Don't have time to play through the turns as fast as I'd like (Or write extensive AARs, for that matter) at the moment, but at least I'll update some.
----
Day 2 - January 2nd, 1945
0200 hours
Staff Report
Current Weather: Snow
Visibility: 1km
Order of Battle in Area of Operations
Army Group South
- Sixth Army
- LVII Panzer Corps
- 3rd Panzer Division
- 8th Panzer Division
- 20th Panzer Division
- 211th Volksgrenadier Division
- 357th Volksgrenadier Division
- Szent László Infantry Division (Hungarian)
- Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister
- IV SS Panzer Corps
- 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf
- 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
- 6th Panzer Division
- 96th Infantry Division
- 711st Volksgrenadier Division
- III Panzer Corps
- Division Group Pape
- Division Group Bieber
- I Cavalry Corps
- 1st Panzer Division
- 23rd Panzer Division
- 3rd Cavalry Brigade
- 4th Cavalry Brigade
- Third Army (Hungarian)
- VIII Corps
- 1st Hussar Division
- 2nd Armoured Division
- 23rd Infantry Division
- II Corps
Total Strength Outside Pocket: 38,786 Infantry, 1,171 Guns, 1,246 Vehicles
- IX SS Mountain Corps
- 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer
- 22nd SS Cavalry Division Maria Teresia
- Feldherrnhalle Panzer Division
- 13th Panzer Division
- I Corps (Hungarian)
- 10th Infantry Division
- 12th Infantry Division
- 1st Armoured Division
Total Strength In Pocket: 33,337 Infantry, 359 Guns, 243 Vehicles
----
The rest of the night is spent by the lead elements of SS Wiking and Totenkopf trying to rest for continued operations the following the morning, which also allows trailing units to attempt to catch up. Meanwhile, Division Group Pape's 10th and 11th Panzer Regiments break through final resistance on the 6th Panzer Division's front and begin a rapid advance, with elements of the 11th Panzer advancing nearly 15 kilometers to the southeast until dawn.
At 0600, IV SS Panzer Corps was ready to recommence the advance on Budapest, when suddenly SS Wiking's lookouts reported massed columns approaching. Counterattack! The Soviet 18th Tank Corps runs straight into the tank destroyers of the 5th SS Panzer Regiment and troops of the 9th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 4 kilometers west of Tok with over a hundred T-34 tanks.
Situation at 0600 and German operational planning
Wasting no time, SS Wiking will use mechanized forces to rapidly envelop and destroy the still concentrated 18th Tank Corps. With Soviet mobile forces at the very least tied down by Wiking's attack, SS Totenkopf and the Szent László Infantry Division will attempt break through the 86th Guards Rifle Division to the north, proceeding to Pilisesaba to the southeast while also attempting to capture Esztergom, which is likely to be lightly defended. Meanwhile, the 6th Panzer Division and the attached Division Group Pape will continue moving eastwards in order to guard Wiking's flank as it attacks.