Beginning of the Berlin operation. Berlin offensive. The last operation of the Red Army

Side forces Soviet troops:
1.9 million people
6,250 tanks
over 7,500 aircraft
Polish troops: 155,900 people
1 million people
1,500 tanks
over 3,300 aircraft Losses Soviet troops:
78,291 killed
274,184 wounded
215.9 thousand units small arms
1,997 tanks and self-propelled guns
2,108 guns and mortars
917 aircraft
Polish troops:
2,825 killed
6,067 wounded Soviet data:
OK. 400 thousand killed
OK. 380 thousand captured

The Great Patriotic War

Invasion of the USSR Karelia arctic Leningrad Rostov Moscow Sevastopol Barvenkovo-Lozovaya Kharkov Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad Rzhev Stalingrad Caucasus Velikiye Luki Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Voronezh-Kastornoye Kursk Smolensk Donbass Dnieper Right-Bank Ukraine Leningrad-Novgorod Crimea (1944) Belarus Lviv-Sandomierz Iasi-Chisinau Eastern Carpathians the Baltic States Courland Romania Bulgaria Debrecen Belgrade Budapest Poland (1944) Western Carpathians East Prussia Lower Silesia Eastern Pomerania Upper Silesia Vein Berlin Prague

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 23 days - from April 16 to May 8, 1945, during which the Soviet troops advanced westward at a distance of 100 to 220 km. The width of the combat front is 300 km. As part of the operation, the Stettin-Rostock, Seelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Stremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathen front-line offensive operations were carried out.

The military-political situation in Europe in the spring of 1945

In January-March 1945, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts during the Vistula-Oder, East Pomeranian, Upper Silesian and Lower Silesian operations reached the line of the Oder and Neisse rivers. According to the shortest distance from the Kustrinsky bridgehead to Berlin, 60 km remained. Anglo-American troops completed the liquidation of the Ruhr grouping of German troops and by mid-April advanced units reached the Elbe. The loss of the most important raw material areas led to a decline in industrial production in Germany. Difficulties increased in replenishing the casualties suffered in the winter of 1944/45. Nevertheless, the German armed forces were still an impressive force. According to the intelligence department of the General Staff of the Red Army, by mid-April they numbered 223 divisions and brigades.

According to the agreements reached by the heads of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in the autumn of 1944, the border of the Soviet zone of occupation was to be 150 km west of Berlin. Despite this, Churchill put forward the idea of ​​getting ahead of the Red Army and capturing Berlin, and then commissioned the development of a plan for a full-scale war against the USSR.

Objectives of the parties

Germany

The Nazi leadership tried to drag out the war in order to achieve a separate peace with England and the United States and split the anti-Hitler coalition. At the same time, holding the front against the Soviet Union acquired decisive importance.

the USSR

The military-political situation that had developed by April 1945 required the Soviet command to prepare and conduct an operation to defeat the group of German troops in the Berlin direction, capture Berlin and reach the Elbe River to join the Allied forces as soon as possible. The successful fulfillment of this strategic task made it possible to thwart the plans of the Nazi leadership to prolong the war.

• Capture the capital of Germany, the city of Berlin
• After 12-15 days of operation, reach the Elbe River

• Deliver a cutting blow south of Berlin, isolate the main forces of Army Group Center from the Berlin grouping and thereby ensure the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front from the south
• Defeat the enemy grouping south of Berlin and operational reserves in the Cottbus area
• In 10-12 days, no later, reach the Belitz-Wittenberg line and further along the Elbe River to Dresden

• Deliver a cutting blow north of Berlin, securing the right flank of the 1st Belorussian Front from possible enemy counterattacks from the north
• Press to the sea and destroy the German troops north of Berlin

• Assist the troops of the 5th Shock and 8th Guards Armies with two brigades of river ships in crossing the Oder and breaking through the enemy defenses at the Kustra bridgehead
• The third brigade to assist the troops of the 33rd Army in the Furstenberg area
• Provide anti-mine defense of water transport routes.

• Support the coastal flank of the 2nd Belorussian Front, continuing the blockade of the Kurland Army Group pressed to the sea in Latvia (Kurland Cauldron)

Operation plan

The plan of the operation provided for the simultaneous transition to the offensive of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts on the morning of April 16, 1945. The 2nd Belorussian Front, in connection with the upcoming major regrouping of its forces, was to launch an offensive on April 20, that is, 4 days later.

In preparing the operation, special attention was paid to issues of camouflage and achieving operational and tactical surprise. The headquarters of the fronts developed detailed action plans for misinformation and misleading the enemy, according to which the preparation for the offensive by the troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts was simulated in the area of ​​​​the cities of Stettin and Guben. At the same time, intensified defensive work continued on the central sector of the 1st Belorussian Front, where in reality the main attack was planned. They were carried out especially intensively in sectors that were clearly visible to the enemy. It was explained to all the personnel of the armies that the main task was stubborn defense. In addition, documents characterizing the activities of troops in various sectors of the front were thrown into the enemy’s location.

The arrival of reserves and reinforcements was carefully camouflaged. Military echelons with artillery, mortar, tank units on the territory of Poland they disguised themselves as trains carrying timber and hay on platforms.

When conducting reconnaissance tank commanders from the battalion commander to the army commander, they changed into infantry uniforms and, under the guise of signalmen, examined the crossings and areas where their units would be concentrated.

The circle of knowledgeable persons was extremely limited. In addition to the army commanders, only the chiefs of staff of the armies, the chiefs of the operational departments of the headquarters of the armies and the commanders of artillery were allowed to familiarize themselves with the directive of the Stavka. Regimental commanders received tasks orally three days before the offensive. Junior commanders and Red Army soldiers were allowed to announce the offensive task two hours before the attack.

Troop regrouping

In preparation for the Berlin operation, the 2nd Belorussian Front, which had just completed the East Pomeranian operation, in the period from April 4 to April 15, 1945, was to transfer 4 combined arms armies at a distance of up to 350 km from the area of ​​​​the cities of Danzig and Gdynia to the line of the Oder River and change the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front there. Bad condition railways and an acute shortage of rolling stock prevented the full use of the opportunities railway transport Therefore, the main burden of transportation fell on vehicles. The front was allocated 1,900 vehicles. Part of the way the troops had to overcome on foot.

Germany

The German command foresaw the offensive of the Soviet troops and carefully prepared to repel it. A defense in depth was built from the Oder to Berlin, and the city itself was turned into a powerful defensive citadel. The divisions of the first line were replenished personnel and equipment, strong reserves were created in the operational depth. In Berlin and near it, a huge number of Volkssturm battalions were formed.

The nature of the defense

The basis of the defense was the Oder-Neissen defensive line and the Berlin defensive area. The Oder-Neissen line consisted of three defensive lines, and its total depth reached 20-40 km. The main defensive line had up to five continuous lines of trenches, and its front line ran along the left bank of the Oder and Neisse rivers. A second line of defense was created 10-20 km from it. It was the most equipped in engineering terms at the Zelov Heights - in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The third strip was located at a distance of 20-40 km from the front line. When organizing and equipping the defense, the German command skillfully used natural obstacles: lakes, rivers, canals, ravines. All settlements were turned into strong strongholds and were adapted for all-round defense. During the construction of the Oder-Neissen line, special attention was paid to the organization of anti-tank defense.

The saturation of defensive positions with enemy troops was uneven. The highest density of troops was observed in front of the 1st Belorussian Front in a strip 175 km wide, where the defense was occupied by 23 divisions, a significant number separate brigades, regiments and battalions, with 14 divisions defending against the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. In the offensive zone of the 2nd Belorussian Front, 120 km wide, 7 infantry divisions and 13 separate regiments defended. In the strip of the 1st Ukrainian Front, 390 km wide, there were 25 enemy divisions.

In an effort to increase the stamina of their troops on the defensive, the Nazi leadership tightened repressive measures. So, on April 15, in his address to the soldiers of the eastern front, A. Hitler demanded that everyone who gave the order to withdraw or would withdraw without an order be shot on the spot.

The composition and strength of the parties

the USSR

Total: Soviet troops - 1.9 million people, Polish troops- 155,900 people, 6,250 tanks, 41,600 guns and mortars, more than 7,500 aircraft

Germany

Fulfilling the order of the commander, on April 18 and 19, the tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched irresistibly towards Berlin. The pace of their offensive reached 35-50 km per day. At the same time, the combined-arms armies were preparing to liquidate large enemy groupings in the area of ​​Cottbus and Spremberg.

By the end of the day on April 20, the main strike force of the 1st Ukrainian Front had penetrated deeply into the enemy’s location, and completely cut off the German Army Group Vistula from the Army Group Center. Feeling the threat caused by the rapid actions of the tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front, the German command took a number of measures to strengthen the approaches to Berlin. To strengthen the defense in the area of ​​​​the cities of Zossen, Luckenwalde, Jutterbog, infantry and tank units were urgently sent. Overcoming their stubborn resistance, on the night of April 21, Rybalko's tankers reached the outer Berlin defensive bypass. By the morning of April 22, the 9th mechanized corps of Sukhov and the 6th guards tank corps Mitrofanov of the 3rd Guards Tank Army crossed the Notte Canal, broke through the outer defensive bypass of Berlin, and at the end of the day reached the southern bank of the Teltow Canal. There, having met strong and well-organized enemy resistance, they were stopped.

At 12 noon on April 25, west of Berlin, the advanced units of the 4th Guards Tank Army met with units of the 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. On the same day, another significant event took place. An hour and a half later, on the Elbe, the 34th Guards Corps of General Baklanov of the 5th Guards Army met with American troops.

From April 25 to May 2, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front fought fierce battles in three directions: units of the 28th Army, 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies participated in the storming of Berlin; part of the forces of the 4th Guards Tank Army, together with the 13th Army, repelled the counterattack of the 12th german army; The 3rd Guards Army and part of the forces of the 28th Army blocked and destroyed the encircled 9th Army.

All the time from the beginning of the operation, the command of the Army Group "Center" sought to disrupt the offensive of the Soviet troops. On April 20, German troops delivered the first counterattack on the left flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front and pushed back the troops of the 52nd Army and the 2nd Army of the Polish Army. On April 23, a new powerful counterattack followed, as a result of which the defense at the junction of the 52nd Army and the 2nd Army of the Polish Army was broken through and the German troops advanced 20 km into general direction on Spremberg, threatening to go to the rear of the front.

2nd Belorussian Front (April 20-May 8)

From April 17 to April 19, the troops of the 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front, under the command of Colonel General Batov P.I., conducted reconnaissance in battle and advanced detachments captured the Oder interfluve, thereby facilitating the subsequent forcing of the river. On the morning of April 20, the main forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front went on the offensive: the 65th, 70th and 49th armies. The crossing of the Oder took place under the cover of artillery fire and smoke screens. The offensive developed most successfully in the sector of the 65th Army, in which the engineering troops of the army had a considerable merit. Having built two 16-ton pontoon crossings by 13 o'clock, by the evening of April 20, the troops of this army captured a bridgehead 6 kilometers wide and 1.5 kilometers deep.

We had a chance to observe the work of sappers. Working up to their necks in icy water among explosions of shells and mines, they made a crossing. Every second they were threatened with death, but people understood their soldier's duty and thought of one thing - to help their comrades on the west bank and thereby bring victory closer.

