Saaremaa is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring 2,673 km2 (1,032 sq mi), its population is 31,435. The main island of the West Estonian archipelago, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and northwest of the Gulf of Riga. The administrative centre of the island, and of the Saare maakond (county), is the town of Kuressaare.
Hiiumaa is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within Hiiu County.
Saare County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne County to the east, Hiiu County to the north, and Latvia to the south. In 2022, Saare County had a population of 31,292, which was 2.4% of the population of Estonia.
Muhu is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km2 (76 sq mi), it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.
The 61st Infantry Division was a combat division of the German Army during the Second World War. Towards the end of the war, it became the 61st Volksgrenadier Division.
The Baltic Sea campaigns were conducted by Axis and Allied naval forces in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the connected lakes Ladoga and Onega on the Eastern Front of World War II. After early fighting between Polish and German forces, the main combatants were the Kriegsmarine and the Soviet Navy, with Finland supporting the Germans until 1944 and the Soviets thereafter. The Swedish Navy and merchant fleet played important roles, and the British Royal Navy planned Operation Catherine for control of the Baltic Sea and its exit choke point into the North Sea.
Osmussaar is an Estonian island situated in the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, 7.5 km off the Estonian mainland. Administratively the island is part of Lääne-Nigula Parish in Lääne County. Its area is 4.8 km2.
Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The campaign aimed to occupy the Baltic islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö) and Muhu (Moon). The three islands were part of the Russian Empire and strategically dominated the central and northern Baltic Sea. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht (Tagga) bay on the island of Saaremaa (Ösel), on 12 October, after extensive naval operations to clear mines and subdue coastal artillery batteries. German forces secured the island by 16 October and the Russian army evacuated Muhu (Moon) on 20 October.
HNoMS Olav Tryggvason was a minelayer that was built by the naval shipyard at Horten in the early 1930s with the yard number 119. She served in the Royal Norwegian Navy until captured by the Germans in 1940. The Germans renamed her first Albatros II, and a few days later Brummer. She was wrecked in a British bombing raid in northern Germany in April 1945.
The Battle of Moon Sound was a naval battle fought between the forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic in the Baltic Sea during Operation Albion from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 during World War I. The German intention was to destroy the Russian forces and occupy the West Estonian Archipelago, and achieved both objectives. The Imperial German Navy had ten battleships, one battlecruiser, nine light cruisers, one mine cruiser, fifty destroyers and six submarines while the Russians had only two pre-dreadnoughts, three cruisers, three gunboats, twenty-one destroyers, and three British submarines.
Operation North Wind was a joint German-Finnish naval operation in the Baltic Sea in 1941, in the course of World War II. The operation itself was a distracting manoeuvre so that another German force could occupy the Estonian islands of Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Muhu without the interference of the Soviet Red Fleet.
West Estonian archipelago is a group of Estonian islands located in the Baltic Sea around Väinameri. The total area is about 4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi). The archipelago is composed of the islands Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Muhu, Vormsi and about 900 other smaller islands. The archipelago is separated from the Estonian mainland by the Väinameri Sea.
Sõrve is a peninsula which forms the southernmost section of the Estonian island Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. Its length is 32 km, and its maximum width 10 km. South of it lies Irbe Strait, the main entrance to the Gulf of Riga.
The Battle of Tehumardi was a battle on October 8, 1944 related to the Moonsund Operation during World War II. Soviet soldiers fought German troops occupying Tehumardi. It was one of the most brutal engagements during the fighting on the Estonian island of Saaremaa (Oesel) in 1944.
Väinatamm is the name of the largest causeway in Estonia on the Estonian national road 10. The causeway, opened in 1896, connects the island of Muhu, located between Saaremaa and the mainland, with Saaremaa. Construction of the causeway cut the sea crossing between the continent and Saaremaa by about half, and transit time even further. In 1917, the causeway was the site of heavy fighting during Operation Albion, as German bicycle troops attempted to cut off and encircle retreating Russian forces, while securing the route to Muhu.
The Moonsund landing operation, also known as the Moonzund landing operation, was an amphibious operation and offensive by the Red Army during World War II, taking place in late 1944. It was part of the Baltic offensive, and was designed to clear German forces of Army Group North from the islands in East Baltic Sea, the West Estonian archipelago. The attacking forces were from the 8th Army of the Leningrad Front.
Estonia was under military occupation by the German Empire during the later stages of the First World War. On 11–21 October 1917, the Imperial German Army occupied the West Estonian archipelago, including the larger islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö), and Muhu (Moon).
TS Laevad is an Estonian ferry company which operates two routes between the Estonian mainland and the islands of Hiiumaa and Muhu in the Baltic Sea. Muhu is connected by a causeway to Estonia's largest island, Saaremaa.
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Soviet Union