1942 1943 1944 The Narva offensive (1–4 March 1944) (Estonian: Putki lahing) was an operation conducted by the Soviet Leningrad Front.

The Soviet 59th Army attacked westwards from the Krivasoo bridgehead south of the city of Narva and encircled the strong-points of the 214th Infantry Division and the Estonian 658th and 659th East Battalions.

The resistance of the encircled units gave time for the command of the "Narwa" to move in all available forces and stop the Soviet advance.

Simultaneously, the SS 46th (2nd Estonian) Waffen Grenadier Regiment, in their attempt to attack from the left flank, ran into the Soviet fortifications and a minefield, which they crossed.

[1] The setbacks in the Narva offensive (15–28 February 1944) came as an unpleasant surprise to the leadership of the Leningrad Front, blaming it on the arrival of the Estonian Division.

It is impossible to give an overview on the Soviet strength until the Red Army archival information is made available to non-Russian investigators or published.

[13] The Soviets encircled the strong points of the 214th Infantry Division and the Estonian 658th and 659th Eastern Battalions, which continued resisting.

Lieutenant General Ivan Korvnikov, in charge of the Soviet 59th Army, delayed the advance, citing a lack of artillery support and scarcity of manpower.

It was destroyed by Ago Loorpärg, the commander of an Estonian anti-tank company, firing at it with a captured Soviet 45 mm gun incidentally found in a loaded state.

[2][16] The 1st and 2nd Estonian Regiments squeezed the Soviet bridgehead into a few hundred metres of river bank around the ruins of the borough of Vepsküla.