During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet troops carried out the Berlin strategic offensive operation, the purpose of which was to defeat the main forces of the German army groups Vistula and Center, capture Berlin, reach the Elbe River and join the Allied forces.
The troops of the Red Army, having defeated large groupings of Nazi troops in East Prussia, Poland and East Pomerania during January-March 1945, by the end of March reached the Oder and Neisse rivers on a wide front. After the liberation of Hungary and the occupation of Vienna by Soviet troops in mid-April, fascist Germany was under the blows of the Red Army from the east and south. At the same time, from the west, without encountering any organized resistance from the Germans, the Allied troops advanced in the Hamburg, Leipzig and Prague directions.
The main forces of the Nazi troops acted against the Red Army. By April 16, there were 214 divisions on the Soviet-German front (of which 34 were armored and 15 motorized) and 14 brigades, and against the American-British troops, the German command held only 60 poorly equipped divisions, of which five were armored. The Berlin direction was defended by 48 infantry, six tank and nine motorized divisions and many other units and formations (a total of one million people, 10.4 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns). From the air, ground troops covered 3.3 thousand combat aircraft.
The defense of the Nazi troops in the Berlin direction included the Oder-Neissen line 20-40 kilometers deep, which had three defensive lanes, and the Berlin defensive area, which consisted of three ring contours - external, internal and urban. In total, with Berlin, the depth of defense reached 100 kilometers, it was crossed by numerous canals and rivers, which served as serious obstacles for tank troops.
The Soviet Supreme High Command during the Berlin offensive operation provided for breaking through the enemy’s defenses along the Oder and Neisse and, developing the offensive in depth, encircle the main grouping of Nazi troops, dismember it and subsequently destroy it in parts, and then go to the Elbe. For this, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Georgy Zhukov and the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Ivan Konev were involved. The Dnieper military flotilla, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army took part in the operation. In total, the Red Army troops advancing on Berlin numbered over two million people, about 42 thousand guns and mortars, 6250 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 7.5 thousand combat aircraft.
According to the plan of the operation, the 1st Belorussian Front was supposed to capture Berlin and reach the Elbe no later than 12-15 days later. The 1st Ukrainian Front had the task of defeating the enemy in the area of Cottbus and south of Berlin, and on the 10th-12th day of the operation to capture the line of Belitz, Wittenberg and further the Elbe River to Dresden. The 2nd Belorussian Front was to cross the Oder River, defeat the Stettin enemy grouping and cut off the main forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army from Berlin.
On April 16, 1945, after a powerful aviation and artillery preparation, a decisive attack by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts of the Oder-Neissen defensive line began. In the area of the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front, where the offensive was launched before dawn, the infantry and tanks, in order to demoralize the enemy, went on the attack in a zone illuminated by 140 powerful searchlights. The troops of the shock group of the front had to sequentially break through several lanes of defense in depth. By the end of April 17, they managed to break through the enemy defenses in the main areas near the Seelow Heights. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front completed the breakthrough of the third line of the Oder line of defense by the end of April 19. On the right wing of the shock group of the front, the 47th Army and the 3rd Shock Army were successfully moving forward to cover Berlin from the north and northwest. On the left wing, conditions were created for bypassing the Frankfurt-Guben enemy grouping from the north and cutting it off from the Berlin area.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Neisse River, on the first day they broke through the enemy's main line of defense, and wedged 1-1.5 kilometers into the second. By the end of April 18, the troops of the front had completed the breakthrough of the Neusen line of defense, crossed the Spree River and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the south. On the Dresden direction, formations of the 52nd Army repelled an enemy counterattack from the area north of Görlitz.
On April 18-19, the advanced units of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Ost-Oder, crossed the interfluve of the Ost-Oder and West-Oder, and then began crossing the West-Oder.
On April 20, artillery fire of the 1st Belorussian Front on Berlin laid the foundation for its assault. On April 21, tanks of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke into the southern outskirts of Berlin. On April 24, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts joined in the Bonsdorf area (southeast of Berlin), completing the encirclement of the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy. On April 25, tank formations of the fronts, leaving in the Potsdam area, completed the encirclement of the entire Berlin grouping (500 thousand people). On the same day, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Elbe River and joined the American troops in the Torgau region.
During the offensive, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Oder and, having broken through the enemy's defenses, advanced to a depth of 20 kilometers by April 25; they firmly fettered the German 3rd Panzer Army, depriving it of the opportunity to launch a counterattack from the north against the Soviet troops surrounding Berlin.
The Frankfurt-Gubenskaya grouping was destroyed by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts in the period from April 26 to May 1. The destruction of the Berlin grouping directly in the city continued until May 2. By 3 pm on May 2, enemy resistance in the city had ceased. Fighting with separate groups, breaking through from the outskirts of Berlin to the west, ended on May 5th.
Simultaneously with the defeat of the encircled groupings, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front on May 7 reached the Elbe River on a wide front.
At the same time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, successfully advancing in Western Pomerania and Mecklenburg, on April 26 captured the main strongholds of the enemy’s defense on the western bank of the Oder River - Pölitz, Stettin, Gatow and Schwedt and, deploying a swift pursuit of the remnants of the defeated 3rd tank army, on May 3 they reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, and on May 4 they advanced to the line of Wismar, Schwerin, the Elde River, where they came into contact with the British troops. On May 4-5, the troops of the front cleared the islands of Vollin, Usedom and Rügen from the enemy, and on May 9 they landed on the Danish island of Bornholm.
The resistance of the Nazi troops was finally broken. On the night of May 9, in the Berlin district of Karlshorst, the Act of Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed.
The Berlin operation lasted 23 days, the width of the front of hostilities reached 300 kilometers. The depth of front-line operations was 100-220 kilometers, the average daily advance rate was 5-10 kilometers. As part of the Berlin operation, the Stettin-Rostock, Zelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Stremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathen front-line offensive operations were carried out.
During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops surrounded and liquidated the largest grouping of enemy troops in the history of wars.
They defeated 70 infantry, 23 tank and mechanized divisions of the enemy, captured 480 thousand people.
The Berlin operation cost the Soviet troops dearly. Their irretrievable losses amounted to 78,291 people, and sanitary - 274,184 people.
More than 600 participants in the Berlin operation were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 13 people were awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
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Berlin strategic offensive operation- one of the last strategic operations of the Soviet troops in the European theater of operations, during which the Red Army occupied the capital of Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War and World War II in Europe. The operation lasted from April 16 to May 8, 1945, the width of the combat front was 300 km.
By April 1945, the main offensive operations of the Red Army in Hungary, East Pomerania, Austria and East Prussia were completed. This deprived Berlin of the support of industrial areas and the possibility of replenishing reserves and resources.
Soviet troops reached the line of the Oder and Neisse rivers, only a few tens of kilometers remained to Berlin.
The offensive was carried out by the forces of three fronts: the 1st Belorussian under the command of Marshal G.K. Zhukov, the 2nd Belorussian under the command of Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky and the 1st Ukrainian under the command of Marshal I.S. air army, the Dnieper military flotilla and the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
The Red Army was opposed by a large grouping as part of the Vistula Army Group (Generals G. Heinrici, then K. Tippelskirch) and Center (Field Marshal F. Schörner).
The ratio of forces by the time the operation began is given in the table.
