The troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts had succeeded in pushing the Third Panzer Army back to the East Prussian border, surrounding the city of Memel and reaching the shore of the Curonian Lagoon.

Stavka permitted Chernyakhovsky to further exploit this success by attacking along the Gumbinnen – Insterburg – Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) axis deep into East Prussia.

The opposing German forces, from the Third Panzer and Fourth Armies, were aided by the presence of substantial fortifications, and had been heavily reinforced.

On 21 October, the Soviet reserve, the 28th Army, was committed, but the offensive in the north was fought to a standstill in the region of Ebenrode because of effective German counterattacks.

In the meantime, the Germans had pressed more reserves, including the 102nd Panzer and Führer Grenadier Brigades into counterattacks at Goldap, on the southern sector of the Soviet penetration.