For the bombing campaign on Berlin by the RAF from November 1943 to March 1944, see Battle of Berlin (air). Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed The Battle of Berlin was a British bombing campaign on Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944 as well as other German cities to prevent concentration

Battle of Berlin Part of the Eastern Front of World War II Destruction in a Berlin street. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including jpg Destruction in Berlin 1945. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Date April 16 – May 2, 1945 Location Berlin, Germany Result Decisive Soviet victory Belligerents  Soviet Union Poland Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovsky 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[1] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defence Area – Hellmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[2] Strength Total strength 2,500,000 soldiers, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery pieces. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The People's Republic of Poland or Polish People's Republic ( Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL Russian Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The 1st Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 1st Byelorussian Front and 1st Belarusian Front) was a Front of the The 2nd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front and 2nd Belarusian Front) was a military subdivision (Front Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Рокоссо́вский Константи́н Константи́нович Konstanty Ksawerowicz Rokossowski ( &ndash August 3 1968 was The 1st Ukrainian Front (RussianПервый украинский фронт was a front —a force the size of a Western Army group —of the Soviet Union's Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев ( &ndash May 21, 1973) was a Soviet military commander who led Red Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] Gotthardt Heinrici ( December 25, 1886 – December 13, 1971) was a General in the German Army during World War Kurt von Tippelskirch ( 9 October 1891 &ndash May 10 1957) was a General in the German Army during World War Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II Ferdinand Schörner ( 12 June, 1892 - July 2, 1973; also Schoerner) was a General and later Field Marshal ( Generalfeldmarschall Hellmuth Reymann ( 24 November 1892 &ndash 8 December 1988) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling ( 2 November 1891 &ndash 17 November 1955) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht Surrender is when Soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and become Prisoners of war, either as [3][4] For the investment and assault on the Berlin Defence Area about 1,500,000 soldiers. Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy Fort (or town with armed forces to prevent entry or escape [5] Total strength 766,750 soldiers, 1,519 AFVs, 9,303 artillery pieces[6][7] In the Berlin Defence Area approximately 45,000 soldiers, supplemented by the police force, Hitler Youth, and 40,000 Volkssturm. An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( German:, The Volkssturm (lit "Folkstorm" "People's" or "National Militia" Sturm lit [5][8] Casualties and losses Archival research 81,116 dead or missing (including 2,825 Polish) 280,251 sick or wounded Total casualties 361,367 men 1,997 tanks, 2,108 artillery pieces, 917 aircraft[9] Initial Soviet estimate 458,080 killed, 479,298 captured[10]

The Battle of Berlin was one of the final battles^[11] of the European Theatre of World War II. The European Theatre of Operations ( ETO) was an area of heavy fighting across Europe during World War II, from Nazi Germany's Invasion of Poland In what was known to the Soviets as the "Berlin Offensive Operation", two massive Soviet army groups attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany.

The battle of Berlin lasted from late April 1945 until early May and was one of the bloodiest battles in history. Before the battle was over, German dictator Adolf Hitler and many of his followers committed suicide. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately The generally accepted cause of the death of Adolf Hitler on Monday 30 April 1945 is Suicide by gunshot and Cyanide poisoning The city's defenders surrendered on May 2. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. However, fighting continued to the north-west, west and south-west of the city until the end of the war in Europe on May 8 (May 9 in the USSR) as German units fought westward so that they could surrender to the Western Allies rather than to the Soviets. The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender took place in late April and early May 1945 Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of

Background

Starting on January 12, 1945, the Red Army began the Vistula-Oder offensive across the Narew River and from Warsaw — a three-day operation on a broad front which incorporated four army Fronts. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Narew Podlaskie Voivodeship The river Narew ( Belarusian: Нараў, Lithuanian: Naura) in western Belarus and north-eastern A Front (фронт was a major Military organization in the Soviet Army, roughly equivalent to an Army group in the military terminology of other countries On the fourth day, the Red Army broke out and started moving west, up to thirty to forty kilometres per day. They took the Baltic states, Gdańsk, East Prussia, and Poznań, drawing up on a line sixty kilometres east of Berlin, along the Oder River. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Poznań Lublin Voivodeship This article is about the city in Poland Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe.

The newly created Army Group Vistula, under the command of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, attempted a counter-attack but failed by February 24. Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the The Red Army then drove on to Pomerania. The Red Army cleared the right bank of the Oder River, thereby reaching into Silesia. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Etymology One theory claims that the name Silesia is derived from the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic people

In the south the Battle of Budapest raged. The Siege of Budapest was a siege of the Hungarian Capital city of Budapest, fought towards the end of World War II in Europe Three German attempts to relieve the encircled Hungarian capital city failed. Budapest fell to the Soviets on February 13. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Again the Germans counter-attacked, Adolf Hitler insisting on the impossible task of regaining the Danube River. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj By March 16, the Germans' Lake Balaton Offensive had failed. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Operation Spring Awakening ( Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) ( 6 March 1945 &ndash 16 March 1945) was the last major German offensive Within twenty-four hours, the Red Army's counter-attack took back everything the Germans had gained in ten days. On March 30, the Soviets entered Austria and, during the Vienna Offensive, they captured Vienna on April 13. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front in order to capture Vienna, Austria. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople

By this time, it was clear that the final defeat of the Third Reich was only a few weeks away. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Wehrmacht had, at most, eight percent of the fuel it needed to operate effectively, and both the production and the quality of fighter aircraft and tanks deteriorated from their heights in 1944. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical ^[12] However, it was also known that the fighting would be as fierce as at any other time in the war. The Germans fought bitterly, because of national pride, the Allied insistence on unconditional surrender, and to buy time for the German people to flee from the Red Army. Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions except for those provided by International law.

Adolf Hitler decided to remain in the city, against the wishes of his advisers. On April 12, Hitler heard the news that the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had died. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. This briefly raised false hopes in the Führerbunker that there might yet be a falling out among the Allies, and that Berlin would be saved at the last moment as had happened once before when Berlin was threatened (see The miracle of the House of Brandenburg). The Führerbunker ( German, literally meaning "shelter for the leader" or "the Führer's shelter" is a common name for a complex of subterranean rooms The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg refers to the death of Russia 's Empress Elizabeth (at the age of 52 at the beginning of 1762.

