Beginning of the Berlin operation. Berlin offensive operation

Berlin Strategic offensive(Berlin operation, Capture of Berlin)- offensive operation of the Soviet troops during Great Patriotic War, which ended with the capture of Berlin and victory in the war.

The military operation was conducted on the territory of Europe from April 16 to May 9, 1945, during which the territories occupied by the Germans were liberated and Berlin was taken under control. Berlin operation was the last in Great Patriotic and World War II.

As part of Berlin operation the following smaller operations were carried out:

• Stettin-Rostock;
• Zelovsko-Berlinskaya;
• Cottbus-Potsdam;
• Stremberg-Torgauskaya;
• Brandenburg-Rathenow.

The purpose of the operation was the capture of Berlin, which would allow the Soviet troops to open the way to connect with the Allies on the Elbe River and thus prevent Hitler from dragging out Second World War for a longer period.

The course of the Berlin operation

In November 1944, the General Staff of the Soviet troops began planning an offensive operation on the outskirts of the German capital. During the operation, it was supposed to defeat the German Army Group "A" and finally liberate the occupied territories of Poland.

At the end of the same month, the German army launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes and was able to push back the Allied troops, thereby putting them almost on the brink of defeat. To continue the war, the allies needed the support of the USSR - for this, the leadership of the United States and Great Britain turned to the Soviet Union with a request to send their troops and conduct offensive operations in order to distract Hitler and give the allies the opportunity to recover.

The Soviet command agreed, and the USSR army launched an offensive, but the operation began almost a week earlier, due to which there was insufficient preparation and, as a result, heavy losses.

By the middle of February Soviet troops were able to force the Oder - the last obstacle on the way to Berlin. A little more than seventy kilometers remained to the capital of Germany. From that moment on, the fighting took on a more protracted and fierce character - Germany did not want to give up and tried with all its might to restrain the Soviet offensive, but it was quite difficult to stop the Red Army.

At the same time, preparations began on the territory of East Prussia for the assault on the fortress of Koenigsberg, which was extremely well fortified and seemed almost impregnable. For the assault, the Soviet troops carried out a thorough artillery preparation, which as a result bore fruit - the fortress was taken unusually quickly.

In April 1945, the Soviet army began preparations for the long-awaited assault on Berlin. The leadership of the USSR was of the opinion that in order to achieve the success of the entire operation, it was necessary to urgently carry out an assault without delay, since the prolongation of the war itself could lead to the Germans being able to open another front in the West and conclude a separate peace. In addition, the leadership of the USSR did not want to give Berlin to the Allied forces.

Berlin offensive operation prepared very carefully. To the outskirts of the city were transferred huge stocks of combat military equipment and ammunition, the forces of three fronts were pulled together. The operation was commanded by marshals G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky and I.S. Konev. In total, more than 3 million people participated in the battle on both sides.

Storming Berlin

Berlin operation characterized by the highest density of artillery shells in the history of all world wars. The defense of Berlin was thought out to the smallest detail, and it was not so easy to break through the system of fortifications and tricks, by the way, the loss of armored vehicles amounted to 1800 units. That is why the command decided to bring up all the nearby artillery to suppress the defense of the city. The result was a truly hellish fire that literally wiped out the enemy's front line of defense.

The assault on the city began on April 16 at 3 am. In the light of searchlights, one and a half hundred tanks and infantry attacked the defensive positions of the Germans. A fierce battle was fought for four days, after which the forces of three Soviet fronts and troops Polish army succeeded in encircling the city. On the same day, Soviet troops met with the allies on the Elbe. As a result of four days of fighting, several hundred thousand people were captured, dozens of armored vehicles were destroyed.

However, despite the offensive, Hitler was not going to surrender Berlin, he insisted that the city must be held at all costs. Hitler refused to surrender even after the Soviet troops came close to the city, he threw all available human resources, including children and the elderly, onto the field of operations.

On April 21, the Soviet army was able to reach the outskirts of Berlin and start street fighting there - German soldiers fought to the last, following Hitler's order not to surrender.

On April 30, the Soviet flag was hoisted on the building - the war ended, Germany was defeated.

The results of the Berlin operation

Berlin operation put an end to the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War. As a result of the rapid offensive of the Soviet troops, Germany was forced to surrender, all chances for opening a second front and making peace with the allies were cut off. Hitler, having learned about the defeat of his army and the entire fascist regime, committed suicide. More awards were given for the storming of Berlin than for the rest of the military operations of the Second World War. 180 units were awarded honorary "Berlin" distinctions, which in terms of personnel - 1 million 100 thousand people.

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 resource areas led to a decline industrial production Germany. Difficulties in replenishing the casualties suffered in the winter of 1944/45 increased. Nevertheless armed forces The Germans were still a formidable 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 separate peace with England and the USA and the split of the anti-Hitler coalition. At the same time, holding the front against the Soviet Union acquired decisive importance.

