The attack was resumed on the 27th March with artillery fire and bombers on the south-west part of the Altstadt, reducing the whole of this part of the town to dust and ashes. Even the Schloss, until then apparently exempt, was set on fire. The last ammunition dump went up in the air. In my estimation there were several hundred wounded lying in the Schloss and the Oelkeller that surely must have all died. With the destruction of this part of the Altstadt, the fortress commandant also lost his command post, and there was no other suitable bunker available that he could transfer to. At noon the Russians launched a major attack on the Altstadt from Sonnenburg. Despite fierce resistance, they were able to reach as far as the Marktplatz. I spoke to the fortress commandant twice on this day and recommended that as the ammunition was running out and as resistance could only be sustained for a little while longer, he should consider how at least some of the combatant troops could be saved. Through my liaison officer, SS-Captain Siedke, the news was brought to me that evening that the Gruppenführer was moving his command post to the Artillery Barracks on the other side of the Oder. I was asked to join the Gruppenführer with my men. The Gruppenführer with his staff of ten men and I with about fourteen men set off, led by one of the district staff who was familiar with the area. We crossed the railway bridge to the Artillery Barracks. In the subsequent discussion, the Gruppenführer asked me and my men to move into the front line, as there was no room for us. That same night I set off with my staff for Kuhbrücken-Vorstadt. The sector commander likewise informed me that there were no cellars or bunkers available even for his soldiers, so we moved into the front line.
The general feeling among the officers and men was that they fully understood that the fortress had to be held until the last minute, but they did not see why the order should not be given to break through to the German lines when the ammunition ran out and so save at least some of the troops. It was known that the ammunition would run out within a few hours and, if there were no further orders, about 1,500 men would have to wait until the Bolsheviks came and slaughtered them. I believe there were also officers who were determined to risk a breakout with their men should no order come from the local command for a combined one. All, however, were determined only to leave the fortress at the very last moment. It seemed senseless to fire their last round in Küstrin and then await the arrival of the Bolsheviks unarmed. Once it was established that no help could be expected from outside, one often heard that soldiers and even officers were proposing to the local command that they should now act independently. As no such orders came, even more rumours circulated among the troops that the fortress commander was no longer with them and they were leaderless. Encountering such rumours did not help much. When a leader is present he has to deal with this situation himself. The fortress commandant could only deal with it in one way, which was to order a combined breakout by the rest of the men. There was no alternative, for the prerequisite for the defence of the fortress was ammunition, and that was lacking.
At about 0800 hours on the 27th March the Russians started a three-hour bombardment that also covered Kuhbrücken-Vorstadt. Behind it they began an attack from Neu Bleyen and the west. As the Soviet infantry attacked, the German infantry turned and ran. Brandishing a drawn pistol, several officers tried to get their men back into their positions, but it did not work. Some of the foxholes were abandoned by the troops at the main Soviet point of attack. I saw a second lieutenant firing an automatic rifle, and a sergeant with a sub-machine gun, who used it extensively. Then there were about six Volkssturm men, who remained staunch and fired away. A Volkssturm battalion commander set an excellent example by remaining in front with these few men and telling them not to weaken. This Volkssturm officer was from the Warthegau and not known to me. I joined these men with my Party comrades from the district staff at the critical point of attack. We lay down with them and fired away continuously. This small fighting band forced the Bolsheviks to take cover and then, as we began to attack, to withdraw. Meanwhile an SS officer had got some of the men back on their feet and some 10 to 15 of them joined us in our position. More and more soldiers gradually joined us. The Russians attacked several times this day but were always beaten back. The German soldiers avoided fighting with the Russians as they were aware of their superiority in weapons. Soon every second Russian had an automatic rifle or grenade-launcher, the others having quick-firing rifles with 15 to 20 rounds. Behind the Russians were other heavy weapons. In contrast the German soldier had his old-fashioned rifle that had to be reloaded for every shot. As the ammunition in the last weeks had no more than five rounds in a clip, each bullet had to be loaded into the breach individually. During this attack German artillery was called on. They fired from the area of Tucheband, but fired too short into our own lines. After this attack also failed, the Russians used loudspeaker propaganda. They played German marches and the proclamations of German generals in Soviet captivity, always asking the German soldiers to give up the fight. The Russians used this loudspeaker propaganda on the Küstrin fronts every day. The speakers mentioned local events, which had a big effect on the troops. They mentioned the fortress commandant, other officers and also Küstrin officials by name, saying, for example, that I had gone away again or that I felt very comfortable in my home in the Neustadt.
We remained on alert day and night, for a new attack could begin any moment. On the 28th March there was a repeat performance of the day before. The concentration was on that part of the town between the Oder and the Oder-Vorflut Canal. Again we endured hour-long artillery bombardments, aerial bombing and phosphor canisters. As I had to stay in the trenches with my men, I sent my liaison officer to the Gruppenführer with my opinion once more. My question as to how much longer the ammunition would last received a chilling reply: the ammunition for the heavy weapons was all but exhausted and there was only 20 minutes’ worth of small-arms ammunition left. The Gruppenführer had assembled his officers for a conference. All the officers were unanimous in their opinion that to fire off the remaining ammunition in 20 minutes and then leave 1,500 men quite helpless was clearly senseless. All agreed that it would be better to try to use these men in the new front near Golzow. The Gruppenführer would send a telegram to the Reichsführer informing him that he had defended the fortress to the last round. My liaison officer, SS-Captain Siedke, returned at about 2200 hours with the information that the Gruppenführer had decided with a heavy heart to break through to Golzow with the remaining men. He had fulfilled his task. Now the last rounds were being kept for the breakthrough fighting. Forty artillery shells were then fired, and other rounds for which there were no longer any weapons were blown up. Everything that might be useful to the Russians was destroyed. Those of the wounded who could walk should join their units, the other wounded having unfortunately died in the flames or the demolitions. The word was passed that only the lightest clothing should be worn for the breakthrough and all pack items, overcoats, etc., should be left behind. The men only had light infantry weapons,i.e. rifles, sub-machine guns, pistols and hand grenades. The Gruppenführer arrived at Kuhbrücken with his men at 2300 hours. I had put a man with local knowledge at the head of the whole platoon of district staff; he knew every tree and bush in the Oderbruch. We set off in a southerly direction from Kuhbrücken under the cover of the Oder dyke towards Kietz. We had to cross the dyke between Kuhbrücken and Kietz individually. Of course, all talking and noise was strictly forbidden.