December 29, 1944 - Soviets launch the Battle of Budapest against German and Hungarian forces in and around the Hungarian capital city - To secure the last oil reserves left, the Germans mounted the last major offensive of the war. The German 6th Army tried to relieve 3 crack divisions trapped in the city, along with 200K civilians. The battle raged for 5 months. They came within a few miles of the town in the 2nd biggest tank battle in history but failed.
