In the spring of 1944, the northern part of the Soviet Union was still in a bitter cold, with an average temperature of minus tens of degrees. The Soviet-German armies faced each other on a long defensive line of thousands of kilometers, and Germany was defeated in 1943, with heavy casualties and heavy weapons such as heavy artillery, tanks, and bombers stretched thin.
In moscow, the heart of the Soviet Union, the Central Committee of the Cpustin Union was in an emergency meeting with the Supreme Command of the Soviet Army, and the leader Comrade Stalin was plotting a counterattack to drive the German army out of the Soviet Union in 1944 and end the war in 1945. This counterattack was not directed against a single battlefield, but from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, against the three german army groups of "North", "Center" and "South".
This program, known historically as the "Stalin Assault," was launched 10 times from 1944 to 1945, completely crushing Nazi Germany and ending the war in Europe.
In January 1944, the first "Stalin Assault" took place in Leningrad on the Baltic coast, a city that had been besieged by the Germans for more than two years, and more than 1.5 million soldiers and civilians had died in siege battles.
The "Battle of Leningrad-Novgorod", also known as the "Leningrad Counteroffensive" or "Leningrad Offensive", was so unexpected that even Marshal Zhukov of the Soviet Army found it unreasonable.
At that time, Army Group Center and Army Group South were in the midst of a fierce battle with the Soviets, so why did the leader Stalin launch a counterattack in the calmer north? How much combat effectiveness did the German Army Group North, which had a very low sense of existence, really have in 1944? The Germans were defeated in the battle, so why did General Modell be appointed commander on the basis of a defeat?
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="54" > First, the general wants to win, and the leader wants the people's heart</h1>
In January 1944, the Soviet Union launched the first "Stalin Assault" on the Baltic Coast, largely out of the leader's personal political considerations, rather than purely military planning.
The Soviet-German War of 1943 was a seismic shift, from the Battle of Stalingrad to the end of the Battle of Kursk, where the Germans were defeated twice on the Southern Front, with millions of casualties, heavy equipment losses, and complete loss of strategic initiative. In the middle of the Soviet Union, Army Group Center retreated to Belarus after the defeat in Kursk, and in order to solve the problem of insufficient heavy weapons in the south, the Nazi Fuehrer transferred more than half of the artillery and tanks of Army Group Center to the south, hoping to hold the front in Ukraine.
At this time, both within the German and Soviet armies, Ukraine and Belarus were considered to be the main points of contention between the two countries, where the Soviet Union and Germany suffered millions of casualties, and the victory or defeat was about to be known. At this time, comrade Stalin, the leader of the CPSU, telegraphed to the front that the Soviet army would concentrate 1 million troops, mobilize a large number of weapons and resources, and launch a counterattack in Leningrad.
General Zhukov was puzzled by the news, and his strategic focus was on the "Ukraine-Belarusian-Baltic Sea". Because in the Soviet counterattack against Army Group North in 1943, the siege of Leningrad had been effectively lifted, and now that the city was well connected and the transport of troops and food was free, it was not a priority to strike Germany here.
But Comrade Stalin had his own considerations, and there were two cities on the Baltic coast that touched the hearts of the entire Slavic nation, one was the red heart of Leningrad, and the other was the ancient capital of the Russian nation, Novgorod. These two cities were important in the hearts of all the Soviets, and their capture was an encouragement to the people of the whole country. In addition, Comrade Stalin wanted to use his unique military deployment to re-establish absolute authority in the Red Army and to take back the prestige that the generals and marshals had separated.
After Zhukov expressed his misgivings, Voznesensensky, the "head of the State Planning Commission" in charge of the economy, also advised the leader. He said that with the current strategic material reserves of the Soviet Union, it is difficult to meet the multi-line offensive battles at the same time, because the consumption of active attack is far greater than that of defense, but these cannot shake Stalin's determination.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="56" > two million Soviet troops shouting slogans of revenge</h1>
At the insistence of the Supreme Leader, the Leningrad Front, the Volkhov Front, the Second Baltic Front, and the Baltic Red Banner Fleet stationed in Leningrad began to prepare for war. A large number of weapons and supplies were transported to the north, and the Soviet army was fully ahead of the Northern Army Group in numbers and weapons.
By January 1944, the 3 fronts and 1 fleet had 8 group armies and 1 air force group army, 1.24 million soldiers, more than 20,000 large and small caliber artillery, more than 1,600 tanks, destroyers, and self-propelled guns, and more than 1,500 fighters. Throughout the Leningrad Oblast, tens of thousands of guerrillas and militias remained on standby.
