Chapter Twenty - Hölle für sensible Herzen

Chapter Twenty

Hölle für sensible Herzen

Balaton

February-March 1945

In this chapter, we learn why the 6th Panzer Army was sent to Balaton, and how near Sepp's family are to danger from the Soviets. Himmler feathers his nest for his post-war plans, and Sepp violently objects to his men being sent into a campaign whose sole object is to deflect Russian attention from Berlin. The HJ have several preliminary sorties in the area of the Gran bridgehead, which only serve to weaken and exhaust their forces and ammunition. Wolf continues to micromanage campaigns from afar, and Sepp takes him to task in front of OKW. From the commencement of the campaign, Sepp is proven right. From 6-17 March, there is heavy fighting, fruitless over muddy thawed ground. Rudi and his men narrowly avoid capture by the Soviets, and there is another battle with house-to-house fighting in a small village. Wolf and Sepp have a shouting match over Wolf's order to 'defend Balaton to the last man' when the 6th  Panzer Army is overrun. At the Sarviz Canal, Rudi's nightmare becomes reality, and his unit are forced into an open field under Soviet fire, carrying the seriously wounded Dieter. Rudi is wounded by shrapnel in an anti-personnel mine explosion, and is sent to hospital in Budapest, where he makes friends with his kind nurse. He writes to Bekka, plays Oskar's violin, and takes a turn for the worse. From being about to be discharged, he succumbs to sepsis and kidney failure.

The Siege of Budapest:

 Lake Balaton:

 The Sarviz Canal:

 Field Medics:

 Sepp in Balaton:

The Rock Hospital, Budapest:

 Niccolo Paganini: Sonata for violin op. 3, Nr. 6 - This is what Rudi played in hospital.

 The Great Lake Balaton Offensive 1945- Good vid. GREAT film footage.

Germany’s Last WW2 Offensive – Every Division, Every Day -short vid. Excellent. Very tactical.

Panzer Fury: Brutal Last Fight in Hungary When All Hope is Lost - Hour-long documentary. Great footage.

Rejecting the ‘MADMAN HITLER’ myth -From TIKHistory. Hitler was not insane, just amoral. Anyone can become as evil. Thinking of him as not human prevents us from understanding why it all happened and thus how to prevent it again when we see the signs (as we are now in the US at this writing.)

Addressing the "Madman Druggy Hitler" narrative & Nazi Drugs - From TIKHistory. He was not on hard drugs until 1943, and even at the end was perfectly compos mentis (apart from the famous breakdown shown in the film Downfall, but even Jochen Peiper had a brief nervous breakdown). Yes, the soldiers took Pervitin.