Kingisepp–Gdov offensive
This is a sub-article to Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive and Battle of Narva.
The Kingisepp–Gdov offensive was a campaign between the Soviet Leningrad Front and the German 18th Army fought for the eastern coast of Lake Peipus and the western banks of the Narva River from 1 February till 1 March 1944. The 109th Rifle Corps captured the town of Kingisepp, forcing the 18th Army into new positions on the eastern bank of the Narva. Forward units of the 2nd Shock Army crossed the river and established several bridgeheads on the west bank, to the north and south of the town of Narva on 2 February. The 8th Army expanded the bridgehead in Krivasoo Swamp south of the town five days later, cutting the railway behind the Sponheimer Group. Army General Leonid Govorov was unable to take advantage of the opportunity of encircling the smaller German detachment which called in reinforcements. These came mostly from the newly mobilised Estonians motivated to resist the looming Soviet re-occupation. At the same time, the Soviet 108th Rifle Corps landed its units across Lake Peipus in Piirissaar Island 120 kilometres south of Narva and established a bridgehead in Meerapalu. By coincidence, the I.Battalion, Waffen-Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 headed for Narva reached the area. The battalion, a battalion of the 44th Infantry Regiment, and an air squadron destroyed the Soviet bridgehead on 15–16 February. A simultaneous Soviet amphibious assault was conducted, as the 517 strong 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade landed at the coastal borough of Mereküla behind the Sponheimer Group lines. However, the unit was almost completely annihilated.
As the result of the campaign, the Soviet forces seized control of most of the eastern coast of Lake Peipus and established a number of bridgeheads on the western bank of the Narva River.
Combat activity
The 109th Rifle Corps captured the town of Kingisepp on 1 February. Units of the 18th Army fought a rearguard action until it reached the eastern bank of the Narva. The Sponheimer Group blew up the ice on the southern section of the Narva River from Lake Peipus to Krivasoo Swamp. North of the city, the 4th Soviet Rifle Regiment reached the Narva River, establishing a small bridgehead across it on 2 February. The fighting to the east of Narva had left a large number of German troops stranded on the wrong side of the front. Simultaneously, the 122nd Rifle Corps crossed the river south of the town in Vääska settlement, establishing a bridgehead in Krivasoo Swamp south of Narva.Ivangorod Bridgehead
The main brunt of the Soviet attack was where the Germans had least expected it — the III SS Panzer Corps, positioned east of Narva and holding the German bridgehead on the opposite bank. The SS panzer corps were mostly made up of SS volunteer formations. The 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland and the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland began frantically digging in along what had become known as the Narva line. The defensive line ran for, from the estate of Lilienbach northeast from the highway bridge over the Narva River, to the borough of Dolgaya Niva in the south bulging eastwards. The Nederland Brigade defended the northern half of the bridgehead while the Nordland Division held the southern flank. Attacking them along the highway and railway were the four Soviet divisions of the 43rd and the 109th Rifle Corps. The Nederland Brigade, the I.Battalion, SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark and the German artillery inflicted heavy casualties on the Red Army, who failed to reach their operational goal of destroying the bridgehead.Krivasoo Bridgehead, first half of February
In the Krivasoo Swamp south of Narva, the Soviet 1078th Regiment and the ski battalion of the 314th Rifle Division crossed the river under a heavy German air and artillery attack in four hours. Despite the resistance of the 29th Estonian Police Battalion, the 314th Rifle Division approached Auvere Railway Station 10 kilometres west of Narva, threatening to cut the railway behind the III SS Panzer Corps and the two division-sized units of the Sponheimer Group. The Soviet author Fyodor Paulman depicts the battles for Auvere Station as ferocious causing serious casualties to the 314th Rifle Division. The 125th Rifle Division was sent to assist them. The renewed Soviet units captured the railway crossing near Auvere Station on 6 February, losing it on the same day under the fire of the German coastal artillery. From then on, the Soviet forces remained passive in the direction of Auvere, giving the Sponheimer Group valuable time to regain their strength.Omuti, Permisküla and Gorodenka Bridgeheads
Two Soviet platoons of the 147th Rifle Regiment volunteered to cross the river to the boroughs of Omuti, Permisküla and Gorodenka south of Narva on 2 February. The bank was defended by the 30th Estonian Police Battalion. The defence was built as an array of small bridgeheads on the east bank, appearing to the Soviets as a carefully prepared defence system in front of the main defence line. Repelled for the first time, the Soviet headquarters took some hours to prepare the attack by the 219th and 320th Rifle Regiments. The Estonians pulled back to their bank during the Soviet attacks, stopping the advance of the Red Army and causing heavy losses. Despite the heroics of the Soviet commanders, only a small platoon commanded by Lieutenant Morozov fortified themselves on the west bank.Soviet difficulties in February
The Soviet operations were accompanied by major problems in supply, as the major transport connections had been largely destroyed by the Germans and the remaining poor roads were threatening to fall apart in the thaw closing in. Another failure was in intelligence as the Soviet partisan troops that had been sent to Estonia were destroyed. In their report on 8 February, the War Council of the Leningrad Front saw the preparations for the landings across the Narva River as unsatisfactory:The Soviet 98th and the 131st Armoured Divisions established a bridgehead on the west bank near the borough of Siivertsi further north from Narva on 12 February. The bridgehead soon became the most critical position on the whole Narva front. If the Soviets succeeded there, the city of Narva would fall quickly and the Narva Bridgehead on the east bank of the river would be cut off. All available units were thrown against the bridgehead.