Rudi Lindner, with the escorting infantry, continued his account:
We were glad as our armoured column moved back slowly, taking us away from this frightful bit of street. From the railway station we then went south a little and then later drove westward through the woods once more.
During the manoeuvring of these Tigers of the leading platoon, and the change of direction of the southern spearhead to a new breakthrough sector in the woods south of Halbe, even more soldiers and civilians pressed into 9th Army’s break-out point at Halbe.
Before turning west we made a short halt to unload the wounded and redistribute the officer cadets among the tanks. The officer cadets from the two shot-up tanks were assigned to a reconnaissance APC equipped with a machine gun, which now took over the lead. We had to reconnoitre towards the autobahn. I sat in the rear of the APC and had to cover the rear through the open door. As I was unable to see properly from there, I stupidly sat on the APC’s rear towing hook, an error I was soon to regret. After having gone about 100 metres, we were shot at from in front and our machine gun and sub-machine gunners opened fire. I had not reckoned on the driver suddenly reversing at full speed. I slipped off the towing hook and fell on the road, turning in such a way that I lay in the direction of travel and on my stomach, pressing myself close to the ground. The tracks of the APC rattled past right and left of my body. Fortunately the APC had sufficient ground clearance. Once the vehicle had gone over and past me, the driver noticed and stopped the APC. Covered by fire from our machine guns, I rolled aside and ran back uninjured to the rear of the APC. Once more I had been lucky and also didn’t have to worry about being laughed at by my comrades. Although there was nothing for me to laugh about, it could have been far worse, and I had to put a good face on it.
With all our weapons firing, the APC pulled back to the armoured column, where the tanks had meanwhile turned their turrets to two o’clock and opened concentrated fire on an assembly of T-34s and other vehicles. Soon several T-34s were alight, making good targets of the others, which therefore withdrew.
Our Tigers received the order to resume the advance towards the autobahn and the officer cadets in the APC were reallocated to the tanks. I was assigned to the tank commanded by Harlander with four other comrades. We climbed aboard and the armoured column set off once more. After a few hundred metres we came under fire again and our tank was hit in the tracks, but kept on firing.
We had driven into a concentration of Russian troops, but under the covering fire of our Tiger’s crew, the armoured column was able to fight its way through towards the autobahn, and with them also went the rest of the officer cadets of our platoon. I heard nothing more of these comrades, either in the days to follow or later on.
Now it became uncomfortable for us on our immobilized tank. We came under heavy fire from Panzerfausts, which fortunately were all fired too high and exploded above us in the trees, showering us with splinters and branches. From the illumination of a flare we saw that we were in the assembly area of some heavy Stalin tanks, and one of these colossi was already turning its turret in our direction as the light went out. A lightning bang, a frightful howling and then a crash shook our tank, which had received a direct hit. The crew bailed out, shouting: ‘Harland is dead!’
We also jumped off and ran instinctively in the direction of the least noise of combat to the next woodland track, where we dug in. This was the time to keep our nerve. We were completely on our own, our tanks had gone over the hill, there were Russian troops in the woods, where exactly no one knew, and our tank crew had run off in another direction.
The most important questions for us were to establish whether the track was free of the enemy and whether it led to the autobahn. I therefore went along the track in a westerly direction to find out. The track was free of the enemy for about 1,000 metres and led, as we luckily later discovered, to the autobahn.
I was glad to get back to my comrades and to get a little sleep before we marched on again.[29]
Now leading the break-out by 502nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, SS-Lieutenant Klust continued:
We drove westwards along a forest track. Many soldiers were marching around our tank, or trying to climb aboard. Some were riding on top and even blocked the air intake for the engine, causing it to overheat. My order to get off the tank and give us some close security was only partially successful.
After another few hundred metres, I had us stop. Orientation was nil. I only had a completely inadequate map showing neither woodland tracks nor precise landmarks. Several vehicles, including a Tiger, closed up behind.
After a brief consultation, we drove on and suddenly found ourselves on top of a Russian bivouac with the odd small campfire. Apparently a Russian supply convoy had bedded down here for the night. Both sides were taken by surprise. We had to get on. Just as I was setting off, a lieutenant-colonel wearing a leather coat jumped on my tank and shouted that we were heading in the wrong direction, but I replied that I was in charge and closed the hatch on him.
We drove on with firing going on all over the woods, friend and foe being indistinguishable in the dark. After another few hundred metres, I stopped again for the others to catch up.[30]
SS-Lieutenant Bärmann described the composition of this column:
Without orders, we formed up in a new column west of Halbe: two Königstigers, three Panthers, two Hetzers, several APCs, a self-propelled 20mm Flak, and vehicles of all kinds. In addition, infantry, most of whom had no weapons.[31]
After they had waited all the previous day, the orders for 32nd SS Tank-Hunting Battalion to move did not arrive until the evening of the 28th. Ernst-Christian Gädtke explained what followed:
Once more we cut down on what we would carry, once more we had some hot food and were then issued with cold rations. Finally, in the evening as dusk fell, we moved off to the south-west towards the village of Halbe. The Russian lines followed the Lübben–Gross Köris railway line and we were to breach them at Halbe.
It was dark by the time we reached Halbe, the fighting vehicles following close behind each other along the woodland tracks, those who could sitting aboard, and those on foot keeping close on either side of the track. Everyone was trying to keep as close as possible to the vehicles.
From up in front, from Halbe, came the sounds of battle: infantry fire, the barking of anti-tank guns, the hammering of machine guns. Slowly, with interruptions and delays, the advance continued. Firing was going on in all directions and from all directions, and no one knew who was firing, who was friend and who was foe, who was firing at whom. In Halbe, barns and the roofs of houses were burning. We rolled on through the village, firing on both sides. Dead were lying in the street and between the houses, Russians and Germans all mixed up together. Shots, hits, explosions. Nobody was taking care of those lying there. Somehow we got through.[32]
We have another descriptive account from Eberhard Baumgart, originally of the Security Company of 32nd SS Division and now with a combat team guarding the headquarters staff: