The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was a German Waffen-SS armored division that existed from 13 February 1943 to 8 May 1945. The majority of the enlisted men were Hitler Youth members, while the officers were from the Schutzstaffel paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. On 7 June 1944, the division saw action for the first time at the Battle of Caen against the British Army, and the division took part in the Battle of the Bulge offensive against the United States in the winter of 1944-1945. After the operation, the division was sent to fight against the Soviet Union during the Siege of Budapest in Hungary. On 8 May 1945, the division's 10,000 troops under Hugo Kraas surrendered to the US Army near Enns, Austria.