Lake Balaton offensive
date | March 6, 1945 to March 16, 1945 |
---|---|
place | Hungary |
output | German defeat |
consequences | Stop the German advance and initiate a counter-offensive |
Parties to the conflict | |
---|---|
Commander | |
Troop strength | |
Army Group South ( 6th Army ) ( 2nd Panzer Army ) ( 6th Panzer Army ) Army Group E Air Fleet 4th |
3rd Ukrainian Front 2nd Ukrainian Front 9th Guards Army 6th Guards Armored Army 4th Guards Army |
losses | |
12,358 dead, wounded and missing |
32,899 Man, |
1941: Białystok-Minsk - Dubno-Lutsk-Rivne - Smolensk - Uman - Kiev - Odessa - Leningrad blockade - Vyazma-Bryansk - Kharkov - Rostov - Moscow - Tula
1942: Rzhev - Kharkiv - Company Blue - companies Braunschweig - company Edelweiss - Stalingrad - Operation Mars
1943: Voronezh-Kharkov - Operation Iskra - North Caucasus - Kharkov - Citadel Company - Oryol - Donets-Mius - Donbass - Belgorod-Kharkov - Smolensk - Dnepr
1944: Dnepr-Carpathians - Leningrad-Novgorod - Crimea - Vyborg-Petrozavodsk - Operation Bagration - Lviv-Sandomierz - Jassy-Kishinew - Belgrade - Petsamo-Kirkenes - Baltic States - Carpathians - Hungary
1945: Courland - Vistula-Oder - East Prussia - West Carpathians - Lower Silesia - East Pomerania - Lake Balaton - Upper Silesia - Vienna - Oder - Berlin - Prague
The last large-scale attack operations by the German Wehrmacht in World War II are called the Lake Balaton Offensive . These include the companies "Spring Awakening" in the area of Lake Balaton - Lake Velence - Danube , "Eisbrecher" in the area south of Lake Balaton and "Waldteufel" in the south of the Drau-Danube triangle. Associations were brought from the western front to Lake Balaton in Hungary to stop the advance of the Red Army in the direction of Vienna . The unsuccessful enterprise lasted from March 6th until the start of the Soviet counter-offensive on March 16, 1945.
prehistory
By the end of 1944 the Red Army had succeeded in crossing the Danube and enclosing the Hungarian capital Budapest (→ Siege of Budapest ). It had advanced far to the west south of Lake Balaton. The German counter-attacks in January 1945 therefore had the main aim of the occupation of Budapest ( 13th Panzer Division , Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle , 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer" , 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division as well numerous smaller German units and many units of the Hungarian army). Even the deployment of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" and the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" was not enough to break through the containment ring. The company "Konrad 3", as well as the company "Südwind" in the area southwest of Budapest were at least temporarily able to prevent further action by the Red Army in the west. Despite the criticism from some German generals (including Heinz Guderian ) ordered Adolf Hitler , after the failure of the Bulge released 6th Panzer Army not to or for the defense of Berlin to relocate, but under the utmost secrecy to Hungary. This association under the leadership of SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Sepp Dietrich had - at least on paper - the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler , the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" , the 9th SS -Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen" and the 12th SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" over high combat value. In fact, however, these divisions were badly worn out and only poorly replenished with inexperienced replacements. The division “Das Reich” was effectively wiped out twice in the Soviet Union in the previous four years . From June 1944 to January 1945, she also had to cope with the particularly costly fighting on the invasion front in Normandy and the failed Ardennes offensive.
For reasons of secrecy, Sepp Dietrich was given the cover name "Higher Pionier Leader Hungary" (according to Hungváry) or "Higher Pionier Leader Heeresgr." South "addressed. The cover names were canceled on March 18th.
The main reason for the relocation of the 6th Panzer Army to Hungary was to secure the local oil wells and fuel reserves for the German war economy. According to the then armaments minister Albert Speer , large parts of the conveyor systems had long since been destroyed by bomb attacks. The refineries at Komárom and Pét were destroyed by Allied bombers on March 14 and March 16, 1945, respectively, and by then they had been able to supply fuel and oil for an offensive on the Hungarian front. Since there was hardly any possibility of transporting fuel because of the destroyed railway systems, it seemed plausible to carry out a large-scale tank offensive where there were fuel stores and oil reserves.
The Army Group South with its subordinate 6th Army (Army Group "Balck") , the 2nd Panzer Army , the 6th Panzer Army with five subordinate tank divisions, Army Group E and Air Fleet 4 were involved in the major offensive .
