Still wearing their boots and helmets, the Germans who fell fighting Russians at the Gates of Berlin

Still wearing their boots and helmets, the Germans who fell fighting Russians at the Gates of Berlin: 70 years on, troops sacrificed in Hitler's doomed last stand are unearthed

The Battle of the Seelow Heights was part of the Soviet assault on Berlin (inset) and lasted three days in April 1945. The German soldiers have lain where they fell 70 years ago. Until now. Thanks to the work of the Association for the Recovery of the Fallen (main picture) the soldiers are finally being rescued from their wartime graves. Their boots, belts and helmets remain while their battledress have worn away. The number of Russian soldiers thought to have died ranges from 5,000 to 33,000, while some 12,000 German troops perished.