Berlin offensive operation front commanders. Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (Battle of Berlin)

By the beginning of April 1945, Soviet troops reached the central regions of Germany in a wide strip and were located 60-70 km from its capital, Berlin. Attaching exceptional importance to the Berlin direction, the Wehrmacht high command deployed the 3rd Panzer and 9th Armies of the Vistula Army Group, the 4th Panzer and 17th Armies of the Center Army Group, aviation of the 6th air fleet and the air fleet "Reich". This grouping included 48 infantry, four tank and ten motorized divisions, 37 separate regiments and 98 separate battalions, two separate tank regiments, other formations and units of the branches of the armed forces and combat arms - a total of about 1 million people, 8 thousand guns and mortars, over 1200 tanks and assault guns, 3330 aircraft.

The area of ​​upcoming hostilities abounded large quantity rivers, lakes, canals and large forest areas, which were widely used by the enemy when creating a system of defensive lines and lines. The Oder-Neisen defensive line with a depth of 20-40 km included three lanes. The first strip, which ran along the western banks of the Oder and Neisse rivers, consisted of two to three positions and had a depth of 5-10 km. It was especially strongly fortified in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The front line was covered by minefields, barbed wire and subtle obstacles. The average density of mining in the most important directions reached 2 thousand mines per 1 km.

At a distance of 10-20 km from the front line, a second lane ran along the western banks of numerous rivers. Within its limits were also Zelov heights, which towered over the valley of the river. Oder at 40-60 m. The basis of the third strip were settlements, turned into strong nodes of resistance. Further in the depths was the Berlin defensive area, which consisted of three ring contours and the city itself, prepared for long-term resistance. The outer defensive bypass was located at a distance of 25-40 km from the center, and the inner one ran along the outskirts of the Berlin suburbs.

The purpose of the operation was to defeat the German troops in the Berlin direction, to capture the capital of Germany and with access to the river. Elba to get in touch with the Allied armies. Its plan was to inflict several blows in a wide band, surround and at the same time cut the enemy grouping into pieces and destroy them individually. The Supreme Command Headquarters involved the 2nd and 1st Belorussian, 1st Ukrainian fronts, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the 18th Air Army, the Dnieper military flotilla to carry out the operation - up to 2.5 million people in total, 41,600 guns and mortars, 6300 tanks and self-propelled guns, 8400 aircraft.

The task of the 1st Belorussian Front was to inflict main blow from the Kyustrinsky bridgehead on the Oder, with the forces of seven armies, of which two are armored, capture Berlin and, no later than 12-15 days of the operation, reach the river. Elbe. The 1st Ukrainian Front was to break through the enemy defenses on the river. Neisse, part of the forces to assist the 1st Belorussian Front in capturing the capital of Germany, and the main forces, developing the offensive in the northern and northwestern directions, no later than 10-12 days to capture the border along the river. Elbe to Dresden. The encirclement of Berlin was achieved by its detour from the north and northwest by the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, and from the south and southwest by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The 2nd Belorussian Front received the task of crossing the river. Oder in the lower reaches, defeat the Stettin grouping of the enemy and continue the offensive in the direction of Rostock.

The transition to the offensive of the 1st Belorussian Front was preceded by reconnaissance in force, carried out on April 14 and 15 by advanced battalions. Taking advantage of their success in separate sectors, regiments of the first echelons of divisions were brought into battle, which overcame the most dense minefields. But the measures taken did not allow misleading the German command. Having determined that the Soviet troops planned to deliver the main blow from the Kustra bridgehead, the commander of the Vistula Army Group, Colonel-General G. Heinrici, on the evening of April 15, ordered the infantry units and artillery of the 9th Army to be withdrawn from the front line to the depth of defense.

At 5 am on April 16, before dawn, artillery preparation began, during which the most dense fire was fired at the first position left by the enemy. After its completion, 143 powerful searchlights were turned on. Encountering no organized resistance, infantry formations with the support of aviation overcame 1.5-2 km. However, with their access to the third position, the battles took on a fierce character. In order to increase the force of impact, the Marshal of the Soviet Union brought into battle the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies of Colonel General M.E. Katukov and S.I. Bogdanov. Unlike the plan, this input was carried out even before the Zelov heights were mastered. But only by the end of the next day, the divisions of the 5th shock and 8th guards armies, Colonel General N.E. Berzarin and V.I. Chuikov, together with tank corps, with the support of bomber and attack aircraft, were able to break through the enemy defenses in the second lane and advance to a depth of 11-13 km.

During April 18 and 19, the main strike force of the 1st Belorussian Front, successively overcoming echeloned positions, lanes and lines, increased its penetration to 30 km and cut the German 9th Army into three parts. It attracted a significant part of the enemy's operational reserves. In four days, he transferred an additional seven divisions, two brigades of tank destroyers, and more than 30 separate battalions to its zone. Soviet troops inflicted significant damage on the enemy: nine of his divisions lost up to 80% of their people and almost all military equipment. Seven more divisions lost more than half of their composition. But their own losses were significant. Only in tanks and self-propelled guns they amounted to 727 units (23% of those available at the beginning of the operation).

In the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front, reconnaissance in force was carried out on the night of April 16. In the morning, after artillery and aviation preparation, reinforced battalions began crossing the river under the cover of a smoke screen. Neisse. Having captured the bridgeheads, they ensured the construction of pontoon bridges, along which formations of the first echelon of the armies, as well as advanced units of the 3rd and 4th Guards, crossed to the opposite bank. tank armies, 25th and 4th Guards Tank Corps. During the day, the strike force broke through the main line of defense of the German troops in a section 26 km wide and advanced 13 km deep, however, as on the 1st Belorussian Front, it did not complete the task of the day.

On April 17, the Marshal of the Soviet Union brought into battle the main forces of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, Colonel Generals and Colonels, who broke through the enemy's second line of defense and advanced 18 km in two days. Attempts by the German command to delay their offensive with numerous counterattacks from their reserves were not successful, and it was forced to begin a retreat to the third line of defense, which ran along the river. Spree. In order to pre-empt the enemy from occupying a profitable defensive line, the commander of the front troops ordered to increase the pace of advance to the maximum. Fulfilling the task, the rifle divisions of the 13th Army (Colonel General N.P. Pukhov), the tank corps of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies reached the Spree by the end of April 18, crossed it on the move and captured the bridgehead.

On the whole, in three days, the front's shock grouping completed the breakthrough of the Neissen defensive line in the direction of the main attack to a depth of 30 km. At the same time, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army (Lieutenant General K. Sverchevsky), the 52nd Army (Colonel General K.A. Koroteev) and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps (Lieutenant General V.K. Baranov) operating in the Dresden direction ) moved to the west by 25-30 km.

After breaking through the Oder-Neissen line, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts began to develop an offensive in order to encircle Berlin. Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov decided to bypass the capital of Germany from the northeast to carry out the 47th (Lieutenant General F.I. Perkhorovich) and 3rd shock (Colonel General V.I. Kuznetsov) armies in cooperation with the corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army. The 5th shock, 8th guards and 1st guards tank armies were to continue the attack on the city from the east and isolate the enemy's Frankfurt-Guben grouping from it.

According to the plan of the Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev, the 3rd Guards and 13th Armies, as well as the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, were intended to cover Berlin from the south. At the same time, the 4th Guards Tank Army was to link up to the west of the city with the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front and encircle the enemy's Berlin grouping itself.