The Western Allies had tentative plans to drop paratroopers to occupy Berlin in case of a sudden German collapse. The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. Those plans had been drawn up out of memory of the sudden unexpected collapse at the end of World War I, so that important prisoners and documents could be captured rather than lost. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^[13] No offensive was planned to seize the city by a ground operation were made. ^[14] U. S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower saw no need to suffer casualties in attacking a city that would be in the Soviet sphere of influence after the war. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general A sphere of influence ( SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural economic military or political domination ^[12] General Eisenhower also worried about western troops colliding with Soviet troops with many casualties from friendly fire. Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, refers to fire from one's own side or allied forces as Since the Red Army, at the time the decision was made in late March, were much closer to Berlin than the Western armies that battle was left to the Soviets. ^[15] The major Western Allied contribution to the battle was the strategic bombing of Berlin during 1945. Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during World War II. During 1945 USAAF launched a number of very large daytime raids on Berlin and for 36 nights in succession scores of RAF Mosquitos bombed the German capital, ending on the night of 20/21 April 1945 just before the Soviets entered the city. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Preparations

The Soviet offensive into central Germany — what later became East Germany — had two objectives. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Stalin did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory occupied by them in the post-war Soviet zone, so he began the offensive on a broad front and moved rapidly to meet the Western Allies as far west as possible. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party But the overriding objective was to capture Berlin. The two were complementary because possession of the zone could not be won quickly unless Berlin was taken. Another consideration was that Berlin itself held useful post-war strategic assets, including Adolf Hitler and the German atomic bomb programme. The German nuclear energy project in Nazi Germany was informally known as the Uranverein (Uranium Club and it began in April 1939 just months ^[16]

On 6 March, Hitler appointed Lieutenant General Helmuth Reymann as the commander of the Berlin Defence Area replacing Lieutenant General Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Lieutenant General is a Military rank used in many countries The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the Hellmuth Reymann ( 24 November 1892 &ndash 8 December 1988) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild ( 9 June 1896 &ndash 10 March 1953) born Bruno Hauenschild, was a General in the

On 20 March, General Gotthard Heinrici was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula replacing Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Gotthardt Heinrici ( December 25, 1886 – December 13, 1971) was a General in the German Army during World War Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Heinrici was one of the best defensive tacticians in the German army. He immediately started to lay defensive plans. Heinrici correctly assessed that the main Soviet thrust would be made over the Oder River and along the main east-west Autobahn. The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. (German ˈaʊtoːbaːn plural Autobahnen; English /ˈɔːtəʊbɑːn/ is the German word for a major high- Speed Road restricted to motor He decided not to try to defend the banks of the Oder with anything more than a light skirmishing screen. Skirmishers are Infantry or Cavalry Soldiers stationed ahead or alongside of a larger body of friendly troops Instead, Heinrici arranged for engineers to fortify the Seelow Heights which overlooked the Oder River at the point where the Autobahn crossed it. A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive defensive and logistical structures for Warfare Other duties include the The Seelow Heights are situated around the town Seelow, about 90 Kilometres east of Berlin and overlook the western flood plain of the River Oder This was some 17 kilometers west of the Oder and 90 kilometers east of Berlin. Heinrici thinned out the line in other areas to increase the manpower available to defend the heights. German engineers turned the Oder's flood plain, already saturated by the spring thaw, into a swamp by releasing the waters in a reservoir upstream. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use Behind this the engineers built three belts of defensive emplacements. These emplacements reached back towards the outskirts of Berlin (the lines nearer to Berlin were called the Wotan position). These lines consisted of anti-tank ditches, anti-tank gun emplacements, and an extensive network of trenches and bunkers. Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide (as opposed to a wider Gully or Ditch A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks ^[17][18]

On 9 April, Königsberg in East Prussia finally fell to the Red Army. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Kaliningrad (Калининград is a Seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian Exclave between Poland East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part This freed up Marshal Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front to move west to the east bank of the Oder river. Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Рокоссо́вский Константи́н Константи́нович Konstanty Ksawerowicz Rokossowski ( &ndash August 3 1968 was The 2nd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front and 2nd Belarusian Front) was a military subdivision (Front The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. During the first two weeks of April the Red Army performed their fastest Front redeployment of the war. Marshal Georgy Zhukov concentrated his 1st Belorussian Front which had been deployed along the Oder river from Frankfurt in the south to the Baltic, into an area in front of the Seelow Heights. The 1st Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 1st Byelorussian Front and 1st Belarusian Front) was a Front of the Frankfurt (Oder is a City in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River on the German- Polish border directly opposite the The Seelow Heights are situated around the town Seelow, about 90 Kilometres east of Berlin and overlook the western flood plain of the River Oder The 2nd Belorussian Front moved into the positions being vacated by the 1st Belorussian Front north of the Seelow Heights. While this redeployment was in progress, gaps were left in the lines and the remnants of General Dietrich von Saucken's German II Army, which had been bottled up in a pocket near Danzig, managed to escape into the Vistula Delta. Dietrich von Saucken ( 16 May, 1892 &ndash 27 September, 1980) was a German General in the Wehrmacht Heer The 2nd Army (German 2 Armee Oberkommando) was a World War I and World War II field army Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland To the south, Marshal Konev shifted the main weight of the 1st Ukrainian Front out of Upper Silesia north-west to the Neisse River. Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев ( &ndash May 21, 1973) was a Soviet military commander who led Red The 1st Ukrainian Front (RussianПервый украинский фронт was a front —a force the size of a Western Army group —of the Soviet Union's Upper Silesia (Horní Slezsko Oberschlesien Latin: Silesia Superior; Górny Śląsk Silesian: Gůrny Ślůnsk) is the southeastern part Neisse redirects here for other meanings see Neisse (disambiguation The Lusatian Neisse (Lužická Nisa Lausitzer Neiße Nysa Łużycka ^[19] The three Soviet Fronts had altogether 2. 5 million men (including 78,556 soldiers of the 1st Polish Army), 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery pieces and mortars, 3,255 truck-mounted Katyusha rocket launchers (nicknamed 'Stalin's Pipe Organs'), and 95,383 motor vehicles, many manufactured in the USA. The Polish First Army (Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego 1 AWP for short was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 from previously existing Polish I Corps Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories Katyusha multiple rocket launchers (Катюша are a type of Rocket artillery originally built and fielded by the Soviet Union in the Second World War ^[19]

