franz Augs- 3.1.1 26 July
berger
Waen Grenadier Regiment 45 - Waen- On 26 July, pursuing the withdrawing Germans, the Soviet attack fell onto the Tannenberg Line before the vastly
Obersturmbannfhrer Harald Riipalu
outnumbered Army Detachment "Narwa" had dug-in.
Waen Grenadier Regiment 46 - WaenThe Soviet Air Force and artillery covered the German
Standartenfhrer Juhan Tuuling
positions with bombs and shells, destroying most of the
Waen Grenadier Regiment 47 - Waen- forest on the hills.[5][7] The headquarters of the newly
Obersturmbannfhrer Paul Vent
arrived Flemish 6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Lange Artillery
Regiment
Waen- marck were destroyed and almost all of their ocers
Obersturmbannfhrer Aleksandr Sobolev wounded. Sturmbannfhrer Wilhelm Rehmann left the
in to
4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade battleeld, as Leutnant George D'Haese stepped
[10]
bring
the
brigade
back
to
combat-readiness.
The
Ger"Nederland" - SS-Brigadefhrer Jrgen Wagman
batteries
were
badly
hit;
the
commander
of
one
of
ner
them was killed. It took a few days for Steiner to re 4th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment "De pair the assault guns and until this had been completed
Ruyter" - SS-Hauptsturmfhrer Helmut the impact of the German artillery remained modest.[11]
Scholz
Beneting from the disorder, the Soviet 201st and 256th
5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade "Wal- Rie Divisions supported by the 98th Tank Regiment aslonien" - SS-Sturmbannfhrer Lon De- saulted the positions of the Nordland Division seizing
the eastern side of the Orphanage Hill.[9] In the darkness
grelle
6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade "Lange- of the following night, the Anti-Tank Company, SS Panzmarck" - SS-Sturmbannfhrer Georg ergrenadier Regiment 24 "Danmark" destroyed the Soviet
tanks and regained their positions.[12]
D`Haese
227th Infantry Division
113th Security Regiment

3.1.2 27 July

XXVI Army Corps - General der Infanterie Anton In the morning of 27 July, the Soviet forces began another
powerful artillery barrage toward the Sinimed. AnticGrasser
ipating an infantry attack, Steiner concentrated the few
11th Infantry Division
working armored vehicles consisting of seven tanks[2][3]
300th Special Purpose Division - under the command of Obersturmbannfhrer Paul Albert Kausch. Steiner placed them behind the westernGeneralmajor Rudolf Hfer
most Tower Hill in readiness positions.[13] A company of
Nebelwerfer rocket launchers were placed behind them,
Separate detachments:
being able to re 48 projectiles within a few seconds.[12]
Units of the "Nordland" Division were placed between
the two hills and the defense was completed by the Anti Four Estonian police battalions
Tank Company, 1st Estonian behind the "Nordland".[7]
Eastern sector, coastal defence - Generalleutnant The Soviet attack concentrated at the Orphpanage Hill
and the Danmark Regiment south of it. The DanAlfons Luczny
ish anti-tank company used their Panzerfausts to set
Two Estonian border defence regiments
fourteen tanks on re.[14] Meanwhile, the Soviet infantry forced the weakened "Langemarck" Sturmbrigade
513th Naval Artillery Battalion
to leave the south side of the Orphanage Hill and dig new
trenches in front of the Grenadier Hill.[10] As a last resort,
502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion
Unterscharfhrer Remi Schrijnen used the only heavy
weapon left in the sturmbrigade, a 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti 752nd Anti-Tank Battalion
tank gun. Schrijnen was wounded and cut o from the
rest of his troops when he started acting as both the loader
Total: 22,250 troops[1] deployed in 25 Estonian and 24 and gunner. He and the Flemish heavy machine-gunners
German, Dutch, Danish, Flemish, Italian, Norwegian, halted several Soviet tank attacks threatening to encircle
and Walloon battalions[5]
the "Langemarck" and the Estonian battalions.[15]

