The Seelow Heights are situated around the town Seelow

Seelow

Seelow is a German town, seat of the Märkisch-Oderland, a district of Brandenburg.-Geography:It is situated in the extreme east of Germany, 70 km east of Berlin, 16 km west of the boundary with Poland.-History:...

, about 90 kilometres east of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and overlook the Oderbruch

Oderbruch

The Oderbruch is a region along the river Oder between the towns Oderberg and Bad Freienwalde in the north and Lebus in the south...

, the western flood plain of the River Oder

Oder

The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...

 which is a further 20 km to the east.

They are sometimes known as the "Gates To Berlin" because the main West-East route out of Berlin runs through them.

World War II

During April 1945, the Battle of the Seelow Heights

Battle of the Seelow Heights

The Battle of the Seelow Heights , was a part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation ; one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of World War II. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945...

 saw some of the heaviest fighting of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 between the German defenders and the Soviet attackers. Many localized Soviet attacks were held back by remnants of the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

. In the end, the Russians lost more men than the Germans, but the Soviet advances could not be held off for long. After several days of heavy fighting the Soviets managed to break through the defences and fight their way into the German capital in the Battle of Berlin

Battle of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....

.