During April 20-22, the nature of hostilities in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front did not change. His armies were forced, as before, to overcome the fierce resistance of the German troops in numerous strongholds, each time carrying out artillery and aviation training. The tank corps were never able to break away from the rifle units and acted on the same line with them. Nevertheless, they consistently broke through the outer and inner defensive contours of the city and started fighting on its northeastern and northern outskirts.

The 1st Ukrainian Front operated under more favorable conditions. In the course of breaking through the defensive lines on the Neisse and Spree rivers, he defeated the enemy's operational reserves, which allowed mobile formations to develop the offensive in separate directions at a high pace. On April 20, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies reached the approaches to Berlin. Destroying the enemy over the next two days in the areas of Zossen, Luckenwalde and Ueterbog, they overcame the outer Berlin defensive bypass, broke into the southern outskirts of the city and cut off the retreat of the German 9th Army to the west. To accomplish the same task, the 28th Army of Lieutenant General A.A. was also introduced into the battle from the second echelon. Luchinsky.

In the course of further actions, units of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front and the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front established interaction in the Bonsdorf area on April 24, thereby completing the encirclement of the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy. The next day, when the 2nd and 4th Guards Tank Armies joined up west of Potsdam, the same fate befell his Berlin grouping. At the same time, units of the 5th Guards Army, Colonel-General A.S. Zhadova met on the Elbe in the Torgau region with the American 1st Army.

Starting from April 20, the 2nd Belorussian Front of Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. began to implement the general plan of the operation. Rokossovsky. On that day, the formation of the 65th, 70th and 49th armies of Colonel General P.I. Batova, V.S. Popova and I.T. Grishin crossed the river. West Oder and captured bridgeheads on its western bank. Overcoming enemy fire resistance and repulsing counterattacks by his reserves, formations of the 65th and 70th armies united the captured bridgeheads into one up to 30 km wide and up to 6 km deep. Developing the offensive from it, by the end of April 25, they had completed the breakthrough of the main line of defense of the German 3rd Panzer Army.

The final stage of the Berlin offensive began on 26 April. Its content was to destroy the encircled enemy groups and capture the capital of Germany. Deciding to hold Berlin to the last opportunity, on April 22 Hitler ordered the 12th Army, which until that time had been operating against American troops, to break through to the southern suburbs of the city. The encircled 9th Army was supposed to break through in the same direction. After the connection, they were to strike at the Soviet troops that had bypassed Berlin from the south. To meet them from the north, it was planned to launch an offensive by Steiner's army group.

Anticipating the possibility of a breakthrough of the Frankfurt-Guben enemy grouping to the west, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev ordered four rifle divisions of the 28th and 13th armies, reinforced with tanks, self-propelled guns and anti-tank artillery, go on the defensive and disrupt the plans of the high command of the Wehrmacht. At the same time, the destruction of the encircled troops began. By that time, up to 15 divisions of the German 9th and 4th tank armies were blocked in the forests southeast of Berlin. They numbered 200 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 2 thousand guns and mortars, over 300 tanks and assault guns. To defeat the enemy from the two fronts, six armies were involved, part of the forces of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, the main forces of the 2nd Air Army of Colonel General Aviation S.A. Krasovsky.

Inflicting simultaneous frontal strikes and strikes in converging directions, the Soviet troops constantly reduced the area of ​​the encirclement area, cut the enemy grouping into parts, disrupted the interaction between them and destroyed them individually. At the same time, they stopped the unceasing attempts of the German command to make a breakthrough to connect with the 12th Army. To do this, it was necessary to constantly build up forces and means in threatened directions, to increase the depth of combat formations of troops on them to 15-20 km.

Despite heavy losses, the enemy persistently rushed to the west. Its maximum advance was more than 30 km, and the minimum distance between the formations of the 9th and 12th armies that delivered counter strikes was only 3-4 km. However, by the beginning of May, the Frankfurt-Guben group had ceased to exist. During heavy fighting, up to 60 thousand people were destroyed, 120 thousand soldiers and officers were captured, over 300 tanks and assault guns, 1,500 field and anti-aircraft artillery guns, 17,600 vehicles, a large number of other technology.

The destruction of the Berlin group, which numbered over 200 thousand people, more than 3 thousand guns and mortars, 250 tanks, was carried out from April 26 to May 2. At the same time, the main way to overcome enemy resistance was the widespread use of assault detachments as part of rifle units, reinforced with artillery, tanks, self-propelled guns and sappers. They attacked with the support of the aviation of the 16th (Colonel General of Aviation K.A. Vershinin) and the 18th (Chief Marshal of Aviation A.E. Golovanov) air armies in narrow areas and cut the German units into many isolated groups.

On April 26, formations of the 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front and the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front separated the enemy groups located in Potsdam and directly in Berlin. The next day, Soviet troops captured Potsdam and at the same time started fighting in the central (ninth) defensive sector of Berlin, where the highest state and military authorities of Germany were located.

On April 29, the rifle corps of the 3rd shock army entered the Reichstag area. The approaches to it were covered by the river. Spree and a number of fortified large buildings. At 13:30 on April 30, artillery preparation for the assault began, in which, in addition to artillery operating from closed positions, 152- and 203-mm howitzers took part as direct fire guns. After its completion, units of the 79th Rifle Corps attacked the enemy and broke into the Reichstag.

As a result of the fighting on April 30, the position of the Berlin group became hopeless. It was divided into isolated groups, command and control of troops at all levels was violated. Despite this, individual subunits and units of the enemy continued futile resistance for several days. Only by the end of May 5 it was finally broken. 134 thousand German soldiers and officers surrendered.

In the period from May 3 to May 8, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front advanced in a wide strip to the river. Elbe. The 2nd Belorussian Front, operating to the north, by that time had completed the defeat of the German 3rd Panzer Army, went to the coast Baltic Sea and to the Elbe. On May 4, in the Wismar-Grabov sector, his formations established contact with units of the British 2nd Army.

During Berlin operation The 2nd and 1st Belorussian, 1st Ukrainian fronts defeated 70 infantry, 12 tank and 11 motorized divisions, 3 battle groups, 10 separate brigades, 31 separate regiment, 12 separate battalions and 2 military schools. They captured about 480 thousand enemy soldiers and officers, captured 1550 tanks, 8600 guns, 4150 aircraft. At the same time, losses Soviet troops amounted to 274,184 people, of which 78,291 were irrevocable, 2,108 guns and mortars, 1,997 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, and 917 combat aircraft.

A distinctive feature of the operation, compared with the largest offensive operations carried out in 1944-1945, was its shallow depth, which amounted to 160-200 km. This was due to the meeting line of the Soviet and allied troops along the line of the river. Elbe. Nevertheless, the Berlin operation is an instructive example of an offensive aimed at encircling a large enemy grouping while cutting it into pieces and destroying each of them separately. It also fully reflects the issues of consistently breaking through echeloned defensive lines and lines, timely buildup of strike force, the use of tank armies and corps as mobile groups of fronts and armies, and combat operations in a large city.

For courage, heroism and high military skill shown during the operation, 187 formations and units were awarded the honorary title "Berlin". By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 9, 1945, the medal "For the Capture of Berlin" was established, which was awarded to about 1082 thousand Soviet soldiers.

