The
Siege of Budapest or the
Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement of the Hungarian
capital of
Budapest by
Soviet forces near the end of
World War II. Part of the broader
Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapest, defended by
Hungarian and
German troops, was first encircled on 26 December 1944 by the
Red Army and the
Romanian Army. During the siege, about 38,000 civilians died from starvation and military action. The city unconditionally surrendered on 13 February 1945. It was a strategic victory for the Allies in their push towards Berlin.