More modest success was achieved in the central sector of the front in the zone of the 70th Army. The left-flank 49th Army met stubborn resistance and was not successful. All day and all night on April 21, the troops of the front, repulsing numerous attacks by German troops, stubbornly expanded their bridgeheads on the western bank of the Oder. In the current situation, the front commander K.K. Rokossovsky decided to send the 49th army along the crossings of the right neighbor of the 70th army, and then return it to its offensive zone. By April 25, as a result of fierce battles, the troops of the front expanded the captured bridgehead to 35 km along the front and up to 15 km in depth. To build up striking power, the 2nd shock army, as well as the 1st and 3rd guards tank corps, were transferred to the western bank of the Oder. At the first stage of the operation, the 2nd Belorussian Front, by its actions, fettered the main forces of the 3rd German tank army, depriving it of the opportunity to help those fighting near Berlin. On April 26, formations of the 65th Army stormed Stettin. In the future, the armies of the 2nd Belorussian Front, breaking the resistance of the enemy and destroying the suitable reserves, stubbornly moved to the west. On May 3, Panfilov's 3rd Guards Tank Corps, southwest of Wismar, established contact with the advanced units of the 2nd British Army.

Liquidation of the Frankfurt-Guben group

By the end of April 24, formations of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front came into contact with units of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, thereby encircling the 9th Army of General Busse southeast of Berlin and cutting it off from the city. The encircled grouping of German troops became known as the Frankfurt-Gubenskaya. Now the Soviet command was faced with the task of eliminating the 200,000th enemy grouping and preventing its breakthrough to Berlin or to the west. To accomplish the latter task, the 3rd Guards Army and part of the forces of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front took up active defense in the path of a possible breakthrough by German troops. On April 26, the 3rd, 69th, and 33rd armies of the 1st Belorussian Front began the final liquidation of the encircled units. However, the enemy not only offered stubborn resistance, but also made repeated attempts to break out of the encirclement. Skillfully maneuvering and skillfully creating superiority in forces in narrow sections of the front, the German troops twice managed to break through the encirclement. However, each time the Soviet command took decisive measures to eliminate the breakthrough. Until May 2, the encircled units of the 9th German Army made desperate attempts to break through battle formations 1st Ukrainian Front to the west, to connect with the 12th Army of General Wenck. Only separate small groups managed to seep through the forests and go west.

Storming of Berlin (April 25 - May 2)

Volley of Soviet rocket launchers Katyusha in Berlin

At 12 noon on April 25, the ring around Berlin was closed, when the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army crossed the Havel River and connected with units of the 328th Division of the 47th Army of General Perkhorovich. By that time, according to the Soviet command, the Berlin garrison numbered at least 200 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and 250 tanks. The defense of the city was carefully thought out and well prepared. It was based on the system strong fire, strongholds and nodes of resistance. The closer to the city center, the tighter the defense became. Massive stone buildings with thick walls gave it special strength. The windows and doors of many buildings were closed up and turned into loopholes for firing. The streets were blocked by powerful barricades up to four meters thick. The defenders had a large number of faustpatrons, which in the conditions of street fighting turned out to be a formidable anti-tank weapon. Of no small importance in the enemy's defense system were underground structures, which were widely used by the enemy for maneuvering troops, as well as for sheltering them from artillery and bomb attacks.

By April 26, six armies of the 1st Belorussian Front (47th, 3rd and 5th shock, 8th guards, 1st and 2nd guards tank armies) and three armies of the 1st Belorussian Front took part in the assault on Berlin. th Ukrainian Front (28th, 3rd and 4th Guards Tank). Given the experience of taking major cities, for battles in the city, assault detachments were created as part of rifle battalions or companies, reinforced with tanks, artillery and sappers. The actions of the assault detachments, as a rule, were preceded by a short but powerful artillery preparation.

By April 27, as a result of the actions of the armies of the two fronts that had deeply advanced towards the center of Berlin, the enemy grouping in Berlin stretched out in a narrow strip from east to west - sixteen kilometers long and two or three, in some places five kilometers wide. The fighting in the city did not stop day or night. Block after block, Soviet troops advanced deep into the enemy defenses. So, by the evening of April 28, part 3 shock army went to the Reichstag area. On the night of April 29, the actions of the forward battalions under the command of Captain S. A. Neustroev and Senior Lieutenant K. Ya. Samsonov captured the Moltke bridge. At dawn on April 30, the building of the Ministry of the Interior, adjacent to the parliament building, was stormed at the cost of considerable losses. The way to the Reichstag was open.

April 30, 1945 at 14 hours 25 minutes, parts of the 150th Infantry Division under the command of Major General V. M. Shatilov and the 171st rifle division under the command of Colonel A. I. Resentments stormed the main part of the Reichstag building. The remaining Nazi units offered stubborn resistance. We had to fight literally for every room. In the early morning of May 1, the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division was raised over the Reichstag, but the battle for the Reichstag continued all day and only on the night of May 2 did the Reichstag garrison capitulate.

Helmut Weidling (left) and his staff officers surrender to Soviet troops. Berlin. May 2, 1945

• Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the period from 15 to 29 April

destroyed 114,349 people, captured 55,080 people

• Troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front in the period from April 5 to May 8:

destroyed 49,770 people, captured 84,234 people

Thus, according to the reports of the Soviet command, the loss of German troops was about 400 thousand people killed, about 380 thousand people captured. Part of the German troops was pushed back to the Elbe and capitulated to the Allied forces.

Also, according to the assessment of the Soviet command, the total number of troops that emerged from the encirclement in the Berlin area does not exceed 17,000 people with 80-90 armored vehicles.

Inflated German casualties

According to combat reports of the fronts:

• Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front in the period from April 16 to May 13: destroyed - 1,184, captured - 629 tanks and self-propelled guns.
• During the period from April 15 to April 29, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front destroyed - 1,067, captured - 432 tanks and self-propelled guns;
• During the period from April 5 to May 8, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front destroyed - 195, captured - 85 tanks and self-propelled guns.

In total, according to the fronts, 3,592 tanks and self-propelled guns were destroyed and captured, which is more than 2 times the number of tanks available on the Soviet-German front before the start of the operation.

In 1945, Soviet troops entered the territory of Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Austria and, finally, Germany. In April 1945, the Red Army joined forces on the Elbe River with the Allied forces.

The last major battle of the Great Patriotic War was the Battle of Berlin. The main forces of the fascist armies opposed the Soviet troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts (commanders G.K. Zhukov and K.K. Rokossovsky) and the 1st Ukrainian Front (commander I.S. Konev).

At the first stage of the Berlin operation, the defense of the Nazis at the turn of the Oder-Neisse rivers was broken through, enemy groups in the most important directions were dismembered and destroyed. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front and the 1st Ukrainian Front united west of Berlin and surrounded the enemy troops. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide. Earlier in Italy, Mussolini was captured by partisans and executed. May 2, 1945 Berlin was taken. In early May 1945, the Red Army defeated a group of Nazi troops near Prague.

On May 8, 1945, in the suburbs of Berlin, representatives of the German command signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender.

War of the USSR with Japan.

The defeat of Germany meant the end of the war in Europe. But Japan continued the war against the USA, Great Britain, Australia, Holland, China and threatened the security of the USSR. On July 26, 1945, the United States, Great Britain and China issued an ultimatum to Japan demanding unconditional surrender, but Japan rejected it. One of the secret decisions of the Yalta Conference was the agreement of the Soviet Union to enter the war with Japan two or three months after the victory over Germany.

From August 9, 1945, the USSR was at war with Japan. Three fronts were created: Transbaikal (commander R. Ya. Malinovsky), 1st Far East (commander K. A. Meretskov), 2nd Far East (commander M. A. Purkaev). The Soviet troops numbered over 1.5 million people, 5,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, and over 3.7 thousand aircraft. The Mongolian People's Republic also participated in the war. Northeast China, the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, North Korea were liberated.

September 2, 1945 Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender. One of the reasons for this was the atomic bombing by the Americans of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However main goal these actions of the United States was a demonstration of its military superiority to the whole world, primarily the USSR.

Results, consequences and lessons of the war.

The Second World War was the most difficult and bloody war in the history of mankind. She devastated entire countries. Human losses in World War II were at least 5 times greater than in World War I, and material damage was 12 times greater.

World War II was one of the turning points in modern history. The countries of the fascist bloc - Germany, Italy, Japan and their allies - suffered a military and political defeat.

The decisive role in the victory over fascism was played by the Soviet Union. It was he who took upon himself the main blow of Germany and its allies, repulsed it, and then crushed Germany itself.

The Soviet Union achieved its political goals in this war. It not only retained its freedom and independence, but also secured the right to take part in determining the post-war world order, in the creation of the UN, expanded its borders, received the right to reparations, and became one of the two superpowers.

The victory of the USSR in World War II allowed it to extend its influence to a number of countries in Europe and Asia. The balance of power in Western countries has changed. The economies of Germany and France were destroyed. Great Britain has ceased to claim leadership. Only the United States emerged from the war with virtually no losses, significantly increasing its influence in Europe and Asia.

The victory went to the USSR at a high price. The total losses of the population of the USSR are estimated at 27 million people, of which losses in the active army amounted to approximately 8 million 668.5 thousand people. The economy of the USSR was undermined, much needed to be restored.

The war was ending. Everyone understood this - both the generals of the Wehrmacht and their opponents. Only one person - Adolf Hitler - in spite of everything, continued to hope for the strength of the German spirit, for a "miracle", and most importantly - for a split between his enemies. There were reasons for this - despite the agreements reached at Yalta, England and the United States did not particularly want to cede Berlin to the Soviet troops. Their armies advanced almost unhindered. In April 1945, they broke through into the center of Germany, depriving the Wehrmacht of its "forge" - the Ruhr Basin - and gaining the opportunity to attack Berlin. At the same time, the 1st Belorussian Front of Marshal Zhukov and the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev froze in front of the powerful German defense line on the Oder. The 2nd Belorussian Front of Rokossovsky finished off the remnants of enemy troops in Pomerania, and the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts advanced towards Vienna.

On April 1, Stalin convened a meeting of the State Defense Committee in the Kremlin. The audience was asked one question: "Who will take Berlin - we or the Anglo-Americans?" - "Berlin will take Soviet army”, Konev was the first to respond. He, Zhukov's constant rival, was also not taken by surprise by the question of the Supreme Commander - he showed the GKO members a huge model of Berlin, where the targets of future strikes were precisely indicated. The Reichstag, the Imperial Chancellery, the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - all these were powerful centers of defense with a network of bomb shelters and secret passages. The capital of the Third Reich was surrounded by three lines of fortifications. The first passed 10 km from the city, the second - on its outskirts, the third - in the center. Berlin was defended by selected units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, to whose aid the last reserves were urgently mobilized - 15-year-old members of the Hitler Youth, women and old men from the Volkssturm (people's militia). Around Berlin in the army groups "Vistula" and "Center" there were up to 1 million people, 10.4 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks.

For the first time since the beginning of the war, the superiority of the Soviet troops in manpower and equipment was not only significant, but overwhelming. Berlin was to be attacked by 2.5 million soldiers and officers, 41.6 thousand guns, more than 6.3 thousand tanks, 7.5 thousand aircraft. The main role in the offensive plan approved by Stalin was assigned to the 1st Belorussian Front. Zhukov was supposed to storm the line of defense on the Zelov heights from the Kustrinsky bridgehead, which towered over the Oder, blocking the road to Berlin. The Konev front was to cross the Neisse and hit the Reich capital with the forces of the tank armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko. It was planned that in the west it would reach the Elbe and, together with the Rokossovsky front, would join the Anglo-American troops. The Allies were informed of the Soviet plans and agreed to stop their armies on the Elbe. The Yalta agreements had to be fulfilled, besides, this made it possible to avoid unnecessary losses.

