Tucker-Jones, A. Images of War. The Battle for Budapest 1944-1945. Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

The desperate struggle between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army for Budapest in 1944 and 1945 was as bloody and destructive as any other urban battle of the Second World War. German losses in manpower and materiel were so immense that they hastened the collapse of Hitler's regime. Yet, the events in Budapest are less well known today than other flashpoints of the war on the Eastern Front. Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic documentation offers a fascinating and vivid introduction to this neglected episode of the final months of the war. The battle began in October 1944 with Operation Panzerfaust, when the Germans captured Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy to prevent his country from defecting to the Soviets. The subsequent Red Army advances trapped German and Hungarian units in the city, igniting fifty days of fierce fighting. In March 1945, Hitler launched Operation Spring Awakening, the daring final German offensive of the war, with the aim of recapturing Budapest and stabilizing the Eastern Front. It failed spectacularly and paved the way for the Red Army's advance on Vienna. This selection of archival photographs offers a profound insight into all aspects of the fighting in and around Budapest and documents the devastated city left behind by the battle.