Hitler’s Last Battles: Seelow and the Halbe Encirclement, April-May 1945

The battle of the Seelow Heights (16-19 April 1945), marked the last stage of the Soviets’ offensive against Nazi Germany and saw the most severe fighting of the crossing of the Oder-Neisse line, between German Ninth Army and Marshal Zhukov’s 1st Belorussian Front. After three days and massive losses, the Soviets broke through and the Eastern Front collapsed. The Ninth Army was encircled, and in the ensuing battle of Halbe, attempted to break out to link up with other German forces. This study of the last battles of the Third Reich is drawn from original documents, maps and first-hand accounts. It also features photographs of the battlefields as they are today. This is a fascinating and powerful account of the last cataclysmic battles of the Second World War in Europe.