also many civilian vehicles, came up against troops marching in the opposite direction. We went through Kopenick, across the Spree, and through Adlershof and Altglienicke to the suburb of Rudow, where we looked for quarters. The small combatant part of the division took up defensive positions in Adlershof.
No sooner had we been allocated quarters in Rudow than we were sent forward in our APC again. At my request my radio operator and myself were given permission to fall out for 24 hours and get some sleep for once. How often have I cursed myself since! However, first of all we could take a bath and sleep in a proper bed. We slept until noon the following day, Sunday 22 April. The weather was fine and so there were constant air attacks. The noise of battle grew ever nearer and clouds of smoke rose constantly to the south and east. I chatted until evening with the people in my billet, who had already prepared themselves mentally for Bolshevism, but when I went to look up my comrades next door, I found everyone, including the vehicles, gone. They had apparently left their quarters in such a hurry that they had forgotten to tell us. Not knowing exactly where they had gone, we set off hoping to catch them up. Just as it was getting dark we met our division’s ammunition column, which took us along with them to Neukolln, but they also did not know where our supply column was, which was difficult to understand. Night found us in the streets with ‘Lame Ducks’[35] dropping bombs and a Russian machine-gun firing nearby. Ivan had broken through again somehow.
As dawn broke on this Monday morning the local inhabitants began to appear on the streets and gave us hot coffee. Then we drove on with the ammunition column to Rudow, from where we marched to Adlershof to see if we could find either our APC or the regimental command post. The road was already under artillery fire, but women and young girls were still going about their shopping. No sooner had we gone round an anti-tank barrier that was under a railway bridge than a Second Lieutenant asked us where we were going and then wanted to conscript us into his defence team. Fortunately a motorcycle combination from our division appeared from the direction of Adlershof and so we jumped on and thundered away from his press gang.
The road was under very heavy fire as we returned to Rudow. We had now met up with some men from Panzergrenadier Regiment 76 that wanted to pick up an anti-aircraft gun and at the same time were also looking for the supply column. An attempt to find the divisional staff in Schoneweide proved fruitless, but we were lucky enough to meet up with our divisional engineers’ horse-drawn supply column, into which we managed to integrate ourselves with some difficulty, so that at least we would be able to pass through the numerous patrols and military police barriers. We marched right through Berlin at high speed until our feet finally refused to obey orders any more. We went past Nollendorfplatz, the Zoo, the Memorial Church and then along the Kaiserdamm to Charlottenburg through areas well known to me. Several streets were barricaded off and were already under Russian shell fire. Many refugees went along with us looking for some means of escaping by train. The engineers stopped near the Funkturm, where orders were received that all the supply columns were to return to Berlin. We were told that Panzergrenadier Regiment 90’s supply column was at Doberitz. We two radio operators were to remain until our supply column returned, and meanwhile were sent to a cold billet in Witzleben with some very unfriendly people. As we were given neither blankets nor food and were completely exhausted, we did not feel very welcome in this strange unit in which we knew no one.
Next morning, 24 April, with still no sign of our people and the firing from the direction of Spandau getting closer and closer, we tried to find a vehicle from our division on the Kaiserdamm that could eventually take us to Doberitz. We waited in vain. Then I decided upon a subterfuge. I went to the engineer company commander and told him that we had met an officer from our unit who had informed us that our supply column was now in Doberitz, so he gave us a marching order in writing and we set off down the Heerstrasse. The marching order enabled us to pass through the barriers and we got a lift on a truck for part of the way. There was already fighting in Spandau, and machine gun fire could be heard not far off. Shortly before Doberitz, like an angel to our rescue, our headquarter company commander appeared on a motorcycle. He told us that our APC was at the Reichssportfeld. He himself had gone to look for the supply column in Doberitz but had not found it. We were to turn back again and he would come and pick us up with a motorcycle combination. I was somewhat sceptical about this and set off on foot with my comrade for the Reichssportfeld, which was fortunate for us. On our way between Spandau and the Reichssportfeld, which we made with two rests, we kept our eyes open for the motorcycle, and were delighted when our APC suddenly appeared instead. We quickly jumped aboard. The vehicle was full of women, nurses, working girls and wounded as well as the crew and regimental staff. The street barriers were already closed in Spandau and Russian tanks had shot up several vehicles in front of us, so we had to turn and seek a way through further to the south. Columns of smoke around us showed roughly where the front line was. By using tracks and country roads we reached the neighbourhood of Potsdam, which was already surrounded by the Russians. We had to make detours several times and often to open anti-tank barriers to get through. Finally we realised that Berlin had been surrounded and that we would have to risk a break-out.
