Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen , called by the Red Army the " Debrecen Offensive Operation " , ( 6 – 29 October 1944 ) was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front on the Eastern Front of World War II . It was opposed by Army Group South Ukraine ' s General Maximilian Fretter - Pico ' s Sixth Army ( II formation ) and allied Hungarian VII Army Corps units which were forced to retreat some 160 kilometers , while opposing Marshal Rodion Malinovsky ' s 2nd Ukrainian Front which had Debrecen , Hungary as its strategic objective . Crisis in Hungary . In mid August 1944 , " Generaloberst " ( Colonel General ) Johannes Friessner ' s Army Group South Ukraine was on the brink of collapse . To the north , the Red Army ' s Operation Bagration was completing the destruction of Army Group Centre . On 25 August 1944 , Germany ' s former ally , Romania had switched sides and declared war on Germany and its ally Hungary . The subsequent drive of Soviet General Fedor Tolbukhin ' s 3rd Ukrainian Front into Romania destroyed any semblance of an organised defensive line . On 8 September , Bulgaria , another former German ally , also declared war on Germany . By this time , Tolbukhin , aided by the 2nd Ukrainian Front under Malinovsky had annihilated thirteen Axis divisions , taking over 100 , 000 prisoners . Both Malinovsky and Tolbukhin were promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union for this on 10 and 12 September respectively . The actions of Bulgaria and Romania had opened up a 650 kilometer gap in Friessner ' s Army Group . As Friessner desperately struggled to reform a defensive line , news filtered through to Berlin that the Hungarian leader , Admiral Miklós Horthy was preparing to sign a separate peace with the Soviet Union . If this happened , the entire southern front would collapse . On 24 September 1944 , Friessner ' s Army Group South Ukraine was redesignated Army Group South . General Fretter - Pico ' s Sixth Army formed the nucleus of Friessner ' s force . Seeing that the Hungarian allies were suffering from low morale , Friessner attached the Hungarian Second Army to Fretter - Pico ' s Army . The German - Hungarian force was designated " Armeegruppe " Fretter - Pico . Respite - Plans . As Tolbukhin cleared the remaining resistance in Romania , Malinovsky began to move towards Hungary . Fortunately for Friessner , the 2nd Ukrainian Front advance slowed on its own . This delay allowed Friessner time to establish a weak defensive line based on the Mureş River . In early September 1944 , Malinovsky received orders from Stavka to advance from Cluj . He was to advance towards Miskolc , Debrecen , and the Tisza River and then on to the flat expanses of the Hungarian Plain . Once on the plain , Malinovsky could exploit his overwhelming advantage in armour . He could destroy Friessner ' s Army Group , break through to Budapest , and drive into Slovakia . However , Malinovsky ' s plan did not take into account the presence of German Panzer reserves that had been ordered into the area by Adolf Hitler . Furthermore , the Soviet forces were worn down by the Iasi - Chisinau Strategic Offensive Operation and the Belgrade Offensive , and also had to contend with logistical difficulties caused by the different railway gauge used in Romania . Friessner , fearing that his forces might be enveloped by Malinovsky ' s 2nd Ukrainian Front and by the 4th Ukrainian Front , flew to Hitler ' s headquarters . He requested permission to withdraw his forces to defensive positions along the Tisza River . Friessner argued that this withdrawal would provide him with some freedom of movement to counter the continuing Soviet attacks . Hitler refused him , but he promised additional forces for Friessner ' s army group . Hitler also ordered Friessner to start a new offensive . The aim of this offensive was the immediate destruction of two of Malinovsky ' s Armies . Friessner , desperate for a workable defensive strategy , was instead ordered by Hitler to destroy the 27th Army and Soviet 6th Guards Tank Army . In addition , he was ordered to retake two vital passes in the Southern Carpathians in order to sever Malinovsky ' s lines of communication . The ordered attack was to be launched from Cluj . Malinovsky Attacks - Fresh Plans . On 14 September 1944 , Malinovsky , in conjunction with the 3rd Ukrainian Front , launched his own Belgrade Offensive . In a stroke of luck , Friessner had been concentrating troops for his own planned offensive , and Malinovsky ' s 2nd Ukrainian Front ran into heavy resistance from the start . After a week of fruitless attacks , Malinovsky called off his offensive and ordered the exhausted 6th Guards Tank Army , along with Cavalry Mechanized Group commanded by Pliyev ( 7th Mechanized Corps , 4th Guards Cavalry Corps , and 6th Guards Cavalry Corps , with 389 tanks and assault guns , and Cavalry Tank Group General Major Sergei Ilyich Gorshkov ' s 5th Guards Cavalry Corps with the 23rd Tank Corps attached ( 146 