4
The Soviet attack also failed to penetrate the defence line
of the II.Battalion, SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 "De Ruyter". Several Soviet tanks broke through
to the headquarters of the battalion, which were repulsed
by Gruppenfhrer Fritz von Scholz Edler von Rerancze
sending twelve assault guns forward from the reserve.[12]
South from the Orphanage Hill, the Soviet forces broke
through the defense of the "Danmark" Regiment and
seized control of most of the hill by night time.[14]
Under Soviet pressure, the German defense threatened
to collapse. On 27 July, Schrner arrived at the Sinimed. He ordered an immediate recapture of the Orphanage Hill, demanding fanatical resistance from the
soldiers.[2][7] A meeting convened by von Scholz laid the
tactics for the implementation of the orders. Directly after the meeting, von Scholz was killed by a shrapnel splinter in front of the headquarters.[7]

COMBAT

Anticipating a major attack, Steiner ordered the heavy

weapons of the SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 23 "Norge"
and the "Danmark" Regiment to be pulled together into
two shock units. By the night of 28 July, the battle had
subsided.[7]

3.2 Grenadier Hill

3.2.1 Preparatory re
The morning of 29 July began with the preparatory artillery re of 25,000 shells red by the Soviets.[5] The
bombardment covered the Tannenberg Line in a dust
cloud. The forest on the Sinimed Hills was entirely destroyed, with the trees cut down to a height of twothree
metres. While having a great psychological eect, the
"Katyushas" or so-called "Stalin organs" were inaccurate,
causing little damage to the well dug-in German troops.
The 7080 German Nebelwerfers answered. This was followed by Soviet bombers trying to hit the last of the German troops, ducking down in their trenches. Dressed in
camouage uniforms, they remained unseen by the Soviet
pilots.[7]

On the night before 28 July, the SS Reconnaissance

Battalion 11, "Nordland" and the I. Batallion, Waen
Grenadier Regiment 47 (3rd Estonian), launched a ferocious counterattack. Heavy casualties were inicted on
both sides - the Estonian battalion was destroyed.[14] The
ghting for the Orphanage Hill was carried on to 28 July
as one continuous battle. The II.Battalion, "Nordland"
launched their erce attempt to capture the Orphanage
Hill which the Soviets repulsed. The surviving German 3.2.2 Soviet advance guards on the Grenadier Hill
forces fell back to the Grenadier Hill.[14]
The attack of the 6,000 Soviet infantry[4] began at 0900,
supported by a regiment of nearly 100 tanks (most of
them of the heavy IS-2 variety). They used their 122
3.1.3 28 July
mm guns to re directly at the strong points showing any
[4][16]
For the next day, the 2nd Shock Army was reinforced signs of life and destroyed the remaining bunkers.
with the 31st and the 82nd Tank Regiments, three The remmnants of the German advance guard were dehowitzer brigades, and nine heavy artillery regiments. In stroyed. The platoon commanded by lieutenant Lapshin
the morning of 28 July, the Soviet forces made a fero- broke through to the top of the Grenadier Hill. Special
cious attempt to out-ank the German forces resisting at courage was shown by Sergeant Efendiyev who destroyed
the Orphanage Hill from the north side. With the last a German strong point on the hill. The Komsomol oranti-tank gun of the "Langemarck" destroying the So- ganiser, V.I. Lavreshin of the 937th Rie Regiment, who
with a red ag in
viet armoured force, the Soviets were denied a break- had been marching ahead of his troops
[4]
his
hands,
erected
it
at
the
summit.
The
small German
through. They suered heavy casualties, but ordered an
units
who
still
resisted
were
paid
no
special
attention by
air and artillery assault aimed at destroying the withdraw[17]
the
Soviets
as
the
main
attack
was
carried
westwards.
ing German units. Anticipating the attack, the German
troops advanced into no-mans-land close to the Soviet
units instead. In close combat, a Flemish regiment of the 3.2.3 Attack of Soviet main forces
"Langemarck" repulsed the Soviets which brought it to
near destruction.[14]
The principle of the Soviet attack in the Sinimed was an
In the evening of 28 July, the German forces attempted overwhelming frontal shock, with only a few of the atto regain the Orphanage Hill again. Using the tactics tackers presumed to have reached the target.[7] With arof rolling small units into the Soviet positions, the tillery re preventing any reinforcements sent in from the
troops seized the trenches on the slope of the feature. German rear, the Soviet 8th Army went on the attack and
When a Soviet tank squadron arrived, the German attack drove a wedge into the north ank of the 11th Infantry
collapsed.[7] At a portion of the German 11th Infantry Division. The Soviet main tactical goal, the Grenadier
Division near the borough of Sirgala in the south, the So- Hill, was to be assaulted by the 6,000 soldiers of the
viet tanks aimed to break through. Steiner ordered a with- 109th Rie Corps. The 109th Rie Division attacked the
drawal to a new defenseive line at the Grenadier Hill. The "Nederland" who were covering the hill from the north.[5]
order did not reach a signicant part of the German forces The 120th Rie Division hit the Grenadier Hill from the
who remained in their positions at the Orphanage Hill. east. The 72nd Rie Division assaulted the II. Battal-