Battle of the Oder-Neisse

Main article: Battle of the Oder-Neisse

The sector in which most of the fighting in the overall battle took place was the Seelow Heights, the last major defensive line outside Berlin. See also Battle of Berlin The Battle of the Oder-Neisse is the German name for the initial (operational phase of one of the last two Strategic offensives The Seelow Heights are situated around the town Seelow, about 90 Kilometres east of Berlin and overlook the western flood plain of the River Oder The Battle of the Seelow Heights was one of the last pitched battles of World War II. The Battle of the Seelow Heights (Schlacht um die "Seelower Höhen" was a part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation (16 April 1945 - 2 May 1945 one of A pitched battle is a Combat fought on a Battlefield expected to be site of engagement by both sides Fought over four days from April 16 until April 19, 1945, it required a commitment of almost one million Red Army troops and more than 20,000 tanks and artillery pieces were in action to break through the "Gates to Berlin" which was defended by about 100,000 German soldiers and 1,200 tanks and guns. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar

On April 19, the fourth day, the 1st Belorussian Front broke through the final line of the Seelow Heights and nothing but broken German formations lay between them and Berlin. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer The 1st Ukrainian Front, having captured Forst the day before, was fanning out into open country. Forst ( Sorbian: Baršć) is a Town in Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the German- Polish border One powerful thrust by Gordov's 3rd Guards Army and Rybalko's 3rd and Lelyushenko's 4th guards tank armies were heading north east towards Berlin while other armies headed west towards a section of United States Army front line south west of Berlin on the Elbe. The 3rd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II, notably in 1945. Marshal of the Armoured Troops Pavel Semjonovich Rybalko (23 October 1892 &ndash 28 August 1948 (Russian Павел Семенович Рыбалко was a commander of armoured Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko ( Дмитрий Данилович Лелюшенко in Russian) (&ndashJuly 20 1987 was a Soviet military commander The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. In doing so, the Soviet forces were driving a wedge between the German Army Group Vistula in the north and Army Group Centre in the south. Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II

By the end of 19 April the German eastern front line north of Frankfurt around Seelow and to the south around Forst had ceased to exist. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Frankfurt (Oder is a City in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River on the German- Polish border directly opposite the These breakthroughs allowed the two Soviet fronts to envelop the German IX Army in a large pocket west of Frankfurt. The pincer movement or double envelopment is a basic element of Military strategy which has been used to some extent in many Wars and is considered The 9th Army (9 Armee was a World War II field army The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command Attempts by the IX Army to break out to the west would result in the Battle of Halbe. The Battle of Halbe (Хальбский "котел" Halbe cauldron lasted from April 24 to May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the ^[20][21] The cost to the Soviet forces had been very high between 1 April and 19 April, with over 2,807 tanks lost,^[22] including at least 727 at the Seelow Heights. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer

Encirclement of Berlin

March 20, 1945, photo of Adolf Hitler meeting with the Hitler Youth before the battle ^[23]

On 20 April, Hitler's birthday, Soviet artillery of 1st Belorussian Front began to shell the centre of Berlin and did not stop until the city surrendered. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. After the war the Soviets claimed that the weight of explosives delivered by their artillery during the battle was greater than the tonnage dropped by the Western Allied bombers on the city. 1st Belorussian Front advanced towards the east and north-east of the City.

1st Ukrainian Front had pushed through the last formations of the northern wing of Army Group Centre and had passed north of Juterbog well over halfway to the American front lines on the river Elbe at Magdeburg. Jüterbog (2002 pop 13604 is a City in north-eastern Germany, located in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, on the Nuthe The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. Magdeburg ( Low Saxon: Meideborg ˈmaˑɪdebɔɐx the Capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany To the north between Stettin and Schwedt, 2nd Belorussian Front attacked the northern flank of Army Group Vistula, held by Hasso von Manteuffel's III Panzer Army. Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder) (pronunciation) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel ( January 14, 1897 &mdash September 24, 1978) was a German soldier and liberal politician of The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. ^[24][21]

On 21 April, the Bogdanov's 2nd Guards Tank Army advanced nearly 50 km north of Berlin and then attacked south west of Werneuchen. Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) The Second Tank Army was formed in January - February 1943 on the basis of the 3rd Reserve Army of the Bryansk Front. Werneuchen is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, in the district of Barnim northeast of Berlin within the Metropolitan area. Other Soviet units reached the outer defence ring. The Soviet plan was to encircle Berlin first and then envelop the IX Army. ^[25]

The command of the V Corps trapped with the IX Army north of Forst, passed from IV Panzer Army to the IX Army. There are several communities that share the name Forst. In Germany Forst (Baden, in Baden-Württemberg Forst (Lausitz, in The corps was still holding onto Cottbus. Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: Chóśebuz) is a City in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the When the old southern flank of IV Panzer Army had some local successes counter attacking north against 1st Ukrainian Front, Hitler gave orders which showed that his grasp of military reality had gone. He ordered IX Army to hold Cottbus and set up a front facing west. Then they were to attack into the Soviet columns advancing north. This would allow them to form the northern pincer which would meet with the IV Panzer Army coming from the south and envelop the 1st Ukrainian Front before destroying it. They were to anticipate an attack south by the III Panzer Army and to be ready to be the southern arm of a pincer attack which would envelop 1st Belorussian Front which would be destroyed by SS-General Felix Steiner's Army Detachment advancing from north of Berlin. The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. Felix Martin Julius Steiner ( 23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German Heer and Waffen-SS officer who served Army Detachment Steiner ( Armeeabteilung Steiner) was a temporary military unit something more than a corps but less than an army created on paper by German dictator Adolf Later in the day, when Steiner made it plain that he did not have the divisions to do this, Heinrici made it clear to Hitler's staff that unless the IX Army retreated immediately it was about to be enveloped by the Soviets. He stressed it was already too late for it to move north-west to Berlin and would have to retreat west. Heinrici went on to say that if Hitler did not allow it to move west he would ask to be relieved of his command. ^[26]

On April 22, at his afternoon situation conference Hitler fell into a tearful rage when he realised that his plans of the day before were not going to be realised. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. He declared that the war was lost, he blamed the generals and announced that he would stay on in Berlin until the end and then kill himself. In an attempt to coax Hitler out of his rage, General Alfred Jodl speculated that the XII Army, under the command of General Walther Wenck, that was facing the Americans, could move to Berlin because the Americans, already on the Elbe River, were unlikely to move further east. Alfred Jodl (10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946 was a German military commander attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Walther Wenck ( September 18, 1900 &ndash May 1, 1982) was the youngest General in the German Army during the Second The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. Hitler immediately grasped the idea and within hours Wenck was ordered to disengage from the Americans and move the XII Army north-east to support Berlin. It was then realised that, if the IX Army moved west, it could link up with the XII Army. In the evening Heinrici was given permission to make the link up. ^[27]

Away from the map room in the Berlin Führerbunker with its imaginary attacks of phantom divisions, the Soviets were getting on with winning the war. The Führerbunker ( German, literally meaning "shelter for the leader" or "the Führer's shelter" is a common name for a complex of subterranean rooms 2nd Belorussian Front had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oder over 15 km deep and was heavily engaged with the III Panzer Army. The IX Army had lost Cottbus and was being pressed from the east. Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: Chóśebuz) is a City in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the A Soviet tank spearhead was on the Havel river to the east of Berlin and another had at one point penetrated the inner defensive ring of Berlin. The Havel (ˈhaːfəl is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ^[28]

A Soviet war correspondent gave this account, in the zealous style of World War Two Russian journalism, of an important event that day—the capital was now within range of field artillery.

