Battle of Debrecen
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| Battle of Debrecen | |||||||
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| Part of World War II | |||||||
 A Turan I tank of the Hungarian 2nd Armoured Division in action near Debrecen, 1944. |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Germany Hungary |
 Soviet Union |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Johannes Friessner (Heeresgruppe Süd), Maximilian Fretter-Pico (6.Armee) |
Rodion Malinovsky (2nd Ukrainian Front), I.A. Pliyev (Group Pliyev) |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 80,000 | 260,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 11,900 killed, 6,662 missing, 358 tanks, 310 artillery pieces, 600 anti-tank guns, 247 mortars, 1,954 other vehicles |
25,000 killed or missing, 2,312 vehicles, 1,157 guns |
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| Eastern Front |
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| Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Belorussia – Lvov-Sandomierz – Balkans – Hungary – Vistula-Oder – Königsberg – Berlin – Prague |
| Hungary 1944-1945 |
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| Debrecen – Budapest – Balaton – Vienna |
The Battle of Debrecen was a battle on the Eastern Front of World War II. In October 1944, General Maximilian Fretter-Pico's German Sixth Army and allied Hungarian units encircled and destroyed three corps of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky's Mobile Group Pliyev near Debrecen, Hungary. Mobile Group Pliyev was commanded by Issa Pliyev.
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[edit] Crisis in Hungary
In mid August 1944, Colonel-General (Generaloberst) Johannes Friessner's Army Group South Ukraine was on the brink of collapse. To the north, the Soviet Operation Bagration was completing the destruction of Army Group Centre.
On 25 August 1944, Germany's former ally, Romania declared war. The subsequent drive of Soviet General Fedor Tolbukhin's 3rd Ukrainian Front into Romania destroyed any semblance of an organised defensive line.
On 8 September, Bulgaria, another of Germany's former allies, declared war. By this time, Tolbukhin, aided by the 2nd Ukrainian Front under Malinovsky had annihilated thirteen Axis divisions, taking over one-hundred-thousand prisoners. Both Tolbukhin and Malinovsky were promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The actions of Bulgaria and Romania had opened up a 650 kilometer gap in Friessner's army group. As Friessner desperately struggled to reform a defensive line, news filtered through to Berlin that the Hungarian leader, Admiral Miklós Horthy was preparing to sign a separate peace with the Soviet Union. If this happened, the entire southern front would collapse.
On 24 September 1944, Friessner's Army Group South Ukraine was redesignated Army Group South. General Fretter-Pico's Sixth Army formed the nucleus of Friessner's force. Seeing that the Hungarian allies were suffering from low morale, Friessner attached the Hungarian Second Army to Fretter-Pico's army. The German-Hungarian force was designated Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico.
[edit] Respite - Plans
As Tolbukhin cleared the remaining resistance in Romania, Malinovsky began to move towards Hungary. Thankfully for Friessner, the Soviet advance slowed on its own. This delay allowed Friessner enough time to establish a weak defensive line based on the Mureş River.
In early September 1944, Malinovsky received orders from STAVKA to advance from Cluj. He was to advance towards Miskolc, Debrecen, and the Tisza River and then on to the flat expanses of the Hungarian Plain. Once on the plain, Malinovsky could exploit his overwhelming advantage in armour. He could destroy Friessner's army group, break through to Budapest, and drive into Czechoslovakia.
Friessner, fearing an envelopment of his forces by Malinovsky's 2nd Ukrainian Front and by the 4th Ukrainian Front, flew to the headquarters of the German dictator, Adolf Hitler. He requested the Führer's permission to withdraw his forces to defensive positions along the Tisza River. Friessner argued that this withdrawal would provide him with some freedom of movement to counter the continuing Soviet attacks. Hitler refused him. Instead, he promised additional forces for Friessner's army group. Hitler also ordered Friessner to start a new offensive. The aim of this offensive was the immediate destruction of two of Malinovsky's armies. Friessner, desperate for a workable defensive strategy, was instead ordered by Hitler to destroy the Soviet 27th Army and Soviet 6th Guards Tank Army. In addition, he was ordered retake two vital passes in the Southern Carpathians and cut Malinovsky's lines of communication. The ordered attack was to be launched from Cluj.
