We took aim for the hill in the middle, the Grenadierheight. Long before we reached it we met wounded trying to reach safer ground further west. Behind them, at the Kinderheim Height, and below it, the fighting continued with full force. On the hills all vegetation was gone. The hills that only a few days ago had been covered in lush green forest looked more like two mounds of gravel, covered in shell holes
...From "Den Frivillige 'The Volunteer' by Bjørn Lindstad.
In 1944 Soviet forces broke through the German defences in Narva, Estonia, after six months of fighting. The German forces withdrew some kilometres west to a defensive line stretching from the coast of the Finnish Gulf, through the flat land surrounding the road connecting Tallin-Narva, crossing Sinimäed with its three hills, making them a strongpoint, and the line was continuing cutting south across the railroad and Auvere through the marshes until reaching Lake Peipus.
The three hills gives great advantage in this terrain and have been a strongpoint up through the military history. In "The Great Northern War" between 1700-1721 the Russians erected a defensive line to defend from invading Swedes. During WW1 the hills were fitted out with bunkers and ammo storages but saw no action.
The Germans called their defensive line "The Tannenberg line" and the fighting here has been referred to as "the Tannenberg battle". Soviet and German forces clashed here for 3 months in 1944 leaving the entire area looking like a lunar landscape. More than 90% of all buildings in the area were destroyed and although there is no specific known number of casualties, it is believed to be at least as many as 50,000.
The Soviets erected a memorial for around 39,000 fallen soldiers here, and in two neighbouring German war cemeteries lay around 6,000 fallen. Today the area is protected under a nature reserve plan and is regarded as a memorial ground.
My journey here started in the books, many years ago. There has been written a lot about those months in 1944 and the more I read the more I wanted to go there.
The interest I had in this battle started to show in my miniature modelling too, and then I heard something about a museum having been opened at the site so a trip had to finally be made. I had a look for tickets, which from Northern-Norway doesn't seem to be easy, and contacted the museum to find if they were open, and one evening later I could pack my bag. Of course I had to bring two model dioramas depicting the battle, and I secured them in a small box.
At one point at the airport in Oslo the trip looked to be at its end. Some difficulties with fuel led to 17 cancelled flights, frustrated travellers, one very drunk passenger being arrested and 3 hours waiting with no info before a very happy flight to Tallinn took off.
I don't know whether to blame it on fresh air, lack of glue fumes from my modeling bench, too much glue fumes, or more fundamental math problems, but the next morning I was early, fresh and ready for a 20-30 minute drive out of town. With Google maps handy you will quickly note that it had to be a fast bus to reach Vaivara where I was going in only 30 minutes. Studying my bus ticket I just had to lean back and enjoy a good three and half hour bus ride. Luckily I was "high" on finally going to the Tannenberg line and the bus driver stopping at every gas station for smokes and supplies made life easier, so I didn't mind the "extra" time.
Soon the road signs started bearing names I knew from the books and when the driver announced "Sinimäed" I was already by the door!
Trying to figure out where I was going, I see that I am in front of the so called Kinderheim height, or Orphanage Hill. I couldn't help looking over the flatlands towards Russia, imagining T-34s clattering towards me. But it was a nice and quiet day with blue sky and the hills and land covered in green.
Following the rural road for 1 or 2 kilometres I soon saw the museum building, with loads of heavy old rust around it. My heart raced.
Well inside the reception building I was served coffee and met by a friendly chat with the guys working there. We had a look at the models I brought and they were happy to have them. I got a brief history of the place and the battle.
The museum is located where the old smithy and granary were, which of course were turned into rubble in 1944. After the war people returned to the village rebuilding it, and the museum opened its doors in 2008.
There were many objects outside the buildings, and a group of "Friends of the museum" is restoring a piece of the old granary stone wall. They are rebuilding a section of it, implementing parts from the battle found in the area, tank tracks, bombs, shrapnel, grenades (deactivated of course) and weapons, all very interesting really.
Around the house were also parts of T-34s, German halftracks and even a sea mine, all making it a though time just getting into the real museum.
The exhibition fills the whole building. Along the walls are cabinets filled with objects of different themes. Posters, photos, items and texts cover the wall space, and mannequins display different uniforms and guns. Many objects are ground finds, which certainly makes the history real. On the floors are some bigger calibre guns and there are bombs hanging from the roof.
In a corner is a large screen where historical films and footage of the battle are shown. At the entrance and the cashier desk there is a little museum shop with books and some stuff for sale.
Another little detail I noticed was the style they had made much of the interior with birch logs, very nice. All in all a very exciting and informative museum which tells the story of the battle, both the Soviet and German side, and also the difficult situation the Estonians had in this fighting - brother against brother.
After the exhibition it was time for some coffee before one of the guides brought me along for an expedition.
First we stopped at the Kinderheim Hill. Today there is a lookout tower here which we climbed. From here we had a great view to the Finnish Gulf and Meriküla, into Russia and the marshes towards Lake Peipus and west where the two other hills are, Grenadier hill and hill 69,9. Next stop was the Grenadier hill.
A large iron cross put together of scrap iron found on the battlefield mark the memorial ground here. The cross is flanked by monuments to the memory of units from the different national units that fought here in German uniform.
Here is also a section of the original trench cutting through the area preserved. We also make a stop at the last hill 69,9 the site of Vaivaras "new cemetery" erected in 1902 and destroyed in 1944 during heavy fighting
As we zig zag around the different village and forest roads we make several stops at interesting spots,: where Otto Carius repulsed Soviet attacks with his Tiger, the old train station which I could see absolutely no trace of, overgrown trenches, the main German field hospital which stands as a ruin, and everywhere off the fields and roads we can see water filled craters from the fighting.
At one point we are back at the museum for more coffee when I start mumbling something about three and half hours bus rides and Tallinn, but that was just brushed off and I was handed a list of bus departures. With a big smile the expedition continued. Driving from site to site, having maps and photos of the area from the war along the way really brought the whole thing to life.
Soon the bus was leaving and I was safely returned to the bus station with a few minutes to spare for buying some supplies for the ride back to Tallinn. Well placed in the seat I let the impressions from the day sink in and I started realize this was just a first visit, Vaivara is there waiting for me.
The express bus back was in fact 1,5 hour faster and cost 2 Euro less, and I saw faster routes as well. I was supposed to visit some sites outside Tallinn also but the weather put a stop to those plans.
It will be for next time. For those that haven't been to Estonia I can warmly recommend it. The Old-Town in Tallinn is reason enough, but if you are into war-and military history you are in for something else. And I highly recommend a visit to the Sinimäed museum. The guys working there are really great, full of knowledge and easy to communicate with!
Comments