While the Germans were preparing Spring Awakening, the Soviets were planning their own offensive that was due to start on March 15. [72] The overwhelming numerical superiority of the Red Army made any defense impossible, but Hitler believed victory was attainable. In the sector of I Cavalry Corps, the 3rd Cavalry Division managed to seize a bridgehead over the Sio, five kilometers west of Mezkomarom, and the 4th Division encircled Enying. Operation Spring Awakening was launched in the East by elements of three German panzer armies in the spring of 1945. [56] The 26th Army, which was expected to take the brunt of the German offensive, arranged its three Rifle Corps along a 44km front but only 1015km deep. This may well be true, but just as the Germans sometimes exaggerated their losses in order that the actions of the survivors might appear more heroic, so it is more than likely that the real divisional strength was in fact higher, at least in the region of 40 percent of authorized establishment or, in other words, nearer 5,000 than the 3,500 quoted. Using the experience gained in the battle of Kursk, Soviets built multi-layer anti-tank defense, including 66 anti-tank "killing zones" over 83km of front in Lake Balaton area containing 65% of available artillery. By first light on the 4th, Das Reich, after moving through Gyr and Zirc, had reached the Varpalota area while the Hohenstaufen, following a route through Kisbr, was in the region of Mor. Artillery Regiment (SU-100), 1922nd Self-prop. G.F. Krivosheyev, 'Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the twentieth century', London, Greenhill Books, 1997. The depth of the defense zone reached up to 2530km. The II SS Panzer Corps Hohenstaufen, however, failed to get beyond the AbaSarosd road. This then was the crisis situation into which the Sixth Panzer Army was about to be launched. Operation Spring Awakening was a failure for Germany. Here Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin massed three armies together with two tank corps and a guards mechanized corps. Artillery Regiment (SU-76M). Artillery Regiment (ISU-152, captured Hummels, e.g. Operation Spring Awakening conflict. IL-2m3. A detailed Russian study of the Lake Balaton offensive gives full details of the strength and dispositions of one of the divisions forming the Soviet defense, the 233rd Rifle Division. Dietrichs chief operations officer reported, In the constricted area between Lakes Balaton and Valencei the mud became alarming. I did get a lot of food but it would have been very tight if we had to actually depend on it and much of the food was stuff I had to either eat as I harvested it before it spoils, or canned, or froze. Changsha Since the main German threat was known to be in the Third Ukrainian Front sector, the Soviets concentrated the bulk of their forces between Lake Balaton and a point some 20 kilometers to the north of Szkesfehrvar. Pointblank The reaction was swift. It took place in Western Hungary on the Eastern Front and lasted from 6 March until 15 March, 1945. 3rd Ukrainian Front marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin ordered his armies to prepare for a German offensive on his entire Front, preparation of which would have to be completed no later then 3 March. [73], On 22 March, the remnants of the 6th SS Panzer Army withdrew towards Vienna. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Operation Spring Awakening (March 1945) Hosted By 87th Rifle Regiment, 26th Rifle Division. This sudden and savage push caused the Soviet command to actually contemplate an evacuation to the opposite shore. 42% of these vehicles were damaged, under short or long-term repair. Again, the supporting tanks were mired and the grenadiers could make only limited progress on their own against the well-prepared Soviet field fortifications. white. On 13 April 1999, Yugoslav infantry entered Albanian territory to close off an area that was used by the KLA to stage attacks against . From March 13-15, II SS Panzer Corps remained in a defensive posture with the Hohenstaufen still in front of Sarosd and Das Reich in a half circle around Sarkeresztur. Operation Spring Awakening was a final effort by German and Hungarian Army units to delay the Red Army from capturing their last fuel reserves in Hungary. [29][24], Operation Sd was scheduled to start after a path to Budapest had been established. As Operation Spring Awakening would be of great importance, lengthy preparation and strategic care was taken so as to not reveal the offensive. red, 181st Tank Brigade (T-34/85, markings: 6xx, e.g. At the end of February the weather had become unexpectedly warm, and as the ground thawed all movement became difficult and cross-country movement, even by tracked vehicles, virtually impossible. III, Wespe, e.g. tax increases, it is understood that these policies have never had any positive effect! It was a failure for Nazi Germany. At the same time, on the right flank a vineyard immediately northeast of Sarkeresztur was captured, effectively cutting off Aba. Leyte [37] The chosen course of action on 25 February, "Lsung C2", favored the quicker and farther-reaching joint operation of the 2nd Panzer Army and 6th SS Panzer Army, while "Lsung B" opted to first secure the left flank of the main thrust "Frhlingserwachen" (between Lake Velence and the Danube) before moving south toward the 2nd Panzer army. Leningrad Although it faced similar problems, it had its route through Polgardi to itself, and it reached its forward assembly area southeast of that town in time for H-hour. The advance of the Sixth SS Panzer Army, while impressive, was well short of its ambitious goals. By mid-February, the Soviet bridgehead across the Garam River (Hron) north of Esztergom was identified as a threat. The northern spearhead would advance through the Soviet 6th Guards Tank Army and move along the Danube River to retake Budapest. This was an effort to document not only the sudden buildup of Axis forces and to gain intelligence, but also an opportunity to assess the quality of their opponent's technology. At army group and army level, German intelligence had detected part of the Soviet buildup on the 13th, but the moves had been misinterpreted as local reinforcements, and it was not until the evening of the 14th that the Army Group South War Dairy recorded: Todays movements leave no doubt of the enemys intentions. This move began at 1 am on the 8th and, according to the study, despite German efforts to disrupt the withdrawal, the division was dug in on the east bank by last light. Sepp Dietrich recommended an immediate withdrawal to a suitable defensive line in the north, but this was ruled out by his superior, General Otto Whler, the commander of Army Group South. Approaching and encircling the Austrian capital were the Soviet 4th and 6th Guards Tank, 9th Guards, and 46th Armies.