Operation Southwind
Operation Southwind (german: Unternehmen Südwind) was a German offensive operation on the Eastern Front in Hungary, from 17–24 February 1945. The Germans succeeded in eliminating the Soviet bridgehead on the west bank of the river Hron in preparation for Operation Spring Awakening. This was one of the last successful German offensives in the Second World War. Prelude The Budapest Offensive was the general attack by Red Army against Hungary. This offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945. By that time, in Hitler’s estimation, the Nagykanizsa oilfields in Hungary were the most strategically valuable oil reserves on the Eastern Front. Hitler ordered Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army to move to Hungary in order to protect the oilfields and refineries there. The 6th SS Panzer Army was to be the spearhead of Operation Spring Awakening. The units of the 6th SS Panzer Army were to be smuggled into Hungary with utmost care and secrecy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard. Despite having no formal staff officer training, Dietrich was, along with Paul Hausser, the highest-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. Reaching the rank of '' Oberst-Gruppenführer'', he commanded units up to army level during World War II. As commanding officer of the 6th Panzer Army during the Battle of the Bulge, Dietrich bore responsibility for the Malmedy massacre, the murder of U.S. prisoners of war in December 1944. After the war, Dietrich was convicted of war crimes at the Malmedy massacre trial, conducted by the U.S. military tribunal. Upon his release from Landsberg Prison, which was then under U.S. military jurisdiction, he became active in HIAG, a lobby ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hermann Priess
Hermann August Fredrich Priess (24 May 1901 – 2 February 1985) was a German general in the Waffen-SS and a war criminal during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head") following the death of Theodor Eicke in February 1943. On 30 October 1944 he was appointed commander of the I SS Panzer Corps and led it during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, Priess was convicted of war crimes for his involvement in the Malmedy massacre, and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He was released from the Landsberg Prison in 1954. Career Born in 1901, Priess volunteered for military service in the army of the German Empire in January 1919, which was transformed to the Reichsheer in the Weimar Republic. Due to the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, his regiment was disbanded. He then joined the paramilitary group ''Freikorps'' and fought in the Estonian War of Independence. In 1920, he returned to the army and was discharged in June 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0013, Hans Kreysing
, type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , logo_alt = , image = Bundesarchiv Koblenz.jpg , image_caption = The Federal Archives in Koblenz , image_alt = , formed = , preceding1 = , preceding2 = , dissolved = , superseding1 = , superseding2 = , agency_type = , jurisdiction = , status = Active , headquarters = PotsdamerStraße156075Koblenz , coordinates = , motto = , employees = , budget = million () , chief1_name = Michael Hollmann , chief1_position = President of the Federal Archives , chief2_name = Dr. Andrea Hänger , chief2_position ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there. Esztergom was the capital of Hungary from the 10th until the mid-13th century when King Béla IV of Hungary moved the royal seat to Buda. Esztergom is the seat of the ''prímás'' (see Primate) of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, and the former seat of the Constitutional Court of Hungary. The city has a Christian Museum with the largest ecclesiastical collection in Hungary. Its cathedral, Esztergom Basilica, is the largest church in Hungary. Toponym The Roman town was called ''Solva''. The medieval Latin name was ''Strigonium''. The first early medieval mention is "''ſtrigonensis trigonensiscomes''" (1079-1080). The first interpretation of the name was suggested by A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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6th Guards Tank Army
The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed in January 1944 as the 6th Tank Army,Glantz (Companion), p. 66. and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During its service in World War II, the army was commanded by Lieutenant General of Tank Troops (later Colonel General) Andrei Kravchenko. World War II Initially commanding the 5th Mechanised Corps and the 5th Guards Tank Corps, the 6th Tank Army's first major operation was the suppression of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket in January–February 1944. It then fought in the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive during August 1944 before gaining a Guards title in September 1944. Under its new title, it was soon engaged in the Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offens ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steppe Front
The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had been effective since 30 April.Great Patriotic War 1941–1945, Moscow 1977 It consisted of the command component of the 2nd Reserve Army (augmented by several officer and NCO courses), the 27th, 52nd, 53rd, 46th, 47th, 4th Guards Tank, 5th Air Army and eight mobile corps (Tank, Guards Tank, and Mechanised). Most of these armies had been reassigned from the Northwestern Front, North Caucasus Front, or the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (''Stavka'' reserve, or the RVGK). On 13 April 1943 the Front was renamed the Steppe Military District, to be effective 15 April. The Steppe Military District was redesignated the Steppe Front on July 9, 1943. It incorporated forces from the Soviet rear areas to the West of Kursk salient along ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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7th Guards Army
