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Operation Spring Awakening
Operation Spring Awakening () was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee Offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton Defensive Operation. It took place in Western Hungary on the Eastern Front and lasted from 6 March until 15 March 1945. The objective was to secure the last significant oil reserves still available to the European Axis powers and prevent the Red Army from advancing towards Vienna. The Germans failed in their objectives. The operation, initially planned for 5 March, began after German units were moved in great secrecy to the Lake Balaton () area. Many German units were involved, including the 6th Panzer Army and its subordinate Waffen-SS divisions after being withdrawn from the failed Ardennes offensive on the Western Front. The Germans attacked in three prongs: ''Frühlingserwachen'' in the Balaton- Lake Velence-Danube area, ''Eisbrecher'' south of Lake Balaton, and ''Waldteufel'' south o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies of World War II, Allies, including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Polish Armed Forces in the East, Poland. It encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltic states, Baltics), and Southeast Europe (Balkans), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of the estimated World War II casualties, 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of operations in World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Sharokhin
Mikhail Nikolaevich Sharokhin ( November 23, 1898 – September 19, 1974) was a Soviet military commander and Hero of the Soviet Union. Biography He was born in the village of Ivanovskoje the Yaroslavl Governorate. He fought in World War I and the Russian Civil War. When the war with Germany broke out in 1941, Sharokin served in the General Staff: first as Deputy Chief of the Operations Directorate, then Deputy Chief of the General Staff. From February 1942, he became Chief of Staff of the 3rd Shock Army on the Kalinin Front, from August 1942 Chief of Staff of the Northwestern Front and from October 1942 Chief of Staff of the Volkhov Front. In these posts he was involved in the operation against the Demyansk Pocket and Operation Iskra. In August 1943, he received command of the 37th Army on the Steppe, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, which took part in the Poltava-Kremenchug, Dnieper, Nikopol–Krivoi Rog, Bereznegovato-Snigirevka, Odessa, Jassy-Kishinev and Bulgarian off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd Ukrainian Front
The 3rd Ukrainian Front () was a Front of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Guards Army, 6th, 12th, and 46th Armies and 17th Air Army. Later it included 5th Shock, 4th and 9th Guards Army, 26th, 27th, 28th, 37th, 57th Army, 6th Guards Tank Army, and the Bulgarian First, Second and Fourth Armies. The Danube Flotilla was assigned to the Front's operational control. This included the 83rd Naval Infantry Brigade. Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk offensive operations In the first half of October 1943, Southwestern Front (3rd Ukrainian Front from 20 October) commanded by Army General Rodion Malinovsky was tasked with attacking the German Panther-Wotan line, and later securing the bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper on the Izyum - Dnipropetrovsk axis during the Battle of the Lower Dnieper. But the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group E
Army Group E () was a German Army Group active during World War II. Army Group E was created on 1 January 1943 from the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, including Albania, Greece, the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, and the Independent State of Croatia. Composition Its principal units were:p.24, Thomas * 11th Luftwaffe Field Division (Attica garrison) - ''Generalleutnant'' Wilhelm Kohler * Rhodes Assault Division (amalgamated with the Brandenburg Panzergrenadier Division in 1944) * LXVIII Army Corps (eastern Greece and Peloponnese) ** 117th Jäger Division - ''General der Gebirgstruppe'' Karl von Le Suire ** 1st Panzer Division (June–October 1943) - ''Generalmajor'' Walter Krüger * XXII Mountain Army Corps (western Greece) - ''General der Gebirgstruppe'' Hubert Lanz ** 104th Jäger Division - ''General der Infanterie'' Hartwig von Ludwiger ** 1st Mountain Division - ''Generalleutnant'' Wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group F
Army Group F () was a strategic command formation of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The commander of Army Group F served also as the ''OB South East, Oberbefehlshaber Südost'' (Commander-in-Chief in the Southeast). Created 12 August 1943, at Bayreuth (WK XIII), it was primarily stationed in the Balkans. Its commander from August 1943 was ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Maximilian von Weichs with Lieutenant General Hermann Foertsch serving as the Chief of Staff. Its primary participation in combat was in defending against possible Allied invasion in what was seen as Germany's "weak underbelly", and fighting off local Partisan (military), partisan groups that were gaining strength. In late 1944, it oversaw the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia in the wake of the Budapest Offensive. The Army Group included for much of the war the 2nd Panzer Army in Yugoslavia and Albania, and the Army Group E in Greece. Order of Battle November 1943 *2nd Panzer Army **Army St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftflotte 4
''Luftflotte'' 4For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 4) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on 18 March 1939, from Luftwaffenkommando Österreich in Vienna. This Luftwaffe detachment was based in Romania, Bulgaria, Southeast Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Russian occupied territories, for supporting Axis forces; with command offices in Morczyn, Hungary, during 26 June 1944, Eastern Front. It was the Luftflotte 4, that was responsible for the bombing campaign of Stalingrad, where ca. 40,000 civilians died. The ''Luftflotte'' was redesignated on 21 April 1945, to ''Luftwaffenkommando'' 4, and became subordinated to Luftflotte 6. See Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945) for explanation of abbreviations used below. Component units Strategic reconnaissance *2.(F)/11 ( Jasionka) *2.(F)/22 ( Focșani) *2.(F)/100 (Lublin) Transports (special duties) *14 St. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third Army (Hungary)
