Chronicle of the fall of Berlin in the last weeks of the Third Reich day by day
Rare footage will be included in a book that photographer Artur Bondar is preparing for publication with the support of Bird In Flight. For this publication, he chose portraits of the winners from the archive - Soviet soldiers and officers against the backdrop of defeated Berlin.
April 30, 1945, at 15:30 Berlin time, when the Soviet troops were already two hundred meters from the Fuhrerbunker, Hitler bit through the vial of poison. The commandant of Berlin, Weidling, considered suicide unacceptable for a commander whose soldiers continue to fight. He sent parliamentarians to the positions of the Red Army and turned to the Berlin garrison:
“We, who swore allegiance to him, were abandoned by the Führer to the mercy of fate ... Absence heavy weapons, ammunition and the general environment make the fight pointless. Every hour you continue to fight prolongs the terrible suffering of the civilian population of Berlin and our wounded. Everyone who falls in the struggle for Berlin will make a vain sacrifice. I demand an immediate end to the struggle."
“Their padded jackets were greasy and tattered, and their transport consisted of a mixture of old trucks and carts stuffed with looted furniture. More than half of the soldiers walked. They marched along the autobahn under the command of junior commanders who rode German bicycles. Even the famous Russian guns were covered with a layer of dry mud.
These were the soldiers of the army that defeated two-thirds of the German ground forces on the Eastern Front, while the superbly armed British and Americans with great difficulty defeated the remaining third in Normandy, Italy and the Siegfried Line. They were stocky steppe peasants and shepherds. It was clear that there were no difficulties for them, ”as the Australian war correspondent Osmar White described the winners.
The fictions of German propaganda, which described the horrors of a possible occupation to Berliners, were reinforced by the stories of refugees from the eastern provinces about the real crimes of the Red Army against civilians. In the winter-spring of 1945, in the city district alone, 215 residents committed suicide out of fear of the advancing Soviet troops.
On May 2, the writer Vladimir Bogomolov, then a military counterintelligence officer, arrived in Berlin: “We are entering one of the surviving houses. Everything is quiet, dead. We knock, please open. You can hear whispering in the corridor, muffled and excited conversations. Finally the door opens. Women without age, huddled together in a close group, bow frightened, low and obsequiously. German women are afraid of us, they were told that Soviet soldiers, especially Asians, would rape and kill them ... Fear and hatred on their faces. But sometimes it seems that they like to be defeated - their behavior is so helpful, their smiles are so touching and words are sweet.
The inhabitants of the German lands occupied by the Red Army offered practically no resistance and therefore were not subjected to repressions. However, Soviet soldiers are accused of mass rape.
“Berliners remember the piercing screams at night, heard in houses with broken windows. According to the estimates of the two main Berlin hospitals, the number of people raped by Soviet soldiers ranges from 95 to 130 thousand people, ”says British historian Anthony Beevor. Professor Atina Grossman estimates that in the post-war months, women in the city made between 20,000 and 100,000 affidavits - written statements about rape, necessary to obtain the right to a free abortion.
"Comrade soldiers! You are seduced by women whose husbands went to all the brothels of Europe, became infected themselves and infected their German women. Before you are those Germans who were specially left by the enemies in order to spread venereal diseases and thereby incapacitate the soldiers of the Red Army. With what eyes will the one who brings a contagious disease look into the eyes of his relatives? How can we, the soldiers of the heroic Red Army, be a source of contagious diseases in our country? NO! For the moral image of a soldier of the Red Army must be as pure as the image of his homeland and family!” - leaflets with this text were distributed in parts of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Order No. 1 of the Soviet commandant of Berlin forbade the National Socialist German Workers' Party and all organizations subordinate to it, ordered military personnel and the leadership of state institutions to appear at the commandant's office for registration. Utilities(power stations, water supply, sewerage, urban transport), medical institutions, food stores and bakeries had to resume work. Workers and employees were required to remain in their places and continue to perform their duties.
On May 17, 68-year-old engineer Arthur Werner, a specialist in the construction of bomb shelters, was appointed mayor of Berlin. Both of his sons were in Soviet captivity.
Nightclubs continued to operate in the dilapidated city. The Potsdamer Platz smelled of sewage and rotting corpses, and in the Femina cabaret, Soviet, British and American officers danced with women. A bottle of wine cost $25, a pack of American cigarettes $20, a hamburger with horsemeat and potatoes $10.
“The cheeks of the Berlin women were rouged, and their lips made up so that it seemed as if Hitler had won the war. Many were in silk stockings,” a visitor recalled. The program of the evening included the performance of Russian dances.
