Slaughter at Halbe
The Destruction of Hitler's 9th Army April 1945
2nd Edition
Published on 22. March 2007
224 pages
978-0-7524-9534-7 (ISBN)
Description
Operation 'Berlin', the Soviet offensive launched on 16 April 1945 by Marshals Zhukov and Koniev, isolated the German 9th Army and tens of thousands of refugees in the Spreewald 'pocket', south-east of Berlin. Stalin ordered its encirclement and destruction, and his subordinates, eager to win the race to the Reichstag, pushed General Busse's 9th Army into a tiny area east of the village of Halbe.
To escape the Spreewald pocket, the remnants of 9th Army had to pass through Halbe, where barricades constructed by both sides formed formidable obstacles and the converging Soviet forces subjected the area to heavy artillery fire. By the time 9th Army eventually escaped the Soviet pincers, it had suffered 40,000 killed and 60,000 taken prisoner.
In Slaughter at Halbe, teenaged refugees recount their experiences alongside Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS veterans attempting to maintain military discipline amid the chaos and carnage of headlong retreat.
Relating the story day by day, Tony Le Tissier shows the impact of total war upon soldier and civilian alike.
To escape the Spreewald pocket, the remnants of 9th Army had to pass through Halbe, where barricades constructed by both sides formed formidable obstacles and the converging Soviet forces subjected the area to heavy artillery fire. By the time 9th Army eventually escaped the Soviet pincers, it had suffered 40,000 killed and 60,000 taken prisoner.
In Slaughter at Halbe, teenaged refugees recount their experiences alongside Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS veterans attempting to maintain military discipline amid the chaos and carnage of headlong retreat.
Relating the story day by day, Tony Le Tissier shows the impact of total war upon soldier and civilian alike.
More details
Edition
2nd Digital original
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
File size
0,86 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-7524-9534-7 (9780752495347)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2021
2nd Edition
The History Press Ltd
€19.00
Shipment within 10-15 days
Book
03/2007
The History Press Ltd
€31.13
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
TONY LE TISSIER is an acknowledged expert on the 1945 battle of Berlin.
Content
- Intro
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Preparing for 'Operation Berlin'
- 2 Breaching the Oder-Neisse Defences
- 3 9th Army Encircled - 21 April 1945
- 4 Destroy the 9th Army - 22 April 1945
- 5 12th Army to the Rescue - 23 April 1945
- 6 The Soviets Close In - 24 April 1945
- 7 No Luck for von Luck - 25 April 1945
- 8 Preparing the BreakOut - 26 April 1945
- 9 The Pocket Shrinks - 27 April 1945
- 10 The Eye of the Needle - 28 April 1945
- 11 Breaching Koniev's Lines - 29 April 1945
- 12 12th Army Waits - 30 April 1945
- 13 The Last Leg - 1 May 1945
- 14 Retreat to the Elbe
- 15 Aftermath
- Appendix
- A Soviet Forces Engaged Against the HalbePocket
- B Order of Battle: German 9th Army
- C Order of Battle: German 12th Army
- Bibliography
