524151 - ENDKAMPF um das Reichsgebiet 1944 - 1945

By Axel Urbanke (German/English Text)

This large-format illustrated volume is the first hardbound book to be published by Luftverlag-Start. Comprising about 160 pages, with unique and previously unpublished photographs, it portrays the battles fought by army units to defend the frontiers of the Reich.

The 186 illustrations, thereof 23 in color, are all operational photos from the German side and not Allied postwar photos. Most were taken by German soldiers during the final battles and thus represent unique photographic documents, for by then film was difficult to obtain and photography rare. The black-and-white photos are supplemented by three rare color photos, also taken during the fighting. The photographs, accompanied by extensive and detailed text and maps, are reproduced to the highest possible standard on good quality glossy paper.

Among the book’s main themes are:

• Nemmersdorf and Goldap, the Russian drive across the East Prussian border

• From Königsberg to Pillau - Fighting Withdrawal in Samland, East Prussia April

1945 (Panther photos)

• The 1st Marine-Schützen-Division actions at the Oder in the Zehden Bridgehead

in February 1945

• The fighting in Silesia in spring 1945 (Panther photos)

• The battle for Fortress Breslau

• Actions by the “Hermann Göring” Fallschirmpanzerkorps at Bautzen and Görlitz

in April 1945 (Panther photos)

• The Führer-Begleit-Division in the fighting in Lauban (Panther photos)

• The SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade “Wallonien” and the 4th SS-Polizei-Division

in the Battle for Pomerania

• SS-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 560 z.b.V. in action at the Oder (Hetzer photos)

• The action against the Russian Bridgehead over the Oder at Küstrin and

“Fortress Küstrin” (Panther- and Hetzerphotos)

• Heiligenbeil and Oxhöfter Kämpe - the fight about the pockets at the Haff and

the Danziger-Bucht

The book is published in German / English!