Baltic Offensive (1944)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Baltic Offensive (1944)
(Baltic Strategic Offensive)
partof= Soviet-German War, World War II


caption=Advance of the Red Army 1943 - 1944
date= 14 September 1944 - 24 November 1944
place= Baltic States, East Prussia, Poland
result= Soviet Victory
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=
commander2=
strength1=Unknown
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=260,000 all causes
casualties2=Unknown
notes=The Baltic Offensive, also known as the Baltic Strategic Offensive, [ Anderson, p. 203; Muriev, pp. 22-28; Stilwell, p. 343; Проэктор.] denotes the campaign between the German Wehrmacht and the Red Army in the Baltic region during late summer and autumn of 1944.

The Red Army's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Baltic Fronts engaged German Army Group Centre and Army Group North. The result of the series of battles was a permanent loss of contact between Army Groups North and Centre, and the creation of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.

Soviet historians divide the offensive into four operations:
*Riga Offensive 14 September 1944 - 24 October 1944
*Tallinn Offensive 17 September 1944 - 26 September 1944
*Moonzund Landing Operation 27 September 1944 - 24 November 1944
*Memel Offensive 5 October 1944 - 22 October 1944

etting the stage

During 1944, the "Wehrmacht" was pressed back along its entire frontline in the east. In February 1944 it retreated from the approaches to Leningrad to the prepared section of the Panther Line in the border of Estonia. In June and July, Army Group Centre was thrown back from the Belorussian SSR into Poland by Operation Bagration. This created the opportunity for the Red Army to attack towards the Baltic Sea, thereby splitting the land connection between the German Army Groups.

By 5 July 1944, the Shyaulyay Offensive Operation commenced, as a follow-on from Operation Bagration. The Soviet 43rd, 51st, and 2nd Guards Armies attacked towards Riga on the Baltic coast with 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps in the van. By 31 July 1944 the coast on the Gulf of Riga had been reached; 6th Guards Army covered Riga and the extended flank of the penetration towards the north.

The German reaction was rapid, and initially successful. An attack, code-named Operation Doppelkopf, was attempted from 16 August 1944 by XXXX and XXXIX Panzer Corps under the command of Third Panzer Army, Army Group Centre. Acting in coordination with armoured formations from Army Group North, they initially cut off the Soviet troops on the coast, and re-established a tenous 30-km wide corridor connecting Army Groups Centre and North. The main objective of the attack was to re-take the key road-junction of Šiauliai ( _de. Schaulen), but the German tanks ran head-on into an in-depth defensive by the 1st Baltic Front, and by 20 August the German advance had stalled with heavy losses. A follow-on attack, code-named Operation Cäsar, failed in the same manner. After a brief period of respite, STAVKA issued orders for the Baltic Strategic Offensive, which lasted from 14 September to 24 November 1944.

Baltic Offensive - constituent battles

In common with other Soviet strategic offensives, the Baltic Offensive covers a number of operational level operations and individual Front offensive operations. From the German (defensive) perspective, the period included the later phases of the Battle of the Tannenbergstellung, as well as Operation Cäsar in mid-September, which was aimed at the restoration of contact between Army Groups Centre and North, the early stages of the siege of Memel, and the early part of the siege of the Courland Pocket.

From the Soviet perspective, the Baltic Offensive included the following separate operationsSee [http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter5_10_1.html soldat.ru] for a breakdown of the strategic offensive] :

*The Riga Offensive ( _ru. Рижская наступательная операция) (14 September 1944 - 24 October 1944) was carried out by the 3rd and 2nd Baltic Fronts and cleared the coast of the Gulf of Riga.
*The Tallinn Offensive ( _ru. Таллинская наступательная операция) (17 September 1944 - 26 September 1944) was carried out by the Leningrad Front to drive German forces from Estonia.
* The Moonzund Landing Operation ( _ru. Моонзундская десантная операция) (27 September 1944 - 24 November 1944) was the amphibious landing on the Estonian islands of Dagö, Ösel, and Moon (German spelling), which block access to the Gulf of Riga.
*The Memel Offensive ( _ru. Мемельская операция)(5 October 1944 - 22 October 1944) was an attack by the 1st Baltic Front aimed at severing the connection between the German Army Groups Centre and North.

