Soviet: 80,026 dead and missing 240,056 wounded and sick Total casualties: 320,082 (including 260,000 combat casualties) 1,766 tanks destroyed 4,127 guns and mortars 293 aircraft 135,100 small arms[1][2][3]
76,000 civilian dead[4] 38,000 civilians dead in the siege (7,000 executed) 38,000 died in labour or POW camps
The Budapest offensive was the general attack by Soviet and Romanian armies against Hungary and their Axis allies from Nazi Germany. The offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945. This was one of the most difficult and complicated offensives that the Soviet Army carried out in Central Europe. It resulted in a decisive victory for the USSR, as it defeated the last European ally of Nazi Germany and greatly sped up the ending of World War II in Europe.[5]
According to the historical documents, the Budapest offensive can be divided into five periods:[6]
The first (29 October 1944 - 3 November 1944) and second periods (7 November 1944 – 24 November 1944) were marked by the two large offensives of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, led by Rodion Malinovsky. The battles in these two periods were exceptionally bloody and fierce, since the Germans offered strong resistance against the Soviet onslaught. Though the Red Army managed to gain considerable territory, they failed to capture Budapest, due to the fierce German resistance and their own lack of offensive strength.
In the third period (3 December 1944 – 26 December 1944), the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Fyodor Tolbukhin reached the Danube river after liberating Belgrade, and thus greatly enhanced Soviet offensive power in Hungary. Now with adequate forces, the Soviet fronts launched a two-pronged attack north and south of Budapest, finally encircling the city and trapping about 79,000 German and Hungarian troops inside the Budapest pocket.[7]
The fourth period (1 January 1945 – 26 January 1945) was marked by a series of strong counter-offensives launched by German reinforcements in an attempt to relieve the siege of Budapest. Some German units managed to penetrate deep into the outskirts of the city, with the most successful ones only 25 km away from the Hungarian capital. However, the Soviets managed to withstand all the German attacks and maintain their encirclement.
Finally, in the fifth period (27 January 1945 – 13 February 1945), the Soviets mustered their forces to eliminate the besieged defenders in the city. The German troops fought for about half a month more before surrendering on 13 February 1945, ending four months of bloody fighting in the Budapest area. Out of the estimated 79,000 defenders, fewer than 1,000 managed to avoid death or captivity.
After the Budapest offensive, the main forces of Army Group South virtually collapsed. The road to Vienna, Czechoslovakia and the southern border of Germany was widely open for the Soviets and their allies.[5]
According to Soviet claims, the Germans and Hungarians in Budapest lost 49,000 dead soldiers, with 110,000 captured and 269 tanks destroyed.[8]
Aftermathedit
As most of the German forces in the region were destroyed, troops were rushed in from the Western Front and, in March, the Germans launched the ill-fated Operation Spring Awakening (Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) in the Lake Balaton area. The expansive goals of this operation were to protect one of the last oil producing regions available to the Axis and to retake Budapest. Neither goal was achieved.
In Soviet propaganda, this offensive (together with the Belgrade Offensive and the East Carpathian Offensive) was listed as one of Stalin's ten blows.
^Glantz, David M., and Jonathan House. When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1995. ISBN0-7006-0899-0) p. 298
^Krivosheev, G. F. Soviet casualties and combat losses in the Twentieth Century. (London: Greenhill Books, 1997. ISBN1-85367-280-7) p. 152
^ abСамсонов, Александр Михайлович Крах фашистской агрессии 1939-1945. — М.: Наука, 1980. (in Russian)
^Минасян, М. M. Освобождение Юго-Восточной и Центральной Европы войсками 2-го и 3-го Украинских фронтов 1944-1945. Издательство "Наука", Москва, 1970. (in Russian)
^. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
Further readingedit
Frieser, Karl-Heinz; Schmider, Klaus; Schönherr, Klaus; Schreiber, Gerhard; Ungváry, Kristián; Wegner, Bernd (2007). Die Ostfront 1943/44 – Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten [The Eastern Front 1943–1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts] (in German). Vol. VIII. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. ISBN978-3-421-06235-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Ungváry, Kristián (2003). Budapest Ostroma [Battle for Budapest] (in Hungarian). London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN1-86064-727-8.
