German-occupied Tallinn was bombed by the Soviet air force on several occasions in May and September 1942. During the next year, more Soviet bombing missions on Tallinn followed in February, March, May, August, and September 1943. Tallinn's harbor became a main terminal for the Germans' transportation of goods that were supplying the front lines. According to the official report, 757 people were killed, of whom 586 were civilians, 50 were military personnel, and 121 were prisoners-of-war. 213 had serious injuries, 446 had minor injuries. Amongst the injured were 65 military servicemen and 75 prisoners-of-war. Later, more victims were found, with the number of deaths estimated at up to 800. Immediately after the bombing raid
Finnish air force bombers followed returning Soviet bombers to three
military airbases near
Leningrad and bombed them. During the attack, fuel tanks were destroyed and ca 25 Soviet airplanes were shot down in Tallinn with an additional ten destroyed by the
Finnish Air Force (
Ilmavoimat) later the same night. Despite the high number of civilian casualties and low damage to military and strategic installations, sources disagree on whether the Soviet bombing raids were conducted primarily in order to destroy the morale of local civilians opposed to a return of Soviet occupation forces. Regardless of Soviet intentions, the high civilian casualty toll of the raids significantly increased the hostility of the Estonian public towards the Soviet army. On 27 February, a Soviet air raid had hit children playing in the school yard of
Luunja Parish, killing four. The date of their burial was turned into a national memorial day, accompanied by the poem "
Uus Herodes" ("Modern
Herod") published by
Henrik Visnapuu. More Estonians felt an urge to fight against the Soviet advance. A slogan: was written on the ruins of the Estonia Theatre. The slogan became the title of the newspaper of the
20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian). The last Soviet bombing raid on Tallinn was commenced on the night before 22 September 1944. == Memorials ==