Meticulously researched dungaree tells the story of one of the least known battles of World War II the siege of Budapest lasted over 100 days and took an enormous amount of casualties on both sides of the battle as well as civilians. The author tells the story of the build up, the battle, the siege, the attempted break out and the aftermath and the effect on the civilian population. Not only does he focus on detailed military history of units and their movements but draws extensively from personal accounts of the battles from soldiers and civilians. Very engaging read especially regarding the desperate attempts by the Germans to try and break out of the besieged city when it appears to be completely helpless. ( )

I'd like to rate this book rather higher then I do, seeing as this is the first comprehensive study of the battle and its aftermath in English; excuse me if I have issues. On one hand, the portion dealing with the more stricty military elements of the story seems indifferently edited, which puts me off. On the other, the choice to largely separate the battle narrative from the experience of the civilian population gives the book an odd flavor. Though that choice does make clear one particular historical reality; that the battle was a mostly German affair conducted with supreme indifference to the fate of the Hungarian population, while the citizens of the city conducted a parallel battle for survival, or to finish off their domestic enemies.

If nothing else I will say that the author deserves points for not glossing over the crimes of the Hungarian fascist regime which enjoyed a brief, brutal spasm of license, and expresses regret over how the experience of victimhood at the hands of the Soviets is still used as an excuse to ignore the moral and ethical failings of Hungarian society during World War II. ( )