The 2nd Panzer Army did not advance as far on the southern side of Lake Balaton as the 6th SS Panzer Army had on the northern side. The only real success seems to have occurred at Aba, which was cleared by the 44th Panzergrenadier Division. Some 1.5 to two kilometers farther back was another position made up of one continuous and one intermittent trench and then, three to five kilometers from the frontline lay a final trench line and strongpoint. [38] Below are the units under their respective command as discussed on 27 February. The III Panzer Corps was tasked with screening the corps left flank, and its boundary with I SS Panzer Corps was the Sarviz canal, which together with the adjacent Sarviz River formed a major obstacle. Kuril Islands IL-2m3, 639th Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), e.g. Again, the supporting tanks were mired and the grenadiers could make only limited progress on their own against the well-prepared Soviet field fortifications. The Hohenstaufen advanced toward Sarosd in rain mixed with light snow. This article appears in: December 2021 By Martin Dougherty The winter of 1944-45 saw Nazi Germany in a grim position. [35], OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) was the overarching military command for the German army in WW2, while the OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres) was officially a high command operating under OKW. Blitzkrieg 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. Adolf Hitler was the Commander-in-chief of OKH, while also being the supreme commander of OKW. [17], On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in strength. Another factor complicating Hitlers plan was that by mid-February 1945, the Red Army was holding a considerable bridgehead in Hungary across the Gran River north of Esztergom. By 21 January, only 5 days into Operation Konrad III, the Germans had taken the towns of Dunapentele and Adony which are on the Western shore of the Danube. 707th Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), e.g. IL-2m3, S/N: 1889403. For instance, only 1/3 of the 6th SS Panzer Army's staff were actually from the Waffen-SS.[39]. To ensure sufficient supply of war materials and fuel, additional temporary bridges and gas pipeline were built on the river Danube. Its commitment there, rather than in the northern part of the Eastern Front, and the knowledge that yet another SS Panzer Corps had arrived in Hungary immediately alerted the Soviets to the possibility of a German offensive. Borneo Comparative military ranks Operation Spring Awakening - German Plan German Plan The German plan of attack against Soviet General Fyodor Tolbukhin's 3rd Ukrainian Front was ambitious. In reaction to the 1972 Munich massacre, Israel carried out Operation Spring of Youth. The objectives of Konrad III included relieving besieged Budapest and the recapturing of the Transdanubia region. (Read more about these and other infamous military operations of Nazi Germany inside WWII History magazine.). [24] A glimpse of the ensuing verbal exchange during this argument was captured in Alfred Jodl's (OKW) post-war interrogation where he quotes Hitler saying: "You want to attack without oil good, we'll see what happens when you attempt that". This was expected to be on the 15th or 16th. By 4 April, Sepp Dietrich's Sixth SS Panzer Army was already in the Vienna area desperately setting up the city's defenses against the anticipated Soviet Vienna Offensive. Gagyen also placed his reserve rifle division under the command of the XXX Corps. Pz.Rgt 23 (Panther, Pz.IV, JPz.IV/L70(A), e.g. Units of Balcks Sixth Army were manning the forward defenses in front of these assault forces and would come under command as the attack developed. [58] Held in reserve, the 3rd Ukrainian Front also had the 18th Tank Corps and 23rd Tanks Corps, along with the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps and the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps. 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 . The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operation. All training was immediately suspended. It was a failure for Nazi Germany. Soviet counter-offensive (16 March15 April 1945): The operation, initially planned for 5 March, began after German units were moved in great secrecy to the Lake Balaton (German: Plattensee) area. Art. Not only were the Germans supposed to retake Budapest, but the Nagykanizsa oil fields south of Lake Balaton were to be defended. Apart from the adverse ground and weather conditions, II SS Panzer Corps was now up against the major part of six infantry divisions (with two more sited in depth farther east), albeit most of them seriously understrength, and significant elements of two armored formations. Sure 5 stars! Indeed, in view of the massive, and by now almost continuous, Allied air onslaught, the general state of the German war economy and not least, the appalling casualty rate sustained in five and a half years of war, it is astounding that Dietrichs formation was made ready for an offensive action at all in such a short time, actually less than a month. Early on but, unit counts and map size Russian AI are all so far so good. The reaction was swift. Soviet counter-offensive (16 March15 April 1945): Operation Spring Awakening (German: Unternehmen Frhlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. By Shane Quinn Region: Europe, Russia and FSU Global Research, January 29, 2020 Theme: History It is often thought that the Third Reich's nal major oensive of World War II comprised the Battle of the