The Battle for Budapest 1944 - 1945

Anthony Tucker-Jones

Oct 2016 · Casemate Publishers

About this ebook

The desperate struggle between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army for Budapest in 1944 and 1945 was as lethal and destructive as any of the urban battles fought during the Second World War. The losses of men and equipment sustained by the Germans were so great that they hastened the collapse of Hitler’s regime. Yet what happened in Budapest is less well remembered today than other flash points in the conflict on the Eastern Front. Anthony Tucker-Jones’s photographic history is a fascinating and graphic introduction to this neglected episode in the closing months of the war.

The battle began with Operation Panzerfaust in October 1944 when the Germans seized Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy to prevent his country defecting to the Soviets. Red Army advances then left German and Hungarian units trapped in the city and sparked fifty days of intense fighting. Then in March 1945 Hitler launched Operation Spring Awakening, the reckless final German offensive of the war, designed to recapture Budapest and stabilize the Eastern Front. It failed spectacularly, opening the road to Vienna for the Red Army.
The selection of archive photographs gives a sharp insight into every aspect of the fighting in and around Budapest and records the ravaged city the battle left behind.

Ratings and reviews

A very to the point, simple reference. Not Much Detail of Fighting units is accounted other than name and strength, I guess if you are looking to get this book- you already know much and more about the amazing heroes that endured WW2. The reader must do allot of imagining to really see the apocalyptic story of Budapest's grizzly Battle. Stalingrad and Berlin are all the rage, yet Budapest too tasted "Hell on Earth" as well. O yeah, This contains a very rich photo archive too. This book delivers what it sets out to do.

About the author

Anthony Tucker-Jones is a former defense intelligence officer and a widely published expert on regional conflicts, counter-terrorism and armored and aerial warfare. He is the author of over thirty books, is security and terrorism correspondent for intersec – The Journal of International Security, and has freelanced for Channel 4 News.