Operation Spring Awakening (German: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen), the last major German offensive of World War II, is in some ways a battle unknown to many despite its critical importance to the outcome of the battle for the Third Reich. Initiated almost two months before Germany's surrender and three months after the simultaneous Bulge and Operation Konrad offensives for the relief of Budapest, it is quite incredible that it could be launched due to the state of the German armies and logistics in 1945. The objective of Operation Spring Awakening was firstly, that the Hungarian and Vienna oil regions, which made up 80% of remaining reserves, had to be defended and/or retaken, and without which the war effort could not be continued; and secondly, the defense of the Upper Silesian industrial region, vital for the war economy and coal production. Without these resources, meaningful, long-term resistance on any other front was impossible. Step into the shoes of either the Soviet or German late war commanders, where weather, attrition and supplies will all play a part.