Bulge, which was launched in mid-December 1944 against the western Allies through Belgium, France and . Philippines (19441945), VistulaOder Operation Spring Awakening conflict. The SS Panzergrenadiers, struggling forward on their feet, were therefore without effective armored support. white, 18th Guards Tank Regiment (M4A2(76)W Sherman, markings: '1xx', e.g. Second Panzer Army did not do so well south of Lake Balaton as the Sixth SS Panzer Army did, north of Lake Balaton. WikiMatrix. The initial attack by Tolbukhin was to be made as soon as the Sixth Panzer Armys offensive had been halted. Even regiments were redesignated as construction teams. Meanwhile, during 14 January on the Western Front, the 2nd and 9th SS Panzer divisions had to be recommitted back from reserves due to successful Allied fighting. [23] The slow withdrawal was greatly hampered by Allied air superiority. German Sixth Army would keep the Soviet 26th Army engaged while it was surrounded. : U.S.A. 3080508), 9th Guards Tank Brigade (M4A2(76)W Sherman, markings: '9xx', e.g. Moscow The first, 1 to 1.5 kilometers deep, comprised two continuous trench lines and parts of a third. [69] The attack was spearheaded by the 6th SS Panzer Army and included elite units such as the LSSAH division. This ended Army Group Souths hopes of supporting II SS Panzer Corps advance with attacks from west of the Sarviz. The fact that these divisions were understrength was relatively unimportant, for the ground they were holding was ideal for defense and totally unsuitable for an attacking armored formation. 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. OKH wanted to send the Corps south-west to the 2nd Panzer army, a move Army Group South Commander Otto Whler saw of little use since the 2nd Panzer army would have a lower chance of success compared to the main attacking thrust of Frhlingserwachen. Soviet Union (Barbarossa) tax increases, it is understood that these policies have never had any positive effect! Another rifle division and a tank brigade were allotted to XXX Corps, and the division that had come under command the previous day took up positions facing west along the Sarviz canal north of Sarbogard. From 27 January through 15 February, the Soviets conducted numerous successful counter-attacks, forcing the Germans to give up the greater portion of their territorial gains, pushing the front line back to the area between Lake Velence, the village of Cssz, and Lake Balaton. Lend-Lease Artillery Regiment (SU-100), 1443rd Self-prop. The advance stalled on 15 March, and on 16 March the Red Army and allied units began their delayed Vienna offensive. Full version of Operation Spring Awakening 1945. Another, in spite of the unfavorable ground conditions, reached the high ground 2.5 kilometers north of Simontornya before being halted by dug-in antitank guns and heavy artillery fire from positions south of the Sio canal. [52] The security of the lands West of the River Danube, particularly in the south which held the Hungarian oil fields, was the Germans' main priority at this stage of the war. Spring Awakening, as innovative as it might feel compared to traditional musicals, . This then was the crisis situation into which the Sixth Panzer Army was about to be launched. He pointed out that any attempt to advance farther south in the I SS Panzer Corps area would be inexpedient owing to the hilly terrain and the corps exposed left flank. Unable to achieve success with frontal attacks, the enemy tried to outflank the objective; however, this maneuver was frustrated by tanks and SP guns in enfiladed ambush positions. From a bleak cell in Spandau Prison, Speer wrote in his secret diary, on 8 November 1946, recalling vividly the offensive's planning and how "Hitler boldly traced its course at his big map table, to advance through Hungary to the south-east". Just over seven weeks later the surviving men of these once elite corps would be prisoners of warbut not of the Sovietsof the Americans. Like all of Joni's games this is addictive and replayable. Bittrichs corps had continued to defend its AbaSarkeresztur sector during this period and was now dangerously exposed. (uncut) Add to Cart. On the right of II SS Panzer Corps zone, the 44th Panzergrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister managed to advance four kilometers to a hamlet northeast of Aba, but again Soviet countermoves were decisive. [55] The 3rd Ukrainian Front worked on digging in, creating extensive trench networks ideal for anti-tank defenses, along with defensive earthworks for the artillery and infantry. For example, Der Fhrer became Otto North, after its commander, Otto Weidinger. Other deceptive measures included unloading part of the Sixth Panzer Army staff near Berlin and making it known that their final destination was in the Frankfurt-am-Oder area and, despite the air threat, actually sending the Tiger IIs of I SS Panzer Corps via the Berlin area before routing them through Vienna to Hungary. The initial objectives were Sarkeresztur and Sarosd, both about 10 kilometers from the start line. It was to advance from an area north of Lake Balaton, through the two lakes (Balaton and Velence), and southeast to capture territory from the Si Channel to the Danube. [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. Forty-two percent of these vehicles were, however, under short- or long-term repair. J, StuG III.). At that time, Joseph Goebbels wrote in his diary that failure of the offensive was likely. In the field, Sepp Dietrich was disgusted by Hitler's order and did not relay it to his troops. The 