Riga Offensive ( 1944 ) The Riga Offensive ( known in ( , the Riga Offensive Operation — its formal Soviet title ) was part of the larger Baltic Offensive on the Eastern Front during World War II . It took place late in 1944 , and drove German forces from the city of Riga . Prelude . Soviet forces had advanced towards the Baltic coast in the beginning of their Tartu Offensive and at the end of the highly successful Belorussian Offensive ( Operation Bagration ) , during July and August 1944 , and at one point had broken through to the Gulf of Riga . During August , the German 18th Army had mounted a counter - attack , Operation Doppelkopf . Simultaneously the German Valga – Võrtsjärv line , supported by the local Estonian Omakaitse militia battalions , repelled the heavy pressure of the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front ' s Tartu Offensive . The German Army Group North ' s commander , Ferdinand Schörner designed Operation Aster to pull his troops out of mainland Estonia . The parallel Riga Offensive would see Soviet forces apply further pressure on Army Group North , which still held much of Latvia and Estonia . Deployments . Red Army . Elements of : The offensive . The Soviet forces launched a ferocious attack on the Riga axis on September 14 , 1944 . Within 4 days , the German 16th Army had suffered serious damage , while in the 18th Army ' s sector , ten of the eighteen German divisions had been reduced to " Kampfgruppe " level . In the northern segment placed along the line of Lake Võrtsjärv – Väike Emajõgi River – railway junction of Valga – Gauja River , the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front attacked the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions . In fierce battles , the German and Estonian units held their positions . From the south , the 43rd Army was threatening the approaches to Riga itself , where the German X Corps had been shattered . Schoerner began to move his divisions into the Courland Peninsula , intending to shorten the front and pull back from Riga . A counter - attack was carried out by the XXXIX Panzer Corps of 3rd Panzer Army , temporarily placed under Schörner ' s overall command , but the Soviet opposition was too strong . In the meantime , " Stavka " had been preparing a new axis of attack under the cover of a further push towards Riga , the new plan being put forward in a directive of September 24 . On September 27 , the 16th Army began to report Soviet traffic " away " from its front , to the south - west . In fact , several major Soviet force concentrations ( notably the 4th Shock and 51st Armies ) were being shifted southwards in preparation for a major thrust westwards towards Memel by the 1st Baltic Front . German intelligence detected the movement of several of the armies involved , but were unable to detect their destination . The resulting offensive , the Battle of Memel , was launched on October 5 ; Bagramyan ' s 1st Baltic Front shattered the Third Panzer Army , finally severing the land connection between the German Army Group Centre and Army Group North . Schoerner ' s forces around Riga and in Courland were now cut off . On October 9 , Schoerner signalled that he would attack towards Memel and try and re - establish the land connection if Riga could be evacuated . Soviet forces were again moving forwards outside Riga , and brought the city within the range of artillery fire on October 10 . Leaving a screening force of the 227th Infantry Division and the guns of the 6th Motorized Anti - Aircraft Division , the 18th Army retreated through Riga into Courland , destroying bridges on its route . Riga was taken by forces of the 3rd Baltic Front on October 13 . Over the next few days Soviet units were reported in action to the west of Riga , stating that German forces had been cleared from the eastern bank of the Lielupe River by October 17 . Aftermath . Army Group North had been driven into the Courland Pocket , where it remained isolated until the end of the war in Europe .