Bibliography
English
Memoirs
- Facing the Red Army in Festung Posen: First-Hand Accounts of German Soldiers on the Eastern Front in 1945 — Two memoirs. Hans Klapa: officer cadet at the V Infantry Cadet School in Poznań, drafted into the Festung Posen garrison (eastern sector). Alfred Kriehn: enlisted assault-gun loader, Sturmgeschütz-Brigade « Großdeutschland » (western sector). Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, 4 October 2023 (publisher’s page; some retailers give 9 November 2023).
- Konev Ivan Stepanovich, Year of Victory — Author’s position: Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front (Sandomierz bridgehead to Silesia). Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1969.
- Schaüfler Hans, Panzers on the Vistula: Retreat and Rout in East Prussia 1945 — Author’s position: second lieutenant (Leutnant) and signals officer in Panzer-Regiment 35, 4th Panzer Division; junior-officer view of the retreat. Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, October 2018 (transl. Tony Le Tissier).
- Shtemenko Sergei Matveevich, The Last Six Months — Author’s position: General Staff officer, chief of the Operations Directorate of the Soviet General Staff (from May 1943), i.e. the Stavka-level view of planning and coordination. Doubleday, Garden City (N.Y.), 1977; UK edition: William Kimber, London, 1978.
Studies and documents
- Andrew Stephen, Rogers Duncan, Colton C. F., Holzträger Hans, In a Raging Inferno: Combat Units of the Hitler Youth 1944-45 — Helion & Company, Solihull, c. 2000-2001 [catalogues disagree, 2000 to 2004: to verify]. Main author: Hans Holzträger.
- Armstrong Richard, Red Army Tank Commanders — Schiffer Publishing, March 1994.
- Bączyk Norbert, Kielce 1945 — Wydawnictwo Militaria, 2003 (58 pp.; bilingual Polish-English edition).
- Baumann Günther, Posen 1945 — English translation Posen ’45: Bastion on the Warthe (transl. K. Scharley): J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Winnipeg, 2018. German original: Posen ’45. Bastion an der Warthe. Eine Dokumentation.
- Baxter Ian, The Vistula-Oder Offensive: The Soviet Destruction of German Army Group A, 1945 — Casemate Publishers (Casemate Illustrated), 4 January 2024.
- Buttar Prit, Into the Reich: The Red Army’s Advance to the Oder in 1945 — Osprey Publishing (Bloomsbury), 9 September 2025.
- Duffy Christopher, Red Storm on the Reich — Routledge, London, 1991 (US edition: Atheneum, New York, 1991).
- Erickson John, The Road to Berlin — Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1983 (US edition: Westview Press, Boulder, 1983).
- Glantz David, From the Vistula to the Oder - Art of War Symposium — 1986 Art of War Symposium, transcript of proceedings (ed. David M. Glantz). Center for Land Warfare, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks (Pa.), 1986.
- Glantz David, Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War — Frank Cass, London, 1989.
- Glantz David, Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle — Frank Cass, London, 1991.
- Glantz David, The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Maneuver: Spearhead of the Offensive — Frank Cass, London, August 1991.
- Gunter Georg, Last Laurels: the German Defence of Upper Silesia, January-May 1945 — Helion & Company, Solihull, August 2002.
- Hamilton Stephan, Panzergrenadier to the Front!, The Combat History of Panzergrenadier Division Brandenburg on the Eastern Front 1944-45 — Helion & Company, 15 November 2016 (published title: Panzergrenadiers to the Front!).
- Hamilton Stephan, The Oder Front 1945 — Helion & Company, vol. 1: 15 December 2014 (Helion’s own listing; some catalogues give 2011).
- Hargreaves Richard, Hitler’s Final Fortress: Breslau 1945 — Frontline Books (Pen & Sword), Barnsley, 2011; US edition: Stackpole Books, 1 April 2015.
- Harrison W. Richard, Prelude to Berlin - The Red Army’s Offensive Operations in Poland and Eastern Germany — Helion & Company, 2016 (ed. and transl. Richard W. Harrison); reissued in Helion’s AUSA series, 27 November 2025.
- Hinze Rolf, To the Bitter End — Helion & Company, Solihull, 2005.
- Isaev Alexey, Hitler’s Fortresses in the East: The Sieges of Ternopol’, Kovel’, Poznan and Breslau, 1944-1945 — Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, June 2021 (hardback).
- Jerzak Jarosław, Karalus Maciej, Panzers in the Defence of Festung Posen 1945 — Helion & Company, 15 September 2018 (paperback).
- Kissel Hans, Hitler’s Last Levy: The Volkssturm 1944-45 — Helion & Company, Solihull, 2005.
- Nebolsin Igor, Stalin’s Favorite - the Combat History of the 2nd Guards Tank Army — Helion & Company; vol. 1 (January 1943 - June 1944): 15 May 2015; vol. 2 (July 1944 - May 1945, covers the Vistula-Oder operation): 15 March 2016.
- Nebolsin Igor, Tank Battles in East Prussia and Poland, 1944-1945 — Helion & Company, 15 September 2019.
