Battle of Turda

Battle of Turda
Part of Battle of Romania, World War II
Date 5 September-8 October 1944 Location Turda, Cluj County, Romania Result Romanian-Soviet victory
Belligerents
Romania Soviet Union	Hungary  Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Gheorghe Avramescu Rodion Malinovsky	Lajos Veress Mortimer von Kessel
Strength
Romanian 4th Army Soviet 27th Army	Hungarian 2nd Army German 8th Army
Casualties and losses
Romania: Unknown Soviet Union: 80+ tanks	Hungary: ~10,000 killed, wounded or missing Germany: Unknown

The Battle of Turda lasted from 5 September to 8 October 1944, in the area around Turda, in present-day Romania, as part of the wider Battle of Romania. Troops from the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 8th Army fought a defensive action against Romanian and Soviet forces. The battle was one of the largest fought in Transylvania during World War II.

Prior to the battle, Soviet units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front occupied the Vulcan pass, as well as the cities of Brașov and Sibiu. The Red Army intended to capture Cluj—the historical capital of Transylvania—without much effort. While continuing to advance toward the Mureș River, which the Hungarian 2nd Armored Division was recently able to cross, they collided with and stopped the Hungarian units; the 2nd Hungarian Army was forced to take a defensive stance on 10 September 1944.

The Soviet Stavka, (high command), was surprised by the unexpected Hungarian offensive, and decided to strengthen its forces in the area to prevent another. It also launched an attack of their own on Turda, in tandem with the Romanian 4th Army. The town was originally defended by the weakened Hungarian 25th Infantry Division, which had only about three battalions immediately available. The other three were delayed by various rear guard actions, and were not expected before 13 September. The advancing Red Army armored units were stopped by the 3rd Battalion of the Hungarian 25th Infantry Division (headquartered at Oradea)—at the road intersection at Vințu de Sus—on 13 September. The first three Soviet tanks were knocked out by the Hungarian anti-tank gun section of the III./25 ID. The rest of the armored column then spread out and attacked the defenders. With the help of a German AT unit, the Hungarians knocked out a further 17 tanks. The attack was thus stopped, and the Soviets regrouped and retreated to defensive positions.

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