The Moonsund Archipelago occupies a strategic position in the B altic Sea. Because of this, it often became the scene of battles in the 20th century. It includes four large islands, each of which today belongs to Estonia - these are Vormsi, Muhu, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.
Battle of 1917
During the First World War, the battle of Moonsund took place, which took place in September - October 1917. Another common name is Operation Albion.
It was an attack by the German squadron and ground forces. The command set the task of capturing the archipelago, which belonged to Russia. German troops began landing on the island of Saaremaa on 12 October. Before that, the fleet managed to suppress the Russian batteries: the personnel were captured. At the same time, several German ships were damaged by mines near the coast (the battleship Bayern, etc.).
Many did not survive the Battle of Moonsund. 1917 was one of the last chords in the confrontation on the eastern front. A month later, the Bolsheviks came to power in Petrograd, who later signedPeace of Brest.
Two days later, the squadrons of rivals clashed face-to-face. The destroyer of the Russian fleet "Thunder" was seriously damaged during the battle with the German battleship "Kaiser". A fire on board led to the failure of the guns and the sinking of the ship. The Battle of Moonsund in the Irben Strait flared up especially fiercely, where cruisers and dreadnoughts clashed.
On October 16, German ships cleared the Gulf of Riga. It included several battleships and cruisers of the Reich. In order to protect ships from mines, minesweepers were also in the squadron. Another danger for the German ships was the fire opened by the Russian artillery. They defended themselves from the attack with the help of smoke screens around the minesweepers.
When it became clear that the Russian squadron would not be able to hold the archipelago, the order was given to send the surviving ships to the north. In turn, the Germans captured Moon Island (October 18) and Hiiumaa (October 20). Thus ended the Battle of Moonsund in 1917 during World War I.
Battle of 1941
During World War II, the Moonsund Archipelago witnessed two military operations. In 1941, Nazi troops came here. The offensive operation was called the headquarters of the Reich "Beowulf". It was another (second) Moonsund battle.
On September 8, troops were landed on the island of Vormsi, which ended up in the hands of the Germans after three days of stubborn fighting. A week later, the main forces were sent to Mukha, whose garrison held out for a week.
Saremaa fell next. Herethe battle lasted two weeks. The Soviet command managed to evacuate the remnants of the army to Hiiumaa. However, this piece of land soon came under the control of the Reich.
Result
The Soviet army tried with all its might to linger on the archipelago and delay the attack on Leningrad. In a sense, this goal has been achieved. The full annexation did not take place until 22 October, after nearly two months of fighting. The fleet was also active, which detained the enemy in the Gulf of Riga. The defenders of the islands converted local tractors, making them improvised analogues of tanks (machine guns were attached). When the Battle of Moonsund ended, the surviving personnel were finally evacuated to the Hanko Peninsula.
Amphibious landings in 1944
The third Battle of Moonsund is also known in historiography. The year 1944 was marked by the fact that the German troops massively retreated from the occupied territories. Units of the Leningrad Front were sent to the islands, from which the 8th Rifle Corps was specially formed.
The operation began with the fact that on September 27, troops were landed on the shores of the island of Vormsi. Further, other parts of the archipelago followed. The last was the island of Saaremaa: it was the largest and most important in this region. Late in the evening of October 8, a major battle began at Tehumardi. Barrage fire was fired against the Soviet troops. In addition, the position of the army was complicated by the lack of space for effectivemaneuver.
The defense was broken through only a month later on November 23, when aircraft joined the battle. Previous attempts have ended in failure. The most tragic was the landing at Vintry, when about 500 people died. One way or another, but after the final surrender, the Germans lost 7 thousand dead. About a hundred more ships were sunk or damaged.
