Battle of Tannenberg Line " This is a sub - article to Battle of Narva . " The Battle of Tannenberg Line ( ; ; ) was a military engagement between the German Army Detachment " " Narwa " " and the Soviet Leningrad Front . They fought for the strategically important Narva Isthmus from 25 July to 10 August 1944 . The battle was fought on the Eastern Front during World War II . The strategic aim of the Soviet Estonian Operation was to reoccupy Estonia as a favourable base for the invasions of Finland and East Prussia . Several Western scholars refer to it as the " Battle of the European SS " for the 24 volunteer infantry battalions from Denmark , East Prussia , Flanders , Holland , Norway , and Wallonia within the " Waffen - SS " . Roughly half of the infantry consisted of local Estonian conscripts motivated to resist the looming Soviet re - occupation . The German force of 22 , 250 men held off 136 , 830 Soviet troops . As the Soviet forces were constantly reinforced , the casualties of the battle were 150 , 000 – 200 , 000 dead and wounded Soviet troops and 157 – 164 tanks . Background . After defending the Narva bridgehead for six months , the German forces fell back to the Tannenberg Line in the hills of " Sinimäed " ( ) on 26 July 1944 . The three hills run east to west . The eastern hill was known to Estonians as the " Lastekodumägi , Kinderheimhöhe " in German ( Orphanage Hill ) , the central hill was the " Grenaderimägi " or " Grenadierhöhe " ( Grenadier Hill ) and the westernmost as the " Tornimägi " or 69 . 9 " Höhe " ( Tower Hill , also known in German as " Liebhöhe " or Love Hill ) . The hills are less than imposing and resemble gently sloping mounds rather than defensible heights . On the hills , the formations of " Gruppenführer " Felix Steiner ' s III SS ( Germanic ) Panzer Corps halted their withdrawal and moved into defensive positions . The 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland started digging in on the left ( north ) flank of the Tannenberg Line , units of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS ( 1st Estonian ) in the centre , and the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland on the right ( south ) flank . Another front section manned by the East Prussia ns of the 11th Infantry Division was situated a few kilometres further south , against the 8th Army in the " Krivasoo " bridgehead . The Soviet Marshall Leonid Govorov , considered the Tannenberg Line as the key position of Army Group North and concentrated the best forces of the Leningrad Front . Additional 122nd , 124th Rifle Corps and divisions from 117th Rifle Corps were subordinated to General Ivan Fedyuninsky , commanding the 2nd Shock Army . The goal set by the War Council of the 2nd Shock Army was to break through the defense line of the III SS Panzer Corps at the " Lastekodumägi " , force their way to the town of Jõhvi in the west and reach the Kunda River by 1 August . To accomplish this , Govorov was ordered to destroy communications behind the German forces and conduct air assaults on the railway stations of Jõhvi and Tapa on 26 July . Comparison of forces . Soviet . There is no complete overview of the order of the Soviet forces or the detachment sizes in the Battle of Tannenberg Line . For the attack on 29 July , Leonid Govorov concentrated all of the capable Soviet units , consisting of eleven divisions and six tank regiments . The Soviet units that had suffered losses were brought up to strength with fresh manpower . The delivery of Soviet heavy artillery complimented the nine divisions of the 109th , the 117th and the 122nd Rifle Corps . The 109th and 117th Corps were concentrated close to the " Sinimäed " , while the 122nd Rifle Corps to the southern section by the church of Vaivara Parish . The positions of the 11th Infantry Division were mainly attacked by the 35 , 000 - strong 8th Army with their 112th Rifle Corps , two fresh Tank Regiments , 1 , 680 assault guns , deployed in nine artillery regiments and 150 armoured vehicles . The armored forces included the brand new IS - 2 tanks with extra armour and pipe length . The weakness of the tank was its shortage of fire capacity ( only 28 rounds ) . The forces were supported by the 576 - strong 13th Air Army . The Soviet order of battle ( available data as of 28 July 1944 ) : Leningrad Front - Marshall Leonid Govorov Total : 26 , 850 infantrymen , 458 pieces of artillery , 112 tanks Total : 28 , 000 infantrymen , 518 pieces of artillery , 174 tanks and 44 self - propelled guns Separate Corps and Divisions ( possibly subordinated to one the above mentioned Armies ) : German . Against the Soviet forces , a few tired German regiments without any