When the Soviet Army launched its Operation
Bagration, the Germans were completely taken by surprise. Within a matter of weeks, the Soviets had
created an irrecoverable gap. This gap seriously endangered the Narva Bridgehead. When a new Soviet threat in front of Narva
became apparent, German high command agreed that it was time to pull back. The Southern flank of the 18th army was attacked
on the 11th of July 1944 by the 2nd Baltic front, and they were forced to pull back from
the Marienburg defensive line. On the 24th of July, it was the turn of the
3rd SS Panzer Corps. The 3rd Baltic front which consisted out of
a dozen divisions started their final assault on Narva. The Germans of Army Group Narva had anticipated
the attack and had already started its withdrawal on the 23rd, one day prior to the Soviet offensive. The Soviets came up with the two-pronged attack
in an attempt to encircle the Germanic SS Panzer Corps. The southern pincer of the offensive was already
across the Estonian river just south of Vaivara. The pincer movement was clearly felt by the
11th Infantry Division which bore the brunt of the Soviet attack. Despite the masses of infantry and tanks,
the German infantry division managed to keep the attackers at bay, although just. To the north of Narva, the Soviets attacked
to create their northern pincer. After an incredible artillery barrage, the
Soviets attacked at Riigi-Hungerburg where the 20th Estonian SS Division was defending. The Soviets broke right through and the Estonians
were compelled to retreat enduring heavy losses. The retreat opened the gap for the Soviet
attackers, and the situation for the Germans became critical. While the Soviets had launched their offensive,
the Germans were still preparing their new Tannenberg defensive line. The first unit to arrive at the new positions
were the Flemish volunteers of the 6th SS Sturmbrigade ‘Langemarck’. They were rushed in from training and its
reformation as the unit had already endured immense losses earlier in the year. Under the command of SS-Hauptsturmführer
Rehmann, the Flemish battalion took up positions near an abandoned orphanage building on top
of one of the three hills at Sinimaed. The hill was quickly baptised as ‘Orphanage
hill’. The first units to start the withdrawal from
the Narva Bridgehead were the Danmark regiment less its 7th company and the 1st battalion
of the SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 49 ‘De Ruyter’. Both formations withdrew at 23h30pm on the
night of the 24th of July. Both units withdrew across the bridges without
any incidents. Following the Danmark and the 1st battalion
of the ‘De Ruyter’ were the men of the SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 48 ‘General
Seyffardt’ and the 2nd battalion of the ‘De Ruyter’. They were covered by the 7th company of the
Danish regiment. Of course, the units didn’t retreat directly
towards the Tannenberg line. Each fighting force was designated with areas
of retreat, so that everything could go smoothly. Narva was held for another 24 hours before
pulling back towards new positions. There were four main points of retreat before
the 3rd SS Panzer Corps would arrive at the final destination, the Tannenberg line and
the Blue hills. By midnight on the 25th of July, the final
troops inside the Narva Bridgehead had safely crossed the river. Early in the morning of the 25th, the Norland’s
divisional staff retreated to the new positions. By 11h00am, that morning, the new headquarters
were set up at Saksamaa, just west of Vaivara. In the afternoon of the 25th, elements of
the Danmark Regiment reached the railroad in the newly created Tannenberg defensive
line. It was joined in the evening by the 7th company
which had acted as a rear-guard. The Norge Regiment joined up with Kampfgruppe
Kausch in the evening. They were located on the Lipsu road, near
the fourth and final point of retreat. Kampfgruppe Kausch consisted of two Estonian
Companies and the SS Panzer Abteilung 11 ‘Hermann von Salza’. The group was named after the commander, SS-Obertsturmbannführer
Paul-Albert Kausch. To the north, still on the 25th of July, the
Soviets continued their offensive at Riigi where the Estonians desperately tried to hold