The offensive was scheduled for 16 April. To make it unexpected for the enemy, Zhukov ordered to advance early in the morning, in the dark, blinding the Germans with the light of powerful searchlights. At five in the morning, three red rockets gave the signal to attack, and a second later thousands of guns and Katyushas opened up a hurricane of fire of such force that the eight-kilometer space turned out to be plowed overnight. "Hitler's troops were literally sunk in a continuous sea of ​​fire and metal," Zhukov wrote in his memoirs. Alas, on the eve of the captured Soviet soldier, he revealed to the Germans the date of the future offensive, and they managed to withdraw the troops to the Zelov Heights. Started from there aimed shooting on Soviet tanks, which, wave after wave, went to break through and died in a field that was being shot through. While the enemy's attention was riveted on them, the soldiers of Chuikov's 8th Guards Army managed to move forward and take up lines near the outskirts of the village of Zelov. By evening, it became clear that the planned pace of the offensive was frustrated.

At the same time, Hitler turned to the Germans with an appeal, promising them: "Berlin will remain in German hands", and the Russian offensive "will choke in blood." But few believed in it. People listened with fear to the sounds of cannon fire, which were added to the already familiar bomb explosions. The remaining residents - there were at least 2.5 million - were forbidden to leave the city. The Fuhrer, losing his sense of reality, decided: if the Third Reich dies, all Germans should share his fate. Goebbels' propaganda intimidated the inhabitants of Berlin with the atrocities of the "Bolshevik hordes", urging them to fight to the end. The headquarters of the defense of Berlin was created, which ordered the population to prepare for fierce battles in the streets, in houses and underground communications. Each house was planned to be turned into a fortress, for which all the remaining residents were forced to dig trenches and equip firing positions.

At the end of the day on April 16, the Supreme Commander called Zhukov. He dryly reported that Konev overcame Neisse "happened without difficulty." Two tank armies broke through the front at Cottbus and rushed forward, not stopping the offensive even at night. Zhukov had to promise that during April 17 he would take the ill-fated heights. In the morning, General Katukov's 1st Tank Army moved forward again. And again, the “thirty-fours”, which passed from Kursk to Berlin, burned out like candles from the fire of the “faustpatrons”. By evening, Zhukov's units advanced only a couple of kilometers. Meanwhile, Konev reported to Stalin on new successes, announcing his readiness to take part in the storming of Berlin. Silence on the phone - and the deaf voice of the Supreme: “I agree. Turn the tank armies to Berlin." On the morning of April 18, the armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko rushed north to Teltow and Potsdam. Zhukov, whose pride suffered severely, threw his units into a last desperate attack. In the morning, the 9th German Army, which received the main blow, could not stand it and began to roll back to the west. The Germans still tried to go on the counterattack, but the next day they retreated along the entire front. From that moment on, nothing could delay the denouement.

Friedrich Hitzer, German writer, translator:

My answer regarding the storming of Berlin is purely personal, not of a military strategist. In 1945 I was 10 years old, and as a child of the war, I remember how it ended, what the defeated people felt. Both my father and the closest relative participated in this war. The latter was a German officer. Returning from captivity in 1948, he resolutely told me that if this happened again, he would go to war again. And on January 9, 1945, on my birthday, I received a letter from the front from my father, who also wrote with determination that we must “fight, fight and fight the terrible enemy in the east, otherwise we will be taken to Siberia.” Having read these lines as a child, I was proud of the courage of my father - "liberator from the Bolshevik yoke." But very little time passed, and my uncle, that same German officer, told me many times: “We were deceived. Make sure this doesn't happen to you." The soldiers realized that this was the wrong war. Of course, not all of us were "deceived". One of his father's best friends warned him back in the 1930s: Hitler is terrible. You know, any political ideology the superiority of some over others, absorbed by society, is akin to drugs ...

The meaning of the assault, and the finale of the war in general, became clear to me later. The storming of Berlin was necessary - it saved me from the fate of being a German conqueror. If Hitler had won, I would probably have become a very unhappy person. His goal of world domination is alien and incomprehensible to me. As an action, the capture of Berlin was terrible for the Germans. But really, it was a blessing. After the war, I worked in a military commission dealing with the issues of German prisoners of war, and once again I was convinced of this.

I recently met with Daniil Granin, and we talked for a long time about what kind of people they were who surrounded Leningrad ...

And then, during the war, I was afraid, yes, I hated the Americans and the British, who almost completely bombed my hometown of Ulm. This feeling of hatred and fear lived in me until I visited America.

I remember well how, evacuated from the city, we lived in a small German village on the banks of the Danube, which was the "American zone". Our girls and women then inked themselves with pencils so as not to be raped ... Every war is terrible tragedy, and this war was especially terrible: today they talk about 30 million Soviet and 6 million German victims, as well as millions of dead people of other nations.

last birthday

On April 19, another participant appeared in the race for Berlin. Rokossovsky reported to Stalin that the 2nd Belorussian Front was ready to storm the city from the north. On the morning of that day, the 65th Army of General Batov crossed the wide channel of the Western Oder and moved to Prenzlau, cutting into parts the German Army Group Vistula. At this time, Konev's tanks moved north easily, as if in a parade, meeting almost no resistance and leaving the main forces far behind. Marshal deliberately took risks, hurrying to approach Berlin before Zhukov. But the troops of the 1st Belorussian were already approaching the city. His formidable commander issued an order: "No later than 4 o'clock in the morning on April 21, at any cost, break through to the suburbs of Berlin and immediately convey a message to Stalin and the press about this."

On April 20, Hitler celebrated his last birthday. Selected guests gathered in a bunker submerged 15 meters into the ground under the imperial office: Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Bormann, the top of the army and, of course, Eva Braun, who was listed as the Fuhrer's "secretary". The comrades-in-arms offered their leader to leave the doomed Berlin and move to the Alps, where a secret shelter had already been prepared. Hitler refused: "I am destined to win or die with the Reich." However, he agreed to withdraw the command of the troops from the capital, dividing it into two parts. The north was under the control of Grand Admiral Dönitz, to whom Himmler went to help with his headquarters. The south of Germany was to be defended by Goering. At the same time, a plan arose to defeat the Soviet offensive by the forces of the armies of Steiner from the north and Wenck from the west. However, this plan was doomed from the start. Both the 12th Army of Wenck and the remnants of SS General Steiner's units were exhausted in battle and incapable of action. Army Group Center, on which hopes were also pinned, fought hard battles in the Czech Republic. Zhukov prepared a "gift" for the German leader - in the evening his armies approached the city border of Berlin. The first shells of long-range guns hit the city center. On the morning of the next day, General Kuznetsov's 3rd Army entered Berlin from the northeast, and Berzarin's 5th Army from the north. Katukov and Chuikov advanced from the east. The streets of the dull Berlin suburbs were blocked by barricades, "faustniks" fired at the attackers from the gates and windows of the houses.

Zhukov ordered not to waste time suppressing individual firing points and to rush forward. Meanwhile, Rybalko's tanks approached the headquarters of the German command in Zossen. Most of the officers fled to Potsdam, and the chief of staff, General Krebs, went to Berlin, where on April 22 at 15.00 Hitler's last military conference took place. Only then did they dare to tell the Fuhrer that no one was able to save the besieged capital. The reaction was violent: the leader burst into threats against the "traitors", then collapsed into a chair and moaned: "It's all over ... the war is lost ..."

And yet the Nazi elite was not going to give up. It was decided to completely stop the resistance to the Anglo-American troops and throw all their forces against the Russians. All military capable of holding weapons were to be sent to Berlin. The Führer still pinned his hopes on Wenck's 12th Army, which was to link up with Busse's 9th Army. To coordinate their actions, the command led by Keitel and Jodl was withdrawn from Berlin to the town of Kramnitz. In the capital, besides Hitler himself, only General Krebs, Bormann and Goebbels, who was appointed head of defense, remained among the leaders of the Reich.

Nikolai Sergeevich Leonov, Lieutenant General of the Foreign Intelligence Service:

The Berlin operation is the penultimate operation of the Second World War. It was carried out by the forces of three fronts from April 16 to April 30, 1945 - from the raising of the flag over the Reichstag and the end of resistance - on the evening of May 2. Pros and cons of this operation. Plus - the operation was completed quickly enough. After all, the attempt to take Berlin was actively promoted by the leaders of the allied armies. This is reliably known from Churchill's letters.

Cons - almost everyone who participated recalls that there were too many victims and, perhaps, without an objective need. The first reproaches to Zhukov - he was at the shortest distance from Berlin. His attempt to enter frontally from the east is regarded by many participants in the war as a mistaken decision. It was necessary to cover Berlin from the north and from the south with a ring and force the enemy to capitulate. But the marshal went straight ahead. Regarding the artillery operation on April 16, we can say the following: Zhukov brought the idea of ​​​​using searchlights from Khalkhin Gol. It was there that the Japanese launched a similar attack. Zhukov repeated the same technique: but many military strategists argue that the searchlights had no effect. As a result of their application, a mess of fire and dust was obtained. This frontal attack was unsuccessful and poorly thought out: when our soldiers passed through the trenches, there were few German corpses in them. So the advancing units shot more than 1,000 wagons of ammunition in vain. Stalin specifically arranged competition between the marshals. After all, Berlin was finally surrounded on April 25. It would be possible not to resort to such sacrifices.

City on fire

On April 22, 1945, Zhukov appeared in Berlin. His armies - five infantry and four armored - destroyed the capital of Germany from all types of weapons. Meanwhile, Rybalko's tanks approached the city limits, occupying a bridgehead in the Teltow area. Zhukov gave his vanguard - the armies of Chuikov and Katukov - the order to cross the Spree, no later than the 24th to be in Tempelhof and Marienfeld - the central regions of the city. For street fighting, assault detachments were hastily formed from fighters from different units. In the north, the 47th Army of General Perkhorovich crossed the Havel River along an accidentally surviving bridge and headed west, preparing to join Konev’s units there and close the encirclement. Having occupied the northern districts of the city, Zhukov finally excluded Rokossovsky from the number of participants in the operation. From that moment until the end of the war, the 2nd Belorussian Front was engaged in the defeat of the Germans in the north, pulling over a significant part of the Berlin group.

The glory of the winner of Berlin passed Rokossovsky, she also passed Konev. Stalin's directive, received on the morning of April 23, ordered the troops of the 1st Ukrainian to stop at the Anhalter station - literally a hundred meters from the Reichstag. The Supreme Commander entrusted Zhukov with occupying the center of the enemy capital, thus noting his invaluable contribution to the victory. But Anhalter still had to be reached. Rybalko with his tanks froze on the banks of the deep Teltow Canal. Only with the approach of artillery, which suppressed German firing points, were the vehicles able to cross the water barrier. On April 24, Chuikov's scouts made their way to the west through the Schönefeld airfield and met Rybalko's tankers there. This meeting divided the German forces in half - about 200 thousand soldiers were surrounded in a wooded area southeast of Berlin. Until May 1, this grouping tried to break through to the west, but was cut into pieces and almost completely destroyed.

BUT strike force Zhukov continued to rush to the city center. Many fighters and commanders had no experience of fighting in a big city, which led to huge losses. The tanks moved in columns, and as soon as the front one was knocked out, the entire column became easy prey for the German "faustniks". I had to resort to merciless, but effective tactics of military operations: at first, artillery fired at the target of the future offensive, then volleys of Katyushas drove everyone alive into shelters. After that, the tanks went forward, destroying the barricades and smashing the houses, from where the shots were heard. Only then did the infantry come into play. During the battle, almost two million gun shots fell on the city - 36 thousand tons of deadly metal. Fortress guns were delivered from Pomerania by rail, firing at the center of Berlin with shells weighing half a ton.

