Riga Offensive (1944)

Riga Offensive (1944)
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Soviet troops in Riga, October 1944
Date September 14 - October 24, 1944 Location Latvia, Estonia Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Germany Omakaitse	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Ferdinand Schörner	Hovhannes Bagramyan Andrei Yeremenko Ivan Maslennikov

The Riga Offensive (known in (Russian: Рижская наступательная операция, the Riga Offensive Operation — its formal Soviet title) was part of the larger Baltic Offensive on the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place late in 1944, and drove German forces from the city of Riga.

Soviet forces had advanced towards the Baltic coast in the beginning of their Tartu Offensive and at the end of the highly successful Belorussian Offensive (Operation Bagration), during July and August 1944, and at one point had broken through to the Gulf of Riga. During August, the German 18th Army had mounted a counter-attack, Operation Doppelkopf. Simultaneously the German Valga–Võrtsjärv line, supported by the local Estonian Omakaitse militia battalions, repelled the heavy pressure of the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front's Tartu Offensive. The German Army Group North's commander, Ferdinand Schörner designed Operation Aster to pull his troops out of mainland Estonia. The parallel Riga Offensive would see Soviet forces apply further pressure on Army Group North, which still held much of Latvia and Estonia.

Elements of:

The Soviet forces launched a ferocious attack on the Riga axis on September 14, 1944. Within 4 days, the German 16th Army had suffered serious damage, while in the 18th Army's sector, ten of the eighteen German divisions had been reduced to Kampfgruppe level. In the northern segment placed along the line of Lake Võrtsjärv – Väike Emajõgi River – railway junction of Valga – Gauja River, the Soviet 3rd Baltic Front attacked the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions. In fierce battles, the German and Estonian units held their positions.

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