Narva offensive (1–4 March 1944)
1944 battle in Estonia during WW II / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Narva offensive (1–4 March 1944) (Estonian: Putki lahing) was an operation conducted by the Soviet Leningrad Front. It was aimed at the conquest of the Narva Isthmus from the German army detachment "Narwa".[5] At the time of the operation, Joseph Stalin, the supreme commander of the Soviet Armed Forces, was personally interested in taking Estonia, viewing it as a precondition to forcing Finland out of the war.
Narva offensive (1–4 March 1944) | |||||||
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Part of Eastern Front (World War II) | |||||||
Soviet map of the beginning of Estonian Operation (February – April 1944) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Germany | Soviet Union | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Johannes Frießner | Leonid A. Govorov | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
123,541[1] |
200,000[2] 100 armoured vehicles[3] 2,500 artillery pieces 800 aircraft[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
thousands[2][4] | Many more than the Germans[2] |
The Soviet 59th Army attacked westwards from the Krivasoo bridgehead south of the city of Narva and encircled the strong-points of the 214th Infantry Division and the Estonian 658th and 659th East Battalions. The resistance of the encircled units gave time for the command of the "Narwa" to move in all available forces and stop the Soviet advance. To the north of Narva, the fresh SS 45th and 46th (1st and 2nd Estonian) Volunteer Grenadier Regiments accompanied by units of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" counter-attacked and reduced the Soviet bridgehead.