After defending the Narva bridgehead for six months, the German forces fell back to the Tannenberg Line in the hills of "Sinimäed" () on 26 July 1944. The three hills run east to west. The eastern hill was known to Estonians as the Lastekodumägi (Orphanage Hill; Kinderheimhöhe in German). The central was the Grenaderimägi (Grenadier Hill; Grenadierhöhe) and the westernmost was the Tornimägi (Tower Hill, also known in German as or 69.9 or Liebhöhe (Love Hill)). The heights have steep slopes and rise 20–50 m above the surrounding land.