The Battle for Berlin

'Catastrophe was inevitable, if the Fuhrer did not reverse his decision to defend Berlin to the last man, sacrificing all who were left alive in the city for the sake of a crazy ideal. The struggle was devoid of all sense or purpose'.

General Weidling, April 29th.

Situation

The Russian assault on Berlin involved four Red Army fronts. Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front, having cleared the Baltic States, would be on the northern flank of the attack. It would protect Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front, which was to drive on the city proper, in coordination with Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front just to the south. Yeremenko's 4th Ukrainian Front would keep up the pressure on German forces to the south of the city. The Russian forces enjoyed a huge superiority in manpower, firepower and material.
Defending the path to the capital were German Army Groups Vistula, consisting of the 3rd Panzer and 9th Armies in the north and Army Group Centre, consisting of the 4th Panzer and 12th Armies in the south. Inside Berlin were some forty Volkssturm Battalions, the 1st 'Berlin' Flak Division, several engineer Battalions and several 'Police' Battalions.

The City Defences

Berlin's defences were built in a series of rings emanating from the city centre. The outer defence ring lay some 25 miles from the city centre and consisted of a basic defence line in the east, which utilised a chain of natural obstacles between the Dahme and Alte Oder Rivers and extended for approximately 50 miles.
The next defence line consisted of an obstacle belt blocking all major road junctions to the north and south of the city. Each roadblock was covered by defensive positions and built up areas within the belt were turned into strong points.
Next came an outer defensive ring, extending approximately 60 miles and based roughly on the line of the city boundary. The ring was prepared with fallback positions behind the Havel River to the west, the Wuhle River in the east, the Hohenzollern Canal to the north and the Teltow Canal in the south. The belt consisted of a single fire trench, interlocked with strong points and all road junctions in the belt were heavily barricaded. The eastern and southern outskirts were also masked by a continuous anti tank ditch.
The next line was an inner defence ring, extending for approximately 30 miles and based on the S-Bahn circuit. The S-Bahn line ran through deep cuttings and along steep sided embankments, which provided effective natural obstacles. All road crossings were again heavily barricaded and covered by dug in anti tank weapons. This defensive area was divided clockwise, into eight separate sectors labelled A-H, each with its own individual commander.
However by far the most effective obstacle, was formed by the final defence ring, named Citadelle. It was based on the island in the centre of the city, which was formed by the River Spree and the Landwehr Canal, with external bastions East and West around Alexander Platz and ErnstReuter Platz respectively. All side streets were barricaded to prevent vehicle movement and cellars and upper storeys of buildings were converted into strong points. All 483 bridges within the city were prepared for demolition in stages. This was to slow the Russian advance, yet still allow movement by the defenders. Also within Citadelle lay the three large flak towers at Friedrichshain, Humboldthain and the Zoo. These large towers were built to provide elevated platforms for the cities anti aircraft Batteries. The towers were bomb and shell proof and totally self-contained. Each housed an eight gun Battery of 128mm guns, which could also be used in the anti tank role.
On the 20th of April, Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday in his bunker, with his senior Nazi lieutenants in attendance, including Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels, Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring, Reichsfuerher Heinrich Himmler and Grand Admiral Dönitz. Hitler had decided to stay in Berlin to direct the operation personally, against the advice of most of his staff. The same day the 1st Belorussian Front's 1st Guards Tank Army reached the forward defence line, where it met resistance from the 56th Panzer Corps, which was desperately trying to maintain contact with 9th Army on its southern flank. The 2nd Belorussian Front began its crossing of the Oder, with elements of the 65th Army securing a reasonable bridgehead to the south of Kurzow.