[72]. Two of the frontline divisions were to the east of Lake Balaton, immediately in front of I Cavalry Corps, two faced I SS Panzer Corps, two more were opposite II SS Panzer Corps, and a divisional equivalent was in front of III Panzer Corps. Reinforcements will be provided under the authority of the SS Supreme Operations Office. These elite formations were to be reinforced and reequipped to lead another great offensivethis time on the Eastern Front. By 15 April, the remnants of the 6th SS Panzer Army were north of Vienna, facing the Soviet 9th Guards and 46th Armies. Battle of Lake Balaton, March 6-15, 1945 At the beginning of 1945, Hungary remained the last ally of the Third Reich in Europe - and only because the country was actually occupied by the German armed forces, and the Hungarian government was headed by the pocket dictator Ferenc Salashi, according to Heinz Guderian . By 7 February, on orders of Hitler, strict secrecy rulings were put into place: death penalty for command infractions, license plates were to be covered, insignia on vehicles and uniforms to be covered, no reconnaissance in forward combat areas, unit movements only by night or overcast conditions, no radio traffic, and the units were not to appear on situation maps. In fact, the Supreme Soviet Command went further and, on this same day gave both Tolbukhin and Malinovsky revised missions. Artillery Battalion (SU-76M), 3rd Tank Brigade (T-34/85, markings: B -in diamond- and xx, e.g. For Operation Spring Awakening (Unternehmen Frhlingserwachen) you have been given third of all the Panzer formations on the Eastern Front: two Panzer Armies strengthened with King Tiger battalions to launch two spearheads from both sides of Lake Balaton, while the third weaker attack will be launched from the South. The failure of the operation resulted in the "armband order" that was issued to Sepp Dietrich by Adolf Hitler, who claimed that the troops, and more importantly, the Leibstandarte, "did not fight as the situation demanded. The II SS Panzer Corps still had not reached Sarkeresztur and only the difficulties of crossing the Sarviz River and canal were preventing the Russians from attacking the flank of the German penetration. IL-2m3, 165th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 166th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 167th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 56th Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN), 530th Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN), 848th Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN), 267th Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b,-3,-9), 117th Guards Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b,-9), 168th Guards Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b,-9), 611th Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b,-3,-9D,DD,M) White diagonal tail stripe with a wide bar on the rudder, 659th Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-3, -9D,DD,M,T) Long white arrow on fuselage, 897th Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b,-3,-9D,DD,M,T), 31st Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN,-7FN) Lightning bolt on fuselage, diagonal tail stripe, 116th Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN) Lightning bolt on fuselage, diagonal tail stripes, 164th Fighter Air Regiment (La-5F, La-5FN) Lightning bolt on fuselage, diagonal tail stripes, 244th Bomber Air Division (Douglas A-20 Boston), 260th Bomber Air Regiment (A-20B,C,G,J, UA-20C Boston) Lightning emblem on the nose, 449th Bomber Air Regiment (A-20B,C,G UA-20C Boston) Bomb dropping seagull emblem on the nose, 861st Bomber Air Regiment (A-20B,C,G,J UA-20C Boston), 97th Guards Night Bomber Air Regiment (Po-2), 39th Separate Air Reconnaissance Regiment (Pe-2R, Yak-9D,M,R), 130th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 131st Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 187th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 188th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 190th Guards Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 235st Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik) white tail cap, 451st Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), 31st Guards Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b, -9), 73rd Guards Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b, -9), 85th Guards Fighter Air Regiment (Yak-1b, -9), 48th Bomber Air Regiment (A-20G Boston) red tail cap, 452nd Bomber Air Regiment (A-20G Boston) white tail cap, 453rd Bomber Air Regiment (A-20G Boston) dark blue tail cap, 14th Guards Bomber Air Regiment (B-25D,J Mitchell), 238th Guards Bomber Air Regiment (B-25D,J Mitchell), 251st Guards Bomber Air Regiment (B-25D,J Mitchell), 53rd Bomber Air Division (Li-2 cargo planes, etc. Soviet Forces German Forces; . The Hungarian Szent Lszl Infantry Division was still indicated to be attached to the German 2nd Panzer Army as late as 30 April. Soviet occupations [70] The reason for not relaying this order was twofold; firstly the order had already been partially previously completed as cuff tiles were already removed from the uniforms as per a secrecy measure ordered on 30 January 1945,[44] secondly there was no need to further disgrace his men beyond the fatal loss they had just suffered. Even regiments were redesignated as construction teams. When this news reached Hitler, he immediately began to plan a major offensive on this Front. Lapland The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operation. [26] From here the units' possible de-training locations would seem to be the cities along the Oder River, however this was a calculated misinformation measure to confuse enemy forces who actually attacked these cities. 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