On February 16, 1945 months of waiting finally came to an end. The Red Army launched a ferocious attack on the city, throwing hundreds of tanks into the fray. But hopes for a quick victory proved optimistic, and the battle soon turned into a brutal slaughter, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties. In the first three days alone the Soviets lost well over 70 tanks as the conflict descended into savage street fighting. In his excellent book, Microcosm, author Norman Davies suggests that as a last resort measure chemical weapons produced in Silesia were used to repel Soviet troops in the early stages of combat, though this theory is largely open to debate. Civilians and slave labour were called up to build fortifications, and vast stretches of the city were demolished so bricks could be used to strengthen defences. In a growing sign of desperation even the University Library found itself stripped of thousands of books, all destined for the barricades. In March the residential area between the Szczytnicki and Grunwaldzki bridges was levelled in order to build an improvised airstrip that would, in theory, be Breslau’s connection to the outside world. The enormous project was a disaster. With rations only issued to those working, civilians were forced to work under fierce fire and as a result over 13,000 died when the Soviets shelled the area. But worse was to come. April 1 saw the Soviets launch a new offensive to seize the city. A heavy bombardment saw much of the city engulfed in flames, and hostilities were resumed once more. With the noose tightening, Nazi HQ relocated from the bunker on Partisan Hill to the University Library, while fighting continued to rage in the sewers and houses on the fringes of the city. Even with the end in sight, the Nazis fought bitterly to the last man, crushing an ill-fated uprising by the remaining civilians. A full five days after the Battle for Berlin had ended, Breslau finally capitulated on May 6, the peace deal signed at the villa on ul. Rapackiego 14. The day before Karl Hanke, the very man who had ordered the execution of anyone caught fleeing the city, escaped the city in a plane apparently bound for the Czech Republic. What became of him remains a mystery.

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• Tim 28 June 2009
  Does the city have a cemetery for the German soldiers with their names that were killed there in 1945 ? I am looking for a soldier by the name of Ernst Behnke KIA Jan 28 1945.Thanks Tim