3.4

Germans capture the Grenadier Hill

ion, 3rd Estonian Regiment which were defending the

northern ank. The 117th Rie Corps stood ready to
break through the last of the German defenses.[2][7] The
Orphanage Hill fell to the Soviets with the 191st Rie
Regiment at the head of the Soviet attack. These suffered great casualties from the re of the last defenders
who in turn were either killed or forced to the Grenadier
Hill. With the seizure of the Orphanage Hill, the Soviet
201st and the 256th Rie Divisions were exhausted as
the 109th Rie Division continued to press towards the
Grenadier Hill alone. The defenders were commanded by
Josef Bachmeier, the head of the II. Battalion, "Norge".
The I. and II. Battalions, 3rd Estonian subordinated to
Bachmeier had 20 to 30 men each. For the defense of
the Grenadier Hill, every available Estonian was sent into
battle, including communications personnel.[7] The central command post was destroyed by Soviet re while the
Germans, Flemish, Norwegians and Estonians escaped
destruction by lying down in their bunkers. Behind them
at the summit of the Grenadier Hill, stood the "Nederland". The gaps created in the attacking infantry and
tank line by the German artillery did not stop the Soviet
advance.[7]
3.2.4

Soviet encirclement

The 109th Rie Division passed the remnants of the II.

Battalion, "De Ruyter" which used their light machine
guns to cause heavy casualties to the Soviets. The Soviet attack ran into the camouaged anti-tank gun of
Remi Schrijnen standing near the northeastern corner of
the hill.[17] Meeting the Soviet attack, he red his gun,
destroying seven tanks in the course of which he was
severely wounded when his gun was destroyed by an IS2 tank returning re from 30 metres.[15] Despite Schrijnens heroics, the Soviet tanks besieged the Grenadier
Hill and kept circling the hill, all the while ring away
at the defenders. Nevertheless, they could not capture
the summit due to heavy casualties caused by the German anti-tank guns and the anti-aircraft guns pointing
their barrels down the slope. Other Soviet tanks reached
the westernmost hill Tower Hill. The defenders in their
bunkers, which were poorly fortied from the north and
the anks, were destroyed. Among the Soviet tank commanders, starshina S. F. Smirnov destroyed ve German
strong points.[4] One of the tanks reached the community
centre of the municipality of Vaivara, shooting a hole in
the wall. This remained the westernmost point the Soviet Armed Forces reached in Northeast Estonia until late
September 1944.[7]

3.3

Germans capture the Tower Hill

By noon on 29 July, the Soviet forces had almost seized

control of the Tannenberg Line. During the attack, they
had suered heavy casualties and were unable to secure
their positions at the Sinimed Hills. A mortally wounded

5
German radio operator cleared the eastern slope of the
Grenadier Hill by waiting for the Soviet troops to reach
his position and then ordering an artillery barrage on himself as the Soviets surrounded him.[17] The Soviet tanks
threatened the headquarters of the "De Ruyter" Regiment.
The counterattack by the headquarters guards company
was repelled and Obersturmbannfhrer Hans Collani,
seeing a Soviet tank from his headquarters doorstep, shot
himself dead. His observations turned out to be erroneous
as Steiner ordered the last German tanks out from the reserve (they were commanded by Paul-Albert Kausch).[14]
He distributed his tanks in three units. One of them went
on to counterattack the Soviets besieging the Tower Hill;
the second of them secured the NarvaTallinn Highway
in the west and the third unit counterattacked between
the Grenadier Hill and the railway a few kilometres to the
south.[7] The arrival of the German tanks came unexpectedly for the Soviet armor. Probably being out of ammunition, the Soviet tank squadron retreated and the counterattack of the "De Ruyter" repulsed the Soviets from the
Tower Hill.[18] After the counterattack, only one German
Panther tank remained unscathed.[2][7]