The Hungarian Third Army () was a field army in the Royal Hungarian Army that saw action during World War II. Commanders * Lieutenant General Elemér Gorondy-Novák from 1 March 1940 to 1 November 1941 * Lieutenant General Zoltán Decleva from 1 November 1941 to 1 December 1942 * Lieutenant General Lajos Csatay from 1 December 1942 to 12 June 1943 * Lieutenant General Károly Beregfy from 12 June 1943 to 15 May 1944 * ''The Hungarian Third Army was disbanded May 1944 and reformed September 1944'' * Colonel General József Vitéz Heszlényi from 19 September 1944 to 8 May 1945 Order of Battle - Yugoslavia - April 1941 On 5 April 1941, the Hungarian Third Army was mobilized for the invasion of Yugoslavia. The invasion began with the bombing of Belgrade and the crossing of the border by the Germans on 6 April. The Third Army faced the Yugoslavian First Army. By the time the Hungarians crossed the border and finally attacked, the Germans had been attacking Yugoslavia for over a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Panzer Army
The 2nd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian () was formed on 5 June 1940 and named after its commander, general Heinz Guderian. In early June 1940, after reaching the English Channel following the breakthrough in the Ardennes, the ''Panzergruppe Guderian'' was formed from the XIX Army Corps, and thrust deep into France, cutting off the Maginot Line. In November 1940, it was upgraded into ''Panzergruppe 2''. The 2nd Panzer Group () was formed in November 1940 from Panzer Group Guderian. In October 1941 it was renamed the 2nd Panzer Army. Panzer Group 2 played a significant role in the early stages of the German invasion of the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa in 1941 when it was a constituent part of Army Group Centre. Operational history 2nd Panzer Group was part of the Army Group Centre during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Unio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Panzer Army
The 6th Panzer Army () was a formation of the German Army, formed in the autumn of 1944. The 6th Panzer Army was first used as an offensive force during the Battle of the Bulge, in which it operated as the northernmost element of the German offensive. The army was subsequently transferred to Hungary in early 1945 and used in both offensive and defensive actions there. The final battles of the 6th Panzer Army were fought in Austria, preventing its fall to Soviet forces. The remnants of the army eventually surrendered to the United States Army. The army's commander throughout its existence, SS-'' Oberstgruppenführer'' Josef Dietrich said in early 1945: "We call ourselves the 6th Panzer Army, because we've only got six Panzers left." Unit history The 6th Panzer Army is best noted for its leading role in the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945). Although it never received an SS designation, calling it the ''6th SS Panzer Army'' came into general use in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 6th Army () was a field army of the German Army during World War II. It is widely known for its defeat by and subsequent surrender to the Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad on 2 February 1943. It committed war crimes at Babi Yar while under the command of Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau during Operation Barbarossa. The 6th Army was reformed in March 1943, and participated in fighting in Ukraine and later Romania, before being almost completely destroyed in the Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in August 1944. Following this it would fight in Hungary, attempting to relieve Budapest, and subsequently retreating into Austria in the Spring of 1945. 6th Army surrendered to US Army forces on 9 May 1945. Western campaigns The 6th Army was formed on 10 October 1939 with General Walther von Reichenau in command through the redesignation of the 10th Army that had fought during the Invasion of Poland. During the invasion of the Low Countries the 6th Army saw active service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group South
Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Gerd von Rundstedt and his chief of staff Erich von Manstein. Two years later, Army Group South became one of three army groups into which Germany organised their forces for Operation Barbarossa. Army Group South's principal objective was to capture Soviet Ukraine and its capital Kiev. In September 1944, Army Group South Ukraine was renamed Army Group South in Eastern Hungary. It fought in Western Hungary until March 1945 and retired to Austria at the end of the Second World War, where it was renamed Army Group Ostmark on 2 April 1945. Operation Barbarossa Ukraine was a major center of Soviet industry and mining and had the good farmland required for Hitler's plans for ''Lebensraum'' ('living space'). Army Group South was to advance up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (; ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1967, during which he oversaw the strengthening of the Soviet Army. Born to an impoverished Ukrainian household in Odessa, Malinovsky volunteered for the Imperial Russian Army during the World War I, First World War and served with distinction in both the Eastern Front (World War I), German Front and the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. He was serving in the Russian Legion in France on the outbreak of the October Revolution, after which he returned to Russia and joined the Red Army in the Russian Civil War. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, Malinovsky volunteered to fight on the Second Spanish Republic, Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, where he again served with great distinction and was later awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner in r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