The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. History The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943. 64th Army had originally been formed from 1st Reserve Army in July 1942, and alongside the 62nd Army, fought the German offensive during the Battle of Stalingrad to a standstill, for which it was raised to Guards status. General Lieutenant M.S. Shumilov, who had commanded the 64th Army, continued to command 7th Guards Army through the rest of the war, though he was promoted to General Colonel in October 1943. It included the 15th, 36th, 72nd, 73rd, 78th and 81st Guards Rifle Divisions, which were incorporated in the 24th and 25th Guards Rifle Corps. As part of the Voronezh Front and the Steppe Front since July 18, 1943, the Army participated in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle for the Dnieper River from July through August, 1943. Subsequently, as part of the 2nd Ukr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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German Heavy Tank Battalion
A German heavy tank battalion (german: "schwere Panzerabteilung", short: "s PzAbt") was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army (1935–1945), equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities required it to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counter-attacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ''ad hoc'' Kampfgruppen. The German heavy tank battalions destroyed a total of 9,850 enemy tanks for the loss of only 1,715 of their own, a kill/loss ratio of 5.74. The 1,715 German losses also include non-combat tank write-offs. Formation Early formation units experimented to find the correct combination of heavy Tiger tanks supported by either medium Panzer III tanks or reconnaissance elements. In 1942 this consisted of 20 Tigers and 16 Panzer IIIs, composed of two companies, each with four platoons of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiger II
The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,'' Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: "armoured fighting vehicle"), ''Ausf.'' is abbreviation of ''Ausführung'' (English: variant). The full titles ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B and ''Panzerbefehlswagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B (for the command version) were used in training and maintenance manuals and in organisation and equipment tables. (Jentz and Doyle 1997). Also sometimes referred to as "Pz. VI ''Ausf'' B", not to be confused with "Pz. VI ''Ausf'' E”, which was the Tiger I. often shortened to Tiger B.Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 16. The ordnance inventory designation was ''Sd.Kfz.'' 182. ( ''Sd.Kfz.'' 267 and 268 for command vehicles). It was known as King Tiger by Allied soldiers, and is also known under the informal name ''Königstiger'' (the German name for the Bengal tiger which translates literal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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I SS Panzer Corps
The I SS Panzer Corps (german: I.SS-Panzerkorps) was a German armoured corps of the Waffen-SS. It saw action on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Formation and training The corps was raised on 26 July 1943 in Berlin-Lichterfeld, with initial mustering taking place on the ''Truppenübungsplatz'' at Beverloo, in occupied Belgium. SS-''Obergruppenführer'' Sepp Dietrich, previously the commander of the SS Division Leibstandarte (LSSAH), became the corps' first commander. In August 1943, the corps was transferred to Meran in Italy, where it took part in operations to disarm Italian troops. After this, the corps continued its training, being sporadically engaged in anti- partisan operations in northern Italy. By December 1943, the corps was fully formed and deemed ready for action, with its HQ being set up in Brussels in early 1944. Operational history Western Front: Normandy In April 1944, the corps was moved to Septeuil, to the west of Paris, wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle
The Panzerkorps ''Feldherrnhalle'' was a German panzer corps that fought on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. History The Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle was formed on 27 November 1944 by redesignating ''IV. Armeekorps'' which had been destroyed on the Eastern Front in August during the Soviet Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, Its corps units came from ''Sturm-Division "Rhodos"'' ("Assault division 'Rhodes'") and Panzer-Grenadier-Brigade 17. The corps was first deployed in Hungary in February 1945. The panzerkorps surrendered to the US Army at the end of the war. Commanders Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle Orders of battle ;Battle of Debrecen, Hungary, October 1944 :As "60th Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle" *''Division Stab'' *''Füsilier-Regiment Feldherrnhalle'' *''Grenadier-Regiment Feldherrnhalle'' *''Panzer-Abteilung Feldherrnhalle'' *''Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung Feldherrnhalle'' *''Artillerie Regiment Feldherrnhalle'' *''FlaK-Bataillon Feldherrnhalle ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |