Eastern Front

1944: The fighting for Hungary

October 1944 – April 1945 · 4 battles

After Romania went over to the Allies, the Red Army stood on the borders of Hungary – the Third Reich’s last ally in Europe. In the autumn of 1944 one of the largest tank battles on the Eastern Front was fought at Debrecen, and the regent, Miklós Horthy, who had tried to take the country out of the war, was overthrown by the Germans and replaced by Ferenc Szálasi’s Arrow Cross government. The war swept across the whole of Hungary: the siege of Budapest lasted from December 1944 to February 1945, and the last German offensive, at Lake Balaton in March 1945, collapsed. By April 1945 Hungary was entirely under Soviet control.

6–29 October 1944Battle of Debrecen6–29 October 1944. The 2nd Ukrainian Front took Oradea and Debrecen and reached the Tisza, but a German counter-attack mauled Pliyev's group at Nyíregyháza.
29 December 1944 – 13 February 1945Key battleSiege of Budapest29 December 1944 – 13 February 1945. The Red Army took encircled Budapest. About 38,000 civilians died; only hundreds of defenders escaped on 11 February.
6–16 March 1945Operation Frühlingserwachen6–16 March 1945. The last great German offensive, at Lake Balaton, bogged down in mud at the Sió Canal; on 16 March the Red Army set off for Vienna.
16 March – 15 April 1945The Vienna offensive16 March – 15 April 1945. The Red Army drove the Germans from western Hungary, entered Austria and took Vienna on 13 April. Austria was reborn under occupation.