On April 16, 1945, at 5 am Moscow time (2 hours before dawn), artillery preparation began in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front. 9000 guns and mortars, as well as more than 1500 installations of the RS BM-13 and BM-31 for 25 minutes, grinded the first line of German defense on the 27-kilometer breakthrough section. With the start of the attack, artillery fire was moved deep into the defense, and 143 anti-aircraft searchlights were turned on in the breakthrough areas. Their dazzling light stunned the enemy, neutralized night vision devices and at the same time illuminated the path for the advancing units.
The offensive unfolded in three directions: through the Seelow Heights directly to Berlin (1st Belorussian Front), south of the city, along the left flank (1st Ukrainian Front) and north, along the right flank (2nd Belorussian Front). The largest number of enemy forces was concentrated in the sector of the 1st Belorussian Front, the most intense battles flared up in the area of the Seelow Heights.
Despite fierce resistance, on April 21, the first Soviet assault detachments reached the outskirts of Berlin, and street fighting ensued. On the afternoon of March 25, units of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts joined, closing the ring around the city. However, the assault was yet to come, and the defense of Berlin was carefully prepared and well thought out. It was a whole system of strongholds and centers of resistance, the streets were blocked by powerful barricades, many buildings were turned into firing points, underground structures and the metro were actively used. Faustpatrons became a formidable weapon in the conditions of street fighting and limited space for maneuver, they inflicted especially heavy damage on tanks. The situation was also complicated by the fact that all German units and individual groups of soldiers retreating during the fighting on the outskirts of the city concentrated in Berlin, replenishing the garrison of the city's defenders.
The fighting in the city did not stop day or night, almost every house had to be taken by storm. However, thanks to the superiority in strength, as well as the experience gained in past offensive operations in urban combat, the Soviet troops moved forward. By the evening of April 28, units of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the Reichstag. On April 30, the first assault groups broke into the building, unit flags appeared on the building, on the night of May 1, the Banner of the Military Council, located in the 150th Infantry Division, was hoisted. And by the morning of May 2, the Reichstag garrison capitulated.
On May 1, only the Tiergarten and the government quarter remained in German hands. The imperial office was located here, in the courtyard of which there was a bunker at Hitler's headquarters. On the night of May 1, by prior arrangement, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General Krebs, arrived at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army. He informed the commander of the army, General V. I. Chuikov, about Hitler's suicide and about the proposal of the new German government to conclude a truce. But the categorical demand for unconditional surrender received in response was rejected by this government. Soviet troops resumed the assault with renewed vigor. The remnants of the German troops were no longer able to continue resistance, and in the early morning of May 2, a German officer, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling, wrote a surrender order, which was duplicated and, using loud-speaking installations and radio, brought to the enemy units defending in center of Berlin. As this order was brought to the attention of the defenders, resistance in the city ceased. By the end of the day, the troops of the 8th Guards Army cleared the central part of the city from the enemy. Separate units that did not want to surrender tried to break through to the west, but were destroyed or scattered.
During the Berlin operation, from April 16 to May 8, Soviet troops lost 352,475 people, of which 78,291 people were irretrievably lost. In terms of daily losses of personnel and equipment, the battle for Berlin surpassed all other operations of the Red Army. In terms of the intensity of losses, this operation is comparable only to the Battle of Kursk.
The losses of the German troops, according to the reports of the Soviet command, amounted to: killed - about 400 thousand people, captured about 380 thousand people. Part of the German troops was pushed back to the Elbe and capitulated to the allied forces.
The Berlin operation dealt the last crushing blow to the armed forces of the Third Reich, which, with the loss of Berlin, lost their ability to organize resistance. Six days after the fall of Berlin, on the night of May 8-9, the German leadership signed the act of Germany's unconditional surrender.
The Berlin operation is one of the largest in the Great Patriotic War.
List of sources used:
1. History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. In 6 vols. - M .: Military Publishing, 1963.
2. Zhukov G.K. Memories and reflections. In 2 vols. 1969
4. Shatilov V. M. Banner over the Reichstag. 3rd edition, corrected and enlarged. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1975. - 350 p.
5. Neustroev S.A. Path to the Reichstag. - Sverdlovsk: Middle Ural book publishing house, 1986.
6. Zinchenko F.M. Heroes of the assault on the Reichstag / Literary record of N.M. Ilyash. - 3rd ed. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1983. - 192 p.
Storming of the Reichstag.
The assault on the Reichstag is the final stage of the Berlin offensive operation, the task of which was to capture the building of the German parliament and hoist the Banner of Victory.
The Berlin offensive began on April 16, 1945. And the operation to storm the Reichstag lasted from April 28 to May 2, 1945. The assault was carried out by the forces of the 150th and 171st rifle divisions of the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front. In addition, two regiments of the 207th Infantry Division were advancing in the direction of the Kroll Opera.
This article briefly describes the battle for Berlin - the decisive and final operation of the Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War. It consisted in the final destruction of the fascist army and the capture of the capital of Germany. The successful completion of the operation marked the victory of the Soviet Union and the whole world over fascism.
Plans of the parties before the operation
By April 1945, as a result of a successful offensive, Soviet troops were in close proximity to the capital of Germany. The battle for Berlin was important not only militarily, but also ideologically. The Soviet Union sought, ahead of the allies, to capture the capital of Germany in a short time. The Soviet troops were to valiantly end the bloody war by hoisting their banner over the Reichstag. The desired date for the end of the war was April 22 (Lenin's birthday).
Hitler, realizing that the war was lost anyway, wanted to resist to the end. It is not known in what mental state Hitler was at the end of the war, but his actions and statements look crazy. Berlin, according to him, becomes the last bastion, the citadel of the German nation. It must be defended by every German capable of bearing arms. The battle for Berlin should be the triumph of fascism, at this point the offensive of the Soviet Union would be stopped. On the other hand, the Fuhrer argued that the best Germans died in previous battles, and the German people never fulfilled their world mission. One way or another, fascist propaganda bore fruit until the very end of the war. The Germans showed exceptional perseverance and courage in the final battles. An important role was played by the fear of the expected revenge of the Soviet soldiers for the atrocities of the Nazis. Even realizing that victory was no longer possible, the Germans resisted, hoping for surrender to Western troops.
balance of power
Soviet troops, approaching Berlin at a distance of about 50 km, were an impressive offensive grouping. The total number was about 2.5 million people. The operation involved: 1st Belorussian (Zhukov), 2nd Belorussian (Rokossovsky) and 1st Ukrainian (Konev) fronts. A 3-4-fold superiority in military equipment was concentrated against the defenders of Berlin. The Soviet army has accumulated extensive experience in conducting military operations, including assaults on fortified cities. Among the soldiers there was a huge motivation in the victorious end of the war
German troops (army groups "Vistula" and "Center") numbered about 1 million people. Berlin was surrounded by three well-fortified defense rings. The most protected was the site in the area of the Seelow Heights. The Berlin garrison itself (commander - General Weidling) consisted of 50 thousand people. The city was divided into eight defense sectors (along the circumference), plus a central fortified sector. After the encirclement of Berlin by Soviet troops, the number of defenders, according to various estimates, ranged from 100 to 300 thousand people. In their composition, the most combat-ready were the remnants of the defeated troops defending the suburbs of Berlin, as well as the bloodless garrison of the city. The rest of the defenders were hastily recruited from the inhabitants of Berlin, making up detachments of the people's militia (Volkssturm), mostly old people and children from 14 years old, who simply did not have time to undergo any military training. The situation was complicated by the fact that there was an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition. Information is provided that by the beginning of the direct battle for Berlin, there was one rifle for every three defenders. Only faustpatrons were sufficient enough, which really became a serious problem for Soviet tanks.