tanks and assault guns ) , to the area near Oradea . Malinovsky planned to use this mobile armoured force as an operational exploitation force in future operations . On 20 September 1944 , Romanian troops captured the Romanian border town of Arad . This action threw the Hungarian General Staff into a panic . They activated the Hungarian Third Army , a force composed of new recruits and reservists , and of limited military value . At the same time both pro - German and pro - Allied factions in the Hungarian government began working to take control of the country . Hungarian Regent , Admiral Miklós Horthy ' s negotiations for an armistice with the Soviets began in earnest . Friessner was forced to send several of his desperately needed reinforcement units to Budapest to watch the situation . He did this under the premise of providing the units with a period of rest and refit . By the end of September 1944 , both Malinovsky and Friessner had received new orders . Malinovsky was now ordered to attack towards Budapest from the salient to the south around Arad . He was to use the 46th and 1st Romanian Armies with the Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev as the exploitation force in case of a successful breakthrough . The remainder of Malinovsky ' s forces , including the 6th Guards Tank Army , 53rd Army , and Cavalry Tank Group Gorshkov , were to attack from the north , near Oradea , towards Debrecen . The plan was for the two spearheads to link up , encircle the German forces , and annihilate them . Meanwhile , Friessner ' s orders included an attack from Oradea with " Armeegruppe " Fretter - Pico . He was to slice through the Soviet lines and capture the Carpathian passes . He was to hold the passes until the following spring . This meant that both sides were attacking at the same time and in about the same place . Both sides underestimated the forces opposing them . The operations begin . The 2nd Ukrainian Front operation began on 6 October 1944 , with Malinovsky ' s southern pincer attacking near Arad , and slicing through the Hungarian Third Army . The Hungarians quickly abandoned their positions . Many divisions simply disappeared in the assault . The spearhead of the southern 2nd Ukrainian Front pincer , followed by the Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev , had advanced almost sixty kilometres within the first 24 hours . The attack by the northern 2nd Ukrainian Front pincer ran into difficulty quickly , colliding with two panzer divisions of the German III Panzer Corps ' 1st and 23rd Panzer Divisions . By the end of the day , the northern pincer had advanced only ten kilometres . Reacting quickly , Fretter - Pico ordered the 76th Infantry Division into the forward line near Oradea . This freed up the 23rd Panzer Division to move south to counter the breakthrough near Arad . The German Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 1 , refitting at Mezőkövesd , was moved into action to guard potential crossing points on the Tisza River against the advancing 2nd Ukrainian Front units . By the evening of 7 October 1944 , the 2nd Ukrainian Front southern pincer had advanced further towards the Tisza River . Meanwhile the northern pincer was still stalled near Oradea . In this area the German - Hungarian forces had managed to halt several flanking attempts by the 6th Guards Tank Army . Realizing that his northern pincer was halted , Malinovsky decided to turn the southern pincer northwards towards Debrecen in an attempt to pull Axis forces away from Oradea . This action was to allow his northern force to break through and crush the German forces between Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev and the 6th Guards Tank Army . Across the Tisza . By 10 October , Malinovsky ' s troops occupied several bridgeheads on the western bank of the Tisza River , and elements of the 46th Army and the 18th Tank Corps were driving on Kecskemet , only 70 kilometres from Budapest . Malinovsky , however had to redistribute some of these forces to support the advance of Pliyev ' s group on the other side of the Tisza . The remaining 2nd Ukrainian Front troops of this spearhead were attacked by the Hungarian cavalry and German anti - aircraft troops and forced to retreat to the Tisza on 11 October . The same day , Hungarian ( 1st Armored and 23rd Infantry Divisions ) counter - attacks against the 2nd Ukrainian Front ' s 243rd Rifle Division at the Mindszent bridgehead became so dire that the Romanian VII Corps was rushed to Mindszent to reinforce the bridgehead ' s defense . Subsequently , the Romanian 2nd and 4th Infantry Divisions took over 2nd Ukrainian Front bridgeheads on the Tisza below Szolnok . The bridgehead of the 4th Division was attacked on 19 October by the Hungarian 1st Cavalry and 1st Infantry Divisions , which the 4th Division held back until hit on the right flank by the German 24th Panzer Division , 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division , and the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion . The right flank of the Romanian 4th Division caved in and the German armor drove behind the division , cutting it off from the Tisza River and eventually forcing its surrender by 20 October . On 25 October , three Hungarian divisions ( 1st Cavalry , 1st Infantry and 20th Infantry ) attacked the Romanian 2nd Division in its bridgehead . The Romanian 2nd Division panicked and pulled back across the Tisza River . This Hungarian success , however , was not repeated when a third assault was made during 26 – 29 October against the Romanian 19th Infantry Division ' s bridgehead at Alpar . Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev ' s Advance . On 8 October 1944 , Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev shifted its attack northeastward . Pliyev ' s group advanced quickly along the major highway between Szolnok to Debrecen . At Hajdúszoboszló , the group ' s lead units , the 9th Guards Mechanized and the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps , ran into elements of 23rd Panzer Division moving south to halt the southern pincer . On 9 October 1944 , with overwhelming air support from the 5th Air Army , Pliyev ' s group took the town . The Germans fell back to Debrecen , and began entrenching to the southeast of the city . The Germans were able to repel several heavy Soviet attacks . Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev then shifted its attack southwards again , back towards Oradea . However , its advance was slowed by determined German and Hungarian forces ' defence . Despite this defence , it was clear that Pliyev would be able to meet with the 6th Guards Tanks Army , completing encirclement . This meeting could potentially shatter Fretter - Pico ' s line . Confusion Reigns . On 10 October , Fretter - Pico ordered the German 1st Panzer Division to attack to the west and the German 13th Panzer Division to attack to the east . This action by Fretter - Pico cut off the three corps of Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev . Not expecting this , Pliyev had left his flanks relatively lightly defended . The two veteran panzer units quickly effected a linkup near the town of Püspökladány . What at first looked like a crisis point for the Germans under Fretter - Pico had now been turned into a possible disaster for the Soviets under Malinovsky . Malinovsky , realising the danger to Pliyev ' s group , halted his attack in the south and focused all his forces on reaching the trapped mobile group . Fretter - Pico ordered the " Feldherrnhalle " to Debrecen . The situation on the ground was greatly confused , with neither the Soviets nor the Germans knowing who was surrounding whom . On 11 October 1944 , elements of Pliyev ' s 4th Guards Cavalry Corps reached the outskirts of Debrecen . Although this corps was cut off from the main Soviet force , Pliyev had managed to avoid encirclement . Under the 6th Guards Tank Army ' s ferocious attacks , the front line near Oradea was steadily pushed back , in what historian Earl F . Ziemke described as " one of the wildest tank battles of the war " . By 12 October , Pliyev ' s group had already lost some 200 armored fighting vehicles . By 14 October 1944 , the line had fallen back 14 kilometers , with Oradea finally occupied by Malinovsky ' s forces . Further to the north , a new crisis threatened Fretter - Pico . The 4th Ukrainian Front had finally attacked , falling on Otto Wöhler ' s German Eighth Army . The Eighth Army was threatening to collapse under the Soviet onslaught . On 15 October 1944 , Hungarian Regent , Admiral Miklós Horthy , announced that Hungary had accepted an armistice with the USSR . Reacting quickly , Hitler ordered Otto Skorzeny to launch Operation Panzerfaust . By 16 October 1944 , Skorzeny and his SS paratroopers had averted disaster by blackmailing Horthy into resigning and giving control of the government to Ferenc Szálasi , a pro - German leader . Malinovsky now linked up with Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev . Malinovsky ordered the Soviet advance to continue . His aim was to capture Debrecen . Then he would swing north towards Nyíregyháza . If Malinovsky could capture Nyíregyháza , he would sever the German Eighth Army ' s line of communications . In response to the Soviet attacks , the German - Hungarian forces of " Armeegruppe " Fretter - Pico fought tenaciously . They turned each village and crossroads into a defensive position . Forcing their way through the Axis resistance , during 19 – 20 October three Romanian divisions ( 2nd and 3rd Mountain , plus the communist " Tudor Vladimirescu " ) assaulted and seized Debrecen as part of Soviet 27th Army ' s assault on the right flank of the 6th Guards Tank Army . On 22 October 1944 , Pliyev ' s group captured Nyíregyháza . The line of communications of Wöhler ' s Eighth Army was severed . German Colonel - General Friessner had ordered Wöhler to disengage and fall back northwest of Nyíregyháza and attempt to form a defensive line . This move was already in