Product Description

The battle of Budapest (December 1944 to February 1945) was one of the longest and bloodiest city sieges of World War II. From the appearance of the first Soviet tanks on the outskirts of the capital to the capture of Buda castle 102 days elapsed. In terms of human trauma, it comes second only to Stalingrad, comparisons to which were even being made by soldiers, both German and Soviet, fighting at the time. The battle for Budapest raged over the heads of 800,000 non-combatants, and this history covers their experiences and those of the military personnel involved in the struggle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #819210 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-19
• Original language: German
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
CONTEMPORARY REVIEW

About the Author
Krisztian Ungvary, the distinguished Hungarian historian, has specialised in the history of World War I and World War II. He is the author of numerous articles and books, and in March 2000 was designated Military Historian of the Year by the Hungarian Institute of War Studies. Ladislaus Lob is Professor Emeritus of German, Sussex University.

Customer Reviews

An excellent narrative of a perilous siege and breakout
Not only is 'The Battle for Budapest: 100 Days in World War II' very well research, cross-referenced and written but it has also been painstaking translated from the original Hungarian into English.

The book is logically organised into detailing the political and military background; the two battles for Budapest (Pest followed by Buda), the breakout and the aftermath.

Ungvary has meticulous researched Hungarian, German and Soviet archives as well as numerous accounts and interviews with participants from both sides (including civilians) to create a truly definitive account of those terrible days late in WWII.

The campaigns of 1944/45 on the Eastern Front are often overshadowed in western history by D-Day and the following subsequent battles. This book provides a definitive account of a strategic battle on that front which led to the early downfall of Berlin through Hitler's micro management of the battle.

If you have read Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, then I am sure you will find 'The Battle for Budapest' a better constructed and more griping work. My only criticism is that a few more contempary photographs would have been nice...

Battle for Budapest kristian ungvary
This is a very good book for anyone intrested in world war 2.Often overlooked in the west it tells the day to day battles and the units involved,compositions and street names which to me being of Hungarian origin and knowledgeable with the areas of Budapest quite riveting reading .This book goes hand in hand with a visit to this beautiful city buy a street map and with many bullet ridden buildings still to be seen today it is one one of the few places in Europe were you can still feel the collosal struggle.The book is unbiased however the fact chart/tables are constantly throwing you of balance from an other wise solid book hence 4 stars.

Amazing horror
When I first started reading this book I was put off to some extent by the dry recitation of the villages , then cities and finally streets that fell before the Soviet onslaught. I kept thinking that better, and more regular, maps and street plans would help me "watch" the events taking place. The narative would have benefited tremendously from an introductory description of the city and its key sites - at no stage did I become "acquainted" with Budapest. Accompanying this "dryness" was a description of warfare that just numbs you with the agony of it all (it reminded me in some ways of the stark realism of "Blackhawk Down" - bullets and explosions and bits of flesh flying all over the place)... And then came the Breakout... I was previously unaware of how dramatic the events around Budapest in 1944-45 really were; it's strange how little is actually reported or written! The futility and sheer horror, of lives wasted and blind ideologies followed, ultimately rises to the surface... and leaves you filled with amazement and horror.