On May 2, 1945, the troops of the First Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Zhukov, together with the troops of the First Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Konev, completely occupied the capital of Nazi Germany, the city of Berlin.
Most of the troops of the Berlin garrison defending the city, realizing the futility of resistance, laid down their arms and surrendered on May 2, 1945 at 3 pm. Artillery General Weidling, together with three German generals, crossed the front line at 6 am on May 2, surrendering.
Some time later, General Weidling, who was at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army, wrote an order to surrender. This document was reproduced and this order was brought to the attention of the enemy units, which were defending themselves in the center of Berlin, using loud-speaking installations and radios. As this order was transmitted to the defenders, resistance in Berlin ceased. By evening, the forces of the 8th Guards Army troops cleared the central part of the city from the enemy. The entire operation to capture Berlin lasted 8 days, from April 25 to May 2 inclusive. By nightfall, Soviet troops captured more than seventy thousand enemy soldiers and officers. Among the prisoners were General Kurt Vetash and Lieutenant General Walter Schmidt-Danquart. Also taken prisoner were Vice-Admiral Voss, the chief of staff of the defense of Berlin, Colonel Hans Rehior, and the chief of staff of the 56th German Panzer Corps, Colonel Theodor von Difwing. Many figures of fascist agitation were captured, led by Goebbels' first deputy for propaganda and press, Ph. committed suicide.
Thus, the defeat of the remnants of the fascist army was practically completed. The further course of events was predetermined, Berlin fell, Germany lost control over all vital areas and had no slightest means to organized resistance. After the completion of the Berlin operation, the matter remained small, namely, the destruction of the last large Nazi groups in Czechoslovakia and Austria. There was a week left before the Great Victory ...
3. Soviet attack aircraft in the sky near Berlin
Photographer: Redkin Mark Stepanovich
On May 2, 1945, the legendary TASS photojournalist Yevgeny Khaldei arrived in Berlin, taken by the Soviet troops. In his duffel bag, he kept three banners sewn from the red tablecloths of the dining room of the Moscow Photochronicle. Khaldei installed the first banner on the roof of the Tempelhof airfield, the second near the chariot on the Brandenburg Gate, and planned to capture the third on the roof of the dilapidated German parliament. Arriving at the Reichstag, the photographer turned to the first passing soldiers with a request to help him take pictures.
4.
Evgeny Khaldei: " There were four of us there, I well remember Alexei Kovalev, a resident of Kiev, who was tying the flag. I photographed him for a long time. In different poses. I remember that we were all very cold then ... He and I were helped by the foreman of the reconnaissance company of the Guards Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky of the Zaporozhye Rifle Division Abdulkhakim Ismailov from Dagestan and Leonid Gorychev from Minsk ..."
5. One of the last photos of Hitler. The Fuhrer in the garden of the Imperial Chancellery rewards the young members of the Hitler Youth brigade, mobilized to defend Berlin.
7FBI photo montage taken in 1945 in case Hitler tried to hide by disguising himself
9. Lone rider in front of the Reichstag
10. German anti-aircraft guns in front of the Reichstag building
11. Berliners harvest firewood from broken park trees.
12. Scribbled outer columns of the Reichstag
14. Brandenburg Gate
16. Krol-Opera. Townswomen collect firewood
17. Honor Court of the New Reich Chancellery
18. Head from a bust of Hitler and a globe. symbolic
19. A trench in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, where, allegedly, the corpses of Hitler and his wife Eva Braun were burned. The Fuhrer's personal driver, Erich Kampka, doused them with canister fuel and set them on fire.
20. Canisters allegedly used by Erich Kampka
23. The sofa on which Hitler shot himself
24. Oberwald Schrasse. Close to the bunker
25. The queue for public transport in post-war Berlin
26. Terrace of the Diplomatic Hall in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. Under it was the front bunker
One of the most famous hotels in Berlin is the Adlon Kempinski Hotel. It is located opposite the Brandenburg Gate, in the immediate vicinity of the Reichstag. Fragments of the walls and debris near the building continued to lie uncleaned until 1950. In May 1945, after a party of officers, on the occasion of the victory over the Nazis, the hotel almost completely burned down. A new Adlon was built on the same site in 1989. Externally, the building only remotely resembles the oldThe final battle in the Great Patriotic War was the battle for Berlin, or the Berlin strategic offensive operation, which was carried out from April 16 to May 8, 1945.