them back. Despite the heavy losses, the Estonians managed
to stall the Soviet offensive. In the early hours of the 26th, the Bridges
over the Narva were blown, apart from the main bridge inside the city itself, which
withstood the blast. The Men of the Dutch SS Engineer battalion
54 had to push back a Soviet assault on the bridge before new charges could be planted. After a few nerve-racking hours, the final
bridge was also blown up. The Estonians to the north were forced to
retire and the Soviets had created the breakthrough they had been hoping for. With the desired breakthrough, the Soviets
were now able to slowly encircle the retreating German forces. The Luftwaffe was called up to bomb the Soviet
spearheads, but that didn’t stop the steamroller from continuing the offensive. At noon on the 26th of July, Kampfgruppe Kausch
found itself in a dangerous situation with Soviet trucks rolling past the command post. 2 companies of the SS Engineer Battalion 11
had to be brought up to establish contact with Kausch’ unit. Kampgruppe Kausch wasn’t the only unit to
become surrounded. As the 4th SS Sturmbrigade Nederland retreated,
its 2nd battalion of the ‘De Ruyter’ became cut off. Regimental commander Collani quickly sent
the 1st battalion out to the rescue. After very stiff combat the artillery units
of the brigade and the 2nd battalion of the ‘De Ruyter’ were reached and they were
successfully extricated. Not all was good news for the Germans and
the Dutch. The initial phases of retreat went more or
less as planned, the later stages however, not so much… The SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 48 ‘General
Seyffardt‘ was still dangerously encircled. SS-Brigadeführer Wagner, commanding the Dutch
Sturmbrigade sent out his assault gun and reconnaissance companies to aid his regiment
in breaking through. The rescuing force quickly ran into Soviet
opposition and a bloody firefight ensued. The Dutchmen managed to knock out 8 tanks,
but in return, the Germans lost two self-propelled guns. As the relieving force was not able to breach
the Soviet lines, the ‘General Seyffardt’ Regiment was left to survive on its own. In the evening of the previous night, being
the 25th of July, SS-Obersturmbannführer Benner, the regimental commander decided to
rest and wait for a detachment that lagged behind. This proved to be a fatal decision. By waiting, Benner had given the Soviet forces
more than enough time to encircle his men. The regiment, retreated to positions in the
forest east of Repiknu from where they tried to hold back the Soviets. All their efforts failed and between 14h00
and 17h00 pm, those who were still alive split up into different groups trying to infiltrate
the Soviet lines and walk back to safety. The SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 48 ‘General
Seyffardt’ had ceased to exist. Only a few stragglers made it out of the encirclement. An estimate of 80% of the regiment was lost. Benner, the commander and the commander of
the first battalion were killed in the struggle. The Regiment was removed from battle duties
and in the autumn of 1944 it was rebuilt with new recruits coming from The Netherlands. By the end of the year, it was back in combat. In the meantime at the Tannenberg line, the
retreating 3rd battalion of the Norge Regiment was also temporarily cut off. The Danmark’s 11th company was successfully
sent out to clear the way for their Norwegian comrades. The fighting on the 26th was far from over. To the North, a vital link-up was made with
the men of the Estonian 20th SS Division. This way, the defensive line was sealed, eliminating
any possible gaps through which the attackers could sneak through. The Nederland in the meantime would take over
the Estonians’ positions whilst the Estonians on their turn would move further south. At noon on the 26th of July, the Soviets started
to pummel the Tannenberg line with artillery. Most of the fire was directed at Orphanage
hill, where the 1st battalion of the 6th SS Sturmbrigade Langemarck had taken up positions. Baptised as Kampfgruppe Rehmann, the Flemish
had a dominant position with excellent fields of vision and fire. The Soviets, well-aware of the importance
