Editing Operation Spring Awakening (section)

=== Objectives of the German forces ===
As per the selected "Lösung C2", the Germans planned to attack Soviet General [[Fyodor Tolbukhin]]'s 3rd Ukrainian Front.<ref name=Osprey>{{cite book|first=David R. |last=Higgins|title=Jagdpanther vs SU-100. Eastern Front 1945|year=2014|publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref> On 27 February, Army Group South hosted a chiefs-of-staff conference to which the chiefs-of-staff of the 2nd Panzer Army, 6th SS Panzer Army, 6th Army, 8th Army, and Luftflotte 4 attended; here the plans for Operation Spring Awakening were laid out.<ref name=":20" /> The offensive would consist of four forces, three were to be attack forces while one was to be a defense force.<ref name=":20" /> Below are the units under their respective command as discussed on 27 February.
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="7" |"Frühlingserwachen" Attack Force<ref name=":21">{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=156–157}}</ref>
|-
!Army Group
!Commander
!Army
!Commander
!Corps
!Commander
!Divisions
|-
| rowspan="4" |[[Army Group South]]
| rowspan="4" |[[Otto Wöhler]]
| rowspan="3" |[[6th SS Panzer Army]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Sepp Dietrich]]
|[[I SS Panzer Corps]]
|[[Hermann Priess]]
|1st and 12th SS Panzer Divisions
|-
|[[II SS Panzer Corps]]
|[[Wilhelm Bittrich]]
|2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions, 23rd Panzer Division, 44th Volksgrenadier Division
|-
|1st Cavalry Corps
|
|3rd and 4th Cavalry Divisions
|-
|[[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]]
|[[Hermann Balck]]
|[[III Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|III Panzer Corps]]
|[[Hermann Breith]]
|1st and 3rd Panzer Divisions, 356th Infantry Division, 25th Hungarian Infantry Division
|}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="7" |"Eisbrecher" Attack Force<ref name=":21" />
|-
!Army Group
!Commander
!Army
!Commander
!Corps
!Commander
!Divisions
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Army Group South]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Otto Wöhler]]
| rowspan="2" |[[2nd Panzer Army]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Maximilian de Angelis]]
|[[LXVIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LXVIII Corps]]
|[[Rudolf Konrad]]
|16th SS Panzergrenadier Division, 71st Infantry Division
|-
|[[XXII Mountain Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXII Mountain Corps]]
|[[Hubert Lanz]]
|1st Volksgrenadier Division, 118th Jäger Division (elements)
|}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="7" |"Waldteufel" Attack Force<ref name=":21" />
|-
!Army Group
!Commander
!Army
!Commander
!Corps
!Commander
!Divisions
|-
|[[Army Group F]]
|[[Maximilian von Weichs]]
|[[Army Group E]]
|[[Alexander Löhr]]
|[[LXXXXI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LXXXXI Corps]]
|[[Werner von Erdmannsdorff]]
|297th Infantry Division, 104th Jäger Division, 11th Luftwaffe Field Division, 1st Cossack Division,
|}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="7" |Defense Force<ref name=":21" />
|-
!Army Group
!Commander
!Army
!Commander
!Corps
!Commander
!Divisions
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Army Group South]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Otto Wöhler]]
|[[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]]
|[[Hermann Balck]]
|[[IV SS Panzer Corps]]
|[[Herbert Gille]]
|3rd and 5th SS Panzer Divisions, 96th, 711st Infantry Divisions
|-
|[[Third Army (Hungary)|Third Hungarian Army]]
|[[József Heszlényi]]
|VIII Corps (Hun.)
|Dr Gyula Hankovszky
|2nd Hungarian Armoured Division, 1st Hussar Division, 6th Panzer Division, 37th SS Cavalry Division
|-
|[[2nd Panzer Army]]
|[[Maximilian de Angelis]]
|II Corps (Hun.)
|Istvan Kudriczy
|20th Hungarian Infantry Division (2-3 Battalions)
|}
On 28 February, the start date for Operation Spring Awakening was finally moved back to 6 March, though many commanders felt that a greater delay was necessary.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=161}}</ref> During the first days of March, alarming reports about road and terrain conditions due to the spring thaw flooded Army Group South Headquarters. Such thaws had previously badly affected 3 other operations in the area: planned Operation Spätlese in December, Operation Southwind, and the "Waldteufel" attack forcing a change of location for the attack bridgehead from [[Osijek]] to [[Donji Miholjac]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=164}}</ref> Despite the start of the operation being so close, some additional plans were thought up to help the sluggish assembly speeds of incoming units. On 3 March, the 6th SS Panzer Army suggested that a naval assault across Lake Balaton itself could be implemented to help the 1st Cavalry Corps on the southeastern edge, but this turned out to be impossible as the spring storms had blown the [[Drift ice|pack ice]] against the southern shore.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=169}}</ref>  On 5 March, the 6th SS Panzer Army took over command of the Hungarian II Corps, along with its 20th Hungarian Division and 9th replacement Division, hereby becoming responsible for the northern shore of Lake Balaton.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=172}}</ref>

The 6th Panzer Army was responsible for the primary thrust of the offensive, "Frühlingserwachen". It was to advance from an area north of Lake Balaton, through the two lakes (Balaton and Velence), and southeast to capture territory from the [[Sió|Sió Channel]] to the Danube. After reaching the Danube, one part of the army would turn north creating a northern spearhead and move along the Danube River to retake Budapest, which had been captured on 13 February 1945. Another part of 6th SS Panzer Army would then turn south and create a southern spearhead. The southern spearhead would move along the Sió to link up with units from German Army Group E, which was to thrust north through [[Mohács]]. However, the commanding staff of Army Group E was pessimistic about the LXXXXI Corps' ability to reach Mohács due to the unfavorable terrain and sole dependence on infantry.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maier|first=Georg|title=Drama Between Budapest and Vienna|publisher=J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-921991-78-9|location=Canada|pages=166}}</ref> Nonetheless, if successful, it was envisioned that the meeting of Army Group E's "Waldteufel" and the 6th SS Panzer Army's "Frühlingserwachen" would encircle both the Soviet [[26th Army (Soviet Union)|26th Army]] and the Soviet [[57th Army (Soviet Union)|57th Army]].<ref name="Osprey" />

The 6th Army would join the 6th SS Panzer Army in its thrust southeast to the Danube, then turn north to cover the flank of "Frühlingserwachen". The 2nd Panzer Army's "Eisbrecher" would advance from an area southwest of Lake Balaton and progress towards [[Kaposvár]] to engage the Soviet 57th Army. All this time, the [[Hungarian Third Army]] would hold the area west of Budapest along the [[Vértes Hills|Vértes Mountains]].<ref name="Osprey" />