BATTLE OF THE BALTICS Photo by fotoreporter sovietico sconosciuto / Public domain
WHAT WAS THE BATTLE OF THE BALTICS? The Battle of the Baltics was compromised of two major components 1.) Baltic Operation: Germany took over the Baltic territories in 1941 2.) Baltic Offensive: U.S.S.R. took the Baltic territories back from Germany in 1944
BALTICS The contested territories were: Latvia Estonia Lithuania
THESIS Soviet occupation of the Baltic States in 1940 led to Hitler's failed decision to invade the USSR, demoralizing German troops and wasting German resources which ultimately led to the collapse of the Third Reich.
CONTEXT FOR BALTIC OPERATION Non-Aggression Pact (1939): Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania were given to U.S.S.R U.S.S.R built Soviet governments in these territories Carried out mass deportations Operation Barbarossa (1941): Germany's plan to invade Baltics U.S.S.R tries to defend Baltics this is the Baltic Operation
IMPORTANT FIGURES-GERMANY Ferdinand Schörner General/Later Field Marshal Born in Munich, Germany on June 12th, 1892 Joined in WWI Strong belief in Fascism led him to be well liked by Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Born on September 5th, 1876 Artillery officer during WWI In Operation Barbarossa, Leeb was given the command of Army Group North Walther von Brauchitsch Born October 4th, 1881 in Berlin, Germany Head of the German army in 1938 Key instrument in planning attacks in the Balkans/the Soviet Union
IMPORTANT FIGURES-U.S.S.R Ivan Bagramyan Born December 2, 1897 Soviet-Armenian military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union First non-slavic military officer to become a commander of a Front Became communist Party member in 1941 Planned defensive attacks against Germans Failure led to demotion to chief of staff of Soviet 28th Army Fyodor Isodorovich Kuznetsov Born September 29, 1898 in Bolbechino, Belarus Commanded the Northwestern Front during the Baltic Operation until June 30, 1941
BALTIC OPERATION On June 22, 1941, German army groups invaded USSR territory of Latvia and Lithuania U.S.S.R. tried to defend the Baltics (failed) Battle of Raseiniai: Tank battle between Germany and USSR Soviet army was heavily defeated Germany gains control of the Baltics This allowed them to cross the Daugava River towards the Baltics
BALTIC OPERATION Battle of Hanko Finland attempted to regain control of the Hanko Naval Base USSR was cornered by war with both Finland's army and Germany's army Had no choice but to retreat from the base USSR retreated until Germany was able to regain control of the Baltics
Soviet Union and NAZI s lost thousands of men NAZI claim over the Baltic States Heavily persecute and punish Jews of the Baltics Led to the formation of ghettos and concentration camps around the region USSR war production continued to develop at an astounding pace Most of equipment especially aircraft was destroyed and replaced by more reliable and durable equipment Exploited new sources of many strategic raw materials To accommodate for war production, production for civilian needs was drastically reduced to a minimum level
BALTIC OFFENSIVE Fought between Germany and USSR after the Baltic Operation September 1944 through November 1944 USSR victory Map
CONTEXT FOR BALTIC OFFENSIVE After two years of continuous war, the Germans launched Operation Zitadelle Operation Zitadelle was aimed at trying to conquer the USSR it failed The Germans tried to retreat, but this led to the Baltic Offensive
IMPORTANT FIGURES-GERMANY Erich von Manstein Born Nov. 24, 1887 in Berlin, Germany Fought in WWI on both Russia/Western Fronts Promoted to major general in 1936 and to lieutenant general in 1938 Walter Model Born January 24, 1891 in Genthin, Germany Strong support for the Nazi cause, made him well liked Took command of Army Group North (January 1944), the North- Ukraine Army Group (March 1944), and Army Group Central (June 1944) on the Eastern Front
IMPORTANT FIGURES-U.S.S.R Georgiy Zhukov Born December 1, 1896 in Kaluga, Russia Appointed commander in chief of the western front after defense in Leningrad In 1942, became the chief member of Stalin's supreme headquarters Planned/executed the Soviet Union's major engagements in WWII Leonid Govorov February 22, 1897 in Sovetsky District, Russia as commander he captured the Baltic states and trapped German troops remaining in Soviet territory Later became marshal of the Soviet Union and later named Hero of the Soviet Union.
