Battle of Tannenberg Line | |||||||
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Part of Eastern Front (World War II) | |||||||
Front line positions | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Germany | Soviet Union | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Felix Steiner Fritz von Scholz † | Leonid Govorov | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps XXVI Army Corps |
2nd Shock Army 8th Army 8th Estonian Rifle Corps | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22,250[1] 7 tanks[2][3] 70–80 assault guns[3] 49 aircraft[4][5] |
136,830 troops[6] 150 armoured vehicles[7] 1,680 assault guns[7] 546 aircraft[4][5] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,500[8] / 2,500[9] killed or missing 6,600[8] / 7,500[9] wounded or sick 6 tanks[7] Total: 10,100[8] / 10,000[9] |
7,700–7,800[8] / 35,000[9] killed or missing 28,000[8] / 135,000[9] wounded or sick 157–164 tanks[7] Total: 35,000[8] / 170,000[9] |
The Battle of Tannenberg Line (German: Die Schlacht um die Tannenbergstellung; Russian: Битва за линию «Танненберг») or the Battle of the Blue Hills (Estonian: Sinimägede lahing) was a military engagement between the German Army Detachment Narwa and the Soviet Leningrad Front. They fought for the strategically important Narva Isthmus from 25 July–10 August 1944. The battle was fought on the Eastern Front during World War II. The strategic aim of the Soviet Estonian Operation was to reoccupy Estonia as a favorable base for the invasions of Finland and East Prussia. Waffen-SS forces included 24 volunteer infantry battalions from the SS Division Nordland, the SS Division Langemarck, the SS Division Nederland, and the Walloon Legion. Roughly half of the infantry consisted of the personnel of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian).[10] The German force of 22,250 men held off 136,830 Soviet troops. As the Soviet forces were constantly reinforced, their overall casualties are estimated by Estonian historian Mart Laar to be 170,000 dead and wounded.
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