But even this firepower did not always cope with the thick walls of buildings built in the 18th century. Chuikov recalled: "Our guns sometimes fired up to a thousand shots at one square, at a group of houses, even at a small garden." It is clear that at the same time, no one thought about the civilian population, trembling with fear in bomb shelters and flimsy basements. However, the main blame for his suffering lay not with the Soviet troops, but with Hitler and his entourage, who, with the help of propaganda and violence, did not allow residents to leave the city, which had turned into a sea of ​​fire. Already after the victory, it was estimated that 20% of the houses in Berlin were completely destroyed, and another 30% - partially. On April 22, the city telegraph closed for the first time, having received last message from the Japanese allies - "good luck." Water and gas were turned off, transport stopped running, food distribution stopped. The starving Berliners, ignoring the continuous shelling, looted freight trains and shops. They were more afraid not of Russian shells, but of SS patrols, who grabbed men and hung them on trees as deserters.

The police and Nazi officials began to flee. Many tried to make their way to the west to surrender to the Anglo-Americans. But the Soviet units were already there. April 25 at 13.30 they went to the Elbe and met near the town of Torgau with the tankers of the 1st American Army.

On this day, Hitler entrusted the defense of Berlin to Panzer General Weidling. Under his command were 60 thousand soldiers, who were opposed by 464 thousand Soviet troops. The armies of Zhukov and Konev met not only in the east, but also in the west of Berlin, in the Ketzin area, and now they were only 7-8 kilometers from the city center. On April 26, the Germans made a last desperate attempt to stop the attackers. Fulfilling the order of the Fuhrer, the 12th Army of Wenck, which included up to 200 thousand people, attacked the 3rd and 28th armies of Konev from the west. Unprecedentedly fierce even for this fierce battle, the fighting continued for two days, and by the evening of the 27th, Venck had to retreat to his previous positions.

The day before, Chuikov's soldiers occupied the Gatov and Tempelhof airfields, fulfilling Stalin's order to prevent Hitler from leaving Berlin at any cost. The Supreme Commander was not going to let the one who treacherously deceived him in 1941 slip away or surrender to the allies. Corresponding orders were also given to other Nazi leaders. There was another category of Germans who were intensively searched for - specialists in nuclear research. Stalin knew about the work of the Americans on atomic bomb and was going to create "his own" as soon as possible. It was already necessary to think about the world after the war, where the Soviet Union was to take a worthy, blood-paid place.

Meanwhile, Berlin continued to suffocate in the smoke of fires. Volkssturmovets Edmund Heckscher recalled: “There were so many fires that the night turned into day. You could read the newspaper, but there were no more newspapers in Berlin.” The roar of guns, shooting, explosions of bombs and shells did not stop for a minute. Clouds of smoke and brick dust filled the center of the city, where, deep under the ruins of the Imperial Chancellery, Hitler again and again tormented his subordinates with the question: “Where is Wenck?”

On April 27, three-quarters of Berlin was in Soviet hands. In the evening, Chuikov's strike forces reached the Landwehr Canal, one and a half kilometers from the Reichstag. However, their path was blocked by elite units of the SS, who fought with special fanaticism. Bogdanov's 2nd Panzer Army was stuck in the Tiergarten area, whose parks were dotted with German trenches. Each step here was given with difficulty and considerable bloodshed. Rybalko's tankers had chances again, who on that day made an unprecedented rush from the west to the center of Berlin through Wilmersdorf.

By nightfall, a strip 2–3 kilometers wide and up to 16 kilometers long remained in the hands of the Germans. The first batches of prisoners stretched to the rear - still small ones, leaving with raised hands from the basements and entrances of houses. Many were deafened by the incessant roar, others, who had gone mad, laughed wildly. The civilian population continued to hide, fearing the revenge of the victors. The Avengers, of course, were - they could not help but be after what the Nazis did on Soviet soil. But there were also those who, risking their lives, pulled German old people and children out of the fire, who shared their soldier's rations with them. The feat of Sergeant Nikolai Masalov went down in history, who rescued a three-year-old girl from a destroyed house on the Landwehr Canal. German girl. It is he who is depicted by the famous statue in Treptow Park - the memory of Soviet soldiers who kept their humanity in the fire of the most terrible of wars.

Even before the end of the fighting, the Soviet command took measures to restore normal life in the city. On April 28, General Berzarin, appointed commandant of Berlin, issued an order to dissolve the National Socialist Party and all its organizations and transfer all power to the military commandant's office. In areas cleared of the enemy, soldiers were already beginning to put out fires, clear buildings, and bury numerous corpses. However, it was possible to establish a normal life only with the assistance of local population. Therefore, on April 20, the Headquarters demanded that the commanders of the troops change their attitude towards German prisoners of war and the civilian population. The directive put forward a simple justification for such a step: "A more humane attitude towards the Germans will reduce their stubbornness in defense."

Former foreman 2nd article, member international PEN club (international organization writers), Germanist writer, translator Yevgeny Katsev:

The greatest of our holidays is approaching, and my soul is scratched by cats. Recently (in February) of this year, I was at a conference in Berlin, supposedly dedicated to this great date, I think, not only for our people, and I became convinced that many have forgotten who started the war and who won it. No, this stable phrase "win the war" is completely inappropriate: you can win and lose in the game - in the same war, you either win or lose. For many Germans, the war is only the horrors of those few weeks when it went on their territory, as if our soldiers came there of their own free will, and did not fight their way to the west for 4 long years on their native scorched and trampled land. So, Konstantin Simonov was not so right, he believed that there was no such thing as someone else's grief. It happens, how it happens. And if you forgot who put an end to one of the most terrible wars, defeated German fascism, where can you remember who took the capital of the German Reich - Berlin. Our Soviet Army, our Soviet soldiers and officers took it. Entirely, fighting for every district, quarter, house, from the windows and doors of which shots rang out until the last moment.

It was only later, after a whole bloody week after the capture of Berlin, on May 2, our allies appeared, and the main trophy, as a symbol of the joint Victory, was divided into four parts. Into four sectors: Soviet, American, English, French. With four military commandant's offices. Four or four, even more or less equal, but in general, Berlin was divided into two completely different parts. For the three sectors soon connected, and the fourth - the eastern - and, as usual, the poorest - turned out to be isolated. It remained so, although it later acquired the status of the capital of the GDR. To us, the Americans, in return, “generously” rolled off the Thuringia they occupied. The land is good, but for a long time the disappointed residents harbored resentment for some reason not against the apostate Americans, but against us, the new occupiers. Here's an aberration...

As for looting, our soldiers did not come there on their own. And now, 60 years later, all sorts of myths are spreading, growing into ancient dimensions ...

Reich Convulsions

The fascist empire was disintegrating before our eyes. On April 28, Italian partisans caught dictator Mussolini trying to escape and shot him. The next day, General von Wietinghoff signed the act of surrender of the Germans in Italy. Hitler learned about the execution of the Duce at the same time as another bad one: his closest associates Himmler and Goering started separate negotiations with the Western allies, bargaining for their lives. The Fuhrer was beside himself with rage: he demanded the immediate arrest and execution of traitors, but this was no longer in his power. It was possible to recoup on Himmler's deputy, General Fegelein, who fled from the bunker - a detachment of SS men grabbed him and shot him. The general was not saved even by the fact that he was the husband of Eva Braun's sister. In the evening of the same day, Commandant Weidling reported that there was only two days of ammunition left in the city, and there was no fuel at all.

General Chuikov received the task from Zhukov - to connect from the east with the forces advancing from the west through the Tiergarten. The Potsdamer Bridge, leading to the Anhalter station and Wilhelmstrasse, became an obstacle to the soldiers. The sappers managed to save him from the explosion, but the tanks that entered the bridge were hit by well-aimed shots of faustpatrons. Then the tankers tied sandbags around one of the tanks, doused it with diesel fuel and let it go forward. From the first shots, the fuel flared up, but the tank continued to move forward. A few minutes of enemy confusion was enough for the rest to follow the first tank. By the evening of the 28th, Chuikov approached the Tiergarten from the southeast, while Rybalko's tanks entered the area from the south. In the north of the Tiergarten, Perepelkin's 3rd Army liberated the Moabit prison, from where 7,000 prisoners were released.

The city center has turned into a real hell. There was nothing to breathe from the heat, the stones of buildings cracked, water boiled in ponds and canals. There was no front line - a desperate battle went on for every street, every house. Hand-to-hand fights broke out in the dark rooms and on the stairs - the electricity in Berlin had long gone out. Early in the morning of April 29, soldiers of the 79th rifle corps of General Perevertkin approached the huge building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - "Himmler's house". Having shot the barricades at the entrance with cannons, they managed to break into the building and capture it, which made it possible to come close to the Reichstag.

Meanwhile, nearby, in his bunker, Hitler was dictating a political testament. He expelled the "traitors" Göring and Himmler from the Nazi party and accused the entire German army of failing to maintain "commitment to duty to death." Power over Germany was transferred to "President" Dönitz and "Chancellor" Goebbels, and command of the army to Field Marshal Scherner. Toward evening, the official Wagner, brought by the SS from the city, performed the ceremony of the civil marriage of the Fuhrer and Eva Braun. The witnesses were Goebbels and Bormann, who stayed for breakfast. During the meal, Hitler was depressed, muttering something about the death of Germany and the triumph of the "Jewish Bolsheviks." During breakfast, he presented two secretaries with ampoules of poison and ordered them to poison his beloved shepherd Blondie. Outside the walls of his office, the wedding quickly turned into a drinking bout. One of the few sober employees was Hitler's personal pilot Hans Bauer, who offered to take his boss to any part of the world. Fuhrer in once more refused.

On the evening of April 29, General Weidling reported the situation to Hitler for the last time. The old warrior was frank - tomorrow the Russians will be at the entrance to the office. Ammunition is running out, there is nowhere to wait for reinforcements. Wenck's army was thrown back to the Elbe, nothing is known about most of the other units. We need to capitulate. This opinion was also confirmed by SS Colonel Monke, who had previously fanatically carried out all the orders of the Fuhrer. Hitler forbade surrender, but allowed the soldiers to “small groups” leave the encirclement and make their way to the west.

Meanwhile, Soviet troops occupied one building after another in the center of the city. The commanders had difficulty orienting themselves on the maps - that heap of stones and twisted metal, which was previously called Berlin, was not indicated there. After taking the “Himmler’s house” and the town hall, the attackers had two main goals left - the imperial chancellery and the Reichstag. If the first was the real center of power, then the second was its symbol, the tallest building in the German capital, where the banner of Victory was to be hoisted. The banner was already ready - it was handed over to one of the best units of the 3rd Army, the battalion of Captain Neustroev. On the morning of April 30, units approached the Reichstag. As for the office, they decided to break through the zoo in the Tiergarten to it. In the devastated park, the soldiers rescued several animals, including a mountain goat, which was hung around the neck of the German "Iron Cross" for bravery. Only in the evening the center of defense was taken - a seven-story reinforced concrete bunker.

Near the zoo, Soviet assault troops were attacked by SS men from the wrecked subway tunnels. Pursuing them, the fighters penetrated underground and found passages leading towards the office. On the move, a plan arose to "finish off the fascist beast in its lair." The scouts went deep into the tunnels, but after a couple of hours water rushed towards them. According to one version, having learned about the approach of the Russians to the office, Hitler ordered to open the floodgates and let the Spree water into the metro, where, in addition to Soviet soldiers, there were tens of thousands of wounded, women and children. Berliners who survived the war recalled that they heard an order to urgently leave the subway, but due to the ensuing crush, few were able to get out. Another version refutes the existence of the order: water could break into the subway due to continuous bombing that destroyed the walls of the tunnels.