Structure of the opposing forces
2nd Ukrainian Front (Marshal Rodion Malinowski ) | ||||
53rd Army (Colonel General Iwan Mefodjewitsch Managarow ) | ||||
24th Guards Rifle Corps - Major General Apollon Jakowljewitsch Kruse | ||||
1st Guard Parachute Division | ||||
72nd Guards Rifle Division - Major General Anatoly Ivanovich Losew, from March 25th Colonel Grigory Batalov, from April 26th Colonel Alexander Gavrilowitsch Pankow | ||||
81st Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Mikhail Andreevich Orlov | ||||
49th Rifle Corps - Major General Yuri Nikititsch Terentjew | ||||
110th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Mihail Ivanovich Ogorodov | ||||
375th Rifle Division - Major General WD Karpuchin | ||||
57th Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Gani Bekinowitsch Safiulin | ||||
203rd Rifle Division - Major General Gabriel S. Zdanowitsch | ||||
227th Rifle Division - Major General Georgi N. Preobrazhensky | ||||
228th Rifle Division - General Ivan Nikitowitsch Jesin | ||||
18th Guards Rifle Corps - Major General Lev Borisowitsch Sosedow, from April 6th Lieutenant General Ivan Michailowitsch Afonin | ||||
52nd Rifle Division Major General Leonid Miljaew | ||||
109th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Ilya Wasilewitsch Baldinow | ||||
317th Rifle Division - Colonel Boris W. Gushin, from April 13th Colonel Mihail Ignatjewitsch Dobrowolski | ||||
68th Rifle Division - Major General TK Kornejew | ||||
66th Rifle Division - Colonel FK Nesterow | ||||
Guard Cavalry Group Pliyev (Lieutenant General Issa Alexandrowitsch Pliyev ) | ||||
4th Cavalry Corps Lieutenant General Fedor Kamkow, later Major General Vasili S. Golowskoi | ||||
9th Cavalry Division - Colonel Alexander Denisovich Gubar | ||||
10th Cavalry Division - Major General Sergei Trophimowitsch Shmujlo | ||||
30th Cavalry Division - Colonel Grigory Ivanovich Reva | ||||
6th Cavalry Corps Lieutenant General Sergei V. Sokolov | ||||
8th Cavalry Division - Major General Dmitry Pavlov, later Gen. Dmitri N. Navlja | ||||
13th Cavalry Division - General Grigory Antonovich Belousov | ||||
4. mech. Corps Lieutenant General Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov | ||||
14. mech. Brigade Colonel Nicodemus A. Nikitin | ||||
15. mech. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Michael A. Andrianow | ||||
36. mech. Brigade Colonel Pyotr S. Zhukov | ||||
7th Panzer Corps Major General Fyodor G. Katkow | ||||
16th Panzer Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Chaim Lejvikowitsch Jegudkin | ||||
63rd Panzer Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Mihail Mihailowitsch Prokofiev | ||||
64th Panzer Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Nikitovich Ochakiwski | ||||
41. mech. Brigade - Colonel Alexander Laptev | ||||
7th Guard Army Colonel General Michail Stepanowitsch Schumilow | ||||
27th Guards Rifle Corps - Major General Yevgeny Alekhine | ||||
93rd Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Pyotr Markowitsch Marolles | ||||
141st Rifle Division - Major General Vasily N. Moloschajew | ||||
25th Guards Rifle Corps Major General Fyodor Afanasyevich Ostashenko | ||||
303rd Rifle Division - Colonel Ivan D. Panov | ||||
4th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Nikolai Vladimirovich Jeremin | ||||
409th Rifle Division - Major General Eustachi Petrovich Grechany | ||||
24th Guards Rifle Corps Major General Apollo Jakowlewitsch Kruze | ||||
6th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Ivan Fedotowitsch Obushenko | ||||
72nd Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Grigory Michailowitsch Batalow | ||||
81st Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Mikhail A. Orlov | ||||
309th Rifle Division Colonel Boris Davidowitsch Lev | ||||
27. mechan. Brigade Major General Nikolai Moiseyevich Brizhinew | ||||
46th Army Lieutenant General Alexander Wassiljewitsch Petruschewski | ||||
75th Rifle Corps - Major General Adrian Z. Akimenko | ||||
53rd Guards Rifle Division - Major General Ivan Ivanovich Burlakin | ||||
180th Rifle Division - Colonel Ilija D. Andryukov | ||||
223rd Rifle Division - Colonel Ahnaw Gainutdinowitsch Sagitow | ||||
108th Guards Rifle Division Colonel Sergei Illarionowitsch Dunajew, from March 11th Colonel Dmitri Grigoryevich Piskunow | ||||
305th Rifle Division - Major General AF Wassiljew | ||||
68th Rifle Corps - Major General Nikolai Nikolayevich Skodunovich | ||||
59th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Georgi Petrovich Karamyshev | ||||
