The Battle of Halbe took place from April 24th to 28th, 1945 in the area of the town of Halbe, south of Berlin. The Russian troops formed a ring around the remnants of the 9th Army and the civilians fleeing to the west in a small forest area between Märkisch Buchholz and Halbe. The number of soldiers in the pocket was estimated at 150,000 to 200,000. In addition, there were about 20,000 civilians.
General Theodor Busse from the High Command of the 9th Army gave the order to break out of the pocket in order to reach the positions of the 12th Army under General Walter Wenck and then reach the west bank of the Elbe together. The first breakout attempt took place on April 24th, and further attempts followed, which led to bitter fighting in and around Halbe. The German troops suffered heavy losses. More than 30,000 German soldiers and an estimated 10,000 German civilians died in the Halbe pocket. The Red Army's losses amounted to around 20,000 dead. Around 25,000 soldiers managed to break through to the Elbe, where they surrendered to US units.
An impressive depiction of the dramatic events can be found in this video: