December 1944

Eastern Front

The Germans launch a fierce counterattack in Pest and hold up the Soviet advance. Heavy arty fire continue to strike the city.

Possible the greatest factor hindering the German army is the catastrophic shortage of fuel. The Western Allies pound German industry day and night, yet German manufacturing continues to increase. However, once the bombing of the oilfields began the Allies saw immediate results. The Luftwaffe, still numerically strong, is grounded by lack of fuel and the armies in the field have had to resort to pressing thousands of horse-drawn vehicles into service.

At the end of 1944 the Germans, despite having some of the most sophisticated equipment of all the combatants (including 4,785 tanks on the eastern front) are basically no more mobile that the armies of the First World War. German divisional strength in the east stands at 21 panzer, 13 panzer grenadier and 107 infantry divisions.

German manufactured 39,807 aircraft, 19,002 panzers and assault guns, 67,375 lorries and 70,700 arty pieces during 1944 against the Soviet production of 40,246 aircraft, 28,963 tanks and Su's, 52,600 lorries and 122,400 arty pieces.

As the year ended the opposing forces were deployed on a long line running north from the Dalmatian coast, through Hungary, Slovakia and Poland and on to the Baltic coast in East Prussia. From here there is a gap between the German forces, Army Group North fighting in isolation with its 27 divisions in Kurland.

Schorner's Army Group North had 250,000 men between the 16th and 18th Armies while Reinhardt's Army Group Center, rebuilt after the defeat in Belorussia, had the 3rd Panzer, 4th and 2nd Armies with 34 infantry divisions, 4 panzer grenadier and 3 panzer divisions, a force of 580,000 men, 750 panzers and assault guns and 500 aircraft. Deployed around Warsaw and along the Vistula was Harpe's Army Group A with the 9th, 4th Panzer, 17th and 1st Panzer Armies. This army group had 24 infantry divisions, 4 panzer divisions (16th and 17th with 4th Panzer Army, 19th and 25th Panzer Division with 9th Army) and 2 panzer grenadier divisions, a total of 400,000 men, 770 panzers, 4,100 arty pieces and assault guns and nearly 300 planes.

In Hungary and Slovakia was Wohler's Army Group South with the 8th and 6th Armies, a force of approximately 300,000 men. The 3rd Hungarian Army was also with Army Group South but had lost thousands of men following the collapse of the Horthy regime. Army Group South had more than 180,000 of its men incarcerated in Budapest, leaving the armies in the main combat line stretched extremely thin. South of Lake Balaton, and not within Army Group South's command chain, was the 2nd Panzer Army. Still farther south, withdrawing from the Balkans, were Weich's Army Group F and Lohr's Army Group E, a combined force of nearly 500,000 soldiers. The Ostheer had in full a little over 2,000,000 men, 4,785 panzers and assault guns and 29,000 arty pieces.

The Soviet Army deployed a host of armies against this drastically reduced German force. From the Baltic Sea to the Danube River the Soviets had 11,500,000 troops, 6,700,000 fo them with the first echelon armies. The Soviets were also equipped as never before, deploying 108,000 arty pieces, 2,700 Katyushas, nearly 15,000 tansk and Su's and 15,000 aircraft. In addition the Poles, Romanians and Bulgarians deploy a further 350,000 men.

The Leningrad Front had the 40th, 23rd, and 32nd Armies against the 16th Army in Kurland. Facing the 18th Army was the 2nd Baltic Front with its 1st Shock, 8th, 22nd and 42nd Armies. To the south the 1st Baltic Front faces the XXVIII Corps in Memel and the 3rd Panzer Army in northeast East Prussia. This front had the 4th Shock, 6th Guards, 43rd, 51st and 61st Armies, while the 3rd Belorussian Front, situated on the eastern approaches to East Prussia opposite the flank of the 3rd Panzer Army, the 4th Army and the northern wing of the 2nd Army, had the 2nd Guards, 5th, 11th Guards, 20th, 31st and 39th Armies.

North of Warsaw was the 2nd Belorussian Front with the 2nd Shock, 3rd, 5th Guards Tank, 48th, 49th, 50th, 65th and 70th Armies while south of the city, along the line of the Vistula, was the 1st Belorussian Front with the 1st Polish, 1st Guards Tank, 3rd Shock, 5th Shock, 8th Guards, 33rd, 47th and 69th Armies. In southern Poland, from the Vistula-San bridgehead to the Slovakian border was the 1st Ukrainian Front with the 3rd Guards, 4th Guards Tank, 5th Guards, 6th, 13th, 21st, 52nd, 59th and 60th Armies, while in Slovakia there was the 4th Ukrainian Front with its 1st Guards, 18th and 38th Armies.

On the southern wing were the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, fighting Group South. The 2nd Ukrainian had the 6th Guards Tank, 7th Guards, 27th, 40th and 53rd Armies, while the 3rd Ukrainian had the 4th Guards, 46th, 26th, 37th and 57th Armies.

After the spectacular advance in Belorussian and the Balkans, the Stavka prepared a new offensive designed to destroy the German armies on the Vistula. The 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts were to attack into East Prussian and Pomerania, deploying 1,600,000 men (708,000 in the 3rd and 881,000 in thh 2nd Belorussian), 28,000 arty pieces, 3,300 tanks and Su's and 3,000 aircraft, while the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts would destroy the main part of Army Group A and advance to the Oder River. These two fronts had 2,200,000 soldiers (1,028,000 in the 1st Belorussian and 1,083,000 in the 1st Ukrainian), 32,000 arty pieces, 6,500 tanks and Su;s and 4,700 aircraft. At Magnuszew the 1st Belorussian and Ukrainian Fronts would advance to the Oder and Neisse before turing to their flanks in Pomerania and Silesia. Stalin placed great importance upon capturing the industrial region of Silesia intact.

The 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Front were to strike Army Group Center in East Prussia. The main blow was to be delivered along the Narew by the 2nd Belorussian Front which was then to push into Pomerania,while Chernyakhov's 3rd Belorussian struck directly into East Prussia.