During World War II, in April 1945, the Panther tanks of the German Müncheberg Panzer Division collapsed under the Soviet Red Army's advance in the outskirts of Berlin. The bodies of German soldiers were scattered around them. On March 12, 1945, the division's strength was 6,836 men; by April 13, the division's strength had been reduced to 2,000 men.
In the final days of Nazi Germany, to avoid inevitable defeat due to manpower shortages in March 1945, the German military concentrated its last desperate reserve forces in Berlin. The Müncheberg Panzer Division began forming on March 8, 1945, in Müncheberg, Germany. On March 18, infantry battalion soldiers were used to reinforce the division's strength. As Soviet forces advanced near Müncheberg, the Müncheberg Division was ordered to move to the Eastern Front. On March 22, a large-scale Soviet operation to cut the Küstrin Corridor commenced. On March 27, a Soviet counterattack struck the division. The attack soon descended into chaos, forcing a disorderly retreat.
On April 16, the Soviet Red Army launched an offensive to cross the Alte Oder River, aiming to capture Berlin. On April 20, the Müncheberg Division retreated to Berlin. On April 26, the Müncheberg Division's advance was immediately halted by a Soviet counterattack. In the early morning of April 27, Hitler ordered the flooding of Berlin's underground tunnels to halt the Soviet advance. Many German soldiers and civilians who had taken refuge in the tunnels drowned. At the Anhalter S-Bahn station, water suddenly flooded the station, and amid screams, sobs, and curses, many people drowned. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide. By May 1, the Müncheberg Division had been pushed back to Tiergarten. On May 3, the Müncheberg Division came under Soviet artillery fire, was surrounded by Soviet forces, and was annihilated.
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