Russian SSh40 Helmet worn by soldier of the 69th Army in relic condition recovered near the river Oder at Lebus south of Seelow Heights 1945 battlefield the opening battle for Berlin

The Battle of the Seelow Heights was part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation (16 April-2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945. Close to one million Soviet soldiers of the 1st Belorussian Front (including 78,556 soldiers of the Polish 1st Army), commanded by Marshal Georgi Zhukov, attacked the position known as the "Gates of Berlin". They were opposed by about 110,000 soldiers of the German 9th Army commanded by General Theodor Busse, as part of the Army Group Vistula.

This battle is often incorporated into the Battle of the Oder-Neisse. The Seelow Heights was where some of the most bitter fighting in the overall battle took place, but it was only one of several crossing points along the Oder and Neisse rivers where the Soviets attacked. The Battle of the Oder-Neisse was itself only the opening phase of the Battle of Berlin. The result was the encirclement of the German 9th Army and the Battle of Halbe.

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