USSR

The military-political situation that had developed by April 1945 required the Soviet command to short time prepare and carry out an operation to defeat the grouping of German troops in the Berlin direction, capture Berlin and reach the Elbe River to join the Allied forces. 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 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 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 were disguised as trains carrying timber and hay on platforms.

When carrying out reconnaissance, tank commanders from the battalion commander to the army commander dressed in infantry uniforms and, under the guise of signalmen, examined 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 did not allow the full use of the possibilities of rail transport, so 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 with personnel and equipment, strong reserves were created in the operational depth. In Berlin and near it formed great amount Volkssturm battalions.

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. 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

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, 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 by 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, 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 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 launched 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 there was considerable merit engineering troops army. 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 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)

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 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 formidable anti-tank weapons. 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, 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.

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 Soviet command total strength troops that emerged from the encirclement in the Berlin area does not exceed 17,000 people with 80-90 armored vehicles.

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 spent Vistula-Oder operation, immediately captured 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 informed that the troops were tired and suffered heavy 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, were rained down on the enemy's head, was 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…

"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 terrible losses. Soviet tanks th 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, which pierced the armor of Soviet tanks of 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 1945 was largest city Reich and its center. Here were the headquarters of the commander in chief, the Reich Chancellery, the headquarters of most armies and many other administrative buildings. By spring, more than 3 million inhabitants and about 300,000 abducted civilians from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition lived in Berlin.

The entire top of Nazi Germany remained here: Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Goering and others.

Operation preparation

The Soviet leadership planned to take the city at the end of the Berlin offensive. This task was assigned to the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian fronts. At the end of April, the advanced units met, the city was besieged.
The allies of the USSR refused to participate in the operation. Berlin in 1945 was an extremely important strategic goal. In addition, the fall of the city would invariably lead to a victory in terms of propaganda. The Americans were developing an assault plan back in 1944. After securing the troops in Normandy, it was planned to make a throw north to the Ruhr and start an attack on the city. But in September, the Americans suffered huge losses in Holland and the operation was abandoned.
Soviet troops on both fronts had more than 2 million manpower and about 6,000 tanks. Of course, all of them could not participate in the assault. 460 thousand people were concentrated for the strike, Polish formations also took part.

City defense

The defense of Berlin in 1945 was prepared very carefully. The garrison numbered over 200 thousand people. It is rather difficult to give an exact figure, since the civilian population was actively involved in the defense of the Nazi capital. The city was surrounded by several lines of defense. Each building was turned into a fortress. Barricades were erected in the streets. Almost the entire population was obliged to take part in the construction of engineering structures. Concrete bunkers were hastily erected on the outskirts of the city.

Offensive

Berlin in 1945 had been under regular bombardment for several months. In the 44th, British and American raids became more frequent. Prior to that, in 1941, on the personal orders of Stalin, a number of secret operations by Soviet aviation were carried out, as a result, a number of bombs were dropped on the city.
On April 25, massive artillery preparation began. Soviet aviation ruthlessly suppressed firing points. Howitzers, mortars, MLRS hit Berlin with direct fire. On April 26, the most fierce battles of the entire war began in the city. For the Red Army, a huge problem was the density of the city. It was extremely difficult to advance because of the abundance of barricades and dense fire.
Large losses in armored vehicles were caused by the many anti-tank groups of the Volkssturm. To take one city block, it was first treated with artillery.

The fire stopped only when the infantry approached the German positions. Then the tanks destroyed the stone buildings blocking the way, and the Red Army moved on.

Liberation of Berlin (1945)

Marshal Zhukov ordered to use the experience of the Stalingrad battles. In a similar situation, Soviet troops successfully used small mobile groups. Several armored vehicles, a group of sappers, mortars and artillerymen were attached to the infantry. Also, sometimes flamethrowers were included in such a unit. They were needed to destroy the enemy, who hid in underground communications.
Fast promotion Soviet troops led to the encirclement of the Reichstag area already 3 days after the start of active fighting. 5 thousand Nazis concentrated on a small area in the city center. A moat was dug around the building, tank breakthrough became impossible. All available artillery bombarded the building. On April 30, shells broke through the Reichstag. At 2:25 p.m., a red flag was raised over the buildings.

The photo that captured this moment would later become one of

Fall of Berlin (1945)

After the capture of the Reichstag, the Germans began to flee en masse. Chief of Staff Krebs requested a ceasefire. Zhukov conveyed the proposal of the German side to Stalin personally. The commander-in-chief demanded only the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. The Germans rejected this ultimatum. Immediately after that, heavy fire fell on Berlin. The fighting continued for several more days, as a result of which the Nazis were finally defeated, in Europe they were over. in Berlin in 1945 showed the whole world the power of the liberation Red Army and Soviet people. The capture of the Nazi lair will forever remain one of the most important points in the history of mankind.

