on their right flank they also secured a road to Königswartha. The 9th Division found itself alone at the spearhead of the abandoned Polish push towards Dresden. It received orders to retreat on 26 April. Attempting to withdraw quickly and to rejoin the main forces, it was intercepted by the Germans and sustained heavy losses. The units were moving with insufficient security, on the assumption that the line of retreat was safe; at the same time the Germans captured Polish orders with details of their planned withdrawal routes. Coordination between the units was also lacking. 26th Infantry Regiment from the 9th Division took very heavy casualties (75 percent) in the "valley of death" around Panschwitz-Kuckau and Crostwitz. A Polish military hospital convoy from the same division was ambushed near Horka, with most of its personnel and wounded executed (about 300 casualties). There was only one survivor, chaplain Jan Rdzanek. The division commander, Colonel Aleksander Łaski, was taken captive. As a result of these losses, the 9th Division ceased to be an effective force; the remaining personnel were merged into the Soviet 19th Guards Rifle Division. According to some sources, 26 April marks the end of this battle, although less severe and isolated clashes in that region continued until 30 April. Other sources note that heavy fighting still took place on 27 April, and that the German advance was only completely halted on 28 April. By the end of the month, the Polish Second Army and the Soviet forces had repelled the German attack, forming a line toward Kamenz–Doberschütz–Dauban, and was preparing to launch an offensive toward Prague. Aftermath Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Polish casualties were particularly severe. In a relatively short time the Polish Second Army lost more than 22 percent of its personnel and 57 percent of its tanks and armored vehicles (about 200 total). Official estimates claimed about 18,000 casualties (including almost 5,000 dead). Some other estimates give the Polish casualties as up to 25,000. According to Polish historian Zbigniew Wawer, this was the most bloody battle that the Polish Army had been involved in since the Battle of Bzura in 1939. German casualties were significant, but less than the Polish and Soviet ones; contemporary Polish sources estimated German losses at 6,500 personnel, which is now seen as an inflated estimate. The German forces failed in their objective of breaking through the 1st Ukrainian Front and