The construction of the city's defensive structures began late and was not fully completed. However, the assault on a large city always presents great difficulties, as it does not make it possible to fully use heavy equipment. Houses turned into a kind of fortress, many bridges, an extensive metro network - these are the factors that helped to keep the onslaught of the Soviet troops.
Stage I (beginning of operation)
The main role in the operation was entrusted to the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal Zhukov, whose task was to storm the most fortified Seelow Heights and enter the German capital. The battle for Berlin began on April 16 with a powerful artillery preparation. The Soviet command was the first to use powerful searchlights to blind and disorganize the enemy. This, however, did not bring the desired results and had only a certain psychological factor. German troops offered stubborn resistance, and the pace of the offensive was lower than expected. The opposing sides suffered huge losses. However, the superiority of the Soviet forces began to tell, and by April 19, in the main strike direction, the troops broke the resistance of the third ring of defense. Conditions were formed for the encirclement of Berlin from the north.
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were operating in the southern direction. The offensive also began on April 16 and immediately made it possible to advance far deep into the German defenses. On April 18, tank armies crossed the river. Spree and launched an attack on Berlin from the south.
The troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front were supposed to force the river. Oder and through their actions to provide support to Marshal Zhukov to cover Berlin from the north. On April 18-19, the front launched an offensive and achieved significant success.
By April 19, by the combined efforts of the three fronts, the main resistance of the enemy was broken, and the opportunity arose for the complete encirclement of Berlin and the defeat of the remaining groupings.
Stage II (environment of Berlin)
Since April 19, the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts have been developing the offensive. Already on April 20, artillery strikes the first blows on Berlin. The next day, the troops enter the northern and southeastern regions of the city. On April 25, the tank armies of the two fronts unite, thereby completing the encirclement of Berlin. On the same day, a meeting of Soviet troops with allies takes place on the river. Elbe. This meeting was of great importance as a symbol of the joint struggle against the fascist threat. The garrison of the capital is completely cut off from the rest of the German groups. The remnants of the Army Groups "Center" and "Vistula", which constituted the outer lines of defense, are in the boilers and are partially destroyed, surrender or attempt to break through to the west.
Troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front pin down the 3rd Panzer Army and thereby deprive it of the possibility of launching a counterattack.
Stage III (completion of the operation)
The Soviet troops were faced with the task of encircling and destroying the remaining German forces. The victory over the largest - the Frankfurt-Guben grouping was decisive. The operation took place from April 26 to May 1 and ended with the almost complete destruction of the group.
About 460 thousand Soviet soldiers took part directly in the battle for Berlin. By April 30, the defending forces were cut into four parts. The defense of the Reichstag was fierce, the battles were fought literally for every room. Finally, on the morning of May 2, the commander of the garrison, General Weidling, signed the act of unconditional surrender. This was announced through loudspeakers throughout the city.
Soviet troops on a broad front reached the river. Elbe, as well as to the coast of the Baltic Sea. A regrouping of forces began for the final liberation of Czechoslovakia.
On the night of May 9, 1945, representatives of Germany, the USSR and the Allies signed an act of complete and unconditional surrender of Germany. Mankind celebrated the victory over the greatest threat to the whole world - fascism.
Evaluation and significance of the Battle of Berlin
The capture of Berlin is ambiguously assessed in historical science. Soviet historians talked about the genius of the Berlin operation, its careful development. In the post-perestroika period, they pointed to unjustified losses, to the senselessness of the assault, to the fact that there were practically no defenders left. The truth is contained in both statements. The last defenders of Berlin were significantly inferior in strength to the attackers, but do not forget about the power of the impact of Hitler's propaganda, forcing people to give their lives for the Fuhrer. This explains the exceptional tenacity in defense. The Soviet troops really suffered heavy losses, but the people needed the battle for Berlin and the hoisting of the flag on the Reichstag, as a natural result of their incredible suffering during the war years.
The Berlin operation was the final stage in the struggle of the leading world powers against the fascist regime in Germany. The main culprit of unleashing a bloody war was defeated. The main ideologist - Hitler committed suicide, the top leaders of the Nazi state were captured or killed. Victory in World War II was not far off. For some time (before the start of the Cold War), humanity felt its unity and the possibility of joint action in the face of serious danger.
The Berlin operation is an offensive operation of the 1st Belorussian (Marshal G.K. Zhukov), 2nd Belorussian (Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky) and 1st Ukrainian (Marshal I.S. Konev) fronts to capture Berlin and defeat the defending his groupings April 16 - May 2, 1945 ( The Second World War, 1939-1945). In the Berlin direction, the Red Army was opposed by a large grouping as part of the Vistula Army Group (Generals G. Heinrici, then K. Tippelskirch) and Center (Field Marshal F. Schörner).
The ratio of forces is given in the table.
Source: History of the Second World War: In 12 vols. M., 1973-1 1979. T. 10. S. 315.
The attack on the German capital began on April 16, 1945, after the completion of the main operations of the Red Army in Hungary, East Pomerania, Austria and East Prussia. This deprived the German capital of support
the most important agricultural and industrial areas. In other words, Berlin was deprived of any possibility of obtaining reserves and resources, which undoubtedly hastened its fall.
For the blow, which was supposed to shake the German defenses, an unprecedented density of fire was used - over 600 guns per 1 km of the front. The most heated battles broke out in the sector of the 1st Belorussian Front, where the Seelow Heights covering the central direction were located. For the capture of Berlin, not only the frontal attack of the 1st Belorussian Front was used, but also the flank maneuver of the tank armies (3rd and 4th) of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Having overcome more than a hundred kilometers in a few days, they broke through to the German capital from the south and completed its encirclement. At this time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front were advancing towards the Baltic coast of Germany, covering the right flank of the forces advancing on Berlin.
The culmination of the operation was the battle for Berlin, in which there was a 200,000-strong group under the command of General X. Weidling. Fighting within the city began on April 21, and by April 25 it was completely surrounded. Up to 464 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers took part in the battle for Berlin, which lasted almost two weeks and was extremely fierce. Due to the retreating units, the garrison of Berlin grew to 300 thousand people.
If in Budapest (see Budapest 1) the Soviet command avoided the use of artillery and aircraft, then during the assault on the capital of Nazi Germany they spared no fire. According to Marshal Zhukov, from April 21 to May 2, almost 1.8 million artillery shots were fired at Berlin. And in total, more than 36 thousand tons of metal were brought down on the city. Fortress guns, the shells of which weighed half a ton, also fired at the capital's center.
A feature of the Berlin operation can 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 guns participating in the Berlin operation.
The fighting didn't stop day or night. During the day, the assault units advanced in the first echelons, at night - in the second. The battle for the Reichstag, over which the Banner of Victory was hoisted, was especially fierce. 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 separate groups, which capitulated by 15 o'clock. The surrender of the Berlin garrison was accepted by the commander of the 8th Guards Army, General V.I. Chuikov, who traveled from Stalingrad to the walls of Berlin.
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 the daily losses of 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, where the damage was inflicted primarily during the battle, in contrast to the battles of the first the period of the war, when the daily losses of the Soviet troops were determined to a large extent by a significant number of prisoners (see Border battles). In terms of the intensity of losses, this operation is comparable only to the Battle of Kursk.
