Battle of Auvere
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Battle of Auvere was a battle in Estonia, starting on July 20, 1944 and ending on July 25. It was a part of the World War II campaign in Narva.
The Soviet 8th Army started attacking the Auvere Station on July 20 with artillery fire. The defenders had some losses. The Estonians and Germans (of the 11th (East Prussian)[1] Infantry Division) had built trenches and dug themselves into foxholes. In the morning of July 24, the Soviet assault commenced with 30-50 batteries firing 17,000 shells and grenades (2,000 tons),[2] inflicting significant casualties to the Estonian 45th Regiment in Auvere and the 44th Infantry Regiment in the borough of Sirgala.[2]
After two hours of preparatory artillery fire, the two regiments were attacked from the air. Three German and eight Soviet bombers were shot down in air combat. Under artillery cover, the Soviet 122nd Rifle Corps and a tank brigade pierced to the German positions, while the 117th Rifle Corps encircled the Estonian regiment,[3] which reformed themselves in circular defence.[4]
Relieved by Paul Albert Kausch's Kampfgruppe (the "Nordland" Tank Battalion with additional units) and three rocket artillery launchers, the Estonians went on for a counterattack.[5] The 44th Regiment was saved by the swift movement of artillery behind them clearing their previous positions of Soviet troops.[6][page needed] The 117th Rifle Corps reached the headquarters of the Estonian I Battalion, who resisted by heavy machine-gun fire in circular defence.[5] The support by the anti-tank weapons of the 14th Company and Kausch's Kampfgruppe helped to seize the main frontline back to the control of the "Narwa".[2]
The attempts by the 117th and the 122nd Rifle Corps to break through were repelled in a similar way, causing them to lose 3,000 men, 17 planes and 29 tanks, compared to the loss of 800 troops of army detachment "Narwa".[7] On the next day, the Soviet 8th Army tried to capture the German positions again, but they were repelled by machine guns.[7]
Forces
Germany
- III SS Corps
- 11th East Prussian Infantry Division
- 20th Estonian SS Division
- 45th Estonian Regiment
- First Battalion, 47th Estonian Regiment
- 20th Estonian Fusilier Battalion (former Battalion Narwa)[citation needed]
Soviet Union[3]
References
- ↑ Although the name "East Prussian" is often associated with this division (two regiments were formed in East Prussian regions), the division also had personnel from other areas of Germany, particularly the Rhineland.
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- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ On July 1, 1944, the 122nd Rifle Corps included the 98th and 189th Rifle Divisions. The 117th Rifle Corps had assigned the 43rd, 123rd, and 256th Rifle Divisions. During this period of the war, rifle division strength varied widely from around 4,000 to some 9,000 men, depending on the intensity of combat the division had recently experienced. For artillery support, the 8th Army had one gun-artillery brigade, five gun-artillery regiments, seven (120-mm) mortar regiments, and five rocket-launcher regiments.
