Last Levy- The Defence of Berlin

In the last days of Germany's war, many desperate civilians were drafted into the Volksturm to defend Berlin. Armed with whatever they could lay their hands on, old men, wounded soldiers, and even those too young for regular service were expected to hold back the unstoppable Red Army. The Volkssturm (literally, ‘People‘s Storm’) were militia recruited from amongst the old, unfit and young. Many were drawn from the ranks of the Hitler Youth or from amongst veterans of World War I. They were ill-equipped with a variety of weaponry including crudely made Volkssturm MP3008 submachine guns and Volkssturmgewehr rifle. Others carried weapons captured from other nations earlier in the war or guns dating back to the previous century. Most did not have a uniform, but wore civilian clothing with just a black armband emblazoned with Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht to show their allegiance. Volkssturm battalions were theoretically formed only for the defence of their own military district, but many