Eventually Busse's Ninth Army was driven into a pocket in the Spree Forest south of the Seelow Heights and west of Frankfurt, where it became fully encircled by two prongs of the massive Soviet assault on Berlin. In the ever-shrinking pocket, Busse's forces were all but annihilated in what is known as the Battle of Halbe, but remnants ultimately managed to break through to the west to link up with General Walther Wenck’s 12th Army south of Beelitz and then to withdraw west to the Elbe, cross the partially-destroyed bridge at Tangermünde and surrender to American forces between May 4 and 7. Postwar Between 1945 and 1948, Busse was a prisoner-of-war. After the war Busse was West Germany's director of civil defense, and he wrote and edited a number of works on the military history of World War II. Awards and decorations Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer on the 5th of December 1934 Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 27 May 1940 1st Class on 30 May 1940 German Cross in Gold on 24 May 1942 as Oberst im Generalstab in AOK 11 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (N 2611) on 30 January 1944 as Generalleutnant and Chief of the Generalstab of Heeresgruppe Süd Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (25 January 1966) Books by Busse "Kursk: The German View" by Steven H. Newton. The first part of the book goes to a new translation of a study of Operation Citadel (the great tank battle of Kursk) edited by General Theodor Busse, which offers the perspectives of key tank, infantry, and air commanders. References Citations Bibliography 1897 births 1986 deaths People from Frankfurt (Oder) People from the Province of Brandenburg German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Battle of Berlin Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Reichswehr personnel Military personnel from Brandenburg