On the walls of the houses we saw Goebbel's appeals, hurriedly scrawled in white paint: 'Every German will defend his capital. We shall stop the Red hordes at the walls of our Berlin. ' Just try and stop them!
Steel pillboxes, barricades, mines, traps, suicide squads with grenades clutched in their hands—all are swept aside before the tidal wave.
Drizzling rain began to fall. Near Bisdorf I saw batteries preparing to open fire.
'What are the targets?' I asked the battery commander.
Centre of Berlin, Spree bridges, and the northern and Stettin railway stations,' he answered.
Then came the tremendous words of command: 'Open fire at the capital of Fascist Germany. '
I noted the time. It was exactly 8:30 a. m. on 22 April. Ninety-six shells fell in the centre of Berlin in the course of a few minutes. ^[29]

On 23 April, the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front and 1st Ukrainian Front continued to tighten the encirclement, including severing the last link that the German IX Army had with the city. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Elements of 1st Ukrainian Front continued to move westward and started to engage the German XII Army moving towards Berlin. On this same day, Hitler appointed General Helmuth Weidling as the commander of the Berlin Defence Area replacing Lieutenant General Reymann. Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling ( 2 November 1891 &ndash 17 November 1955) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht

By April 24 elements of 1st Belorussian Front and 1st Ukrainian Front had completed the encirclement of the city. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to ^[30]

The next day, 25 April, the Soviet investment of Berlin was consolidated with leading Soviet units probing and penetrating the S-Bahn defensive ring. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy Fort (or town with armed forces to prevent entry or escape By the end of the 25 April there was no prospect that the German defence of the city could do anything but temporarily delay the capture of the city by the Soviets as the decisive stages of the battle had already been fought and lost by the Germans outside the city. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. ^[31]

Battle in Berlin

Main article: Battle in Berlin

The forces available to Weidling for the city's defence included several severely depleted Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions, in all about 45,000 men. The Battle in Berlin was a part of the Battle of Berlin. While the Battle of Berlin encompassed the attack by three Soviet Army Groups to capture Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" These divisions were supplemented by the police force, boys in the compulsory Hitler Youth, and the Volkssturm. Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force The military use of Children takes three distinct forms children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers or they can be used in support roles such as porters spies messengers For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( German:, The Volkssturm (lit "Folkstorm" "People's" or "National Militia" Sturm lit Many of the 40,000 elderly men of the Volkssturm had been in the army as young men and some were veterans of World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The commander of the central district, SS Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, who had been appointed to this position by Hitler, had over 2,000 men under his command. Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945 SS - Brigadeführer ( Major General) Wilhelm Mohnke ( 15 March 1911 &ndash 6 August 2001) was one ^[5][32]

Soviet Katyusha multiple rocket launchers fire in Berlin, April 1945. Katyusha multiple rocket launchers (Катюша are a type of Rocket artillery originally built and fielded by the Soviet Union in the Second World War This example is a BM-13N, 132 mm rocket launcher mounted on a Lend-Lease U. Lend-Lease (Public Law 77-11 was the name of the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, S. Studebaker truck. Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker, was a United States Wagon and Automobile manufacturer based in

Weidling organized the defences into eight sectors designated 'A' through to 'H' each one commanded by a colonel or a general, but most had no combat experience. ^[5] To the west of the city was the XX Infantry Division. 20th Infantry Division 20th Motorized Infantry Division 20th Panzergrenadier Division The German 20th Infantry Division was established in 1934 To the north of the city was the IX Parachute Division. The German 9th Parachute Division was one of the final parachute divisions to be raised by Germany during World War II. To the north-east of the city was the Panzer Division Müncheberg. Panzer-Division Müncheberg was a German Panzer division which saw action on the Eastern Front around Berlin during To the south-east of the city and to the east of Tempelhof Airport was the XI SS Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. For the United States Air Force military use of this facility see Tempelhof Central Airport Berlin-Tempelhof Airport also The reserve, XVIII Panzergrenadier Division, was in Berlin's central district. German 18th Infantry Division (September 1939 &ndash November 1940) Redesignated German 18th Motorised Infantry Division (November 1940 ^[33]

Berlin's fate was sealed, because the decisive stages of the battle were fought outside the city, but the resistance inside continued. ^[31] On 23 April Berzarin's 5th Shock Army and Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army assaulted Berlin from the south east and after overcoming a counter attack by the German LVI Panzer Corps had by the evening of the 24 April reached the Berlin S-Bahn ring railway on the north side of the Teltow Canal. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Nikolai Erastovich Berzarin ( Russian Николай Эрастович Берзарин (born April 1, 1904 in St Marshal of the Armored Troops Mikhail Efimovich Katukov ( September 17, 1900 - June 8, 1979) (Михаил Ефимович Катуков The 1st Guards Tank Army was a Soviet armoured formation that fought as part of the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II. LVI Panzer Corps was a tank corps in the German Army during World War II. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to The Berlin S-Bahn is a Rapid transit system operated by S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn. Teltow is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg, Germany. During the same period, of all the German forces ordered to reinforce the inner defences of the city by Hitler, only a small contingent of French SS volunteers under the command of Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg arrived in Berlin. ^[34]

On 25 April, Krukenberg was appointed as the commander of Defence Sector C, the sector under the most pressure from the Soviet assault on the city^[35]