Sergei Aptreikin,
leading Researcher Research
Institute (military history) of the Military Academy
General Staff of the RF Armed Forces

The final battle in the Great Patriotic War was the Battle of Berlin, or the Berlin Strategic War. offensive, which was held from April 16 to May 8, 1945.

On April 16, at 03:00 local time, aviation and artillery preparation began on the sector of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. After its completion, 143 searchlights were turned on to blind the enemy, and the infantry, supported by tanks, went on the attack. Encountering no strong resistance, she advanced 1.5-2 kilometers. However, the further our troops advanced, the stronger the resistance of the enemy grew.

The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front carried out a swift maneuver to reach Berlin from the south and west. On April 25, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts united west of Berlin, completing the encirclement of the entire enemy Berlin grouping.

The liquidation of the Berlin enemy grouping directly in the city continued until May 2. The assault had to take every street and house. On April 29, fighting began for the Reichstag, the possession of which was entrusted to the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front.

Before the assault on the Reichstag, the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army presented its divisions with nine Red Banners, specially made according to the type of the State Flag of the USSR. One of these Red Banners, known under No. 5 as the Banner of Victory, was transferred to the 150th Rifle Division. Similar self-made red banners, flags and flags were in all advanced units, formations and subunits. They, as a rule, were handed over to assault groups, which were recruited from among volunteers and went into battle with the main task - to break into the Reichstag and install the Banner of Victory on it. The first - at 22:30 Moscow time on April 30, 1945, hoisted an assault red banner on the roof of the Reichstag on the sculptural figure "Goddess of Victory" - reconnaissance artillerymen of the 136th Army Cannon Artillery Brigade, senior sergeants G.K. Zagitov, A.F. Lisimenko, A.P. Bobrov and Sergeant A.P. Minin from the assault group of the 79th Rifle Corps, commanded by Captain V.N. Makov, Assault group artillerymen acted jointly with the battalion of Captain S.A. Neustroeva. Two or three hours later, also on the roof of the Reichstag, on the sculpture of an equestrian knight - Kaiser Wilhelm - by order of the commander of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th Infantry Division, Colonel F.M. Zinchenko, the Red Banner No. 5 was installed, which then became famous as the Banner of Victory. Red Banner No. 5 was hoisted by scouts Sergeant M.A. Egorov and junior sergeant M.V. Kantaria, who were accompanied by Lieutenant A.P. Berest and machine gunners from the company of senior sergeant I.Ya. Syanov.

The fighting for the Reichstag continued until the morning of May 1. At 6:30 am on May 2, the head of the defense of Berlin, General of Artillery G. Weidling, surrendered and ordered the remnants of the troops of the Berlin garrison to cease resistance. In the middle of the day, the resistance of the Nazis in the city ceased. On the same day, the encircled groupings of German troops southeast of Berlin were liquidated.

On May 9, at 0:43 Moscow time, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as representatives of the German Navy, who had the appropriate authority from Doenitz, in the presence of Marshal G.K. Zhukov from the Soviet side signed the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Brilliant operation, coupled with courage Soviet soldiers and officers who fought to end the four-year nightmare of war, led to a logical outcome: Victory.

Capture of Berlin. 1945 Documentary

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE

The Berlin operation of the Soviet troops began. Goal: complete the defeat of Germany, capture Berlin, connect with the allies

The infantry and tanks of the 1st Belorussian Front launched an attack before dawn under the illumination of anti-aircraft searchlights and advanced 1.5-2 km

With the onset of dawn on the Seelow Heights, the Germans came to their senses and fight with bitterness. Zhukov introduces tank armies into battle

16 Apr. 45g. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev meet less resistance on the way of their offensive and immediately force the Neisse

Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front Konev orders the commanders of his tank armies Rybalko and Lelyushenko to advance on Berlin

Konev demands from Rybalko and Lelyushenko not to get involved in protracted and head-on battles, to boldly move forward towards Berlin

In the battles for Berlin, twice a Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of a tank battalion of Guards. Mr. S.Khokhryakov

The 2nd Belorussian Front of Rokossovsky joined the Berlin operation, covering the right flank.

By the end of the day, Konev's front had completed the breakthrough of the Neissen line of defense, crossed the river. Spree and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the south

Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front Zhukov break the 3rd enemy defense line on the Oderen-on the Seelow Heights all day

By the end of the day, Zhukov's troops completed the breakthrough of the 3rd lane of the Oder line at the Seelow Heights

On the left wing of Zhukov's front, conditions were created for cutting off the Frankfurt-Guben group of the enemy from the area on Berlin

Directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the commanders of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts: "It is better to treat the Germans." , Antonov

Another directive of the Rate: about identification marks and signals at the meeting of the Soviet armies and the troops of the allies

At 13.50, long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army was the first to open fire on Berlin - the beginning of the assault on the city itself

20 Apr. 45g. Konev and Zhukov send almost identical orders to the troops of their fronts: “Be the first to break into Berlin!”

By evening, formations of the 2nd Guards Tank, 3rd and 5th Shock Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the northeastern outskirts of Berlin

The 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies wedged into the city defensive bypass of Berlin in the districts of Petershagen and Erkner

Hitler ordered the 12th Army, previously targeted against the Americans, to be turned against the 1st Ukrainian Front. She now has the goal of linking up with the remnants of the 9th and 4th Panzer Armies, making their way south of Berlin to the west.

Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army broke into southern part Berlin and by 17.30 is fighting for Teltow - Konev's telegram to Stalin

Hitler refused to leave Berlin for the last time while there was such an opportunity. Goebbels and his family moved to a bunker under the Reich Chancellery ("Fuhrer's bunker")

Assault flags were presented by the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army to the divisions storming Berlin. Among them is the flag that became the banner of victory - the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division.

In the district of Spremberg, Soviet troops liquidated the encircled group of Germans. Among the destroyed units is the tank division "Protection of the Fuhrer"

Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front are fighting in the south of Berlin. At the same time, they reached the Elbe River northwest of Dresden

Goering, who had left Berlin, turned to Hitler on the radio, asking him to approve him at the head of the government. Received an order from Hitler removing him from the government. Bormann ordered Goering's arrest for treason

Himmler unsuccessfully tries through the Swedish diplomat Bernadotte to offer the allies surrender on the Western Front

Shock formations of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts in the Brandenburg region closed the encirclement of German troops in Berlin

Forces of the German 9th and 4th tanks. armies are surrounded in the forests southeast of Berlin. Parts of the 1st Ukrainian Front reflect the counterattack of the 12th german army

Report: “In the suburbs of Berlin, Ransdorf, there are restaurants where they “willingly sell” beer to our fighters for occupation marks.” The head of the political department of the 28th Guards Rifle Regiment, Borodin, ordered the owners of Ransdorf's restaurants to close them for a while until the battle was over.

In the area of ​​Torgau on the Elbe, Soviet troops of the 1st Ukrainian fr. met with the troops of the 12th American group General Bradley's armies

Having crossed the Spree, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev and the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of Zhukov are rushing towards the center of Berlin. The rush of Soviet soldiers in Berlin can no longer be stopped

The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front in Berlin occupied Gartenstadt and Gerlitsky Station, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the district of Dahlem

Konev turned to Zhukov with a proposal to change the demarcation line between their fronts in Berlin - the city center to transfer it to the front

Zhukov asks Stalin to salute the capture of the center of Berlin to the troops of his front, replacing Konev's troops in the south of the city

The General Staff orders Konev's troops, who have already reached the Tiergarten, to transfer their offensive zone to Zhukov's troops

Order No. 1 of the military commandant of Berlin, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel-General Berzarin, on the transfer of all power in Berlin into the hands of the Soviet military commandant's office. It was announced to the population of the city that the National Socialist Party of Germany and its organizations were disbanding and their activities were prohibited. The order established the order of behavior of the population and determined the main provisions necessary for the normalization of life in the city.