of the position, made the hill a prime target for artillery. In the bombardment, the Orphanage was completely
destroyed and the Flemish unit endured heavy losses, losing both SS-Hauptsturmführer Rehmann
and his adjutant SS-Untersturmführer Swinnen. Both officers were grievously wounded. 2 company commanders were also killed and
the newly appointed Adjutant was mortally wounded. The command thus passed on to SS-Untersturmführer
D’Haese. After yet another nerve-racking retreat, most
of the 3rd SS Panzer corps’ units were back in defensive positions. The Tannenberg defensive line was the last
major defensive line before the rest of Estonia and its capital, Talinn. The country’s main railway lines ran through
the southern part of the defensive system and a major highway was just a stone’s throw
away. The northern part of the defensive zone, close
to the coast was dotted with hills which favoured the defence. The centre of the line was marked by three
prominent hills. We already saw the easternmost hill, being
‘Orphanage hill’. The middle of the three hills was the ‘Grenadier
Hill’ and the westernmost hill was called ‘Hill 69.9’
Hill 69.9 was used as headquarters by both the Norge and the De Ruyter Regiments. The Norge being on the southern flank and
the Dutchmen on the northern flank. The defences of the Tannenberg line were at
an odd angle making it harder to defend as the Soviets could poor fire in from both the
east and south. The northernmost unit was the SS Engineer
Battalion 54 of the Nederland Brigade. They were positioned touching the Gulf of
Finland. On their right were the men of SS Panzer-Grenadier
Regiment 49 ‘De Ruyter’. Their positions ran to just north of the main
road. On the other side of the main road were the
men of the Nordland Division with the 3rd battalion SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 24
Danmark, the 2nd battalion of the Danmark and the 3rd battalion of the SS Panzer-Grenadier
Regiment 23 Norge. Touching the Norge on the right were the men
of the 11th Infantry Division. Just behind the frontline, Orphanage hill
was still being held by the 1st battalion of the Langemarck. Reinforcing them on the northern flank of
the hill were several Flemish PaK guns. The rest of the Nordland’s engineers together
with some Estonian troops were located on Hill 69.9. Opposing them were the men of the 2nd Soviet
Shock army and 8th army, with the 109th and 117th Rifle Corps around the blue hills and
the 122nd Rifle Corps more to the south. When the Soviets plastered the defences with
artillery on the afternoon of the 26th it didn’t only affect the Flemish volunteers
on Orphanage hill. The 3rd battalion of the Danmark Regiment
was also subjected to heavy shelling, resulting in quite a few casualties. Just after dark on the 26th, the Soviets started
their first attack with the 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions. Armour Support was provided by the 98th Tank
Regiment. 5 tanks accompanied by infantry were spotted
on the main road, heading towards the 3rd battalion of the Danmark regiment. The tanks and infantry broke through with
relative ease and within a relatively short period the eastern slope of Orphanage hill
was captured. Countermeasures had to be made to stem the
new Soviet advance and the 3rd battalion Danmark quickly sent a few Grenadiers forward. Armed with Panzerfausts and Panzerschreck
anti-tank weapons they created destruction among the attacking troops. Within minutes more than 10 tanks were destroyed
or knocked out. The first Soviet push was stopped, but, the
Soviet attack was only a prelude to what was yet to come. At 06h00am on the morning of the 27th of July,
the Soviets bombarded the lines once more. Along the frontline shells came crashing down
creating chaos and destruction among the defenders. In the meantime, the few Panzers that were
still left were put under the command of SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul-Albert Kausch’s SS Panzer Abteilung
11. The tanks were put in reserve to the south
of Hill 69.9. At 09h00am , the Soviets resumed their attack. Some 30 T34’s supported by infantry rolled
towards the Danish 10th and 11th companies desperately defending the Tirtsu road. The Soviet tank commanders came too close