The location of Neukölln

On 26 April German General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling was appointed commander of the Berlin Defence Area. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Events 1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy. Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling ( 2 November 1891 &ndash 17 November 1955) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht ^[36] Chuikov's 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army fought their way through the southern suburbs and attacked Tempelhof Airport, just inside the S-Bahn defensive ring, where they met stiff resistance from the Müncheberg Division. Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в ( February 12 1900 - March 18 1982) was a Lieutenant general The Soviet 8th Guards Army was an army of the Soviet Union 's Red Army, disbanded in the early 1990s For the United States Air Force military use of this facility see Tempelhof Central Airport Berlin-Tempelhof Airport also ^[37] But by the 27 April the two understrength Müncheberg Norland divisions defending the south east, now facing five Soviet armies, – from east to west they were the 5th Shock Army, the 8th Guards Army, the 1st Guards Tank Army and Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army (part of the 1st Ukrainian Front), were forced back towards the centre taking up new defensive positions around Hermannplatz and Krukenberg informed General Hans Krebs Chief of the General Staff of (OKH) that within 24 hours the Nordland would have to fall back to the centre sector Z (for Zentrum). Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Marshal of the Armoured Troops Pavel Semjonovich Rybalko (23 October 1892 &ndash 28 August 1948 (Russian Павел Семенович Рыбалко was a commander of armoured Hans Krebs may refer to Hans Krebs (general (1898-1945 German general officer during World War II Hans Krebs (National Socialist The chief of staff is the chief aide to the Commander of larger military Formations and Units It is sometimes the case that the chief of staff is more directly The German General Staff ( Großer Generalstab literally Great General Staff) was an institution whose rise and development gave the German military a decided The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 ^[38]

Soviet soldiers storming the Berlin U-Bahn

The Soviet advance to the city centre was along these main axes: from the south east, along the Frankfurter Allee (ending and stopped at the Alexanderplatz); from the south along Sonnen Allee ending north of the Belle Alliance Platz, from the south ending near the Potsdamer Platz and from the north ending near the Reichstag. The Berlin de U-Bahn (de Untergrundbahn underground railway is a major part of the Public transport system of the German capital Berlin. is a large open square and public transport hub in the Berlin district of Mitte in the city centre near the river Spree and the Berliner Dom The Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, the first Parliament of the German Empire. ^[39] The Reichstag, the Moltke bridge, Alexanderplatz, and the Havel bridges at Spandau were the places where the fighting was heaviest, with house-to-house and hand-to-hand combat. Melee (from the French mêlée meˈleː generally refers to disorganized Close combat involving a group of fighters The foreign contingents of the SS fought particularly hard, because they were ideologically motivated and they believed that they would not live if captured. ^[40]

Battle for the Reichstag

In the early hours of the 29 April the Soviet 3rd Shock Army crossed the Moltke bridge and started to fan out into the surrounding streets and buildings. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. The 3rd Shock Army (Третья ударная армия was a Field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The initial assaults on buildings, including the Ministry of the Interior, were hampered by the lack of supporting artillery. It was not until the damaged bridges were repaired that artillery could be moved up in support. ^[41] At 04:00 hours, in the Führerbunker, Hitler signed his last will and testament and, shortly afterwards, married Eva Braun. The last will and testament of Adolf Hitler was dictated by Hitler to his secretary Traudl Junge in his Berlin Führerbunker on April 29 Eva Anna Paula Braun, died Eva Anna Paula Hitler ( 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was the longtime companion of ^[42][43] At dawn the Soviets pressed on with their assault in the south east. After very heavy fighting they managed to capture the Gestapo headquarters on Prinz-Albrechtstrasse, but a Waffen SS counter-attack forced the Soviets to withdraw from the building. The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany Niederkirchnerstraße, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, is a street in Berlin, the capital of Germany. ^[44] To the south west the 8th Guards Army attacked north across the Landwehr canal into the Tiergarten. ^[45]

Flak tower (anti-aircraft blockhouse) in Berlin Zoo, after the battle. Flak towers ( German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces In Military science, a blockhouse is a small isolated Fort in the form of a single building The Berlin Zoological Garden (Zoologischer Garten Berlin is the oldest and internationally most well known zoo in Germany. In the foreground two destroyed IS-2 tanks can be seen

By the next day, 30 April, the Soviets had solved their bridging problems and with artillery support at 06:00 they launched an attack on the Reichstag, but because of German entrenchments and support from 88 mm guns two kilometres away on the Berlin Zoo flak tower it was not until that evening that the Soviets were able to enter the building. The Iosif Stalin tank (or IS tank, named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin) was a heavy Tank developed Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule The 88 mm gun ( eighty-eight) is a German anti-aircraft and anti-tank Artillery gun from World War II. The Berlin Zoological Garden (Zoologischer Garten Berlin is the oldest and internationally most well known zoo in Germany. Flak towers ( German: Flaktürme) were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses used by the Luftwaffe to prevent overflights of key areas in certain The Reichstag had not been in use since 1934 when it burned and the insides resembled a rubble heap more than a government building. The German troops inside had made excellent use of this and lay heavily entrenched waiting. Fierce room-to-room fighting ensued and it was not until two days later that the Red Army controlled the building entirely. The famous photo of the two soldiers planting the flag on the roof of the building is a propaganda photo taken after the building was taken. However another flag was planted earlier by two different soldiers during the fight itself.

Battle for the centre

During the morning of 30 April, Weidling informed Hitler in person that the defenders would probably exhaust their ammunition through the night. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Hitler gave him permission to attempt a breakout through the encircling Red Army lines. That afternoon, Hitler and Braun committed suicide. The generally accepted cause of the death of Adolf Hitler on Monday 30 April 1945 is Suicide by gunshot and Cyanide poisoning Their bodies were cremated not far from the bunker. In accordance to Hitler's last will and testament, Admiral Karl Dönitz became the "President of Germany" (Reichspräsident) in the new Flensburg government, and Joseph Goebbels became the new Chancellor of Germany (Reichskanzler). The last will and testament of Adolf Hitler was dictated by Hitler to his secretary Traudl Junge in his Berlin Führerbunker on April 29 Karl Dönitz (ˈdøːnɪts) (16 September 1891 &ndash 24 December 1980 was a German naval Commander who served The Reichspräsident was the German Head of state during the period of the 1919-1934 Weimar Republic and the title was later briefly revived The Flensburg government was the short-lived administration that attempted to rule Germany during most of May 1945 at the very end of World War II. Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation ˈɡœbəls English generally ˈɡɝbəlz (29 October 1897 1 May 1945 was a German politician and Reich Minister of Public The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler

As the perimeter shrank and the surviving defenders fell back, they became concentrated into a small area in the city centre. By now there were about 10,000 German soldiers in the city centre, which was being assaulted from all sides. One of the other main thrusts was along Wilhelmstrasse on which the Air Ministry, built of reinforced concrete, was pounded by large concentrations of Soviet artillery. Reinforced concrete is Concrete in which reinforcement bars (" Rebars quot or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be The remaining German Tiger tanks of the Hermann von Salza battalion took up positions in the east of the Tiergarten to defend the centre against Kutznetsov's 3rd Shock Army (which although heavily engaged around the Reichstag was also flanking the area by advancing through the northern Tiergarten) and the 8th Guards Army advancing through the south of the Tiergarten. Hermann von Salza or Hermann of Salza (c 1179 &ndash March 20, 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving These Soviet forces had effectively cut the sausage shaped area held by the Germans in half and made any escape attempt to the west for German troops in the centre much more difficult. ^[46]

At about 04:00 on 1 May, Krebs talked to General Chuikov, commander of the Soviet 8th Guards Army, informing him of Hitler's death and a willingness to negotiate a city wide surrender. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. However, they could not agree on terms because of Soviet insistence on unconditional surrender and Kreb's claim that he lacked authorisation to agree to that. ^[47] In the afternoon Goebbels (who was against surrender) and his family killed themselves. Goebbels's suicide removed the last impediment preventing Weidling's being able to accept the terms of unconditional surrender of his garrison, but he chose to delay the surrender until the next morning to give some time until dark for the planned breakout. ^[48]

Breakout and surrender

General Helmut Weidling (left) among captured German generals on May 2, 1945

Hitlerjugend prisoners of war in the streets of Berlin, 1945

On the night of 1/2 May, most of the remnants of the Berlin garrison attempted to break out of the city centre in three different directions. Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling ( 2 November 1891 &ndash 17 November 1955) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( German:, Only those that went west through the Tiergarten and crossed the Charlottenbrücke (a bridge over the Havel) into Spandau succeeded in breaching Soviet lines. The Havel (ˈhaːfəl is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. For the Spandau machine gun see Maschinengewehr 08. For the 1980s New Romantic group see Spandau Ballet. However, only a handful of those who survived the initial breakout made it to the lines of the Western Allies — most were either killed or captured by the Soviets. The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. ^[49][50]

Early in the morning of 2 May, the Soviets captured the Reich Chancellery. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. The Reich Chancellery ( German Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the German Chancellor The military historian Antony Beevor points out that as most of the German combat troops had left the area in the breakouts the night before, the resistance must have been far less than it had been inside the Reichstag. ^[51]

General Weidling surrendered with his staff at 06:00 hours. He was taken to see General Vasily Chuikov at 08:23. Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в ( February 12 1900 - March 18 1982) was a Lieutenant general Weidling agreed to order the city's defenders to surrender to the Soviets. Under General Chuikov's and Vasily Sokolovsky's direction, Weidling put his order to surrender in writing. Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (Васи́лий Дани́лович Соколо́вский (July 21 1897 - May 10 1968 Soviet military commander was born into a peasant ^[52][53]

The 350-strong garrison of the Zoo flak tower finally left the building. There was sporadic fighting in a few isolated buildings where some SS still refused to surrender. The Soviets simply reduced such buildings to rubble. Beevor suggests that most Germans, both soldiers and civilians, were grateful to receive food issued at Red Army soup kitchens. The Soviets went house to house and rounded up anyone in a uniform including firemen and railway-men and marched them all eastward as prisoners of war. ^[54]

Battle outside Berlin

At some point on 28 April or 29 April, General Gotthard Heinrici, Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula, was relieved of his command after disobeying Hitler's direct orders to hold Berlin at all costs and never order a retreat. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Gotthardt Heinrici ( December 25, 1886 – December 13, 1971) was a General in the German Army during World War Army Group Vistula ( Heeresgruppe Weichsel) was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24[[ 945]] As a result, Heinrici was replaced by General Kurt Student. Kurt Student ( May 12, 1890 &ndash July 1, 1978) was a German Luftwaffe General who fought as General Kurt von Tippelskirch was named as Heinrici's interim replacement until Student could arrive and assume control. Kurt von Tippelskirch ( 9 October 1891 &ndash May 10 1957) was a General in the German Army during World War ^[55][56][57] There remains some confusion as to who was actually in command as some references say that Student was captured by the British and never arrived. ^[36] Regardless of whether von Tippelskirch or Student was in command of Army Group Vistula, the rapidly deteriorating situation that the Germans faced meant that Army Group Vistula coordination of the armies under its nominal command during the last few days of the war was of little significance.

On the evening of 29 April, Krebs contacted General Alfred Jodl (Supreme Army Command) by radio: "Request immediate report. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Alfred Jodl (10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946 was a German military commander attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Firstly of the whereabouts of Wenck's spearheads. Secondly of time intended to attack. Thirdly of the location of the IX Army. Fourthly of the precise place in which the IX Army will break through. Fifthly of the whereabouts of General Rudolf Holste's spearhead. Rudolf Holste ( 9 April 1897 &ndash 4 December 1970) was a German officer during World War I and World War II "^[52]

In the early morning of 30 April, Jodl replied to Krebs: "Firstly, Wenck's spearhead bogged down south of Schwielow Lake. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Secondly, XII Army therefore unable to continue attack on Berlin. Thirdly, bulk of IX Army surrounded. Fourthly, Holste's Corps on the defensive. Rudolf Holste ( 9 April 1897 &ndash 4 December 1970) was a German officer during World War I and World War II XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written XLI Panzer Corps) was a tank Corps in the German Army during World War II. "^[52]

Battle north of Berlin

While the 1st Belorussian Front and the 1st Ukrainian Front encircled Berlin, and started the battle for the city itself, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front started his offensive to the north of Berlin. On the 20 April between Stettin and Schwedt, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front attacked the northern flank of Army Group Vistula, held by the III Panzer Army. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder) (pronunciation) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. ^[21] By 22 April, the 2nd Belorussian Front had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oder that was over 15 km deep and was heavily engaged with the III Panzer Army^[28]

On 25 April, the 2nd Belorussian Front broke through III Panzer Army's line around the bridgehead south of Stettin and crossed the Randowbruch Swamp. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. They were now free to move west towards Montgomery's British 21st Army Group and north towards the Baltic port of Stralsund. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC, (məntˈgʌmərɪ əv ˈæləmeɪn The 21st Army Group was a formation comprising British and Canadian forces stationed in the United Kingdom Stralsund (ˈʃtʁaːlzʊnt is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern Coast of the Strelasund (a sound ^[58]

