Moonsund defensive operation of the Great Patriotic War began

The operation on the defense of the Baltic states in the summer of 1941 was unsuccessful for Soviet armies. In the end of June and in July Germans occupied the territories of Lithuania and Latvia including major naval bases in Libava and Riga, and created a convenient place of arms for further offensive of Leningrad. However, the fact that Soviet troops still controlled the naval base of Tallinn and the Moonzend archipelago – a group of islands in the western part of the Baltic Sea which covered the entrance into the Riga Bay – significantly complicated the enemy’s advance inland of the USSR. In August of 1941 Germans successfully occupied Estonia and when the Soviet troops left Tallinn on August 28, the Moonzund Islands turned out to be deep inland.

In early September the German commandment started an active preparation for the seizure of the archipelago, called Beowulf operation: they prepared a landing force of two infantry divisions, as well as significant sea and air forces. The islands were defended by some units of the 8^th army and the Baltic Fleet numbering on the whole about 24, 000 men. The defense was led by the coast defense commandant of the Baltic Region, Lieutenant General, A. B. Eliseev.

On 6 September coast batteries of Osmussaar Island repulsed the first attempt of the enemy’s landing force. Two days later, after a long artillery fire, Germans managed to start the landing to Vormsi Island. The island’s garrison comprising less than two companies, had successfully repulsed the offensive of the superior enemy’s forces for three days. Only when all the opportunities of defense were exausted, September 11 the rest of the garrison retreated to the neighboring island of Hiiumaa.

After the seizure of Vormsi, the Nazi commandment began landing to the Muha Island. During September 11-13, the artillery and aviation of the enemy delivered massive blows at defensive lines of the island. September 14 the enemy’s forces landed to the island at two points. The garrison of the island which comprised two rifle battalions and two engineer-construction companies, offered a stubborn resistance. As a result, one of the landing forces was almost destroyed. At the other landing point Germans managed to закрепиться and begin the offensive. The battles at the Muha Island had lasted for three days. The defensive units had suffered heavy losses. September 17, by order of the commandment, they retreated to Saaremaa Island through Orissaare dam, after which they blew it up.

The Nazi started the offensive using the destroyed dam. Using multiple men superiority, they succeeded in driving the Soviet troops from Orissaare position and move into the island in two directions. Until September 23 at Saaremaa a stubborn fighting was carried out on different lines when defending units withdrew to the prepared line at Sõrve Peninsula. There was a defense line 4 km deep which had an anti-tank ditch, dragon's teeth and 37 bunkers. Despite the heavy fire of artillery, of enemy ships and aerial bombardment, Soviet troops had held the assault position on a narrow isthmus for a week, after which, September 30, retreated to the middle of Sõrve Peninsula where they stayed until October 3.

In the night of October 4, a small part of the garrison was evacuated to Hiiumaa, where, October 12, the Germans began a major assault landing in six points. However, thanks to the stubborn resistance of the Soviet garrison, Hitler's troops were able to seize bridgeheads in only two places, suffering heavy losses. The garrison of the island, in spite of the numerical superiority of the enemy and lack of ammunition, had led a heroic heavy fighting for six days.

October 19-22, under the Order of the Military Council of the Baltic Fleet, the garrison that defended Hiiumaa, was partially evacuated to Hanko Peninsula and Osmussaar.

The relatively small garrison of Moonsund Archipelago fought in the rear for one and a half months. Heavy fighting on the islands allowed diverting substantial forces of the attacking enemy in the most tense days of the defense of Leningrad, strongly weakening the enemy group.

Lit.: Ачкасов В. И., Вайнер  Б. А. Краснознамённый Балтийский флот в Великой Отечественной войне. М., 1957; То же [Электронный ресурс]; URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/achkasov_vainer/index.html; Золотарёв В. А., Козлов И. А. Три столетия российского флота: В 4 тт. СПб., 2003-2005. Т. 4. 1941-1945. СПб., 2005.; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/0/pdf/sb_fleet300-4.pdf; Краснознамённый Балтийский флот в Великой Отечественной войне советского народа 1941-1945 гг. / Под ред. В. А. Касатонова: В 4 кн. М., 1990-1992. Кн. 1: Оборона Прибалтики и Ленинграда, 1941-1944 гг. М., 1990; Криницын Ф. С. Оборона Моонзундских островов в 1941 году // Военно-исторический журнал. 1966. № 9; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://rkka.ru/oper/moon/main.htm; Матвеев А. И. В боях за Моонзунд. М., 1957; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/matveev_ai/index.html; Пантелеев Ю. А. Морской фронт. М., 1965; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/panteleev_ua2/index.html; Трибуц В. Ф. Балтийцы сражаются. М., 1985; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/tributz_vf/index.html.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Memory of the Great Victory: [digital collection]