progress when Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev cut Wöhler ' s lines of communications . Encirclement . Friessner ' s Chief of Staff , Major - General Helmuth von Grolman proposed a risky plan . Grolman believed that the first encirclement of Pliyev ' s group had failed because of the confusion of the German - Hungarian forces and lack of enough forces to effect an encirclement . Grolman argued that the situation had changed and that now such an effort would be possible . Friessner approved the plan . The German 23rd and 1st Panzer Divisions , led by the King Tiger s of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Detachment , would spearhead the attack to the east . Paul Klatt ' s 3rd Mountain Division ( " 3 . Gebirgs - Division " ) , the 15th Infantry Division , and the 8th SS Cavalry Division " Florian Geyer " formed the forces attacking to the west . The " Feldherrnhalle " , 13th Panzer , and 46th Infantry Divisions would be held back to counter any Soviet breakout attempt . The attack began on 23 October 1944 . It quickly sliced through the infantry corps defending Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev ' s lines of communication . At 0200 on 24 October 1944 , forces of the 23rd Panzer Division reached Nagykálló . Nagykálló was already occupied by the German 3rd Mountain Division . This completed the encirclement of Pliyev ' s group . As the corps of the cavalry mechanized group launched probing attacks to find an escape route , it quickly became clear that there was no way out . The German - Hungarian forces began closing in on the encircled Soviets . Malinovsky sent Soviet forces north to break through to Pliyev ' s group . However , these were met by a determined Axis resistance . Friessner had succeeded . Malinovsky ' s advance soon stalled . Retreat of Pliyev ' s forces . Pliyev realised that the situation was now desperate , and ordered attacks to break the encirclement , but the German - Hungarian lines held . By the evening of 24 October , Pliyev realised that the only hope of escape was if Malinovsky could break through to him . Malinovsky launched a major assault on 25 October , only to be halted by a fierce counterattack by the 1st Panzer Division and the 128th Panzergrenadier Regiment from the 23rd Panzer Division . On the same day , Cavalry Mechanized Group Pliyev attempted to break through the positions of the 3rd Mountain Division . The mountain troops held their ground against the Soviet armour , inflicting many casualties . On 26 October , the 23rd Panzer Division recaptured Nyíregyháza . The Soviet forces had carried out widespread atrocities during their occupation , including mass looting , rape and murder of civilians . This steeled the resolve of the German and especially the Hungarian troops . When Malinovsky launched his next assault , he was met by the most ferocious defence yet encountered . Meanwhile , Wöhler began moving his Eighth Army out through the escape route created through Nyíregyháza . By the 28th , Wöhler ' s army had escaped encirclement , and the circle around Pliyev ' s group would not be broken . By this time , Pliyev ' s forces destroyed most of their vehicles and heavy weapons and marched south to reach the Soviet lines . Despite the attempted destruction by German forces , Pliyev ' s Cavalry - Mechanized Group was back in action by 10 November during the Soviet drive to Szeged . Aftermath . Three corps of Malinovsky ' s 2nd Ukrainian Front had sustained significant losses in the fighting . The intended rapid 2nd Ukrainian Front assault on Budapest had been delayed , and Hungarian troops remained in the war as Germany ' s ally until the end of the war in Europe . The Nyíregyháza counter - attack was the last time that German forces were to defeat a full - strength Red Army force on even terms . By pinching off the breakthrough exploitation group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front offensive , the Germans were able to re - establish a stable front line position , and thus , prevent the 2nd Ukrainian Front ' s advance from becoming a catastrophe for Wöhler . The German success , was however short - lived as Nyíregyháza was captured by the Red Army on 30 October , and another powerful Red Army offensive opened to the south with Budapest again being its objective , with the Soviets reaching the area of the Hungarian capital on 7 November 1944 . While the 2nd Ukrainian Front was prevented from swiftly seizing the Hungarian capital , the Debrecen operation saw its forces advance anywhere from 60 to 120 miles further west into Hungary , leaving the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in position to renew the offensive towards Budapest . The tank battle at Debrecen itself had drawn the German Panzer units away from defending the approaches to Budapest . Finally , the Red Army thrust occupied the eastern third of Hungary , clearing the obstacle of the Transylvanian Alps and denying their use as a winter defense position for the Axis forces .