3.4 Germans capture the Grenadier Hill

After the German counterattack, the tactical situation at
the Tannenberg Line remained unclear. The remains
of the II. Battalion, "Norge" at the Grenadier Hill assaulted the Soviets. The latter suered heavy losses but
re-grouped and cut the Norwegians o at the east side
of the hill.[4][14] On the western terrace of the Grenadier
Hill, Kampfgruppe Bachmeier and the III.Battalion, 3rd
Estonian kept resisting. The Soviets started searching the
bunkers for documents and prisoners.[4] Steiner ordered
an air assault using dive bombers from Tallinn Airport.
The Soviets had anticipated the attack and had moved
their self-propelled anti-aircraft units to the Orphanage
Hill. They shot down several German bombers and afterwards turned their re on the German infantry.[16]
Steiner had one more battalion to spare the I.Battalion,
'Waen Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 "Estland" (1st Estonian) which had been spared from the previous counterattacks because of the scarcity of able-bodied men.
Sturmbannfhrer Paul Maitla requested reinforcements
from the men in the eld hospital. Twenty less injured men responded, joining the remains of the other
destroyed units, including a unit of the Kriegsmarine
(navy), and supported by the single remaining Panther
tank.[7] The counterattack started from the parish cemetery south of the Tower Hill with the left ank of the assault clearing the hill of the Soviets. The attack continued towards the summit under heavy Soviet artillery and
bomber attack, getting into close combat in the Soviet positions. The small German grenadier units were moved
into the trenches. Running out of ammunition, the German troops used Soviet grenades and automatic weapons
taken from the fallen.[7] According to some veterans, it

appeared that low ying Soviet bombers were attempting

to hit every individual German soldier jumping between
craters, from time to time getting buried under the soil
by the explosions of Soviet shells.[19] The Soviets were
forced to retreat from the Grenadier Hill.[5][9]

3.5

Soviet attempts to regain Grenadier

Hill

In the afternoon of 29 July, the Soviet forces made eight

attempts to regain control of the Grenadier Hill. The last
of the German reserves were sent into the battle, including the supply troops. The two assaults by Maitlas improvised platoon at the Orphanage Hill forced the Soviets to
refrain from further attacks and gave the Germans time
to re-group.[2][20][21]

3.6

Army advanced in the forests of the southern section of

the front.[4]
On 31 July, the Soviet command changed the direction of
their preparatory artillery re, this time aiming it behind
the hill, cutting the German defenders o from the main
army group. The gradual decrease in the number of shells
red by the Soviet artillery (9,000 rounds on 30 July), witnessed the weakening of the Soviet attacks.[2][7] Soviet
infantry started climbing up the Grenadier Hill. The Estonian units against them ran out of ammunition.[2][7] Just
in time, an improvised platoon of the "Danmark" arrived
to rescue them, and another Soviet attack was repulsed.
In the evening, the Soviets tried yet another assault on the
Grenadier Hill, it was repelled by the unit commanded
by Bachmeier, who was later decorated with the Knights
Cross.[17] The remnants of the I. Battalion, 3rd Estonian
resisted the Soviet attacks on the southern ank.[24]

Report of the 2nd Shock Army head- That time, the political commissar of the 2nd Shock
quarters on 30 July
Army admitted the failure to break through the defense.