budapest, offensive, part, eastern, front, world, iisoviet, tank, action, battle, budapest, date29, october, 1944, february, 1945108, days, months, weeks, locationbudapest, northwestern, hungaryresultallied, victorybelligerentssoviet, union, romaniagermany, hu. Budapest offensivePart of the Eastern Front of World War IISoviet IS 2 tank in action Battle of Budapest Date29 October 1944 13 February 1945108 days 3 months 2 weeks and 1 day LocationBudapest and northwestern HungaryResultAllied victoryBelligerentsSoviet Union RomaniaGermany HungaryCommanders and leadersRodion Malinovsky Fyodor TolbukhinJohannes Friessner Otto Wohler Karoly BeregfyUnits involved2nd Ukrainian Front 1st Guards Army 6th Guards Army 7th Guards Army 27th Army 40th Army 46th Army 53rd Army 1st Army 4th Army 3rd Ukrainian Front 4th Guards Army 57th ArmyArmy Group South 1st Panzer Army 2nd Panzer Army 6th Army 8th Army 1st Army 2nd Army 3rd ArmyCasualties and lossesSoviet 80 026 dead and missing240 056 wounded and sickTotal casualties 320 082 including 260 000 combat casualties 1 766 tanks destroyed4 127 guns and mortars293 aircraft135 100 small arms 1 2 3 Siege of Budapest 125 000 combat casualties 1 48 000 killed 26 000 wounded 51 000 captured Total 270 000 combat casualties76 000 civilian dead 4 38 000 civilians dead in the siege 7 000 executed 38 000 died in labour or POW camps The Budapest offensive was the general attack by Soviet and Romanian armies against Hungary and their Axis allies from Nazi Germany The offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945 This was one of the most difficult and complicated offensives that the Soviet Army carried out in Central Europe It resulted in a decisive victory for the USSR as it defeated the last European ally of Nazi Germany and greatly sped up the ending of World War II in Europe 5 Contents 1 Prelude 2 The offensive 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingPrelude editHaving secured Romania in the summer Iasi Kishinev offensive the Soviet forces continued their push in the Balkans The Red Army occupied Bucharest on 31 August then swept westward across the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary and southward into Bulgaria with parts joining the Yugoslav Partisans in the Belgrade offensive In the process the Red Army s forces drew German reserves away from the Warsaw Berlin central axis encircled and destroyed the 6th Army for the second time and forced Army Group South Ukraine s shattered 8th Army to withdraw west into Hungary The offensive edit nbsp Budapest offensive From October 1944 the 2nd 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts advanced into Hungary After isolating the Hungarian capital city in late December the Soviets besieged and assaulted Budapest On 13 February 1945 the city fell According to the historical documents the Budapest offensive can be divided into five periods 6 The first 29 October 1944 3 November 1944 and second periods 7 November 1944 24 November 1944 were marked by the two large offensives of the 2nd Ukrainian Front led by Rodion Malinovsky The battles in these two periods were exceptionally bloody and fierce since the Germans offered strong resistance against the Soviet onslaught Though the Red Army managed to gain considerable territory they failed to capture Budapest due to the fierce German resistance and their own lack of offensive strength In the third period 3 December 1944 26 December 1944 the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Fyodor Tolbukhin reached the Danube river after liberating Belgrade and thus greatly enhanced Soviet offensive power in Hungary Now with adequate forces the Soviet fronts launched a two pronged attack north and south of Budapest finally encircling the city and trapping about 79 000 German and Hungarian troops inside the Budapest pocket 7 The fourth period 1 January 1945 26 January 1945 was marked by a series of strong counter offensives launched by German reinforcements in an attempt to relieve the siege of Budapest Some German units managed to penetrate deep into the outskirts of the city with the most successful ones only 25 km away from the Hungarian capital However the Soviets managed to withstand all the German attacks and maintain their encirclement Finally in the fifth period 27 January 1945 13 February 1945 the Soviets mustered their forces to eliminate the besieged defenders in the city The German troops fought for about half a month more before surrendering on 13 February 1945 ending four months of bloody fighting in the Budapest area Out of the estimated 79 000 defenders fewer than 1 000 managed to avoid death or captivity After the Budapest offensive the main forces of Army Group South virtually collapsed The road to Vienna Czechoslovakia and the southern border of Germany was widely open for the Soviets and their allies 5 According to Soviet claims the Germans and Hungarians in Budapest lost 49 000 dead soldiers with 110 000 captured and 269 tanks destroyed 8 Aftermath editAs most of the German forces in the region were destroyed troops were rushed in from the Western Front and in March the Germans launched the ill fated Operation Spring Awakening Unternehmen Fruhlingserwachen in the Lake Balaton area The expansive goals of this operation were to protect one of the last oil producing regions available to the Axis and to retake Budapest Neither goal was achieved In Soviet propaganda this offensive together with the Belgrade Offensive and the East Carpathian Offensive was listed as one of Stalin s ten blows See also editSiege of Budapest Operation Spring Awakening Unternehmen Fruhlingserwachen Soviet occupation of HungaryReferences edit a b Frieser et al 2007 p 922 Glantz David M and Jonathan House When Titans Clashed How the Red Army Stopped Hitler Lawrence Kansas University Press of Kansas 1995 ISBN 0 7006 0899 0 p 298 Krivosheev G F Soviet casualties and combat losses in the Twentieth Century London Greenhill Books 1997 ISBN 1 85367 280 7 p 152 Ungvary 2003 p 330 a b Samsonov Aleksandr Mihajlovich Krah fashistskoj agressii 1939 1945 M Nauka 1980 in Russian Minasyan M M Osvobozhdenie Yugo Vostochnoj i Centralnoj Evropy vojskami 2 go i 3 go Ukrainskih frontov 1944 1945 Izdatelstvo Nauka Moskva 1970 in Russian Frieser et al 2007 p 897 Nasha Pobeda Den za dnem proekt RIA Novosti Archived from the original on 2011 07 27 Retrieved 2010 06 20 Further reading editFrieser Karl Heinz Schmider Klaus Schonherr Klaus Schreiber Gerhard Ungvary Kristian Wegner Bernd 2007 Die Ostfront 1943 44 Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten The Eastern Front 1943 1944 The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts in German Vol VIII Munchen Deutsche Verlags Anstalt ISBN 978 3 421 06235 2 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Ungvary Kristian 2003 Budapest Ostroma Battle for Budapest in Hungarian London I B Tauris ISBN 1 86064 727 8 David M Glantz The Soviet German War 1941 45 Myths and Realities A Survey Essay Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Budapest offensive amp oldid 1217657670, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
