This is a fairly small book at 135 pages. It was written as the memories were fresh and describes the horrible last few days of the Reich as Germans, civilian and military, tried to escape the brutality of the Red Army as it invaded Germany. This book graphically describes the breakout from the Halbe Kessel in late April and early May 1945.
The Ninth Army is trying to escape the Russian invaders and is near Halbe , south of Berlin. They are surrounded but there was an escape route available held by the Twelfth Army on the east side of the Elbe which would allow for access to the Americans on the west side. This book is written by Feldwebel (sergeant) Faust who is commanding a Panther 1. The kessel is a cauldron or pocket and this is the story of that trip through the pocket near Halbe. It is brutal. What started out as thousands of Germans, military, civilian, men, women, children is hundreds when they get to the Elbe. The Russians killed as many as possible.
This is one of those books, much like 'Devil's Guard', that will probably be in your memory forever to some extent. It was originally written by Faust as a memoir and was never published during his lifetime.