reserve troops stood at their positions , battered by the Soviet artillery . The commander of the Army Detachment " Narwa " , " General der Infanterie " , Anton Grasser , assessed the German capacity as insufficient against the Soviet attack . While sufficient in ammunition and machine - guns , the combat morale of the Germanic volunteers was under heavy pressure while the spirit of some Estonian troops had already been severely damaged in Grasser ' s opinion . However , the following combat proved the opposite . The small number of German Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber s and shortage of aeroplane fuel gave the Soviets massive air superiority . Grasser ' s conclusion was short : Leaving diplomatic formulation aside , Grasser announced that without immediate reinforcements , the Soviets would inevitably break through the Tannenberg Line on 29 June . Such reinforcements were beyond the capacities of Army Group North . The commander of the Army Group , Ferdinand Schörner , had repeatedly called Adolf Hitler ' s attention to the fact that virtually no division consisting of Germans was left at the Tannenberg Line , which was threatening to collapse . These calls had no effect , as Hitler ' s response remained to stand or die . The German order of battle ( as of 28 July 1944 ) was : Army Detachment " " Narwa " " - " General der Infanterie " Anton Grasser Separate detachments : Total : 22 , 250 troops deployed in 25 Estonian and 24 German , Dutch , Danish , Flemish , Norwegian , and Walloon battalions Combat . " Lastekodumägi " . 26 July . On 26 July , pursuing the withdrawing Germans , the Soviet attack fell onto the Tannenberg Line before the vastly outnumbered Army Detachment " " Narwa " " had dug - in . The Soviet Air Force and artillery covered the German positions with bombs and shells , destroying most of the forest on the hills . The headquarters of the newly arrived Flemish 6th SS Volunteer " Sturmbrigade Langemarck " were destroyed and almost all of their officers wounded . " Sturmbannführer " Wilhelm Rehmann left the battlefield , as " Leutnant " George D ' Haese stepped in to bring the brigade back to combat - readiness . The German batteries were badly hit ; the commander of one of them was killed . It took a few days for Steiner to repair the assault guns and until this had been completed the impact of the German artillery remained modest . Benefiting from the disorder , the Soviet 201st and 256th Rifle Divisions supported by the 98th Tank Regiment assaulted the positions of the " " Nordland " " Division seizing the eastern side of the " Lastekodumägi " . In the darkness of the following night , the Anti - Tank Company , " SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 " " " Danmark " " destroyed the Soviet tanks and regained their positions . 27 July . In the morning of 27 July , the Soviet forces began another powerful artillery barrage toward the " Sinimäed " . Anticipating an infantry attack , Steiner concentrated the few working armored vehicles consisting of seven tanks under the command of " Obersturmbannführer " Paul Albert Kausch . Steiner placed them behind the westernmost " Tornimägi " hill in readiness positions . A company of " Nebelwerfer " rocket launchers were placed behind them , being able to fire 48 projectiles within a few seconds . Units of the " " Nordland " " Division were placed between the two hills and the defense was completed by the Anti - Tank Company , 1st Estonian behind the " " Nordland " " . The Soviet attack concentrated at the " Lastekodumägi " and the " Danmark " Regiment south of it . The Danish anti - tank company used their " Panzerfaust " s to set fourteen tanks on fire . Meanwhile , the Soviet infantry forced the weakened " " Langemarck " " " Sturmbrigade " to leave the south side of the " Lastekodumägi " and dig new trenches in front of the " Grenaderimägi " . As a last resort , " Unterscharführer " Remi Schrijnen used the only heavy weapon left in the " sturmbrigade " , a 7 . 