On April 16, at 03:00 local time, aviation and artillery preparation began on the sector of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. After its completion, 143 searchlights were turned on to blind the enemy, and the infantry, supported by tanks, went on the attack. Encountering no strong resistance, she advanced 1.5-2 kilometers. However, the further our troops advanced, the stronger the resistance of the enemy grew.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front carried out a swift maneuver to reach Berlin from the south and west. On April 25, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts united west of Berlin, completing the encirclement of the entire enemy Berlin grouping.
The liquidation of the Berlin enemy grouping directly in the city continued until May 2. The assault had to take every street and house. On April 29, fighting began for the Reichstag, the possession of which was entrusted to the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Before the assault on the Reichstag, the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army handed over to its divisions nine Red Banners, specially made according to the type of the State Flag of the USSR. One of these Red Banners, known under No. 5 as the Banner of Victory, was transferred to the 150th Infantry Division. Similar self-made red banners, flags and flags were available in all advanced units, formations and subunits. They, as a rule, were handed over to assault groups, which were recruited from among volunteers and went into battle with the main task - to break into the Reichstag and install the Banner of Victory on it. The first - at 22:30 Moscow time on April 30, 1945, hoisted an assault red banner on the roof of the Reichstag on the sculptural figure "Goddess of Victory" - reconnaissance artillerymen of the 136th Army Cannon Artillery Brigade, senior sergeants G.K. Zagitov, A.F. Lisimenko, A.P. Bobrov and Sergeant A.P. Minin from the assault group of the 79th Rifle Corps, commanded by Captain V.N. Makov, the assault group of artillerymen acted jointly with the battalion of captain S.A. Neustroeva. Two or three hours later, also on the roof of the Reichstag, on a sculpture of an equestrian knight - Kaiser Wilhelm - by order of the commander of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th Infantry Division, Colonel F.M. Zinchenko, the Red Banner No. 5 was installed, which then became famous as the Banner of Victory. Red Banner No. 5 was hoisted by scouts Sergeant M.A. Egorov and junior sergeant M.V. Kantaria, who were accompanied by Lieutenant A.P. Berest and machine gunners from the company of senior sergeant I.Ya. Syanov.
The fighting for the Reichstag continued until the morning of May 1. At 6:30 am on May 2, the head of the defense of Berlin, General of Artillery G. Weidling, surrendered and ordered the remnants of the troops of the Berlin garrison to cease resistance. In the middle of the day, the resistance of the Nazis in the city ceased. On the same day, the encircled groupings of German troops southeast of Berlin were liquidated.
On May 9, at 0:43 Moscow time, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as representatives of the German Navy, who had the appropriate authority from Doenitz, in the presence of Marshal G.K. Zhukov from the Soviet side signed the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. A brilliant operation, coupled with the courage of Soviet soldiers and officers who fought to end the four-year nightmare of war, led to a logical outcome: Victory.
Capture of Berlin. 1945 Documentary
PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE
The Berlin operation of the Soviet troops began. Goal: complete the defeat of Germany, capture Berlin, connect with the allies
The infantry and tanks of the 1st Belorussian Front launched an attack before dawn under the illumination of anti-aircraft searchlights and advanced 1.5-2 km
With the onset of dawn on the Seelow Heights, the Germans came to their senses and fight with bitterness. Zhukov introduces tank armies into battle
16 Apr. 45g. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev meet less resistance on the way of their offensive and immediately force the Neisse
Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front Konev orders the commanders of his tank armies Rybalko and Lelyushenko to advance on Berlin
Konev demands from Rybalko and Lelyushenko not to get involved in protracted and head-on battles, to boldly move forward towards Berlin
In the battles for Berlin, twice a Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of a tank battalion of Guards. Mr. S.Khokhryakov
The 2nd Belorussian Front of Rokossovsky joined the Berlin operation, covering the right flank.
By the end of the day, Konev's front had completed the breakthrough of the Neissen line of defense, crossed the river. Spree and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the south
Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front Zhukov break the 3rd enemy defense line on the Oderen-on the Seelow Heights all day
By the end of the day, Zhukov's troops completed the breakthrough of the 3rd lane of the Oder line at the Seelow Heights
On the left wing of Zhukov's front, conditions were created for cutting off the Frankfurt-Guben group of the enemy from the area on Berlin
Directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the commanders of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts: "It is better to treat the Germans." , Antonov
Another directive of the Headquarters: on identification marks and signals at a meeting Soviet armies and allied troops
At 13.50, long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army was the first to open fire on Berlin - the beginning of the assault on the city itself
20 Apr. 45g. Konev and Zhukov send almost identical orders to the troops of their fronts: “Be the first to break into Berlin!”