- Nevenkin Kamen, Fire Brigades: The Panzer Divisions 1943-1945 — J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Winnipeg, 2008.
- Ramsey Winston G., The Battle for Festung Posen — Not a book: issue no. 188 of the magazine After the Battle (Battle of Britain International, London; editor Winston G. Ramsey), main article by Tomasz Zgoda; 2020 [to verify].
- Spaeter Helmut, The History of the Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland, Volume 3 — J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Winnipeg, June 2000.
- Zaloga Steven J., Tanks in the Battle of Germany 1945: Eastern Front — Osprey Publishing (Bloomsbury), New Vanguard no. 312, 24 November 2022.
German
Memoirs
- Ahlfen Hans von, Der Kampf um Schlesien — Author’s position: Generalmajor, commandant of Festung Breslau from 30 January to 2 March 1945 (relieved by Niehoff); first-hand account of the fighting in Silesia. Gräfe und Unzer, München, 1961 (reprint: Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart, 1976).
- Ahlfen Hans von, Niehoff Hermann, So kämpfte Breslau — Two authors: Hans von Ahlfen (Generalmajor, commandant of Festung Breslau 30 January - 2 March 1945) and Hermann Niehoff (General der Infanterie, his successor as commandant until the surrender in May 1945). Gräfe und Unzer, München, 1959 (reprint: Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart, 1976).
- Arnhold Paul, Der gnadenlose Weg: Von der Weichsel nach Breslau 12. Januar bis 15. Februar 1945 — Author’s position: senior officer in the German LVI Panzer Corps. blick und bild Verlag, Velbert/Kettwig, 1966.
- Nehring Walter K., Der « Wandernde Kessel », zwischen Kielce und Glogau vom 12. bis 22. Januar 1945 — Author’s position: General der Panzertruppen Walther K. Nehring, commander of the XXIV Panzer Corps, whose « wandering pocket » is the subject; commander’s own account. Unpublished study (typescript, 1949), probably Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Nachlass Nehring, BArch N 543/131; no publisher.
- Pantenius Hans Jürgen, Letzte Schlacht an der Ostfront — Author’s position: young regimental commander, Volksgrenadier-Regiment 690 (337th Volksgrenadier Division) from September 1944; regimental and divisional view from the Vistula to Danzig. Mittler, Hamburg, 2002.
Studies and documents
- Magenheimer Heinz, Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945 — Rombach, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1976.
- Müller Rolf-Dieter, Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Band 10 — Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt (DVA), 2008: Band 10/1 Die militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht and Band 10/2 Die Folgen des Zweiten Weltkrieges (both 2008).
- Römhild Helmut, Geschichte der 269. Infanterie-Division — Podzun, Bad Nauheim-Dorheim, 1967.
- Saft Ulrich, Krieg im Osten — Militärbuchverlag Saft, Walsrode, 2002 (edition seen; year of first edition to verify).
- Schramm Percy Ernst, Die Niederlage 1945 — Die Niederlage 1945 (excerpts from the KTB OKW): Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, München, 1962; full text in Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, vol. IV (2 half-volumes), Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt am Main, 1961.
- Ueberschär Gerd R., Müller Rolf-Dieter (ed.), 1945. Das Ende des Krieges — Primus Verlag (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft), Darmstadt, 2005.
- Vogel André, Klar Uwe, Brennpunkt «Ostwall». Die Kämpfe um die Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen im Winter 1945 — Helios Verlag, Aachen, 2015.
- Werthen Wolfgang, Geschichte der 16. Panzer Division — Podzun, Bad Nauheim, 1958 (reprint: Podzun-Pallas, Friedberg, 1985).
- Zeidler Manfred, Kriegsende im Osten: Die Rote Armee und die Besetzung Deutschlands östlich von Oder und Neisse 1944-45 — Oldenbourg, München, 1996.
