There the two most exposed Army Corps, the XXVI and XXVIII, would regroup and catch their breath before proceeding farther back to their positions in the Panther Line.

By that time, the reinforced Germans forces were at the "Panther Line", stretching from Narva to Pskov using Lake Pskov as a barrier, where the offensive was stopped in several heavy battles around Narva.

The army group's previous commander, Georg von Küchler, had pleaded for permission to withdraw to the Panther Line in Estonia, which was still only half-completed at that stage.

Historians have since debated their significance; some claim that Shield and Sword was Hitler's invention, while others say they were a calculated ploy by Model to disguise his true intent-to pull back to the Panther Line.

Regardless, the "temporary" loss of ground usually became permanent, as Model conducted a fighting withdrawal to the Panther Line.

The Soviet winter campaign included major assaults across the entire expanse the front in the Ukraine, Belorussia and against the German Panther Line in the region of the Baltic Sea.

This position was the northern segment of the German Panther Line and it was where Generalfeldmarschall Georg von Küchler in charge of the Army Group wanted to set up his defence.

This position, the so-called "Panther Line", was buttressed by fortifications that had been constructed since September.

Preparing the Panther Line in 1944, the Germans placed their artillery on the coastal battery built by the Military of Estonia specifically against such a landing.

In February 1944, it retreated from the approaches to Leningrad to the prepared section of the Panther Line at the border of Estonia.