By evening, formations of the 2nd Guards Tank, 3rd and 5th Shock Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the northeastern outskirts of Berlin
The 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies wedged into the city defensive bypass of Berlin in the districts of Petershagen and Erkner
Hitler ordered the 12th Army, previously targeted against the Americans, to be turned against the 1st Ukrainian Front. She now has the goal of linking up with the remnants of the 9th and 4th Panzer Armies, making their way south of Berlin to the west.
Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army broke into the southern part of Berlin and is fighting for Teltow by 17.30 - Konev's telegram to Stalin
Hitler refused to leave Berlin for the last time while there was such an opportunity. Goebbels and his family moved to a bunker under the Reich Chancellery ("Fuhrer's bunker")
Assault flags were presented by the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army to the divisions storming Berlin. Among them is the flag that became the banner of victory - the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division.
In the district of Spremberg, Soviet troops liquidated the encircled group of Germans. Among the destroyed units is the tank division "Protection of the Fuhrer"
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front are fighting in the south of Berlin. At the same time, they reached the Elbe River northwest of Dresden
Goering, who had left Berlin, turned to Hitler on the radio, asking him to approve him at the head of the government. Received an order from Hitler removing him from the government. Bormann ordered Goering's arrest for treason
Himmler unsuccessfully tries through the Swedish diplomat Bernadotte to offer the allies surrender on the Western Front
Shock formations of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts in the Brandenburg region closed the encirclement ring of German troops in Berlin
Forces of the German 9th and 4th tanks. armies are surrounded in the forests southeast of Berlin. Parts of the 1st Ukrainian Front reflect the counterattack of the 12th German Army
Report: “In the suburbs of Berlin, Ransdorf, there are restaurants where they “willingly sell” beer to our fighters for occupation marks.” The head of the political department of the 28th Guards Rifle Regiment, Borodin, ordered the owners of Ransdorf's restaurants to close them for a while until the battle was over.
In the area of Torgau on the Elbe, Soviet troops of the 1st Ukrainian fr. met with the troops of the 12th American Army Group General Bradley
Having crossed the Spree, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev and the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of Zhukov are rushing towards the center of Berlin. The rush of Soviet soldiers in Berlin can no longer be stopped
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front in Berlin occupied Gartenstadt and Gerlitsky Station, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the district of Dahlem
Konev turned to Zhukov with a proposal to change the demarcation line between their fronts in Berlin - the city center to transfer it to the front
Zhukov asks Stalin to salute the capture of the center of Berlin to the troops of his front, replacing Konev's troops in the south of the city
The General Staff orders Konev's troops, who have already reached the Tiergarten, to transfer their offensive zone to Zhukov's troops
Order No. 1 of the military commandant of Berlin, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General Berzarin, on the transfer of all power in Berlin into the hands of the Soviet military commandant's office. It was announced to the population of the city that the National Socialist Party of Germany and its organizations were disbanding and their activities were prohibited. The order established the order of behavior of the population and determined the main provisions necessary for the normalization of life in the city.
The battles for the Reichstag began, the mastery of which was entrusted to the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front
When breaking through the barriers on the Berlin Kaiserallee, the tank of N. Shendrikov received 2 holes, caught fire, the crew failed. The mortally wounded commander, having gathered his last strength, sat down at the controls and threw the flaming tank at the enemy cannon
Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun in a bunker under the Reich Chancellery. Witness - Goebbels. In his political testament, Hitler expelled Goering from the NSDAP and officially named Grand Admiral Dönitz as his successor.
Soviet units are fighting for the Berlin metro
The Soviet command rejected attempts by the German command to start negotiations on the time. ceasefire. There is only one demand - surrender!
The assault on the Reichstag building itself began, which was defended by more than 1000 Germans and SS men from different countries
In different places of the Reichstag, several red banners were fixed - from regimental and divisional to self-made
Scouts of the 150th division Egorov and Kantaria were ordered to hoist the Red Banner over the Reichstag around midnight
Lieutenant Berest from the Neustroev battalion led the combat mission of installing the Banner over the Reichstag. Established around 3.00, May 1
Hitler committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery bunker by taking poison and shooting him in the temple with a pistol. Hitler's corpse is burned in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery
At the post of Chancellor, Hitler leaves Goebbels, who will commit suicide the next day. Before his death, Hitler appointed Bormann Reich Minister for Party Affairs (previously such a post did not exist)
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front captured Bandenburg, cleared the areas of Charlottenburg, Schöneberg and 100 quarters in Berlin
In Berlin, Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide, after killing their 6 children
Beg. German General Staff Krebs, announced the suicide of Hitler, offered to conclude a truce. Stalin confirmed the categorical demand for unconditional surrender in Berlin. At 18 o'clock the Germans rejected him
At 18.30, in connection with the rejection of the surrender, the Berlin garrison received a fire attack. The mass surrender of the Germans began
At 01.00, the radios of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “Please cease fire. We are sending parliamentarians to the Potsdam Bridge"
A German officer, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance
At 0600, General Weidling surrendered and an hour later signed the surrender order for the Berlin garrison.
