On Thursday at 10 am. the 5. Bocskai István Infantry Brigade of the Hungarian Defense Force commemorated the victims that died in the battle fought near the Don River.69 years ago, on 12 January 1943, the Russian forces started their offensive near the Don River during which the Hungarian Second Army was almost completely destroyed. Nearly 150.000 people perished. These battles make up one of the saddest chapters of the Hungarian military history. Tens of thousands of soldiers sent into the battles without adequate training and weaponry suffered and died pointlessly in the hard Russian winter. This was the biggest disaster in the Hungarian military history. 
