In April 1945, as the Soviets closed on Berlin, the German 9th Army, along with thousands of fleeing refugees, found themselves encircled southeast of the capital, near the little village of Halbe.With the imminent downfall of the Reich there were only two options: Soviet or American captivity. German commanders chose the latter. The ensuing breakout west towards the Elbe cost the lives of untold thousands - military and civilian. Countless soldiers were wounded or taken prisoner. Those who survived would endure terrible conditions during years of forced labour in the Soviet Union, before eventually returning home.Despite the tremendous scale of the battle, Halbe has long remained a historical footnote. Drawing on previously unpublished war diaries, reports and eyewitness accounts, Tragedy at Halbe: Retreat From Oder and Neisse to the Elbe examines the harrowing events from the point of view of both Soviet and German forces, as well as the civilians caught up in the fighting.

Translated into English for the first time, this is an important historical record of a devastating and little-known episode of the Second World War.