The German III Panzer Army and the German XXI Army situated to the north of Berlin retreated westwards under relentless pressure from Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front, and was eventually pushed into a pocket 20 miles (32 km) wide that stretched from the Elbe to the coast. The 21st Army was also known as the 21 Armee Norwegen or the Norweien Armee. To their west was the British 21st Army Group (which on May 1 broke out of its Elbe bridgehead and had raced to the coast capturing Wismar and Lübeck), to their east Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front and to the south was the Ninth United States Army which had penetrated as far east as Ludwigslust and Schwerin. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Wismar (ˈvɪsmaʁ is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about Lübeck ( is the second largest City in Schleswig-Holstein, in Northern Germany, and one of the major The Ninth United States Army was one of the main US Army combat commands used during the campaign in northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945 Ludwigslust ( is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Schwerin (ʃveˈʁiːn is a City in northern Germany and the capital of the state ^[59]

Battle south of Berlin

See also: Battle of Halbe

The successes of the 1st Ukrainian Front during the first nine days of the battle meant that by 25 April, they were in occupying large swaths of the area south and south west of Berlin. The Battle of Halbe (Хальбский "котел" Halbe cauldron lasted from April 24 to May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Their spearheads had met elements of the 1st Belorussian Front west of Berlin, completing the investment of the city. Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy Fort (or town with armed forces to prevent entry or escape

On the 25th the 1st Ukrainian Front's 58th Guards Division of the 5th Guards Army made contact with the US 69th Infantry Division of the First Army near Torgau, on the Elbe River. Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, was the date Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany The 69th Infantry Division was a formation of the United States Army formed during World War II. The First United States Army was a field army of the United States Army. Torgau is a Town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. ^[58]

These manoeuvres had broken the German forces south of Berlin into three parts. The German IX army was surrounded in the Halbe pocket. The Battle of Halbe (Хальбский "котел" Halbe cauldron lasted from April 24 to May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the Wenck's XII Army, obeying Hitler's command of the 22 April, was attempting to force its way into Berlin from the south west but met stiff resistance from units of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the area of Potsdam. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Also see Potsdam New York (in the USA For the Potsdam Conference see Potsdam Conference. Schörner's Army Group Centre was forced to withdraw from the Battle of Berlin, along its lines of communications towards Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Between 24 April and 1 May, the German IX Army fought a desperate action to break out of the pocket in an attempt to link up with the German XII Army. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. The 9th Army (9 Armee was a World War II field army The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command Hitler assumed that after a successful breakout from the pocket, that the IX Army could combine forces with the XII Army and they would be able to relieve Berlin. ^[60] However there is no evidence to suggest that Generals Heinrici, Busse or Wenck thought that this was even remotely strategically feasible, but Hitler's agreement to allow the IX Army to break through Soviet lines did provide a window of opportunity through which sizable numbers of German troops were able to escape west and surrender to the United States Army. ^[61]

At dawn on 28 April, the youth divisions Clausewitz, Scharnhorst and Theodor Körner, attacked from the south west toward the direction of Berlin. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title They were part of Wenck's XX Corps and were made up of men from the officer training schools, making them some of the best units the Germans had in reserve. They covered a distance of about 24 kilometres (15 miles), before being halted at the tip of Lake Schwielow, south-west of Potsdam and still 32 kilometres (20 miles) from Berlin. ^[62]

On 28 April, General Hans Krebs, Chief German General Staff, made his last telephone call from the Führerbunker. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Hans Krebs may refer to Hans Krebs (general (1898-1945 German general officer during World War II Hans Krebs (National Socialist The chief of staff is the chief aide to the Commander of larger military Formations and Units It is sometimes the case that the chief of staff is more directly The German General Staff ( Großer Generalstab literally Great General Staff) was an institution whose rise and development gave the German military a decided The Führerbunker ( German, literally meaning "shelter for the leader" or "the Führer's shelter" is a common name for a complex of subterranean rooms He called General Wilhelm Keitel at the new Supreme Command Headquarters in Fuerstenberg. Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (22 September 1882–16 October 1946 was a German Field marshal ( Generalfeldmarschall) Krebs told Keitel that, if relief did not arrive within 48 hours, all would be lost. Under pressure, Keitel promised to exert the utmost pressure on Generals Wenck and Busse in their attempts to relieve Berlin.

On the night of 28 April, General Wenck reported to the German Supreme Army Command in Fuerstenberg that his XII Army had been forced back along the entire front. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title According to Wenck, no attack on Berlin was now possible. This was even more so as support from the IX Army could no longer be expected at this point. ^[52]

About 25,000 German soldiers of the IX Army along with several thousand civilians succeeded in reaching the lines of the XII Army after breaking out of the Halbe pocket. The casualties on both sides were very high. About 20,000 soldiers of the Red Army also died trying to stop the breakout; most are buried at a cemetery next to the Mark-Zossen road. These are the known dead, but the remains of more who died in the battle are found every year so the total of those who died will never be known. Nobody knows how many civilians died but it could have been as high as 10,000. ^[24]

Having failed to break through to Berlin, Wenck's XII army made a fighting retreat back towards the Elbe and American lines after providing the IX Army survivors with surplus transport. ^[63][57] By 6 May many German Army units and individuals had crossed the Elbe and surrendered to the US Ninth Army. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. The Ninth United States Army was one of the main US Army combat commands used during the campaign in northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945 Meanwhile, the XII's bridgehead with its headquarters in the park of Schönhausen, had come under under heavy Soviet artillery bombardment and had been compressed into an area eight by two kilometres (five by one and a quarter miles)^[64]

Surrender

On the night of 2/3 May, General Hasso von Manteuffel, commander of the III Panzer Army along with General Kurt von Tippelskirch, commander of the XXI Army, surrendered to the US Army. Schönhausen is a municipality in the district of Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, located 70km north of the state capital of Magdeburg Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel ( January 14, 1897 &mdash September 24, 1978) was a German soldier and liberal politician of Kurt von Tippelskirch ( 9 October 1891 &ndash May 10 1957) was a General in the German Army during World War ^[57] Von Saucken's II Army, that had been fighting north east of Berlin in the Vistula Delta, surrendered to the Soviets on 9 May. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of ^[59]

On the morning of 7 May, the perimeter of Wenck's XII Army's bridgehead began to collapse. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Wenck crossed the Elbe under small arms fire that afternoon and surrendered to the American Ninth Army. ^[64] Those who did not cross the Elbe surrendered to the Soviets.