and as they came within reach of the handheld anti-tank weapons. 14 T34’s were claimed to have been destroyed
and the others retreated. Later in the day, both the 10th and 11th companies
became surrounded. Both companies would continue the fight, until
they were practically destroyed. Not long after the 2 companies of the Danmark
regiment had become surrounded, the fighting entered the village of Chundinurk from where
it spread to the 2nd battalion of the Danmark regiment and the 3rd battalion Norge. The entire front of the 3rd SS Panzer Corps
was soon fighting the Soviet attackers. When yet another big push was made on the
line, the 3rd battalion of the Danmark regiment was overrun and the survivors were forced
to retire to Orphanage Hill. The 1st battalion of the Langemarck were quickly
ordered to counterattack. The men under SS-Untersturmführer D’Haese
fought a very chaotic and vicious hand-to-hand battle. Meanwhile, on the northern flank of the hill,
the PaK anti-tank guns of the Langemarck brigade had also seen better days. Among them was SS-Unterscharführer Remi Schrijnen,
a Flemish Volunteer. When the Soviets tried to push round the northern
flank of the hill, the Flemish PaK 40’s were manhandled into new positions to fire
onto the oncoming tanks. In quick succession 6 tanks were destroyed,
4 of them went up in flames. The Soviet attack faltered and the Flemish
PaK guns were given credit for it. Although the situation directly north of Orphanage
hill was taken care of, the struggle for northern flank of Steiner’s corps was far from over. The 2nd battalion of the ‘De Ruyter’ regiment
desperately clung onto its positions. It’s commander SS-Hauptsturmführer Carl-Heinz
Frühauf was wounded. The Dutchmen cracked under the pressure and
at the Nordland’s Headquarters, SS-Brigadeführer Fritz von Scholz ordered an armoured counterattack. Kausch ordered 12 Assault guns to Grenadier
Hill from where they managed to contain the immediate threat to the rear. The situation to the south of Orphanage hill
however was far from looking good to the Germans. The headquarters of the 3rd battalion Danmark
regiment had become surrounded and the staff was desperately clinging onto the last buildings
in which the command post was set up. The 7th company of the Norge regiment heard
the cries of desperation through the radio and they counterattacked from the woods to
the northwest of Chundinurk relieving the Headquarters of the Danish battalion. The positions of SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz
Hämel’s 2nd battalion Danmark were not spared either. By noon on the 27th, his right hand company
was starting to collapse and reinforcements had to be called up to help the battered company. Rushing to the scene were the remnants of
the 1st battalion Waffen-Grenadier Regiment of the SS 47 of the 20th Estonian SS Division. With the new reinforcements, Hämel was able
to push the Soviets back, although he fell wounded. Although the counterattack at the 2nd battalion
Danmark Positions was going well, nearly the entirety of the south-eastern flank of the
Orphanage hill fell into the hands of the Red Army. At noon on the 27th of July, a staff meeting
was held at the Danmark regimental headquarters. Several senior officers of the 3rd SS Panzer
Corps were present. SS-Brigadeführer von Scholz being the most
senior officer. After the meeting, the Nordland division’s
commander, von Scholz, went out to inspect the nearby positions of the Danish 13th company. Just as he was talking to the company commander,
a hellish bombardment came crashing down. Fritz von Scholz was mortally wounded by a
shell fragment in the head and died later that day. Alte Fritz as he was called by his troops,
was posthumously promoted by Hitler and he would also posthumously receive the swords
to his Knight’s Cross with oak leaves. The divisional commander might have been killed,
the battle for the blue hills was far from over. The 1st battalion of the Estonian Waffen-Grenadier
regiment 47 was called up to clear the south-eastern part of Orphanage hill. At the same time, two companies of the SS
Engineer battalion 11 would clear the eastern part of the hill. At 22h00pm, the attack commenced after a heavy
mortar barrage. As soon as the Estonians crested the hill,
