By spring 1945, food distribution and the ration system were increasingly in collapse, due to insurmountable transportation disruption and the rapid advance of the Allied armies from west and east with consequent loss of food storage facilities. In Berlin, at the start of the Battle of Berlin, the authorities announced a special supplementary food ration on April 20, 1945. It consisted of a pound (450 g) of bacon or sausage, half a pound of rice, half a pound of peas or pulses, a pound of sugar, four ounces (110 g) of coffee substitute, one ounce of real coffee, and a tin of vegetables or fruit.