The battles for the Reichstag began, the mastery of which was entrusted to the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front

When breaking through the barriers on the Berlin Kaiserallee, the tank of N. Shendrikov received 2 holes, caught fire, the crew failed. The mortally wounded commander, having gathered his last strength, sat down at the controls and threw the flaming tank at the enemy cannon

Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun in a bunker under the Reich Chancellery. Witness - Goebbels. In his political testament, Hitler expelled Goering from the NSDAP and officially named Grand Admiral Dönitz as his successor.

Soviet units are fighting for the Berlin metro

The Soviet command rejected attempts by the German command to start negotiations on the time. ceasefire. There is only one demand - surrender!

The assault on the Reichstag building itself began, which was defended by more than 1000 Germans and SS men from different countries

In different places of the Reichstag, several red banners were fixed - from regimental and divisional to self-made

Scouts of the 150th division Egorov and Kantaria were ordered to hoist the Red Banner over the Reichstag around midnight

Lieutenant Berest from the Neustroev battalion led the combat mission of installing the Banner over the Reichstag. Established around 3.00, May 1

Hitler committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery bunker by taking poison and shooting him in the temple with a pistol. Hitler's corpse is burned in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery

At the post of Chancellor, Hitler leaves Goebbels, who will commit suicide the next day. Before his death, Hitler appointed Bormann Reich Minister for Party Affairs (previously such a post did not exist)

The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front captured Bandenburg, cleared the areas of Charlottenburg, Schöneberg and 100 quarters in Berlin

In Berlin, Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide, after killing their 6 children

Beg. German General Staff Krebs, announced the suicide of Hitler, offered to conclude a truce. Stalin confirmed the categorical demand for unconditional surrender in Berlin. At 18 o'clock the Germans rejected him

At 18.30, in connection with the rejection of the surrender, the Berlin garrison received a fire attack. The mass surrender of the Germans began

At 01.00, the radios of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “Please cease fire. We are sending parliamentarians to the Potsdam Bridge"

A German officer, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance

At 0600, General Weidling surrendered and an hour later signed the surrender order for the Berlin garrison.

Enemy resistance in Berlin has completely ceased. The remnants of the garrison surrender en masse

In Berlin, Goebbels's deputy for propaganda and press, Dr. Fritsche, was taken prisoner. Fritsche testified during interrogation that Hitler, Goebbels and Chief of the General Staff General Krebs committed suicide

Stalin's order on the contribution of the Zhukov and Konev fronts to the defeat of the Berlin group. By 21.00, 70 thousand Germans had already surrendered

The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in the Berlin operation - 78 thousand people. Enemy losses - 1 million, incl. 150 thousand killed

Everywhere in Berlin, Soviet field kitchens are deployed, where "wild barbarians" feed hungry Berliners.

This article briefly describes the battle for Berlin - the decisive and final operation of the Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War. It consisted in the final destruction of the fascist army and the capture of the capital of Germany. The successful completion of the operation marked the victory of the Soviet Union and the whole world over fascism.

Plans of the parties before the operation
By April 1945, as a result of a successful offensive, Soviet troops were in close proximity to the German capital. The battle for Berlin was important not only militarily, but also ideologically. The Soviet Union sought, ahead of the allies, to capture the capital of Germany in a short time. The Soviet troops were to valiantly end the bloody war by hoisting their banner over the Reichstag. The desired date for the end of the war was April 22 (Lenin's birthday).
Hitler, realizing that the war was lost anyway, wanted to resist to the end. It is not known in what mental state Hitler was at the end of the war, but his actions and statements look crazy. Berlin, according to him, becomes the last bastion, the citadel of the German nation. It must be defended by every German capable of bearing arms. The battle for Berlin should be the triumph of fascism, at this point the offensive of the Soviet Union would be stopped. On the other hand, the Fuhrer argued that the best Germans died in previous battles, and the German people never fulfilled their world mission. One way or another, fascist propaganda bore fruit until the very end of the war. The Germans showed exceptional perseverance and courage in the final battles. An important role was played by the fear of the expected revenge of the Soviet soldiers for the atrocities of the Nazis. Even realizing that victory was no longer possible, the Germans resisted, hoping for surrender to Western troops.

balance of power
Soviet troops, approaching Berlin at a distance of about 50 km, were an impressive offensive grouping. The total number was about 2.5 million people. The operation involved: 1st Belorussian (Zhukov), 2nd Belorussian (Rokossovsky) and 1st Ukrainian (Konev) fronts. Against the defenders of Berlin, a 3-4-fold superiority was concentrated in military equipment. The Soviet army has accumulated great experience conducting military operations, including assaults on fortified cities. Among the soldiers there was a huge motivation in the victorious end of the war
German troops (army groups "Vistula" and "Center") numbered about 1 million people. Berlin was surrounded by three well-fortified defense rings. The most protected was the site in the area of ​​the Seelow Heights. The Berlin garrison itself (commander - General Weidling) consisted of 50 thousand people. The city was divided into eight defense sectors (along the circumference), plus a central fortified sector. After the encirclement of Berlin by Soviet troops, the number of defenders, according to various estimates, ranged from 100 to 300 thousand people. In their composition, the most combat-ready were the remnants of the defeated troops defending the suburbs of Berlin, as well as the bloodless garrison of the city. The rest of the defenders were hastily recruited from the inhabitants of Berlin, making up detachments militia(Volkssturm), mostly old people and children from 14 years old, which simply did not have time to go through any military training. The situation was complicated by the fact that there was an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition. Information is provided that by the beginning of the direct battle for Berlin, there was one rifle for every three defenders. Only faustpatrons were sufficient enough, which really became a serious problem for Soviet tanks.
The construction of the city's defensive structures began late and was not fully completed. However, the assault on a large city always presents great difficulties, as it does not make it possible to fully use heavy equipment. Houses turned into a kind of fortress, many bridges, an extensive metro network - these are the factors that helped to keep the onslaught of the Soviet troops.

Stage I (beginning of operation)
The main role in the operation was entrusted to the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal Zhukov, whose task was to storm the most fortified Seelow Heights and enter the German capital. The battle for Berlin began on April 16 with a powerful artillery preparation. The Soviet command was the first to use powerful searchlights to blind and disorganize the enemy. This, however, did not bring the desired results and had only a certain psychological factor. German troops offered stubborn resistance, and the pace of the offensive was lower than expected. The opposing sides suffered huge losses. However, superiority began to speak Soviet forces and by April 19, in the main strike direction, the troops broke the resistance of the third ring of defense. Conditions were formed for the encirclement of Berlin from the north.
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were operating in the southern direction. The offensive also began on April 16 and immediately made it possible to advance far deep into the German defenses. On April 18, tank armies crossed the river. Spree and launched an attack on Berlin from the south.
The troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front were supposed to force the river. Oder and through their actions to provide support to Marshal Zhukov to cover Berlin from the north. On April 18-19, the front launched an offensive and achieved significant success.
By April 19, by the combined efforts of the three fronts, the main resistance of the enemy was broken, an opportunity arose for the complete encirclement of Berlin and the defeat of the remaining groupings.

Stage II (environment of Berlin)
Since April 19, the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts have been developing the offensive. Already on April 20, artillery strikes the first blows on Berlin. The next day, the troops enter the northern and southeastern regions of the city. On April 25, the tank armies of the two fronts unite, thereby completing the encirclement of Berlin. On the same day, a meeting of Soviet troops with allies takes place on the river. Elbe. This meeting had great importance, as a symbol of the joint struggle against the fascist threat. The garrison of the capital is completely cut off from the rest of the German groups. The remnants of the Army Groups "Center" and "Vistula", which constituted the outer lines of defense, are in the boilers and are partially destroyed, surrender or attempt to break through to the west.
Troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front pin down the 3rd Panzer Army and thereby deprive it of the possibility of launching a counterattack.

Stage III (completion of the operation)
The Soviet troops were faced with the task of encircling and destroying the remaining German forces. The victory over the largest - the Frankfurt-Guben grouping was decisive. The operation took place from April 26 to May 1 and ended with the almost complete destruction of the group.
About 460 thousand Soviet soldiers took part directly in the battle for Berlin. By April 30, the defending forces were cut into four parts. The defense of the Reichstag was fierce, the battles were fought literally for every room. Finally, on the morning of May 2, the commander of the garrison, General Weidling, signed the act of unconditional surrender. This was announced through loudspeakers throughout the city.
Soviet troops on a broad front reached the river. Elbe, as well as to the coast of the Baltic Sea. A regrouping of forces began for the final liberation of Czechoslovakia.
On the night of May 9, 1945, representatives of Germany, the USSR and the Allies signed an act of complete and unconditional surrender of Germany. Mankind celebrated the victory over the greatest threat to the whole world - fascism.

Evaluation and significance of the Battle of Berlin
The capture of Berlin is ambiguously assessed in historical science. Soviet historians talked about the genius of the Berlin operation, its careful development. In the post-perestroika period, they pointed to unjustified losses, to the senselessness of the assault, to the fact that there were practically no defenders left. The truth is contained in both statements. The last defenders of Berlin were significantly inferior in strength to the attackers, but do not forget about the power of the impact of Hitler's propaganda, forcing people to give their lives for the Fuhrer. This explains the exceptional tenacity in defense. The Soviet troops really suffered heavy losses, but the people needed the battle for Berlin and the hoisting of the flag on the Reichstag, as a natural result of their incredible suffering during the war years.
The Berlin operation was the final stage in the struggle of the leading world powers against the fascist regime in Germany. The main culprit of unleashing a bloody war was defeated. The main ideologist - Hitler committed suicide, the top leaders of the Nazi state were captured or killed. Victory in World War II was not far off. For some time (before the start of the Cold War), humanity felt its unity and the possibility of joint action in the face of serious danger.

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 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 the Second World War 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 military establishment 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 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

• Inflict 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 in crossing the Oder and breaking through the enemy defenses at the Kustra bridgehead with two brigades of river ships
• 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 preparation for the operation Special attention devoted 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 the main attack was actually 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. 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 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 to 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. highest density 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 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, 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 bypass 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 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 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 on west coast The 2nd shock army, as well as the 1st and 3rd guards tank corps, were transported to 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)

A volley of Soviet Katyusha rocket launchers 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 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 turned out to be formidable in a street fighting environment. 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 14:25, units of the 150th Infantry Division under the command of Major General V. M. Shatilov and the 171st Infantry Division under the command of Colonel A. I. Negoda 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.

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.

It was April last year war. She was nearing completion. Nazi Germany agonized, but Hitler and his entourage were not going to stop fighting, hoping until the last minutes for a split in the Anti-Hitler coalition. They've come to terms with the loss western regions Germany and the main forces of the Wehrmacht were thrown against the Red Army, trying to prevent the capture of the central regions of the Reich, primarily Berlin, by the Red Army. The Nazi leadership put forward the slogan: "It is better to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-Saxons than to let the Russians into it."

By the beginning of the Berlin operation, 214 enemy divisions were operating on the Soviet-German front, including 34 tank and 15 motorized and 14 brigades. Against the Anglo-American troops, 60 divisions remained, including 5 tank divisions. At that time, the Nazis still had certain stocks of weapons and ammunition, which made it possible for the fascist command to last month war to put up stubborn resistance on the Soviet-German front.

Stalin was well aware of the complexity of the military-political situation on the horseback of the end of the war and knew about the intention of the fascist elite to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-American troops, therefore, as soon as the preparations for the decisive blow were completed, he ordered the Berlin operation to begin.

Large forces were allocated for the attack on Berlin. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front (Marshal G.K. Zhukov) numbered 2,500,000 people, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 41,600 guns and mortars, 7,500 combat aircraft.

They are at the front with a length of 385 km. the troops of Army Group Center (Field Marshal F. Scherner) opposed. It consisted of 48 infantry divisions, 9 tank divisions, 6 motorized divisions, 37 separate infantry regiments, 98 separate infantry battalions, as well as a large number of artillery and special parts and formations numbering 1,000,000 people, 1,519 tanks and self-propelled guns, 10,400 guns and mortars, 3,300 combat aircraft, including 120 jet fighters Me.262. Of these, 2.000 in the Berlin area.

The Vistula Army Group, which defended Berlin from the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, who occupied the Kustrinsky bridgehead, was commanded by Colonel General G. Heintsiri. As part of the Kustrinsky grouping, which numbered 14 divisions, were: the 11th SS Panzer Corps, the 56th Panzer Corps, the 101st Army Corps, the 9th Parachute Division, the 169th, 286th, 303rd "Deberitz", 309 -I "Berlin", 712th infantry divisions, 606th division special purpose, 391st security division, 5th light infantry division, 18th, 20th motorized divisions, 11th SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Nordland", 23rd SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Netherland", 25- 1st tank division, 5th and 408th artillery corps of the RGK, 292nd and 770th anti-tank artillery divisions, 3rd, 405th, 732nd artillery brigades, 909th brigade of assault guns, 303rd and 1170th assault gun battalions, 18th engineer brigade, 22 spare artillery battalions (3117-3126th, 3134-33139th, 3177th, 3184th, 3163-3166th), 3086th, 3087th artillery battalions and other parts. At the front, 44 km. 512 tanks and 236 assault guns were concentrated, a total of 748 tanks and self-propelled guns, 744 field guns, 600 anti-aircraft guns, total 2.640 (or 2.753) guns and mortars.

There were 8 divisions in reserve in the Berlin direction: tank-grenadier divisions "Müncheberg", "Kurmark" infantry divisions 2nd "Friedrich Ludwig Jahn", "Theodor Kerner", "Scharnhorst", 1st training parachute division, 1st motorized division, the Hitler Youth tank destroyer brigade, the 243rd and 404th assault gun brigades.

Nearby, on the right flank, in the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front, they occupied positions, the 21st Panzer Division, the Bohemia Panzer Division, the 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg", the 13th Motorized Division, the 32nd SS Infantry Division " January 30th, 35th SS Police Division, 8th, 245th, 275th Infantry Divisions, Saxony Infantry Division, Burg Infantry Brigade.