5 cm PaK 40 anti - tank gun . Schrijnen was wounded and cut off from the rest of his troops when he started acting as both the loader and gunner . He and the Flemish heavy machine - gunners halted several Soviet tank attacks threatening to encircle the " " Langemarck " " and the Estonian battalions . The Soviet attack also failed to penetrate the defence line of the II . Battalion , SS Volunteer " Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 " " " De Ruyter " " . Several Soviet tanks broke through to the headquarters of the battalion , which were repulsed by " Gruppenführer " Fritz von Scholz Edler von Rerancze sending twelve assault guns forward from the reserve . South from " Lastekodumägi " , the Soviet forces broke through the defense of the " " Danmark " " Regiment and seized control of most of the hill by night time . Under Soviet pressure , the German defense threatened to collapse . On 27 July , Schörner arrived at the " Sinimäed " . He ordered an immediate recapture of the " Lastekodumägi " , demanding fanatical resistance from the soldiers . A meeting convened by von Scholz , laid the tactics for the implementation of the orders . Directly after the meeting , von Scholz was killed by a shrapnel splinter in front of the headquarters . On the night before 28 July , the SS Reconnaissance Battalion 11 , " " Nordland " " and the " I . Batallion , Waffen Grenadier Regiment 47 " ( 3rd Estonian ) , launched a ferocious counterattack . Heavy casualties were inflicted on both sides - the Estonian battalion was destroyed . The fighting for the " Lastekodumägi " was carried on to 28 July as one continuous battle . The II . Battalion , " " Nordland " " launched their fierce attempt to capture the " Lastekodumägi " which the Soviets repulsed . The surviving German forces fell back to the " Grenaderimägi " . 28 July . For the next day , the 2nd Shock Army was reinforced with the 31st and the 82nd Tank Regiments , three howitzer brigades , and nine heavy artillery regiments . In the morning of 28 July , the Soviet forces made a ferocious attempt to out - flank the German forces resisting at the " Lastekodumägi " from the north side . With the last anti - tank gun of the " " Langemarck " " destroying the Soviet armoured force , the Soviets were denied a breakthrough . They suffered heavy casualties , but ordered an air and artillery assault aimed at destroying the withdrawing German units . Anticipating the attack , the German troops advanced into no - man ' s - land close to the Soviet units instead . In close combat , a Flemish regiment of the " " Langemarck " " repulsed the Soviets which brought it to near destruction . In the evening of 28 July , the German forces attempted to regain the " Lastekodumägi " again . Using the tactics of " rolling " small units into the Soviet positions , the troops seized the trenches on the slope of the feature . When a Soviet tank squadron arrived , the German attack collapsed . At a portion of the German 11th Infantry Division near the borough of Sirgala in the south , the Soviet tanks aimed to break through . Steiner ordered a withdrawal to a new defenseive line at the " Grenaderimägi " . The order did not reach a significant part of the German forces who remained in their positions at the " Lastekodumägi " . Anticipating a major attack , Steiner ordered the heavy weapons of the " SS - Panzergrenadier Regiment 23 " " " Norge " " and the " " Danmark " " Regiment to be pulled together into two shock units . By the night of 28 July , the battle had subsided . " Grenaderimägi " . Preparatory fire . The morning of 29 July began with the preparatory artillery fire of 25 , 000 shells fired by the Soviets . The bombardment covered the Tannenberg Line in a dust cloud . The forest on the " Sinimäed " Hills was entirely destroyed , with the trees cut down to a height of two – three metres . While having a great psychological effect , the " " Katyusha " s " or so - called " Stalin organ s " were inaccurate , causing little damage to the well dug - in German troops . The 70 – 80 German " Nebelwerfers " answered . This was followed by Soviet bombers trying to hit the last of the German troops , ducking down in their trenches . Dressed in camouflage uniforms , they remained unseen by the Soviet pilots . Soviet advance guards on the " Grenaderimägi " . The attack of the 6 , 000 Soviet infantry began at 0900 , supported by a regiment of nearly 100 tanks ( most of them of the heavy IS - 2 variety ) . They used their 122 mm guns to fire directly at the strong points showing any signs of life and destroyed the remaining bunkers . The remmnants of the German advance guard were destroyed . The platoon commanded by lieutenant Lapshin broke through to the top of the " Grenaderimägi " . Special courage was shown by Sergeant Efendiyev who destroyed a German strong point on the hill . The " Komsomol " organiser , V . I . Lavreshin of the 937th Rifle Regiment who had been marching ahead of his troops with a red flag in his hands , and erected it at the summit . The small German units who still resisted were paid no special attention by the Soviets as the main attack was carried westwards . Attack of Soviet main forces . The principle of the Soviet attack in the " Sinimäed " was an overwhelming frontal shock , with only a few of the attackers presumed to have reached the target . With artillery fire preventing any reinforcements sent in from the German rear , the Soviet 8th Army went on the attack and drove a wedge into the north flank of the 11th Infantry Division . The Soviet main tactical goal , the " Grenaderimägi " , was to be assaulted by the 6 , 000 soldiers of the 109th Rifle Corps . The 109th Rifle Division attacked the " " Nederland " " who were covering the hill from the north . The 120th Rifle Division hit the " Grenaderimägi " from the east . The 72nd Rifle Division assaulted the II . Battalion , 3rd Estonian Regiment which were defending the northern flank . The 117th Rifle Corps stood ready to break through the last of the German defenses . The " Lastekodumägi " fell to the Soviets with the 191st Rifle Regiment at the head of the Soviet attack . These suffered great casualties from the fire of the last defenders who in turn were either killed or forced to the next hill , the " Grenaderimägi " . With the seizure of the " Lastekodumägi " , the Soviet 201st and the 256th Rifle Divisions were exhausted as the 109th Rifle Division continued to press towards the " Grenaderimägi " alone . The defenders were commanded by Josef Bachmeier , the head of the II . Battalion , " " Norge " " . The I . and II . Battalions , 3rd Estonian subordinated to Bachmeier had 20 to 30 men each . For the defense of the " Grenaderimägi " , every available Estonian was sent into battle , including communications personnel . The central command post was destroyed by Soviet fire while the Germans , Flemish , Norwegians and Estonians escaped destruction by lying down in their bunkers . Behind them at the summit of the " Grenadermägi " , stood the " " Nederland " " . The gaps created in the attacking infantry and tank line by the German artillery did not stop the Soviet advance . Soviet encirclement . The 109th Rifle Division passed the remnants of the II . Battalion , " " De Ruyter " " which used their light machine guns to cause heavy casualties to the Soviets . The Soviet attack ran into the camouflaged anti - tank gun of Remi Schrijnen standing near the northeastern corner of the hill . Meeting the Soviet attack , he fired his gun , destroying seven tanks in the course of which he was severely wounded when his gun was destroyed by an IS - 2 tank returning fire from 30 metres . Despite Schrijnen ' s heroics , the Soviet tanks besieged the " Grenaderimägi " and kept circling the hill , all the while firing away at the defenders . Nevertheless , they could not capture the summit due to heavy casualties caused by the German anti - tank guns and the anti - aircraft guns pointing their barrels down the slope . Other Soviet tanks reached the westernmost hill " Tornimägi " . The defenders in their bunkers , which were poorly fortified from the north and the flanks , were destroyed . Among the Soviet tank commanders , starshina S . F . Smirnov destroyed five German strong points . One of the tanks reached the community centre of the municipality of Vaivara , shooting a hole in the wall . This remained the westernmost point the Soviet Armed Forces reached in Northeast Estonia until late September 1944 . Germans capture the " Tornimägi " . By noon on 29 July , the Soviet forces had almost seized control of the Tannenberg Line . During the attack , they had suffered heavy casualties and were unable to secure their positions at the " Sinimäed " . A mortally wounded German radio operator cleared the eastern slope of the " Grenaderimägi " by waiting for the Soviet troops to reach his position and then ordering an artillery barrage on himself as the Soviets surrounded him . The Soviet tanks threatened the headquarters of the " " De Ruyter " " Regiment . The counterattack by the headquarters guards company was repelled and " Obersturmbannführer " Hans Collani , seeing a Soviet tank from his headquarters doorstep , shot himself dead . His observations turned out to be erroneous as Steiner ordered the last German tanks from the reserve ( they were commanded by Paul - Albert Kausch ) , into the battle . He distributed his tanks in three units . One of them went on to counterattack the Soviets besieging the " Tornimägi " ; the second of them secured the Narva – Tallinn Highway in the west and the third unit counterattacked between the " Grenaderimägi " and the railway a few kilometres to the south . The arrival of the German tanks came unexpectedly for the Soviet armor . Probably being out of ammunition , the Soviet tank squadron retreated and the counterattack of the " " De Ruyter " " repulsed the Soviets from the " Tornimägi " . After the counterattack , only one German Panther tank remained unscathed . Germans capture the " Grenaderimägi " . After the German counterattack , the tactical situation at the Tannenberg Line remained unclear . The remains of the II . Battalion , " " Norge " " at the " Grenaderimägi " assaulted the Soviets . The latter suffered heavy losses but re - grouped and cut the Norwegians off at the east side of the hill . On the western terrace of the " Grenaderimägi " , " Kampfgruppe " Bachmeier and the III . Battalion , 3rd Estonian kept resisting . The Soviets started searching the bunkers for documents and prisoners . Steiner ordered an air assault using dive bombers from Tallinn Airport . The Soviets had anticipated the attack and had moved their self - propelled anti - aircraft units to the " Lastekodumägi " . They shot down several German bombers and afterwards turned their fire on the German infantry . Steiner had one more battalion to spare – the I . Battalion , " ' Waffen Grenadier Regiment der SS 45 " " " Estland " " ( 1st Estonian ) which had been spared from the previous counterattacks because of the scarcity of able - bodied men . " Sturmbannführer " Paul Maitla requested reinforcements from the men in the field hospital . Twenty less injured men responded , joining the remains of the other destroyed units , including a unit of the " Kriegsmarine " ( navy ) , and supported by the single remaining Panther tank . The counterattack started from the parish cemetery south of the " Tornimägi " with the left flank of the assault clearing the hill of the Soviets . The attack continued towards the summit under heavy Soviet artillery and bomber attack , getting into close combat in the Soviet positions . The small German grenadier units were moved into the trenches . Running out of ammunition , the German troops used Soviet grenades and automatic weapons taken from the fallen . According to some veterans , it appeared that low flying Soviet bombers were attempting to hit every individual German soldier jumping between craters , from time to time getting buried under the soil by the explosions of Soviet shells . The Soviets were forced to retreat from the Grenaderimägi Hill . Soviet attempts to regain the " Grenaderimägi " . In the afternoon of 29 July , the Soviet forces made eight attempts to regain control of the " Grenaderimägi " . The last of the German reserves were sent into the battle , including the supply troops . The two assaults by Maitla ' s improvised platoon at the " Lastekodumägi " forced the Soviets to refrain from further attacks and gave the Germans time to re - group . Report of the 2nd Shock Army headquarters on 30 July . Reluctant to admit the catastrophe in his report to the Soviet High Command on 30 July , the Political Commissar of the Soviet 2nd Army falsely assured that the " Grenaderimägi " was still in the possession of the Soviet 109th Rifle Corps . As the justification of the failure to break through the German defenses , the report cited the weak cooperation between the artillery and the infantry . The report also mentioned the poorly coordinated action of the armored units , driving to the minefields , which were uncleared by the sapper units . The commissar made serious reproaches against the commanders of the units and claimed in his report than they were very drunk while attempting to command the attacks . 30 – 31 July . On 30 July , the battle went on in similar fashion . Soviet artillery increased the intensity of its fire to 30 , 000 shells , the German artillery answered with 10 , 000 rounds of their own . The subsequent attack by the Soviet heavy tanks broke through the defenses of the II . Battalion , " " De Ruyter " " consisting of 35 – 45 capable men running between their heavy machine guns . " Hauptsturmführer " Helmut Scholz took units of the " De Ruyter " Regiment to the counterattack , destroying two tanks at the doorstep of Scholz ' s bunker and forcing the Soviets to retreat . For the battles of Tannenberg Line , Scholz earned the Knight ' s Cross with Oakleaves , the only SS infantry company commander to be a recipient of the Oakleaves . Simultaneously , the Soviet platoons were climbing up the " Grenaderimägi " under intensive German bombardment . Eventually , the attack was repelled by German hand grenades . The Soviets attacked the II . Battalion , 3rd Estonian which in close combat , destroyed 12 tanks and repelled this latest assault . Units of the Soviet 8th Army advanced in the forests of the southern section of the front . On 31 July , the Soviet command changed the direction of their preparatory artillery fire , this time aiming it behind the hill , cutting the German defenders off from the main army group . The gradual decrease in the number of shells fired by the