The Encirclement of the City

During the morning of the 21st of April, the first Russian shells landed in Berlin, fired by Batteries of the 3rd Shock and 47th Armies from the eastern suburb of Bernau. The day also saw the last allied air raids of the battle, with control of Berlin's air space remaining solely with the Red Air Force. The 2nd Guards Tank Army crossed the autobahn ring to the northeast of the city, while to its south the 3rd Shock Army reached the suburb of Weissensee and the 5th Shock Army also reached Hohenschönhausen. The 56th Panzer Corps had meanwhile fallen back to the Köpenick-Marzahn area and lost contact with 9th Army to its southeast. The evening of the 21st saw the encirclement of the city completed as elements of the 3rd Guards Tank Army reached Königs Wusterhausen to the southeast of the city, linking up with units of the 8th Guards Army.On the 22nd of April, the German 9th Army was finally given permission to withdraw from the Frankfurt-an-der-Oder area into a bridgehead at Füsrtenwald, thus shortening its line and enabling a more cohesive defence.
On the 23rd of April, Hitler ordered Wenck's 12th Army to leave its positions behind the Elbe, where American forces had halted and come to the aid of Berlin. However Wenck, although a highly professional and able commander, was also a realist. He had made a very clear appreciation of the situation and he regarded that his primary task, despite Hitler's order, was to provide assistance to any forces attempting to escape the Berlin area and move westwards. The day also saw Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front force crossings of the Havel River. On the northern flank the 1st Polish Army attacked Oranienburg, while the 61st Army crossed the Oder-Havel Canal at Friedrichsthal and the 47th Army made the main crossing of the Havel at Hennigsdorf and then swung south to envelop the western edge of the city. Later that day the 47th Army's 125th Rifle Corps began to attack Spandau, while the 175th Rifle Division concentrated on the airfield at Gatow. To the east of the city, the 29th Guards Rifle Corps managed to capture intact, a rail bridge across the Spree River at Adlershof and secure a small bridgehead on the western bank.
On the 24th of April, Wenck's 12th Army began its relief operation to the southwest of the city. Meanwhile Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front encountered a particularly nasty obstacle, in the form of the Teltow Canal, which ran along the southern side of the city. The canal was wide and the Germans had heavily mined the approaches, blown all the bridges and built up a set of strong points on the far side of the canal. Cracking the Teltow Canal line fell to General Pavel Rybalko and his 3rd Guards Tank Army. He spent all of the previous day bringing up 3000 artillery pieces, mortars, and Katyusha rocket launchers, concentrating them on a narrow front. At 06:20 the barrage opened and then assault teams crossed the canal in collapsible boats. The German forces, bolstered by the newly arrived 20th Panzergrenadier Division, offered stiff resistance, but by early afternoon, a pontoon bridge had been constructed across the canal allowing Russian armour to cross. The 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Army also made good progress breaking through the outer obstacle belt and also breaching the city perimeter defences, reaching the southern suburbs of Dahlwitz and Rahnsdorf. It was here they ran into units of Konev's 3rd Guards Tank Army. This was the first time that Zhukov became aware of the presence of the 1st Ukrainian Fronts advance into Berlin from the south. The day also saw the appointment of General Helmuth Weidling as overall commander of the Berlin defence area.
In the meantime, armoured columns of the 2nd Belorussian Front had been circling around the city to the north, while counterparts in the 1st Ukrainian Front were moving up along the west side of city to meet them. Zhukov and Konev's tanks finally linked up at noon on the 25th of April, completing the encirclement of the city.
That same day, American and Russian units finally joined hands on the Elbe at Torgau, cutting Germany in half.

The Russians Enter the City

On the 25th of April, elements of the 3rd Shock Army crossed the Hohenzollern Canal at Wedding and Plötzensee in the north of the city and managed to establish small bridgeheads. The 12th Guards and 79th Rifle Corps, faced heavy resistance from the 9th Parachute Division in the industrial area north of Invalidenstrasse around Stettiner station. To the south of the city, the 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Army's attacked the Tempelhof airport, which was defended by units of the Münchberg Panzer Division and a Luftwaffe Flak unit. That night in the west of the city the 3rd Panzer Army was forced to withdraw from its positions along the Uecker River and the surrounded Hitlerjugend Volkssturm force defending Spandau managed to slip out through the encircling Russian positions and cross to the western bank of the Havel by the Charlotten Bridge.
On the 26th of April the first series of bridge demolitions took place and where possible the northern and eastern suburbs were evacuated of civilians. At dawn that morning, 12th Army's 20th Corps opened its relief attack from Rathenow to the northwest of the city, towards Potsdam. It caught the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps off guard and managed to make significant progress towards Brandenburg. To the south of the city, at midday, the defence at Templehof airport finally collapsed and units of the 8th Guards Army continued their advance towards the Landwehr Canal, with the remnants of the Münchberg Panzer Division retreating from Templehof to the Anhalter railway station.
On the 27th of April to the southwest of the city, the airport at Gatow also fell. Meanwhile, in the north of the city, the 12th Guards Tank Corps reached the northern bank of the Spree River near the Tiergarten, where they were halted by the remnants of the 9th Parachute Division in positions around the Stettiner railway station, being supported by the guns of the Humboldthain flak tower. The German defences in the centre of the city were being gradually squeezed into a thin area to the south of the Spree River. There were small isolated pockets of resistance everywhere that had been bypassed by the Russian advance, many of which, such as the Löwen Brewery, managed to hold out to the end.

