Battle for the Narva beachhead
The Battle for Narva Bridgehead , as part of a protracted dispute over the ownership of the land bridge between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus to look at is found from February to July 1944 in the Second World War between parts of the German Army Group North and the Soviet Leningrad Front held . Numerous European volunteers from the Waffen SS fought on the German side . The battle developed after the Red Army's territorial gains during the Leningrad-Novgorod Operation and halted their advance into Estonia for more than five months.
Lomonosov offensive and the retreat to Narva
,_Soldaten_im_Schnee.jpg)
On January 14, 1944, the Soviet Volkhov and Leningrad fronts began an offensive against Army Group North, led by Field Marshal Georg von Küchler , with the aim of driving them out of their positions near Oranienbaum ( defensive position North Wall ) and advancing into Estonia . In addition, the Red Army tried to encircle the German 18th Army under the leadership of Colonel General Georg Lindemann .
The central thrust of the attack was directed against that of III. (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps under SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS Felix Steiner occupied territory, where the 9th and 10th field divisions (L) were also located. The German defense lines broke quickly, so that Army Group North withdrew to new positions near the Narva River . The rearguard was formed by Steiner's SS Corps, which led some bloody retreat skirmishes and secured the retreat to the east bank of the Narva. The Narva represents the 78 kilometer long runoff from the Peipussee to the Baltic Sea . At this point - called the " Panther Line " - von Küchler wanted to organize the defense. Hitler forbade this and replaced von Küchler on January 31, 1944 as leader of Army Group North with Colonel-General Walter Model .
Model had similar plans as von Küchler, but was in Hitler's favor, so that he had more freedom. He used this to withdraw the German army to the west bank of the Narva and organize the defense there. In order to appease Hitler, however - contrary to the plans of Küchler - he put on a strong bridgehead on the east bank of the river.
Soviet attacks
The main thrust of the Soviet offensive was then directed again at Steiner's SS Corps, which was positioned east of the strategically important city of Narva . Steiner's corps consisted mostly of volunteers. SS men from Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Hungary (Banat Swabia), Romania (Transylvania Saxony), Italy, Spain, Latvia and Estonia were integrated into the German lines of defense.
The Dutch of the 4th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Brigade "Nederland" and the 11th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Nordland" , consisting of different nationalities, had dug defensive lines there , the so-called " Narva Line ". This line of defense ran seven kilometers between the village of Lilienbach in the north and the village of Dolgaja Niva in the south.
On February 3, 1944, the Soviet attack began. A Soviet division, protected by tanks, quickly breached the German lines and built a bridgehead on the west bank of the river.
The tank division "Hermann von Salza" of the Nordland Division, commanded by Obersturmbannführer Paul Albert Kausch, carried out a successful counterattack and prevented the Soviet troops from breaking through in the center of the defense lines. However, to the north, near the village of Siivertsi, the Red Army held another bridgehead.
In the south of the city of Narva, which was to be defended by the " Narva Army Detachment " formed on February 2, 1944 , Soviet troops also crossed the river and formed the bridgehead of Kriwasoo. For the Germans, this threatened to split off from Steiner's SS Panzer Corps and two other army divisions. The German high command then threw the heavy Panzer Division 502 under the leadership of Major Willy Jähde into battle to stabilize their own lines. To strengthen the German defense on the newly dug out was Estonians existing 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS the III. Assigned to SS Panzer Corps. Steiner ordered this on February 20 to attack the Soviet bridgehead at Siivertsi. Nine days later, all of the Soviet troops withdrew to the east bank.
Shortly afterwards, in the south, the small remains of some divisions collapsed under a new Soviet offensive, so that on February 24 the Red Army took control of the main railway line that secured supplies to Narva ("Westsack" and "Ostsack") and the III. SS Panzer Corps threatened to encircle. Despite strong resistance from the 61st Infantry Division , the Soviet troops continued their advance. The "Narva Army Division" was then sent to the south to stop the Soviet advance. The 61st Infantry Division, the Panzergrenadier Division "Feldherrnhalle" and the Heavy Panzer Division 502 began a counterattack. The XXXXIII began on March 26, 1944 . Army Corps with the 11th and 227th Infantry Divisions counterattacked the "Westsack". The corps was supported by strong artillery and Stukas of the battle squadron 3 from Dorpat and several tank groups. Another attack on the "Ostsack" straightened the front. In the course of bitter fighting, the Soviet troops in the south were pushed back against the river.
The defense of Narva by the “De Ruyter” regiment
Despite heavy losses and numerous setbacks, the Soviet army started new offensives along the Narva Line.
The commander of the Leningrad Front, Leonid Govorov , initially wanted to remove the German bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Narva. To this end, he began a concentrated offensive near Lilienbach, which the Dutch SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Regiment 49 "De Ruyter", commanded by SS Obersturmbannführer Hans Collani , stood in the way. After mutual artillery fire, there was a bitter fight between the Soviet infantrymen and the outnumbered soldiers of the regiment. After long fighting, the Soviet attackers were finally repulsed. Goworow then decided to start offensive elsewhere and to wear down the Dutch SS unit with artillery fire and air strikes.