BATTLE FOR BERLIN - the final strategic offensive operation carried out by the Soviet troops on April 16 - May 8 with the aim of defeating the group of German troops defending in the Berlin direction, capturing Berlin and reaching the Elbe River to join the Allied forces.

balance of power

In the spring of 1945, they fought in Germany fighting armed forces of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France. Soviet army was 60 km from Berlin, and the advanced units of the American-British troops reached the Elbe, 100-120 km from the capital of Germany. made attempts to induce the commander-in-chief of the armies Western countries to take Berlin before the Red Army. But, fearing heavy losses, D. Eisenhower in a telegram dated March 28 said that the Western allies were not going to take Berlin. The main forces of the Germans were still concentrated against the Soviet forces (214 divisions and 14 brigades), and only 60 divisions acted against the allies. A total of 1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 tanks and assault guns, 3300 combat aircraft. In the rear of the German army groups, a strategic reserve of 8 divisions was formed. The defense of the capital of Germany included the Oder-Neissen line with a depth of 20-40 km, which had 3 lanes and the Berlin defensive area, which included 3 ring bypass. The city itself was divided into 9 sectors, the garrison was up to 200 thousand people. The metro was widely used for covert maneuvering by forces and means. Each street, house, canal was a defensive line.

To carry out the Berlin operation, the Soviet army attracted troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, led by a marshal, led by a marshal, led by a marshal. A total of 2.5 million people, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7,500 aircraft. The plan of the Soviet command was to break through the enemy defenses along the Oder and Neisse with powerful blows from three fronts, surround the main grouping of German troops, simultaneously divide it into several parts and destroy it, and then reach the Elbe.

The main stages of the battle

According to the nature of the tasks performed and the results, the Berlin operation is divided into three stages. On the first (April 16-19), the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts broke through the Oder-Neissen defensive line, and the 2nd Belorussian Front completed the regrouping and conducted reconnaissance in force. At the second stage (April 19-25), the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, at the direction of the Headquarters, surrounded and dismembered the enemy's Berlin grouping. At the third stage (April 26 - May 8), the enemy was destroyed. Soviet troops captured Berlin and united with the Allies. Germany capitulated.

On April 16, at 3 am, aviation and artillery preparation began, after which 143 anti-aircraft searchlights were turned on, and the infantry, supported by tanks, attacked the enemy. The closer the Zelov Heights got, the stronger the resistance of the Germans. The German command created on them the most powerful center of resistance in the 2nd line of defense, which had solid trenches, a large number of bunkers, machine gun sites, trenches for artillery and anti-tank weapons, anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers. An anti-tank ditch up to 3 meters deep and 3.5 meters wide was dug in front of them, and the approaches to them were mined and shot through with multi-layered cross artillery and rifle-machine-gun fire. The equipment could overcome the Zelov heights only along the highways, which were mined.

The troops of the 9th Army, reinforced by the artillery of the Berlin zone, defended the heights. To speed up the advance of the troops, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, G. Zhukov, brought the 1st and 2nd tank armies into battle. However, they were drawn into stubborn battles and could not break away from the infantry. The troops of the front had to sequentially break through several lines of defense. In the main areas near the Zelov Heights, the troops of the 8th Guards Army (Colonel-General V.I. Chuikov), in cooperation with the 1st Tank Army (Colonel-General M.E. Katukov), managed to break through it only on April 17th. By the end of April 19, they had completed the breakthrough of the 3rd lane of the Oder line.

The offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully at that time. By the end of April 18, the troops of the front had completed the breakthrough of the Neusen line of defense, crossed the Spree River and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the South. On April 18-19, the 2nd Belorussian Front, led by Rokossovsky, crossed the Ost-Oder, crossed the interfluve of the Ost-Oder and West-Oder, and took its starting position for forcing the West-Oder. Further advance was hampered by the flooding of the river, difficulties arose with the transfer of artillery and tanks.

On April 20, long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front opened fire on Berlin. The next day, the first Soviet units broke into the outskirts of the city.

April 22 was the last operational meeting of the German High Command, headed by Hitler. It was decided to remove the 12th Army from its positions on the Elbe and send it to the east, towards the troops of the 9th Army, which was attacking the Soviet troops, from the area southeast of Berlin. In an effort to delay the offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front, the German command launched a counterattack from the Görlitz region to the rear of the strike group of Soviet troops. By April 23, German troops penetrated their location for 20 kilometers, but by the end of the next day, the enemy’s advance was stopped.