If the Führer ordered the flooding of his fellow citizens, this was the last of his criminal orders. On the afternoon of April 30, he was informed that the Russians were at Potsdamerplatz, a block from the bunker. Shortly thereafter, Hitler and Eva Braun said goodbye to their comrades-in-arms and retired to their room. At 15.30 a shot rang out from there, after which Goebbels, Bormann and several other people entered the room. The Fuhrer, with a pistol in his hand, was lying on the couch with his face covered in blood. Eva Braun did not mutilate herself - she took poison. Their corpses were carried out into the garden, where they were placed in a shell crater, doused with gasoline and set on fire. The funeral ceremony did not last long - the Soviet artillery opened fire, and the Nazis hid in the bunker. Later, the charred bodies of Hitler and his girlfriend were discovered and transported to Moscow. For some reason, Stalin did not show the world evidence of the death of his worst enemy, which gave rise to many versions of his salvation. Only in 1991, Hitler's skull and his dress uniform were discovered in the archive and shown to everyone who wanted to see these gloomy evidence of the past.

Zhukov Yuri Nikolaevich, historian, writer:

Winners are not judged. And that's it. In 1944, it turned out to be quite possible to withdraw Finland, Romania, and Bulgaria from the war without serious battles, primarily through the efforts of diplomacy. An even more favorable situation for us developed on April 25, 1945. On that day, on the Elbe, near the city of Torgau, the troops of the USSR and the USA met, and the complete encirclement of Berlin was completed. From that moment on, the fate of Nazi Germany was sealed. Victory became inevitable. Only one thing remained unclear: exactly when the complete and unconditional surrender of the agonizing Wehrmacht would follow. Zhukov, having removed Rokossovsky, took over the leadership of the storming of Berlin. Could just squeeze the blockade ring hourly.

Force Hitler and his henchmen to commit suicide not on April 30, but a few days later. But Zhukov acted differently. For a week, he ruthlessly sacrificed thousands of soldiers' lives. He forced units of the 1st Belorussian Front to conduct bloody battles for every quarter of the German capital. For every street, every house. Achieved the surrender of the Berlin garrison on May 2. But if this capitulation had followed not on May 2, but, say, on the 6th or 7th, tens of thousands of our soldiers could have been saved. Well, Zhukov would have gained the glory of the winner anyway.

Molchanov Ivan Gavrilovich, participant in the storming of Berlin, veteran of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front:

After the battles at Stalingrad, our army under the command of General Chuikov passed through the whole of Ukraine, the south of Belarus, and then through Poland went to Berlin, on the outskirts of which, as you know, the very difficult Kyustrinsky operation took place. I, a scout of an artillery unit, was then 18 years old. I still remember how the earth trembled and a flurry of shells plowed it up and down ... How, after powerful artillery preparation on the Zelov Heights, the infantry went into battle. The soldiers who drove the Germans from the first line of defense later said that after being blinded by the searchlights that were used in this operation, the Germans fled clutching their heads. Many years later, during a meeting in Berlin, German veterans who participated in this operation told me that at that time they thought that the Russians had applied a new secret weapon.

After the Zelov Heights, we moved directly to the German capital. Due to the high water, the roads were so muddy that both equipment and people could hardly move. It was impossible to dig trenches: at a depth, water came out from the bayonet of a shovel. We reached the ring road by the twentieth of April and soon found ourselves on the outskirts of Berlin, where incessant battles for the city began. The SS men had nothing to lose: they strengthened residential buildings, metro stations, and various institutions thoroughly and in advance. When we entered the city, we were horrified: its center turned out to be completely bombed by Anglo-American aircraft, and the streets were littered so that vehicles could hardly move along them. We moved with a map of the city - the streets and quarters marked on it were difficult to find. On the same map, in addition to objects - fire targets, museums, book depositories, medical institutions were indicated, at which it was forbidden to shoot.

In the battles for the center, our tank units also suffered losses: they became easy prey for the German faustpatrons. And then the command applied a new tactic: first, artillery and flamethrowers destroyed the enemy's firing points, and after that the tanks cleared the way for the infantry. By this time, only one gun remained in our unit. But we kept going. When approaching the Brandenburg Gate and the Anhalt railway station, they received an order “not to shoot” - the accuracy of the battle here turned out to be such that our shells could hit their own. By the end of the operation, the remnants of the German army were cut into four parts, which began to be squeezed by rings.

Shooting ended on May 2nd. And suddenly there was such a silence that it was impossible to believe. Residents of the city began to leave the shelters, they looked at us frowningly. And here, in establishing contacts with them, their own children helped. The ubiquitous guys, 10-12 years old, came up to us, we treated them to cookies, bread, sugar, and when we opened the kitchen, we began to feed them cabbage soup, porridge. It was a strange sight: shootings resumed somewhere, volleys of guns were heard, and there was a queue for porridge near our kitchen ...

And soon a squadron of our horsemen appeared on the streets of the city. They were so clean and festive that we decided: “Probably somewhere near Berlin they were specially dressed, prepared ...” This is an impression, as well as a visit to the destroyed Reichstag G.K. Zhukov - he drove up in an unbuttoned overcoat, smiling - crashed into my memory forever. There were, of course, other memorable moments. In the battles for the city, our battery had to be redeployed to another firing point. And then we came under German artillery attack. Two of my comrades jumped into the hole that had been torn apart by the shell. And I, not knowing why, lay down under the truck, where after a few seconds I realized that the car above me was full of shells. When the shelling ended, I got out from under the truck and saw that my comrades were killed ... Well, it turns out that I was born that day for the second time ...

last fight

The assault on the Reichstag was led by the 79th Rifle Corps of General Perevertkin, reinforced by strike groups of other units. The first onslaught on the morning of the 30th was repulsed - up to one and a half thousand SS men dug in in a huge building. At 18.00 a new assault followed. For five hours, the fighters moved forward and up, meter by meter, to the roof, decorated with giant bronze horses. Sergeants Yegorov and Kantaria were instructed to hoist the flag - they decided that Stalin would be pleased to participate in this symbolic act of his fellow countryman. Only at 22.50 two sergeants reached the roof and, risking their lives, inserted the flagpole into the hole from the projectile at the very horse's hooves. This was immediately reported to the headquarters of the front, and Zhukov called the Supreme Commander in Moscow.

A little later, other news came - Hitler's heirs decided to negotiate. This was announced by General Krebs, who appeared at Chuikov's headquarters at 3.50 am on May 1. He began by saying, "Today is the first of May, a great holiday for both our nations." To which Chuikov, without too much diplomacy, replied: “Today is our holiday. It's hard to say how things are going for you." Krebs spoke about Hitler's suicide and the desire of his successor Goebbels to conclude a truce. A number of historians believe that these negotiations should have stretched out while waiting for a separate agreement between the "government" of Dönitz and the Western powers. But they did not achieve their goal - Chuikov immediately reported to Zhukov, who called Moscow, waking Stalin on the eve of the May Day parade. The reaction to Hitler's death was predictable: “Finished, scoundrel! Too bad we didn't take him alive." The answer to the proposal for a truce came: only complete surrender. This was passed on to Krebs, who objected: "Then you will have to destroy all the Germans." The response silence was more eloquent than words.

At 10.30 Krebs left the headquarters, having managed to drink cognac with Chuikov and exchange memories - both commanded units near Stalingrad. Having received the final "no" of the Soviet side, the German general returned to his troops. In pursuit of him, Zhukov sent an ultimatum: if Goebbels and Bormann's consent to unconditional surrender is not given before 10 o'clock, the Soviet troops will deliver such a blow, from which "nothing will remain in Berlin but ruins." The leadership of the Reich did not give an answer, and at 10.40 Soviet artillery opened heavy fire on the center of the capital.

The shooting did not stop all day - the Soviet units suppressed pockets of German resistance, which weakened a little, but was still fierce. AT different parts tens of thousands of soldiers and Volkssturm men were still fighting in the vast city. Others, throwing down their weapons and tearing off their insignia, tried to escape to the west. Among the latter was Martin Bormann. Upon learning of Chuikov's refusal to negotiate, he, along with a group of SS men, fled from the office through an underground tunnel leading to the Friedrichstrasse metro station. There he got out into the street and tried to hide from the fire for German tank, but he was hit. Axman, the leader of the Hitler Youth, who turned out to be there, who shamefully abandoned his young pets, later stated that he had seen the dead body of Nazi No. 2 under the railway bridge.

At 18.30, the soldiers of the 5th army of General Berzarin went to storm the last stronghold of Nazism - the imperial office. Prior to this, they managed to storm the post office, several ministries and the heavily fortified building of the Gestapo. Two hours later, when the first groups of attackers had already approached the building, Goebbels and his wife Magda followed their idol, taking poison. Before that, they asked the doctor to administer a lethal injection to their six children - they were told that they would give an injection from which they would never get sick. The children were left in the room, and the corpses of Goebbels and his wife were taken out into the garden and burned. Soon everyone who remained below - about 600 adjutants and SS men - rushed out: the bunker began to burn. Somewhere in its bowels, only General Krebs, who fired a bullet in the forehead, remained. Another Nazi commander, General Weidling, took charge and radioed Chuikov to agree to an unconditional surrender. At one in the morning on May 2, German officers with white flags appeared on the Potsdam Bridge. Their request was reported to Zhukov, who gave his consent. At 0600, Weidling signed an order to surrender to all German troops, and he himself set an example for his subordinates. After that, the shooting in the city began to subside. From the cellars of the Reichstag, from under the ruins of houses and shelters, the Germans came out, who silently laid down their weapons on the ground and lined up in columns. They were observed by the writer Vasily Grossman, who accompanied the Soviet commandant Berzarin. Among the prisoners, he saw old men, boys and women who did not want to part with their husbands. The day was cold, light rain pouring down on the smoldering ruins. Hundreds of corpses lay on the streets, crushed by tanks. Flags with a swastika and party cards were also lying there - Hitler's adherents were in a hurry to get rid of the evidence. In the Tiergarten, Grossman saw a German soldier with a nurse on a bench - they were sitting embracing and not paying any attention to what was going on around.

In the afternoon, Soviet tanks began to roll through the streets, transmitting an order to surrender through loudspeakers. Around 15.00 the fighting finally stopped, and only in western regions explosions rumbled - there they pursued the SS men who tried to escape. An unusual, tense silence hung over Berlin. And then she was torn apart by a new flurry of shots. Soviet soldiers crowded on the steps of the Reichstag, on the ruins of the imperial office and fired again and again - this time in the air. Strangers threw themselves into each other's arms, danced right on the pavement. They couldn't believe the war was over. Ahead, many of them had new wars, hard work, difficult problems, but they had already done the main thing in their lives.

In the last battle of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army crushed 95 enemy divisions. Killed up to 150 thousand German soldiers and officers, 300 thousand were captured. The victory came at a heavy price - in two weeks of the offensive, three Soviet fronts lost from 100 thousand to 200 thousand people killed. Senseless resistance claimed the lives of approximately 150 thousand civilians in Berlin, a significant part of the city was destroyed.

