By January 1945, Upper Silesia had become Germany's key industrial region, with its coal mines, blast furnaces, arms factories and hydrogenation plants. Not surprisingly, when the Soviets launched a series of powerful offensives aimed at capturing the region, the German defence was bitter, bordering on the suicidal. Soviet reactions were brutal, the Red Army committing widespread atrocities, which have received little coverage until now. In this readable and fast-paced translation from the German edition, the author presents a penetrating description of the events which occurred in Silesia during the first five months of 1945 - from the massive Soviet offensive on 12th January, through to the final German defensive actions around Ratibor five months later. The translation and publication of Last Laurels represents a major contribution to the military history of the Eastern Front in the English language, filling a yawning gap in our knowledge of the most titanic armed struggle the world has yet seen. Key topics covered include: Prelude to the Soviet offensive / Opening of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive, 12 January 1945 / Initial German counter-attacks / Defence of Gleiwitz, Oppeln, and many other smaller locations recounted in detail / Eventual Soviet capture of the industrial district / Attack and counter-attack at Ratibor and the Glatzer Neisse / 1st Panzer Army's successful defence against Soviet attacks, February 1945 / German XI Corps counter-attacks / Soviet Schwarzwasser offensive, March 1945 / Decisive events in western Upper Silesia / The loss of Neisse and Leobschütz / Final Soviet offensive actions around Jägerndorf and Troppau . Main Selling Points - Contains a great number of German personal accounts Many small-unit actions recounted in detail Includes orders-of-battle for both German and Soviet forces