After the encirclement was broken at the front near Leningrad, the 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, along with the rest of III (Germanic) SS-Panzerkorps, fought it's way back to the city of Narva in Estonia where a new line of defence was being organised. The SS corps was subordinated to the German 18th Army under Generaloberst Georg Lindemann. The former
Wiking commander SS-Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner's SS-Panzerkorps, principally made up of Scandinavians and Dutch, comprising the Nordland and the 4.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland, played a leading role during the
Battle of Narva and the
Battle of Tannenberg Line. Operating within the same sector (Sinimäe/Blue Hills) were the 15. and 19.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS, both
Latvian volunteer divisions, the Estonian
20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS, the Flemish volunteers of
6.SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade Langemark and SS-Standartenführer
Leon Degrelle's Walloons in the 5.SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade Wallonien. Left image: a formal studio portrait of Felix Steiner, commanding general of III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps, and holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. Photo probably taken during the award of the Swords on August 10 1944. The Heinrich Hoffmann Photo Archive. Fair use. Right image: Waffen-SS volunteers with 75mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Credit: Karl Mensburg. c. Bundesarchiv.
Of the estimated 13-15 million men who served in the German Armed Forces in World War II only 160 were awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak-leaves and Swords.
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