Chronicle of the operation
April 16, 5.00.
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front (Zhukov), after a powerful artillery preparation, begin an offensive on the Zelov Heights near the Oder.
April 16, 8.00.
Parts of the 1st Ukrainian Front (Konev) force the Neisse River and move west.
April 18, morning.
The tank armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko are turning north towards Berlin.
April 18, evening.
The German defenses on the Zelov Heights have been broken through. Parts of Zhukov begin to advance towards Berlin.
April 19, morning.
Troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front (Rokossovsky) cross the Oder, slicing apart the German defenses north of Berlin.
April 20, evening.
Zhukov's armies approach Berlin from the west and northwest.
April 21, day.
Rybalko's tanks occupy the headquarters of the German troops in Zossen, south of Berlin.
April 22, morning.
Rybalko's army occupies the southern outskirts of Berlin, and Perkhorovich's army occupies the northern districts of the city.
April 24, day.
Meeting of the advancing troops of Zhukov and Konev in the south of Berlin. Frankfurt-Gubenskaya group of Germans surrounded Soviet units began its destruction.
April 25, 13.30.
Parts of Konev went to the Elbe near the city of Torgau and met there with the 1st American Army.
April 26, morning.
The German army of Wenck launches a counterattack on the advancing Soviet units.
April 27, evening.
After stubborn fighting, Wenck's army was driven back.
April 28th.
Soviet units surround the city center.
April 29, day.
The building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the town hall were taken by storm.
April 30, day.
Busy Tiergarten area with a zoo.
April 30, 15.30.
Hitler committed suicide in a bunker under the Imperial Chancellery.
April 30, 22.50.
The assault on the Reichstag, which had lasted since morning, was completed.
May 1, 3.50.
The beginning of unsuccessful negotiations between the German General Krebs and the Soviet command.
May 1, 10.40.
After the failure of the negotiations, the Soviet troops begin to storm the buildings of the ministries and the imperial chancellery.
May 1, 22.00.
The Imperial Chancellery is taken by storm.
May 2, 6.00.
General Weidling gives the order to surrender.
May 2, 15.00.
The fighting in the city finally stopped.

Many books have been written about the capture of Berlin in the spring of 1945 by the Red Army and many films have been made. Unfortunately, in many of them the ideological cliches of the Soviet and post-Soviet times prevail, and the least attention is paid to history.

Berlin offensive operation

Magazine: Great Victory (Mysteries of history, special issue 16/C)
Category: Last Frontier

The "maneuver" of Marshal Konev almost destroyed the Red Army!

At first, Marshal Zhukov, who commanded the 1st Belorussian Front, was going to take Berlin back in February 1945. Then the troops of the front, having brilliantly carried out the Vistula-Oder operation, immediately seized a bridgehead on the Oder in the Kustrin area.

February false start

On February 10, Zhukov even sent a report to Stalin on the plan for the upcoming Berlin offensive. Zhukov intended to “break through the defenses on the western bank of the river. Oder and capture the city of Berlin.
However, the front commander was still smart enough to abandon the idea of ​​ending the war with one blow. Zhukov was reported that the troops were tired, suffered big losses. Rear left behind. In addition, on the flanks, the Germans were preparing counterattacks, as a result of which the troops rushing to Berlin could be surrounded.
While the troops of several Soviet fronts liquidated German groups aimed at the flanks of the 1st Belorussian Front, and destroyed the German "festungs" remaining in the rear - cities turned into fortresses, the Wehrmacht command made desperate attempts to eliminate the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The Germans failed to do this. Realizing that the upcoming Soviet offensive would begin here, the Germans began to build defensive structures on this sector of the front. The Seelow Heights were to become the main node of resistance.

Castle of the capital of the Reich

The Germans themselves called the Seelow Heights, located 90 km east of Berlin, "the castle of the capital of the Reich." They were a real fortress, the defensive fortifications of which were built within two years. The garrison of the fortress consisted of the 9th Wehrmacht Army, commanded by General Busse. In addition, the 4th Panzer Army of General Greser could launch a counterattack against the advancing Soviet troops.
Zhukov, planning the Berlin operation, decided to strike from the Kustrinsky bridgehead. In order to cut off the troops concentrated in the area of ​​​​the Seelow Heights from the enemy capital and prevent them from retreating to Berlin, Zhukov planned “Simultaneous cutting of the entire encircled Berlin grouping into two parts ... this made it easier to capture Berlin, for the period of decisive battles directly for Berlin, a significant part of the forces the enemy (i.e. the main forces of the 9th German army) would not be able to take part in the struggle for the city, since it would be surrounded and isolated in the forests southeast of Berlin.
At 5 am on April 16, 1945, the 1st Belorussian Front began the Berlin operation. It began unusually - after artillery preparation, which involved 9,000 guns and mortars, as well as more than 1,500 rocket launchers. Within 25 minutes, they destroyed the first line of German defenses. With the beginning of the attack, the artillery shifted its fire deep into the defense, and 143 anti-aircraft searchlights were turned on in the breakthrough areas. Their light stunned the enemy and at the same time illuminated the path for the advancing units.
But the Seelow Heights proved to be a hard nut to crack. Breaking the German defenses, despite the fact that 1,236,000 shells, or 17,000 tons of metal, fell on the enemy’s head, turned out to be not easy. In addition, 1514 tons of bombs were dropped on the German defense center by front aviation, which carried out 6550 sorties.
To break through the German fortified area, two tank armies had to be brought into battle. The battle for the Seelow Heights lasted only two days. Considering that the Germans had been building fortifications for almost two years, the breakthrough of the defense could be considered a great success.

Do you know that…

The Berlin operation is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest battle in history.
On both sides, about 3.5 million people, 52,000 guns and mortars, 7,750 tanks and 11,000 aircraft took part in the battle.

"And we'll go north..."

Soldiers are ambitious people. Each of them dreams of a victory that will immortalize his name. The commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal Konev, was just such an ambitious commander.
Initially, his front was not assigned the task of taking Berlin. It was assumed that the troops of the front, having struck south of Berlin, were supposed to cover the advancing troops of Zhukov. Even the dividing line between the two fronts was marked. It passed 65 km southeast of Berlin. But Konev, having learned that Zhukov had a hitch with the Seelow Heights, tried to play all-in. Of course, this violated the plan of the operation approved by the Headquarters, but, as they say, the winner is not judged. Konev’s idea was simple: the 1st Belorussian Front was fighting on the Seelow Heights, and only Volkssturmists and scattered units in need of reorganization remained in Berlin itself, you can try to break through with a mobile detachment to the city and capture the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag, raising the banner of the 1st Ukrainian front. And then, having taken up the defense, wait for the approach of the main forces of the two fronts. All the laurels of the winner, of course, in this case will go not to Zhukov, but to Konev.
The commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front did just that. At first, the advance of Konev's troops was relatively easy. But soon the 12th German Army of General Wenck, rushing to join the remnants of Busse's 9th Army, hit the flank of the 4th Guards Tank Army, and the advance of the 1st Ukrainian Front on Berlin slowed down.

The myth of "faustniks"

One of the most common myths about street fighting in Berlin is the myth of the terrible losses of the Soviet tank troops from the German "faustniks". But the numbers tell a different story. The Faustniks account for about 10% of all losses of armored vehicles. Basically, our tanks were knocked out by artillery.
By that time, the Red Army had already worked out the tactics of action in large settlements. The basis of this tactic is assault groups, where the infantry covers their armored vehicles, and that, in turn, paves the way for the infantry.
On April 25, troops from two fronts closed the encirclement around Berlin. The assault on the city began. The fighting did not stop day or night. Block by block, Soviet troops "gnawed through" the enemy's defenses. I had to tinker with the so-called "anti-aircraft towers" - square structures with side dimensions of 70.5 meters and a height of 39 meters, the walls and roofs of which were made of fortified reinforced concrete. The thickness of the walls was 2.5 meters. These towers were armed with heavy anti-aircraft guns that pierced armor Soviet tanks all types. Each such fortress had to be taken by storm.
On April 28, Konev made his last attempt to break through to the Reichstag. He sent Zhukov a request to change the direction of the offensive: “According to the report of Comrade Rybalko, the armies of Comrade Chuikov and Comrade Katukov of the 1st Belorussian Front received the task of advancing to the northwest along the southern coast of the Landwehr Canal. Thus, they cut the battle formations of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front advancing to the north. I ask for orders to change the direction of the offensive of the armies of comrade Chuikov and comrade Katukov. But on the same evening, the troops of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front came to the Reichstag.
On April 30, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker. In the early morning of May 1, the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division was raised over the Reichstag, but the battle for the building itself continued all day. Only on May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison capitulated.
By the end of the day, the troops of the 8th Guards Army cleared the entire center of Berlin from the enemy. Separate units that did not want to surrender tried to break through to the west, but were destroyed or dispersed.

Berlin strategic offensive operation
- one of the last strategic operations of the Soviet troops, during which the Red Army occupied the capital of Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War. The operation lasted 23 days - from April 16 to May 8, 1945, during which the Soviet troops advanced westward at a distance of 100 to 220 km. The width of the combat front is 300 km. As part of the operation, the Stettin-Rostock, Seelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Stremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathen front-line offensive operations were carried out.

MILITARY AND POLITICAL SITUATION IN EUROPE IN THE SPRING OF 1945

January-March 1945
troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts during the Vistula-Oder, East Pomeranian, Upper Silesian and Lower Silesian operations reached the line of the Oder and Neisse rivers. According to the shortest distance from the Kustrinsky bridgehead to Berlin, 60 km remained. Anglo-American troops completed the liquidation of the Ruhr grouping of German troops and by mid-April advanced units reached the Elbe. The loss of the most important raw material areas led to a decline in industrial production in Germany. Difficulties increased in replenishing the casualties suffered in the winter of 1944/45. Nevertheless, the German armed forces were still an impressive force. According to the intelligence department of the General Staff of the Red Army, by mid-April there were 223 divisions and brigades in their composition. According to the agreements reached by the heads of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in the fall of 1944, the border of the Soviet zone of occupation was to pass 150 km west of Berlin. Despite this, Churchill put forward the idea of ​​getting ahead of the Red Army and capturing Berlin.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTIES

Germany
The Nazi leadership tried to drag out the war in order to achieve a separate peace with England and the United States and split the anti-Hitler coalition. At the same time, holding the front against the Soviet Union acquired decisive importance.
the USSR
The military-political situation that had developed by April 1945 required the Soviet command to prepare and conduct an operation to defeat the group of German troops in the Berlin direction, capture Berlin and reach the Elbe River to join the Allied forces as soon as possible. The successful implementation of this strategic task made it possible to thwart the plans of the Nazi leadership to prolong the war. the strength of three Fronts: 1st and 2nd Belorussian, and 1st Ukrainian, as well as the 18th Air Army of long-range aviation, the Dnieper military flotilla and part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet.

The tasks of the Soviet fronts

1st Belorussian Front
Capture the capital of Germany, the city of Berlin. After 12-15 days of operation, reach the Elbe River
1st Ukrainian Front
Deliver a cutting blow south of Berlin, isolate the main forces of Army Group Center from the Berlin grouping and thereby ensure the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front from the south. Defeat the enemy grouping south of Berlin and operational reserves in the Cottbus area. In 10-12 days, not later, reach the Belitz-Wittenberg line and further along the Elbe River to Dresden.
2nd Belorussian Front
Deliver a cutting blow north of Berlin, securing the right flank of the 1st Belorussian Front from possible enemy counterattacks from the north. Press to the sea and destroy the German troops north of Berlin.
Dnieper military flotilla
With two brigades of river ships, to assist the troops of the 5th shock and 8th guards armies in crossing the Oder and breaking through the enemy defenses at the Kustra bridgehead. The third brigade to assist the troops of the 33rd Army in the Furstenberg area. Provide anti-mine defense of water transport routes.
Red Banner Baltic Fleet
Support the coastal flank of the 2nd Belorussian Front, continuing the blockade of the Kurland Army Group pressed to the sea in Latvia (Kurland Cauldron).

