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| Debrecen Offensive Operation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
 German Panther tank in the city of Debrecen in October 1944 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany Hungary |
 Soviet Union  Romania | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Johannes Friessner M. Fretter-Pico |
Rodion Malinovsky Issa Pliyev Nicolae Macici Gheorghe Avramescu | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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1 October:[1] 31 divisions and brigades 240,952 men 190,000 men293 tanks and assault guns 3,500 guns and mortars 741 aircraft |
1 October:[1] 84 divisions and brigades 698,200 men 167,306 men825 tanks and assault guns 10,238 guns and mortars 1,216 aircraft | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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~15,000 killed or wounded 20,000 killed or wounded Total: 53,000 men (including ~18,000 POW) ~200 tanks lost 490 guns lost[2][nb 1][3] |
19,713 killed or missing and 64,297 wounded or sick[4] 33,500 killed or wounded[nb 2] Total: 117,360 men (including 5,073 POW) ~500 tanks lost 1,656 guns lost | ||||||
The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the Debrecen Offensive Operation, was a battle taking place from 6 to 29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II.
The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front under Marshal Rodion Malinovsky. It was opposed by General Maximilian Fretter-Pico's German Sixth Army (II formation) and the allied Hungarian VII Army Corps of Army Group South Ukraine
The German and Hungarian units were forced to retreat some 160 km and opposed the 2nd Ukrainian Front, which had Debrecen as its strategic objective.
- ^ a b Frieser et al. 2007, p. 872.
- ^ Frieser et al. 2007, p. 876.
- ^ The figures for Axis losses are likely understated. An article by Pat Mc Taggart in World War II Magazine in March 1997, noted: Fretter-Pico's Sixth Army did not end the fighting unscathed. At the end of October, his four panzer divisions (the 1st, 3rd, 13th and 24th), two panzer grenadier divisions (the 4th SS and Feldherrnhalle) and the 76th Infantry Division had a combined strength of 8,450 men fit for combat. Materiel strength was listed as 67 tanks, 58 assault guns, 62 heavy anti-tank guns and 176 artillery pieces.
- ^ When Titans Clashed, p. 299: 19,713 killed or missing and 64,297 wounded or sick
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