US-made M3 Stuart light tank. Suspecting an enemy presence, the soldiers were ordered to keep as silent as possible, breaking through the enemy positions with a sudden attack. The two battalions split up, the 1st moving along the waterline, the 2nd moving along the main road in parallel, about 200 m distant. Soon the 2nd found themselves marching alongside a Soviet unit, who, believing them to be fellow Soviets, gave way. Flares fired gave the game away, and battle started. The Soviets, the 1st battalion of the 917th was quickly overwhelmed, but the Germans then ran into the anti-tank positions of the 370th. The battle degenerated into chaotic hand-to-hand combat in the darkness, with heavy losses on both sides, but the Germans broke through. Their actions kept the Soviets occupied, however, and the 1st battalion moving along the waterline took no part in the fighting and suffered no losses. Aftermath The majority of the Germans were able to break through to join the defence of the Sõrve peninsula, but almost 200 men had been lost. Captured German soldiers were shot, as happened consistently during the fighting on the island. Most of the vehicles were also left behind, including the light tank and a self-propelled FlaK gun. The Soviets also suffered about 200 men killed, with an unknown number of wounded. The killed included the commander, Major V. Miller. At least one tank and several guns were also knocked out. The action delayed the Soviet attack on the peninsula, giving the Germans more time to improve their defences. But the hard-pressed German forces could ill afford losses in equipment and manpower at this stage of the war. After several weeks more of bitter fighting, the Sõrve peninsula, and thereby the entire island of Saaremaa, was evacuated by the Germans on the 23/24 November. After the war To commemorate the battle, in 1967 the Soviets raised a gigantic, Soviet-style sword-shaped monument made of concrete and dolomite. Several massive concrete slabs with names of the fallen Soviets are mounted nearby. Most Soviets were buried on the site. References "Halten bis zum letzen Mann; Der Kampf um Osel", Interessengemeinschaft "Osel 1941–1944", Busum 2004 External links Tehumardi - photographs of Soviet memorial at the battle site. Battles and operations of the Eastern Front of World War II Battles involving Estonia Battles of World War II involving Germany Generalbezirk Estland Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic History of