Against The Odds 56 Breslau 1945

After being cut off and isolated in mid-February 1945, the German garrison of Breslau, about 50,000 men, defied all odds by holding the city for nearly a week AFTER the fall of Berlin! Hitler had ordered the city to be defended at all costs, believing the Soviet forces engaged there could not then take part in any assault on Berlin. The defensive garrison finally surrendered only a few days before the official end of the war (with the Gauleiter in command fleeing the city by air to avoid capture). The task of taking the city fell to the Soviet Sixth Army, composed of about eight divisions with a total of 80,000 men, plus four armored regiments and two artillery divisions. An entire Air Army, the Second, was also assigned to provide abundant destructive power from the sky. The task facing the Soviets was arduous: urban warfare combined with a highly determined defender. The terrain was also crucial: the Oder River, which runs through the city, divided it into many parts. Capturing an important sector of the city could ultimately mean nothing more than occupying an "island." Although Breslau was irrelevant to the outcome of the war, the battle for the city was not without episodes or drama. By the end of the war, the Germans lost 6,000 killed in action. The Soviets lost at least 12,000. These figures exclude the wounded, whose estimates range from 20,000 to 40,000. The Soviets also lost up to 170 armored vehicles in the attempt to capture the city. Hitler's Stalingrad: Breslau 1945, designed by Perry Moore, thoroughly examines this stubborn siege. With over 300 counters.