that without additional forces it would not succeed. At the start of January, Army Group Centre assigned two additional divisions plus another panzer battalion for a renewed push towards the city. The 8th Panzer participated in the renewed offensive, but although the relief forces got to with in 4 km of the encirclement, they were only able to assist small groups to break out. thousands of wounded and stragglers were taken prisoner as the Soviet forces squeezed the garrison out of existence. The 8th Panzer Division took up defensive positions north of the Ukrainian capital, but failed to prevent the Soviet armies break through, and was pushed back until Manstein, now commander of Army Group South orchestrated a counter stroke at Zhitomir temporarily stabilising the front. However the reprieve did not last and renewed Soviet thrusts forced the 4th Panzer Army and the 8th Panzer Division with it, back towards the Polish frontier. On 12 July 1944 the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front launched a massive offensive in the direction of Lvov (the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive). The front had over 800,000 men, 13,000 guns and mortars and 200 tanks, attacking with 2 main groupings, both rapidly broke through the German defenses and by the 6th day of the operation had trapped several units in a pocket under XIII Army Corps command, including elements of 8th Panzer Division. The 8th Panzer Division had been in reserve rebuilding near Brody, and was immediately committed to the breakthrough area but failed to stop the Soviet advance. On 20 the division mounted a failed relief attempt but was compelled to retreat. The trapped forces managed to break the ring around them but had to filter their way through the attacking Red Army formation and only a part of their numbers and without any vehicles or heavy weapons. The division continued to resist the Soviet advances fighting in Hungary in the winter battles around Budapest and then transferred to Silesia, where it battled on until finally surrendering to Soviet forces near Prague. Commanding officers The commanders of the division: General der Panzertruppe Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen, 16 October 1939 – 20 February 1941 General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger, 20–21 February 1941 Generalleutnant Walter Neumann-Silkow, 21 February 1941 – 26 May 1941 General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger, 26 May – 8 December 1941 Generalleutnant Werner Hühner, 8 December 1941 – 28 January 1942 General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger, 29 January