[Gotthard Heinrici]

And From VP's link comes the info regarding the 8th SS Florian Geyer

8th SS-Kavallerie Division Florian Geyer:

December 1944: Soviets reach shores of Lake Balaton, Hungary; division strength: 13,000; division fighting troops from the Soviet IV Guards Mechanized Corps.
Axis forces pull back to the "Budapest Bridgehead" positions
Dec 4: Hungarian Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi orders the house-to-house defense of Budapest
Dec 17: Division sets up Feldlazarett at Budapest's Hotel Britania.
Dec 24: Budapest surrounded by 250,000 Soviet troops from the 2nd & 3rd Ukrainian Front; siege begins, 800,000 civilians trapped in city. SS units pullback to Buda on the west bank of the Danube river.
Dec 27: Soviets capture Vesces
Dec 28: Budapest resupply situation becomes critical

January 1945: heavy combat Budapest.
Jan 1: Division reports 439 casualties (KIA, WIA, MIA) since Dec 1.
Jan 7: Heavy combat Kispest district
Jan 11 & 14: Arrow Cross gangs? stage pogroms in Budepest's Jewish Ghetto.
Jan 12-15: Heavy combat
Jan 17: Franz-Joseph bridge destroyed; all axis troops evacuated from Pest.
Jan 19: Buda pocket roughly 1 km long, 1km deep

February 1945: Feb 5: the surviving 88mm guns of Kampfgruppe Portugall withdrawn to the Castle Hill/government center area. Feb 11: Remnants of division attempt last-ditch breakout attempt
Feb 12: Division annihiliated in fall of Budapest.; only 170 survivors of division reach German lines; Division CO SS-Brigaführer Joachim Rumohr commits suicide; remaining survivors transferred to 37th SS cavalry Division

Could I just at this point give kudos to Owen for bringing the Battle of Budapest to the Attention of this forum?? I never knew it was that big of a battle but it seems to be right up there with the Fall of Berlin both in terms of fighting and of casualties. It is a battle that deserves to be studied in more detail and I will be for sure. Now that we have this some info on the activities of 8th in the Pripet Marshes would be a worthy aspiration!