1944 december ..Budapest Christmas Eve.... The soviet invasion of Hungary and the Siege of Budapest 1944-1945 Budapest Ostroma Soviet archival footage mostly, with english commentary. The Siege of Budapest was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of WWII. Between the appearance of the first Soviet tank and the final capture of Buda Castle, 102 days were to pass. In comparison, Berlin and Vienna fell after 2 weeks and 6 days respectively, while no other European city, with the exception of Warsaw, was the scene of a major battle. For Adolf Hitler, Budapest was vital. It was the capital of Germanys last remaining ally in Europe and the gateway to Vienna and southern Bavaria. In addition, the Axis only remaining crude oil plant was in southwest Hungary. Hitler believed that strong counteroffensives in Hungary coupled with a stout defense in Poland would keep the Soviets off-balance and prevent them from massing their forces against Berlin. Budapest has been one of the most besieged capital cities in Europe, which bares witness to its strategic importance: there have been 15 different major battles fought here throughout history, yet not one of them comes close to the siege of 1944-1945 in the scope of its destruction. The stifling of the Warsaw uprising took 63 days, the blockade of Leningrad lasted almost 3 years but no battles were fought on the streets. Stalingrad was a combat zone for 4 months, but most of the civilian population was evacuated prior to the struggle. At the same time, more than 800,000 people were eyewitnesses to the bloody conflict that contemporaries compared to Stalingrad in its ferocity. youtu.be/aMdx74dC7wI
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 02:26:06 +0000
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