Soviet artillery ( 9 , 000 rounds on 30 July ) , witnessed the weakening of the Soviet attacks . Soviet infantry started climbing up the " Grenaderimägi " . The Estonian units against them ran out of ammunition . Just in time , an improvised platoon of the " " Danmark " " arrived to rescue them , and another Soviet attack was repulsed . In the evening , the Soviets tried yet another assault on the " Grenaderimägi " , it was repelled by the unit commanded by Bachmeier who was later decorated with the Knight ' s Cross . The remnants of the I . Battalion , 3rd Estonian resisted the Soviet attacks on the southern flank . That time , the political commissar of the 2nd Shock Army admitted the failure to break through the defense . He explained it by stating the artillery fire was running late . The report presented the false assertion that the Germans had captured the " Grenaderimägi " only on 30 July . Soviet reinforcements in August . Receiving the order from Stalin to break through to Tallinn at all costs , Govorov made Fedyuninsky responsible for reaching Rakvere no later than 7 August . During the first days of August , the 2nd Shock Army received the 110th and 124th Rifle Corps as reinforcements , raising the number of troops to over 20 , 000 again . The 8th Army received similar additions to their forces with the 112th and 117th Corps ordered to join the attacks . Soviet tank forces were also restored , with 104 armored vehicles at their command . At the nine kilometre long segment of the front , 1 , 913 assault guns were collected , making it 300 guns per kilometer . 365 pieces of heavy artillery were aimed at " Grenaderimägi " and 200 at " Sirgala " settlement in the south segment . As the daily amount , 200 , 000 shells were supplied to the artillery . On 1 August , no combat took place , as both parties reorganized their forces . The Leningrad Front tried to shift the center of weight southwards . German conditions in August . The army detachment " " Narwa " " replaced its units with the less damaged detachments in the first days of August . Despite inflicting immense casualties on the Soviets , the " Waffen - SS " units were slowly getting worn down . The " " Nederland " " Brigade was reduced to the size of a regiment , while the two regiments of the " " Langemarck " " " Sturmbrigade " each had the strength of a reninforced company . The 2nd Estonian Regiment was virtually lost and the " " Nordland " " Division a shadow of its former self . To the German ' s good fortune , Soviet intelligence overestimated the strength of the defenders to more than 60 tanks and 800 pieces of artillery while in fact there were just one tank and 70 – 80 guns left at the Tannenberg Line . Finale . By 2 August , the 2nd Shock Army had re - deployed and assaulted , using the same tactics as previously . The men of the " " Nederland " " who survived the artillery bombardment , retreated down the slopes of the " Grenaderimägi " pursued by the Soviet units . In Steiner ' s memoirs , the intensity of the fire and the nature of the battles reminded him of the Battle of Verdun . When the artillery barrage ended , the freshly drafted II . Battalion , " Waffen - Grenadier Regiment der SS 46 " ( 2nd Estonian ) returned fire after inflicting severe casualties on the assaulting Soviets and counterattacked , reclaiming the " Grenaderimägi " . Soviet tanks broke through in the southeastern section of the front as the Estonian assault team commanded by " Hauptsturmführer " Oskar Ruut , the 11th Infantry Division ( consisting of personnel from East Prussia ) and the 300th Special Purpose Division repelled them while suffering heavy casualties . On 3 August , the Soviets made a stronger attempt with the preparatory artillery fire of 25 , 000 – 30 , 000 shells reaching the level of the attack of 29 July . The fire caused heavy casualties , while a part of the defenders left their positions . Eleven Soviet rifle divisions and four tank regiments tried to spread their attack along the front . However , the main weight of the impending attack tended to be at the " Grenaderimägi " once more . The German artillery noticed the concentration of the Soviet forces , and launched their rocket fire , inflicting numerous casualties on the Soviet infantry and tanks before the beginning of the attack . As the German artillery fire did not dent the Soviet superiority in manpower , the Soviet attack began as scheduled . The 110th Rifle Corps assaulting the " Grenaderimägi " found themselves in the middle of the cross - fire from the remnants of the I . Battalion , 2nd Estonian Regiment . As the commanders of the rifle corps erroneously reported to army headquarters on the