Day One - Eleven Guild members and partners met up at the Comfort Titanic in the old eastern sector for a battlefield tour of Berlin 1945. Each made his or her own way to Berlin.
Norman Sibbald was the lead guide ably assisted by
Dermot Gallagher. After 'bedding in' at our hotel, a few drinks were the order of the day.
Day Two - Our party visited the Reichstag the political objective of the Red Army. Norman did a splendid job in talking us through the battle sites with photos taken at the time. We were able to visit the exact locations on the ground.
The Reichstag Building with the now famous Norman Foster glass roof.
Day Three - Our tour took us out of Berlin to the river Oder and the battle for the Seelow Heights. The Red Army crossed the Oder against strong and fanatical resistance by the German defenders. This was the last natural obstacle before Berlin only 92 kms from its centre. Casualties on both sides were very heavy. Over 30,000 Soviet troops lost their lives as did 12,000 German defenders. Fought between 16 - 19 April 1945 the Red Army committing over 1,000,000 soldiers to the battle. The way to Berlin was now open. Included within our tour was a visit to Chuikov's Command Post and Zhukov's OP. This was specially built for him so he could view the battle
The entrance to Chuikov's Bunker position close by the Seelow Heights
Day Four - A walking tour of the city. Norman used photos of the 1945 battles again so we could make an exact comparison on the ground. It was a long hard day with much use being made of our feet as well as the U and S Bahn rail systems.
In front of the Brandenburg Gate. the former boundary between East and West Berlin.
Day Five - Very much left to the individual with no organised programme. During the day we made our way home.The more intrepid with late departure times from Berlin visited the Radio Tower in Alexanderplatz with its stunning views right across Berlin. Some also ventured to the western outskirts of the city to see the Stadium built by the Nazis for the 1936 Olympic Games
A before and after shot which showed the attempted German breakout from the Reich Chancellory out through the north of Berlin which failed
Again a big thanks to Norman Sibbald for guiding us and for freely giving up information about this particular battle. The next Recce tour will be conducted by
Dudley Giles to look at the Retreat from Mons in July 2012.
Bob Darby
Badge Member No 29
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