The Berlin operation dealt the last crushing blow to the armed forces of the Third Reich, which, with the loss of Berlin, lost their ability to organize resistance. Six days after the fall of Berlin, on the night of May 8-9, the German leadership signed the act of Germany's unconditional surrender. For participants in the Berlin operation, a medal "For the Capture of Berlin" was issued.
Used materials of the book: Nikolai Shefov. Russian battles. Military History Library. M., 2002.Wir capitulieren nie?
The offensive operation of the 2nd Belorussian (Marshal Rokossovsky), 1st Belorussian (Marshal Zhukov) and 1st Ukrainian (Marshal Konev) fronts on April 16 - May 8, 1945. Having defeated large German groups in East Prussia, Poland and Eastern Pomerania and reaching the Oder and Neisse, Soviet troops penetrated deeply into German territory. On the western bank of the river Oder bridgeheads were captured, including a particularly important one in the Kustrin area. At the same time, Anglo-American troops advanced from the west.
Hitler, hoping for disagreements between the allies, took all measures to delay the advance of the Soviet troops on the outskirts of Berlin and negotiate a separate peace with the Americans. 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 G. Heinrici (since April 30, Infantry General K. Tippelskirch) and the 4th Panzer and 17th th Army of the Army Group "Center" Field Marshal F. Scherner (a total of about 1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,530 tanks and assault guns, over 3,300 aircraft). On the western banks of the Oder and the Neisse, 3 defensive zones were created up to 20-40 km deep. The Berlin defensive area consisted of 3 ring defensive contours. All large buildings in the city were turned into strongholds, streets and squares were blocked by powerful barricades, numerous minefields were set up, and booby traps were scattered everywhere.
The walls of the houses were covered with Goebbels' propaganda slogans: "Wir kapitulieren nie!" ("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. Despite the ostentatious bravado, Berlin was already doomed. The giant city was in a huge trap. The Soviet command concentrated 19 combined arms (including 2 Polish), 4 tank and 4 air armies (2.5 million people, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, 7,500 aircraft) in the Berlin direction. British and American bombers came in continuous waves from the west, methodically, block by block, turning the city into a heap of ruins.
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. The advanced Soviet units competed with each other for the honor of being the first to capture the Reichstag, which was considered a symbol of the Third Reich. Shortly after the Banner of Victory was hoisted over the dome of the Reichstag, Berlin capitulated on May 2, 1945.
Used material from the site Third Reich www.fact400.ru/mif/reich/titul.htm
In the historical dictionary:
BERLIN OPERATION - an offensive operation of the Red Army at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
In January - March 1945, Soviet troops defeated large fascist German groups in East Prussia, Poland and East Pomerania, penetrated deep into German territory and seized the bridgeheads necessary to take its capital.
The plan of the operation was to inflict several powerful blows on a wide front, dismember the Berlin enemy grouping, surround and destroy it piece by piece. To accomplish this task, the Soviet command concentrated 19 combined arms (including two Polish), four tank and four air armies (2.5 million people, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, 7,500 aircraft).
The German command concentrated a large grouping in the Berlin area as part of the Vistula Army Group (3rd Panzer and 9th Armies) and the Center Army Group (4th Panzer and 17th Army) - about 1 million people, 10 400 guns and mortars, 1530 tanks and assault guns, over 3300 aircraft. On the western banks of the Oder and Neisse rivers, three defensive belts up to 20-40 km deep were created; The Berlin defensive area consisted of three ring defensive contours, all large buildings in the city were turned into strongholds, streets and squares were blocked by powerful barricades.
On April 16, after powerful artillery and aviation preparation, the 1st Belorussian Front (Marshal G.K. Zhukov.) Attacked the enemy on the river. Oder. At the same time, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front (Marshal I.S. Konev) began to force the river. Neisse. Despite the fierce resistance of the enemy, especially on the Zelov heights, the Soviet troops broke through his defenses. Attempts by the Nazi command to win the battle for Berlin on the Oder-Neisse line failed.
On April 20, troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front (Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky) crossed the river. The Oder and by the end of April 25 broke through the enemy's main line of defense south of Stettin. On April 21, the 3rd Guards Tank Army (General Ya. S. Rybalko) was the first to break into the northeastern outskirts of Berlin. The troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, after breaking through the enemy defenses from the north and south, bypassed Berlin and on April 25 locked up to 200 thousand German troops to the west of Berlin in the encirclement ring.
The defeat of this group resulted in a fierce battle. Until May 2, bloody battles were going on in the streets of Berlin day and night. On April 30, the troops of the 3rd shock army (Colonel-General V.I. Kuznetsov) began fighting for the Reichstag and took it by evening. Sergeant M. A. Egorov and junior sergeant M. V. Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory on the Reichstag.
The fighting in Berlin continued until May 8, when representatives of the German High Command, headed by Field Marshal W. Keitel, signed the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender.
Orlov A.S., Georgiev N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 36-37.
Battle for Berlin
In the spring of 1945, the Third Reich was on the verge of final collapse.
By April 15, 214 divisions, including 34 tank and 14 motorized divisions, and 14 brigades were fighting on the Soviet-German front. 60 German divisions acted against the Anglo-American troops, of which 5 were tank divisions.
Preparing to repel the Soviet offensive, the German command created a powerful defense in the east of the country. Berlin was covered to a great depth by numerous defensive structures erected along the western banks of the Oder and Neisse rivers.
Berlin itself was turned into a powerful fortified area. Around it, the Germans built three defensive rings - outer, inner and city, and in the city itself (an area of 88 thousand hectares) they created nine defense sectors: eight around the circumference and one in the center. This central sector, which covered the main state and administrative institutions, including the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery, was especially carefully prepared in terms of engineering. There were more than 400 reinforced concrete long-term structures in the city. The largest of them - six-story bunkers dug into the ground - could accommodate up to a thousand people each. For the covert maneuver of troops, the subway was used.
For the defense of Berlin, the German command hastily formed new units. In January - March 1945, even 16-, 17-year-old boys were called up for military service.
Taking into account these factors, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command concentrated large forces in the Berlin direction in the composition of three fronts. In addition, it was supposed to use part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the Dnieper military flotilla, the 18th air army, and three air defense corps of the country.
Polish troops were involved in the Berlin operation, consisting of two armies, tank and aviation corps, two breakthrough artillery divisions and a separate mortar brigade. They were part of the fronts.
On April 16, after powerful artillery preparation and air strikes, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front went on the offensive. The Berlin operation began. The enemy, suppressed by artillery fire, offered no organized resistance at the forefront, but then, recovering from the shock, resisted with fierce stubbornness.
Soviet infantry and tanks advanced 1.5-2 km. In the current situation, in order to speed up the advance of the troops, Marshal Zhukov brought into battle the tank and mechanized corps of the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies.
The offensive of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front was successfully developing. At 06:15 on April 16, artillery preparation began. Bombers and attack aircraft inflicted heavy blows on resistance centers, communication centers and command posts. Battalions of divisions of the first echelon quickly crossed the Neisse River and captured bridgeheads on its left bank.
The German command brought into battle from its reserve up to three tank divisions and a tank destroyer brigade. The fighting took on a fierce character. Breaking the resistance of the enemy, the combined arms and tank formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through the main line of defense. On April 17, the troops of the front completed the breakthrough of the second lane and approached the third, which ran along the left bank of the river. Spree.
The successful offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front created a threat for the enemy to bypass his Berlin grouping from the south. The German command concentrated its efforts in order to delay the further advance of the Soviet troops at the turn of the river. Spree. The reserves of Army Group Center and the retreating troops of the 4th Panzer Army were sent here. But the enemy's attempts to change the course of the battle were not successful.
The 2nd Belorussian Front went on the offensive on 18 April. On April 18-19, the troops of the front crossed the Ost-Oder in difficult conditions, cleared the lowland between the Ost-Oder and West-Oder from the enemy and took up their starting positions for forcing the West-Oder.
Thus, in the zone of all fronts, favorable prerequisites were formed for the continuation of the operation.
The offensive of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed most successfully. They entered the operational space and rushed to Berlin, covering the right wing of the Frankfurt-Guben group. On April 19-20, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies advanced 95 km. The rapid offensive of these armies, as well as the 13th Army, by the end of April 20, led to the cutting off of the Vistula Army Group from the Center Army Group.
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front continued their offensive. On April 20, on the fifth day of the operation, long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army, Colonel General V.I. Kuznetsova opened fire on Berlin. On April 21, the advanced units of the front broke into the northern and southeastern outskirts of the German capital.
On April 24, southeast of Berlin, the 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, advancing on the left flank of the shock group, met with the 3rd Guards Tank and 28th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front. As a result, the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy was completely isolated from the Berlin garrison.
On April 25, the advanced units of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the 5th Guards Army of General A.S. Zhadov - met on the banks of the Elbe in the Torgau region with reconnaissance groups of the 5th Corps of the 1st American Army, General O. Bradley. The German front was split. In honor of this victory, Moscow saluted the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
At this time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the West-Oder and broke through the defenses on its western bank. They fettered the German 3rd Panzer Army and deprived it of the opportunity to launch a counterattack from the north against the Soviet troops surrounding Berlin.
During the ten days of the operation, the Soviet troops overcame the German defenses along the Oder and the Neisse, surrounded and dismembered his groupings in the Berlin direction and created the conditions for capturing Berlin.
The third stage is the destruction of the Berlin enemy grouping, the capture of Berlin (April 26 - May 8). German troops, despite the inevitable defeat, continued to resist. First of all, it was necessary to liquidate the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy, numbering up to 200 thousand people.
Part of the troops of the 12th Army who survived the defeat retreated to the left bank of the Elbe along the bridges built by the American troops and surrendered to them.
By the end of April 25, the enemy defending in Berlin occupied a territory whose area was approximately 325 square meters. km. The total length of the front of the Soviet troops operating in the capital of Germany was about 100 km.
On May 1, units of the 1st Shock Army, advancing from the north, met south of the Reichstag with units of the 8th Guards Army, advancing from the south. The surrender of the remnants of the Berlin garrison took place on the morning of May 2 by order of its last commander, General of Artillery G. Weidling. The liquidation of the Berlin grouping of German troops was completed.
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, advancing in a westerly direction, reached the Elbe by May 7 on a wide front. The troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front reached the coast of the Baltic Sea and the line of the Elbe River, where they established contact with the 2nd British Army. The troops of the right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front began to regroup in the Prague direction to complete the tasks of completing the liberation of Czechoslovakia. During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops defeated 70 enemy infantry, 23 tank and motorized divisions, captured about 480 thousand people, captured up to 11 thousand guns and mortars, over 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, 4500 aircraft.
Soviet troops in this final operation suffered heavy losses - more than 350 thousand people, including over 78 thousand - irretrievably. The 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army lost about 9 thousand soldiers and officers. (Secrecy stamp removed. Losses of the Armed Forces of the USSR in wars, combat actions and military conflicts. M., 1993. S. 220.) Soviet troops also lost 2156 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, 1220 guns and mortars, 527 aircraft.
The Berlin operation is one of the largest operations of the Second World War. The victory of the Soviet troops in it became a decisive factor in the completion of the military defeat of Germany. With the fall of Berlin and the loss of vital areas, Germany lost the opportunity for organized resistance and soon capitulated.
Used materials from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
April was the last year of the war. She was nearing completion. Nazi Germany agonized, but Hitler and his entourage were not going to stop fighting, hoping until the last minutes for a split in the Anti-Hitler coalition. They put up with the loss of the western regions of Germany and threw the main forces of the Wehrmacht against the Red Army, trying to prevent the capture of the central regions of the Reich, primarily Berlin, by the Red Army. The Nazi leadership put forward the slogan: "It is better to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-Saxons than to let the Russians into it."
By the beginning of the Berlin operation, 214 enemy divisions were operating on the Soviet-German front, including 34 tank and 15 motorized and 14 brigades. Against the Anglo-American troops, 60 divisions remained, including 5 tank divisions. At that time, the Nazis still had certain stocks of weapons and ammunition, which made it possible for the fascist command to put up stubborn resistance on the Soviet-German front in the last month of the war.
Stalin was well aware of the complexity of the military-political situation on the horseback of the end of the war and knew about the intention of the fascist elite to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-American troops, therefore, as soon as the preparations for the decisive blow were completed, he ordered the Berlin operation to begin.
Large forces were allocated for the attack on Berlin. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front (Marshal G.K. Zhukov) numbered 2,500,000 people, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 41,600 guns and mortars, 7,500 combat aircraft.
They are at the front with a length of 385 km. the troops of Army Group Center (Field Marshal F. Scherner) opposed. It consisted of 48 infantry divisions, 9 tank divisions, 6 motorized divisions, 37 separate infantry regiments, 98 separate infantry battalions, as well as a large number of artillery and special units and formations, numbering 1,000,000 people, 1,519 tanks and self-propelled guns, 10,400 guns and mortars, 3,300 combat aircraft, including 120 Me.262 jet fighters. Of these, 2.000 in the Berlin area.
The Vistula Army Group, which defended Berlin from the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, who occupied the Kustrinsky bridgehead, was commanded by Colonel General G. Heintsiri. As part of the Kustrinsky grouping, which numbered 14 divisions, were: the 11th SS Panzer Corps, the 56th Panzer Corps, the 101st Army Corps, the 9th Parachute Division, the 169th, 286th, 303rd "Deberitz", 309 -I "Berlin", 712th Infantry Division, 606th Special Purpose Division, 391st Security Division, 5th Light Infantry Division, 18th, 20th Motorized Divisions, 11th SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Nordland", 23rd Panzer Grenadier Division of the SS "Netherlands", 25th Panzer Division, 5th and 408th artillery corps of the RGK, 292nd and 770th anti-tank artillery divisions, 3rd, 405th, 732nd artillery brigade, 909th brigade of assault guns, 303rd and 1170th assault gun battalions, 18th engineer brigade, 22 spare artillery battalions (3117-3126th, 3134-33139th, 3177th, 3184- th, 3163-3166th), 3086th, 3087th artillery battalions and other units. At the front, 44 km. 512 tanks and 236 assault guns were concentrated, a total of 748 tanks and self-propelled guns, 744 field guns, 600 anti-aircraft guns, a total of 2,640 (or 2,753) guns and mortars.
There were 8 divisions in reserve in the Berlin direction: tank-grenadier divisions "Müncheberg", "Kurmark", infantry divisions 2nd "Friedrich Ludwig Jahn", "Theodor Kerner", "Scharnhorst", 1st training parachute division, 1st motorized division, the Hitler Youth tank destroyer brigade, the 243rd and 404th assault gun brigades.
Nearby, on the right flank, in the strip of the 1st Ukrainian Front, they occupied positions, the 21st Panzer Division, the Bohemia Panzer Division, the 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg", the 13th Motorized Division, the 32nd SS Infantry Division " January 30th, 35th SS Police Division, 8th, 245th, 275th Infantry Divisions, Saxony Infantry Division, Burg Infantry Brigade.