Consequences

The Soviet fronts involved in the battle lost a total of ca. 260,000 men to all causes (killed, missing, wounded, sick). The Baltic Offensive operation resulted in the expulsion of German forces from Estonia and Lithuania.

Army Group North land lines of communication were permanently severed from Army Group Centre, and it was relegated to an occupied Baltic seashore area in Latvia. On the 25 January Hitler renamed Army Group North to Army Group Courland implicitly recognising that there was no possibility of restoring a new land corridor between Courland and East Prussia. [On the 25 January Hitler renamed three army groups: Army Group North became Army Group Courland; Army Group Centre became Army Group North and Army Group A became Army Group Centre] The Red Army commenced the encirclement and reduction of the Courland cauldron which retained a possibility of being a major threat, but were able to focus on operations on its northern flank that were now aiming at East Prussia. Operations by the Red Army against the Courland Pocket continued until the surrender of the Army Group Courland on 9 May 1945, when close to 200,000 Germans were taken prisoner there.

The German command released thousands of native conscripts from military service. However the Soviet command began conscripting Baltic natives as areas were brought under Soviet control.D. Muriyev, "Preparations, Conduct of 1944 Baltic Operation Described", "Military History Journal" (USSR Report, Military affairs), 1984-9, page. 27] While some ended up serving on both sides, many hid in the woods to avoid conscription. ("See also Forest Brothers")

Formations and units involved

oviet

*1st Baltic Front commanded by General Hovhannes (Ivan) Baghramian
**5th Guards Tank Army commanded by General Volsky
**6th Guards Army commanded by Lieutenant-General I.M. Chistyakov
**Fourth Shock Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Malyshev
**43rd Army commanded by Lieutenant-General A.P. Beloborodov
**51st Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Ia. G. Kreizer
**33rd Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Tsvetaev
*2nd Baltic Front commanded by Army-General A.I. Yeremenko
**3rd Shock Army commanded by Lieutenant-General N.P. Simonyak
**22nd Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Vostrukhov
*3rd Baltic Front commanded by Colonel-General I.I. Maslennikov
*3rd Belorussian Front (parts) commanded by Army General I.D.Chernyakovsky
**2nd Shock Army commanded first by Lieutenant-General P.G. Chanchibadze, then by Lieutenant-General I.I. Feduninsky
**3rd Guards Mechanized Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General V.T. Obukhov
**61st Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Belov
**67th Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Sviridov
*Leningrad Front commanded by Marshal L.A. Govorov (parts)
**8th Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Starikov

German

*Army Group North commanded by Colonel-General Ferdinand Schörner
**Eighteenth Army commanded by Colonel-General Loch
****132nd Infantry Division
**Sixteenth Army commanded by Colonel-General Hansen
*Army Group Centre commanded by Colonel-General Reinhardt
**Third Panzer Army commanded by Colonel-General Erhardt Rauss
***XXXX. Panzer Corps
***XXXIX. Panzer Corps
****Panzer Grenadier Division "Grossdeutschland"
****4th Panzer Division
****5th Panzer Division
****17th Panzer Division

Notes and references

* Anderson, D, et al. "The Eastern Front", Zenith Imprint (2001), ISBN 076030923X
* Muriyev, D. "Preparations, Conduct of 1944 Baltic Operation Described", Military History Journal (USSR Report, Military affairs), 1984-9
* Stilwell, A. and Hastings, M. "The Second World War: A World in Flames", Osprey (2004}, ISBN 1841768308
* Проэктор, Д. M. "Агрессия и катастрофа. Высшее военное руководство фашистской Германии во второй мировой войне", Глава восьмая. "Катастрофа", М.: Наука, 1972.

Further reading

*Melzer, W. 'Der Kampf um die baltischen Inseln'
*Niepold, G. 'Panzeroperationen Doppelkopf und Cäsar'
*Ziemke, E.F. 'Stalingrad to Berlin'
*Bagramyan 'So schritten wir zum Sieg'
* [http://www.kurland-kessel.de/ The Courland Pocket ("Kurland Kessel")]
* [http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=28159 Axishistory Forum Discussion]
* [http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourceFileView?file=worldwarii_europe_maps_map31.htm Link to external map of Eastern Front]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/de/Cerskus/Kurland1.html The Story of Lithuanian Soldier]