On the night of March 6th and 7th, the Soviet air force carried out several bombings against the city of Narva. The artillery then began to bombard the city. All of the surviving civilians left the city heading west.
Next, Goworow launched an offensive in which he wanted to use both the numerical superiority of his troops and the surprise effect. After heavy artillery fire, he attacked the Dutch SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Regiment 48 "General Seyffardt" in the south, under the leadership of SS Standard Leader Wolfgang Jörchel. Due to the initial surprise, the Germans initially vacated their positions, but regained their old positions in the course of a counterattack. The Soviet offensive then collapsed.
Soviet attacks continued
Thereupon Goworow concentrated his attacks again on Lilienbach and the "De Ruyter" regiment. After heavy bombing of the German positions, Soviet infantry, with the support of numerous tanks, attacked them again, drove out the German troops and broke through the enemy lines. The Red Army then sent numerous other tanks into battle to free troops to build bridges. After a German counterattack with tanks failed, Collani withdrew his troops further south and built a new line of defense there.
The Red Army attacked the retreating Dutch with artillery, resulting in significant losses. In the course of these battles, an already encircled German battalion was able to free itself. After a week of relative ceasefire, heavy bombardment of the German defense lines began again on March 22, after Soviet troops temporarily got into the rear of the Germans but were unable to maintain their position.
After two months of fighting, both sides were so exhausted that a quieter period set in through April. In addition, the floods and rainfalls that are common in these areas ensured that hardly any troop movements were possible.
Soviet turn to the south
Even during this period of rest, the Red Army continued its shelling with artillery and aerial bombardment. Frustrated by the numerous unsuccessful attacks on the German defense lines, Goworow ordered a combined attack from land and sea. For this purpose, troops landed on the Gulf of Finland , a few kilometers behind the lines of the Axis powers. However, parts of the “Nordland” division and the “Coast” SS combat group, commanded by the Danish SS brigade leader and Major General of the Waffen SS Christian Peder Kryssing, repulsed the landing maneuver.
On March 23, 1944, Hitler then ordered the "Narva Fortress" operation. Narva was declared a fortress and should be kept .
Floods, heavy rains and storms made further attacks impossible, so that the front stagnated in May as well. At the end of May the soil began to dry up again. General Goworow had used the time to strengthen his southern flank and to prepare his troops for an attack on the city of Dolgaja Niva, defended by the troops of the Nordland Regiment 24 "Danmark".
On June 7th, the Red Army shelled the entire length of the Narva Line. The 13th Air Regiment of the Red Army began - with only minimal resistance from the German Air Force - to bomb Dolgaja Niva and the Nordland Regiment standing there. Immediately afterwards, wave-like attacks by the Soviet infantry began, which soon reached the city, whereupon bitter house-to-house fighting broke out .
On June 12th, the Soviet troops first broke open the defensive lines, but Danish SS troops in particular succeeded in stabilizing the front again for two more weeks.
The Red Army then concentrated on a breakthrough at Army Group Center further south (→ Operation Bagration ).
Retreat to the Tannenberg positions
Although the III. SS Panzer Corps continued the line of defense, but this became increasingly difficult. Therefore SS-Obergruppenführer Steiner decided to give up the exposed position on the Narva River and build a new line of defense further in the hinterland. The so-called "Tannenbergstellung" was created along some hills further to the west.
Meanwhile, Goworow ordered a new attack on the north flank of the SS corps and was able to build a bridgehead on the west bank of the river.
New Soviet attacks against the German bridgehead on the eastern bank of the river were initially repulsed by the defending Danes and Dutch. The Soviet bridgehead was strengthened every day by newly arriving troops. This worsened the situation for the German side more and more. On July 23, Steiner therefore, contrary to Hitler's express instructions, ordered the retreat to the Tannenberg position. The Dutch SS regiment "General Seyffardt" was supposed to cover the retreat together with the German artillery and be the last to cross the bridge.
Goworow ordered another attack on July 24th to rub off the retreating Germans. In the north, the Estonian 20th Waffen Grenadier Division was driven into disorderly flight by massive tank attacks. 137 aircraft of Air Fleet 1 were supposed to cover the retreat, but failed because of the 800 Soviet aircraft.
In the afternoon of the same day, the Narva Bridge was blown up after a German artillery battalion had crossed it and the retreat of the SS Panzer Corps was thus completed. With the exception of the regiment "General Seyffardt", which had left the planned retreat route to evade the Soviet attack, was isolated from the bridge and then destroyed, all units of Steiner's Panzer Corps reached the Tannenberg position, which was further prepared for Soviet attacks.
swell
- David Westwood: German Infantryman . Volume 3: Eastern Front. 1943-45 . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2005, ISBN 1-84176-780-8 , ( Warrior 93).
- Hans Peter Eisenbach: Front operations of a Stuka pilot, Mediterranean and Eastern Front 1943-44 . Helios Verlag, Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-938208-96-0 , (Among other things, the book precisely describes the Stuka mission in the defense of Narva).
Web links
- Dutch in the Waffen-SS (English)