In 1944, Leningrad's military might suddenly surpassed that of soviet forces in southern Ukraine and Belarus, giving it an overwhelming advantage over Army Group North. Army Group North was the weakest of the german three-way army, with a low sense of presence from the beginning of the war, and was later continuously transferred to the elite units, and finally became an infantry unit with its back to the fortification siege.
In the spring of 1944, the Northern Army Group had 48 divisions and 5 brigades under its command, with 730,000 men and tens of thousands of artillery pieces of artillery, but only more than 300 important tanks and destroyers, and only more than 370 fighters. Army Group North not only had less than one-third of the heavy firepower of the Soviet Army, but the Air Force was completely crushed.
Army Group North faces the Leningrad Front to the north, the Volkhov Front to the east, the 2nd Baltic Front to the southeast, and the Red Banner Baltic Fleet to the northwest in the Gulf of Finland. The first phase of the Red Army's targets were Pushkin, Red Village, Ropsa, and Red Guard outside Leningrad, completely crushing the German blockade of Leningrad; the Volkhov Front attacked the flank of the German 18th Army, leaving it exhausted; the 2nd Baltic Front attacked the flank of the German 16th Army, making it unable to support it from going north.
On 14 January, the Leningrad Front, supported by naval guns of the Baltic Fleet, began to attack, and the Germans had learned of the Soviets' intentions through tactical reconnaissance, but the 18th Army in the north was still in a bitter battle under the superior firepower of the Soviets. The Germans were suppressed in dense trenches, and the Volkhov Front attacked the flanks of the 18th Army in the east, leaving it with a dilemma.
In 10 days, the Germans suffered more than 14,000 casualties, and the infantry withdrew from dozens of kilometers of fortifications and retreated to the fortified area along the Luga River in the rear. On January 26, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union announced to the whole Soviet Union the news of the liberation of Leningrad, and the morale of the Soviet military and civilians from Ukraine to Siberia was boosted.
The Volkhov Front crossed the Volkhov River and attacked the ancient city of Novgorod on Lake Ilsund. The Soviet ski troops penetrated the German lines at great speed, dividing the Germans at the mercy of the guerrillas and cooperating with the attack of the large troops. Eventually, the German 18th Army suffered more than 40,000 casualties in 10 days, of which more than 10,000 were killed and forced to retreat to Luga.
On 30 January, the Volkhov Front liberated the ancient city of Novgorod.
At this time, more than 200,000 men of the German 18th Army were stationed in the fortified area of Luga, but it had the Leningrad Front in front of it, and the Volkhov Front on the flank also aimed at the city of Luga, ready to pinch the Germans.
The next day, the Soviets marched in tandem and launched an attack on the long line from Narva to Luga, and the area of Luga's fortification was in a hurry. After only half a month, Army Group North sent a telegram to Berlin to apply for support, saying that the Luga line could not be supported, a performance that obviously could not satisfy the Nazi top brass.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="58" > third, "indisputable" Army Group North</h1>
The North was in a hurry, and Marshal Kuchler, commander of Army Group North, appealed to the German High Command for help, asking Army Group Center to respond, and if it was not good, at least a few more armored divisions would be added.
The Nazi Fuehrer was also anxious when he received the news that if Army Group North was defeated, the entire Gulf of Finland would be exposed, and friendly Finland might surrender under pressure from the Soviets. Shipping in the Baltic Sea could also be controlled by the Soviets, and the Germans would be uncomfortable transporting troops and transporting ore.
As a result, the Nazi Fuehrer strictly ordered the Northern Army Group to hold its position, but could not come up with much armored reinforcement, and only the 12th Panzer Division was transferred from the Central Army Group, and the 16th Army in the south sent the 58th Infantry Division to break the siege.
In addition, the Nazi Fuehrer promised "air support," even though all the generals on the Eastern Front knew it was an empty phrase.
Faced with a desperate situation, Marshal Kuchler was determined to preserve his army, and he ordered the enemy's 18th Army to abandon part of its position and prepare to withdraw to Estonia. The Nazi Fuehrer was so disappointed that he immediately replaced Marshal Kuchler and made his favorite general, the Nazi firefighter, Modell, take over as commander of the Northern Army.