297th Rifle Division - Colonel Andrei Ignatievich Kovtun-Stankevich | ||||
23rd Rifle Corps - Major General Mihail Frolowitsch Grigorowitsch | ||||
19th Rifle Division - Colonel Stepan Vasilyevich Salychew | ||||
99th Rifle Division - Colonel Sachari Tatewosowitsch Derzjan | ||||
316th Rifle Division - Colonel GS Chebotarev | ||||
252nd Rifle Division - Major General Ivan Gorbachev | ||||
25th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Alexander Mikhailovich Peremanov | ||||
10th Guards Rifle Corps Lieutenant General Ivan Andreevich Rubanyuk | ||||
49th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Vasily Filippowitsch Margelow | ||||
86th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Vasili Pavlovich Sokolowski | ||||
109th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Ilya Wasilewitsch Baldinow | ||||
6th Guards Tank Army Colonel-General Andrei Grigoryevich Kravchenko | ||||
5th Guards Panzer Corps - Major General Mihail Ivanovich Saveliev | ||||
20th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Fedor Andreevich Shilin | ||||
21st Guards Tank Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lukic Tretjak | ||||
22nd Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Gregori T. Pavlovsky, later Ivan K. Ostapenko | ||||
6th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Denis Matveyevich Ossadtschi | ||||
9. Guard mech. Corps Lieutenant General Michail Wassiljewitsch Volkov | ||||
18th Guards Tank Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Alexandr Ovcharov | ||||
30th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Ivan Yakovlevich Voronov | ||||
31st Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Mossolon Seleznew | ||||
46th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Nikolai Michailowitsch Michno | ||||
23rd Panzer Corps - Lieutenant General Alexei Osipovich Akhmanov | ||||
3. mech. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Ivan D. Juljew | ||||
135. mech. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Andrew S. Schewtzow | ||||
56. mech. Rifle Brigade Colonel Filipp Feofanowitsch Schtanko | ||||
9. mech. Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Josif F. Shalygin | ||||
18. mech. Corps - Major General Pyotr D. Govorunenko | ||||
170. mech. Brigade Colonel Nikolai Petrovich Chunikhin | ||||
181. mech. Corps Colonel Anatoly Indejkin | ||||
32nd Tank Brigade Colonel Boris Ivanovich Gorchinsky |
3rd Ukrainian Front (Marshal Fyodor Tolbuchin ) | |||
Front troops | |||
51st Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General NT Tawartkiladze | |||
6th Rifle Division - Major General IF Odumenko | |||
133rd Rifle Division - Colonel MN Sachin | |||
232nd Rifle Division - Colonel DS Zalay | |||
66th Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General L. A Kupriyanov | |||
195th Rifle Division - Colonel IS Shapkin | |||
228th Rifle Division - Colonel IN Jesin | |||
244th Rifle Division - Colonel PT Sjedin | |||
82nd Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General PG Kusnetzow | |||
28th Rifle Division Major General AD Kornilov | |||
92nd Rifle Division Colonel MW Vinogradov | |||
333rd Rifle Division Major General AM Golosko | |||
9th Army of the Guard Colonel General Vasily Vasilyevich Glagolyev | |||
37th Guards Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Pavel V. Mironov | |||
98th Guards Rifle Division Colonel Vasily M. Larin | |||
99th Guards Rifle Division Major General Ivan Ivanovich Blaschewitsch | |||
103rd Guards Rifle Division Major General Sergei Prokhorowitsch Stepanov | |||
38th Guards Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Alexander Utvenko | |||
104th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Ivan Fedotowitsch Seregin | |||
105th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Mihail Denisenko | |||
106th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Konstantin Winduzhev | |||
39th Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General FS Kolschuk | |||
100th Guards Rifle Division Colonel Wasili Andrejewitsch Letzinin, from January 29th Major General Ivan Alexejewitsch Makarenko | |||
114th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Wasili Polikarpowitsch Ivanov | |||
107th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Mikhail A. Bogdanov | |||
2. Guard mech. Corps Lieutenant General Karp V. Swiridow | |||
4th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Mikhail Ivanovich Lyashenko | |||
5th Guards Tank Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Ivan D. Malyshev | |||
