The Soviets took the Baltic nations (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) under their "protective wing" on 23 August 1939 as part of a deal that Stalin worked with Hitler. [Picture: Pirita Monastery as it stands in 2001. The roof was destroyed on the main chapel during the Soviet attack to re-seize Tallinn from Germany in 1944.] The Baltic-Germans started emigrating to Germany and by June of 1940, the Soviet Union's oppression of Estonia reached a climax. On 17 June 1940, the Red Army occupied Estonia. In 1941, the deal was off and Hitler now wanted Eastern Europe. To prevent Soviet use of the Baltic Sea and in order to resupply troops on the northeastern front, Germany needed the Baltic nations. On July 5th, 1941, Germany invaded Estonia. The German war machine was much more powerful than the Soviet defenses and the Baltics quickly rolled up. First Lithuania and then Latvia. Finally, Estonia was the key on the ground route to Leningrad. Tallinn was a significant port city on the Baltic Sea. It goes without saying that the Germans had to have Tallinn. [Picture: This is a view across the back of the monastery. Reference the map: this is looking from Room 14 past Rooms 28, 2, 17, 16, 15, etc - in that order.] The Luftwaffe bombed known Soviet military units and followed up with a heavy ground assault. By August 28th, the German Army had reached Tallinn. By this time, most of the Soviets had withdrawn to Leningrad. But not all. On the outskirts of Tallinn, pockets of resistance continued the struggle against fascism. The Pirita Monastery is located in the small village of Pirita, just outside Tallinn, on the road to Narva. It was established in 1417 as both a convent and a monastery, one of the very few places in the religious world where women and men lived this type of life together. By 1941, the Monastery stood generally in ruins, however, services were still held in the main church. It is in this setting where our action takes place. More Pirita Monastery: 1941 A Cross of Iron Scenario Introduction Scenario Set Up Large Monestary Map (slow: 131K) Jumbo Monestary Map (extremely slow: 427K) Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com