In the Berlin direction, a defense in depth was prepared, the construction of which began as early as January 1945. It was based on the Oder-Neissen defensive line and the Berlin defensive area. The Oder-Neisen defensive line consisted of three lanes, between which the most important directions there were intermediate and cut-off positions. The total depth of this boundary reached 20-40 km. The forward edge of the main line of defense ran along the left bank of the Oder and Neisse rivers, with the exception of the bridgeheads at Frankfurt, Guben, Forst and Muskau.

Settlements were turned into powerful strongholds. The Nazis prepared to open the floodgates on the Oder in order to flood a number of areas if necessary. A second line of defense was created 10-20 km from the front line. The most equipped in engineering terms, it was on the Seelow Heights - in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. The third lane was located at a distance of 20-40 km from the leading edge of the main lane. Like the second, it consisted of powerful knots of resistance, interconnected by communication passages.

During the construction of defensive lines, the fascist command paid special attention to the organization anti-tank defense, which was based on a combination of artillery fire, assault guns and tanks with engineering barriers, dense mining of tank-accessible areas and the mandatory use of rivers, canals and lakes. In addition, to fight tanks, it aimed flak Berlin. In front of the first trench, and in the depths of defense at the intersection of roads and along their sides, there were tank destroyers armed with faustpatrons.

In Berlin itself, 200 Volkssturm battalions were formed, and the total strength of the garrison exceeded 200,000 people. The garrison included: 1st, 10th, 17th, 23rd anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 81st, 149th, 151st, 154th, 404th reserve infantry divisions, 458- I am a reserve grenadier brigade, 687th sapper brigade, SS motorized brigade "Führerbegleit", security regiment "Grossdeutschland", 62nd fortress regiment, 503rd separate heavy tank battalion, 123rd, 513th anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 116th fortress machine gun battalion, 301st, 303rd, 305th, 306th, 307th, 308th marine battalions, 539th security battalion, 630th, 968th engineer battalions, 103rd, 107th, 109th, 203rd, 205th, 207th, 301st, 308th, 313th, 318th, 320th, 509th, 617th 1st, 705th, 707th, 713th, 803rd, 811th Rolland, 911th Volkssturm battalions, 185th construction battalion, 4th Air Force training battalion, 74th Air Force marching battalion , 614th tank destroyer company, 76th communications training company, 778th assault company, 101st, 102nd companies of the Spanish Legion, 253rd, 255th police units and other units. (On the defense of the motherland, p. 148 (TsAMO, f. 1185, op. 1, d. 3, l. 221), 266th Artyomovsko-Berlinskaya st. 131, 139 (TsAMO, f. 1556, op. 1, d .8, l.160) (TsAMO, f.1556, op.1, d.33, l.219))

The Berlin defensive area included three ring bypass. The outer bypass passed along rivers, canals and lakes 25-40 km from the center of the capital. The internal defensive bypass ran along the outskirts of the suburbs. All strongholds and positions were interconnected in terms of fire. Numerous anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire were installed on the streets. Its total depth was 6 km. The third - the city bypass passed along the district railway. All streets leading to the center of Berlin were blocked by barricades, bridges were prepared to be blown up.

The city was divided into 9 defensive sectors, the central sector was the most fortified. The streets and squares were open to artillery and tanks. DOTs were built. All defensive positions were interconnected by a network of communication passages. For covert maneuvers, forces widely used the metro, the length of which reached 80 km. The Nazi leadership ordered: "hold Berlin to the last bullet."

Two days before the start of the operation, reconnaissance in force was carried out in the bands of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. On April 14, after a 15-20 minute fire raid, reinforced rifle battalions began to operate in the direction of the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front. Then, in a number of sectors, regiments of the first echelons were also brought into battle. During the two-day battles, they managed to penetrate the enemy defenses and capture certain sections of the first and second trenches, and advance up to 5 km in some directions. The integrity of the enemy defense was broken.

Reconnaissance in combat in the zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front was carried out on the night of April 16 by reinforced rifle companies.

The Berlin offensive began on April 16, 1945. The attack of tanks and infantry began at night. At 05-00 opened the most powerful fire in the entire war Soviet artillery. 22,000 guns and mortars participated in the artillery preparation. The density of artillery reached 300 barrels per 1 km of the front. Immediately after this, the German positions were suddenly illuminated by 143 anti-aircraft searchlights. At the same time, hundreds of tanks with lit headlights and infantry of the 3rd, 5th shock, 8th guards, 69th armies moved towards the blinded Nazis. The advanced positions of the enemy were soon broken through. The enemy was heavily damaged, and therefore his resistance for the first two hours was disorganized. The advancing troops wedged by noon into the depth of the enemy defense for 5 km. Greatest Success in the center reached the 32nd rifle corps of General D.S. Zherebin of the 3rd shock army. He advanced 8 km and went to the second line of defense. On the left flank of the army, the 301st Rifle Division took an important stronghold - railway station Verbig. The 1054th Infantry Regiment distinguished itself in battles for it. The 16th Air Army provided great assistance to the advancing troops. During the day, its aircraft made 5.342 sorties and shot down 165 German aircraft.

However, at the second line of defense, the key to which was the Seelow Heights, the enemy was able to delay the advance of our troops. The troops of the 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Army brought into battle suffered significant losses. The Germans, fighting off unprepared attacks, destroyed 150 tanks and 132 aircraft. The Seelow Heights dominated the area. They opened a view for many kilometers to the east. The slopes were very steep. The tanks could not climb them to the top and were forced to move along the only road, which was under fire from all sides. The Spreewald forest prevented the Seelow Heights from being bypassed.

The battles for the Seelow Heights were extremely stubborn. The 172nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 57th Guards Rifle Division was able to occupy the outskirts of the city of Zeelov after fierce battles, but the troops could not advance further.

The enemy hastily transferred reserves to the heights and during the second day several times launched strong counterattacks. The advance of the troops was insignificant. By the end of April 17, the troops reached the second line of defense, units of the 4th Rifle and 11th Tank Guards Corps took Zeelov in bloody battles, but failed to capture the heights.

Marshal Zhukov ordered the attacks to stop. The troops were regrouped. The artillery of the front was brought up, which began processing enemy positions. On the third day, heavy fighting continued in the depths of the enemy's defenses. The Nazis brought into battle almost all of their operational reserves. Soviet troops slowly, in bloody battles, moved forward. By the end of April 18, they had covered 3-6 km. and went to the approaches to the third defensive strip. Progress was still slow. In the strip of the 8th Guards Army along the highway going to the west, the Nazis installed 200 anti-aircraft guns. Here their resistance was most fierce.

In the end, the pulled up artillery and aviation crushed the enemy forces, and by the end of April 19, the troops of the shock group broke through the third defensive zone and advanced to a depth of 30 km in four days, having the opportunity to develop an offensive against Berlin and bypassing it from the north. The battles for the Seelow Heights were bloody for both sides. The Germans lost up to 15,000 killed and 7,000 captured on them.

The offensive of the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front developed more successfully. On April 16, at 06:15, artillery preparation began, during which the reinforced battalions of the divisions of the first echelon advanced to the Neisse and, after shifting artillery fire under the cover of a smoke screen placed on a 390-kilometer front, began crossing the river. The first echelon of the attackers crossed Neisse for an hour, while artillery preparation was underway.

At 0840, the troops of the 3rd, 5th Guards and 13th armies began to break through the main defensive line. The fighting took on a fierce character. The Nazis launched powerful counterattacks, but by the end of the first day of the offensive, the troops of the shock group had broken through the main line of defense on the front of 26 km and advanced to a depth of 13 km.