Enemy resistance in Berlin has completely ceased. The remnants of the garrison surrender en masse
In Berlin, Goebbels's deputy for propaganda and press, Dr. Fritsche, was taken prisoner. Fritsche testified during interrogation that Hitler, Goebbels and Chief of the General Staff General Krebs committed suicide
Stalin's order on the contribution of the Zhukov and Konev fronts to the defeat of the Berlin group. By 21.00, 70 thousand Germans had already surrendered
The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in the Berlin operation - 78 thousand people. Enemy losses - 1 million, incl. 150 thousand killed
Everywhere in Berlin, Soviet field kitchens are deployed, where "wild barbarians" feed hungry Berliners.
Berlin in 1945 was the largest city of the Reich and its center. Here were the headquarters of the commander in chief, the Reich Chancellery, the headquarters of most armies and many other administrative buildings. By spring, more than 3 million inhabitants and about 300,000 abducted civilians from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition lived in Berlin.
The entire top of Nazi Germany remained here: Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Goering and others.
Operation preparation
The Soviet leadership planned to take the city at the end of the Berlin offensive. This task was assigned to the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian fronts. At the end of April, the advanced units met, the city was besieged.
The allies of the USSR refused to participate in the operation. Berlin in 1945 was an extremely important strategic goal. In addition, the fall of the city would invariably lead to a victory in terms of propaganda. The Americans were developing an assault plan back in 1944. After securing the troops in Normandy, it was planned to make a throw north to the Ruhr and start an attack on the city. But in September, the Americans suffered huge losses in Holland and the operation was abandoned.
Soviet troops on both fronts had more than 2 million manpower and about 6,000 tanks. Of course, all of them could not participate in the assault. 460 thousand people were concentrated for the strike, Polish formations also took part.
City defense
The defense of Berlin in 1945 was prepared very carefully. The garrison numbered over 200 thousand people. It is rather difficult to give an exact figure, since the civilian population was actively involved in the defense of the Nazi capital. The city was surrounded by several lines of defense. Each building was turned into a fortress. Barricades were erected in the streets. Almost the entire population was obliged to take part in the construction of engineering structures. Concrete bunkers were hastily erected on the outskirts of the city.
Berlin in 1945 was defended by the best troops of the Reich, including the SS. The so-called Volkssturm was also created - militia units recruited from civilians. They were actively armed with faustpatrons. This is a single-shot anti-tank gun that fires cumulative projectiles. Machine-gun crews were in buildings and just on city streets.
Offensive
Berlin in 1945 had been under regular bombardment for several months. In the 44th, British and American raids became more frequent. Prior to that, in 1941, on the personal orders of Stalin, a number of secret operations by Soviet aviation were carried out, as a result, a number of bombs were dropped on the city.
On April 25, massive artillery preparation began. Soviet aviation ruthlessly suppressed firing points. Howitzers, mortars, MLRS hit Berlin with direct fire. On April 26, the most fierce battles of the entire war began in the city. For the Red Army, a huge problem was the density of the city. It was extremely difficult to advance because of the abundance of barricades and dense fire.
Large losses in armored vehicles were caused by the many anti-tank groups of the Volkssturm. To take one city block, it was first treated with artillery.
The fire stopped only when the infantry approached the German positions. Then the tanks destroyed the stone buildings blocking the way, and the Red Army moved on.
Liberation of Berlin (1945)
Marshal Zhukov ordered to use the experience of the Stalingrad battles. In a similar situation, Soviet troops successfully used small mobile groups. Several armored vehicles, a group of sappers, mortars and artillerymen were attached to the infantry. Also, sometimes flamethrowers were included in such a unit. They were needed to destroy the enemy, who hid in underground communications.
The rapid advance of the Soviet troops led to the encirclement of the Reichstag area already 3 days after the start of active fighting. On the small plot 5,000 Nazis concentrated in the center of the city. A moat was dug around the building, which made a tank breakthrough impossible. All available artillery bombarded the building. On April 30, shells broke through the Reichstag. At 2:25 p.m., a red flag was raised over the buildings.