they came into contact with the Soviet soldiers. Although the first moments provided hope for
the attackers, after a period of heavy combat on the hill, the German counterattack disintegrated,
leaving many casualties on the battlefield. Some units had advance so far forward, that
they had an incredibly hard time trying to extricate themselves out of the perilous situation. The few survivors of the attack regrouped
at the Orphanage building, which had by then been reduced to rubble. As dawn set over the battlefield on the 28th
of July, the 1st battalion of the Estonian Waffen-Grenadier Regiment 47 had ceased to
exist and those who were still fit for combat filled the ranks of the battered 1st battalion
of the Flemish Langemarck Brigade. With SS-Obergruppenführer Steiner back at
the helm of the 3rd SS Panzer Corps, things had to change! Nearly every day a battalion ceased to exist
during the bitter fighting for the Tannenberg line. The biggest change was made to the corps artillery. Rather than give a limited support to the
various points that needed it, the order was given to mass the artillery and concentrate
nearly every gun on the position that needed help the most. The Artillery of the Nordland Division, the
Nederland brigade and various Luftwaffe and Naval batteries were placed under the command
of the corps artillery commander, Oberst Kresin. By the 28th, the Soviets had already managed
to repair or replace the damaged bridges over the Narva and new reinforcements were arriving
on the battlefield. Among the reinforcements of the 2nd Shock
army were the 31st and 82nd Tank regiments. During the short lull in the fighting, the
German units were hastily reorganized. SS-Hauptsturmführer Bergfeld had taken over
the command of the 2nd battalion Danmark as Hämel had been seriously wounded in the prior
battles. SS-Brigadeführer Joahim Ziegler took over
the command of the Nordland Division as Fritz von Scholz had been killed by a shell fragment
the previous day. By first light of the 28th, the various nationalities
in SS uniform still held a part of the Orphanage hill. As the previous attempts by the engineers
and the Estonians had failed, it was now the task of the 2nd battalion Norge Regiment under
SS-Sturmbannführer Scheibe to clear the hill of Soviets. After a short artillery barrage, the men under
Scheibe charged forward only to be caught by the crashing shells of the soviet artillery. The few that made it leapt into the Soviet-held
trenches and a vicious hand-to-hand fight ensued. When Scheibe fell wounded, the retreat was
ordered. Yet again, the Soviets Rifle Divisions had
withstood a counterattack. The Soviet 117th Rifle Corps on their turn
followed the retreating infantry and managed to push the Norwegians and Estonians off of
Orphanage hill. The III. SS Panzer Korps was thus ordered to hold the
next hill, Grenadier Hill. The various depleted SS units tried desperately
to hold the Soviets back, but the Red army soldiers continued their successful charge. Soon, the eastern side of Grenadier Hill was
well in Soviet hands. The Soviets realizing, they had left their
southern flank open, quickly changed from attacking the Grenadier Hill to attacking
the units still defending to the south. With the Soviet attention shifted to the south,
the 9th company of the Danmark at Chundinurk were quickly subjected to yet another soviet
attack with tanks and infantry. With the aid of the Artillery, the Company
of the Danmark, armed with Panzerfausts, managed to ward off the attack. Because the fighting was so chaotic for both
sides, the Soviet tanks retreated back along the Chundinurk-Kirkukula road, close to the
headquarters of the 3rd battalion Danmark, where 2 Assault guns were being kept in reserve. Both Assault guns quickly prepared an ambush
and within minutes several of the IS-2’s and T34’s were set ablaze. As the main defensive line had collapsed,
more and more units had become surrounded. Several scattered units of the Danish 3rd
battalion were reported to be surrounded and the 7th company of the Norge was sent out
to rescue them. The Norwegians managed to stem the tide in
some vicious fighting and the 3rd battalion was saved from utter annihilation .