The next day, the forces of both tank armies of the front were introduced into the battle. Soviet troops repulsed all enemy counterattacks and completed the breakthrough of the second line of his defense. In two days, the troops of the shock group of the front advanced 15-20 km. The enemy began to retreat behind the Spree.

In the Dresden direction, the troops of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army, after entering the battle of the 1st Polish and 7th Guards Mechanized Corps, also completed the breakthrough of the tactical defense zone and advanced in some areas up to 20 km in two days of hostilities.

On the morning of April 18, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies reached the Spree and crossed it on the move, broke through the third defensive line on a 10-kilometer stretch and captured a bridgehead north and south of Spremberg.

In three days, the armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced up to 30 km in the direction of the main attack. Significant assistance to the attackers was provided by the 2nd Air Army, which made 7,517 sorties during these days and shot down 155 enemy aircraft. Front troops bypassed Berlin from the south. The tank armies of the front broke into the operational space.

On April 18, units of the 65th, 70th, 49th armies of the 2nd Belorussian Front began forcing the Ost-Oder. Having overcome the resistance of the enemy, the troops captured bridgeheads on the opposite bank. On April 19, the units that crossed over continued to destroy enemy units in the interfluve, concentrating on dams on the right bank of the river. Having overcome the swampy floodplain of the Oder, the troops of the front occupied on April 20 an advantageous position for forcing the West-Oder.

On April 19, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced 30-50 km to the north-west, reached the Lübbenau, Luckau area and cut the communications of the 9th Field Army. All attempts by the enemy's 4th Panzer Army to break through to the crossings from the areas of Cottbus and Spremberg failed. Troops of the 3rd and 5th Guards Armies moving to the west reliably covered the communications of the tank armies, which allowed the tankmen to advance another 45-60 km the next day. And go to the approaches to Berlin. The 13th Army advanced 30 km.

The rapid advance of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies led to the cutting off of the Vistula Army Group from the Center Army Group, the enemy troops in the areas of Cottbus and Spremberg were in a semi-encirclement.

On the morning of April 22, the 3rd Guards Tank Army, having deployed all three corps in the first echelon, began an attack on enemy fortifications. Army troops broke through the outer defensive bypass of the Berlin region and by the end of the day started fighting on the southern outskirts of the German capital. Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front broke into its northeastern outskirts the day before.

On April 22, the 4th Guards Tank Army of General Lelyushenko, operating to the left, broke through the outer defenses of Berlin and reached the Zarmund-Belitz line.

While the formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front were rapidly bypassing the capital of Germany from the south, the shock group of the 1st Belorussian Front was advancing on Berlin directly on Berlin from the east. After breaking through the Oder line, the troops of the front, overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, moved forward. April 20 at 13-50 long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps opened fire on Berlin. By the end of April 21, the 3rd and 5th shock and 2nd guards tank armies overcame resistance on the outer contour of the Berlin defensive area and reached its northeastern outskirts. The first to break into Berlin were the 26th Guards and 32nd Rifle Corps, the 60th, 89th, 94th Guards, 266th, 295th, 416th Rifle Divisions. By the morning of April 22, the 9th Guards Tank Corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army reached the Havel River, on the northwestern outskirts of the capital, and, together with units of the 47th Army, began to cross it.

The Nazis made desperate efforts to prevent the encirclement of Berlin. On April 22, at the last operational meeting, Hitler agreed with the proposal of General A. Jodl to remove from western front all the troops and throw them into the battle for Berlin. The 12th field army of General W. Wenck was ordered to leave their positions on the Elbe and break through to Berlin and join the 9th field army. At the same time, the army group of SS General F. Steiner received an order to strike at the flank of the grouping of Soviet troops, which bypassed Berlin from the north and northwest. The 9th Army was ordered to withdraw to the west to link up with the 12th Army.

The 12th Army, on April 24, turning its front to the east, attacked units of the 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies occupying the defenses at the Belitz-Treuenbritzen line.

On April 23 and 24, fighting in all directions took on a particularly fierce character. The pace of advancement of the Soviet troops slowed down, but the Germans did not succeed in stopping our troops. Already on April 24, the troops of the 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front joined with units of the 3rd Guards Tank and 28th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front southeast of Berlin. As a result, the main forces of the 9th Field and part of the forces of the 4th Tank Army were cut off from the city and surrounded. The next day, after joining west of Berlin, in the Ketzin area, the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front with units of the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front was surrounded by the actual Berlin enemy grouping.

On April 25, Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe. In the Torgau area, units of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army crossed the Elbe and established contact with the 69th Infantry Division of the 1st US Army. Germany was divided into two parts.

The counterattack of the Görlitz grouping of the enemy, launched on April 18, by April 25 was finally thwarted by the stubborn defense of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army.

The offensive of the main forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front began on the morning of April 20 with the crossing of the West Oder River. The 65th Army achieved the greatest success on the first day of the operation. By evening, she captured several small bridgeheads on the left bank of the river. By the end of April 25, the troops of the 65th and 70th armies completed the breakthrough of the main line of defense, advancing 20-22 km. Using the success of the neighbors on the crossings in the zone of the 65th Army, the 49th Army crossed and launched an offensive, followed by the 2nd Shock Army. As a result of the actions of the 2nd Belorussian Front, the 3rd German Panzer Army was pinned down and could not take part in the battles in the Berlin direction.

On the morning of April 26, Soviet troops launched an offensive against the encircled Frankfurt-Guben group, trying to cut and destroy it piece by piece. The enemy offered stubborn resistance and tried to break through to the west. Two infantry, two motorized and tank divisions of the enemy struck at the junction of the 28th and 3rd Guards armies. The Nazis broke through the defenses in a narrow area and began to move west. During fierce battles, our troops closed the neck of the breakthrough, and the group that broke through was surrounded in the Barut region and almost completely destroyed.

In the following days, the encircled units of the 9th Army again tried to connect with the 12th Army, which was breaking through the defenses of the 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies on the outer front of the encirclement. However, all enemy attacks were repelled on April 27-28.

The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front at the same time continued to push the encircled grouping from the east. On the night of April 29, the Nazis again attempted a breakthrough. At the cost of heavy losses, they managed to break through the main line of defense of the Soviet troops at the junction of two fronts in the area of ​​Wendisch-Buchholz. In the second half of April 29, they managed to break through the second line of defense in the sector of the 3rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 28th Army. A corridor 2 km wide was formed. Through it, the encircled began to leave for Luckenwalde. By the end of April 29, Soviet troops stopped the Shperenberg and Kummersdorf who had broken through at the line and divided them into three groups.

Especially intense battles unfolded on April 30. The Germans rushed to the west, regardless of the losses, but were defeated. Only one group of 20,000 people managed to break into the Belitsa area. It was separated from the 12th Army by 3-4 km. But during fierce battles, this group was defeated on the night of May 1. Separate small groups managed to seep to the west. By the end of the day on April 30, the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy was eliminated. 60,000 of its number were killed in battle, more than 120,000 people were taken prisoner. Among the prisoners were the deputy commander of the 9th Field Army, Lieutenant General Bernhardt, the commander of the 5th SS Corps, Lieutenant General Eckel, the commanders of the 21st tank division SS Lieutenant General Marks, 169th Infantry Division Lieutenant General Radchiy, Commandant of the Frankfurt-on-Oder Fortress Major General Biel, Chief of Artillery of the 11th SS Panzer Corps Major General Strammer, Aviation General Zander. During the period from April 24 to May 2, 500 guns were destroyed. 304 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 1,500 guns, 2,180 machine guns, 17,600 vehicles were captured as trophies. (Sovinformburo messages T / 8, p. 199).

