Battle for Budapest: 100 Days in World War II

Illustrations vii Maps ix Map Legend x Preface xi Introduction: Hungary and the Second World War xiv I Prelude 1 1 The general situation in the Carpathian Basin, autumn 1944 1 2 ‘They are coming!’ – the first Soviet offensive against Budapest 3 3 The second Soviet offensive against Budapest – Ercsi and Hatvan 16 4 The third stage of the operations 25 II The Encirclement 40 1 Hungarian drôle de guerre – Christmas 1944 in the Budapest cauldron 40 2 The encirclement of Buda 49 3 Besiegers and besieged 56 III The Siege, 26 December 1944–11 February 1945 92 1 The hostilities on the Pest side from 24 December 1944 92 2 The siege of Pest, first phase: 30 December 1944–5 January 1945 102 3 The siege of Pest, second phase: 5–18 January 1945 – fighting in the city centre 109 4 The siege of Buda: 24 December 1944–19 January 1945 125 5 Fighting on Margit Island 135 6 The siege of Buda: 20 January–11 February 1945 137 IV Relief Attempts 160 1 Operation Konrad I 162 2 Operation Konrad II 164 3 Operation Konrad III 168 V The Break-out 172 1 The antecedents 172 2 Strategic plans and ideas 174 3 The situation of the garrison at the time of the break-out 178 4 ‘The First Act of Despair’ 179 5 The journey through the Ördög-Árok culvert 187 6 The escapees’ further progress 193 7 Arrivals 198 8 Events in the Castle District and the military hospitals 201 9 The German Army Group South’s reaction to the break-out 204 10 Soviet views on the break-out 207 11 The outcome 210 VI The Siege and the Population 216 1 The plight of the Hungarian population 216 2 The persecution of the Jews 236 3 The resistance 252 4 Hungarian soldiers on the Soviet side 264 5 Zero hour – it’s all over 268 6 The treatment of the prisoners of war 273 7 The Soviet crimes 279 8 The Soviet soldiers’ mentality as reflected in contemporary recollections 291 9 Life goes on 295 VII Epilogue 311 Tables 317 Bibliography 337 Photographic Acknowledgements 357 People Index 358 Place Index 361