[edit] Malinovsky Attacks - Fresh Plans
On 16 September 1944, Malinovsky launched his own attack. In a stroke of great luck, Friessner had been massing his own troops for his upcoming offensive. As a result, Malinovsky's forces ran into heavy resistance from the start. After a week of fruitless attacks, Malinovsky called off his attack and ordered the exhausted 6th Guards Tank Army, along with Mobile Group Pliyev and Mobile Group Gorshkov, to the area near Oradea. Malinovsky planned to use this heavy, highly mobile armored force as the vanguard of future operations.
On 20 September 1944, Soviet troops captured the Hungarian border town of Arad. This action threw the Hungarian General Staff into a panic. They activated the Hungarian Third Army. This tended to be a force comprised of new recruits and reservists. It was of very limited military value.
At the same time both pro-German and pro-Allied factions in the Hungarian government began maneuvering to take control of the country. Hungarian Regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy's negotiations for an armistice with the Soviets began in earnest. Friessner forced to send several of his desperately needed reinforcement units to Budapest to watch the situation. He did this under the premise of providing the units with a period of rest and refit.
By the end of September 1944, both Malinovsky and Friessner had received new orders. Malinovsky was now ordered to attack towards Budapest from the salient to the south around Arad. He was to use two of his armies with the support of Mobile Group Pliyev. The remainder of Malinovsky's forces, including the 6th Guards Tank Army and Mobile Group Gorshkov, were to attack from the north, near Oradea, towards Debrecen. The plan was for the two spearheads to link up, encircle the German forces, and annihilate them.
Meanwhile, Friessner's orders included an attack from Oradea with Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico. He was to slice through the Soviet lines and capture the Carpathian passes. He was to hold the passes until the following spring.
This meant that both sides were attacking at the same time and in about the same place. Both sides underestimated the forces opposing them.
[edit] The Battle Begins
The battle began on 6 October 1944, with Malinovsky's southern pincer attacking near Arad and slicing through the Hungarian Third Army. The Hungarians folded quickly. Many divisions simply disappeared in the assault. The spearhead of the southern Soviet pincer, led by Mobile Group Pliyev, had advanced almost sixty kilometers within the first 24 hours.
The attack by the northern Soviet pincer ran into difficulty quickly, slamming headlong into two panzer divisions of the German III Panzer Corps, the 1st Panzer and 23rd Panzer. By the end of the day, the norther pincer had advanced only ten kilometers.
Reacting quickly, Fretter-Pico ordered the German 76th Infantry Division into the line near Oradea. This freed up the German 23rd Panzer Division to move south to counter the breakthrough near Arad. The German Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle, refitting at Mezokövesd, was moved into action to guard potentional crossing points on the Tisza River against the advancing Soviets.
By the evening of 7 October 1944, the Soviet southern pincer had advanced further towards the Tisza River. Meanwhile the northern pincer was still stalled near Oradea. In this area the German-Hungarian forces had managed to halt several flanking attempts by the 6th Guards Tank Army.
Realizing that his northern pincer was stuck, Malinovsky decided to turn the southern pincer northwards towards Debrecen in an attempt to pull Axis forces away from Oradea. This action should allow his northern force to break through and crush the German forces between Mobile Group Pliyev and the 6th Guards Tank Army.
[edit] Mobile Group Pliyev's Advance
On 8 October 1944, Mobile Group Pliyev shifted its attack north-eastwards. The mobile group advanced quickly along the major highway between Szolnok to Debrecen. At Hajdúszoboszló, the group's lead units, the 9th Guards Mechanized and the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps, ran into elements of 23rd Panzer Division moving south to halt the southern pincer.