Reluctant to admit the catastrophe in his report to the Soviet High Command on 30 July, the Political Commissar
of the Soviet 2nd Army falsely assured that the Grenadier
Hill was still in the possession of the Soviet 109th Rie
Corps. As the justication of the failure to break through
the German defenses, the report cited the weak cooperation between the artillery and the infantry. The report
also mentioned the poorly coordinated action of the armored units, driving to the mineelds, which were uncleared by the sapper units. The commissar made serious reproaches against the commanders of the units and
claimed in his report than they were very drunk while attempting to command the attacks.[7][22]

3.7

COMBAT

3031 July

On 30 July, the battle went on in similar fashion. Soviet

artillery increased the intensity of its re to 30,000
shells,[5] the German artillery answered with 10,000
rounds of their own.[2] The subsequent attack by the
Soviet heavy tanks broke through the defenses of the
II.Battalion, "De Ruyter" consisting of 3545 capable
men running between their heavy machine guns.[7]
Hauptsturmfhrer Helmut Scholz took units of the De
Ruyter Regiment to the counterattack, destroying two
tanks at the doorstep of Scholzs bunker and forcing the
Soviets to retreat.[17] For the battles of Tannenberg Line,
Scholz earned the Knights Cross with Oakleaves, the
only SS infantry company commander to be a recipient
of the Oakleaves.[7]
Simultaneously, the Soviet platoons were climbing up the
Grenadier Hill under intensive German bombardment.
Eventually, the attack was repelled by German hand
grenades. The Soviets attacked the II.Battalion, 3rd
Estonian which in close combat, destroyed 12 tanks and
repelled this latest assault.[7][23] Units of the Soviet 8th

He explained it by stating the artillery re was running

late.[7][25] The report presented the false assertion that
the Germans had captured the Grenadier Hill only on 30
July.[5]

3.8 Soviet reinforcements in August

Receiving the order from Stalin to break through to
Tallinn at all costs, Govorov made Fedyuninsky responsible for reaching Rakvere no later than 7 August.[9] During the rst days of August, the 2nd Shock Army received
the 110th and 124th Rie Corps as reinforcements, raising the number of troops to over 20,000 again.[5] The
8th Army received similar additions to their forces with
the 112th and 117th Corps ordered to join the attacks.[5]
Soviet tank forces were also restored, with 104 armored
vehicles at their command.[5] At the nine kilometre long
segment of the front, 1,913 assault guns were collected,
making it 300 guns per kilometer. 365 pieces of heavy
artillery were aimed at the Grenadier Hill and 200 at the
Sirgala hamlet in the south segment. As the daily amount,
200,000 shells were supplied to the artillery.[4] On 1 August, no combat took place, as both parties reorganized
their forces.[4] The Leningrad Front tried to shift the center of weight southwards.

3.9 German condition in August

The army detachment "Narwa" replaced its units with
the less damaged detachments in the rst days of August. Despite inicting immense casualties on the Soviets, the Waen-SS units were slowly getting worn down.
The "Nederland" Brigade was reduced to the size of
a regiment, while the two regiments of the "Langemarck" Sturmbrigade each had the strength of a reinforced company.[7] The 2nd Estonian Regiment was vir-

7
tually lost and the "Nordland" Division a shadow of its
former self. To the Germans good fortune, Soviet intelligence severely overestimated the strength of the defenders to more than 60 tanks and 800 pieces of artillery[4]
while in fact there were just one tank and 7080 guns left
at the Tannenberg Line.[2][7]

3.10 Finale

Estonian soldiers prepare to re a Panzerschreck in August, 1944

By 2 August, the 2nd Shock Army had re-deployed and

assaulted, using the same tactics as previously. The men
of the "Nederland" who survived the artillery bombardment, retreated down the slopes of the Grenadier Hill pursued by the Soviet units. In Steiners memoirs, the intensity of the re and the nature of the battles reminded him
of the Battle of Verdun.[26] When the artillery barrage
ended, the freshly drafted II.Battalion, Waen-Grenadier
Regiment der SS 46 (2nd Estonian) returned re after
inicting severe casualties on the assaulting Soviets and
counterattacked, reclaiming the Grenadier Hill.[27] Soviet tanks broke through in the southeastern section of the
front as the Estonian assault team commanded by Hauptsturmfhrer Oskar Ruut, the 11th Infantry Division (consisting of personnel from East Prussia) and the 300th Special Purpose Division repelled them while suering heavy
casualties.[5][7][17]
On 3 August, the Soviets made a stronger attempt with
the preparatory artillery re of 25,00030,000 shells
reaching the level of the attack of 29 July. The re caused
heavy casualties, while a part of the defenders left their
positions. Eleven Soviet rie divisions and four tank regiments tried to spread their attack along the front. However, the main weight of the impending attack tended to
be at the Grenadier Hill once more. The German artillery noticed the concentration of the Soviet forces, and
launched their rocket re, inicting numerous casualties
on the Soviet infantry and tanks before the beginning
of the attack. As the German artillery re did not dent
the Soviet superiority in manpower, the Soviet attack began as scheduled. The 110th Rie Corps assaulting the
Grenadier Hill found themselves in the middle of crossre from the remnants of the I.Battalion, 2nd Estonian