By noon on the 28th of July most of the advancing Soviet elements had become bogged down, none
the less the Soviets had had a rather successful attack. Orphanage hill was captured and the southern
defences were on the verge of collapsing. During the evening of the 28th, at around
17h00pm, 7 Soviet tanks accompanied by infantry were seen heading towards Lembitu. The attack at Lembitu was destroyed by the
artillery, but at the same time, the Soviets were slowly surrounding Grenadier Hill. After being thrown back by the German artillery,
they Soviets regrouped on Orphanage hill. Ready for a new attack… At sunset, 50 men of the 7th Danmark Company
together with 20 men of the Langemarck set off to harass the Soviet attempt to regroup
on Orphanage hill. However, the Red army soldiers were already
lying in wait and the counter-attack was destroyed by small-arms fire. The final attempt to recapture Orphanage hill
had failed. After 3 bloody days of incessant combat, General
Govorov prepared his forces to make yet another ‘final’ push. The next day, July 29 was to be the day that
the Germans would be thrown off of their defensive Tannenberg line positions. As the third morning of heavy fighting for
the Tannenberg positions dawned, the Soviets commenced their artillery barrage. The boots on the ground were to clear the
ground between Grenadier Hill and Chundinurk in order to breach the lines of Steiner’s
SS Panzer Corps. Besides the heavy artillery bombardments,
the soviet airforce also performed bombing raids on the defenders of the Tannenberg line. The Soviets were ready to launch the attack. Soon after, multiple dozens of tanks followed
by infantry were seen coming towards the battered trenches. The German artillery tried desperately to
stop the onslaught, but their attempts were to no avail. During the battle, Sergeant Efendiyev managed
to destroy several German strongholds and political organizer Lavreshin of the 937th
Rifle Regiment managed to hoist the red flag over the Grenadier Hill, but at the end of
the day the hill remained in German hands. However, the 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions
of Major Generals Yakutovich and Koziyev respectively, had become exhausted and the 109th Rifle Division
of Major General Nikolai Truzhkin was left on its own to press towards the summit of
Grenadier Hill. To the north were the men of SS-Standartenführer
Hans Collani’s SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 49 ‘De Ruyter’. The Soviet 109th Rifle Corps managed to enter
the trenches and defensive system of the Dutch regiment and a vicious hand-to-hand fight
ensued. As the IS-2’s and T34’s rolled forward,
the situation was getting worse by the minute. The regimental commander, Collani was so badly
wounded that he decided to take his own life. By that time the command post was on the verge
of being overrun. Miraculously the command post held out, and
Collani was posthumously promoted Standartenführer. Still in the fight was the Flemish SS-Unterscharführer
Remi Schrijnen with his PaK40 now positioned on the north-eastern flank of Grenadier hill. Around 30 tanks were getting past the Dutch
defences, but in quick succession Schrijnen singlehandedly managed to set 3 IS-2’s ablaze. Another 4 tanks were also knocked out. In one occasion Schrijnen came face to face
with an IS-2 and both cannons fired at the same time. Schrijnen again, got badly wounded, but he
had knocked out the IS-2. For his actions during the fighting for Narva,
Schrijnen received the prestigious Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. On the Grenadier Hill itself, SS-Hauptsturmführer
Bachmeier in command of the 2nd battalion Norge regiment had everything more or less
under control. His right flank however was getting ever weaker. To stiffen his defences, Bachmeier received
the remnants of the 1st battalion of the Flemish Langemarck and some Estonian forces. In numerous small pockets, Bachmeier’s force
initially stood firm and managed to fend off the 109th Rifle Corps under the command of
Major General Ivan Alferov. As the day wore on, more and more local break-throughs
were created by the Soviets and the Panzers had to be called up as a last ditch effort
to turn the tide of battle. SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul-Albert Kausch,
commander of the SS Panzer Abteilung 11 ‘Hermann von Salza‘ was ordered to scrape together
the remnants of his tank battalion. When they arrived on the battlefield, the
Soviet armoured vehicles which were harassing the defending infantry quickly retreated. However before they retreated, the soviets
had caused considerable casualties to the defenders. Starshina Smirnov managed to destroy 5 German-held
strongpoints in the process. As the armoured vehicles retreated, the Soviet
infantry came charging down from the western flank of Orphanage hill, strait towards the
men of the 2nd battalion Norge who had been fighting non-stop as of the early hours of
that 29th of July. As the Soviet and German infantry were bravely
fighting it out in the many shell craters and various trenches which dotted the burnt
landscape, Kausch’s tanks soon rumbled on. They moved to the plains south of the 3 hills,
which was most suited for armour. As they entered the scene a large tank-on