6th Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Safiul Safiullowitsch Nurtdinow | |||
37. mech. Tank Brigade - Colonel Nikolai Alexandrovich Ognew | |||
4th Guard Army General Nikanor Dmitrijewitsch Sachwatajew | |||
20th Guards Rifle Corps - Major General Nikolai Biryukov | |||
5th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Pavel Ivanovich Afonin | |||
7th Guard Division Colonel Dmitri Aristarchowitsch Drychkin | |||
40th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Lew S. Bransburg | |||
21st Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Pyotr Fomenko, later Major General Semen Kozak | |||
69th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Cyril Kochejewitsch Dzhahua | |||
62nd Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Ivan Nikonovich Moshljak | |||
41st Guards Rifle Division - Major General Konstantin Tsvetkov | |||
31st Guards Rifle Corps - Major General Sergei Antonovich Bobruk | |||
4th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Kuzma D. Parfenow | |||
80th Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Vasily Ivanovich Chizhow | |||
34th Guards Rifle Division - Gerasim Stepanowitsch Kuks | |||
1. Guard mech. Corps - Lieutenant General Ivan Nikititsch Russijanow | |||
1st Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Stepan Paramonowitsch Zatuley | |||
2nd Guards Tank Brigade - Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Ivanov | |||
3rd Guards Tank Brigade - Colonel Alexander Ilyich Machikin | |||
26th Army Lieutenant General Nikolai Alexandrovich Gagen | |||
135th Rifle Corps Major General PW Gnedin | |||
151st Rifle Division - Major General Denis Protasovich Podzhivaylov | |||
155th Rifle Division - Colonel Nikephor E. Batluk | |||
30th Rifle Corps Major General Gregori S. Laz'ko | |||
74th Rifle Division - Major General FI Zinovschew | |||
36th Guards Rifle Division - Major General George S. Lilenkow | |||
68th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Ivan Mikhailovich Nekrasov | |||
104th Rifle Corps - Major General Mikhail Filipovsky | |||
93rd Rifle Division - Colonel Konstantin Sergejew | |||
233rd Rifle Division - Major General FP Berezhnoye | |||
66th Guards Rifle Division - Major General Sergei Frolovich Frolov | |||
5th Guards Cavalry Corps - Lieutenant General Sergej Ilijsch Gorshkov | |||
11th Cavalry Guards Division - Major General DN Pavlov | |||
12th Guards Cavalry Division - Major General AP Smirnov | |||
63rd Cavalry Division - Colonel PM Krutowski | |||
27th Army Colonel General Sergei Georgievich Trofimenko | |||
33rd Rifle Corps Major General AI Semenov | |||
202nd Rifle Division - Major General IM Chochlow | |||
337th Rifle Division - Colonel Taras P. Gorobez | |||
3rd Airborne Guard Division - Major General Ivan Nikitich Konev | |||
37th Rifle Corps Major General Fyodor Samoilowitsch Kolchuk | |||
108th Rifle Division - Colonel Sergei Illarionovich Dunayev | |||
316th Rifle Division - Colonel Gregory S. Chebotarev | |||
320th Rifle Division - Colonel Joseph Z. Burik | |||
35th Guards Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Sergei G. Goryachev | |||
78th Rifle Division - Major General NM Mikhailov | |||
163rd Rifle Division - Major General FW Karlow | |||
206th Rifle Division - Major General Fyodor Ivanovich Dremenkov | |||
18th Panzer Corps Major General Pyotr D. Govorunenko | |||
110th Tank Brigade Colonel Ivan Fomich Reshetnikov | |||
170th Tank Brigade Colonel Nikolai Petrovich Chunikhin | |||
181st Tank Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Kuzmich Kublanov | |||
32nd Panzer Brigade Colonel Mikhail Janowitsch Khwatow | |||
57th Army Colonel General Mikhail Nikolayevich Sharochin | |||
64th Rifle Corps Major General Ivan Kondratyevich Kravtzov | |||
73rd Guards Rifle Division - Colonel Vasily Ivanovich Shcherbenko | |||
104th Rifle Division- Major General IV Objdenkin | |||
113th Rifle Division - Major General PN Naidjeschew | |||
133rd Rifle Corps Major General Pavel Alexejewitsch Artyuschenko | |||
84th Rifle Division - Major General PI Bunyashin | |||
122nd Rifle Division - Major General AN Belishko | |||
299th Rifle Division - Major General NG Trawnikov | |||
6th Guards Rifle Corps Major General SI Morozow, from March 20th Major General NM Drejer | |||
20th Guards Rifle Division Major General NM Rejer | |||
61st Guards Rifle Division Colonel Pyotr Ivanovich Kasatkin | |||
21st Rifle Division - Colonel WA Arkhangelsky, from February 10th Colonel PI Vokresensky | |||
74th Rifle Division Colonel Fedor Ivanovich Zinovchev | |||
Bulgarian 1st Army Lieutenant General Vladimir Stoychev | |||
3. bulgar. Corps Lieutenant General Todor Toshew | |||
Bulg. 8th Division Major General Boris Harizanov | |||
Bulg. 10th Division Major General Ivan Hubenov | |||
Bulg. 12th Division General Stephen Taralezhkov | |||
4. bulgar. Corps General Stoyan Trendafilow | |||
Bulg. 3rd Division Major General Vasil Lyubenow | |||
Bulg. 11th Division Major General Angel Dotsev | |||
Bulg. 16th Division Major General Tsonyo Ganew | |||
Bulgarian Guard Division Gen. Maj.Sławczo Trynski |
Army Group South General of the Infantry Otto Wöhler | |||
At special disposal | |||
232. Panzer Division Major General Hans-Ulrich Back |
|||
18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Horst Wessel" SS-Standartenführer Georg Bochmann | |||
8th Army General of the Mountain Forces Hans Kreysing | |||
XXIX. Army Corps General of the Infantry Kurt Röpke | |||
153rd Field Training Division - Lieutenant General Friedrich Bayer | |||
Combat group 76th Infantry Division - Colonel Wilhelm Moritz von Bissing, from February 17th Major General Erhard-Heinrich Berner | |||
15th Infantry Division Major General Hans Laengenfelder | |||
101st Jäger Division Lieutenant General Walter Assmann | |||
Hungarian 24th Infantry Division General Fabian | |||
Hungarian 5th Reserve Division | |||
XXXXIII. Army Corps Infantry General Arthur Kullmer | |||
48th Volksgrenadier Division - Colonel Arnold Scholz | |||
96th Infantry Division Major General Hermann Harrendorf | |||
LXXII. Army Corps General of the Infantry Werner Schmidt-Hammer | |||
711th Infantry Division Lieutenant General Josef Reichert, from April Colonel Watzdorf | |||
Divisional group Kaiser | |||
8th Jäger Division Lieutenant General Christian Philipp, from April Colonel Joachim Bergener | |||
IV. Panzer Corps "Feldherrnhalle" (General of the Panzer Force Ulrich Kleemann) | |||
Remains of the "Feldherrnhalle" tank division, Major General Franz Bäke | |||
211th People's Grenadier Division Lieutenant General Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt | |||
remaining combat group 13th Panzer Division Colonel Grade | |||
46th Volksgrenadier Division - Lieutenant General Erich Reuter | |||
357th Infantry Division - Lieutenant General Josef Rintelen | |||
271st Volksgrenadier Division - Major General Martin Bieber | |||
6th Panzer Army SS Colonel Group Leader Sepp Dietrich | |||
II. SS Panzer Corps SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich | |||
2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" SS-Standartenführer Rudolf Lehmann , from April 13th SS-Standartenführer Karl Kreutz | |||
37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division SS Obersturmbannführer Karl – Heinz Keitel | |||
Fuehrer Grenadier Division Major General Hellmuth Mäder | |||
44th Infantry Division “Hoch- und Deutschmeister” Lieutenant General Hans-Günther von Rost , from April 5th Major General Rudolf Langhäuser | |||
I. SS Panzer Corps SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Prieß | |||
1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte" SS Brigade Leader Otto Kumm | |||
3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" SS Brigadefinder Hellmuth Becker | |||
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth" SS-Standartenführer Hugo Kraas | |||
Army Group Balck (AOK 6 ) General of the armored troop Hermann Balck | |||
Hungarian 3rd Army Colonel General József Heszlényi | |||
Hungarian II Corps General Attila Ótott Kovács | |||
20th Hungarian Division | |||
25th Hungarian Division | |||
III. Panzer Corps Major General Hermann Breith | |||
1st Panzer Division Colonel Eberhard Thunert | |||
3rd Panzer Division Major General Wilhelm Söth | |||
23rd Panzer Division Lieutenant General Josef von Radowitz | |||
Combat group Semmering ( 9th Mountain Division ) Colonel Heribert Raithel | |||
IV. SS Panzer Corps SS-Gruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille | |||
Remnants of the Hungarian 2nd Panzer Division | |||
356th Infantry Division Colonel von Saldern | |||
5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich | |||
9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" SS Oberführer Sylvester Stadler | |||
I. Cavalry Corps General of the Cavalry Gustav Harteneck | |||
6th Panzer Division Lieutenant General Rudolf von Waldenfels | |||
3rd Cavalry Division Major General Peter von der Groeben | |||
Hungarian VIII Corps | |||
4th Cavalry Division Lieutenant General Rudolf Holste | |||
Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division | |||
2nd Panzer Army General of the Artillery Maximilian de Angelis | |||