In the Berlin direction, a defense in depth was prepared, the construction of which began as early as January 1945. It was based on the Oder-Neissen defensive line and the Berlin defensive area. The Oder-Neisen defensive line consisted of three lanes, between which there were intermediate and cut-off positions in the most important directions. The total depth of this boundary reached 20-40 km. The forward edge of the main line of defense ran along the left bank of the Oder and Neisse rivers, with the exception of the bridgeheads at Frankfurt, Guben, Forst and Muskau.
Settlements were turned into powerful strongholds. The Nazis prepared to open the floodgates on the Oder in order to flood a number of areas if necessary. A second line of defense was created 10-20 km from the front line. The most equipped in engineering terms, it was on the Seelow Heights - in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The third lane was located at a distance of 20-40 km from the leading edge of the main lane. Like the second, it consisted of powerful knots of resistance, interconnected by communication passages.
During the construction of defensive lines, the fascist command paid special attention to the organization of anti-tank defense, which was based on a combination of artillery fire, assault guns and tanks with engineering barriers, dense mining of tank-accessible areas and the mandatory use of rivers, canals and lakes. In addition, Berlin's anti-aircraft artillery was aimed to fight the tanks. In front of the first trench, and in the depths of defense at the intersection of roads and along their sides, there were tank destroyers armed with faustpatrons.
In Berlin itself, 200 Volkssturm battalions were formed, and the total strength of the garrison exceeded 200,000 people. The garrison included: 1st, 10th, 17th, 23rd anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 81st, 149th, 151st, 154th, 404th reserve infantry divisions, 458- I am a reserve grenadier brigade, the 687th sapper brigade, the SS motorized brigade "Führerbegleit", the security regiment "Grossdeutchland", the 62nd fortress regiment, the 503rd separate heavy tank battalion, the 123rd, 513th anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 116th fortress machine gun battalion, 301st, 303rd, 305th, 306th, 307th, 308th marine battalions, 539th security battalion, 630th, 968th engineer battalions, 103rd, 107th, 109th, 203rd, 205th, 207th, 301st, 308th, 313th, 318th, 320th, 509th, 617th 1st, 705th, 707th, 713th, 803rd, 811th Rolland, 911th Volkssturm battalions, 185th construction battalion, 4th Air Force training battalion, 74th Air Force marching battalion , 614th tank destroyer company, 76th communication training company, 778th assault company, 101st, 102nd companies of the Spanish Legion, 253rd, 255th police units and other units. (On the defense of the motherland, p. 148 (TsAMO, f. 1185, op. 1, d. 3, l. 221), 266th Artyomovsko-Berlinskaya st. 131, 139 (TsAMO, f. 1556, op. 1, d .8, l.160) (TsAMO, f.1556, op.1, d.33, l.219))
The Berlin defensive area included three ring bypass. The outer bypass passed along rivers, canals and lakes 25-40 km from the center of the capital. The internal defensive bypass ran along the outskirts of the suburbs. All strongholds and positions were interconnected in terms of fire. Numerous anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire were installed on the streets. Its total depth was 6 km. The third - the city bypass passed along the district railway. All streets leading to the center of Berlin were blocked by barricades, bridges were prepared to be blown up.
The city was divided into 9 defensive sectors, the central sector was the most fortified. The streets and squares were open to artillery and tanks. DOTs were built. All defensive positions were interconnected by a network of communication passages. For covert maneuvers, forces widely used the metro, the length of which reached 80 km. The fascist leadership ordered: "hold Berlin to the last bullet."
Two days before the start of the operation, reconnaissance in force was carried out in the bands of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. On April 14, after a 15-20 minute fire raid, reinforced rifle battalions began to operate in the direction of the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front. Then, in a number of sectors, regiments of the first echelons were also brought into battle. During the two-day battles, they managed to penetrate the enemy defenses and capture certain sections of the first and second trenches, and advance up to 5 km in some directions. The integrity of the enemy defense was broken.
Reconnaissance in combat in the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front was carried out on the night of April 16 by reinforced rifle companies.
The Berlin offensive began on April 16, 1945. The attack of tanks and infantry began at night. At 05-00, Soviet artillery opened the most powerful fire in the entire war. 22,000 guns and mortars participated in the artillery preparation. The density of artillery reached 300 barrels per 1 km of the front. Immediately after this, the German positions were suddenly illuminated by 143 anti-aircraft searchlights. At the same time, hundreds of tanks with lit headlights and infantry of the 3rd, 5th shock, 8th guards, 69th armies moved towards the blinded Nazis. The advanced positions of the enemy were soon broken through. The enemy was heavily damaged, and therefore his resistance for the first two hours was disorganized. The advancing troops wedged by noon into the depth of the enemy defense for 5 km. The greatest success in the center was achieved by the 32nd Rifle Corps of General D.S. Zherebin of the 3rd shock army. He advanced 8 km and went to the second line of defense. On the left flank of the army, the 301st Rifle Division took an important stronghold - the Verbig railway station. The 1054th Infantry Regiment distinguished itself in battles for it. The 16th Air Army provided great assistance to the advancing troops. During the day, its aircraft made 5.342 sorties and shot down 165 German aircraft.
However, at the second line of defense, the key to which was the Seelow Heights, the enemy was able to delay the advance of our troops. The troops of the 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Army brought into battle suffered significant losses. The Germans, fighting off unprepared attacks, destroyed 150 tanks and 132 aircraft. The Seelow Heights dominated the area. They opened a view for many kilometers to the east. The slopes were very steep. The tanks could not climb them to the top and were forced to move along the only road, which was under fire from all sides. The Spreewald forest prevented the Seelow Heights from being bypassed.
The battles for the Seelow Heights were extremely stubborn. The 172nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 57th Guards Rifle Division was able to occupy the outskirts of the city of Zeelov after fierce battles, but the troops could not advance further.
The enemy hastily transferred reserves to the heights and during the second day several times launched strong counterattacks. The advance of the troops was insignificant. By the end of April 17, the troops reached the second line of defense, units of the 4th Rifle and 11th Tank Guards Corps took Zeelov in bloody battles, but failed to capture the heights.
Marshal Zhukov ordered the attacks to stop. The troops were regrouped. The artillery of the front was brought up, which began processing enemy positions. On the third day, heavy fighting continued in the depths of the enemy's defenses. The Nazis brought into battle almost all of their operational reserves. Soviet troops slowly, in bloody battles, moved forward. By the end of April 18, they had covered 3-6 km. and went to the approaches to the third defensive strip. Progress was still slow. In the strip of the 8th Guards Army along the highway going to the west, the Nazis installed 200 anti-aircraft guns. Here their resistance was most fierce.
In the end, the pulled up artillery and aviation crushed the enemy forces and by the end of April 19, the troops of the shock group broke through the third defensive zone and advanced to a depth of 30 km in four days, having the opportunity to develop an offensive against Berlin and bypassing it from the north. The battles for the Seelow Heights were bloody for both sides. The Germans lost up to 15,000 killed and 7,000 captured on them.
The offensive of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully. On April 16, at 06:15, artillery preparation began, during which reinforced battalions of divisions of the first echelon advanced to the Neisse and, after shifting artillery fire under the cover of a smoke screen placed on a 390-kilometer front, began crossing the river. The first echelon of the attackers crossed Neisse for an hour, while artillery preparation was underway.
