kilometres, over half the distance from the start point to Budapest. The Red Army manoeuvred forces to block the advance, halting them at Bicske, from Budapest. Two further attacks, Operations Konrad II and III, also failed. The Hungarian Third Army was besieged in Budapest along with the IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS (Croatian) (8 SS Florian Geyer and 22 SS Maria Theresia). The siege lasted from 29 December 1944 until the city surrendered unconditionally on 13 February 1945. Only 170 men of the 22 SS Maria Theresia made it back to the German lines. 1945 1945 expansion The Waffen-SS continued to expand in 1945. January saw the 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 30 Januar formed from the remnants of other units and staff from the SS-Junkerschules. In February, the Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS "Charlemagne" was upgraded to a division and became known as the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). At this time, it had a strength of 7,340 men. The SS Volunteer Grenadier-Brigade Landstorm Nederland was upgraded to the 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland. The second SS Police division followed when the 35th SS and Police Grenadier Division was formed from SS Police units that had been transferred to the Waffen-SS. The Dirlewanger Brigade was reformed as the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. As there was now a real shortage of Waffen-SS volunteers and conscripts, units from the army were attached to bring it up to strength. The third SS Cavalry division 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Lützow was formed from the remnants of the 8 SS Florian Geyer and 22 SS Maria Theresia, which had both been virtually destroyed. The last Waffen-SS division was the 38th SS Division Nibelungen, which was formed from students and staff from the SS-Junkerschule, but consisted of only around 6,000 men, the strength of a normal brigade. Operation Nordwind Operation Nordwind was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in north-eastern France, and it ended on 25 January. The initial attack was conducted by three Corps of the 1st Army. By 15 January, at least 17 German divisions (including units in the Colmar Pocket) were engaged, including the XIII SS Army Corps (17 SS Götz von Berlichingen and 38 SS Nibelungen) and the 6 SS Nord and 10 SS Frundsberg. At the