LXVIII. Army Corps General of the Mountain Forces Rudolf Konrad | |||
16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division SS Oberführer Otto Baum | |||
13th SS Mountain Division "Handschar" SS Major General Desiderius Hampel |
|||
71st Infantry Division Major General Eberhard von Schuckmann | |||
Motorized Grenadier Brigade 92 | |||
XXII. Mountain Corps General of the Mountain Troops Hubert Lanz | |||
1st People's Mountain Division Lieutenant General Josef Kübler | |||
118th Jäger Division Major General Hubert Lamey | |||
Army Group E General der Flieger Alexander Löhr | |||
LXXXXI. Army Corps General of the Infantry Werner von Erdmannsdorff | |||
104th Jäger Division Lieutenant General Hartwig von Ludwiger | |||
297th Infantry Division Lieutenant General Albrecht Baier | |||
11th Air Force Field Division Major General Gerhard Henke | |||
Division zbV Fischer | |||
XXXIV. Army Corps General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy | |||
22nd Volksgrenadier Division Lieutenant General Helmut Friebe | |||
41st Infantry Division Lieutenant General Wolfgang Hauser | |||
XXI. Mountain Corps General of the Infantry Ernst von Leyser | |||
7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen" SS Brigade Leader August Schmidhuber | |||
117th Jäger Division Major General Hans Kreppel | |||
181st Infantry Division Lieutenant General Eugen-Heinrich Bleyer | |||
369. Croat. Infantry Division - Lieutenant General Georg Reinicke | |||
XV. Mountain Corps General of the Mountain Troops Gustav Fehn | |||
392nd (Croatian) Infantry Division - Major General Johann Mickl | |||
373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division - Major General Hans Gravenstein |
course
The German attack
With the Führer's order of February 25, 1945, the instructions about the "Operation in Hungary" went to the Chief of the Army General Staff, Heinz Guderian , Army Group South ( Otto Wöhler ) and the Commander-in-Chief Southeast ( Maximilian von Weichs ). The aim of the "Spring Awakening" company is to clear up the area between the Drava, Danube and Lake Balaton.
The 6th Panzer Army was to lead the main strike against the 3rd Ukrainian Front , southeast of the line Balaton - Lake Velence , under the command of General Fyodor Tolbuchin , and if necessary push it back across the Danube. This army was reinforced by further divisions of Army Group South ( 44th and 356th Infantry Division, 23rd Panzer Division , 3rd and 4th Cavalry Division ).
The Soviet High Command ( STAVKA ) ordered the preparations for the offensive of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts against Bratislava (Pressburg) and Vienna on February 17, 1945 . Three days later, information about the planned German attack was available and the 3rd Ukrainian Front was ordered to prepare for the defense. This completely eliminated the moment of surprise, as the Red Army was able to set up three lines of defense with several intermediate positions at the focal points of the threatened sections by March 3. In addition to the four war bridges, a cable car and an oil pipeline were run across the Danube in order to secure supplies during the defense and at the same time to provide the reserves for their own major offensive, which was planned for March 15.
In Yugoslavia standing Army Group E should coincide with the attack of the 6th Panzer Army, the Drava exceed north and invade the plain between the river Drava (Drava) and the Danube. This company was named "Waldteufel" and was planned for March 4, 1945. One of the immediate objectives was to recapture the city of Mohács . For the attack, that was LXXXXI. Army Corps , which consisted of the 297th Infantry Division , the 104th Jäger Division , the 11th Air Force Field Division and the Division zbV Fischer.
The 2nd Panzer Army , south of Lake Balaton, was to attack under the cover name "Eisbrecher" near Nagybajom and bring about the unification of Army Group South with Army Group E. The 2nd Panzer Army began attacking Nagybajom in the direction of Kaposvár at 4 a.m. on March 6th . The main burden was borne by the LXVIII. Army corps with the 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Reichsführer SS". This unit had no main battle tanks, only assault guns and armored personnel carriers. A few kilometers east of Nágybajom, the attack stalled around nine o'clock in the morning due to strong resistance. Attempts by the army command to shift the direction of attack from east to south-east failed because of the rejection by the high command of Army Group South.