14th was mainly sunny, and the temperature climbed, drying the ground. Budapest At 1:20 am on the 17th, however, General Guderian, Army chief of staff, recommended to Whlers chief of staff that preparations be put in hand for I SS Panzer Corps to attack north rather than eastinto the flank of the Soviet advance. white, 3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade (BA-64, e.g. [29] The following day, 28 January, this operation received its preliminary name, Operation Sd (G: South). Shumshu, Attacks on North America Military production Operation Spring Awakening. The similarities between the Balaton offensive, the Mortain counterattack in Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge are obviousthe difference being that the Americans had no prior warning and had to react to events rather than preplan them. By the 26th, however, with their forces in the south only 20 kilometers from Buda and in the north only half that distance, the Germans were exhausted. Dietrich and the trusted divisions of the Waffen SS were to be given responsibility for Spring Awakening. white, new, 39th Tank Brigade (T-34/85, markings: -in diamond- and xx, e.g. events, and resources. Artillery Regiment (SU-100, markings: 4xx, e.g. Prisoners taken during Operation Southwind testified that the Germans were in fact preparing to gather a large offensive force. What of the more successful I SS Panzer Corps during this period? From the night of the 9th Tolbukhins reserve Twenty-Seventh Army became responsible for the sector between Lake Valencei and the Sarviz canal. [57] The 26th Army's Corps' would be layered in two belts whose defensive preparations had originally begun back on 11 February,[57] prior to any sign of German offensive intentions. Italy (Spring 1945) However, I SS Panzer Corps launched its attack on time, but even then surprise was not achieved and the gains were smallthe deepest penetration being a mere four kilometers. Meanwhile, the Soviets were attempting to establish their own bridgehead across the Sarviz canal in the Saregres sector and at Ozora, and it was these Soviet counterattacks that were seen by all the senior German commanders as ominous signs of things to come. The whole study is written in the heroic style. Balck opposed it strenuously, arguing that it could not . 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. Soviet occupations [38], To further complicate matters, due to the limited number of newly trained personnel this late in the war, units under Waffen-SS command were often kept at acceptable capacity levels using Wehrmacht personnel. One of its primary objectives was to safeguard German access to the oil fields of Romania. [22] Von Rundstedt received the withdrawal orders on January 8, and the Panzer Army's divisions began preparations to withdraw from the Front. Overlord Manhattan Project From Joni Nuutinen: by a wargamer for the wargamers since 2011. During a Situation Conference on 7 January, 1945 at which both Hermann Gring and OB West Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt were present, Hitler proposed his intention of pulling the 6th SS Panzer Army to form a reserve due to severe Allied air attacks. Artillery Regiment (SU-100, markings: 6xx, e.g. [52] However, from 17 to 18 February, the 2nd Ukrainian Front noticed the 1st SS Panzer division Leibstandarte and the 12th SS Panzer division Hitlerjugend fighting at the Garam River (S:Hron) during the German Operation Southwind. Download Operation Spring Awakening Now Description + Dugouts will from now on be available via Build Dugout action by a general (this option alternates by turn/general with Operation Movement action on the menu) His objective will be to cut the rear connections of the German forces [Sixth Panzer Army and III Panzer Corps] which have advanced from the narrow passage of Szkesfehrvar, by an attack in the direction of Lake Balaton.. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. This offensive was also known in German as the Plattensee Offensive , in Russian as the Balaton Defensive Operation (6 - 15 March 1945), and in . Instance of: conflict; Part of: World War II; Location: Lake Balaton: Point in time: 15 April 1945; Start time: 6 March 1945; End time: 16 . In addition, Hitler expected to push the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front back to the Danube River and prevent Soviet General Rodion Malinovsky from continuing his army's advance into Hungary. Indonesian National Revolution. These comprised a Soviet army of three rifle corps backed by a guards mechanized corps. Berlin approved this plan, which was hardly surprising since it was both strategically and tactically superior to the original concept, but demanded that it be put into effect in three days, not four. To the north of the Third Ukrainian Front, Marshal Malinovskys Second Ukrainian Front numbered some 500,000 men and another 600 tanks, but over 400 of these were in reserve for the forthcoming offensive. Lithuania The scene was being set for the final destruction of the Sixth Panzer Army. It's 1945 and you're in command of Axis forces tasked with securing the last Axis oilfields located in Hungary and Austria by both re-taking the town of Budapest and clearing the western aspect of the river Danube of the Red Army divisions which have shaped a large beach-head . Although there were no tanks in this defensive zone, there was an average of 17 anti-tank guns per kilometer forming 23 tank killing grounds. [76] Hundreds of tanks and armored fighting vehicles were documented. [29], Four plans for Operation Sd