Near Ketzin, north-west of Potsdam, the lakes and bridges seemed to provide the most favourable opportunity for our purpose, and we met up with several SPGs from our own armoured unit. We prepared the vehicle for battle and set up sub-machine guns and assault rifles around the APC’s coping. Then we burst into Ketzin. The enemy infantry did not bother with us, only a tank trying to shoot us up, but its shell hit a building 30 metres behind us. A little further to the west we came across some SS troops taking up defensive positions; we had broken out of the Berlin pocket. We came across several units from the division on our way, including our horse-drawn supply column.
The Russian pincers had thrust far ahead. To the south they were already in Brandenburg, and to the north in Nauen. There were columns of smoke all around. During the night we had to pass through a military police barrier in Kyritz, but then we were fortunate to find the collecting point for the remainder of the 20th Panzergrenadier Division, which was in a wood by the village of Wutzetz on the Rhin Canal near Friesack. But depression soon followed our joy at having escaped from the encirclement. ‘What now?’ was the question everyone was asking.
On 25 April we were re-organised as the Armoured Brigade of the 20th Panzergrenadier Division. The supply column was combed through again and again so that eventually we produced two infantry battalions, two artillery detachments, an armoured company with eight SPGs, one anti-aircraft and one infantry mortar company, all fully motorised. We were to be allocated as an independent brigade to a corps operating to the north. It was clear that not much could be expected of these supply column soldiers, more of whom were deserting daily. Nevertheless, we continued with our training, for which the corps allowed us a few days in which to prepare ourselves.
On 27 April we pulled out of the wood for Wutzetz and took up quarters in a former prison camp for Polish officers. At first the days were quiet, but later we were increasingly sought out by enemy aircraft, so that at times we were having to seek shelter in our little earthen bunkers every quarter of an hour. During repeated air attacks on 1 May my radio platoon leader and I, with no one to stop us, took cover in the asparagus fields. That evening Wutzetz was in flames and the Russians had penetrated Friesack. Our neighbours, who had similarly taken up defensive positions on the Rhin Canal, pulled out. At 2100 hours we also pulled out, taking all kinds of refugees along with us. There were enormous columns of vehicles on the road and ‘Lame Ducks’ were dropping flares. Our journey via Wusterhausen took us to a farm near Neustadt, where we settled down for the night, while the companies took up defensive positions. Rumours caused me to switch on my radio again at midnight. After some solemn, stately music came the announcement that the Fuhrer had fallen in battle in Berlin that day. All our will to continue resisting the enemy now vanished.
During the night the Russians penetrated Neustadt. As we had no radio contact with the brigade staff, our orderly officer was sent to brigade to get instructions. There he found only the brigade orderly officer, who was about to leave. The latter advised him to drive to Segeberg, which was passed to our commander as an order. The brigade commander, Major Rostock, and his even worse deputy, Captain Kern, had abandoned us to drive home unimpeded in a small vehicle.
Following the dispersal of our infantry companies during the night-time confusion at Neustadt, we drove off with the motorised units at dawn on the 2nd May for Schwerin via Segeberg. Near Havelberg the route went off towards Perleberg, which was already occupied by the Russians, so we turned south-west and drove past Wittenberge, which was in sight of the Americans. Just before Ludwigslust our despatch rider returned with the news that American tanks were already in Schwerin and Ludwigslust. The Russians and Americans had already joined hands north of us, and it was only a few kilometres to the American spearheads. The officers conferred amongst themselves. The only choice before us lay between east and west. The decision was made after careful consideration. The commander then addressed us; he did not want to shed any more blood, but those who
