Seelow Heights

On 16 April, the battle of Berlin started with a massive Soviet artillery barrage against General Theodor Busse’s 9th German Army, which numbered around 200,000 men and equipment. Zhukov’s Red Army, on the other hand, was a juggernaut of over …

1945-04-16

16295

On 16 April, the battle of Berlin started with a massive Soviet artillery barrage against General Theodor Busse’s 9th German Army, which numbered around 200,000 men and equipment. Zhukov’s Red Army, on the other hand, was a juggernaut of over 750,000 men and equipment. Busse, realizing that the Germans could not hold onto their forward positions once the Soviet forces had crossed the River Oder, had already evacuated most of his front line units back to Seelow Heights when the Soviet barrage started. The Soviet troops quickly cleared the remaining German front line but their advance ground to a halt when they reached Seelow Heights, the last major line of defense before Berlin. North of Seelow, the Soviet 47th Army and 3rd Shock Army struggled to make progress against the Germans toward Letschin. In the south, between Seelow and Lebus, the Soviets almost gained a breakthrough but were contained by a fierce counterattack from the Kurmark Panzer Grenadier Division. Meanwhile the 28th Guards, while attacking the village of Dolgelin, were driven back by Tiger tanks. Zhukov, frustrated by the slow advance, threw in his reserves and ordered his tank formations forward even though his original plan had called for them to wait for the breakthrough. Late in the day on April 17th, the German defenders started to give way and Seelow finally fell the morning of the 18th. By the next day the road to Berlin finally lay open but Soviet losses were staggering.

Seelow Heights, Germany

The Battle of the Seelow Heights was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation. A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945. Close to 1,000,000 Soviet soldiers of theist Belorussian Front, commanded by Marshal Georgi Zhukov, attacked the position known as the "Gates of Berlin". They were opposed by about 110,000 soldiers of the German 9th Army, commanded by General Theodor Busse, as part of the Army Group Vistula.

Wikipedia: Battle of the Seelow Heights

German

Russian

Game Type: Overlord

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available