Battle of Narva - Battle for the Narva Bridgehead (1944)
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Narva - Battle for the Narva Bridgehead (1944)
The Battle of Narva was a battle, or more correctly a campaign, which took place between January and September 1944. The battle was fought on the Eastern Front during World War II between the forces of the German Heeresgruppe Nord and the Soviet Volhkov and Leningrad Fronts.
The first phase of the battle is documented here, entitled The Battle for the Narva Bridgehead. This battle took place in the first half of 1944.
The battle is also known as The Battle of the European SS for the large number of Waffen SS Foreign Volunteers engaged on the German side.
Although it was an overall Soviet victory, the small German force managed to hold off a Soviet advance for over several months.
Oranienbaum Offensive - Retreat to Narva
On February 14, 1944, the Soviet Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts launched operations aimed at forcing the German Generalfeldmarschall Georg von Küchler's Army Group North back from its positions near Oranienbaum and out of Estonia. In the process, the attack was expected to encircle Generaloberst Georg Lindemann's 18.Army.
The huge force fell on the sector of SS-Obergruppenfüher Felix Steiner's III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps, hitting the area of the 9th and 10th Luftwaffe-Feld-Divisions. The Luftwaffe units crumbled quickly, and soon Army Group North was falling back to new positions around the Narwa river in Estonia. Steiner's SS Corps brought up the rear, fighting many bloody rearguard actions until it finally reached the positions on the eastern bank of the Narva. The Narva river provided a natural chokepoint between the Northern end of Lake Peipus and the Baltic. This position, known as the Panther line, was where von Küchler wanted to set up his defense. Hitler refused, and replaced von Küchler with Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model as commander of Army Group North.
Model agreed with von Küchler, however, being one of Hitler's favourites, he also was allowed more freedom by Hitler. Using this freedom to his advantage, Model managed to fall back and begin establishing a line along the Narwa river with a strong bridgehead on the Eastern Bank. This appeased Hitler, and also followed the German standard operating procedure for defending a river line.
Battle of the European SS - Crisis and Recovery
The main brunt of the Soviet attack was to fall on Steiner's SS Corps, positioned east of the strategically important town of Narva. Steiner's corps was mostly made up of SS Freiwilligen or volunteer formations. SS men from Scandinavia, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Spain and the Baltic States joined German formations in the defense of the river line.
The Dutchmen of the 4.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland and the various nationalities of the 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland began frantically digging in along what had become known as the Narva Line. The defensive line ran for over seven miles, from the village of Lilienbach in the north to the village of Dolgaja Niva in the south, bulging eastwards from the river near Narva itself.
On 3 February, the Soviet assault began. A Soviet armoured group quickly penetrated the German line and established a bridgehead on the western bank of the Narva.
The Nordland's Panzer Abteilung, named Hermann von Salza, and commanded by SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Albert Kausch and assisted by Tiger ace Leutnant Otto Carius and a platoon of four Tigers, sprung into action. Quickly eliminating the Soviet armour, the Panzers and Tigers then began supporting the SS-Grenadiers as they cleaned out the Soviet infantry. Crisis was averted in the centre, but further north the Soviets successfully established a bridgehead near the village of Siivertsi.
To the South of the city of Narva, in the zone defended by the ad-hoc Army Abteilung Narwa, Soviet troops crossed the river and threatened to cut off Steiner's SS Corps and two Heer division sized Kampfgruppen. The German commander ordered Major Willy Jähde's Tiger armed 502.Schwere Panzer Abteilung into action, stabilising the German line for the time being. To strengthen the German defense, the newly formed Estonian 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Estnische Nr.1) division was rushed into the line and attached to Steiner's corps. Steiner threw the division into battle on the 20th against the Siivertsi bridgehead. The Estonians proved themselves capable, and within 9 days the Soviets had been pushed back across the river. The first of many crises for the Germans at Narva had passed.
To the south, however, the ragged remnants of several Infantry divisions quickly collapsed under a fresh Soviet assault. By the 24th the Soviet spearheads had reached the main rail line supplying the Narva area and threatened to encircle Steiner's corps to the North. Despite heavy resistance from the 61.Infanterie-Division, the Soviets pushed onwards. Armee-Abteilung Narwa rushed forces south to halt the soviet advance. The 61st Infanterie and Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle, supported by Jähde's Tiger Abt counterattacked and in heavy fighting managed to drive the Soviets back to the river. A battalion from the Nordland's 26th SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment Norge was brought south to help shore up the line.
