Starting on January 18, 1945, German and Hungarian troops began the siege of Konrad III (Operation Konrad III), the lifting of the Soviet blockade of the Hungarian capital Budapest, until January 27. German Armed SS (Waffen-SS) soldiers invade the Hungarian capital Budapest in Operation Siege on January 23, 1945, as the bodies of slain Soviet soldiers lie on the edge of a snow-covered road on the way.
On January 18, the first day of the offensive, the 4th SS Panzer Corps broke through the defensive positions of the Soviet 4th Guards and invaded deep into the defensive positions; on January 19, it broke through the continuity of the Soviet defensive line by sweeping through retreating Soviet troops and reached the Danube River near the village of Dunapentere; on January 20, the reserve force of Soviet forces, which were few in number, created a threatening situation on the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
On January 21, the 5th SS Panzer Division defeated the Soviet 18th Panzer Corps and continued its northward advance. The Germans reached the floodplain of the Vary River 28 km southwest of the outskirts of Budapest, and after a long and bloody urban battle on January 22, the German 1st Panzer Division completely occupied Sturweisenburg. Soviet troops counterattacked the German 5th SS Division and 3rd SS Division. Between the villages of Adun and Ivancha, the 5th SS Division hit a large minefield. A German reinforcement reconnaissance battalion reached the Vary River, but the 5th SS Division was unable to approach the river due to heavy artillery fire by the Soviet artillery.
On January 23, the 5th SS Viking-Panzer Division came under fire from Soviet anti-tank guns stationed on high ground on the northeast bank of the Valli River. They pursued the retreating Soviet units, which were repulsed in an attack near St. Peter's. They broke through both sides of the narrow-gauge railroad line and reached the other side of the Valais River. The 3rd SS Division was caught in the fighting of the onslaught by the Soviets.
On January 24, the 5th SS Panzer Division and the 3rd SS Panzer Division launched a massive tank attack on Soviet positions behind the Valais. A 20-km wide section of the front broke through Soviet defenses; on January 26, the 4th SS Panzer Corps approached the Budapest cauldron at a distance of 25 km. The German tank groups that had advanced as far as the Danube River were cut off from their supply lines by the Soviet divisions, making them extremely vulnerable.
On January 26, the Soviet 104th Rifle Corps and 23rd Tank Corps crossed the Danube River from the east bank and attacked the German groups from the north; on January 27, the German groups between Balaton and the Danube River had approximately 250 battle-ready tanks and assault guns remaining. A major Soviet counteroffensive began with a concentration of about 500 Soviet tanks and SAUs. In the south, in the sector of the front between Chalviz and the Danube River, the Soviets launched an offensive on the positions of the German 3rd Panzer Division. In the north, the Soviet 23rd Panzer Corps launched an assault on the Vali River with more than 100 tanks. The 5th SS Tank Division blocked the advance of the Soviet tanks for some time, and the Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses.
On the night of January 28, 1945, orders were given to give up Operation Konrad III and prepare for an offensive at Dunafeldvar in southern Hungary; on January 28, the 4th SS Panzer Corps began a withdrawal to its original positions, retreating to the Bakonian Forest north of Lake Balaton, which it captured in Operation Konrad III All territory except Sturweissenburg was abandoned.
Operation Konrad all but failed, and in the month-long fierce fighting in January, the 5th SS Panzer Division and the 3rd SS Panzer Division lost nearly 8,000 men, including more than 200 officers. The fighting in Budapest ended on February 13, 1945, with the surrender of the German-Hungarian Allied remnants.
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