PLAN OF OPERATION

The plan of operation included
simultaneous transition to the offensive of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts on the morning of April 16, 1945. The 2nd Belorussian Front, in connection with the upcoming major regrouping of its forces, was to launch an offensive on April 20, that is, 4 days later.
1st Belorussian Front
was to deliver the main blow with the forces of five combined arms (47th, 3rd shock, 5th shock, 8th guards and 3rd armies) and two tank armies from the Kustrinsky bridgehead in the direction of Berlin. It was planned to bring tank armies into battle after the combined arms armies had broken through the second line of defense on the Seelow Heights. In the main strike area, an artillery density of up to 270 guns (with a caliber of 76 mm and above) was created per one kilometer of the breakthrough front. In addition, the front commander G.K. Zhukov decided to deliver two auxiliary strikes: on the right - by the forces of the 61st Soviet and 1st Army of the Polish Army, bypassing Berlin from the north in the direction of Eberswalde, Zandau; and on the left - by the forces of the 69th and 33rd armies to Bonsdorf with the main task of preventing the withdrawal of the enemy's 9th army to Berlin.
1st Ukrainian Front
was supposed to deliver the main blow with the forces of five armies: three combined arms (13th, 5th guards and 3rd guards) and two tank ones from the area of ​​​​the city of Trimbel in the direction of Spremberg. An auxiliary strike was to be delivered in the general direction to Dresden by the forces of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and part of the forces of the 52nd Army. The dividing line between the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts broke off 50 km southeast of Berlin near the city Lubben, which allowed, if necessary, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front to strike at Berlin from the south. The commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, K.K. Rokossovsky decided to deliver the main blow with the forces of the 65th, 70th and 49th armies in the direction of Neustrelitz. To develop success after the breakthrough of the German defenses were separate tank, mechanized and cavalry corps of front-line subordination.

PREPARATION FOR OPERATION

the USSR

Intelligence support
Reconnaissance aviation made 6 aerial photographs of Berlin, all the approaches to it and defensive lines. In total, about 15,000 aerial photographs were taken. Based on the results of filming, trophy documents and interviews of prisoners, detailed diagrams, plans, maps, which were supplied to all command and staff instances. The military topographic service of the 1st Belorussian Front made an accurate model of the city with suburbs, which was used in studying issues related to the organization of the offensive, the general assault on Berlin and the battles in the city center. Two days before the start of the operation in the entire strip of the 1st Belorussian front was reconnaissance in force. 32 reconnaissance detachments, up to a reinforced rifle battalion each, for two days on April 14 and 15, clarified the deployment of enemy fire weapons, the deployment of his groupings, and determined the strongest and most vulnerable places of the defensive zone.
Engineering support
During the preparation of the offensive, the engineering troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Lieutenant General Antipenko performed a large amount of sapper-engineering work. By the beginning of the operation, often under enemy fire, 25 road bridges with a total length of 15,017 linear meters were built across the Oder and 40 ferry crossings were prepared. In order to organize a continuous and complete supply of advancing units with ammunition and fuel, the railway track on occupied territory was changed to the Russian gauge almost to the very Oder. In addition, the military engineers of the front made heroic efforts to strengthen the railway bridges across the Vistula, which were in danger of being demolished by the spring ice drift.
On the 1st Ukrainian Front
2440 sapper wooden boats, 750 linear meters of assault bridges and over 1000 linear meters of wooden bridges for loads of 16 and 60 tons were prepared to force the Neisse River.
2nd Belorussian Front
at the beginning of the offensive, it was necessary to force the Oder, whose width in some places reached six kilometers, so special attention was also paid to the engineering preparation of the operation. Engineering troops of the front under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Blagoslavov in the shortest time dozens of pontoons and hundreds of boats were pulled up and securely sheltered in the coastal zone, timber was brought for the construction of moorings and bridges, rafts were made, and roads were laid through the wetlands of the coast.

Disguise and disinformation
Preparing an offensive, - recalled G.K. Zhukov, - we were fully aware that the Germans were expecting our attack on Berlin. Therefore, the front command thought in every detail how to organize this strike most suddenly for the enemy. In preparing the operation, special attention was paid to the issues of camouflage and achieving operational and tactical surprise. The headquarters of the fronts developed detailed action plans for disinformation and misleading the enemy, according to which the preparations for the offensive by the troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts were simulated in the area of ​​​​the cities of Stettin and Guben. At the same time, intensified defensive work continued on the central sector of the 1st Belorussian Front, where in reality the main attack was planned. They were carried out especially intensively in sectors that were clearly visible to the enemy. It was explained to all the personnel of the armies that the main task was stubborn defense. In addition, documents describing the activities of troops in various sectors of the front were thrown into the enemy’s location. The arrival of reserves and reinforcement units was carefully masked. Military echelons with artillery, mortar, tank units on the territory of Poland were disguised as trains carrying timber and hay on platforms. their units. The circle of knowledgeable persons was extremely limited. In addition to the army commanders, only the chiefs of staff of the armies, the chiefs of the operational departments of the headquarters of the armies and the commanders of artillery were allowed to familiarize themselves with the directive of the Stavka. Regimental commanders received tasks orally three days before the offensive. Junior commanders and Red Army soldiers were allowed to announce the offensive task two hours before the attack.
Troop regrouping
In preparation for the Berlin operation, the 2nd Belorussian Front, which had just completed the East Pomeranian operation, in the period from April 4 to April 15, 1945, was to transfer 4 combined arms armies at a distance of up to 350 km from the area of ​​​​the cities of Danzig and Gdynia to the line of the Oder River and change the armies of the 1st Belorussian Front there. The poor condition of the railways and the acute shortage of rolling stock did not allow the full use of the possibilities of railway transport, so the main burden of transportation fell on motor vehicles. The front was allocated 1900 vehicles. The troops had to overcome part of the way on foot. It was a difficult maneuver for the troops of the whole front, recalled Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky, - the like of which was not throughout the Great Patriotic War.

Germany
The German command foresaw the offensive of the Soviet troops and carefully prepared to repel it. A defense in depth was built from the Oder to Berlin, and the city itself was turned into a powerful defensive citadel. The divisions of the first line were replenished with personnel and equipment, strong reserves were created in the operational depth. In Berlin and near it, a huge number of Volkssturm battalions were formed.

The nature of the defense
The basis of the defense was the Oder-Neissen defensive line and the Berlin defensive area. The Oder-Neissen line consisted of three defensive lines, and its total depth reached 20-40 km. The main defensive line had up to five continuous lines of trenches, and its forward edge ran along the left bank of the Oder and Neisse rivers. A second line of defense was created 10-20 km from it. It was the most equipped in engineering terms at the Zelov Heights - in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The third strip was located at a distance of 20-40 km from the front line. When organizing and equipping the defense, the German command skillfully used natural obstacles: lakes, rivers, canals, ravines. All settlements were turned into strong strongholds and were adapted for all-round defense. During the construction of the Oder-Neissen line, special attention was paid to the organization of anti-tank defense.
Saturation of defensive positions with troops
the enemy was uneven. The highest density of troops was observed in front of the 1st Belorussian Front in a strip 175 km wide, where the defense was occupied by 23 divisions, a significant number of separate brigades, regiments and battalions, with 14 divisions defending against the Kustrinsky bridgehead. In the offensive zone of the 2nd Belorussian Front, 120 km wide, 7 infantry divisions and 13 separate regiments defended. In the strip of the 1st Ukrainian Front, 390 km wide, there were 25 enemy divisions.
In an effort to improve resilience
of their troops on the defensive, the Nazi leadership tightened its repressive measures. So, on April 15, in his address to the soldiers of the eastern front, A. Hitler demanded that everyone who gave the order to withdraw or would withdraw without an order be shot on the spot.

FORCES OF THE PARTIES

the USSR
In total: Soviet troops - 1.9 million people, Polish troops - 155,900 people, 6250, 41,600 guns and mortars, more than 7500 aircraft. In addition, the 1st Belorussian Front included German formations consisting of former captured soldiers and Wehrmacht officers who agreed to participate in the fight against the Nazi regime (Seidlitz troops).
Germany
Total: 48 infantry, 6 tank and 9 motorized divisions; 37 separate infantry regiments, 98 separate infantry battalions, as well as a large number of separate artillery and special units and formations (1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 and assault guns and 3,300 combat aircraft). On April 24, the 12th Army entered the battle under the command of General of the Infantry V. Venk, which had previously occupied the defenses on the Western Front.
GENERAL PROGRESS OF BATTLE ACTIONS

1st Belorussian Front (April 16-25)
At 5 o'clock in the morning Moscow time (2 hours before dawn) on April 16, 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 and at the same time illuminated the path for the advancing units. For the first one and a half to two hours, the offensive of the Soviet troops developed successfully, individual formations reached the second line of defense. However, soon the Nazis, relying on a strong and well-prepared second line of defense, began to offer fierce resistance. Intense fighting broke out along the entire front. Although in some sectors of the front the troops managed to capture individual strongholds, they did not succeed in achieving decisive success. The powerful knot of resistance, equipped on the Zelov heights, turned out to be insurmountable for rifle formations. This jeopardized the success of the entire operation.

In such an environment, the front commander, Marshal Zhukov, took
the decision to bring the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies into battle. This was not foreseen by the offensive plan, however, the stubborn resistance of the German troops required to increase the penetration ability of the attackers by bringing tank armies into battle. The course of the battle on the first day showed that the German command attaches decisive importance to the retention of the Zelov Heights. To strengthen the defense in this sector, by the end of April 16, the operational reserves of the Vistula Army Group were thrown. All day and all night on April 17, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front fought fierce battles with the enemy. By the morning of April 18, tank and rifle formations, with the support of aviation of the 16th and 18th air armies, took the Zelov Heights. Overcoming the stubborn defense of the German troops and repulsing fierce counterattacks, by the end of April 19, the troops of the front had broken through the third defensive zone and were able to develop the offensive against Berlin.
The real threat of the environment
forced the commander of the 9th German army T. Busse to come up with a proposal to withdraw the army to the suburbs of Berlin and take up a strong defense there. Such a plan was supported by the commander of the Vistula Army Group, Colonel General Heinrici, but Hitler rejected this proposal and ordered to hold the occupied lines at any cost.
April 20 was marked by an artillery strike on Berlin
, inflicted by long-range artillery of the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army. It was a kind of gift to Hitler for his birthday. On April 21, units of the 3rd shock, 2nd guards tank, 47th and 5th shock armies broke through the third line of defense, broke into the outskirts of Berlin and started fighting there. The first to break into Berlin from the east were the troops that were part of the 26th Guards Corps of General P.A. Firsov and the 32nd Corps of General D.S. Zherebin of the 5th Shock Army. On the evening of April 21, advanced units of the 3rd Guards Tank Army P.S. approached the city from the south. Rybalko. On April 23 and 24, hostilities in all directions took on a particularly fierce character. April 23 greatest success in the storming of Berlin, the 9th Rifle Corps under the command of Major General I.P. Tall. The soldiers of this corps captured Karlshorst, part of Kopenick, by a decisive assault and, having reached the Spree, crossed it on the move. Great assistance in forcing the Spree was provided by the ships of the Dnieper military flotilla, transferring rifle units to the opposite bank under enemy fire. Although by April 24 the pace of advance of the Soviet troops had decreased, the Nazis failed to stop them. On April 24, the 5th shock army, fighting fierce battles, continued to successfully advance towards the center of Berlin. Operating in the auxiliary direction, the 61st Army and the 1st Army of the Polish Army, having launched an offensive on April 17, overcoming the German defenses with stubborn battles, bypassed Berlin from the north and moved to the Elbe.

