Slaughter at Halbe: the Destruction of Hitler's 9th Army, April 1945

Operation 'Berlin', the Soviet offensive launched on 16 April, 1945, by Marshals Zhukov and Koniev, isolated the German Ninth Armyy 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 sub.;Cover; 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.