The Noose Tightens

The Russian street fighting tactics, which were employed, were based on the principle that each street should be tackled by a complete rifle Regiment, with one Battalion working along each side of the street and a third Battalion in reserve. The troops rarely advanced directly down the street, but instead mouseholed their way through buildings at various levels using demolitions, while supporting artillery worked their way through back yards and alleyways. If the advance was held up by strong resistance, then artillery or armour would be brought forward and the building or strongpoint systematically reduced to rubble.
On the afternoon of the 28th, the 2nd Guards Tank Army's 79th Rifle Corps, had reached the northern end of the Moltke Bridge, which crossed the Spree, and from here they caught their first glimpse of the Reichstag Building. That evening the remnants of the encircled 9th Army began its breakout westwards towards Wenck's 12th Army. It consisted of the 11th SS Panzer, 5th SS Mountain, 5th Corps and the 21st Panzer Division. All equipment not necessary for the breakout was destroyed and with thousands of refugees in tow it began its move towards the bridges over the Dahme River to the west of Prieros. After a night of desperate against the 21st Rifle Corps situated around the village of Teurow, a breach was forced in the Russian line. Despite concentrated and constant artillery fire from the 1st Guards Artillery Division, the 11th SS Panzer and 5th Corps managed to pass through the breach. However by midday on the 29th the breach was closed, trapping the 5th SS Mountain Corps and elements of the 21st Panzer Division. Also during the night of the 28th, the 10th Guards Tank Corps launched an attack across the Teltow Canal at the southeastern tip of Wannsee Island. It soon established a small bridgehead and managed to lay a pontoon bridge across the canal and begin moving across support weapons and armour. The bridgehead was contained by the remnants of the 20th Panzergrenadier Division. At midnight on the 28th, the 79th Rifle Corps attacked across the Moltke Bridge. The initial infantry assault broke down under heavy artillery fire, but the attack was resumed with heavy tanks, which tried to force their way through the heavy barricade at the southern end of the bridge. This attack was also halted with anti tank guns, the few remaining tanks of the 11th SS Panzer Battalion and the guns of the Zoo flak tower. A third attack, again with infantry managed to get across and secure a small bridgehead in the Diplomatic Quarter. By daybreak on the 29th, sufficient forces had crossed the bridge to expand the bridgehead and the fighting moved into Moltkestrasse and Kronprinzenufer.
By the 29th the attack of Wenck's 12th Army had stalled south of Potsdam. On the morning of the 29th, the 1st Mechanized Corps, of the 2nd Guards Tank Army forced a crossing of the Spree over the locks near the Jungfernheide railway station, while the 219th Tank Brigade captured the station itself. The 89th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Army had advanced as far as Alexanderplatze, while the 266th Rifle Division was also engaged in heavy fighting in the Rotes Rathause, which was defended by elements of the 11th SS 'Nordland' Panzergrenadier Division.

