Battle of Tannenberg Line

The Battle of Tannenberg Line (german: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; russian: Битва за линию «Танненберг») or the Battle of the Blue Hills ( et, Sinimägede lahing) 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–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 favorable base for the invasions of Finland and East Prussia. Waffen-SS forces included 24 volunteer infantry battalions from the SS Division Nordland, the SS Division Langemarck, the SS Division Nederland, and the Walloon Legion. Roughly half of the infantry consisted of the personnel of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian). The German force of 22,250 men held off 136,830 Soviet troops. As the Soviet forces were constantly reinforced, their overall casualties are estimated by Estonian historian Mart Laar to be 170,000 dead and wounded.

Background

After defending the Narva bridgehead for six months, the German forces fell back to the Tannenberg Line in the hills of '' Sinimäed'' (russian: Синие горы) on 26 July 1944. The three hills run east to west. The eastern hill was known to Estonians as the Lastekodumägi (Orphanage Hill; Kinderheimhöhe in German). The central was the Grenaderimägi (Grenadier Hill; Grenadierhöhe) and the westernmost was the Tornimägi (Tower Hill, also known in German as or 69.9 or Liebhöhe (Love Hill)). The heights have steep slopes and rise 20–50 m above the surrounding land.

The formations of ''Gruppenführer'' Felix Steiner's III SS 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) flank of the Tannenberg Line, units of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) in the centre, and the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland on the right (south) flank. 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.

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. Additional 122nd, 124th Rifle Corps and divisions from 117th Rifle Corps were subordinated to Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky, commanding the 2nd Shock Army. The goal set by the War Council of the 2nd Shock Army was to break through the defense line of the III SS Panzer Corps at the Orphanage Hill, force their way to the town of Jõhvi in the west and reach the Kunda River by 1 August. To accomplish this, Govorov was ordered to destroy communications behind the German forces and conduct air assaults on the railway stations of Jõhvi and Tapa on 26 July.

Comparison of forces

Soviet

There is no complete overview of the order of the Soviet forces or the detachment sizes in the Battle of Tannenberg Line. For the attack on 29 July, Govorov concentrated all of the capable Soviet units, consisting of 11 divisions and six tank regiments. The Soviet units that had suffered losses were brought up to strength with fresh manpower. The delivery of Soviet heavy artillery complimented the nine divisions of the 109th, the 117th and the 122nd Rifle Corps. The 109th and 117th Corps were concentrated close to the ''Sinimäed'', while the 122nd Rifle Corps was sent to the southern section, near 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 Rifle Corps, two fresh tank regiments and 1,680 assault guns, deployed in nine artillery regiments and 150 armored vehicles. The armored forces included the brand-new IS-2 tanks with extra armor and a 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. The Soviet order of battle (available data as of 28 July 1944):

Leningrad Front – Marshal Leonid Govorov
* 2nd Shock Army – Lt. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky
** 109th Rifle Corps – Maj. Gen. Ivan Alferov
*** 72nd Rifle Division – Ilya Yastrebov
*** 109th Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Nikolai Truzhkin
*** 125th Rifle Division – Col. Vassili Zinovev
** 122nd Rifle Corps
** 124th Rifle Corps – Col. Mikhail Papchenko
** 131st Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Pyotr Romanenko
** 191st Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Ivan Burakovski
** 21st Engineers Brigade – Lt. Col. Vasilkov

Total: 26,850 infantrymen, 458 pieces of artillery, 112 tanks
* 8th Army – Lt. Gen. Filipp Starikov
** 2nd "Masurian" Rifle Division
** 377th Rifle Division
** 112th Rifle Corps – Maj. Gen. Filipp Solovev
*** 48th Rifle Division – Col. Yakov Koževnikov
** 117th Rifle Corps – Maj. Gen. Vasili Trubachev
*** 120th Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Alexandr Batluk
*** 201st Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Yakutovich
*** 256th Rifle Division – Maj. Gen. Anatoli Koziyev

Total: 28,000 infantrymen, 518 pieces of artillery, 174 tanks and 44 self-propelled guns

Separate Corps and Divisions (possibly subordinated to one of the above-mentioned Armies):
* 8th Estonian Rifle Corps – Lt. Gen. Lembit Pärn
* 11th Rifle Division
* 43rd Rifle Division
* 98th Rifle Division
* 123rd Rifle Division
* 189th Rifle Division
* 206th Rifle Division

