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| The '''Lake Balaton Offensive''' (codenamed '''Operation Frühlingserwachen''', "Spring Awakening"), was the last major offensive action by the ] during ]. Launched in great secrecy on ], ], the attack took place in ] around the ] area, and involved mostly units leftover from the failed ] of winter 1944. | The '''Lake Balaton Offensive''' (codenamed '''Operation Frühlingserwachen''', "Spring Awakening"), was the last major offensive action by the ] during ]. Launched in great secrecy on ], ], the attack took place in ] around the ] area, and involved mostly units leftover from the failed ] of winter 1944. | ||
| Despite the unfavourable conditions |
Despite the unfavourable weather conditions the force, which was spearheaded by ]'s 6th Panzer Army, took the ] by surprise and made an impressive advance for such a late stage in the war. However, once the Soviets became aware of the presence of elite SS units (]'s personal unit, the ] took part in the operation) they counterattacked in strength. By ], the operation was in serious trouble with ] admitting in his diary that failure was likely; three days later, the Germans were back at their original starting positions. Hopelessly outnumbered and with just six tanks left (Dietrich amusingly reflected on this by saying the "6th Panzer Army is well named — we have just six tanks left") the remaining German forces withdrew into ] in order to defend ]. | ||
| Ultimately, the operation was a failure, despite early gains, and is a perfect example of Hitler's increasingly erroneous military decisions towards the end of the war. It was aimed at raising the siege of ] and defending the ] oilfields (Germany's last source of oil); however, Hitler's commanders had evidently felt that these elite troops and sizeable amounts of equipment and supplies could have been put to better use elsewhere, particularly on German territory on the Eastern front, and they pleaded with him to "throw everything into the East". Hitler however insisted on his grand plan to somehow destroy the whole of the Russian Southern/Ukrainian Front, and for the weeks preceding the attack, trainloads of men and tanks rolled out of the ] and into Hungary. | Ultimately, the operation was a failure, despite early gains, and is a perfect example of Hitler's increasingly erroneous military decisions towards the end of the war. It was aimed at raising the siege of ] and defending the ] oilfields (Germany's last source of oil); however, Hitler's commanders had evidently felt that these elite troops and sizeable amounts of equipment and supplies could have been put to better use elsewhere, particularly on German territory on the Eastern front, and they pleaded with him to "throw everything into the East". Hitler however insisted on his grand plan to somehow destroy the whole of the Russian Southern/Ukrainian Front, and for the weeks preceding the attack, trainloads of men and tanks rolled out of the ] and into Hungary. | ||
Revision as of 21:29, 6 July 2005
Template:Battlebox The Lake Balaton Offensive (codenamed Operation Frühlingserwachen, "Spring Awakening"), was the last major offensive action by the Germans during World War II. Launched in great secrecy on March 6, 1945, the attack took place in Hungary around the Lake Balaton area, and involved mostly units leftover from the failed Ardennes Offensive of winter 1944.
Despite the unfavourable weather conditions the force, which was spearheaded by Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army, took the Soviets by surprise and made an impressive advance for such a late stage in the war. However, once the Soviets became aware of the presence of elite SS units (Hitler's personal unit, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler took part in the operation) they counterattacked in strength. By March 14, the operation was in serious trouble with Joseph Goebbels admitting in his diary that failure was likely; three days later, the Germans were back at their original starting positions. Hopelessly outnumbered and with just six tanks left (Dietrich amusingly reflected on this by saying the "6th Panzer Army is well named — we have just six tanks left") the remaining German forces withdrew into Austria in order to defend Vienna.
Ultimately, the operation was a failure, despite early gains, and is a perfect example of Hitler's increasingly erroneous military decisions towards the end of the war. It was aimed at raising the siege of Budapest and defending the Nagykanizsa oilfields (Germany's last source of oil); however, Hitler's commanders had evidently felt that these elite troops and sizeable amounts of equipment and supplies could have been put to better use elsewhere, particularly on German territory on the Eastern front, and they pleaded with him to "throw everything into the East". Hitler however insisted on his grand plan to somehow destroy the whole of the Russian Southern/Ukrainian Front, and for the weeks preceding the attack, trainloads of men and tanks rolled out of the Rhineland and into Hungary.
Strategically, Operation Frühlingserwachen made little impression upon the war, but on a tactical level it did highlight that the fighting qualities of the German army still existed, and the gains it made considering Hitler's order forbidding any reconnaissance previous to the attack (to maintain secrecy), and the poor spring weather, especially for tank warfare, as well as the fuel shortages facing the German army at that time (it was at around this time that Hitler ordered troops to retrieve fuel from abandoned tanks), were quite impressive. Apparently, a number of villages were captured and the Russian forces were initially totally surprised at such an attack in force when the Germans were thought to be finished.
This debacle is famous for the notorious "armband order" issued by Hitler when it was evident the Leibstandarte had failed. They were told to remove their sacred "Adolf Hitler" armbands as a show of their disloyalty. Disgusted by this command, the loyal troops who had fought hard through six years of war for Hitler apparently returned the armbands to him in a chamber pot.
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