The Dutch Hold the Line
Despite heavy losses and several setbacks, the Soviets kept up constant probing attacks all across the Narva line.
Soviet General Leonid A. Govorov, the commander of the Leningrad Front, realised that the Narva line could not be breached until the German bridgehead on the eastern side of the river was anihilated. A heavy assault was ordered in the Lilenbach area, defended by men of the Nederland's 49.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment de Ruyter, commanded by SS-Obersturmbannführer Hans Collani, a veteran of the Wiking Division. After an artillery duel between the Nederland and the Soviet attackers, the attack disintegrated into fierce hand to hand fighting between the attacking Soviet infantry and the outnumbered Netherlanders of Regiment de Ruyter. After several hours of fierce combat, the Soviets fell back. De Ruyter had held the line, and Govorov decided to shift his focus of the attack elsewhere. Over the next few weeks, the Nederland was subjected to almost constant artillery and aerial attacks.
On the night of 6/7 March, the Red Air Force made a huge bombing raid on Narva, flattening the city. As the bombing finished, the Soviet artillery began bombarding the town. All surviving civilians fled to the west, leaving the city to the defenders.
Next, Govorov launched an attack using both overwhelming numbers and concealment. After a heavy artillery barrage on SS-Obersturmbannführer Graf von Westphalen's Danmark regiment of the Nordland, the Soviets made an all out assault on the Nederland's 48.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment General Seyffardt commanded by SS-Standartenführer Wolfgang Jörchel, positioned to the south of Danmark. Taken by surprise, the Dutchmen were forced from their positions. Jörchel quickly rallied his men and led a ferocious counterattack. In intense hand to hand fighting, Jörchel's men regained their positions and annihilated the Soviet attack force.
No Respite
Govorov now switched his point of attack back to Lilienbach and Collani's regiment. After a heavy barrage, a Soviet infantry force with tank support launched an attack. Despite fierce resistance, Collani's men were pushed back. The Soviets made a breakthrough, and throwing his reserve armour into the fray, Govorov ordered his men to make for the bridges over the Narva river. Kausch's Hermann von Salza Panzer Abt was committed to hold the line, forcing back the Soviet armour, but heavy anti-tank fire halted Kausch's counterattack. Collani ordered his men to leave the Lilienbach position and take up new defensive positions further south.
The Soviets got wind of the withdrawal, and threw artillery and infantry at the retreating Dutchmen. The De Ruyter suffered heavily, and only the actions of SS-Untersturmführer Helmut Scholz and his men averted disaster. Scholz's depleted company retook the trenchline and then cut through a Soviet encirclement to rescue SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl-Heinz Ertel's II./Battalion. For a week, relative peace descended on the front lines, until on 22 March yet another Soviet barrage fell on Collani's lines. Red Army troops attacked, anihilating 5.Kompanie and breaking through into the regiment's rear. SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz Frühauf formed an assault group from his headquarters personnel and assaulted the 150 man Soviet force, destroying them in heavy fighting, before reforming his men and clearing the regiment's trenches of enemy troops.
After two month's heavy fighting, both sides were exhausted, and a relative peace fell upon the front line. Over the month of April, both sides replenished their forces and licked their wounds. The rasputitsa had arrived, and had virtually halted all movement.
Soviet Frustration - Shift to the South
During this lull in the fighting, the Soviets continued daily artillery and aerial bombardments, and many casualties were inflicted on the Axis defenders. Frustrated in all attempts to attack the Panther line defenses head on, Govorov ordered an amphibious assault. Troops were to attack from the Gulf of Finland, landing several miles behind the Axis lines and attacking the enemy from behind. The Nordland's Norge Regiment and SS-Kampfgruppe Küste quickly responded and annihilated the Soviet beachhead before the Soviet force could cause any real damage.
On 23 March, Hitler ordered the creation of Festung Narwa (Fortress Narva). Narva was to become a fortress city and was to be held at all costs.
The spring thaw and the rasputitsa meant that large scale attacks were impossible, and for the months of April and May, the front stagnated. With the exception of artillery, air and reconnaisance activity, the Narva line was quiet. The end of May signalled the end of the thaw, and the ground began to dry. Govorov had spent the time reinforcing his southern flank and preparing for an all out attack against the town of Dolgaja Niva, held by the Danes of Nordland's Danmark regiment.
On June 7, hundreds of Soviet guns opened up all across the seven mile Narva front. The entire Thirteenth Air Army of the Red Air Force took to the skies with minimal Luftwaffe opposition. Special attention was paid by the Soviets to the Danmark's positions. As the smoke from the bombardment cleared, the Danes found themselves under attack from masses of Soviet infantry, attacking in human waves.