At 0840, the troops of the 3rd, 5th Guards and 13th armies began to break through the main defensive line. The fighting took on a fierce character. The Nazis launched powerful counterattacks, but by the end of the first day of the offensive, the troops of the shock group had broken through the main line of defense on the front of 26 km and advanced to a depth of 13 km.
The next day, the forces of both tank armies of the front were introduced into the battle. Soviet troops repulsed all enemy counterattacks and completed the breakthrough of the second line of his defense. In two days, the troops of the shock group of the front advanced 15-20 km. The enemy began to retreat behind the Spree.
In the Dresden direction, the troops of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army, after entering the battle of the 1st Polish and 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, also completed the breakthrough of the tactical defense zone and in two days of fighting advanced in some areas up to 20 km.
On the morning of April 18, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies reached the Spree and crossed it on the move, broke through the third defensive line on a 10-kilometer stretch and captured a bridgehead north and south of Spremberg.
In three days, the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced up to 30 km in the direction of the main attack. Significant assistance to the attackers was provided by the 2nd Air Army, which made 7,517 sorties during these days and shot down 155 enemy aircraft. Front troops bypassed Berlin from the south. The tank armies of the front broke into the operational space.
On April 18, units of the 65th, 70th, 49th armies of the 2nd Belorussian Front began forcing the Ost-Oder. Having overcome the resistance of the enemy, the troops captured bridgeheads on the opposite bank. On April 19, the units that crossed over continued to destroy enemy units in the interfluve, concentrating on dams on the right bank of the river. Having overcome the swampy floodplain of the Oder, the troops of the front occupied on April 20 an advantageous position for forcing the West-Oder.
On April 19, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced 30-50 km to the north-west, reached the Lübbenau, Luckau area and cut the communications of the 9th Field Army. All attempts by the enemy's 4th Panzer Army to break through to the crossings from the areas of Cottbus and Spremberg failed. Troops of the 3rd and 5th Guards Armies moving to the west reliably covered the communications of the tank armies, which allowed the tankmen to advance another 45-60 km the next day. And go to the approaches to Berlin. The 13th Army advanced 30 km.
The rapid advance of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies led to the cutting off of the Vistula Army Group from the Center Army Group, the enemy troops in the areas of Cottbus and Spremberg were in a semi-encirclement.
On the morning of April 22, the 3rd Guards Tank Army, having deployed all three corps in the first echelon, began an attack on enemy fortifications. Army troops broke through the outer defensive bypass of the Berlin region and by the end of the day started fighting on the southern outskirts of the German capital. Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front broke into its northeastern outskirts the day before.
On April 22, the 4th Guards Tank Army of General Lelyushenko, operating to the left, broke through the outer defenses of Berlin and reached the Zarmund-Belitz line.
While the formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front were rapidly bypassing the capital of Germany from the south, the shock group of the 1st Belorussian Front was advancing on Berlin directly on Berlin from the east. After breaking through the Oder line, the troops of the front, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, moved forward. April 20 at 13-50 long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps opened fire on Berlin. By the end of April 21, the 3rd and 5th shock and 2nd guards tank armies overcame resistance on the outer contour of the Berlin defensive area and reached its northeastern outskirts. The first to break into Berlin were the 26th Guards and 32nd Rifle Corps, the 60th, 89th, 94th Guards, 266th, 295th, 416th Rifle Divisions. By the morning of April 22, the 9th Guards Tank Corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army reached the Havel River, on the northwestern outskirts of the capital, and, together with units of the 47th Army, began to force it.
The Nazis made desperate efforts to prevent the encirclement of Berlin. On April 22, at the last operational meeting, Hitler agreed with the proposal of General A. Jodl to remove all troops from the western front and throw them into the battle for Berlin. The 12th field army of General W. Wenck was ordered to leave their positions on the Elbe and break through to Berlin and join the 9th field army. At the same time, the army group of SS General F. Steiner received an order to strike at the flank of the grouping of Soviet troops, which bypassed Berlin from the north and northwest. The 9th Army was ordered to withdraw to the west to link up with the 12th Army.
The 12th Army, on April 24, turning its front to the east, attacked units of the 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies occupying the defenses at the Belitz-Treuenbritzen line.
On April 23 and 24, fighting in all directions took on a particularly fierce character. The pace of advancement of the Soviet troops slowed down, but the Germans did not succeed in stopping our troops. Already on April 24, the troops of the 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front joined with units of the 3rd Guards Tank and 28th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front southeast of Berlin. As a result, the main forces of the 9th Field and part of the forces of the 4th Tank Army were cut off from the city and surrounded. The next day, after joining west of Berlin, in the Ketzin area, the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front with units of the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front was surrounded by the actual Berlin enemy grouping.
On April 25, Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe. In the Torgau area, units of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army crossed the Elbe and established contact with the 69th Infantry Division of the 1st US Army. Germany was divided into two parts.
The counterattack of the Görlitz grouping of the enemy, launched on April 18, by April 25 was finally thwarted by the stubborn defense of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army.
The offensive of the main forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front began on the morning of April 20 with the crossing of the West Oder River. The 65th Army achieved the greatest success on the first day of the operation. By evening, she captured several small bridgeheads on the left bank of the river. By the end of April 25, the troops of the 65th and 70th armies completed the breakthrough of the main line of defense, advancing 20-22 km. Using the success of the neighbors on the crossings in the zone of the 65th Army, the 49th Army crossed and launched an offensive, followed by the 2nd Shock Army. As a result of the actions of the 2nd Belorussian Front, the 3rd German Panzer Army was pinned down and could not take part in the battles in the Berlin direction.
On the morning of April 26, Soviet troops launched an offensive against the encircled Frankfurt-Guben group, trying to cut and destroy it piece by piece. The enemy offered stubborn resistance and tried to break through to the west. Two infantry, two motorized and tank divisions of the enemy struck at the junction of the 28th and 3rd Guards armies. The Nazis broke through the defenses in a narrow area and began to move west. During fierce battles, our troops closed the neck of the breakthrough, and the group that broke through was surrounded in the Barut region and almost completely destroyed.
In the following days, the encircled units of the 9th Army again tried to connect with the 12th Army, which was breaking through the defenses of the 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies on the outer front of the encirclement. However, all enemy attacks were repelled on April 27-28.
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front at the same time continued to push the encircled grouping from the east. On the night of April 29, the Nazis again attempted a breakthrough. At the cost of heavy losses, they managed to break through the main line of defense of the Soviet troops at the junction of two fronts in the area of Wendisch-Buchholz. In the second half of April 29, they managed to break through the second line of defense in the sector of the 3rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 28th Army. A corridor 2 km wide was formed. Through it, the encircled began to leave for Luckenwalde. By the end of April 29, Soviet troops stopped the Shperenberg and Kummersdorf who had broken through at the line and divided them into three groups.
Especially intense battles unfolded on April 30. The Germans rushed to the west, regardless of the losses, but were defeated. Only one group of 20,000 people managed to break into the Belitsa area. It was separated from the 12th Army by 3-4 km. But during fierce battles, this group was defeated on the night of May 1. Separate small groups managed to seep to the west. By the end of the day on April 30, the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy was eliminated. 60,000 of its number were killed in battle, more than 120,000 people were taken prisoner. Among the prisoners were the deputy commander of the 9th Field Army, Lieutenant General Bernhardt, the commander of the 5th SS Corps, Lieutenant General Eckel, the commanders of the 21st SS Panzer Division, Lieutenant General Marks, the 169th Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Radchiy, commandant Fortress Frankfurt an der Oder, Major General Biel, Chief of Artillery of the 11th SS Panzer Corps Major General Strammer, Aviation General Zander. During the period from April 24 to May 2, 500 guns were destroyed. 304 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 1,500 guns, 2,180 machine guns, 17,600 vehicles were captured as trophies. (Sovinformburo messages T / 8, p. 199).
