The Army Group North subjected the defence of the city of Tartu to the Kampfgruppe Wagner, which lacked sufficient troops to man the line. On August 23, the 3rd Baltic Front launched an artillery barrage at the positions of the II. Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment in the village of Nõo southeast of Tartu. The Soviet 282nd Rifle Division, the 16th Single Tank Brigade, and two self-propelled artillery regiments passed the defence and captured the strategically important Kärevere Bridge across the Emajõgi River to the west of Tartu. On August 25, three Soviet rifle divisions with the support of armoured and artillery units conquered the town and established a bridgehead on the north bank of the Emajõgi River.