Battle of Narva – Winter 1944

By Van Norton
Narva: Spring Thaw...

For all you German soldiers who thought you were

forgotten, welcome to the People's Patriotic Radio
broadcasting in German for our comrades in Narva
and all along the Ostfront. In January 1944, our
glorious Red Army units have crushed the besiegers
of Leningrad and sent the survivors scurrying for the
protection of your so called Panther Line. Your
delaying efforts by the III SS Panzer Corps were brave
but foolish. Bridges are quickly rebuilt. Every lost tank
is replaced by two more. The mad man Hitler will be
brought to justice! Don’t throw your lives away for
Obergruppenfüher Steiner. Surrender to any of the
units of General Govorov and you will be well treated.
Camps await you far from the front line were you can
live out the remaining days of the war in peace until
the inevitable victory by our Red Army.
Germany's Army Group North had
been besieging Leningrad for over
two years. In January of 1944, the
RKKA (Workers' and Peasants' Red
Army) under General Govorov
launched an offensive that threatened
to encircle the besieging army.
Through a series of skillful rear guard
actions, the III SS Panzer Corp was
able to withdraw to the natural
defensive position of the Narva River
near the city of Narva.

As they arrived, the German forces

found that the defensive fortification
of the Panther Line existed only on
paper. There were a few
emplacements from the invasion in
1941 but generally these were in poor
locations for the current battle. The
ground was frozen making the
preparation of new trench lines
difficult. However, the terrain offered
a choke point with Lake Peipus in the
south and the Gulf of Finland to the
north connected by the south to north
running Narva River.
 The river represents the border
between Russia and the Baltic nation
of Estonia. If the RKKA could drive
the Germans from Narva, they would
remove the invaders from the whole
region. This would score both a
strategic and political victory for
Stalin’s armies. The river was icy and
the bridges were the key to both the
defense of Narva and the success of
the Soviet attacks.

The Red Army did not wait for the

Germans to settle. On February 2,
the Second Shock Army led by Major
General Fediuninsky immediately
attacked the German bridgehead on
the east side of the Narva River. This
bridgehead was a seven mile long
line stretching from the village of
Lilienback in the north to the village of
Dolgaja Niva in the south.
Manning this position were troops from 4.SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade "Nederland" and 11.SS-
Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Division "Nordland". These units were unusual in that they consisted of
volunteers from European countries other than Germany (Freiwilligen means volunteers).

On February 3, the Soviet attack began with a thrust through the defenses on the east side of the river.
Soviet tanks broke through and threatened to establish their own bridgehead on the west side of the river.
The Nordland’s Panzer Battalion named Hermann von Salza and the Tiger tanks of 502. Schwere Panzer-
Abteilung (502nd Heavy Tank Battalion), which included Tiger ace Lt. Otto Carius, joined the battle. They
defeated the Soviet armor and with their support, and the "Nordland" infantry was able to recapture their
position on the east side of the river.
On February 11, the 43rd Rifle Corps
attacked north of the city but met
heavy resistance from 227th
Grenadier Division and the SS
"Nederland" Brigade. In the south,
attacks by the 109th and 122nd Rifle
Corps were somewhat more
successful advancing 7.5 miles
before being stopped by SS
Nordland, 170th Grenadier Division
and the Panzergrenadier
Division "Feldherrnhalle".

The Soviets decided to attempt an

amphibious landing northwest of
Narva to met the troops driving up
from the south east and encircling the
German forces. The landing was
made by the 115th and 260th Naval
Infantry Brigades and the night of
February 13. The Germans had been
forewarned of the attempt and only
432 men managed to land. All their
communication equipment was lost
and therefore they could receive no
support from the Soviet fleet. They
were all killed or captured by the
February 17.

Soviet assaults continued up and

down the Narva defensive line. In the
north the Soviets established a
bridgehead on the west side of the
river near the village of Siivertsi. SS-
Obergruppenfüher Steiner received
control of the Estonian 20. Waffen-
Grenadier-Division der SS (Estische
Nr.1) on February 8. These fresh
troops were committed to the line on
February 20 replacing the battered
9th and 10th Luftwaffe Feld-Divisions.
After nine days of heavy fighting the
Soviets were again forced back to the
east side of the river.

On February 14, the Stavka issued

new orders to General Govorov:

It is mandatory that our forces seize Narva no later than 17 February 1944. This is required both for military
as well as political reasons. It is the most important thing right now.I demand that you undertake all
necessary measures to liberate Narva no later than the period indicated.

I. Stalin

- Stavka VGK directive no. 220025 to Leningrad Front commander concerning the periods for the liberation
of Narva
 A fresh Soviet assault
south of Narva by the
30th Guard Rifle Corps
broke through the
defensive line and
established a bridge
head. By February 24,
the assault forces had
swung in a wide arc
around Narva, reaching
the rail line supporting
the city and threatening
to encircle the
defenders. It was
stopped when Division
Feldherrnhalle
and 502. Schwere
Panzerabteilung count
er attacked.

After a week of relative

quiet, March saw a
renewed offensive by
the Soviets. At dawn
on 1 March, the Red
Army began a 20
minute artillery barrage
against the Nazi
positions. This was
followed by the
advance of units from
the 2nd Shock Army,
2nd Rifle Corps, 59th
Army, 109th Rifle
Corps, and 43rd Rifle
Corps.
The artillery barraged proved to have been inadequate against the deeply dug in defenders and the
advances halted due to heavy casualties. Accurate and timely German artillery played a large part in
breaking up the advances as did the Luftwaffe even though the Red Army enjoyed a roughly 3 to 1
advantage in airpower along the front. March 1 ended with all advances halted and little gain for the
Soviets.
General Govorov
attempted to revive
the assault on the
2nd, bringing fresh
forces to bear
against the Narva
defenses. These
attacks also
floundered with little
gain to show. Rather
than allow the
Soviets to
consolidate the few
gains they had
achieved, the
German forces
launched a vicious
serious of counter
attacks on March 4
through 6. These
attacks recaptured
the lost territory and
returned the lines to
their February
locations.

In response, on the
night of March 6-7,
the Red Air Force
made a massive
bombing raid of the
city of Narva,
reducing it to ruins.
The surviving
civilians fled west
but the air raid and
artillery
bombardment that
followed did not
greatly harm the
defenders.
 Govorov continued attacking up and
down the Narva Line seeking a
weakness in the defenses. One
attack against Nederland’s 49.SS
Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier
regiment named de Ruyter broke
through toward the river. Govorov
committed his tank reserves with
orders to seize the bridges across the
river into the city. The defenders
counter attacked with Nordland’s
Herman von Salza Panzer Abteilung.
The panzers stopped the advancing
tanks but they were prevented from
exploiting their advantage by heavy
anti-tank fire from the east side of the
river.
On March 23 Hilter order the creation
of Festung Narwa a fortress city that
was to be held at all costs. The
Germans launched a series of
counter attacks beginning on March
26. These attacks were designed to
eliminate the Soviet bridgehead
gained by the 30th Guard Rifle Corps
in February on the west side of the
river.

In this they were mostly successful

driving the Red forces back to the
river, but not across it. These attacks
could not be sustained with the
equipment and manpower available,
but the threat was sufficient that
General Govorov ordered the
construction of extensive defensive
works on the east side of the river to
prevent a possible breakout.
By the end of March, the RKKA was not able to defeat the Reich's defense of Narva. The Germans had
succeeded in rapidly reinforcing their positions while the Soviets were hampered in their attacks both by the
terrain and a poor command and control system between the various units in the sector. The thaw in April
and the rasputitsa (muddy season) forced a halt all major operations until late May.