The photo that captured this moment would later become one of
Fall of Berlin (1945)
After the capture of the Reichstag, the Germans began to flee en masse. Chief of Staff Krebs requested a ceasefire. Zhukov conveyed the proposal of the German side to Stalin personally. The commander-in-chief demanded only the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. The Germans rejected this ultimatum. Immediately after that, heavy fire fell on Berlin. The fighting continued for several more days, as a result of which the Nazis were finally defeated, in Europe they were over. in Berlin in 1945 showed the whole world the power of the liberating Red Army and the Soviet people. The capture of the Nazi lair will forever remain one of the most important points in the history of mankind.
The final operation of the Soviet troops during the war with Germany. At the cost of huge losses, ahead of the allies, the Soviet troops took Berlin on May 2, 1945.
The capture of Berlin is another controversial page in the history of World War II. In a swift operation to finally defeat the Wehrmacht and the entire Third Reich, Soviet troops suffered enormous losses. Stalin sacrificed the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to politics. The goals of the Soviet leadership were obvious: to take Berlin as soon as possible - before the Western allies began to storm the German capital. In the spring of 1945, the German rulers were engaged in lively negotiations with the United States and Great Britain, hoping for a separate peace that could save the leadership of the Reich from physical destruction, and Germany from a pro-communist government. The danger of such an agreement was great, and Stalin spared no expense in order to dictate terms to the West himself after the end of the war. The fact that the Germans would be defeated in it was clear even without the capture of Berlin, but what Germany would be like then depended largely on the key in which they last days war.
As a result of the winter offensive of 1945, troops of the 2nd, 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts liberated all of Poland, reached the Oder and Neisse rivers, capturing several bridgeheads on the western bank of the Oder, of which highest value had a bridgehead occupied by the 1st Belorussian Front in the Kustrin area. Berlin was only 60 km away.
Despite a serious industrial and military crisis, Germany was still a strong adversary. The Nazi command took the most serious measures to defend the capital. By the beginning of the operation, the defense consisted of the Oder-Neissen defensive line and the Berlin defensive area. The total depth of defense reached 100–120 km. The Oder-Neisen defensive line with a depth of 20-40 km consisted of three lanes. The strongest defense sector on the second lane was the Seelow Heights (40–60 m high). The strongest sections on the third lane were Eberswalde, Furstenwalde and a section on the western bank of the river. Spree. The Berlin defensive area relied on several obstacles in the form of rivers, canals, lakes and forests surrounding the city. The streets of Berlin were blocked by barricades and minefields. Hundreds of concrete defensive structures were erected in the city center.
In the Berlin direction, the German command concentrated a large grouping as part of the Vistula Army Group (3rd Panzer and 9th Armies) of Colonel General Heinrici (since April 30, Infantry General Tippelskirch) and the 4th Panzer and 17th Army of the Army Group "Center" of Field Marshal Scherner (only about 1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,530 tanks and assault guns, over 3,300 aircraft).
The walls of the houses were covered with Goebbels' propaganda slogans: "We will never surrender!", "Every German will defend his capital!", "Let's stop the red hordes at the walls of our Berlin!", "Victory or Siberia!" Loudspeakers in the streets urged residents to fight to the death.
The Soviet command planned to encircle the entire enemy Berlin grouping with the support of the Baltic Fleet using the forces of three fronts, simultaneously dismember it into parts and destroy each of them separately.
The 1st Belorussian Front (commander G.K. Zhukov) was supposed to go on the offensive in the Schwedt, Gross-Gastrose sector, defeat the Berlin grouping of the Nazis, capture Berlin and, developing a blow to the west, no later than the 12-15th day of the operation go to Elba. To ensure the main strike force of the front from the north and south, it was ordered to launch two auxiliary strikes by the forces of two armies each: from the Zeden region in the direction of Fehrbellin and from bridgeheads north and south of Frankfurt an der Oder - in the direction of Brandenburg, bypassing Berlin from the south.
The 1st Ukrainian Front (commander I.S. Konev) received the task of defeating the enemy grouping in the area of Cottbus and south of Berlin and, no later than the 10-12th day of the operation, reach the line of Beelitz, Wittenberg and further along the Elbe to Dresden. Part of the forces in the event of a change in the situation, the front was supposed to assist the 1st Belorussian Front in capturing Berlin.
The 2nd Belorussian Front (commander K.K. Rokossovsky) received the task of defeating the enemy’s Stettin grouping and, no later than the 12th-15th day of the operation, to capture the Anklam, Wittenberg line, ensuring the offensive of the 1st Belorussian Front from the enemy’s counterattack from the north.
