Hungarian 2nd Army - First battle of Voronezh - Fall Blau - Gusztav Jany - Uranus

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

www.Patreon.com/Military1945

This Hungarian footage is from late 1942. From earlier that year we’ll see elements of the Second Hungarian Army depart for the Russian front and advance into the Ukraine. They’ll prepare their defensive positions and then we’ll see more Winter combat footage. Finally we’ll sprinkle in some nice Russian material . . .because after all, it was their war to win.

If you like this mixture of primary source footage remember to subscribe to the channel. It’s the best on youtube.

On Dec. 13 1941 Hungary supported the German declaration of war against the United States and by January 23 they’d committed to taking part in the German offensive planned for the following Summer, code name Fall Blau.

The first phase of Fall Blau which began in June saw a German and Hungarian thrust in the direction of Moscow towards Voronezh. Once arriving at the river Don, the German forces would head south east towards the Oil fields of the Kaukasus. The Hungarian 2nd Army, lead by Gusztav Jany, would remain and set up defensive positions along the banks of the river Don.

This is German footage from around July 20th of 1942. In it we can see the remains of a destroyed Soviet convoy that was caught by German Stukas as it was trying to retreat over a bridge at Voronezh that goes across the river Don.

During what is know as the 1st battle of Voronezh which lasted until July 24 the Germans and Hungarians had casualties of 94,500 troops including 19,000 KIAs or MIAs. The Russians had 370,000 KIAs, 80,000 were captured and about 200,000 wounded.

The attack towards Voronezh was meant to convince the Soviets that the drive for Moscow would be renewed. It was hoped that the Russians would tie up forces defensively and not be able to reposition them quickly enough to the South which is where the main thrust was actually heading.

With limited military strength, the Hungarians would be able to heavily fortify and easily defend the natural border along the River Don. On this map we see the positioning of their 2nd Army on July 24 which was when all Soviet forces on the West side of the Don had been eliminated.

This 1942 Hungarian footage has a total runtime of 7:20 Min. It was taken from late Summer until the end of the year and shows the 2nd Army preparing seemingly long-term defensive positions. During most of this period there was little to no enemy activity in this sector.

Those working on the construction projects are relaxed, seemingly protected and far from any of the horrors of war. I imagine that their letters home during these months were filled with this kind of sentiment describing days of hard work that were satisfying none the less.

But the weather turned and the organization of the transport of supplies became more difficult. Not only needed building supplies but even adequate warm weather clothing, and food was lacking which significantly effected troop moral.

As a fighting force the 2nd Army had limited capabilities. This had much to do with the shortened 8 weeks of basic training that the soldiers had received prior to being shipped to the front. In addition. the field leadership was being rapidly rotated in and out to avoid individual hardship which meant that those on hand at any given time were not well informed of the situation nor did they build meaningful relationships with their men.

On 19th of November, with operation Uranus, the Soviets attacked and broke through the Romanian third and forth armies and surrounded the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. The time for preparation was clearly over.