Bombing of Narva in March 1944

At the beginning of 1944, Narva found itself amidst fierce battles of World War II. The Red Army moved west, pushing back the Wehrmacht troops.
The large-scale bombing of the city of Narva, where about 100 aircraft took part, was one of the steps of the Red Army’s offensive from March 6 to 8. On March 8, the air attack was followed by artillery fire, which lasted 2.5 hours. During the March bombing, most of the city of Narva that had survived until then was destroyed, including the historical old town.
On the days preceding bombing, the Wehrmacht troops evacuated the residents from the city, which made it possible to avoid a large number of civilian casualties.
The Red Army continued bombing the city in the following months. The massive artillery fire concluded the destruction of the city on July 25, when, among other objects, the relatively well-preserved Herman Castle was turned into ruins. Explosions prepared by the retreating German troops, but carried out partially also played their role in the destruction of urban facilities. The next day, July 26, the Red Army entered deserted Narva. Out of the 3,200 pre-war buildings in the city, only about 200 more or less survived.
Simultaneously, other Estonian cities were also bombed in March 1944. For example, major damage occurred in Tallinn, where almost 35% of the city's housing was destroyed. These days went down in history of Estonia as the March bombing.
A few facts about the destroyed Narva:
1.    After World War II, the buildings of the old town of Narva were still restorable, which can also be seen in the post-war photographs. The ruined old town of Narva was taken under the conservation in 1947, and in the following years the Estonian architects and art historians prepared projects for the restoration of several buildings. Unfortunately, those plans of the occupation authorities remained on paper only: in 1953, the damaged buildings were demolished city and the typical Soviet high-rise buildings were built instead. 
2.    About fifty pre-war buildings were preserved or restored, around twenty of them have survived to this day.
3.    After the war, most of habitable houses preserved in the Kreenholm district, where the Soviet authorities spent their main funds for restoration works.
4.    After the war, the Soviet authorities photographed buildings damaged during the battles in Narva. They became the basis for the photo album in three languages that was presented at the Nuremberg trials as the “proof” of the Germans' guilt. Since the first anniversary of the March bombing of Narva, the narrative about the German destruction and the Soviet reconstruction has been spreading.