Operation Moon Sound used amphibious transport to attack the West Estonian archipelago. The 8th Estonian and 109th Rifle Corps moved toward their first island beachhead in Lend-Lease DUKWs. Finnish craft and crews also supplied lift after Finland negotiated a Soviet demand for one hundred vessels and one hundred motorboats down to fifty of each. German forces conducted a withdrawal and received reinforcements from the 218th Infantry and 12th Luftwaffe Field Divisions. The Soviet force later gained the experienced 30th Guards Rifle Corps, while both sides received naval support and German ships included Admiral Scheer and Prinz Eugen. Bad weather and German resistance prolonged an operation expected to finish in early October until 24 November. Its dependence on waterborne movement and naval support makes it an amphibious campaign despite the limited attention it receives in British and American histories.
Chapter · 2:25:44-2:32:54
Moon Sound became a prolonged Soviet amphibious campaign
The 1944 West Estonian archipelago campaign used Lend-Lease DUKWs, Finnish craft, rifle corps, and naval gunfire in an operation planned for days but extended to two months.