Operation Beowulf

Date	8 September–21 October 1941
Location	Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, and Muhu (Estonia)
Result	German victory

Belligerents

Nazi Germany

Soviet Union

Commanders and leaders

Georg von Küchler

Nikolay Kuznetsov

Units involved

61st Infantry Division

3rd Infantry Brigade of the North-Western Front

Strength

Unknown

23,000

Casualties and losses

2,850 dead, missing, or wounded

5,000 killed
15,000 captured

Operation Beowulf refers to two German plans to occupy the islands of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Muhu, off the Estonian west coast. Both plans had the same objectives but assumed differing start points. The attack, using Beowulf II, started on 8 September 1941 and had achieved its objectives by 21 October.

Operation Barbarossa

Phase 1 Brest Białystok–Minsk Raseiniai Brody Bessarabia Phase 2 Smolensk Phase 3 Uman Odessa 1st Kiev Tallinn Petrikowka Yelnya Leningrad Phase 4 1st Kharkov Operation Beowulf Bryansk 1st Crimea 1st Rostov Moscow

Beowulf I

This version assumed a rapid German victory in the Baltic States. It would have been a re-working of the World War I Operation Albion, launched from Courland in Latvia. In the event, German forces were delayed as they crossed into Estonian territory.

Beowulf II

This version, which was executed, was an attack from the Estonian west coast. There were a series of diversionary attacks to confuse the Soviet defenders - Südwind, Westwind and Nordwind.

References

Coordinates: 58°30′00″N 23°00′00″E / 58.5000°N 23.0000°E / 58.5000; 23.0000

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