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 insufficient against the Soviet attack. While sufficient in ammunition and machine-guns, the combat morale of the Germanic volunteers was under heavy pressure while the spirit of some Estonian troops had already been severely damaged, in Grasser's opinion. However, the following combat proved the opposite. The small number of German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and shortage of aircraft fuel gave the Soviets massive air superiority. Grasser's conclusion was short:

Leaving diplomatic formulation aside, Grasser announced that without immediate reinforcements, the Soviets would inevitably break through the Tannenberg Line on 29 June. Such reinforcements were beyond the capacities of Army Group North. The commander of the Army Group, Ferdinand Schörner, had repeatedly called Adolf Hitler's attention to the fact that virtually no division consisting of Germans was left at the Tannenberg Line, which was threatening to collapse. These calls had no effect, as Hitler's response remained to stand or die. The German order of battle (as of 28 July 1944) was:

Army Detachment Narwa – General of the Infantry Anton Grasser
* III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps – ''SS-Gruppenführer'' Felix Steiner
** SS Division Nordland – '' SS-Brigadeführer'' Joachim Ziegler
*** SS Panzergenadier Regiment 23 Norge – ''SS-Obersturmbannführer'' Fritz Knöchlein
*** SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark
** 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) – ''SS-Brigadeführer'' Franz Augsberger
*** Waffen Grenadier Regiment 45 – ''Waffen-Obersturmbannführer'' Harald Riipalu
*** Waffen Grenadier Regiment 46
*** Waffen Grenadier Regiment 47
*** Artillery Regiment
** 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands – ''SS-Brigadeführer'' Jürgen Wagner
*** 4th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment De Ruyter
*** 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien – ''SS-Sturmbannführer'' Léon Degrelle
*** 6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Langemarck - ''SS-Sturmbannführer'' Conrad Schellong
** 227th Infantry Division - ''Generalmajor der Reserve'' Maximilian Wengler
** 113th Security Regiment
* XXVI Army Corps – ''General der Infanterie'' Anton Grasser
** 11th Infantry Division - ''Generalleutnant'' Hellmuth Reymann
** 300th Special Purpose Division – ''Generalmajor'' Rudolf Höfer
Separate detachments:
* Four Estonian Auxiliary Police battalions
* Eastern sector, coastal defense – ''Generalleutnant'' Alfons Luczny
* Two Estonian border defense regiments
* 513th Naval Artillery Battalion
* 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion
* 752nd Anti-Tank Battalion

Total: 22,250 troops deployed in 25 Estonian and 24 German, Dutch, Danish, Flemish, Italian, Norwegian and Walloon battalions

Combat

Orphanage Hill

26 July

On 26 July, pursuing the withdrawing Germans, the Soviet attack fell onto the Tannenberg Line before the vastly outnumbered Army Detachment Narwa had dug in. The Soviet Air Force and artillery covered the German positions with bombs and shells, destroying most of the forest on the hills. The Soviet 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions supported by the 98th Tank Regiment assaulted the positions of the SS Division Nordland, seizing the eastern side of the Orphanage Hill.

27 July

In the morning of 27 July the Soviet forces opened up another powerful artillery barrage on the ''Sinimäed''. Anticipating an infantry attack, Steiner concentrated his few working armored vehicles, consisting of seven tanks. Units of the Nordland Division were placed between the two hills and the defense was completed by the Anti-Tank Company, 1st Estonian behind Nordland.

Under Soviet pressure the German defense threatened to collapse. On 27 July Schörner arrived at the ''Sinimäed''. He ordered an immediate recapture of the Orphanage Hill, demanding fanatical resistance from the soldiers.Unpublished data from the official battle diary of the Army Detachment "Narwa" A meeting convened by von Scholz laid the tactics for the implementation of the orders. Immediately after the meeting, however, von Scholz was killed by a shrapnel splinter in front of the headquarters.

28 July

For the next day the 2nd Shock Army was reinforced with the 31st and the 82nd Tank Regiments, three howitzer brigades and nine heavy artillery regiments.

