One of the most frightful urban battles of World War II, the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Budapest, Hungary, in the winter of 1944-45, is also one of the least remembered, overshadowed by the invasion of Normandy just months before and the coinciding Battle of the Bulge.

Military historian Sean Kalic of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College examines the scope and significance of the 102-day siege, which cost more than 150,000 lives. The Soviets – instructed by Josef Stalin to win at any cost – encircled and then liberated the Hungarian capital section by section. Adolf Hitler was equally adamant, forbidding German military escape.

The Soviets’ victory would have a significant impact not only on the outcome of the war, but also on the shape of Europe for the duration of the Cold War.