In the spring of 1945, combat operations on the territory of Nazi Germany were conducted by Soviet, US, British and French forces. The Soviet forces were 60 kilometers from Berlin, while the advance units of the US-British forces reached the Elbe River 110-120 kilometers from the German capital.
Berlin was not only a political base of Nazism, but also one of Germany’s largest military industrial centers. The Wehrmacht’s main forces were amassed near Berlin. About 200 Volkssturm (national militia) battalions were deployed in Berlin. There were over 200,000 men in the garrison.
The city defense was carefully thought-through and well-prepared. The Berlin defense area included three circular perimeters. The outside perimeter passed along rivers, canals and lakes 25-40 kilometers from the center of the capital. It comprised large built-up areas converted into pockets of resistance.
The 6 km-thick internal defense perimeter, which was thought to be main defense line of the fortified district, passed along Berlin suburbs. Antitank obstacles and wire fences were installed on its streets. The third, inner city perimeter passed along the ring railway line. All of the streets leading to the city center were blocked by all sorts of obstacles, while the bridges were prepared for explosive demolition.
To ensure effective command and control of the defense operation, Berlin was divided into nine sectors. The central corridor, where the main government and administrative agencies, including the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery, were located, was the most heavily fortified sector.
There were trenches for artillery, mortars, tanks and assault guns, and numerous ferroconcrete weapon emplacements on the streets and squares. There were plans to make wide use of the 80-kilometer metro lines for stealth maneuvers with forces and assets.
Troops were deployed in advance at most defense structures in and around the city.
The Soviet Supreme High Command’s plan for the operation was to deliver several powerful strikes on a wide frontage, split the enemy’s Berlin group, encircle it and destroy it piecemeal.
Timeline of Soviet Army`s Operation
The operation began on April 16, 1945. After powerful artillery fire and airstrikes, the forces of the First Belorussian Front engaged the enemy on the Oder River. At the same time, the troops of the First Ukrainian Front began to cross the Neisse River. Despite the enemy’s fierce resistance, the Soviet forces breached its defense.
On April 20, the assault operation began with a long-range artillery attack on Berlin by the First Belorussian Front. Toward the evening of April 21, its advance units reached the city’s northeastern suburbs.
The forces of the First Ukrainian Front implemented a rapid maneuver to reach Berlin from the south and the west. On April 21, having advanced 95 kilometers, the front’s tank units entered the city’s southern suburb. Exploiting the success of the tank divisions, the combined-arms units of the First Ukrainian Front’s assault group advanced rapidly to the west.
On April 25, the forces of the First Ukrainian and the First Belorussian Fronts linked up west of Berlin, completing the encirclement of the Berlin group (500,000 men).
The Second Belorussian Front crossed the Oder and, breaking through the enemy defense, by April 25, advanced to a depth of up to 20 kilometers. They pinned down the Third German Tank Army, preventing it from being used at the approaches to Berlin.
Even though it was clearly doomed, the Berlin group put up stiff resistance. It was dissected by the Soviet forces into three isolated parts in fierce street fighting on April 26-28.
The fighting continued around the clock. Advancing to the city center, the Soviet troops had to fight for every street and every building. Some days, they would free up to 300 blocks. Hand-to-hand fighting erupted in metro tunnels, underground utility lines and underpasses. The main attack configuration during the fighting in the city was assault groups as part of rifle and tank units, reinforced by artillery, including 152 mm and 203 mm guns, for point-blank fire.
Tanks operated both as part of combined-arms rifle units and tank corps and armies, placed under the operational command of combined-arms armies or operating in their assault zone. The attempts to use tanks independently led to heavy losses from artillery fire and Faustpatrone antitank rocket launchers.
As Berlin was covered with smoke during the assault operation, the massive use of bombers was made difficult. The most powerful air strikes on city targets were delivered on April 25 and 26, with a total of 2,049 aircraft involved in the attack.
By April 28, the defenders of Berlin only controlled the central area of the city, which was shelled by Soviet artillery from all sides. Toward the evening of the same day, units of the Third Assault Army of the First Belorussian Front approached the Reichstag.
The Reichstag garrison had about 1,000 men and officers, and was constantly reinforced. It had a large number of machine-guns and antitank rocket launchers, as well as artillery systems. There were deep trenches, obstacles and machine-gun and artillery emplacements around the building.
On April 30, units of the Third Assault Army of the First Belorussian Front engaged the Reichstag garrison, which put up stiff resistance. It was not until the evening, after repeated attacks, that the Soviet troops broke into the building.
The Nazis fought back fiercely. There was hand-to-hand fighting in the corridors and on the stairs. Assault units took control of the Reichstag building step by step, room after room, floor after floor.
The Soviet soldiers’ path from the main entrance to the Reichstag to the roof was marked by red flags, big and small. On the night of April 30 to May 1, the Victory Banner was hoisted on the Reichstag roof. The fighting for the Reichstag continued until the morning of May 1, while some enemy groups, entrenched in the basement, only surrendered on May 2.
The Germans lost over 2,000 men and officers in the fighting for the Reichstag. The Soviet forces captured over 2,600 Nazis, 1,800 rifles and submachine-guns, 59 artillery systems, and 15 tanks and assault guns.
On May 1, units of the Third Assault Army, advancing from the north, met with the units of the Eighth Guards Army advancing from the south. Later in the day, two important defense nodes in Berlin surrendered – the Spandau Citadel and the Flakturm I flak tower (Zoo Tower).
By 3.00 pm on May 2, the enemy ended the resistance. The remains of the Berlin garrison – over 134,000 men – surrendered.
Results of the Berlin Operation
During the fighting, 125,000 of Berlin’s 2 million population were killed and a significant part of the city was destroyed. Of the city’s 250,000 buildings, about 30,000 were completely demolished, over 20,000 were partially destroyed and over 150,000 sustained medium level damage. Over one-third of the city’s metro stations were flooded and destroyed, and 225 bridges were demolished by the Nazis.
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