Storming Berlin

On April 24, the armies of the 1st Belorussian united with units of the 1st Ukrainian Front to the west, taking the city into a ring. The next day, in the Torgau area on the Elbe River, the troops of the 5th Guards Army met with units of the 1st Guards Army approaching from the west. american army. At this time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front successfully crossed the West-Oder, broke through the defenses on the western bank and pinned down the forces of the 3rd tank army of the enemy. The assault on Berlin began, each house in which was turned into a real fortress. About 200 militia formations (Volkssturm) under the general command of Himmler, armed with carbines and faustpatrons, consisted of men aged 16 to 60 years old and women drafted from 18 years old, participated in the defense of the city.

Each army operated in its own zone, successively breaking the city's defenses from house to house. Hand-to-hand fights were fought in the subway and underground tunnels. The basis of the battle formations of rifle and tank units during the fighting in the city, they formed assault detachments and groups. Direct fire artillery and aviation were also widely used. The civilian population suffered greatly. At the same time, the feat of Sergeant N.I. Masalov, who carried a German girl out of the shelling (his feat is immortalized in a monument in Treptow Park).

On April 29, struggles began for the Reichstag (the lower house of parliament in Germany), which the Germans turned into a powerful defense center, deep ditches were dug around the building, barriers were erected, firing points were created. Basically, the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery were defended by SS troops: units of the 11th SS Volunteer Division "Nordland", SS French battalion Fene from the division "Charlemagne" and the Latvian battalion of the 15th SS Grenadier Division (Latvian SS division), as well as the Fuhrer's SS security units Adolf Hitler (there were about 1 thousand people in total). On the morning of April 30, having broken the stubborn resistance, the Soviet units broke into the building. On the same day, A. Hitler committed suicide with his wife.

By the end of the day, the Reichstag was taken, the remaining defenders defended themselves in the basement. On its pediment, scouts of the 756th regiment of the 150th rifle division M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria installed the Red Banner, which became. With special military honors, a special flight on a Li-2 aircraft was delivered from Berlin to Moscow, where on June 24, at the Victory Parade, it was solemnly transported in a specially equipped car along Red Square in front of the consolidated regiments of the front.

But the fighting inside the building ended only by the morning of May 1, and individual defenders who fought in the basement surrendered only on the night of May 2. On the walls of the Reichstag from the floor and almost to the ceiling, Soviet soldiers left their inscriptions and sayings.

Surrender of fascist troops

On May 1, only the Tiergarten park area and the government quarter remained in German hands. Here was located imperial office, in the courtyard of which there was a bunker at Hitler's headquarters. On the night of May 1, by prior arrangement, General V.I. Chuikov was arrived by the chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, General Krebs, who announced the suicide of Hitler and the proposal of the new German government to conclude a truce. The message was immediately conveyed to G.K. Zhukov, who himself telephoned Moscow. In the conversation, Stalin confirmed the categorical demand for unconditional surrender. On the evening of May 1, the new German government rejected the demand for unconditional surrender, and Soviet troops with new force resumed the assault, bringing down all the firepower on the city.

Early in the morning of May 2, the Berlin underground was flooded - a group of sappers from the SS division "Nordland" blew up the tunnel. Water gushed into the tunnels, where a large number of civilians and the wounded. The number of victims is still unknown. At 6:30 a.m. on May 2, the head of the Berlin defense, General G. Weidling, surrendered and wrote a surrender order, which was reproduced and transmitted to the enemy units defending in the center of Berlin with the help of loud-speaking installations and radio. German troops started to give up. However, individual detachments continued to resist and fought their way towards the Western Allies to surrender. The units managed to break through to the area of ​​crossings over the Elbe and move into the zone of occupation of the American army.

May 8 at 22:43 (Central European Time) in Berlin in Karlshort, in the building of the former military engineering school, was signed. At the signing of the act were present: Marshal of the USSR G.K. Zhukov, Chief Air Marshal of Great Britain A. Tedder; as witnesses - the commander of the strategic air force United States General K. Spaats, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army General J.M. de Latre de Tassigny. On behalf of Germany, the act was signed by those who had the appropriate authority from (appointed by Hitler before his death as President German Empire and Minister of War) and delivered to Berlin: former boss Wehrmacht High Command Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces Admiral of the Fleet H. Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf.

In commemoration of the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany, May 9 became the Victory Day. On this day, a salute was fired in Moscow with 30 artillery volleys from a thousand guns.

During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops defeated 70 infantry, 23 tank and motorized divisions, captured about 480 thousand people, captured up to 11 thousand guns and mortars, over 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, 4500 aircraft. The Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces established the medal "For the Capture of Berlin", which was awarded to about 1082 thousand soldiers. 187 units and formations that distinguished themselves most during the assault on the capital of Germany were given the honorary name "Berlin". More than 600 participants in the operation were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.