450112_01: Paula Breakout [What If] - PzC 17 Budapest 45

Near Lake Balaton, SW of Budapest, Jan 12th 1945: There were two operations to relieve Budapest, Konrad, and the lesser known Paula. Guderian initially favored Paula, an attack from the area of Lake Balaton to the NE by the IV SS Pz Korps and other armored units. There were two problems with this plan, firstly, the time it would take to regroup the units into the attacking formation, and secondly, the extra amounts of fuel required. Therefore the High Command decided to accept the Konrad operation. "What If" Paula had been employed instead. Certainly it would have given the Soviets a little more time to recover, reorganize, and add to their defenses, while still continuing with the siege, but it would have given the Axis a much more powerful force to rescue their comrades in Budapest. From all the facts available, it would also seem that with their superior numbers, the Soviets would be able to absorb the assault, and then attack from both north and south as they did in Konrad III. [Size, large] Designer Note: This is a hypothetical scenario designed to be played as Axis human vs. Soviet AI.