Slaughter at Halbe: The Destruction of Hitlers 9th Army, April 1945

Tissier, Tony le:

ISBN 10: 0750945893 / ISBN 13: 9780750945899

Published by The History Press,, 2006

About this Item

244 pages, with illustrations Die Vernichtung von Htlers 9. Armee. Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 900 8°, hardbound, dust jacket, nice copy.

Seller Inventory # 68593

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Slaughter at Halbe: The Destruction of Hitlers 9th Army, April 1945
• Publisher: The History Press,
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750945893
• ISBN 13: 9780750945899
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 2. edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Weight: 900 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • 2. Weltkrieg + 3. Reich

About this title

Synopsis

Operation "Berlin", the Soviet offensive launched on April 16, 1945 by Marshals Zhukov and Koniev, isolated the German Ninth Army and tens of thousands of refugees in the Spreewald "pocket", southeast 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. Teenaged refugees recount their experiences alongside Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS veterans attempting to maintain military discipline amid the chaos and carnage of headlong retreat. While army commanders strive to extricate their decimated units, demoralized soldiers change into civilian clothing and take to the woods. Relating the story day by day, Tony Le Tissier shows the impact of total war upon soldier and civilian alike, illuminating the unfolding of great and terrible events with the recollections of participants.

About the Author

Lt-Col Tony Le TIissier MBE served with the British Army’s Corps of Royal Military Police until 1977. British governor of the Spandau Allied Prison in Berlin from 1981 to 1987, Tony is the author of Battle of Berlin, Berlin Then and Now, Farewell to Spandau, Zhukov at the Oder, Race for the Reichstag, With Our Backs to Berlin and Death Was Our Companion. He lives in Lymington, Hampshire.