The struggle at the Narva bridgehead was typical for combat on the
Eastern Front of World War II. German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian,
Swedish, Estonian, and even Russian, volunteers had enlisted in the
German forces to fight against what they perceived to be the looming
Communist threat from the east. Whereas other German units in 1944 had
failed to hold their ground in Russia, Heeresgruppe Nord still clung
tenaciously to one of the last occupied positions near Soviet territory;
the Estonian city of Narva. That toehold was what these volunteers would
fight so dearly for in arduous winter conditions, hugely outnumbered by
their opponents.
Massing on the other side were Soviet troops with vengeance in their
hearts. Having endured months of near starvation at Leningrad and
Oranienbaum, those soldiers would finally get their chance to fight the
enemy who had earlier invaded their homeland. The city itself would be
fought over for months in relentless battles, often erupting into savage
close-quarter combat and frequently leading to thousands of casualties.
This publication takes a more unusual approach in portraying the battles
of 1944 by incorporating large amounts of photographic evidence. The
photographs and their captions offer uncommon insight into the life of
the average combatant under German command wanting nothing more than to
survive another day. In some cases the photos dating back to 1944 are
actually contrasted with the same location as seen today. That
photographic evidence is effectively supported by accurate historical
and archival research, including geographic data, allowing the reader to
more fully understand the context of the battle and events in 1944.