In the evening of 28 July German forces attempted to regain the Orphanage Hill again. Using the tactics of "rolling" small units into the Soviet positions, the troops seized the trenches on the slope of the feature. When a Soviet tank squadron arrived, the German attack collapsed. At a point occupied by the German 11th Infantry Division near the borough of Sirgala in the south, the Soviet tanks aimed to break through. Steiner ordered a withdrawal to a new defensive line at the Grenadier Hill. The order did not reach a significant part of the German forces, which remained in their positions at the Orphanage Hill. Anticipating a major attack, Steiner ordered the heavy weapons of the SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment Norge and the Danmark Regiment to be pulled together into two shock units. By the night of 28 July the battle had subsided.

Grenadier Hill

Preparatory fire

The morning of 29 July began with preparatory artillery fire of 25,000 shells fired by the Soviets. The bombardment covered the Tannenberg Line in a dust cloud. The forest on the ''Sinimäed'' Hills was entirely destroyed, with the trees cut down to a height of 2–3 metres. While having a great psychological effect, the " ''Katyusha''s" or so-called " Stalin organs" were inaccurate, causing little damage to the well-dug-in German troops. The 70–80 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 camouflage uniforms, they remained unseen by the Soviet pilots.

Soviet advance guards on the Grenadier Hill

The attack of 6,000 Soviet infantry began at 09:00, supported by a regiment of nearly 100 tanks (most of them of the heavy IS-2 variety). They used their 122 mm guns to fire directly at the strongpoints showing any signs of life and destroyed the remaining bunkers. The remnants of the German advance guard were destroyed. The platoon commanded by Lt. Lapshin broke through to the top of the Grenadier Hill. Special courage was shown by Sgt. Efendiyev, who destroyed a German strongpoint on the hill. The ''Komsomol'' organiser, V.I. Lavreshin of the 937th Rifle Regiment, who had been marching ahead of his troops with a red flag in his hands, erected it at the summit.

Attack of Soviet main forces

The principle of the Soviet attack in the ''Sinimäed'' was an overwhelming frontal shock, with only a few of the attackers presumed to have reached the target. With artillery fire preventing reinforcements being sent in from the German rear, the Soviet 8th Army went on the attack and drove a wedge into the north flank of the 11th Infantry Division. The Soviet main tactical goal, the Grenadier Hill, was to be assaulted by the 6,000 troops of the 109th Rifle Corps. The 109th Rifle Division attacked Nederland, which was covering the hill from the north. The 120th Rifle Division hit the Grenadier Hill from the east. The 72nd Rifle Division assaulted the II Battalion, 3rd Estonian Regiment, which was defending the northern flank. The 117th Rifle Corps stood ready to break through the last of the German defenses. The Orphanage Hill fell to the Soviets with the 191st Rifle Regiment at the head of the attack. This unit suffered great casualties from the fire 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 Rifle Divisions were exhausted, as the 109th Rifle Division continued to press towards the Grenadier Hill alone. The defenders were commanded by Josef Bachmeier, the head of the II Battalion, Norge. The 1st and 2nd 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. The central command post was destroyed by Soviet fire 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 Nederland. The gaps created in the attacking infantry and tank line by the German artillery did not stop the Soviet advance.

The Soviet tanks besieged the Grenadier Hill and kept circling it, all the while firing 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 fortified from the north and the flanks, were destroyed. Among the Soviet tank commanders, starshina S.F. Smirnov destroyed five German strongpoints. One of the tanks reached the community center of the municipality of Vaivara, blasting a hole in the wall. This remained the westernmost point the Soviet armed forces reached in Northeast Estonia until late September 1944.

By noon on 29 July Soviet forces had almost seized control of the Tannenberg Line. German units counterattacked against the Soviets besieging the Tower Hill; the second secured the Narva–Tallinn Highway in the west and the third unit counterattacked between the Grenadier Hill and the railway a few kilometers to the south. After the counterattack, only one German Panther tank remained unscathed.

Germans capture the Grenadier Hill

After the German counterattack the tactical situation at the Tannenberg Line remained unclear. The remains of the 2nd Battalion Norge at the Grenadier Hill assaulted the Soviets. The latter suffered heavy losses but regrouped and cut the Norwegians off at the east side of the hill. On the western terrace of the Grenadier Hill, ''Kampfgruppe'' Bachmeier and the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Estonian kept resisting. The Soviets started searching the bunkers for documents and prisoners. 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 fire on the German infantry.

Steiner had one more battalion to spare – the 1st Battalion, Waffen Grenadier Regiment 45 Estland (1st Estonian) which had been spared from the previous counterattacks because of the scarcity of able-bodied men. ''Sturmbannführer'' Paul Maitla

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