Regiment.[7] As the commanders of the rie corps erroneously reported to army headquarters on the capture of
the Grenadier Hill, the artillery re was lifted. The Estonians counterattacked and cleared the hill.[7][27] Simultaneously, the 124th Rie Corps attacking the southern
segment of the front by the Vaivara parish church was
repulsed.
In a similar fashion, the Soviets made two more attacks
on 3 August. Each of them began with a massive artillery barrage and ended with a German counterattack,
restoring the previous positions.[7][28] Overall on 3 August, twenty Soviet tanks were destroyed. The Soviet
attacks from 4 to 6 August were weaker; on 4 August,
eleven tanks were destroyed, and seven more on 5 August.
During the night before 6 August, six tanks were knocked
out.[5] On 10 August, the war council of the Leningrad
Front ordered the termination of the oensive and switch
strictly to defense.[4] The Soviets reduced their operations
to patrol activities with occasional attacks. The defenders
used this respite to rotate several exhausted units out of
the line for a few days for rest and ret, and to strengthen
their positions. Until mid-September, the front stayed
quiet.[5]

4 Casualties
In the era of the Soviet Union, losses in the Battle of Tannenberg Line were not mentioned in Soviet sources.[29]
In recent years, Russian authors have published some
gures[30][31] but not for the whole course of the battle.[7]
The number of Soviet casualties can only be estimated
by looking at other gures. In the attack of 29 July, 225
men survived of the Soviet 109th Rie Corps carrying
the main weight of the assault. Of the 120th Rie Division, 1,808 men were lost; killed or wounded.[4] The
rest of the Soviet rie corps lost their capacity for further
attacks.[16] In the same attack, the German forces lost 600
men.[2][32] The headquarters of the 2nd Shock Army reported 259 troops t for combat within the 109th Rie
Division and a total exhaustion of the army on the night
before 1 August,[25] which probably meant a few thousand
troops t for combat out of the 46,385 men who had initiated the Estonian Operation on 25 July. The losses of
the 8th Army were similar to that.[32]
In the evening of 29 July, the army detachment "Narwa"
counted 113120 Soviet tanks destroyed, almost half of
them in the battles of 29 July.[2][33] The 2nd Shock Army
reported on fty of their tanks destroyed on 29 July.[25][33]
The German side counted an additional 44 Soviet tanks
destroyed on 36 August.[34]
Russian author Grigoriy F. Krivosheev, in his account
Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century, lists 665,827 casualties suered by the Leningrad
Front in 1944, 145,102 of them as dead, missing in action, or captured.[29] Estonian historian Mart Laar, de-

ducting the losses in the Leningrad-Novgorod Oensive,

Battle for the Narva Bridgehead and the combat in Finland estimates the number of Soviet casualties in the Battle of Tannenberg Line as 35,000 dead or missing and
135,000 wounded or sick.[7]
The German Army Group North buried 1,709 men in Estonia between 24 July and 10 August 1944.[8][35] Added
to the men missing in action, the number of irrecoverable
casualties in the period is approximately 2,500. Accounting the standard ratio 1:4 of irrecoverable casualties to
the wounded, the total number of German casualties in
the Battle for Tannenberg Line is approximately 10,000
men.[8]

