Battle of the Oder-Neisse

The Battle of the Oder-Neisse was a fierce military clash of the European Theater that took place on the Eastern Front at the end of World War II. It was fought between the 1st Belorussian Front, under Georgi Zhukov, and the German 9th Army, commanded by Theodor Busse, from April 16 to April 20, 1945, on the Oder and Neisse River, on the Seelow Heights, near the town of Seelow, about 80 km east of Berlin. This ferociously fought military encounter was the anteroom of Hell, which would be the major Battle of Berlin. Meanwhile, north of Seelow, the 2nd Belorussian Front spearhead units would thrust deep into Germany on April 18. The Soviet troops completely outnumbered the Germans in a 12 to 1 ratio.

Summary of the battle

By April 15, 1945, after the last Soviet offensive, a large salient had been left, protruding eastward in the Eastern Front line, on the Oder and Neisse River, near the German town of Seelow. In order to cross the Oder and march straight towards Berlin, this bulge had to be reduced. But to achieve that, the Soviet forces first had to establish a bridgehead on the western side of the Oder, right in front of Seelow. After that, they had to face the Wehrmacht's 9th Army, which had just been reinforced by the XI SS Panzer Corps. The Germans had dug in on the Seelow Heights overlooking the riverbank of the Oder as they waited for the first wave of Russian soldiers to come in.

Preceded by a heavy artillery barrage, the 1st Belorussian Front's westward offensive began in the early hours of April 16, when the first infantry units started crossing the Oder on boats. The Russian ground forces also received heavy fire support from ground-attack aircraft of the Soviet Air Force. One after one, waves of Soviet infantry units were halted as they were mowed down by machine gun fire and mortar shells. Finally, in the evening of April 19, a Soviet armored unit was able to punch a hole in the German defensive line, through which Russian infantry divisions would thrust towards the capital of the Third Reich.

The German 9th Army got split up, with some of its units falling back and escaping the encirclement. The LVI Panzer Corps, which was the 9th Army's main component, withdrew into Berlin. There, their men would fight their last battle.

Below, Russian Generals observing the German positions on the other side of the Oder River.

 

Below, maps showing the German and Soviet positions on the Eastern Front before crossing the Oder and establishing a bridgehead

Below, map showing the German units defensive positions on Seelow Heights

German soldiers of the 9th Army waiting for the Red Army onslaught

Battle of the Oder (original footage - last film)