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Halbe
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As
of yet there has been no book written in English describing the
battle of Halbe, and, as a result, the battle is almost unknown
outside of Germany. However, it was a fight of intense ferocity
and drama, involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
The Soviet offensive against Berlin had begun on 16th April, 1945,
and as part of this, the German 9th Army and 4th Panzer Army,
commandeered by General Theodor Busse, had been surrounded in
thickly wooded country south east of the capital. Busse had refused
a Soviet offer for him to surrender and decided to try to break
out to the west to link up with the 12th Army. Busse had somewhere
in the region of 150,000 to 200,000 troops under his command.
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to the confusion at the time exact figures are impossible to ascertain.
His problems were compounded by the huge number of civilians fleeing
from further east and from Berlin who were now also trapped in the
Halbe Cauldron. These were almost all women, children and old people
who knew well their fate if they fell into Soviet hands.Busse's plans
to break out were further complicated by the large number of small
lakes throughout the area, and the fact that with so many civilians
and wounded to try to move he needed to keep to roads or tracks suitable
for use by motorised and horse transport. In addition, there were
the thick pine forests with few surfaced roads, but many sandy tracks,
the soil in this area being very sandy. |
Route in
the Halbe valley, May 1945 |
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| The
Soviets, who occupied the village of Halbe, knew that Busse had to
force his way through the village as this was directly on the route
to the west and the only place for some miles where there were level
crossings over the railway line running north to Berlin.Two breakout
attempts were made. The first on the evening of 25th April and the
second on the evening of 28th April. The attacks were made in two
columns. The southern group from due east at Märkisch Buchholz
and the northern group from north east at Forstamt Hammer. |
Southern
level crossing in Halbe. Straight ahead a forest track leads
to Forstam Hammer. The road to the right goes to Märkisch
Buchholz. |
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The
breakout succeeded at the second attempt, but at the cost of tens
of thousands of military and civilian casualties. At both level crossings
in Halbe lorries and carts had to be driven over a huge area covered
with bodies. The link-up with the 12th Army was made on the 30th April,
near Beelitz. About 25,000 troops in three groups, along with 5,000
civilians reached the 12th Army. Total German casualties are impossible
to calculate, but the figure for the dead has been put at 60,000,
plus perhaps 10,000 civilians. The war cemetery in Halbe contains
20,000 graves and is the largest in Germany. Bodies are regularly
found in the woods around the village and are buried in the cemetery.
About 38% of the buildings in Halbe were destroyed in the fighting,
and many of the remaining ones are covered with bullet and shrapnel
marks. |
| Due
to the sandy composition of the soil a huge quantity of artefacts
have been recovered since 1990. These include chests of documents,
helmets, equipment, ordnance of all kinds and even cloth insignia
has been found in the sand. Also, many other items have been pulled
out of the lakes that cover the landscape.Whilst the majority of the
German units that had been unable to break out surrendered, others
fought on. |
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Forstamt Hammer Headquarters
of the 9th Army. Photo taken 1998. |
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Northern level crossing
in Halbe. Photo taken 1998.
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| The
9th Army included the 5th SS Mountain Corps, which itself was made
up of a mixture of Waffen-SS units. The 4th Panzer Army also contained
many Waffen-SS formations, including the 10th SS Pz Div. "Frundsberg",
23nd SS Pz. Gren. Div. "Nederland", 35th SS Polizei Div.,
and 36th SS Gren. Div. This latter unit was the infamous "Dirlewanger"
Brigade, most of whose survivors seem to have been immediately shot
upon capture by the Soviets.As I have said, there are no books in
English on the Halbe Kessel, but I would recommend "Nun Hängen
Die Schreie Mir An…" by Herbert Pietsch, pub. 1995 by Edition
Hentrich, ISBN 3-89468-203-5; and "Der Kessel von Halbe",
by Richard Lakowski, pub. 1997 by Brandenburgisches Verlag, ISBN 3-89488-112-7.
Also, Halbe Cemetery produces a very interesting booklet. The battle
site is about an hour's drive south of Berlin, and if you are ever
in the area it is a fascinating place to visit. |
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