Meanwhile, the fighting in Berlin reached its climax. The garrison, continuously increasing due to retreating units, already numbered more than 300,000 people. The 56th tank corps, the 11th and 23rd SS panzer-grenadier divisions, the Müncheberg and Kurmark panzer-grenadier divisions, the 18th, 20th, 25th motorized divisions, infantry divisions 303 retreated to the city -I "Deberitz", 2nd "Friedrich Ludwig Jahn" and many other parts. It was armed with 250 tanks and assault guns, 3,000 guns and mortars. By the end of April 25, the enemy occupied the territory of the capital with an area of 325 square meters. km.
By April 26, the troops of the 8th Guards, 3rd, 5th shock and 47th combined arms armies, the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, the 3rd and 4th -Guards tank armies and part of the forces of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. They consisted of 464,000 people, 1,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, 12,700 guns and mortars, 2,100 rocket launchers.
The troops conducted the assault as part of battalion and company assault detachments, which, in addition to infantry, had tanks, self-propelled guns, sappers, and often flamethrowers. Each detachment was intended to act in its own direction. Usually it was one or two streets. To capture individual objects from the detachment, a group was allocated as part of a platoon or squad, reinforced by 1-2 tanks, sappers and flamethrowers.
During the assault, Berlin was shrouded in smoke, so the use of attack aircraft and bombers was difficult, they acted mainly against the 9th Army surrounded in the Guben area, and fighters carried out an air blockade. The three most powerful air strikes were carried out by the 16th and 18th air armies on the night of April 25-26. 2,049 aircraft took part in them.
The fighting in the city did not stop day or night. By the end of April 26, Soviet troops had cut off the Potsdam grouping of the enemy from Berlin. The next day, formations of both fronts penetrated deeply into the enemy's defenses and began hostilities in the central sector of the capital. As a result of the concentric offensive of the Soviet troops, by the end of April 27, the enemy grouping was compressed in a narrow, completely shot through zone. From east to west, it was 16 km, and its width did not exceed 2-3 km. The Nazis fiercely resisted, but by the end of April 28, the encircled group was divided into three parts. By that time, all attempts by the Wehrmacht command to help the Berlin group had failed. After April 28, the struggle continued with unrelenting force. Now it has flared up in the Reichstag area.
The task of mastering the Reichstag was assigned to the 79th Rifle Corps, Major General S.N. Perevertkin of the 3rd shock army of General Gorbatov. Having captured the Moltke bridge on the night of April 29, by 4 o’clock on April 30, parts of the corps captured a large resistance center - the house where the German Ministry of the Interior was located, and went directly to the Reichstag.
On this day, Hitler, who remained in an underground bunker near the Reich Chancellery, committed suicide. Following him, on May 1, his closest henchman J. Goebbels committed suicide. M. Bormann, who was trying to escape from Berlin with a detachment of tanks, was killed on the night of May 2 on one of the streets of the city.
On April 30, the 171st and 150th rifle divisions of Colonel A.I. Resentment and Major General V.M. Shatilova and the 23rd tank brigade began the assault on the Reichstag. To support the attackers for direct fire, 135 guns were allocated. Its garrison, numbering 5,000 soldiers and officers of the SS troops, put up desperate resistance, but by the evening of April 30, battalions of the 756th, 674th, 380th rifle regiments, commanded by captains S.A., broke into the Reichstag. Neustroev, V.I. Davydov and Senior Lieutenant K.Ya. Samsonov. In the fiercest battle, constantly turning into hand-to-hand combat, Soviet soldiers captured room after room. Early in the morning of May 1, 1945, the 171st and 150th rifle divisions broke his resistance and captured the Reichstag. A little earlier, on the night of May 1, scouts of the 756th Infantry Regiment, Sergeant M.A. Egorov, junior sergeant M.V. Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory on the dome of the Reichstag. Their group was headed by the political officer of the battalion, Lieutenant A.P. Berest, was supported by a company of machine gunners of Lieutenant I.Ya. Syanova.
Separate groups of SS men who were hiding in the cellars laid down their arms only on the night of May 2. In a fierce battle that lasted two days, 2,396 SS men were destroyed, 2,604 were taken prisoner. 28 guns destroyed. Captured 15 tanks, 59 guns, 1,800 rifles and machine guns.
On the evening of May 1, the 248th and 301st rifle divisions of the 5th shock army, after a long fierce battle, took the imperial office. This was the last major fight in Berlin. On the night of May 2, a group of 20 tanks broke out of the city. On the morning of May 2, she was intercepted 15 km northwest of Berlin and completely destroyed. It was assumed that one of the Nazi leaders was fleeing from the capital of the Reich, but none of the Reich bosses were among those killed.
At 15:00 on May 1, Colonel General Krebs, Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, crossed the front line. He was received by the commander of the 8th Guards Army, General Chuikov, and announced Hitler's suicide, the formation of the government of Admiral Dönitz, and also handed over a list of the new government and a proposal for a temporary cessation of hostilities. The Soviet command demanded unconditional surrender. By 18 o'clock it became known that the proposal was rejected. The fighting in the city continued all this time. When the garrison was divided into isolated groups, the Nazis began to surrender. On the morning of May 2 at 6 o'clock, the commander of the defense of Berlin, the commander of the 56th Panzer Corps, General G. Weidling surrendered and signed the order of surrender.
By 3 pm on May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison capitulated. During the assault, the garrison lost 150,000 soldiers and officers killed. On May 2, 134,700 people surrendered, including 33,000 officers and 12,000 wounded.
(IVMV, V.10, p.310-344; G.K. Zhukov Memoirs and Reflections / M, 1971, p. 610-635)
In total, during the Berlin operation, only 218,691 soldiers and officers were killed and 250,534 soldiers and officers were captured in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front, and a total of 480,000 people were captured. 1132 aircraft shot down. Captured as trophies 4,510 aircraft, 1,550 tanks and self-propelled guns, 565 armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles, 8,613 guns, 2,304 mortars, 876 tractors and tractors (35,797 cars), 9,340 motorcycles, 25,289 bicycles, 19,393 machine guns, 179.071 rifle and carbine, 8.261 wagon , 363 steam locomotives, 22.659 wagons, 34.886 faustpatrons, 3.400.000 shells, 360.000.000 cartridges (TsAMO USSR f.67, op.23686, d.27, l.28).
According to the head of the logistics of the 1st Belorussian Front, Major General N.A. Antipenko captured even more trophies. The 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts captured 5,995 aircraft, 4,183 tanks and assault guns, 1,856 armored personnel carriers, 15,069 guns, 5,607 mortars, 36,386 machine guns, 216,604 rifles and machine guns, 84,738 vehicles, 2,199 warehouses .
(On the main line, p.261)
The losses of the Soviet troops and the Polish Army amounted to 81.116 people killed and missing, 280.251 wounded (of which 2.825 Poles were killed and missing, 6.067 were wounded). 1,997 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,108 guns and mortars, 917 combat aircraft, 215,900 small arms were lost (The classification was removed, p.219,220, 372).