As a mobile group, the fronts had: the 1st Belorussian Front - the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies, the 1st Ukrainian Front - the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, the 2nd Belorussian Front - three tank corps , one mechanized and one cavalry. Tank armies were planned to enter the breakthrough on the first day of the operation after the capture of the first line of defense on the 1st Belorussian Front by rifle subunits and on the second day from the turn of the river. Spree on the 1st Ukrainian Front. Then they had to operate in the city itself. The two-echelon formation of troops made it possible to build up efforts from the depths. On the sector of the 1st Belorussian Front, superiority over the enemy was created by more than three times, on the sector of the 1st Ukrainian - by 8-10 times. The use of artillery preparation was carefully planned - a double fire shaft, a single fire shaft, a consistent concentration of fire. Aviation also received clear tasks. In particular, she had to prevent the approach to the enemy of reserves from Berlin and Dresden.
All three fronts by the beginning of the operation consisted of 2.5 million people, 41,600 guns and mortars, 7,500 combat aircraft, and 6,250 tanks. So a large number of forces and means have not yet been used in any operation.
At 5 o'clock on April 16, 1945, it was still dark, artillery and aviation preparation began, and 20 minutes later - a general offensive. With the start of the offensive, 143 searchlights were turned on, the rays of which were directed towards the enemy. This is an innovation on a short time had a psychological impact.
Conducting artillery preparation only to the depth of the first position complicated the position of the attackers. When the Soviet troops reached the second, and in some areas - to the third position, the enemy's fire resistance increased, he went on to counterattacks. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front sharply slowed down the offensive. In this regard, on the same day, Zhukov brought the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies into battle to complete the breakthrough of the main strip. As a result, by the end of the first day of the operation, it was possible to complete the breakthrough of the main line of enemy defenses and reach the second line. Attempts to break through the second lane on the move were unsuccessful. It was necessary to operate in the conditions of a continuous enemy defensive foothold, with many rivers, canals and lakes. It was much more difficult than it seemed to the Soviet command before the start of the operation to take the Seelow Heights. A huge number of Soviet soldiers died here.
On the morning of April 17, after a 20-30-minute artillery preparation, the troops of the shock group of the front began to break through the second defense line and, after fierce fighting, broke through it by the end of the day, advancing 6-13 km in a day. In the next two days, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, repelling numerous enemy counterattacks, completed the breakthrough of the third line of enemy defenses, that is, the entire Oder defensive line of the enemy, to a depth of 30 km.
On April 16, in the morning, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the river. Neisse, captured a bridgehead on the opposite bank and by the end of the day broke through the enemy's main line of defense. The next day, April 17, the troops of the strike force, including the tank armies, repulsed the counterattacks of the enemy reserves, broke through the second line of defense, advancing in two days to a depth of 18 km. The Germans began to retreat to the third line of defense beyond the river. Spree. On April 18, Soviet troops crossed the Spree and broke into the enemy's third line of defense. Tank armies began to encircle the Berlin group. On the fourth day of the offensive, the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through the Neissen defensive line on the entire front and wedged into the enemy defenses up to 50 km.
April 18 began fighting troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front. For two days, the troops of the front crossed the Eastern Oder, cleared the interfluve of the enemy, and took up their starting position for an offensive on the eastern bank of the Western Oder. With these actions, the 2nd Belorussian Front fettered the forces of the 3rd Panzer Army of the Nazis, which could not help the neighboring 9th Army, which was suffering defeat under the blows of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Having completed the breakthrough of the Oder-Neissen defensive line, the troops of the shock group of the 1st Belorussian Front continued to advance on Berlin from the northeast and east, and the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front - from the south and southeast. On April 20 and 21, troops of the 1st Belorussian Front broke into the outskirts of the city from the north and northeast.
On April 21-22, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front also reached Berlin from the south. On April 24, troops of the 8th Guards, 3rd and 69th Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front joined southeast of Berlin with the 3rd Guards Tank and 28th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front. By doing this, they cut the enemy's Berlin grouping into two parts and at the same time surrounded his Frankfurt-Guben grouping (9th Army).
On April 25, the troops of the 47th and 2nd Guards Tank Armies in the area northwest of Potsdam connected with the troops of the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, thereby completing the encirclement of the entire Berlin group.
On the same day, the main forces of the 5th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered the Torgau region on the eastern bank of the Elbe and met with the troops of the 1st American Army. The territory of Germany and its armed forces were divided.
On April 20, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Western Oder and until April 25 continued stubborn battles with the Nazis for the expansion of the bridgehead.