1st Ukrainian Front (April 16-25)
The offensive of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully. On April 16, early in the morning, a smoke screen was placed along the entire 390-kilometer front, blinding the advanced observation posts of the enemy. At 0655, after a 40-minute artillery strike on the front line of the German defense, the reinforced battalions of the divisions of the first echelon began to cross the Neisse. Having quickly captured bridgeheads on the left bank of the river, they provided conditions for building bridges and crossing the main forces. During the first hours of the operation, 133 crossings were equipped by the engineering troops of the front in the main direction of attack. With every hour, the number of forces and means transferred to the bridgehead increased. In the middle of the day, the attackers reached the second lane of the German defense. Feeling the threat of a major breakthrough, the German command already on the first day of the operation threw into battle not only its tactical, but also operational reserves, setting them the task of throwing the advancing Soviet troops into the river. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, the troops of the front broke through the main line of defense on the 26 km front and advanced to a depth of 13 km.
By the morning of April 17
The 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies crossed the Neisse in full force. All day long, the troops of the front, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, continued to widen and deepen the gap in the German defenses. Air support for the advancing troops was provided by pilots of the 2nd air army. Attack aviation, acting at the request of ground commanders, destroyed fire weapons and manpower of the enemy on cutting edge. bomber aviation smashed suitable reserves. By the middle of April 17, the following situation had developed in the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front: the tank armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko were moving west along a narrow corridor pierced by the troops of the 13th, 3rd and 5th guards armies. By the end of the day, they approached the Spree and began crossing it. Meanwhile, on the secondary, Dresden, direction of the troops of the 52nd Army, General K.A. Koroteev and the 2nd Army of the Polish General K.K. Sverchevsky broke through the tactical defense of the enemy and in two days of hostilities advanced to a depth of 20 km.
Given the slow advance of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front
, as well as the success achieved in the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front, on the night of April 18, the Headquarters decided to turn the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front to Berlin. In his order to the army commanders Rybalko and Lelyushenko on the offensive, the front commander wrote: In the main direction with a tank fist, it is bolder and more decisive to break forward. Bypass cities and large settlements and not get involved in protracted frontal battles. I demand a firm understanding that the success of tank armies depends on bold maneuver and swiftness in action.

Carrying out the order of the commander
On April 18 and 19, the tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched uncontrollably towards Berlin. The pace of their offensive reached 35-50 km per day. At the same time, the combined-arms armies were preparing to liquidate large enemy groupings in the area of ​​Cottbus and Spremberg.
By the end of the day on April 20
The main strike force of the 1st Ukrainian Front penetrated deeply into the enemy's location, and completely cut off the German Army Group "Vistula" from the Army Group "Center". Feeling the threat caused by the rapid actions of the tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front, the German command took a number of measures to strengthen the approaches to Berlin. To strengthen the defense in the area of ​​​​the cities of Zossen, Luckenwalde, Jutterbog, infantry and tank units were urgently sent. Overcoming their stubborn resistance, on the night of April 21, Rybalko's tankers reached the outer Berlin defensive bypass.
By the morning of April 22
Sukhov's 9th Mechanized Corps and Mitrofanov's 6th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army crossed the Notte Canal, broke through the outer defensive perimeter of Berlin, and reached the southern bank of the Teltovkanal at the end of the day. There, meeting strong and well-organized enemy resistance, they were stopped.
On the afternoon of April 22 at Hitler's headquarters
a meeting of the top military leadership was held, at which a decision was made to remove the 12th army of V. Wenck from the western front and send it to join with the semi-encircled 9th army of T. Busse. To organize the offensive of the 12th Army, Field Marshal Keitel was sent to its headquarters. This was the last serious attempt to influence the course of the battle, since by the end of the day on April 22, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts formed and almost closed two encirclement rings. One - around the 9th Army of the enemy east and southeast of Berlin; the other - west of Berlin, around the units that were directly defending in the city.

The Teltow Canal was a rather serious obstacle
: a moat filled with water with high concrete banks forty to fifty meters wide. In addition, its northern coast was very well prepared for defense: trenches, reinforced concrete pillboxes dug into the ground and self-propelled guns. Above the canal is an almost solid wall of houses, bristling with fire, with walls a meter or more thick. Having assessed the situation, the Soviet command decided to conduct careful preparation forcing the Teltow Canal. All day on April 23, the 3rd Guards Tank Army was preparing for the assault. By the morning of April 24 on south coast The Teltow Canal concentrated a powerful artillery grouping, with a density of up to 650 barrels per kilometer of the front, designed to destroy German fortifications on the opposite bank. Having suppressed the enemy defenses with a powerful artillery strike, the troops of the 6th Guards Tank Corps of Major General Mitrofanov successfully crossed the Teltow Canal and captured a bridgehead on its northern bank. On the afternoon of April 24, the 12th Army of Wenck launched the first tank attacks on the positions of the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps of General Ermakov (4th Guards Tank Army) and units of the 13th Army. All attacks were successfully repulsed with the support of Lieutenant General Ryazanov's 1st Assault Aviation Corps.
April 25 at 12 noon
west of Berlin, the advanced units of the 4th Guards Tank Army met with units of the 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. On the same day, another significant event took place. An hour and a half later, on the Elbe, the 34th Guards Corps of General Baklanov of the 5th Guards Army met with American troops. From April 25 to May 2, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front fought fierce battles in three directions: units of the 28th Army, 3rd and the 4th Guards Tank Armies participated in the storming of Berlin; part of the forces of the 4th Guards Tank Army, together with the 13th Army, repulsed the counterattack of the 12th German Army; The 3rd Guards Army and part of the forces of the 28th Army blocked and destroyed the encircled 9th Army.

All the time since the beginning of the operation, the command of Army Group Center
sought to thwart the offensive of the Soviet troops. On April 20, German troops delivered the first counterattack on the left flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front and pushed back the troops of the 52nd Army and the 2nd Army of the Polish Army. On April 23, a new powerful counterattack followed, as a result of which the defense at the junction of the 52nd Army and the 2nd Army of the Polish Army was broken through and the German troops advanced 20 km in the general direction of Spremberg, threatening to reach the rear of the front.
2nd Belorussian Front (April 20-May 8)
From April 17 to April 19, the troops of the 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front, under the command of Colonel-General Batov P.I., conducted reconnaissance in force and advanced detachments captured the Oder interfluve, thereby facilitating the subsequent forcing of the river. On the morning of April 20, the main forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front went on the offensive: the 65th, 70th and 49th armies. The crossing of the Oder took place under the cover of artillery fire and smoke screens. The offensive developed most successfully in the sector of the 65th Army, in which the engineering troops of the army had a considerable merit. Having built two 16-ton pontoon crossings by 13 o'clock, by the evening of April 20, the troops of this army captured a bridgehead 6 kilometers wide and 1.5 kilometers deep.
We had a chance to observe the work of sappers.
Working up to their necks in icy water among explosions of shells and mines, they made a crossing. Every second they were threatened with death, but people understood their soldier's duty and thought of one thing - to help their comrades on the western coast and thereby bring victory closer.

More modest success has been achieved
on the central sector of the front in the strip of the 70th army. The left-flank 49th Army met stubborn resistance and was not successful. All day and all night on April 21, the troops of the front, repulsing numerous attacks by German troops, stubbornly expanded their bridgeheads on the western bank of the Oder. In the current situation, the front commander K.K. Rokossovsky decided to send the 49th army along the crossings of the right neighbor of the 70th army, and then return it to its offensive zone. By April 25, as a result of fierce battles, the troops of the front expanded the captured bridgehead to 35 km along the front and up to 15 km in depth. To build up striking power, the 2nd shock army, as well as the 1st and 3rd guards tank corps, were transferred to the western bank of the Oder. At the first stage of the operation, the 2nd Belorussian Front, by its actions, fettered the main forces of the 3rd German tank army, depriving it of the opportunity to help those fighting near Berlin. On April 26, formations of the 65th Army stormed Stettin. In the future, the armies of the 2nd Belorussian Front, breaking the resistance of the enemy and destroying the suitable reserves, stubbornly moved to the west. On May 3, Panfilov's 3rd Guards Tank Corps, southwest of Wismar, established contact with the advanced units of the 2nd British Army.
Liquidation of the Frankfurt-Guben group
By the end of April 24, formations of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front came into contact with units of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, thereby encircling the 9th Army of General Busse southeast of Berlin and cutting it off from the city. The encircled grouping of German troops became known as the Frankfurt-Gubenskaya. Now the Soviet command was faced with the task of eliminating the 200,000th enemy grouping and preventing its breakthrough to Berlin or to the west. To accomplish the latter task, the 3rd Guards Army and part of the forces of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front took up active defense in the path of a possible breakthrough by German troops. On April 26, the 3rd, 69th, and 33rd armies of the 1st Belorussian Front began the final liquidation of the encircled units. However, the enemy not only offered stubborn resistance, but also made repeated attempts to break out of the encirclement. Skillfully maneuvering and skillfully creating superiority in forces in narrow sections of the front, the German troops twice managed to break through the encirclement. However, each time the Soviet command took decisive measures to eliminate the breakthrough. Until May 2, the encircled units of the 9th German Army made desperate attempts to break through the battle formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front to the west, to join General Wenck's 12th Army. Only separate small groups managed to seep through the forests and go west.

Storming of Berlin (April 25 - May 2)
At 12 noon on April 25, the ring around Berlin was closed, when the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army crossed the Havel River and connected with units of the 328th Division of the 47th Army of General Perkhorovich. By that time, according to the Soviet command, the Berlin garrison numbered at least 200 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and 250 tanks. The defense of the city was carefully thought out and well prepared. It was based on a system of strong fire, strongholds and centers of resistance. The closer to the city center, the tighter the defense became. Massive stone buildings with thick walls gave it special strength. The windows and doors of many buildings were closed up and turned into loopholes for firing. The streets were blocked by powerful barricades up to four meters thick. The defenders had a large number of faustpatrons, which in the conditions of street fighting turned out to be a formidable anti-tank weapon. Of no small importance in the enemy's defense system were underground structures, which were widely used by the enemy for maneuvering troops, as well as for sheltering them from artillery and bomb attacks.
By April 26 in the storming of Berlin
six armies of the 1st Belorussian Front (47th, 3rd and 5th shock, 8th guards, 1st and 2nd guards tank armies) and three armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front (28th I, 3rd and 4th Guards Tank). Taking into account the experience of capturing large cities, assault detachments were created for battles in the city as part of rifle battalions or companies, reinforced with tanks, artillery and sappers. The actions of the assault detachments, as a rule, were preceded by a short but powerful artillery preparation.
By April 27
as a result of the actions of the armies of two fronts that had advanced deeply towards the center of Berlin, the enemy grouping in Berlin stretched out in a narrow strip from east to west - sixteen kilometers long and two or three, in some places five kilometers wide. The fighting in the city did not stop day or night. Block by block, Soviet troops "gnawed through" the enemy's defenses. So, by the evening of April 28, units of the 3rd shock army went to the Reichstag area. On the night of April 29, the actions of the forward battalions under the command of Captain S. A. Neustroev and Senior Lieutenant K. Ya. Samsonov captured the Moltke bridge. At dawn on April 30, the building of the Ministry of the Interior, adjacent to the parliament building, was stormed at the cost of considerable losses. The way to the Reichstag was open.

parts of the 150th Infantry Division under the command of Major General V