capture of " Grenaderimägi " , the artillery fire was lifted from the hill . The Estonians counterattacked and cleared it . Simultaneously , the 124th Rifle Corps attacking the south segment of the front by the Vaivara parish church was repulsed . In a similar fashion , the Soviets made two more attacks on 3 August . Each of them began with a massive artillery barrage and ended with a German counterattack , restoring the previous positions . Overall on 3 August , twenty Soviet tanks were destroyed . The Soviet attacks from 4 to 6 August were weaker ; on 4 August , eleven tanks were destroyed , and seven more on 5 August . During the night before 6 August , six tanks were knocked out . On 10 August , the war council of the Leningrad Front ordered the termination of the offensive and switch strictly to defense . The Soviets reduced their operations to patrol activities with occasional attacks . The defenders used this respite to rotate several exhausted units out of the line for a few days for rest and refit , and to strengthen their positions . Until mid - September , the front stayed quiet . Casualties . In the era of the Soviet Union , losses in the Battle of Tannenberg Line were not mentioned in Soviet sources . In recent years , Russian authors have published some figures but not for the whole course of the battle . The number of Soviet casualties can only be estimated by looking at other figures . In the attack of 29 July , 225 men survived of the Soviet 109th Rifle Corps carrying the main weight of the assault . Of the 120th Rifle Division , 1 , 808 men were lost ; killed or wounded . The rest of the Soviet rifle corps lost their capacity for further attacks . In the same attack , the German forces lost 600 men . The headquarters of the 2nd Shock Army reported 259 troops fit for combat within the 109th Rifle Division and a total exhaustion of the army on the night before 1 August , which probably meant a few thousand troops fit for combat out of the 46 , 385 men who had initiated the Estonian Operation on 25 July . The losses of the 8th Army were similar to that . In the evening of 29 July , the army detachment " " Narwa " " counted 113 – 120 Soviet tanks destroyed , almost half of them in the battles of 29 July . The 2nd Shock Army reported on fifty of their tanks destroyed on 29 July . The German side counted an additional 44 Soviet tanks destroyed on 3 – 6 August . Russian author G . F . Krivosheev , in his account " Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century " , lists 665 , 827 casualties suffered by the Leningrad Front in 1944 , 145 , 102 of them as dead , missing in action , or captured . Estonian historian Mart Laar , deducting the losses in the Leningrad - Novgorod Offensive , Battle for the Narva Bridgehead and the combat in Finland estimates the number of Soviet casualties in the Battle of Tannenberg Line as 35 , 000 dead or missing and 135 , 000 wounded or sick . The German Army Group North buried 1 , 709 men in Estonia between 24 July and 10 August 1944 . Added to the men missing in action , the number of irrecoverable casualties in the period is approximately 2 , 500 . Accounting the standard ratio 1 : 4 of irrecoverable casualties to the wounded , the total number of German casualties in the Battle for Tannenberg Line is approximately 10 , 000 men . Aftermath . On 14 September , the Riga Offensive was launched by the Soviet 1st , 2nd and 3rd Baltic Fronts . It was aimed at capturing Riga and cutting off Army Group North in Courland , western Latvia . After much argument , Adolf Hitler finally agreed to allow the evacuation of all the troops in Estonia . After months of holding the line , the exhausted men of the III SS Panzer Corps joined the withdrawal ; fighting their way back from the Tannenberg Line . On 17 September , the 3rd Baltic Front launched the Tallinn Offensive from the " Emajõgi " River Front joining Lake " Peipus " with Lake " Võrtsjärv " . The operation was aimed at encircling the army detachment " " Narwa " " . Unable to hold the force , the German units withdrew towards the northwest while the incomplete II Army Corps was left to stall the Soviet attack . The " " Narwa " " withdrew quickly towards the Latvian border . On 22 September , Tallinn was abandoned . Some of the Estonian formations now began to attack the retreating Germans , attempting to secure supplies and weapons to continue a guerrilla war as the Forest Brothers against the Russians and Soviet occupation . Several troops of the Estonian Division stayed in Estonia . These units continued fighting , some survivors joining the guerrilla groups which fought the Soviet occupying forces until the end of the 1970s .