-by John M. Chris T. Jeffrey G. & Sam C. Battle of the Baltics -by John M. Chris T. Jeffrey G. & Sam C.

Thesis After Germany took over the Baltics but failed in the battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets launched a series of counter-attacks that forced Germany to fight a two sided war, forcing the Germans to retreat and defend against Russia's run to Berlin; the Battle of the Baltics not only weakened Germany's army but also proved to be disastrous for Baltic civilians.

Timeline The Baltic states are taken by Russia under the Nazi-Soviet pact. The Baltic states are taken by Germany through Operation Barbarossa. Soviet launch counter-attack. German force surrendered at Courland. 1939-1940 1941 1944 After battle of stalingrad 1942-1943 May, 1945

Soviet annexation of the Baltic states Secret deal of the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact Starting in June of 1940 the Soviets began military occupation in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Signed a treaty separately with Baltic states, allow Soviets to build military bases and propose puppet government on the Baltics.

German offensive to Baltic States Second stage of Operation Barbarossa. Reasons to focus on Baltic states Rich resources like oil sheds. Lebensraum Employs Blitzkrieg war tactics. Paralyzed the airport and railways to cut off the transportation. Baltics are glad to see Germans occupied their country, see them as a liberator. Which in fact it’s definitely not as good as people expected

Warring tactics

After Invasion Germans is welcomed at first by the people. Hope to re-establish the Baltic independence. German implies the Volksgemeinschaft to hope to germanize the Baltic states as well as make the Baltic states the new German territory unit. When people realized what happened, they established the supreme committee for the liberation of Lithuania in 1943. 1944, the National Committee of the Estonian Republic was found. Helped by finns and swedes.

Battle of Narva 2 February – 10 August 1944 Battle between Germans and Soviets Fought for strategically important Narva Isthmus Local troops fought for the Nazis Battle for Narva Bridgehead Battle of Tannenberg Line 2 February – 10 August 1944 The Battle of Narva was a military campaign between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus on 2 February – 10 August 1944 during World War II. Battle for Narva Bridgehead resulted in a german withdrawal. 15 miles ish to the Tannenburg Line. Soviets were stalled at the River of Narva for 6 months Battle of Tannenberg Line resulted in a tactical german victory. 22,250 german men held off 136,830 soviet men. As the multinational defense was too strong, the russian commander was forced to call off the offensive Although Narva was not the main direction of the Soviet offensives on the Eastern Front in 1944, the Baltic Sea seemed the quickest way to Joseph Stalin for taking the battles to the German ground and seizing control of Finland.

Operation Bagration 22 of June and 19th of August, 1944. Massively successful as it cleared all Germans from Belarus to eastern Poland and drove a barrier between the German 16th Army of Group North and Third Panzer Army of Army Group Centre. Cost Hitler: 3 Armies The Eastern Front 350,000 men Hundreds of tanks 1,300 guns. Led to Operation Doppelkopf, Cäesar, and the Courland pocket. which cleared German forces from the Belorussian SSR and eastern Poland between 22 June and 19 August 1944. (cleared all germans from belarus to poland--between 22 of june and 19th of august 1944) most calamitous defeat experienced by the German armed forces during the Second World War All told, Operation Bagration cost Hitler 350,000 men (including 31 generals), plus hundreds of tanks and more than 1,300 guns. Of the men lost, 160,000 were taken prisoner, half of whom were murdered on the way to prison camps or died in Soviet gulags. In a throwback to ancient times, 57,000 German prisoners taken from pockets east of the Berezina were shipped to Moscow and paraded before Muscovites on July 17, partly to refute Nazi claims of a “planned withdrawal” from Belorussia, and partly to rebut suggestions by Western newspapers that the operation had been made easy because large numbers of German troops had been tied down in western France. Led to Operation Doppelkopf

Operation Doppelkopf-Cäsar German attempt to reunite Army Group Centre and North. It failed. Operation Cäsar Meant to disrupt Soviet plans with the ultimate objective of striking towards Šiauliai. The Red Army attacked again on 5 October, in the Memel Offensive Operation. Five days later, they reached the Baltic Sea and finally cut off Army Group North in what eventually became the Courland Pocket. German Army group Centre had been demolished. Operation Doppelkopf was aimed at reuiniting Army Group North and Centre

Courland Pocket Because of Hitler’s insane no retreat rule, more than 200,000 German troops were hopelessly trapped in Latvia. After 6 debilitating attacks by the Soviets,the Germans eventually surrendered on May 9th,1945. Making them some of the last Germans to surrender. Hitler's military advisors—notably Heinz Guderian, the Chief of the German General Staff urged Hitler to evacuate the troops from army group north to stablize the front in central europe, but hitler stood by his insane no retreat rule because he still believed he could win. The soviets took more than 200,000 German prisoners

Holocaust in Baltic States Terrifying amount of Jews getting killed. 220,000 Jews were living in Lithuania, 10,000 remained alive. Germans mass murdered 34,000 Latvian Jews in 3 months after they occupied Latvia in July 1941. Between November 30th and December 7th another 25000 Jews were killed. In 1941, 1,200 babies were killed in the ghetto in Estonia. 4,550 Jews lived in Estonia. Most fled to Russia. Most male Jews who remained higher than 16 years old was murdered.

Holocaust in Baltic States 'I was forced to watch Nazi killing of Jews aged seven' --Aleksandras Iljasevicius (a muslim who survived the massacre).

Holocaust in Baltic States When the Germans came, they rounded up the men and took them to the edge of a forest not far from a little brook and had them dig a long trench. --Aleksandras Iljasevicius I asked my grandma why they were crying. She said "Shhh, don't say anything!" Then we all had to walk to the edge of the forest, and we were told to sit there and watch. --Aleksandras Iljasevicius

Holocaust in Baltic States

Impact on Germany & USSR The Battle of the Baltic resulted in the downfall of the German forces. If the Germans didn’t attack Russia, the Soviets would still be on the axis side. After Germans failed in the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet turned on Germany and forced Germans to fight a two front war. Which ultimately resulted in Germany lost in WWII.

Impact on Baltic states Major population loss in states. Estonia lost 180,000 (25%) of their population compared to pre-war phases. Lithuania lost 250,000 (15%) of the total population compared to pre-war phases. 90,000 death in Estonia. Russia took over the Baltics. And after 1945, the Cold War starts. The Baltics were forced to change into communistic states to adopt Russian culture. The new system generally held the Baltic states well until the 1950s. Starting from the 1970s, the anti-Russian mood raised to a climax. In the 1980s the Soviet Union collapsed, leading to the liberation of the Baltic states in 1991. The Baltic civilians viewed the end of WWII as their liberation in 1991.

Source used Works cited Bater, James H. "Baltic States - Independence and the 20th Century." Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. Buttar, Prit. Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. "Estonian Embassy in Washington." Estonian Embassy in Washington RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. "Operation Bagration: Soviet Offensive of 1944 | HistoryNet." HistoryNet. N.p., 25 July 2006. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. Snyder, Timothy. The Bloodlands. N.p.: First Trade Paper, 2012. Print. "'I Was Forced to Watch Nazi Killing of Jews Aged Seven'" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

das Ende -Comic sans in your face Doran.