Budapest, 24 December (Dénes, Csaba?)

Do you have any information on this particular battle?

(scenario description taken from Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin)
"December 24th, 1944

On Christmas Eve of 1944 a strong probe of Russian tanks found a way into Budapest. Buda had been physically untouched by the war, and holiday shoppers on trolley cars watched calmly as the Russian tanks rolled past them. Believing them to be Germans, all was calm until the red stars were noticed. Panic set in.

The Russian tankers made several wrong turns and became lost and increasingly frustrated. They finally reached as far as the famed Hotel Gellert before meeting any resistance. A German reaction force engaged the Russians and a vicious battle broke out within the city. Terrified churchgoers witnessed the finale as the last Russians were cornered and destroyed in front of the cathedral."

Thanks.

The above battle description is obviously fiction.

The first Soviet tank penetrated into the outskirts of Budapest proper only on Dec. 25. It was the JS-2 of Guards Lieutenant V. I. Galpern, who was squad leader of the 30th Guards Heavy Tank Battalion. He died in this action and his tank was destroyed, but still far away from Hotel Gellért.
Gds. Lt. Galpern was declared post-mortem Hero of the Soviet Union. You can probably find out more about him from Russian sources dealing with the HSUs.

Finally,

is not true either. Budapest was heavily bombed by USAAF and VVS bombers from April 1944 on.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on February 25, 2005 01:35 pm

Great! Thanks again, Dénes.