Nordland's artillery opened up, tearing holes in the advancing Russians. The Russians made it to Danmark's positions and began heavy fighting. Over the next four days, the Danes held their positions against the Russians, but on 12 June a hole appeared in the Danmark's lines, and the Soviets managed to occupy the strongpoint known as Post Sunshine. Only scattered forces blocked the Russian way to the bridges over the Narva river.
Seeing the danger, SS-Scharführer Egon Christofferson sprung into action, counterattacking with the remnants of 7./Kompanie Danmark. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the small force pushed the Soviets before it, recapturing Post Sunshine, inflicting many casualties and restoring the line. Christofferson was awarded the Knight's Cross for his actions. Though the fighting continued for another two weeks, the Soviets made no progress against the remnants of Danmark.
Despite continued attacks on the Narva front, STAVKA had begun to look elsewhere for their breakthrough. A new offensive, codenamed Bagration after the Napoleonic-era Russian Marshall, was launched on June 22 against Army Group Centre.
Bagration - Withdrawal to the Tannenberg Line
While Steiner's SS Corps had held the line, the losses suffered could not be replaced as easily as the Soviets. Steiner realised that his men could not hold out for much longer, and that to do so would be to risk annihilation. He ordered work to begin on a new defensive line, the Tannenberg Line (Tannenbergstellung), located on a series of hills to the west of Narva. Time would be needed to make the new defences ready, and Steiner's corps would have to hold out till then.
Govorov launched an attack against the SS Corps Northern flank. this attack succeeded in creating a bridgehead on the western bank. Kausch and Jähde's panzers were sent north to support the Estonians of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division in countering this new threat.
Fresh Soviet attacks against the German bridgehead on the eastern shore were met with fierce resistance from the Danes and Dutchmen. For over a month the bridgehead held against fierce and incessant Soviet attacks. Despite this, the SS Volunteer regiments were now reduced to less than battalion strength, and would not be able to hold out for much longer. News of the successes of Bagration, including the destruction of five German divisions near Vitebsk, increased the Soviets morale, and their attacks were stepped up. The Soviet bridgeheads were being reinforced daily, and Steiner knew that an offensive to trap his corps was not far away. On 23 July, despite Hitler's orders to stand or die, Steiner ordered a withdrawal to the Tannenberg Line. The Nederland was tasked with covering the withdrawal, with the General Seyffardt regiment and the artillery battalion to be the last units to withdraw across the battered Narva bridge.
Govorov was soon aware of Steiner's plans, and on the 24th he launched an all out attack across the front in an attempt to destroy the withdrawing Germans. The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division was pushed back from the North by a heavy Soviet tank attack, and soon the Tallinn-Narva Rollbahn, the German's only line of retreat, was threatened. Luftflotte 1, Army Group North's Luftwaffe force, was sent into the air to provide cover for the withdrawing men of Steiner's corps, but despite brave efforts, the 137 aircraft of the Luftflotte were overwhelmed by the 800 plus aircraft of the Thirteenth Air Army.
Somehow, the lines managed to hold the Soviets while the last of the SS men withdrew across the Bridge. However, due to a colossal mistake by its officers, the General Seyffardt regiment would not survive the withdrawal.
Attempting to avoid Soviet forces, the regiment was ordered to take a different route to that planned. The withdrawing Dutchmen were soon discovered by Jabos of the Red Air Force, and soon were pinned down. Soviet ground forces were brought in to attack the regiment, and soon the regiment was under attack from the air and the ground. After a short time, the General Seyffardt ceased to exist, with only a few survivors reaching the Tannenberg Line a week later.
On the afternoon of the 24 July, the Artillery battalion of the Nederland withdrew across the Narva bridge, and Pioneers from the Nordland's Pioneer Battalion blew the bridge. With the exception of the General Seyffardt, the withdrawal had been a success, and Steiner's men began to dig in on the Tannenberg Line, in preparation of the next Soviet attacks.
The battle of Narva was over. While the Soviets could claim victory, they had been held from their objectives for months by a force a fraction of their size, a force which had escaped largely in tact.
For the next Phase of the campaign, see Battle of Narva - Battle of the Tannenbergstellung (1944)
References
- Tieke, Wilhelm - Tragedy of the Faithful: A History of III. (Germanisches) SS-Panzer-Korps
- Michaelis, Rolf - Die 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Nordland"
- [Netherlanders in the Waffen SS]
- Steiner, Felix - Waffen-SS im Einsatz
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.