On 9 October 1944, with overwhelming air support from the Soviet Airforce (VVS), Mobile Group Pliyev took the town. The Germans fell back to Debrecen, and began entrenching to the southeast of the city. The Germans were able to repel several heavy Soviet attacks.
Mobile Group Pliyev shifted its attack southwards again, back towards Oradea. But its advance was slowed by a fanatical defence by German and Hungarian forces. However, despite this defence, it was clear that the mobile group would be able to effect a linkup with 6th Guards Tanks Army. This linkup could potentially shatter Fretter-Pico's line.
[edit] Confusion Reigns
On 10 October, Fretter-Pico ordered the German 1st Panzer Division to attack to the west. He ordered the German 13th Panzer Division to attack to the east. This action by Fretter-Pico cut off the three corps of Mobile Group Pliyev. Not expecting this, Pliyev had left his flanks relatively lightly defended. The two veteran panzer units quickly effected a linkup near the town of Püspökladány. What at first looked like a crisis point for the Germans under Fretter-Pico had now been turned into a possible disaster for the Soviets under Malinovsky.
Malinovsky, realising the danger Mobile Group Pliyev was in, halted his attack in the south and focused all his forces on reaching the trapped mobile group. Fretter-Pico ordered the Feldherrnhalle to Debrecen. The situation on the ground was greatly confused, with neither the Soviets nor the Germans knowing who was surrounding whom.
By 11 October 1944, elements of Pliyev's 4th Guards Cavalry Corps reached the outskirts of Debrecen. Although this corps was cut off from the main Soviet force, Pliyev had managed to avoid encirclement.
Under the 6th Guards Tank Army's ferocious attacks, the front line near Oradea was steadily pushed back.
By 14 October 1944, the line had fallen back 14 kilometers, with the town finally occupied by Malinovsky's forces. Further to the north, a new crisis threatened Fretter-Pico. The 4th Ukrainian Front had finally attacked, falling on Otto Wöhler's German Eighth Army. The Eighth Army was threatening to collapse under the pressure of te Soviet onslaught.
On 15 October 1944, Hungarian Regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy, announced that Hungary had accepted an armistice with the USSR. Reacting quickly, German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered Otto Skorzeny to launch Operation Panzerfaust.
By 16 October 1944, Skorzeny and his SS paratroopers had averted disaster by blackmailing Horthy into resigning and giving control of the government to Ferenc Szálasi, a pro-German leader.
Malinovsky now linked up with Group Pliyev. Malinovsky ordered the Soviet advance to continue. His aim was to capture Debrecen. Then he would swing north towards Nyíregyháza. If Malinovsky could capture Nyíregyháza, he would sever the German Eighth Army's line of communications. In response to the Soviet attacks, the German-Hungarian forces of Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico fought tenaciously. They turned each village and crossroads into a defensive position.
However, by 22 October 1944, the Soviets had captured Nyíregyháza. The line of communications of Wöhler's Eighth Army was severed. German Colonel-General Friessner had ordered Wöhler to disengage and fall back northwest of Nyíregyháza and attempt to form a defensive line. This move was already in progress when Mobile Group Pliyev cut Wöhler's lines of communications.
[edit] Encirclement
Friessner's Chief of Staff, Major-General Helmuth Grolman proposed a risky plan. Grolman believed that the first encirclement of Mobile Group Pyilev had failed because of the confusion of the German-Hungarian forces and lack of enough forces to effect an encirclement. Grolman argued that the situation had changed and that now such an effort would be possible. Friessner approved the plan.
The German 23rd Panzer Division and the German 1st Panzer Division, led by the King Tigers of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Detachment, would spearhead the attack to the east. Paul Klatt's 3rd Mountain Division (3.Gebirgs-Division), the 15th Infantry Division, and the 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer formed the forces attacking to the west. The Feldherrnhalle, 13th Panzer, and 46th Infantry Divisions would be held back to counter any Soviet breakout attempt.
