Battles of the Baltics 1941&1944 KM, KL, JB, NP

Thesis The Battles of the Baltics initially consisted of various German offensives as a part of Operation Barbarossa and the Baltic Operations of 1941. This was in order to aid in the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union beginning with the German seizure of the Baltics in 1941, which was an ultimately fruitless endeavour being that the Baltics were repossessed by the Soviet Union in the Baltic Offensives of 1944 which led the region’s sovietization, therefore rendering Eastern Poland and the Baltics wartime territories under the Soviet Union.

Timeline

Barbarossa Connection Operation Barbarossa was Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union from June 1941 to Jan 1942 The Baltic Operation was a Soviet militarization in response to an initial German offensive as a part of Barbarossa. The German occupation of the Baltics were a fundamental element of the Nazi invasion that nearly overrun the Soviet Union

Baltic Operation (1941) Made up of three smaller operations Militarization of the Baltics by the U.S.S.R Response to an offensive launched into Russia by Germany Baltics were essential to the Soviet Union as they were a buffer zone between Poland and the U.S.S.R The Soviets were destroyed by the superior German Army and force to fall back.

Battle of Raseiniai - June 23-27, 1941 Also known as Kaunas Counterattack Took place one day after the German declaration of war on USSR Large tank battle during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa (Axis Invasion of the U.S.S.R) The commander of the Soviet Northwestern front attempted to destroy German troops and heavy armor who crossed the Nerman River Resulted in the complete destruction of the majority of Soviet tanks and other armored vehicles Cleared the way for additional German infantry and armor

Battle of Raseiniai Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces

Siauliai Counter-Offensive Operation - June 24-27, 1941 Russia’s attempt to divert German forces away from major bridges leading deeper into Russia Soviets wanted time to prepare the bridges for demolition, as they had done in the past with Napoleon and the Scorched Earth policy. Nazis used Blitzkrieg tactics to storm the bridges before they could be demolished and pushed further into the heart of Russia.

Siauliai Counter-Offensive Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces

Battle of Hanko - June 22-December 2, 1941 Also known as the Siege of Hanko or the Hanko Front Long series of small scale battles fought between Finland and Russia Nearly all fighting took place in the form of trench warfare Finnish blockades and minefields made the Soviet base in Hanko lose value in the eyes of the Soviets On December 2nd, 1941 the Soviets left Hanko due to the approaching German forces

Battle of Hanko Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces Blue- Finland Forces

Long Term Effects Leads to the Soviets desire to strike against the German occupation of the Baltics, which ignites the Baltic Offensive in which the Soviets dominate the Germans and reinstate their occupation in the Baltics.

Baltic Offensive (1944) Campaign between the Northern fronts of the Red Army & German Army Group North. The Soviet Union could not afford to have a German presence in the Baltics. The U.S.S.R came back better prepared for combat and in larger numbers. Resulted in the removal of Germany from Estonia and Lithuania. U.S.S.R are re-established in the Baltics by force and sovietisation ensues.

Riga Offensive (First battle of Courland Bridgehead) Soviets started to make there way to the Baltic coast and had later gotten through the Gulf of Riga. Germans initiated operations to avoid the Soviets back, such as Operation Doppelkopf and Operation Aster Soviets applied a lot of pressure on the Germans, who still had Latvia and Estonia Germany’s Army Group North was backed into the Courland Pocket and was isolated there until the end of the war.

Riga Offensive Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces

Tallin Offensive/Operation Aster Soviets planned to take over Estonia and Tallin by breaking through Emajogi front to the North. Thought if they did that, the Germans would retreat to the capital, Tallin, and they would be trapped by the Soviets awaiting troops. Germany was already considering to abandon Estonia to free up their troops to help maintain control at the Gulf of Finland. Hitler allowed the Germans to evacuate and their evacuation process was knowns as Operation Aster

Operation Aster Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces

Moonsund Landing Operation Operation by the Red army to forcibly remove the German forces from islands from the East Baltic Sea The Red army consisted of some Estonian volunteers, but many Estonians were forced to fight for them anyways. As the tide of the war changed, Germans were retreating from the Soviet attacks. Hitler was not in favor of the German army retreating, but the Army Group commander, Ferdinand Schorner gave orders to evacuate Soviets kept troops on the islands and the island of Saaremaa was off limits to the public. These measures were to ensure the results of their victory

Moonsund Landing Map Green- German Forces Red- Soviet Union Forces

Long Term Effects With the Germans out of the way, the Soviets implemented their own rules and initiated forced collectivization which caused a large resistance from the Baltics Natives against Soviet rule across the 3 main Baltic nations.

Cool Facts Although the baltics are commonly grouped together, all three have very different cultures, not even sharing any languages Lithuania’s most popular sport is basketball, producing talents such as Jonas Valanciunas (Currently playing in the NBA, for the Toronto Raptors) Ferdinand Schörner was the last living German Field Marshall living until he was 81. Operation Doppelkopf was named after a card game

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Work Cited Kazlauskas, Evaldas, and Paulina Zelviene. “Trauma Research in the Baltic Countries: from Political Oppression to Recovery.” European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Co-Action Publishing, 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800283/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017. “Baltic Offensive.” World History Project, worldhistoryproject.org/1944/9/14/baltic-offensive. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017. "Baltic Operation of 1944." The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. 1970-1979. The Gale Group, Inc. 23 Apr. 2017 http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Baltic+Operation+of+1944 “Soviet Occupation of Lithuania (1944-1990).” True Lithuania, www.truelithuania.com/soviet-occupation-of-lithuania-1944-1990-247. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. “Naval War in Baltic Sea.” The Naval War in the Baltic Sea 1941-1945, www.feldgrau.com/WW2-German-Baltic-Sea-Naval-War. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.