Battle of the Baltics David Cao and Jennifer
Battle of the Baltics David Cao and Jennifer De. Jong
Timeline ● ● June 22, 1941: Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa o June 22 - July 3, 1941: Lithuania and Estonia are occupied by the Germans o July 10, 1941: Latvia is occupied by the Germans July 10, 1941 - September 13, 1944: German forces continue to occupy the Baltic states with fighting between Germans and Russians September 14, 1944: Russian forces launched an attack in the Baltic Offensive on the Eastern Front, attempting to recapture the Baltic States o September 17 - September 26, 1944: Estonia is recaptured by Russian forces o October 5 - October 22, 1944: The Battle of Memel results in the recapturing of Estonia by Russia October 9, 1944 - May 10, 1945: The Courland Pocket, the Russian encirclement of German forces on the Courland Peninsula, results in German surrender and the reoccupation of Latvia by Russia
Baltic Operation ● ● ● June 22, 1941 - July 9, 1941 After Germany launches Operation Barbarossa, Russia attempts to defend their territories of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia The Battle of Raseiniai o A tank battle between Germany and Russia o Soviet army gets destroyed o Germany takes control, allowing them to cross the Daugava River towards the baltic states Battle of Hanko o Finland attempts to take the Hanko base o Russia is cornered between Finland’s army and Germany’s advance on the Gulf of Finland o Russia evacuates Hanko base Russia continually retreats and Germany is able to claim the three Baltic states
Background ● After 2 years of fighting, Germans launch Operation Zitadelle to try to conquer Russia ● It fails ● They try to retreat ● Leads to. . .
BALTIC OFFENSIVE CHARRRGE!
Baltic Offensive ● Operation Bagration June-August 1944 o Russia’s push towards Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic States o German defenses quickly breached o Minsk, Belarus retaken by Russia (original objective) o German army crushed, so Russia pushes further than they planned to o Šiauliai, Lithuania is taken along with more of Belarus and Poland
Baltic Offensive ● Northern Estonia under pressure ● Threatened supply lines ● Germans held out until the Spring
Baltic Offensive ● Riga offensive: September 1944 o Russia attempts to drive Germany away from Riga, the capital of Latvia o German army overwhelmed and begins falling back into the Courland Peninsula o Russia takes control of Riga and pushes up to Madona, Latvia
Baltic Offensive ● Tallinn Operation: September 1944 o Soviet attempt to capture Tallinn, Estonia’s capital o Russians quickly advance into Estonia o Germans evacuated quickly with barely any fighting o Russians regain control of most of Estonia
Baltic Offensive ● Courland Pocket o Due to the Riga offensive, German army forced back into Courland ● Red Army encircled German Army Group North by reaching the Gulf of Riga ● Half a million troops encircled ● August: Germans enlist help of navy to defeat Soviets at Tukums ● 10 German tanks +navy vs. 50 soviet tanks ● Troops escape back to Germany ● Russia gains control of the rest of Latvia
Baltic Offensive ● Moonsund Landing Operation o Germans continued to defend the Estonian islands o Immediately withdraws forces after seeing Russian army o Germans pushed back to the peninsula o Finally, germans evacuated against Hitler’s will
Baltic Offensive ● Battle of Memel: October 1944 o Russia further advances into Lithuania and begins pushing into Latvia o Began sieging Memel o German forces evacuate and Russia takes control of Memel
Thesis: As a result of their campaigns in the Baltics against the Russians, much of Hitler’s army was occupied through the latter part of the war, wasting many resources with no payoff as they eventually lost when Russia took the Baltics, demoralizing German troops and leading to Hitler's defeat.
What did we learn today? ● Germany took Baltics in 1941 ● In 1944, the Germans got greedy and tried to take Russia ● Stalin = >: {( ● Russia beats off Germans and takes the Baltics, demoralizing and destroying all the way
Works Cited "German Occupation in Estonia 1941 -1944. " Estonica. org. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. Goldmanis, Maris. "Tag Archives: World War II. " Latvian History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015 "GREATEST TANK BATTLES - THE BATTLE OF THE BALTICS - Military/History/World War II (documentary). " Dailymotion. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. Merriman, John. "Bagration Operation. " Gale Virtual Reference Library. N. p. , n. d. Web. "The Red Army Invasion of Estonia in 1944. " Estonica. org. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. "World War II in the Baltic. " World War II in the Baltic. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
- Slides: 15