The Don Disaster – 76 years since the destruction of the Hungarian Army
January 12, 1943 marks one of the most gruesome days in Hungarian history: 76 years ago, during World War II, Hungarian soldiers stationed along the River Don, and while waiting for reinforcements, they were almost all killed by the Red Army. The Hungarian force was put in a hopeless situation from the beginning.
Before briefly summarising the main events of the Don disaster, the situation of the Hungarian Second Army needs to be cleared up.
At the beginning of the Second Great War, the Hungarian military force was made up of three units: the Hungarian First Army, the Hungarian Second Army and the Hungarian Third Army. Even though the Second Army, formed in March 1940, was the best equipped in the beginning,
by the time they got stationed along the River Don in September 1942, they were the most under-equipped group among the German and Italian forces.
This was because they had suffered heavy casualties, losing 84% of their fighting force at the Battle of Stalingrad in August 1942, and also because their equipment was outdated.
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Their situation at the front only worsened with the onset of the cruel winter. Their supplies were practically cut – as the German situation was becoming worse and worse in Stalingrad, reinforcements were taken there, the transportation line collapsed and supplies were cut. This meant that no food, no heating fuel and no warm, winter clothing got to them, as their equipment was getting worn out. At the same time, the Soviets found American arms and tinned food, and their supply line was working just fine, so while the Hungarians were growing weak with each day, the enemy line did not face hardship.
The frontline that the Hungarians were supposed to protect – the 8th Italian Army’s Northern-flank between Novoya Pokrovka and Rossosh on the River Don – was too long for their numbers.
The Hungarians numbered 80-90 thousand men, while the front was 200 kilometres long.
Because of this, some parts of the frontline were barely watched over, let alone guarded by a strong enough force.
It comes as no surprise that, because of the under-equipment, scarce supplies and being too few to perform their tasks as well as with having spent too much time fighting, moral decline spread like wildfire among the Hungarian soldiers. This only worsened when the Hungarian military leadership decided to put higher ranking officers on rotation so that they would not have to be on the front for too long periods. Since they were mostly unaccustomed to the harsh conditions on the front and were not well-acquainted with the rest of the officers, disappointment grew.
The decision to send reinforcements was made in December and was supposed to take place between 13-20 January.
Hungarians were seriously outnumbered too:
| Soviets | Hungarians | |
|
manpower |
2.7 | 1 |
|
artillery |
5 | 1 |
| tanks | 1.3 |
1 |
In December 1942, some of the Italian troops withdrew, which meant that Germans had to pull back a few kilometres to avoid getting butchered. The consequence of this was a broken front line that was even harder to guard and presented more opportunity for the Red Army stationed on the west of the Don to break through.
The battle day-by-day:
The Red Army began their advance on January 12, 1943, breaking through the North and destroying most of the Hungarian troops.
Hungarians sent word for the Cramer group to be deployed, but the German leaders brushed this request off, stating that the real fight has not started yet.
Still, they have sent old, outdated T-38 tanks, which could not actually get to the Hungarians in time because of the snow-bound roads.
The Hungarian defence was completely broken through on January 13; the Second Army pulled back.
On January 14, however, the Red Army got behind the Hungarian Second Army (or what remained of it), laying destruction to them: out of the 36 tanks, only three managed to escape. The German order stated that the Hungarians are not allowed to retreat, yet they would still not deploy the Cramer group.
On the next day, January 15, General von Witzleben told Colonel General Vitéz Gusztáv Jány, the Hungarian leader, that the Hungarians are allowed to retreat if he sees it fit because Jány is not a German officer.
Yet Jány forbade withdrawal, even though the neighbouring Italian and German troops were pulling back.
Due to the unbreakable Soviet advance, there were no Hungarian troops standing at the banks of the River Don by January 18, except for surrounded troops. They were mostly encircled, killed or forced to survive in the open (the winter cold reached -30°C, -40°C).
On top of all of this, those Hungarians who managed to run away were mistreated by the German soldiers; they were not allowed to use the roads and to dwell in the villages. Hungarian soldiers had to resort to warming up by the burning ruins of destroyed villages and to eat the flesh of frozen horses.
featured image: MTI
Source: Daily News Hungary
The second Hungarian army altho having suffered heavy casualties, held up the Russian attacks for a while, with troops that were not the best.