were produced by high-ranking officials from Army Group South, the 6th SS Panzer Army, and the 6th Army: Lsung A by Fritz Krmer of the 6th SS Panzer Army; Lsung B and Lsung C2 by Helmuth Von Grolman of Army Group South; and Lsung C1 by Heinrich Gaedcke of the 6th Army. After reaching the river, one part of the Army would turn north creating a northern spearhead. [18] Before the end of the 4th day, the Germans had recaptured 400 square kilometers of territory, an achievement comparable to the initial German gains during the Ardennes offensive and the Western Front in December 1944. The Soviet counteroffensive continued and these positions were soon overrun. By mid-February, the Soviet bridgehead across the Garam River (Hron) north of Esztergom was identified as a threat. The Red Army have invaded and pushed the Axis forces back west, driving them beyond the Danube river. [59] While these Armies were preparing for the imminent offensive, the 17th Air Army was busy flying reconnaissance missions, although they could not report on much due to excellent German camouflage. Operation Spring Awakening (Unternehmen Frhlingserwachen) (6 - 16 March 1945) was the last major German offensive of World War II. Full version of Operation Spring Awakening 1945. The Germans attacked in three prongs: Frhlingserwachen in the Balaton-Lake Velence-Danube area, Eisbrecher south of Lake Balaton, and Waldteufel south of the Drava-Danube triangle. 303 (StuG III, e.g. Launch the game and go to menu custom battles create session missions by URL add mission. [50], The 6th Panzer Army was responsible for the primary thrust of the offensive, Frhlingserwachen. Artillery Regiment (SU-100, ~ e.g. The area over which the Waffen SS divisions were to advance, although very open, is gently rolling country with a number of significant hill features and ridges. J, StuG.IV), Beute-Pz. Company (T48/SU-57, e.g. Nazi plunder Another somewhat surprising success on the 12th came in the I Cavalry Corps sector, where the 3rd Cavalry Division managed to cross the Sio canal and secure a bridgehead to the west of Mezkomarom while the 4th Cavalry Division closed up to Balatonszabadi. [32] As per Lsung C2, 3 offensive prongs were planned, with the main attack of the 6th Army and 6th SS Panzer Army Frhlingserwachen being directed towards the Danube through Lakes Velence and Balaton; the 2nd Panzer Armys Eisbrecher (G: Icebreaker) attacking eastward from the western end of Lake Balaton; and the LXXXXI Corps Waldteufel (G: Forest Devil) attacking north from the Drava River. [61] Each anti-tank position had 8-16 artillery guns and a similar number of anti-tank guns. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. In the text Preface to Spring Awakening, Lacan, (2003a) states that "what Freud demarcated from what he calls sexuality makes a hole in the real, this is what is perceived by the fact that, As if all this was not enough to contend with, the Soviets had a further 12 rifle divisions within 30 kilometers of the east bank of the Danube and three more between the west bank and Lake Valencei. When people wake up and realise that the purpose of life is different from the government policies used, e.g. Moscow refused, saying that these armies were earmarked for the forthcoming general offensive and that he would have to make do with what he had. military historical reconstruction with GIS", "TsAMO pamyat-naroda (memory of the people)", Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Rape during the Soviet occupation of Poland, Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro (1918), Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina, NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, AlbanianYugoslav border incident (December 1998), AlbaniaYugoslav border incident (April 1999), April 23, 1998 AlbanianYugoslav border ambush, December 14, 1998, AlbanianYugoslav border ambush, July 18, 1998 AlbanianYugoslav border clashes, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Spring_Awakening&oldid=1130879118, Battles of World War II involving Hungary, Military operations of World War II involving Germany, Military operations of World War II involving Bulgaria, Battles and operations of the SovietGerman War, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 2nd 9th SS Panzer Divisions, 23rd Panzer Division, 44th Volksgrenadier Division, 1st, 3rd Panzer Divisions, 356th Infantry Division, 25th Hungarian Infantry Division, 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division, 71st Infantry Division, 1st Volksgrenadier Division, 118th Jger Division (elements). The German attacks were centred in the Lake Balaton area which had massive logistical importance as it held . This bridgehead was seen by the Germans as a potential assembly area for a major thrust toward Vienna and as such it had to be eliminated before the Germans could launch Spring Awakening. The closer one came to the assembly area, the more widespread the land that was under waterimpassable for all kinds of vehicles. 615th Ground Attack Regiment (IL-2m3 Sturmovik), e.g. During March 15, I SS Panzer Corps continued to hold its slender bridgehead across the Sio, but it was now clear to most German commanders that Spring Awakening had failed. First Indochina War On March 8, I SS Panzer Corps attack gained momentum, and by evening Nagy had been secured against minimal opposition, as had the EnyingDg road about three kilometers west of Dg. [23] By 20 February, the Soviet fronts in Hungary began to understand what the Germans planned to do. 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