End Game

By the morning of the 30th April, Russian forces had expanded the bridgehead on the southern side of the Moltke Bridge. The 150th Rifle Division captured the Ministry of the interior and the 171st Rifle Division had cleared the western half of the Diplomatic Quarter.
In the east of the city, 5th Shock Army's 94th Guards Rifle Division captured the Charité Hospital while the 266th Guards Rifle Division had crossed the Spree and captured Museum Island and the Dom Cathedral. Elements of the 32nd Rifle Corps also launched an attack across the Spree and its 60th Guards and 416th Rifle Division's captured the old Royal Palace, Schloss Berlin, while the 295th Rifle Division captured the Reichsbank. At 15:00 that day, Hitler committed suicide and by 17:00 efforts were being made to contact the Russians to negotiate surrender terms.
However, elsewhere the fighting continued and in the area of the Reichstag the 207th Rifle Division cleared the Kroll Opera House during the morning and the main attack against the Reichstag continued just before midday. The initial attack was repulsed, but a second attack was mounted in the afternoon following a huge barrage and assisted by tanks. Despite this the attack was held with assistance from the guns on the Zoo flak tower. The attack was finally resumed at 18:00 when a last desperate attempt was made to break into the Reichstag and raise a banner on the building before the beginning of the May Day celebrations in Moscow. Despite sustaining heavy casualties, some of the infantry managed to reach the front of the building and break in. Hand to hand fighting spread in to the stairwells and through the various floors inside the building, as the flag parties tried to fight their way to the top. A small group from the 150th Rifle Division's Red Banner No5 party managed the find a stairwell at the rear of the building and make their way to the roof, where at about 23:00 they hoisted their banner on the roof of the Reichstag.
Also during the day, the remaining elements of the 9th Army had completed its breakout and guided by radio, had managed to link up with 12th Army to the south of Beelitz.
On the 1st of May the fighting died down as the Russian troops made an attempt to take part in the May day celebrations and only in a few areas was there any activity. These included Charlottenburg, where the newly arrived 1st Polish Infantry Division was deployed. The garrison at Spandau also surrendered in the morning and fighting inside the Reichstag building continued through the day. Fighting also continued in the area of the Zoo flak tower, where the 12th Guards Tank Corps were pressuring the area of the racecourse and the 28th Guards Rifle Corps penetrated the residential area of the Tiergarten. A combined attack by the 29th Guards Rifle Corps against the area of the Zoo resulted in the defence there becoming cut off from the rest of the Citadelle defence zone.
On the evening of the 1st, General Weidling assembled all the remaining commanders of the defence zone and they agreed that surrender negotiations should begin with the Russians as soon as possible. An offer of surrender was broadcast from the 56th Panzer Corps HQ by radio and was received by the 79th Guards Rifle Division at 22:40 that night. The German envoy was received at the Bendlerstrasse Bridge in the early hours of the morning and taken to the HQ of the 47th Guards Rifle Division. The envoy was told that the German offer would be accepted and all troops were to begin their surrender at 07:00 on the 2nd of May. All fighting was to cease by 13:00 hours that day.
On the morning of the 2nd of May, in the 5th Shock Army's area the Reichs Chancellery was attacked by elements of the 9th Rifle Corps and captured. Konev's 1st Ukranian Front also began to withdraw from the city and move south to take part in the liberation of Czechoslovakia.

Conclusion

The Russian forces assembled for this operation held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, firepower and material and there could only be one conclusion to this battle. Hitler and his staff had lost all touch with reality and despite these overwhelming odds, they decided to fight on to the last, inflicting further misery and suffering on the German armed forces and the civilian population of Berlin.
The Russians, who had themselves had to endure four years of bitter conflict, were determined to inflict final and total defeat on Germany and nothing but complete and unconditional surrender would satisfy them.
Despite the German defences pitiful resources, they offered stubborn resistance in these last desperate days and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Russians employed the street fighting tactics they had first perfected in Stalingrad and ironically it was the heroic 62nd Army, renamed 8th Guards Army, commanded by Chuikov, that led the charge to the Reichstag.
The esteem that the battle carried with STAVKA is shown by the fact that over six hundred officers and men received the honour 'Hero of the Soviet Union' for their actions in Berlin. Success in Berlin marked the virtual end of the conflict on the eastern front and marked the beginning of the reshaping of Europe as the city and the country were divided amongst the victors.

For a full and in depth account of the battle for Berlin read Race for the Reichstag: The 1945 Battle for Berlin by Tony Le Tissier. See the sources page for details.