1944 battle of tannenberg line movie12/24/2023 The countries suffered badly during WWII first annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 then by the Germans in 1941 and finally against by the Soviet Union in 1944 and until the end of the Cold War. Estonia and the Baltic States are small countries, and I would think, less likely to raise the budget needed for good looking war movies, and furthermore the whole experience of WWII and its aftermath was quite traumatic. Yes, the Soviets were beaten at the Blue Hills, but did that also mean, they lost their original interest considering the whole campaign? At least, the Baltic Campaign became quickly only a secondary Soviet objective, like the Courland Pocket shows to us.I came across the trailer for an Estonian WWII movie on Youtube some months back and that is quite a rarity. To grab favourable ground, to further make sea-invasions to Finland and to East-Prussia. To me, it seems that the Soviets originally had a clear objective during the initial phase at their Baltic Campaign in 1944 - if I may use that expression. However, the official number is 35 000, still, I think, that number is lower than the actual one.Īlso, one thing, which I wonder a lot. The German and Estonian estimates support as high Soviet casualties as 170 000 in dead and wounded during the battle. Particularly affecting to indifference in the Soviet tactics and inflicting heavy casualties, I think, it was partly because of they were Estonian soldiers fighting in both sides. Yes, that's pretty much the case during the Blue Hills Battle. A great example of this is the battle for the Seelow Heights, where in spite of massive numerical and firepower advantage the Red Army struggled to take ground. When forced to attack in a narrow battle space against a dug in opponent the Red Army tended to suffer disproportionate casualties for small gains. The Soviets continued to struggle against AG North throughout the rest of the war, struggling to take Riga, suffering their last operational defeat in Operation Doppelkopf and failing to dislodge AG North from the Courland Peninsula.ĭeep battle tactics only really worked when there was sufficient frontage to find a weak spot and sufficient maneuver space to bypass strongpoints once a breakthrough occurred. This is part of the reason for the mass conscription of the various Baltic nationalities as soon as the Red Army occupied them - they were basically out of frontniki (front line soldiers such as riflemen and AT gunners) and desperately needed to fill ranks to become even marginally combat effective. In contrast the Leningrad Front had been attacking nearly continuously for 3 years and was badly worn down, with its infantry divisions badly depleted and in dire need of replenishment. It was far more similar to earlier Soviet operations like the siege of Demyansk or Operation Mars than to properly planned actions such as Bagration or August Storm.Īrmy Group North, although involved in numerous battles, had not been subjected to the same level of attritional combat that AG Centre and AG South had suffered throughout 19 and was therefore able to field stronger divisions with a higher proportion of veterans than the rest of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. Unlike Operation Bagration, the Soviet offensive was poorly planned and short on specialist support, relying on mass and concentrated fires to break thorough. The Soviet tactics were also extremely poor. On several occasions a handful of tigers halted entire division level attacks, as the Red Army in early 1944 simply had no counter to them when they were dug in with open sight lines and no way to outflank them. Finally the limited lines of attack allowed the Germans to use their heavy armor to maximum effect. The narrow frontage also gave the Germans the capacity to free up an operational reserve, which in turn allowed them to counter-attack any penetrations the Soviets managed. This forced the Red Army into frontal attacks. The Germans were well entrenched and there was limited space to maneuver.
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