The enemy grouping southeast of Berlin was surrounded and destroyed. True, 45 thousand Germans managed to break through the encirclement here and on April 30 go to the Luckenwalde area, and part of the forces to the area east of Beelitz. However, in these areas, on May 1, both groups were surrounded and taken prisoner by the forces of the reserves. Attempts by the German 12th Army, hastily formed west of Berlin, to go on the offensive in an easterly direction and break through the Soviet encirclement from the outside, did not lead to anything.
The total losses of the enemy grouping, surrounded southeast of Berlin, were more than 60 thousand soldiers and officers killed, and up to 120 thousand captured.
The liquidation of the Berlin garrison under the command of General Weidling, numbering more than 200 thousand people, took place in fierce street battles. The Nazis offered stubborn resistance. They fought fiercely for every quarter, for every house. Starting on April 26 to dismember the enemy, on April 28, Soviet troops reached the central sector of Berlin and launched battles for it. The next day, the German grouping in Berlin was divided into three isolated units, the command of which was actually violated.
If in Budapest the Soviet command avoided the use of artillery and aircraft, then during the assault on the capital of Nazi Germany they did not spare fire. According to Marshal Zhukov, from April 21 to May 2, almost 1.8 million artillery shots were fired at Berlin. More than 36 thousand tons of metal were brought down on the city.
A feature of the Berlin operation can also be called the widespread use of large tank masses in the zone of continuous defense of German troops, including in Berlin itself. In such conditions, Soviet armored vehicles were not able to use a wide maneuver and became a convenient target for German anti-tank weapons. This resulted in high losses. Suffice it to say that in two weeks of fighting, the Red Army lost a third of the tanks and self-propelled artillery units that participated in the Berlin operation.
On the eve of the surrender, the city was a terrible sight. Tongues of flame escaped from the damaged gas pipeline, illuminating the sooty walls of houses. The streets were impassable due to rubble. Suicide bombers with Molotov cocktails jumped out of the basements of houses and rushed at Soviet tanks that had become easy prey in urban areas. Hand-to-hand fighting went on everywhere - on the streets, on the roofs of houses, in basements, in tunnels, in the Berlin subway.
During April 30, fierce battles unfolded for the Reichstag, the building of which was one of the most important nodes resistance of the central defense sector of Berlin. The approaches to it were covered by the river. Spree, numerous large stone buildings and were shot through by anti-aircraft artillery fire. The Reichstag building was adapted for all-round defense: window and door openings were sealed with bricks, holes were left only for loopholes and embrasures. A few meters from the building there were reinforced concrete lots, and 200 m there were trenches with machine-gun platforms and communication passages connecting the trenches with the basement of the building. The Reichstag was defended by a garrison of several thousand officers and soldiers, including 1 thousand sailors from the naval school in Rostock, parachuted into the area.
The capture of the Reichstag was carried out by the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army, under the command of Major General S. N. Perevertkin. Artillery of large calibers, guards mortars were brought up. The fighting for the Reichstag began in the early hours of 30 April after a short but heavy artillery preparation. They took a protracted and stubborn character. In many areas, the fighting turned into hand-to-hand combat.
At 1830, under the cover of artillery fire, three rifle battalions rushed to the last swift attack. Soviet soldiers burst into the Reichstag building through gaps in the walls, and a few minutes later a lot of red flags turned red on it. Many Soviet sources claimed that the red banner on the very dome of the Reichstag was hoisted by Yegorov and Kantaria. But it has long been proven that this is just a legend, which emphasizes the friendship of representatives different peoples in the Soviet army.
In the battles for the Reichstag alone, more than 2,000 enemy German soldiers and officers were killed and wounded, 28 guns were destroyed, 2,604 prisoners were captured, 1,800 rifles and machine guns, 59 guns, 15 tanks and assault guns.
On the night of April 30 to May 1, Hitler committed suicide. By the morning of May 2, the remnants of the Berlin garrison were divided into individual groups, which by 15 o'clock capitulated. The surrender of the Berlin garrison was accepted by the commander of the 8th Guards Army, General V. I. Chuikov.
During the Berlin operation, only about 480 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured. The losses of the Red Army amounted to 352 thousand people. In terms of daily losses personnel and equipment (over 15 thousand people, 87 tanks and self-propelled guns, 40 aircraft), the battle for Berlin surpassed all other operations of the Red Army. Losses were incurred, first of all, during the battle, in contrast to the battles of the first period of the war, when the daily losses of the Soviet troops were determined to a large extent by a significant number of captured Red Army soldiers.
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