6 March 1945 · Day 1354 of 1418

The enemy’s last offensive

Lake Balaton, Hungary

On 6 March 1945, near Lake Balaton, the enemy threw in its last tank reserves. It was its final major offensive of the Second World War. Within ten days it was stopped, and the road to Vienna lay open.

The enemy called its offensive “Spring Awakening” and gathered its best tank divisions for it, some taken even from the Western Front. The fighting was in mud and among flooded canals. Soviet troops withstood the blow and went straight onto the attack.

A month later, on 13 April 1945, Vienna was freed.