tank battle occurred in which the Panther tanks of Kausch eventually prevailed, forcing
the IS-2’s and T34’s to retreat. As confusion reigned over the battlefield,
a lot of the Soviet infantry retreated back to Orphanage Hill after seeing their armour
support retreat. Once again, the lines of the 3rd SS Panzer
Corps had stood firm, although severely battered and bruised. Bachmeier reorganized his Norge battalion
and the units attached and he gradually started to regain his lost positions. As night set on the 29th of July, most of
Grenadier Hill was back in German hands. When the battle on the 29th of July reached
its zenith, Steiner threw in his last remaining battalion, the 1st battalion Waffen Grenadier
Regiment 45 of Sturmbannführer Paul Maitla. Together with the last remaining Panther tank,
the battalion reached the Grenadier Hill summit from which the Soviets subsequently retreated. The 29th had seen the culmination of several
days of hard fighting, but the end of the Tannenberg-line battle was in sight. During the three days of frankly incessant
fighting, the Soviets lost 113 tanks. The once beautiful 3 hills were turned into
a lunar-like landscape with craters littered across the battlefield. Trees were smouldering and the many dead and
wounded were still lying where they had fallen. It was like hell on earth. The Soviets managed to bite a chunk of the
initial defences, but the costs on both sides had been incredibly high. The following day, July 30th, would see new
attacks. Fortunately for the defenders, these weren’t
as brutal as the previous days of fighting had been. Between Tirtsu and Auvere, the oncoming tanks
were quickly repulsed thanks to the artillery and Luftwaffe. In the 3 previous days of fighting, 2 Stuka
dive-bombers had been shot down. On the 30th of July, the defences of the 2nd
battalion De Ruyter Regiment were once again tested by the Soviet attackers. SS-Obersturmführer Scholz and his men managed
to fend of the attack by using Panzerfausts to scare off or knock out the advancing tanks. By the morning of the 31st the size of the
Soviet attacks had reduced so much in strength that they didn’t really pose that much of
a threat anymore. The remnants of Bachmeier’s defending force
who held Grenadier Hill managed to fend of two attacks with relative ease. In the afternoon however, the defending Estonians,
Danes, Norwegians, Belgians and Germans were startled by a new Soviet artillery barrage. After the 20 minute barrage, the Soviet infantry
hopped out of their trenches and charged towards the defenders. Bachmeier called up his few remaining reserves
and counterattacked. When night fell, the trenches were regained
and the battlefield became silent once more. On the 1st of August, the Soviets didn’t
attack. They used the hot summer day to reorganize
and replenish their units. For five full days they had tried to break
the Tannenberg line. Although they managed to gain possession of
orphanage hill, they still hadn’t captured Grenadier Hill, let alone Hill 69,9. For both the Soviets and the Germans a day
of respite was more than a welcome gift. Ammunition could be brought up, units could
be reorganized and perhaps the most important thing of all, the dead could be buried. The next day, the 2nd of August, the crackling
noise of gunfire heated up once more. Once again, the Soviets tried to dislodge
Bachmeier and his men from their defences on Grenadier Hill. For his actions during the Tannenberg defensive
operation, Bachmeier would be awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron cross. During the next few days, the Soviets tried
to capture the central hill, but all attacks were in vain. The 3rd SS Panzer Corps stood firm. On the 12th of August of 1944, the Soviets
finally changed their tactics. Rather than attacking head-on, they changed
to performing small-scale, but deadly raids. The small forces of Soviets initially managed
to infiltrate the lines, but when they were discovered, they were easily pushed back. By then, the infantry action was reduced to
a minimum and most of the fighting came from the artillery units on both sides of the frontline. The battle of the Tannenberg line slowly but
surely came to a close, and so did the battle for Narva. The fighting had been incredibly costly for
both sides. Whole battalions were wiped out for the gain
of hardly a metre of ground. Some sources mention that the Germans were
outnumbered by 6 to 1, but despite this number disadvantage, the volunteers had put up a
staunch defensive. The Soviets were left with a bitter aftertaste
when they finally gained possession of the blue hills in September 1944 during the Riga
Offensive. The numbers are dreadfully difficult to establish,
but some sources mention 10 000 German casualties for 170 000 Soviets. Either way it was a battle in which both sides
showed great courage and in which the Germans eventually prevailed, only to withdraw from
the hills later that year. This was The AceDestroyer, I hope you enjoyed
this video! If you did, don’t forget to like and subscribe
for more. If you want to see more Narva-themed videos,
why not watch my Narva 1944 series starting at the Oranienbaum front and ending at the
Tannenberg line. I hope to catch you in another video! Cheers!
