Further south, the Soviet cancellation of fruitless attacks against Vitebsk, defended by the 3rd Panzer Army, freed up forces to turn north and also threaten the 16th Army. Subsequently, the 16th Army disengaged from the enemy, and managed to withdraw safely west before drawing Soviet attention to its retreat. On the Narva line, the newly formed 20th (Estonian) SS Division had joined the line to fill the gaps left by the destruction of the 9th and 10th Luftwaffe Field Divisions. On 20 February, the 20th SS Division attacked and managed to split the Soviet bridgehead in two parts. The Germans immediately attempted to close the small pocket that had been created at Riigiküla and attacked the area on 21 February. This attack was repelled by Soviet artillery support from the other side of the river. After further preparations, the Germans attacked the encircled Soviet troops again on 24 February and managed to close the distance to a degree that made it impossible for the Soviet artillery to continue its fire support. By the end of the day, the pocket was destroyed. On 22 February, the Soviet commander of the Leningrad Front, Leonid Govorov, issued new instructions to the Soviet forces in the Narva area. The main effort was to be placed on expanding the bridgehead south of Narva, from where the 2nd Shock Army (Fedyuninsky) was to strike northeast towards the city itself. In the meantime, the 59th Army would advance west. On the 59th Army's southern flank, the 8th Army should then strike into central Estonia. The other part of the bridgehead, north of Narva, was larger and contained large parts of the Soviet 378th Rifle Division as well as 20 assault guns. On 29 February, the two regiments of the 20th Estonian SS Division attacked the positions of the 378th Rifle Division. In this initial attack, the Estonian SS troops took massive casualties and lost many of their officers. The resistance of the Soviet pocket north of Narva continued until 6 March, when it was at last eliminated. Harald Nugiseks, "Unterscharführer" of the "SS-Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment 46" who had taken command after the regiment was killed, was awarded the Knight's Cross for his service during this time. On 1 March, the Soviet forces began the assault that Govorov had instructed them to carry out on 22 February.