At this time, the front-line combat troops of the German 18th Army had more than 70,000 people, more than 54,000 casualties, a loss rate of nearly 80%, and a large number of armored vehicles, cars, and artillery were also trapped in the swamps of the Baltic coast and could not move. The local broken terrain was densely watered, the corps was moved N times slower than in the south, the 18th Army had been divided into 3 parts, and the Luga fortification area could not be defended.
On the verge of the 18th Army being "dumpling-wrapped", Modell took over the mess. He used the 8th Fighter Division in the east to block the Volkhov Front, while organizing the rest of the army to retreat while fighting, abandoning heavy weapons and supplies, and retreating towards the Narva River on the Estonian border.
The Soviet Leningrad Front was blocked by the Germans at the defensive line of Narva and forced to retreat, which gave the Germans a chance to breathe. The 18th Army retreated with all its heavy weapons, and hundreds of thousands of remnants and logisticians retreated to Estonian territory.
At this time, the 16th Army was still entangled with the 2nd Front on the Baltic Coast. The retreat of the 18th Army exposed the flanks of the 16th Army, and Modell ordered the 16th Army to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat towards the Velikaya River, ready to enter Latvia. The 16th Army was relatively intact and withdrew from Leningrad Oblast while fighting.
On 12 February, the Soviets liberated the city of Luga and large forces continued in pursuit of the Germans. But the temperature in the spring gradually rose, the muddy roads caused trouble for the Soviet offensive, and the Leningrad Front forward crossed the Narva River, established a landing field on the other side of the river, and engaged in a small-scale exchange of fire with the Germans.
At the end of February 1944, the Soviet army basically liberated Leningrad Oblast, the forward went in and out of Estonia and Latvia, and the Leningrad-Novgorod Campaign was victorious. The Soviet command sent commendation orders to more than 50 units on the front line. In this battle, more than 500,000 German combat troops suffered more than 70,000 casualties, more than 4,000 were captured, and all the lines of defense built in Leningrad and the Luga River valley since 1941 were lost.
Because of the poor traffic conditions and the harassment along the route by the guerrillas, the Germans abandoned a large number of heavy weapons and lightly damaged tanks, which made the Northern Army Group, which already lacked tanks, worse. The only bright spot in the battle was Modell's performance, withdrawing the entire army group at the least cost when the 18th Army was divided and the 16th Army was contained.
The Nazi Fuehrer was so pleased with him that he was awarded the rank of Field Marshal, and Modell was awarded the title of "Field Marshal of Germany" in a "defeated battle", which caused controversy in the Wehrmacht.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="60" >4. Losing the Baltic Sea is equivalent to losing Finland</h1>
The Red Army suffered heavy casualties in this battle, because of strong political propaganda and a desire for revenge, the Soviet army of 1.25 million people was almost unprepared for defense and retreat, infantry, air force, guerrillas went all out to restore a large number of land in a month and a half. With 80,000 Soviet casualties or missing, plus the wounded, the Soviets paid a total of 300,000 casualties, more than 4 times that of the Germans.
The success of the Soviet Union's first Stalin assault had two strategic implications, the first of which was that Germany lost control of the Gulf of Finland and part of the Baltic Sea. Germany and the Nordic countries were very closely related, Norway was an occupation territory, Sweden was a neutral country with a bias, supporting Germany's war with iron ore, and Finland was a friend of Germany, and the two countries invaded the Soviet Union together.
Losing the Baltic coast, Finland's military strength was absolutely unable to stop the Soviet army, and Finland's surrender was already a matter of time. Once Finland's "domino" falls, Northern Europe will be completely disconnected from Germany.
Second, the liberation of Leningrad and Novgorod boosted the confidence of the Soviet people, the Red Army's invitations flew to Moscow like snowflakes, and millions of Soviet troops wanted to contribute to the Great Patriotic War.
In Estonia, along the Narva River, Germany established the "Narva Campaign Cluster", recruiting a large number of Estonians into the army, and a Narva campaign was in the making. The Leningrad Front's offensive against Narva was defused by the Germans, the Soviets began to hold their positions, drawing their forces to the south, and Army Group North remained stationed in the Baltic States until the end of 1944.
After the end of this battle, the Soviets again focused their attacks on Ukraine and Belarus, and the Soviets drove the Germans out of their territory with 6 Stalin raids, and swept across the Baltic Coast in the 8th Stalin Assault, annihilating most of Army Group North.
Text/Shogakuno
Resources:
1. "The Defensive Master of the Eastern Front- The Career of nazi general Modell's "Firefighter"", Shi Jian
2. The Battle of Narva Bridgehead, Li Ming