Nagykanizsa–Körmend offensive
Part of theEastern Front of World War II
Date 26 March – 15 April 1945 Location Western Hungary-Southeast Austria Result Allied victory Hungary liberated fromGerman occupation Defeat of allAxis forces in Hungary
Belligerents
Bulgaria Soviet Union Yugoslav Partisans	Germany Croatia Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Vladimir Stoychev Mikhail Sharokhin Josip Broz Tito	Otto Wöhler
Strength
1st Army 57th Army Unknown	2nd Panzer Army

TheNagykanizsa–Körmend offensive, carried out between 26 March and 15 April 1945, was part of the3rd Ukrainian Front'sVienna offensive during World War II againstArmy Group South (includingHungarian andCroatian^{[citation needed]}) forces defending theKisbajom–Nagykorpád–Nagyatád–Heresznye defensive line north of theDrava river and west ofLake Balaton.^[1]

The objective of the operation was to cut the Axis access to the oil wells and fuel processing plants in theNagykanizsa region west of Lake Balaton for the protection of which the Army Group South force built up three defensive lines behind the natural water obstacle of theMura river linked to the western shore of the lake. The German reference to this operation is the "Budapest front".^[2]

The bulk of the forces for the operation consisted of theBulgarian 1st Army with two Corps composed of six infantry divisions and other smaller units (~100,000 troops)^[3] which advanced on the southern flank of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, with the57th Army positioned to its east (6th Guards Rifle Corps, and 64th and 133rd Rifle Corps), and the other three Armies of the Front concentrated in the area between Lake Balaton andBudapest.^[4] The South-western flank was occupied by theYugoslav partisans.

The primary opponent on this sector of the front was the2nd Panzer Army which included theLXVIII andXXII Mountain Corps.

After the successful2nd Ukrainian Front'sKecskemét–Budapest offensive (29 October 1944 – 10 December 1944) andSzolnok–Budapest offensive (29 October 1944 – 10 December 1944) east of Balaton, the German forces south-west of the lake retreated, which aided the Bulgarian advance. The Bulgarian 1st Army breached the first two defensive Axis lines and crossed the Mura river. They then assumed a defensive posture at theVeliki Kog-Yastrebtzi line and remained there until 7 May.

On 7 May, they resumed their advance, which soon became a pursuit of a fleeing enemy and the capture of the remnants of theWehrmacht and Hungarian troops. By 13 May 1945, the Bulgarian 1st Army reached the AustrianAlps in theKlagenfurt area where they met theBritish Eighth Army.

• David Glantz (ed.), 1986 Art of War symposium,From the Vistula to the Oder: Soviet Offensive Operations – October 1944 – March 1945, A transcript of Proceedings, Center for Land Warfare, US Army War College, 19–23 May 1986
• Bishop, Chris,The Military Atlas of World War II, Igloo Books, London, 2005ISBN 1-904687-53-9

• Battles involving Bulgaria
• Battles of World War II involving Bulgaria
• Battles involving Hungary
• Battles of World War II involving Hungary
• Nagykanizsa
• Battles involving the Soviet Union
• Military operations of World War II involving Germany
• Military operations of World War II involving Bulgaria
• Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
• Bulgaria–Soviet Union relations
• Battles involving the Yugoslav Partisans
• March 1945 in Europe
• April 1945 in Europe

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