Aftermath

Further information: Baltic Oensive (1944) and Tallinn

Oensive
On 14 September, the Riga Oensive was launched by
the Soviet 1st, 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts. It was aimed
at capturing Riga and cutting o Army Group North in
Courland, western Latvia. After much argument, Adolf
Hitler nally agreed to allow the evacuation of all the
troops in Estonia. After months of holding the line, the
exhausted men of the III SS Panzer Corps joined the
withdrawal; ghting their way back from the Tannenberg
Line. On 17 September, the 3rd Baltic Front launched
the Tallinn Oensive from the Emajgi River Front joining Lake Peipus with Lake Vrtsjrv. The operation was
aimed at encircling the army detachment "Narwa". Unable to hold the force, the German units withdrew towards
the northwest while the incomplete II Army Corps was
left to stall the Soviet attack. The "Narwa" withdrew
quickly towards the Latvian border. On 22 September,
Tallinn was abandoned. Some of the Estonian formations
now began to attack the retreating Germans, attempting
to secure supplies and weapons to continue a guerrilla war
as the Forest Brothers against the Soviet occupation.[5]
Several troops of the Estonian Division stayed in Estonia.
These units continued ghting, some survivors joining the
guerrilla groups which fought the Soviet occupying forces
until the end of the 1970s.[36]

See also
Battle of Narva (1944) for the rst phase of the campaign
Documentary lm The Blue Hills

REFERENCES

7 References
[1] Steven H. Newton (1995). Retreat from Leningrad: Army
Group North, 1944/1945. Atglen, Philadelphia: Schier
Books. ISBN 0-88740-806-0.
[2] Unpublished data from the ocial battle diary of the Army
Detachment Narwa
[3] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
261.
[4] F.I.Paulman (1980). Nachalo osvobodenija Sovetskoj
Estonij. Ot Narvy do Syrve (From Narva to Srve) (in
Russian). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat. pp. 7119.
[5] Toomas Hiio (2006). Combat in Estonia in 1944. In
Toomas Hiio, Meelis Maripuu, & Indrek Paavle. Estonia
19401945: Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity.
Tallinn. pp. 10351094.
[6] G.F.Krivosheev (1997). Soviet casualties and combat
losses in the twentieth century. London: Greenhill Books.
[7] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak.
[8] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
326.
[9] Laar, Mart (2005). Estonia in World War II. Tallinn:
Grenader.
[10] R. Landwehr (1983). Lions of Flanders. Silver Spring:
Bibliophile Legion Books. p. 143. ISBN 0-918184-04-5.
[11] R. Landwehr, T.H.Nielsen (1981). Nordic Warriors. Bibliophile Legion Books, Silver Spring. p. 105.
[12] Wilhelm Tieke (2001). Tragedy of the faithful: a history
of the III. (germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps. Winnipeg:
J.J.Fedorowicz. pp. 9899.
[13] R. Landwehr (1981). Narva 1944: The Waen SS and the
Battle for Europe. Silver Spring, Maryland: Bibliophile
Legion Books. p. 84.
[14] R. Landwehr (1981). Narva 1944: The Waen SS and the
Battle for Europe. Silver Spring, Maryland: Bibliophile
Legion Books.
[15] A.Brandt. The Last Knight of Flanders, pp.126-142
[16] ; (1984). II. Boi
zapadnee Narvy (Battles west from Narva.
(The Battle for Narva) (in Russian). Tallinn: Eesti
raamat. pp. 105140. ISBN 3-905944-01-4.
[17] Wilhelm Tieke (2001). Tragedy of the faithful: a history
of the III. (germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps. Winnipeg:
J.J.Fedorowicz.

[18] Marc Rikmenspoel (1999). Soldiers of the Waen SS.