In the area of Army Group E , two bridgeheads with ferry service across the Drava could be formed, but the advance towards Mohács failed because of the defense by Tito's partisan units and attacks by the Soviet air forces .
The attack by the 6th Panzer Army began on March 6th after several postponements due to weather and failures in rail traffic. The I. SS Panzer Corps was supposed to force the crossing over the Siokanal, the II SS Panzer Corps was entrusted with the capture of Dunaföldvar. South of it, the Balck army group with the III. Panzer Corps to achieve the breakthrough at Seregelyes. Initially, the SS Panzer divisions in particular achieved small gains in terrain.
Only on March 9th did the 1st and 12th SS Panzer Divisions break into the 135th Rifle Corps of the Soviet 26th Army. By evening the I. SS Panzer Corps was able to reach the Bozotpatak-Deg-Ujhodos-Ennying line. The II. SS Panzer Corps (2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions ) under SS-Gruppenführer Bittrich encountered swampy terrain east of the Sarviz Canal and made no progress. The losses were very high due to the fierce Soviet resistance and the unfavorable, muddy ground conditions, which prevented the tanks from being used effectively.
It was not until March 11 that the I. SS Panzer Corps was able to cross the 30-meter-wide Siokanal near Simontornya with heavy losses. The III. Panzer Corps advanced south of Lake Velence to Gardony and then got stuck. General Breith , who attacked with 153 tanks on March 6, now had only 63 tanks and assault guns. The Soviets relocated reinforcements from the 2nd Ukrainian Front, deployed north of the Danube, to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Until the start of the great Soviet counter-offensive, the 6th Panzer Army could only record insignificant gains in terrain.
Successful Soviet counter-offensive
On March 16, the Soviet counter-offensive began on the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The freshly replenished 9th Guard Army , together with the 4th Guard Army already deployed there, attacked the fuses of the 6th Army (Army Group "Balck") , whose task it was to keep the back of the 6th Panzer Army clear. The Soviet attack was supported by the 17th Air Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and the 5th Air Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. If the Soviet armies of the guards succeeded in breakthrough, the German forces advanced on the eastern bank of Lake Balaton were threatened with being cut off. The attack divisions of the German 6th Panzer Army, which had advanced further to the east, were in a dangerous position.
By March 18, the Soviets finally broke through at the front of the Balck Army Group . The freshly brought up 9th Guards Army under Lieutenant General Glagolew managed between Székesfehérvár and Mór the operational breakthrough. The decisive breakthrough was achieved by the Red Army after 42 Soviet divisions and eight rapid corps attacked the positions of the Wehrmacht. The northern attack wedge of the 4th Guard Army under General Zachwatejew broke through Felsőgalla and took Tata-Tóváros . The connection between the German 6th Panzer Army and the Hungarian 3rd Army was lost. The more powerful parts of the 6th Panzer Army were regrouped to the north and took over the combat section up to the Danube, while the 6th Army was now solely responsible for the southern section of the front up to Lake Balaton.
After the Soviet 6th Guards Panzer Army began their attack on March 19 , it pushed through to the west to Várpalota . The Soviet advance accelerated and the breakthrough widened 35 kilometers wide and 25 kilometers deep. The 6th Panzer Army narrowly escaped encirclement: the enemy was only three kilometers short of cutting off the way back for the divisions of this army. At the same time, the Soviet 7th Guard Army and the 46th Army south of the Danube surrounded the Hungarian 3rd Army in the area between Esztergom and Komárom. The gap that had now opened up between the 6th Panzer Army in the north and the 6th Army in the south could no longer be closed.
On March 21, the hotly contested Székesfehérvár (Stuhlweissenburg) had to be given up by Standartenführer Karl Ullrich ( 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" ) against the "Führer order" to fight to the last man on March 21st . The next day, the corridor between Lake Balaton and the Soviet 6th Guards Panzer Army, only about three kilometers wide, threatened to close and encircle several SS divisions. This pocket could only be evacuated in a hurry with the support of the 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" with heavy losses by March 23rd.
