The Siege of Kustrin, 1945
The Siege of Kustrin, 1945

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2009-07-15

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 1848846975

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The acclaimed WWII historian and author of Race to the Reichstag vividly chronicles the preliminary battle that opened the Red Army’s path to Berlin. In January of 1945, the arrival of Soviet troops at the garrison town of Küstrin came as a tremendous shock to the German High Command. The Soviets were now only fifty miles from Berlin itself. Before they could advance on the capital, the Red Army needed the vital road and rail bridges passing through Küstrin. A combination of flooding and strategic blunders resulted in a sixty-day siege by two Soviet armies which totally destroyed the town. The delay in the Soviet advance gave the Germans time to consolidate the defenses shielding Berlin. Despite Hitler's orders to fight to the last bullet, the Küstrin garrison commander and a thousand defenders managed a dramatic break-out to the German lines. The protracted siege had an appalling human cost, with thousands of lives lost on both sides and many more wounded. With painstaking research and eyewitness testimony, Tony Le Tissier bring the story of the siege to life.

Hitler's Final Fortress
Hitler's Final Fortress

Author: Richard Hargreaves

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2015-04-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0811715515

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In early 1945, the Red Army plunged into the Third Reich from the east, rolling up territory and crushing virtually everything in its path, with one exception: the city of Breslau, which Hitler had declared a fortress-city, to be defended to the death. This book examines in detail the notorious four-month siege of Breslau. • The first full-length English-language account of the bloody siege • Chronicles the bitter struggle as the Red Army encircled Breslau and eventually pillaged the city, taking savage retribution on the survivors • Details the brutal methods used by the city's Nazi leaders to keep German troops fighting and maintain order

Slaughter at Halbe
Slaughter at Halbe

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2007-03-22

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 0752495348

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Operation 'Berlin', the Soviet offensive launched on 16 April, 1945, by Marshals Zhukov and Koniev, isolated the German Ninth Army 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 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, demoralised 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.

The Siege of Küstrin
The Siege of Küstrin

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0811708292

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* Graphic account of a bloody battle on the Eastern Front in the final months of World War II * The Germans defended K�strin tenaciously--with high-school students and old men * Events brought to life by personal recollections of soldiers and civiliansTony Le Tissier also wrote Zhukov at the Oder (978-0-8117-3609-1) and SS Charlemagne (978-1-84884-231-1). He lives in England.

Berlin 1945
Berlin 1945

Author: Peter Antill

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 2005-10-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781841769158

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Hitler's Third Reich was on the brink of total ruin in mid-April 1945, and the Red Army was poised less than 60 miles to the east and ready to seize the German capital. Peter Antill describes the events in this engaging history, examining the Soviets' march towards Berlin and the Germans' final resistance. This book, supplemented with a host of maps and illustrations, provides a vivid portrayal of the death throes of the Third Reich and the end of World War II (1939-1945) in Europe, exploring the strategy of both sides and the tactics of impromptu urban warfare.

Zhukov at the Oder
Zhukov at the Oder

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2009-07-22

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1461752140

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First detailed account of the Soviet advance on Berlin in the closing months of World War II The battles that made Soviet Marshal Georgi Zhukov famous Numerous maps illustrating how operations unfolded On January 31, 1945, the Red Army stood on a line along the Oder River, about thirty-five miles east of Berlin. They would not reach Berlin for another two months, after battles to cross the river, seize the fortress of Küstrin, and take the Seelow Heights.

Race for the Reichstag
Race for the Reichstag

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 0714649295

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This account of lays the many myths created by Soviet propaganda to rest and details what exactly happened as the Red Army and the Allies raced to be the first at the Reichstag.

Red Storm on the Reich
Red Storm on the Reich

Author: Christopher Duffy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-03

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1136360336

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The Eastern Front witnessed the critical battles between the German and Russian armies which won and lost the Second World War. In Red Storm on the Reich, Christopher Duffy uncovers a military campaign of unprecedented scale and ferocity during which thirty million lives were lost - a deadly harvest in which the slaughter and suffering of German civilians reached unfathomable dimensions. By quoting extensively from the memoirs of Soviet and German commanders and the diaries of infantrymen, Red Storm on the Reich brings to life not only the Russian military assault on the lands of Germany, but also the human drama behind what can only be called epic seiges of the fortress cities of Danzig, Kolberg and Breslau. Christopher Duffy's gripping narrative of this unexplored offensive and the psyches behind it makes for essential reading for all those interested in the Second World War and European history.

SS Charlemagne
SS Charlemagne

Author: Tony Le Tissier

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2010-08-19

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1848846940

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In May 1945, as the triumphant Red Army crushed the last pockets of German resistance in central Berlin, French soldiers fought back. They were the last surviving members of SS Charlemagne, the Waffen SS division made up of French volunteers. They were among the final defenders of the city and of Hitlers bunker. Their extraordinary story gives a compelling insight into the dreadful climax of the Battle for Berlin and into the conflicts of loyalty faced by the French in the Second World War. Yet, whatever their motivation, the performance of these soldiers as they confronted the Soviet onslaught was unwavering, and their fate after the German defeat was grim. Once captured, they were shot out of hand by their French compatriots or imprisoned. SS Charlemagne is a gripping, fluently written study of one of the most revealing side stories of the war.