Aftermath

c1,100,000 Soviet personnel were awarded the medal for the capture of Berlin from 9th June 1945.

A devastated street in the city centre, 3 July 1945

Volkssturm prisoners captured by 1st Belorussian front, Berlin, 1945

According to Grigoriy Krivosheev's work based on declassified archival data, Soviet forces sustained 20,000–25,000 dead in the city, and 81,116 for the entire operation,^[6] which included the Battles of Seelow Heights and the Halbe; some earlier Western estimates are much higher. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The Volkssturm (lit "Folkstorm" "People's" or "National Militia" Sturm lit Grigoriy Fedotovich Krivosheyev (Григорий Федотович Кривошеев (b ^[65] Another 280,251 were reported wounded or sick during the operational period. Included in that total are Polish forces, which lost 2,825 killed or missing and 6,067 wounded in the operation. ^[66] The operation also cost the Soviets about 2,000 armored vehicles, though the number of irrevocable losses (write-offs) is not known. Initial Soviet estimates based on kill claims placed German losses at 458,080 killed and 479,298 captured. The number of civilian casualties is unknown. ^[67]

The Red Army made a major effort to feed the residents of the city. ^[68] However, in many areas of the city, vengeful Soviet troops (often rear echelon units^[69]) looted, raped an estimated 100,000 women and murdered civilians for several weeks (see Red Army atrocities). Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes committed by the Red Army 's (1918-1946 later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single ^[70] In the preceding months, as the Red Army began its offensives into Germany proper, STAVKA recognized the potential for lapses in discipline involving vengeful troops and had been able to check such behavior to a certain extent. Marshal Konev, in a January 27 order near the conclusion of the Vistula-Oder Offensive supplied a long list of commanders to be reassigned to penal battalions for looting, drunkenness, and excesses against civilians. Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев ( &ndash May 21, 1973) was a Soviet military commander who led Red Penal Battalions, penal companies, etc are military units consisting of convicted persons for which Military service was either the ^[71] The initial chaos in the aftermath of Berlin, however, was far too widespread to be deterred or controlled. Some Soviet officers resorted to punishing or even shooting offending troops on the spot in the streets. ^[72] After the summer of 1945, Soviet authorities regained discipline over their troops, and Soviet soldiers caught raping were usually officially punished to various degrees. ^[73] However, Berlin had been suffering food shortages for many months, caused by Allied strategic bombing and exacerbated by the final military assault on the city. ^[74] Despite serious Soviet efforts to supply food and rebuild the city,^[75] starvation remained a problem. Almost all the transport in and out of the city had been rendered inoperative, and bombed-out sewers had contaminated the city's water supplies. In June of 1945, one month after the surrender, when the Americans arrived in their sector of Berlin they found that average calorie intake of Berliners was low as they were getting only 64 percent of a 1,240-calorie daily ration. ^[76] Varying degrees of rape particularly in the Soviet occupation zone, became ways through which some women managed to secure the necessities of day-to-day life. ^[77][78] Some rapes continued until the winter of 1947–48, when the Soviet occupation authorities finally eliminated the problem by confining the Soviet troops to strictly guarded posts and camps. ^[79]

See also

• Battle of Breslau a contemporary siege that lasted for 82 days. The Battle of Breslau, also known as the Siege of Breslau, was a three month long Siege of the city of Breslau in Lower Silesia, Germany ^[80]
• German Instrument of Surrender, 1945
• German WWII strongholds
• Leonidas Squadron
• National Redoubt
• Race to Berlin
• Mikhail Minin

References

• Beevor, Antony. The German Instrument of Surrender was the Legal instrument by which the High Command of the German Armed Forces surrendered simultaneously to the Supreme German strongholds during World War II ( Festung “ Fortresses �� were the selected towns and cities so designated by Adolf Hitler to resist the Allied offensives The Leonidas Squadron, formally known as 5th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200 was a unit which was originally formed to fly the Fieseler Fi 103R A national redoubt is a general term for an area to which the (remnant forces of a nation can be withdrawn if the main battle has been lost—or even beforehand if defeat is considered The Race to Berlin refers mainly to the competition between two Soviet Marshals to be the first to enter Berlin during the final months of World War II The Battle of Berlin Joseph Stalin had urged his troops to mount the flag on the Reichstag building no later than May 1, 1945. Antony James Beevor (born 14 December 1946) is a British Historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, 2002, ISBN 0-670-88695-5
• Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047
• Krivosheev, G. F. Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century, Greenhill Books, 1997, ISBN 1-85367-280-7
• Naimark, Norman M. The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949, Cambridge: Belknap, 1995, ISBN 0-674-78405-7
• Ziemke, Earl F. Battle For Berlin: End Of The Third Reich, NY: Ballantine Books, London: Macdomald & Co, 1969.

Further reading

• Antill, P. Battle for Berlin: April – May 1945. Includes the Order of Battle for the Battle for Berlin (Le Tissier, T. The Battle of Berlin 1945, Jonathan Cape, London, 1988. pp. 196 – 214).
• Anonymous; A Woman in Berlin: Six Weeks in the Conquered City Translated by Anthes Bell, ISBN 0-8050-7540-2
• Read, Anthony and Fisher, David; The Fall of Berlin, London: Pimlico, 1993. Marta Hillers (1911–2001 was a German journalist and the author of the autobiographical Eine Frau in Berlin ( A Woman in Berlin A Woman in Berlin ( Eine Frau in Berlin) is a published Diary of the period from 20 April to 22 June 1945 in Berlin ISBN 0-7126-0695-5
• Hastings, Max; Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945, Macmillan, 2004, ISBN 0-333-90836-8
• Ryan, Cornelius; The Last Battle, ISBN 0-684-80329-1
• Sanders, Ian J. Cornelius Ryan, ( 5 June 1920 &ndash 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American Journalist and Author mainly known  ; Photos of World War 2 Berlin Locations today
• Shepardson, Donald E. ; "The Fall of Berlin and the Rise of a Myth", The Journal of Military History, Vol.  62, No.  1. (1998), pp.  135–153.
• Remme, Tilman; The Battle for Berlin in World War Two BBC article
• White, Osmar By the eyes of a war correspondent Alternative account of crimes against civilians

Footnotes