Journals
- The Journal of Slavic Military Studies
- Soviet Military Journal
Russian
Memoirs — soldiers and junior officers
- Антонов В.С., Путь к Берлину — 301st Rifle Division (5th Shock Army); departure from the Magnuszew bridgehead, 14 January 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/antonov_vs/04.html and http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/antonov_vs/05.html
- Бессонов Е.И., На Берлин — lieutenant, 49th Mechanized Brigade (4th Tank Army), infantry riding on tanks. Chapter 12 stops on the eve of the January offensive; the following chapters and the book’s table of contents return a 404 error on the site. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/bessonov_ei/12.html
- Варенников В.И., Парад Победы — officer, 35th Guards Rifle Division (8th Guards Army); from the Vistula to Küstrin, January-March 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/varennikov_vi/07.html
- Гельфанд В.Н., Дневники 1941-1946 — soldier, then second lieutenant and platoon commander (rifle and mortar units); diary renowned for its frankness, 1945 section. http://militera.lib.ru/db/gelfand_vn/05.html
- Добровольцы Урала — collection of testimonies from veterans of the Urals Volunteer Tank Corps; chapter « От Вислы до Одера », 12-24 January 1945. https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/dobrovoltsy_urala/06.html
- Левин Ю.А., Шли мы на Берлин — war correspondent with the 3rd Shock Army; day-by-day dated account, 12 January - 17 February 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/levin_ua2/01.html
- Мацапура С.С., Товарищ сержант — tank driver-mechanic, 49th Guards Tank Brigade; chapter « Прорыв на Иновроцлав », Magnuszew bridgehead → Inowrocław, 15-21 January 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/matsapura_ss/05.html
- Немчинский А.Б., Осторожно, мины! — 207th Motorized Engineer Battalion; chapter « С танкистами по Силезии »: Sandomierz, Częstochowa, Gleiwitz, the Oder. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/nemchinsky_ab/09.html
Memoirs — brigade, corps and army commanders
- Андреев А.М., От первого мгновения до последнего — 125th Rifle Corps (47th Army); Deutsch-Krone and Schneidemühl, January-February 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/andreev_am/06.html
- Бабаджанян А.Х., Дороги победы — 11th Guards Tank Corps (1st Guards Tank Army); chapter VI, November 1944 - February 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/babjanyan_ah/06.html
- Боков Ф.Е., Весна победы — military council of the 5th Shock Army; chapter « Стремительный удар », 14 January - 1 February 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/bokov_fe/02.html
- Гетман А.Л., Танки идут на Берлин — 11th Tank Corps; chapter 9, January 1945 (Vistula, Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań, Oder). http://militera.lib.ru/h/getman_al/09.html
- Драгунский Д.А., Годы в броне — 55th Guards Tank Brigade; confirmed.
- Жадов А.С., Четыре года войны — 5th Guards Army; chapter 7, Sandomierz-Silesia operation. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zhadov_as/07.html
- Катуков М.Е., На острие главного удара — 1st Guards Tank Army; chapters 17-18. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/katukov/index.html
- Катышкин И.С., Служили мы в штабе армейском — staff of the 59th Army; chapter 5, December 1944 - January 1945, up to Kraków. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/katyshkin_is/05.html
- Клочков И.Ф., Мы штурмовали рейхстаг — 150th Rifle Division; chapters « Висло-Одерская операция », « Под Шнайдемюлем », « К Балтийскому морю ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/klochkov_if/index.html
- Конев И.С., Сорок пятый — command of the 1st Ukrainian Front. https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/konev_is2/text.html
- Попель Н.К., Впереди — Берлин! — 1st Guards Tank Army (member of the military council). http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/popel3/05.html
- Пухов Н.П., Годы испытаний — 13th Army; chapter « 1945 год ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/puhov_np/05.html
- Рослый И.П., Последний привал — в Берлине — 9th Rifle Corps (5th Shock Army); January-February 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/rosliy_ii/12.html
- Слюсаренко З.К., Последний выстрел — 56th Guards Tank Brigade; chapter « Между Вислой и Одером ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/sljusarenko_zk/09.html
- Фомичев М.Г., Путь начинался с Урала — 63rd Guards Tank Brigade; chapter « От Вислы до Одера ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/fomichyov_mg/03.html
- Хетагуров Г.И., Исполнение долга — 82nd Guards Rifle Division; Poznań and Küstrin. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/hetagurov_gi/07.html
- Чуйков В.И., Конец третьего рейха — 8th Guards Army (Poznań). http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/chuykov2/04.html and http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/chuykov2/05.html
Memoirs — staffs, rear services, engineers, medical service, propaganda
Memoirs — aviation
- Архипенко Ф.Ф., Записки летчика-истребителя — deputy commander of the 129th Guards Fighter Regiment; chapter IX, Sandomierz bridgehead, liberation of Poland, entry into Germany. https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/arhipenko/09.html
- Дольников Г.У., Летит стальная эскадрилья — 9th Guards Fighter Division; chapter « На земле врага ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/dolnikov/10.html
- Каравацкий А.З., Маршрутами мужества — chapter « Висло-Одерская стратегическая… ». http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/karavatsky_az/index.html
- Куманичкин А.С., Чтобы жить… — 176th Fighter Regiment; Warsaw-Sochaczew sector, January 1945. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kumanichkin/18.html
- Пстыго И.И., На боевом курсе — 893rd Assault Regiment; chapter « Победный сорок пятый »: Sandomierz, Kraków, Breslau. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/pstygo/05.html
- Руденко С.И., Крылья Победы — 16th Air Army. http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/rudenko/09.html and http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/rudenko/10.html
Studies and documents
French
Studies and documents
- Lopez Jean, Berlin, les offensives géantes de l’Armée Rouge - Vistule, Oder, Elbe, 12 janvier-9 mai 1945 — Économica, Paris, 2009.
Polish
Studies and documents
- Krzyżaniak Michał, Karalus Maciej, Poznań 1945. Bitwa o Poznań w fotografii i dokumentach (Festung Posen 1945) — Vesper, 2010. Photo-documentary album (about 400 photographs); text in Polish, German and English.