The Siege of Budapest: One Hundred Days in World War II

by Krisztián Ungváry

Book Overview

This definitive history of one of the fiercest battles of World War II describes the siege of Budapest in unprecedented detail. Both Stalin and Hitler demanded victory at all costs, and the cost was extreme: 80,000 Soviet troops, 38,000 German and Hungarian soldiers, and 38,000 Hungarian civilians perished. The book provides the first full account of this shocking battle.

"As a military history The Siege of Budapest] is unrivaled...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300119852
• ISBN13: 9780300119855
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Important WWII documentation

The battle for and siege of Budapest has not received the attention it deserves and this deficit was made up by Ungvary. Inasmuch as I participated in the early stages of the battle (Panzer Grenadier Division Feldherrnhalle) up until December, 22 1944 the book was of great personal interest. Although I had the good fortune not to be caught up in that cauldron, after complete encirclement, which led to the annihilation of our division, I found Ungvary's descriptions to have been accurate, with some minor mistakes. For instance: Table 3 lists the Felherrnhalle in the southern theater of operations while we were in the North around Hatvan as depicted in the map.The battle for Vienna lasted only a little over a week, rather than 31 days, because Hitler's orders were disobeyed and the major portions of the army were withdrawn to spare the city Budapest's fate. That the lack of Soviet infantry at the beginning of the offensive delayed the taking of Budapest was new information. This is a fact our war planners should take cognicanze of. Tanks and planes alone don't win wars. The behavior of the Soviet troops was also depicted correctly as experienced personally during their stay in Vienna and other parts of Austria. All in all a very worthwhile contribution to the history of WWII.

A must-read

This book is a must-read for history buffs in general and anyone interested in Hungarian history. The opening sections deal with the movement of various units during the fighting, and the maps (apparently from OKW) sometimes could be a bit more clear (Lake Valence is often not labeled) but the descriptions are vivid and include some startling firsthand accounts from all sides. Subsequent chapters deal with the Holocaust in Budapest, the civilian population during and after the siege, the anti-Arrow Cross resistance, and an epilogue. The firsthand accounts are gripping and paint an excellent picture of what really happened (the author is not afraid to discredit one witness against the statements of several others), and the author pulls no punches in his descriptions (many are not for the squeamish) but remains objective throughout. About the only thing I could have wished for was a bit more detail on what was happening in transdanubia at the time, but that was not the subject of this work. The book also includes a mind-bogglingly comprehensive bibliography. A lot of good work went into the creation of this book, and it shows.

A bit dense BUT....

A great book on another of history's forgotten battles....Unlike Prague in WW2, Budapest was encircled and fought over, heavily damaged to the point that you can see bullet and shrapnel damage on many buildings even today. The Axis forces, anti Nazi/Arrow Party nationalists, and the Soviet/Allied forces converged to rip each other to pieces in this historic gateway to Europe. We were visiting Budapest last spring and found this gem of a first edition English translation in a bookstore. The book seller recommended it but did so with the caveat that it would be difficult for a non local to keep up with. The detail is astounding and the author deserves kudos. The only drawback is a lack of clearer small scale maps to keep up more with the flow of the fighting. The daring and bravey of both sides on a tactical level is only matched by the strategic incompetence of the political leadership of the same. I'm a big fan of Eastern Front warfare books (WW2) and this has been a welcome addition. A bit dense but a great story and worthy of widespread attention.

Revisionist Review

For years, I have known about the Battle of Budapest and the SS last stand on Castle Hill, but because of the communist dictatorship in Hungary, was unable to obtain little information on the subject. Now thanks to the dilligent and factual research by Mr. Ungvary, the story can finally be told. His approach is objective, fact filled and very believable. He tells the story-good, bad and sometimes very ugly from the Hungarian, Russian and German points of view. It is unfortunate that the truth about this battle, that matched the ferocity of Stalingrad, had to wait until the collaspe of the Soviet Union to be told. My next trip to Europe will be to Budapest. This book belongs in every WWII library. In short it is a masterpiece.

An excellent account of the siege of Budapest

Ungvary has written an tragic account of the Hungarian people during the siege of Budapest. The Hungarian army suffered tremendous losses in trying to defend the city and the failed breakout attempt. While Hungatian civilians were victims of starvation and the atrocities committed by the Red army. Ungvary is also critical of his fellow Hungarians in the Arrow Cross party for murdering thousands of Jews in Budapest. Ungvary also has a critical perspective on the German commnader of the city for not breaking out sooner or surrendering earlier thereby saving his soldiers lives. The only weakness of this book is that Ungvary leaves out the Russian side of the battle, but otherwise this an excellent account the Battle for Budapest.