J.J.Fedorowicz, Winnipeg
[19] A.Aasmaa (1999). Tagasivaateid.(Looking Back. In Estonian) In: Mart Tamberg (Comp.). Eesti mehed sjatules. EVT, Saku
[20] A.Aasmaa (1999). Tagasivaateid.(Looking Back. In Estonian) In: Mart Tamberg (Comp.). Eesti mehed sjatules, p.329. EVT, Saku
[21] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
294.
[22] Political report No. 023363 of the Head of the Political Department of the 2nd Shock Army on 30 July 1944.
Estonian State Archive, Fund 32, Catalogue 12, File 7,
pp.98101
[23] J.Uudevald (2000). Vallutasime Grenaderime (We conquered the Grenadier Hill. In Estonian). Vitluse Teedel
Nr. 3
[24] E.Saumets (1952). Sinimed kangelaste surmamed
(Sinimed Hills Death Hills for Heroes (in Estonian) 3.
Kodukolle.
[25] Unpublished reports of the Estonian Operation of the
2nd Shock Army, JulySeptember 1944. Estonian State
Archive, Fund 32
[26] Werner Haupt (1997). Army group North: the Wehrmacht in Russia, 1941-1945. Atglen, Philadelphia: Schier
Books. p. 244. ISBN 0-7643-0182-9.
[27] Karl Sulger (2002). Sjakik pealuu mrgi all (Campaign Under the Sign of Bones and Skull (in Estonian)
(1). Vitluse Teedel.
[28] Robert Helde (2004). Palavad pevad Sinimgedes (Hot
Days at Sinimed Hills. In Estonian). Vitluse Teedel
Nr.1
[29] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
325.
[30] . (2004).
.
, Minsk. p. 607.
[31] V. Rodin (5 October 2005). Na vysotah Sinimyae: kak
eto bylo na samom dele. (On the Heights of Sinimed:
How It Actually Was)" (in Russian). Vesti.
[32] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
303. line feed character in |title= at position 53 (help)
[33] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. p.
296.

[34] Mart Laar (2006). Sinimed 1944: II maailmasja lahingud Kirde-Eestis (Sinimed 1944: Battles of World War II
in Northeast Estonia) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Varrak. pp.
304327.
[35] Unpublished data by the German War Graves Commission
[36] Mart Laar (1992). War in the Woods: Estonias Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956. Washington: The Compass
Press. ISBN 0-929590-08-2.

8 Recommended reading
Carius, Otto. Tigers in the Mud. ISBN 0-92199114-2.
Michaelis, Rolf. Die 11. SS-Freiwilligen-PanzerGrenadier-Division Nordland.
Tieke, Wilhelm. Tragedy of the Faithful: A History
of III. (Germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps.

10

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Battle of Tannenberg Line Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg_Line?oldid=694408162 Contributors: Bryan

Derksen, PBS, Altenmann, Davidcannon, Oberiko, Everyking, Piotrus, Sam Hocevar, Loopy, Rich Farmbrough, Michael Zimmermann,
Wendell, LordAmeth, Axeman89, Tabletop, Rjwilmsi, Ttwaring, Ansbachdragoner, Bleakcomb, Kurt Leyman, Spot87, Welsh, Korny
O'Near, Paul Pieniezny, Attilios, SmackBot, Roger Davies, Flamarande, HeartofaDog, Rmosler2100, Chris the speller, TimBentley, Ohconfucius, RASAM, Mihkelv, Illythr, Volker89, Sander Sde, Valoem, Heqs, DangerousPanda, Mewaqua, Flying Saucer, Cydebot, Danrok, Thijs!bot, Wanderer602, Magioladitis, Hroulf, Dodo19~enwiki, Buckshot06, The Anomebot2, Lokqs, Mrg3105, Jarry1250, Squids
and Chips, Hugo999, VolkovBot, Nug, GDonato, Andreas Kaganov, Andrein, AllGloryToTheHypnotoad, Ilyaroz, Nedrutland, Rozmysl,
M.V.E.i., Digwuren, Suwatest, Animagi1981, Termer, RJ CG, Jaan, Maralia, MBK004, CohesionBot, Mythrilfan, Sun Creator, Sillen,
Iohannes Animosus, BOTarate, DJ Sturm, Phja Konn, Nikitn, Jim Sweeney, Addbot, Giftitemo, Bahamut Star, Tassedethe, Jarao, Vino
Koorberg, Paul Siebert, AnomieBOT, Metsamees~enwiki, AdjustShift, Citation bot, Openskye, StoneProphet, FrescoBot, Amherst99,
Citation bot 1, 10metreh, Matu94, DocYako, Trappist the monk, Ryan.opel, Channelwatcher, Satualm, Dllu, ClueBot NG, Alphasinus,
Helpful Pixie Bot, PhantomTech, K.e.coman, Spearhead21 and Anonymous: 56

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Images

File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-734-0019-15,_Russland-Nord,_Soldaten_mit_Raketen-Panzer-Bchse.jpg
Source:
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