SOVIET SUB-OFFENSIVES 1. Riga Offensive: Sept 14th - Oct 24, 1944 2. Tallinn Offensive: Sep 17 Sep 26, 1944 3. Moonsund Land Operation: Sep 29 Nov 24, 1944 4. Memel Offensive: Oct 5 Oct 22 1944 5. Courland Pocket: Oct 10, 1944 May 9, 1945 GERMAN COUNTER-OFFENSIVES 1. Operation Doppelkopf: Aug15 16, 1944 2. Operation Cäsar: Sept 16 - Sept 21, 1944
June 1944 USSR used a military strategy invented in the 1920s and 1930s Caused chaos and disruption among enemy Soviets overestimated the amount of German troops they opposed Caused a delay to the offensive Soviets gathered over 1.2 million soldiers Soviets almost had a 10-to-1 numerical advantage with armor and 7- to-1 with aircraft Germans were stunned at the size and strength of the attack Germans underestimated Soviets German officers ignored the warning about Soviet movements Did not recognize the threat until three days into the operation
Size of armies: Germans 495 tanks 2,500 artillery pieces 602 aircrafts Soviets 4,000 tanks 34,000 artillery pieces 4,800 aircrafts
OPERATION DOPPELKOPF August 15-16, 1944 Counter-attack carried out by Army Group Centre Two goals: 1. To restore a land connection between army groups Center and North 2. To re-open the highway running from Riga to East Prussia The Germans attacked the Red Army on the Gulf of Riga from east and west But then they were stopped by several Soviet rifle divisions and several tank corps Ultimately, the Germans had re-opened a land route from East Prussia to Riga and stabilized the German line, but failed to make a large impact on the Soviet front
Sept 14th - Oct 24, 1944 In 1944, Riga was the center of the German military position Riga is the capital of Latvia Following Operation Bagration, Soviet armies attacked towards Riga on the Baltic coast Soviets drove Germans out of the coast of Gulf of Riga Germany reacted quickly and successfully at first Launched counter attack named Operation Doppelkopf
OPERATION CÄSAR September 16 through September 21, 1944 A German counter-offensive in response to Soviet's Riga offensive Germans were able to gain back a few miles until the Soviet resistance became too strong German forces went back on the defense
TALLINN OPERATION Sep 17, 1944 Sep 26, 1944 Soviets moved to capture Tallinn (capital of Estonia) Overall a very quick event: minimal fighting Germans evacuated Tallinn in a rush USSR regained control of the majority of Estonia
COURLAND POCKET Oct 10, 1944 May 9, 1945 As a result of the Riga Offensive, the German army was forced back to the Courland Peninsula The Red Army surrounded the German Army Group North when they reached the Gulf of Riga Germans used the help of their navy to fight the Soviets Germans were not strong enough to keep waging war: 10 German tanks vs. 50 Soviet tanks German troops fled back to Germany and the USSR regained control of Latvia
MOONSUND LAND OPERATION Sep 29, 1944 Nov 24, 1944 Blocked German access to the Gulf of Riga Germany evacuated from Estonia German troops go back to the peninsula Troops eventually leave despite Hitler's commands
October 5 October 22 1944 Soviet attack after Operation Casar Final stages of Baltic Offensive Soviets opened fire against the Germans Aimed for the coast north of Memel 2 days into the attack, it had reached the south of Memel German army commander said on October 9 th that he would stop the attack on Memel if troops from Riga could be evacuated
AFTERMATH Soviets re-claimed the Baltics Isolated the German Army Group North Liberated the Baltic people from the NAZI's horrid command Both armies suffered tremendous damage to their troops ( June- August 1944) Economic and military dislocation was severe To recover from the economic damage suffered by the invasions, the Soviets re-installed Stalinism and returned back to their stages of collectivized farms Soviet war production outpaced German production Soviets were able to weaken and spread out NAZI forces, making the Soviet victory easier Marks the end of the NAZI group as they could not recover from their losses
Baltic population suffers drastically General Population Loss in the Baltics Estonian population loss of 25% Lithuanian population loss of 15% Latvia population loss of 30% General Deaths from War or Occupation in the Baltics 180,000 deaths within Latvia 250,000 deaths within Lithuania 90,000 deaths within Estonia
OVERALL IMPACT (JUNE 1941 TO MARCH 1945) Germany casualties: Total of 6,255,000 1,001,000 killed 3,966,000 wounded 1,288,000 missing 2,289,600 taken prisoner Soviet casualties Total of 28,199,127 10,008,434 killed and missing 18,190,693 wounded 5,245,000 taken prisoner
OVERALL IMPACT (JUNE 1941 TO MARCH 1945) Greatest land campaign ever fought during WWII Soviet population loss was around 23.5 percent The physical destruction was enormous 1,170 towns, 31,850 industrial plants, 84,000 schools, and 7 million dwellings
THESIS Soviet occupation of the Baltic States in 1940 led to Hitler's failed decision to invade the USSR, demoralizing German troops and wasting German resources which ultimately led to the collapse of the Third Reich.
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