1. Preparations for the Soviet Offensive in Poland
Preparations for the offensive in Poland.
Disguise operations.
German weaknesses in Poland.
Germans withdrawing troops from Poland to the Western Front and Hungary.
Soviets determining date for the offensive.
Was the date of offensive changed or not?
Political issues of the question.

2. The Soviet Offensive in Poland
Beginning of offensive – January 12, 1945.
Directions of the Soviet offensives: Gen. Cherniakhovsky’s forces advanced towards Koenigsberg (Today Kaliningrad), Marshal Rokossovsky’s troops along the north bank of Vistula cutting off East Prussia from the Central Germany, Marshal Zhukov’s forces advanced towards Poznan, Marshal Konev’s troops – against Breslau (Today Wroclaw), and Gen. Petrov’s Troops towards Novo Targ.
German resistance broken in the several places, Soviet Troops advanced in all directions.
Offensive continued for 18 days. At the end of January the Soviet troops had covered up to 500 kilometres in the direction of main offensive (average speed kilometres per day).
Results of the offensive: Poland completely under control of the Soviet troops, German forces in East Prussia (Koenigsberg and Danzig) were cut off from the main forces and encircled, Soviet troops reached the Oder river – around 60 kilometres from Berlin, 45 divisions of Germans were destroyed (400,000 estimated losses, 100,000 of them as prisoners of war).

3. Soviet Offensive in Hungary
Importance of Hungary – the last place to get oil to Germans.
Soviet Autumn offensive and siege of Budapest. Soviet offensive towards Vienna and Bratislava was stopped because of the siege.
Horthy’s gamble. German plot in Burapest. Horthy arrested and changed by Szalassí.
Battle for Budapest – January-February 1945.
City taken by the Soviet troops on February 11, 1945.
Germans planning for the last counter-offensive on the Eastern Front (their last offensive in the war too).
German counter-offensive begins – March 6, 1945, but because of lack of experience in newly formed units, Germans unable to advance deep into the Soviet positions.
The Soviet troops resume their offensive towards Vienna on March 16, 1945 and getting to the Hungary-Austria border on March 27.