Meanwhile, the fighting in Berlin reached its climax. The garrison, continuously increasing due to retreating units, already numbered more than 300,000 people. The 56th tank corps, the 11th and 23rd SS panzer-grenadier divisions, the Müncheberg and Kurmark panzer-grenadier divisions, the 18th, 20th, 25th motorized divisions, infantry divisions 303 retreated to the city -I "Deberitz", 2nd "Friedrich Ludwig Jahn" and many other parts. It was armed with 250 tanks and assault guns, 3,000 guns and mortars. By the end of April 25, the enemy occupied the territory of the capital with an area of ​​325 square meters. km.

By April 26, the troops of the 8th Guards, 3rd, 5th shock and 47th combined arms armies, the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front, the 3rd and 4th -Guards tank armies and part of the forces of the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. They consisted of 464,000 people, 1,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, 12,700 guns and mortars, 2,100 rocket launchers.

The troops conducted the assault as part of battalion and company assault detachments, which, in addition to infantry, had tanks, self-propelled guns, sappers, and often flamethrowers. Each detachment was intended to act in its own direction. Usually it was one or two streets. To capture individual objects from the detachment, a group was allocated as part of a platoon or squad, reinforced by 1-2 tanks, sappers and flamethrowers.

During the assault, Berlin was shrouded in smoke, so the use of attack aircraft and bombers was difficult, they acted mainly against the 9th Army surrounded in the Guben area, and fighters carried out an air blockade. The three most powerful air strikes were carried out by the 16th and 18th air armies on the night of April 25-26. 2,049 aircraft took part in them.

The fighting in the city did not stop day or night. By the end of April 26, Soviet troops had cut off the Potsdam grouping of the enemy from Berlin. The next day, formations of both fronts penetrated deeply into the enemy's defenses and began hostilities in the central sector of the capital. As a result of the concentric offensive of the Soviet troops, by the end of April 27, the enemy grouping was compressed in a narrow, completely shot through zone. From east to west, it was 16 km, and its width did not exceed 2-3 km. The Nazis fiercely resisted, but by the end of April 28, the encircled group was divided into three parts. By that time, all attempts by the Wehrmacht command to help the Berlin group had failed. After April 28, the struggle continued with unrelenting force. Now it has flared up in the Reichstag area.

The task of mastering the Reichstag was assigned to the 79th Rifle Corps, Major General S.N. Perevertkin of the 3rd shock army of General Gorbatov. Having captured the Moltke Bridge on the night of April 29, parts of the corps on April 30 by 4 o'clock captured a large resistance center - the house where the German Ministry of the Interior was located, and went directly to the Reichstag.

On this day, Hitler, who remained in underground bunker committed suicide at the Reich Chancellery. Following him, on May 1, his closest henchman J. Goebbels committed suicide. M. Bormann, who was trying to escape from Berlin with a detachment of tanks, was killed on the night of May 2 on one of the streets of the city.

On April 30, the 171st and 150th rifle divisions of Colonel A.I. Resentment and Major General V.M. Shatilova and the 23rd tank brigade began the assault on the Reichstag. To support the attackers for direct fire, 135 guns were allocated. Its garrison, numbering 5,000 soldiers and officers of the SS troops, put up desperate resistance, but by the evening of April 30, battalions of the 756th, 674th, 380th rifle regiments, commanded by captains S.A., broke into the Reichstag. Neustroev, V.I. Davydov and Senior Lieutenant K.Ya. Samsonov. In the fiercest battle, constantly turning into hand-to-hand combat, soviet soldiers took over room after room. Early in the morning of May 1, 1945, the 171st and 150th rifle divisions broke his resistance and captured the Reichstag. A little earlier, on the night of May 1, scouts of the 756th Infantry Regiment, Sergeant M.A. Egorov, junior sergeant M.V. Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory on the dome of the Reichstag. Their group was headed by the political officer of the battalion, Lieutenant A.P. Berest, was supported by a company of machine gunners of Lieutenant I.Ya. Syanova.

Separate groups of SS men who were hiding in the cellars laid down their arms only on the night of May 2. In a fierce battle that lasted two days, 2,396 SS men were destroyed, 2,604 were taken prisoner. 28 guns destroyed. Captured 15 tanks, 59 guns, 1,800 rifles and machine guns.

On the evening of May 1, the 248th and 301st rifle divisions of the 5th shock army, after a long fierce battle, took the imperial office. This was the last major fight in Berlin. On the night of May 2, a group of 20 tanks broke out of the city. On the morning of May 2, she was intercepted 15 km northwest of Berlin and completely destroyed. It was assumed that one of the Nazi leaders was fleeing from the capital of the Reich, but none of the Reich bosses were among those killed.

At 15 o'clock on May 1, the chief crossed the front line general staff ground forces Germany, Colonel General Krebs. He was received by the commander of the 8th Guards Army, General Chuikov, and announced Hitler's suicide, the formation of the government of Admiral Dönitz, and also handed over a list of the new government and a proposal for a temporary cessation of hostilities. The Soviet command demanded unconditional surrender. By 18 o'clock it became known that the proposal was rejected. The fighting in the city continued all this time. When the garrison was divided into isolated groups, the Nazis began to surrender. On the morning of May 2 at 6 o'clock, the commander of the defense of Berlin, the commander of the 56th Panzer Corps, General G. Weidling surrendered and signed the order of surrender.

By 3 pm on May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison capitulated. During the assault, the garrison lost 150,000 soldiers and officers killed. On May 2, 134,700 people surrendered, including 33,000 officers and 12,000 wounded.

(IVMV, V.10, p.310-344; G.K. Zhukov Memories and reflections / M, 1971, p. 610-635)

In total, during the Berlin operation, only 218,691 soldiers and officers were killed and 250,534 soldiers and officers were captured in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front, and a total of 480,000 people were captured. 1132 aircraft shot down. Captured as trophies were 4,510 aircraft, 1,550 tanks and self-propelled guns, 565 armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles, 8,613 guns, 2,304 mortars, 876 tractors and tractors (35,797 cars), 9,340 motorcycles, 25,289 bicycles, 19,393 machine guns, 189,26 rifles and , 363 steam locomotives, 22.659 wagons, 34.886 faustpatrons, 3.400.000 shells, 360.000.000 cartridges (TsAMO USSR f.67, op.23686, d.27, l.28).

According to the head of the logistics of the 1st Belorussian Front, Major General N.A. Antipenko captured even more trophies. The 1st Ukrainian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts captured 5,995 aircraft, 4,183 tanks and assault guns, 1,856 armored personnel carriers, 15,069 guns, 5,607 mortars, 36,386 machine guns, 216,604 rifles and machine guns, 84,738 vehicles, 2,199 warehouses.

(On the main line, p.261)

The losses of the Soviet troops and the Polish Army amounted to 81.116 people killed and missing, 280.251 wounded (of which 2.825 Poles were killed and missing, 6.067 were wounded). 1,997 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,108 guns and mortars, 917 combat aircraft, 215,900 small arms were lost (The classification was removed, p.219,220, 372).