On 23 October 1944, the attack got under way. The attack quickly sliced through the infantry corps defending Mobile Group Pliyev's lines of communication.
At 0200 on 24 October 1944, forces of the 23rd Panzer Division reached Nagykalló. Nagykalló was already occupied by the German 3rd Mountain Division. This completed the encirclement of Mobile Group Pliyev. As the corps of the mobile group launched probing attacks to find an escape route, it quickly became clear that there was no way out. The German-Hungarian forces began closing in on the encircled Soviets.
Malinovsky sent Soviet forces north to break through to the mobile group. But these were met by a determined Axis resistance. Friessner had succeeded. Malinovsky's advance soon stalled.
[edit] No Escape
Pliyev realised that the situation was now desperate, and ordered attacks to break the encirclement, but the German-Hungarian lines held. By the evening of the 24 October, Pliyev realised that the only hope of escape was if Malinovsky could break through to him.
Malinovsky launched a major assault on 25 October, only to be halted by a fierce counterattack by the 1st Panzer Division and the 128th Panzergrenadier Regiment from the 23rd Panzer Division. On the same day, Mobile Group Pliyev attempted to breakout through the positions of the 3rd Mountain Division. The mountain troops held their ground against the Soviet armour, inflicting many casualties.
On 26 October, 23rd Panzer recaptured Nyíregyháza. The Soviet forces had carried out widespread atrocities during their occupation, including mass looting, rape and murder of civilians. This steeled the resolve of the German and especially the Hungarian troops. When Malinovsky launched his next assault, he was met by the most ferocious defence yet encountered. Meanwhile, Wöhler began moving his Eighth Army out through the escape route created through Nyíregyháza. By the 28th, Wöhler's army had escaped encirclement, and the circle around Mobile Group Pliyev would not be broken.
On October 29, the suvivors of Pliyev's shattered mobile group destroyed their vehicles and heavy weapons and attempted to reach the Soviet lines on foot. Three tank corps of Malinovsky's front had been annihilated in the fighting. The lightning Soviet assault on Budapest had been halted, and Hungarian troops remained in the war as Germany's ally until the end of the war in Europe. This was the last time that German forces were to defeat a full-strength Soviet force on even terms.
[edit] Order of Battle for Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico, October 1944
- German Sixth Army (General Maximilian Fretter-Pico)
- IV Panzer Corps
- 23rd Panzer Division
- LXXII Corps (Lieutenant-General August Schmidt)
- 76.Infanterie-Division
- Hungarian VII Army Corps
- Hungarian 8th Reserve Division
- Hungarian 12th Reserve Division
- III Panzer Corps (General Hermann Breith)
- Hungarian Second Army (Lieutenant-General Lajos Veress von Dalnoki)
- Hungarian 9th Infantry Division
- Hungarian II Corps
- Hungarian 25th Infantry Division
- Hungarian 2nd Armoured Division
- Hungarian Group Finita
- Hungarian 7th Replacement Division
- Hungarian 1st Replacement Mountain Brigade
- Hungarian 2nd Replacement Mountain Brigade
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Buchner, Alex - Ostfront 1944, 336 pages, ISBN 3-89555-101-5
- Glantz, David M. - Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front 520 pages, ISBN 0-9717650-9-X
- Hinze, Dr. Rolf - Mit dem Mut der Verzweifelung, 562 pages
- Hinze, Dr. Rolf - TO THE BITTER END : The Final Battles of Army Groups A, North Ukraine, Centre-Eastern Front, 1944-45
- Haupt, Werner - Die 8.Panzer-Division im Zweiten Weltkrieg
- Pierik, Perry - Hungary 1944-1945. The Forgotten Tragedy
- Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr - Crumbling Empire. The German Defeat in the East, 1944 336 pages, ISBN 0-275-96856-1