We could have further delayed the final Soviet breakthrough had Hitler not taken the Armored battalion of Crammer out from under the command of the Second Hungarian Army’s general Janyi Gusztav.
Hitler that they ensured that the Red Army breaks through, by being redundant to command the Crammer battalion to fight the Soviet tanks.
In fact, the Crammer division had to start fighting without any orders from Hitler because the Soviet tanks were about to surround them too.
After this, the Second Hungarian army was used as the rear guard for the German army, but again this army despite losing heavy casualties and being harassed and robbed of equipment by German troops fulfilled its duty and completed an organized retreat.
This information is based on the book and research of Nemeskürty István, who researched everything about this army, and wrote a book on its full combat history called, Requiem egy hadseregért.
Thanks Jacky,
This explains a lot about the phoney promises given of the troups to ever coming back, with widows and their kids waiting. Another holocaust undocumented for the future.
The 2nd army was never supplied properly or efficiently. The Germans who were supposed to supply the Hungarians with heavy machine guns, anti-tank guns etc never did. The troops did not have winter clothing. Eventhough Jany told the Germans of a pending attack, the German command ignored the information. 24 000 troops arrived without arms to relieve some troops when the Russians attacked. 250-300 kms to defend without supplies, enough manpower, equipment and reserve forces, not to mention a secondary defenses. It was a failure, not the troops fault.
Dear Zsoka,
I have a old patient who lives out of Hungary, Mr J. Kovacs… that’s why doing my research I found your article.
As I like a lot the history we speak together quite often. He told me that his father was killed at the Don River but he doesn’t know what exactly happened.
Can I ask you to help me. Is there any page where I can find some informations?
My email m.****@ho*****.fr
Kind regards,
Marc Para
My father’s uncle died at the Don Bend when he was 19. Is there a list/memorial for the fallen soldiers? Could I get some information about them?
Thank you!
Hello, I am researching my Hungarian family history, my Uncle Ferenc Lugosi (My mothers brother). He went to the Russian front and never returned, I believe that he was in the 2nd Hungarian Army, my second cousin did confirm that he may have been killed at the Don river. Is there any source for the names of soldiers in the 2nd Hungarian Army.
Thank You Ron Sakovits
Dear Ron, there is a Hungarian historian called Peter Szabo who made thorough research about people who lost their lives at the Don Bend, he also published his findings in a series of books called “Don Bend”. I’m not sure whether they are translated to English though. I happen to know the author so I can ask him whether he has come across the name of your uncle during his years of research or else what ways he suggests for finding out more information.
Unfortunately, your uncle is not on the list of any registered war casualties, he, along with thousands of other soldiers, must have gone missing at the front.
Dear Eleonora
Thank you for the information, I know that my grandmother had his photo by her bed till he passed away (sadly missing), he never returned from the war. Most of my cousins have also passed away, so it is very hard getting any family information to add to my Hungarian Family tree. My parents came to Australia in 1950, the rest of the family stayed in Hungary….Thank You for your information. Cheers Ron
It appears that the Hungarians were sacrificed on the altar of Hitler’s military incompetence.
I don’t know if this will help anyone, but I was in a museum in Sátorhely (a village in the south of Hungary). It was actually a teddy bear museum, but the man who runs it is quite a historian. He has a book called the “Book of Heroes” and in it there was a page about my mother’s brother who died in the war at Don Bend. I’m not sure if this book only contains heroes who came from Sátorhely, or if there are others as well, but thought I would mention it.
I wish you well in your search.
My father survived this event and lived to tell me about it in the USA many years later. He advised he was called back from the front line the day before the Russian attack across the river. He spent time in a Ukrainian labor camp, before making his way to Serbia, then ultimatly to live with his sister in Lyon France as a Hungarian refugee for 9 years. He then spen 9 years in London before emigrating to the USA, Dayton Ohio. He told me many stories about the situation, his escape and travel through Europe in which he survived other attempts of being shot at.
I am also seeking help tracking down information on a Hungarian Soldier from WWII. His name was Koncz Sandor. He was a prisoner of war of the Americans and housed at Dachau. I assume he was part of the armies who surrendered to the Americans at Lake Attersee in Austria. My father, being of Hungarian descent and fluent in Hungarian was put in charge of the Hungarian POWs. Koncz painted an oil painting of a river or lake and a church which he gave to my father. It is also signed by other men who served in the Hungarian Army, and presented to my father. Any information on this soldier would be very much appreciated. Thank you