《夕阳王国：第三卷至第四卷：1945年2月至5月，从布达佩斯到维也纳的党卫军装甲部队》

“这些书的学术性是无可挑剔的，作者巧妙地编撰了主要和次要资料，形成了一幅关于第二次世界大战这一时期的优秀而发人深省的画面。”战争中的地球
在第二次世界大战的最后几个月，1945年2月12日布达佩斯陷落，第九党卫军的突围尝试失败，第四党卫军装甲部队唯一能做的就是撤退到一条更具防御能力的防线上，巩固主要城市斯图尔韦森堡。1945年1月，在经历了三次救援尝试后，党卫队主席吉勒的退伍军人精疲力竭，人数超过了托尔布钦元帅领导的乌克兰第三阵线不断增加的权力，他们进行了长时间的防御战。然而，阿道夫·希特勒并没有忘记匈牙利战区和该国丰富的油田，而是在提供帮助。
党卫军最高统帅塞普·迪特里希（Sepp Dietrich）的传奇之六，损害了柏林的防御。装甲部队正在赶来的路上，不是要夺回布达佩斯，而是要包围和摧毁托尔布钦的军队，彻底扭转东南欧的局势，以利于希特勒。这场被称为“春之觉醒”（Frühlingserwachen）的过于雄心勃勃的攻势，很快就在春天解冻的帮助下，在苏联的坚决防御下陷入了困境。它被誉为纳粹德国在第二次世界大战中的最后一次大举进攻，希特勒的最后一支装甲预备队因此遭受了巨大损失，但换来的只是一点小小的收获。虽然在战斗中起到了辅助作用，但在红军发起维也纳行动，几乎将希雷斯格鲁普·苏德的军队从战场上一扫而光后，第四党卫队装甲部队很快就陷入了困境。
在红军向维也纳挺进的同时，吉尔饱受摧残的军队试图封锁通往德国的道路，撤回奥地利。被迫忍受苏联无情的攻击以及6国刻薄的领导。武装指挥官赫尔曼·巴尔克将军，第四党卫军装甲部队的士兵们奋力穿越奥地利，到达安全的分界线，经过近一年的不懈努力，终于于1945年5月9日向美军投降。
From the Realm of a Dying Sun: Volume III – IV. SS-Panzerkorps from Budapest to Vienna, February–May 1945
“The scholarship that went into these books is impeccable, with the author deftly weaving primary and secondary sources to form an excellent and thought provoking picture of this period in the Second World War.”Globe at War
In the closing months of World War II, with Budapest’s fall on 12 February 1945 and the breakout attempt by the IX SS-Gebirgskorps having failed, the only thing the IV. SS-Panzerkorps could do was fall back to a more defensible line and fortify the key city of Stuhlweissenburg. Exhausted after three relief attempts in January 1945 and outnumbered by the ever-increasing power of Marshal Tolbukhin’s Third Ukrainian Front, SS-Obergruppenführer Gille’s veterans dug in for a lengthy period of defensive warfare. However, Adolf Hitler had not forgotten about the Hungarian theater of operations nor the country’s rich oilfields and was sending help.
To the detriment of the defense of Berlin, SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich’s legendary 6. Panzerarmee was on its way, not to retake Budapest, but to encircle and destroy Tolbukhin’s forces and completely reverse the situation in south-eastern Europe in Hitler’s favor. This overly ambitious offensive, known as Frühlingserwachen (Spring Awakening), was soon bogged down in the face of resolute Soviet defenses aided by the springtime thaw. Heralded as Nazi Germany’s last great offensive of World War II, it resulted in great losses to Hitler’s last armored reserve in exchange for only minor gains. Though it played a supporting role during the battle, the IV. SS-Panzerkorps was soon caught up in its aftermath, after the Red Army launched its Vienna Operation that nearly swept the armies of Heeresgruppe Süd from the battlefield.
Withdrawing into Austria, Gille’s battered corps attempted to bar the route into Germany, while the Red Army bore down on Vienna. Forced to endure relentless Soviet attacks as well as the caustic leadership of the 6. Armee commander, General Hermann Balck, the men of the IV. SS-Panzerkorps fought their way through Austria to reach the safety of the demarcation line where it finally surrendered to U.S. forces on 9 May 1945 after nearly a year of relentless campaigning.

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