Malinovsky was a seasoned veteran of the war in Ukraine. A rough and ready general, he steadily drove the Second Ukrainian Front (army group) westward, urged on by Stalin, who wanted Budapest captured before the upcoming Yalta Conference.  Approaching the capital from the east,  his forces, however,  soon ran into the prepared &quot;Attila line&quot; built by the German and Hungarian defenders of the city, stalling his armies' advance.

BUDAPEST SIEGE: Soviet General Malinovsky

General Tolbukhin was also a veteran of the war in Ukraine, now commanding the Third Ukrainian Front armies. He was a  careful general, who was less inclined to drive his troops into battle mercilessly, thereby earning the loyalty of his subordinates.  After Tolbukhin liberated Belgrade, he turned north and westward, and soon unexpectedly crossed the Danube into western Hungary. 

Seeing the stalled armies of Malinovsky, with Stalin's approval he adjusted his course toward the north, rapidly approaching the hills of Buda, and at Christmas 1944 surprising the capital from its largely undefended west side, until the 8th Waffen SS division and volunteer Hungarian units rushed in.


BUDAPEST SIEGE: Soviet General Tolbukhin

Pressured by Stalin, General Malinovsky often drove his troops into battle without significant artillery preparation or sufficient armored support.  Particularly on the eastern and southern approaches of Budapest, while charging at the prepared positions of the defensive Attila line, or crossing the Danube, the units of the Ukrainian Second Front often suffered very heavy casualties, as shown in this frozen winter scene from the Budapest region.