Alright, time for another post that won't include any After Actionness but will hopefully make the following events make more sense (To me, mostly).
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Day 3 - January 3rd, 1945
0200 hours
Staff Report
Current Weather: Snow
Visibility: 1km
Forecast: 2km-3km
Order of Battle in Area of Operations
Army Group South
- Sixth Army
- LVII Panzer Corps
- 8th Panzer Division
- 20th Panzer Division
- 211th Volksgrenadier Division
- 357th Volksgrenadier Division
- 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
- Szent László Infantry Division (Hungarian)
- 3rd Panzer Division
- Division Group Pape
- III Panzer Corps
- 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: 38,410 Infantry, 1,172 Guns, 1,176 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: 32,378 Infantry, 348 Guns, 224 Vehicles
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With the conclusion of the Battle of Tok and the halting of all offensive operations at the end of the previous day, Sixth Army HQ prepared for continued operations against the Budapest encirclement.
To ease command difficulties, all major units participating in offensive operations in the salient have been put under the command of IV SS Panzer Corps.
Units Reassigned to IV SS Panzer Corps
3rd Panzer Division from LVII Panzer Corps
Szent László Infantry Division from LVII Panzer Corps
Division Group Pape from III Panzer Corps
All data from aerial reconnaissance, signals intercepts and ground spotting has been compiled into a (hopefully) clear picture of Soviet opposition to the continued offensive:
Apart from the isolated remains of the 86th Guards Rifle Division, Sixth Army intelligence is fairly certain that the majority of the 49th Guards Rifle Division is located between 3 to 6 kilometers west of the 3rd SS Panzer Division. Beyond this, it is estimated that between one and two Soviet divisions are located in defensive positions around Pilisvorosvar. In the 5th SS Panzer Divisions' area of operations, it is expected that no major formations are located in a position to defend against against an advance on the encirclement, though scattered units may provide resistance.
The southern defence line, currently composed of most of the 6th Panzer Division and Division Group Pape and beginning to be reinforced by the 96th Infantry, 711st Volksgrenadier and 3rd Panzer Divisions, is expected to come under imminent attack by forces from the south. The enemy is assumed to include one Rifle Division and one Tank Corps, but there is not much information about the current strength of Soviet forces south of the salient and therefore this is only a guess.
Information from troops in Budapest indicates that the following Soviet units are participating in offensive action against the pocket:
Buda:
59th Guards Rifle Division
68th Guards Rifle Division
180th Rifle Division
320th Rifle Division
2nd Guards Mechanized Corps
108th Guards Rifle Division
109th Guards Rifle Division
99th Rifle Division
316th Rifle Division
11th Guards Cavalry Division
83rd Naval Infantry Brigade
It is apparent that the attack on Buda lacks armour support, with only a few T-34 units of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps and some Soviet light and lend-lease medium tanks of the 11th Guards Cavalry Division spotted.
Pest:
30th Rifle Corps
155th Rifle Division (Assumed part of 30th Rifle Corps)
151st Rifle Division (Assumed part of 30th Rifle Corps)
2nd Infantry Division (Romanian)
297th Rifle Division
9th Infantry Division (Romanian)
8th Cavalry Division (Romanian)
317th Rifle Division
18th Special Rifle Corps
66th Guards Rifle Division
Additionally, NKVD units and Front engineers are participating in the offensive against Pest.
Offensive plans are laid out for the next several days; with the scale of Soviet forces in most areas still unknown, it is impossible to know how long the offensive will take. The 3rd SS Panzer Division, after destroying the remains of the 86th Guards Rifle Division, will split into two Kampfgruppes. One group will attack the 49th Guards Rifle Division from the west and south, in conjunction with an attack from the north by the Szent László Infantry Division, in an attempt to destroy the Soviet division. In the meantime, the second group of the 3rd SS Panzer Division will head north and link up with the armoured elements of the Szent László Infantry Division, then attack Pilisvorosvar from the north in an attempt to outflank Soviet defences. Once the 49th Guards Rifle Division has been annihilated, the remaining units will join the attack and breach the line. Once the path is clear, the Szent László Infantry Division will proceed to encircle Soviet forces around Buda. At the same time, the 5th SS Panzer Division will rapidly advance through two axes, one at the road through Budaors and the other through the hill at Budakeszi, and will similarly envelop the Soviet attack on Buda. Meanwhile, the divisions to the south will conduct a mobile defense against the expected Soviet counterattack, while reinforcements gradually arrive to support them.
