Halle spared final battle through civic courage in April 1945

On April 19, 1945, at 10:55 a.m., the last combat operations in Halle ended 81 years ago, sparing the city a devastating final battle. This outcome was achieved through the courageous efforts of citizens like Count Felix von Luckner, who persuaded the Wehrmacht to retreat to the Elbe. Historian Matthias Maurer, who has extensively researched the end of the war in his hometown, uncovered that the U.S. 104th Infantry Division, known as the "Timberwolves," specifically sought contact with von Luckner, a German naval officer from World War I who participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Maurer studied the division's combat path in U.S. archives during visits to the United States.