During World War II, the eastern Estonian town Narva suffered from many aerial bombings by the Soviet Air Force between 1941 and 1944. Most of the buildings in the city was destroyed during the war, only 198 out of 3550 buildings were considered habitable. [1] The most damaging of these air raids are called the 'March bombings', destroying most of the city and killing hundreds.
After the Baltic States was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, Nazi Germany launched their invasion of the Soviet Union and the territories it occupied in 1941. German forces captured Narva in August 1941, [2] and the town remained in German occupation until 1944. After heavy fighting during the Battle of Narva, causing heavy casualties on both sides, Narva was recaptured by the Soviet forces in July 1944, after German troops withdrew from the area. [3] [4]
During the Summer War, German forces captured Narva in August 1941, [2] and the city faced minor damage due to small scale aerial bombing raids by the Soviet Union. The city would remain facing small scale air raids by the Soviet Union until 1944, [5] which would be known as the March Bombings (Estonian: Märtsipommitamine), which affected a number of Estonian cities. [6]
Starting from 25 January 1944 to 3 March 1944, a majority of the city's population was evacuated as battles approached and the Battle of Narva began. [7] The Battle of Narva began on 2 February 1944, between soldiers fighting under the Nazi German army and soldiers fighting under the Soviet army to obtain the Narva Isthmus, which was strategically important.
In late February/early March, Soviet command planned multiple air raids on Narva, and other Estonian cities, including Estonia's capital, Tallinn. Narva experienced these air raids on March 6, 7, and 8, causing major infrastructural and civilian/soldier casualties. Around 100 Soviet bombers participated in these aerial raids on Narva. [7] These air raids that affected cities in Estonia was known as the March Bombings (Estonian: Märtsipommitamine). The city was further damaged during the battle from artillery shelling by both sides. [8]
Narva was bombed again on 25 July 1944, and Narva was recaptured by the Soviet forces on 26 July 1944, after German troops withdrew from the area. [3] [4]
This is a small list of air raids that Narva experiences from 1941-1944. [9]
Narva experienced around 30 air raids in late 1941. Railway structures and bridges were targeted to disrupt German supply and troop movement. [8]
Many buildings were destroyed during the air raids and general engagements in and around Narva. At the start of 1944, around 10% of Narva was destroyed, but in late July, 95-98% of the city was destroyed. [10] [1] After World War II, some buildings could be restored, but in the 1950s, Soviet authorities removed the ruins of Narva to build apartment buildings. [10]
Narva's medieval town, dating back to the late 1600's, was almost entirely destroyed. Only a few structures were restored; the Narva Town Hall and the Hermann Castle. [11]
Civilian casualties were fairly low, due to the evacuation which evacuated 85% of the city's population. Around 900 people died during the actual air raids during 1944. [12] In 1939, Narva's total population measured 22,400, but in 1945, the city's population measured ~6,600. [13] This significant decrease is mainly due to evacuations, but also due to deportations, refugees, relocations, and other deaths during the war. [14]
Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 53,626 inhabitants Narva is Estonia's third largest city after capital Tallinn and Tartu.
Harju County, is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla County to the south, and Lääne County to the southwest. The capital and largest city of Estonia, Tallinn, is situated in Harju County. Harju County is the largest county in Estonia in terms of population, as almost half (45%) of the Estonia's population lives in Harju County.
Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French Air Force in 1940 and between 1944 and 1945 as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force in 1941 and particularly in 1945, as Soviet forces closed on the city. British bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, while American aircraft dropped 22,090.3 tons. As the bombings continued, more and more people fled the city. By May 1945, 1.7 million people had fled.
The Battle of Narva Bridgehead was the campaign that stalled the Soviet Estonian operation in the surroundings of the town of Narva for six months. It was the first phase of the Battle of Narva campaign fought at the Eastern Front during World War II, the second phase being the Battle of Tannenberg Line.
The Battle of Narva was a World War II military campaign, lasting from 2 February to 10 August 1944, in which the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus.
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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.
In the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia in July–December 1941, and occupied the country until 1944. Estonia had gained independence in 1918 from the then-warring German and Russian Empires. However, in the wake of the August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact, the Soviet Union had invaded and occupied Estonia in June 1940, and the country was formally annexed into the USSR in August 1940.
The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz.
During World War II, the Estonian capital Tallinn suffered from many instances of aerial bombing by the Soviet air force and the German Luftwaffe. The first bombings by Luftwaffe occurred during the Summer War of 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa. A number of Soviet bombing missions to then German-occupied Tallinn followed in 1942–1944.
Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II (1939–1945), but the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and ultimately reinvaded and reoccupied in 1944 by the Soviet Union.
This is a timeline of events that occurred during 1944 in World War II.
The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock and 8th armies and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on the Eastern Front of World War II on 17–26 September 1944. Its German counterpart was the abandonment of the Estonian territory in a retreat codenamed Operation Aster.
The Tartu offensive operation, also known as the Battle of Tartu and the Battle of Emajõgi was a campaign fought over southeastern Estonia in 1944. It took place on the Eastern Front during World War II between the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front and parts of the German Army Group North.
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This is a sub-article to Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive and Battle of Narva.
The Narva offensive was an operation conducted by the Soviet Leningrad Front. It was aimed at the conquest of the Narva Isthmus from the German army detachment "Narwa". At the time of the operation, Joseph Stalin, the supreme commander of the Soviet Armed Forces, was personally interested in taking Estonia, viewing it as a precondition to forcing Finland out of the war.
This is a sub-article to Battle of Narva.
The Summer War was the occupation of Estonia during the Second World War. It was fought between the Forest Brothers (Metsavennad), the Omakaitse, and the Wehrmacht's 18th Army against the forces of the 8th Army of the USSR and the NKVD.