The 6th Panzer Army had to withdraw its units towards Northern Burgenland and Vienna, pursued by the three Soviet armies of the guards, while the 6th Army withdrew towards Southern Burgenland and Styria , pursued by the Soviet 26th and 27th Armies. This gap in the front gaped in the direction of Mittelburgenland, the district of Oberpullendorf . At the end of March, it formed the gateway to Austria for the divisions of the 6th Armored Guard Army, the 4th and 9th Guard Army.
After the end of the "Spring Awakening" operation, they temporarily slowed their advance (see Battle of Vienna # Prehistory ).
losses
During its last defensive operation in World War II, the Red Army suffered losses of 32,899 men between March 6 and 15, according to its own information, of which 8,492 were dead and 24,407 wounded, as well as 152 tanks and 415 anti-tank guns. In contrast, the Wehrmacht's losses in the same period totaled 12,358 dead, missing and wounded and 31 tanks. According to Ungváry, the strikingly low number of tanks lost up to March 15 can be explained by the fact that the tanks could not even be brought into battle due to approach problems and the ground conditions. Much of the tanks and other heavy weapons and equipment were left in Hungary, some undamaged, during the retreat. On the western bank of Balaton and in the Bakony Mountains , the Red Army fell into the hands of undamaged tank columns without a fight, from which tank companies could be formed. With over 700 battle tanks ready for action, around 30% of all German tanks were used at the “Spring Awakening” company. Only a few of them were still in the hands of the Wehrmacht after the uncoordinated retreat that was forbidden by Hitler and the OKW at the end of March 1945.
The situation for the civilian population of Hungary during the last fighting in Hungary was precarious. The Hungarians were treated by the Red Army as allies of the German Reich, several documents of military and private origin describe serious attacks by members of the Red Army against the civilian population, especially against women. With a total of approx. 590,000 civilian deaths (compared to approx. 350,000 military deaths), the number of losses suffered by the Hungarian population in the Second World War was extremely high. The majority of civilian deaths represent 440,000–490,000 Jews who were abducted, murdered or killed in forced labor by the SS and anti-Semitic Hungarian associations .
The Hungarians were also distrusted by the German armed forces, especially since the unsuccessful attempts by the Hungarian government of Horthy to secure an armistice with the Soviet Union. Occasionally soldiers from the Hungarian units followed the Red Army's loudspeaker calls to overflow.
literature
- Josef Paul Puntigam : "From Lake Balaton to the Mur", Verlag Hannes Krois Medienhaus, Feldbach 1993.
- Karl-Heinz Frieser (ed., Author), Krisztián Ungváry (co-author), among others: The German Reich and the Second World War . Volume 8: The Eastern Front: The War in the East and on the Side Fronts. , on behalf of the MGFA . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt DVA, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-421-06235-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karl-Heinz Frieser , Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War , Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 929.
- ↑ Excerpt from the war diary of Army Group South, from: Paul Josef Puntigam, Vom Plattensee bis zur Mur , Hannes Krois Medienhaus, Feldbach 1993, p. 335.
- ↑ Karl-Heinz Frieser , Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War , Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 926.
- ↑ WI Festjkow / KA Kalaschnikow: Красная Армия в победах и поражениях 1941–1945, Moskwa 2003, pp. 150–160.
- ↑ OKW War Diary Volume IV, p. 1886.
- ↑ Percy E. Schramm (Ed.), War Journal of the OKW, Volume 4, Part 2, Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2005; P. 1423.
- ^ Paul Josef Puntigam, From Lake Balaton to the Mur , Hannes Krois Medienhaus, Feldbach 1993, schematic map representation of Operation Spring Awakening
- ↑ Paul Josef Puntigam, From Lake Balaton to the Mur , Hannes Krois Medienhaus, Feldbach 1993, p. 51.
- ↑ Peter Gosztony: Final battle on the Danube, Molden Verlag, p. 228 f
- ^ Franz Kurowski : Balkenkreuz and Red Star: The Air War over Russia 1941–1944 , Dörfler, 2006, p. 458.
- ↑ GF Krivosheev, Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century, London 1997, p 110th
- ↑ K.-H. Frieser, Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War, Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 942.
- ↑ K.-H. Frieser, Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War, Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 948.
- ↑ K.-H. Frieser, Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War, Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 943.
- ^ Paul Josef Puntigam, From Lake Balaton to Mur , Hannes Krois Medienhaus, Feldbach 1993, pp. 81, 288, 362.
- ↑ K.-H. Frieser, Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War, Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 955.
- ↑ K.-H. Frieser, Krisztián Ungváry et al., The German Reich and the Second World War, Volume 8, Munich 2007, p. 877.