Berlin offensive operation (1945). Berlin offensive operation (1945) In April 1945, the

Battle for Berlin. Complete chronicle - 23 days and nights Suldin Andrey Vasilyevich

April 16, 1945

The victorious Berlin strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops began. The fulfillment of this task was assigned to three fronts: 1st Belorussian (commander Marshal Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov), 1st Ukrainian (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev) and 2nd Belorussian (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky) with the participation of part of the forces Baltic Fleet(Admiral V.F. Tributs), the Dnieper military flotilla, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army.

The operation was to develop as follows. A blow in the general direction to Berlin is delivered by the 1st Belorussian Front, at the same time part of the forces bypassing the city from the north; The 1st Ukrainian Front delivers a cutting blow south of Berlin, bypassing the city from the south. The 2nd Belorussian delivers a cutting blow north of Berlin, securing the right flank of the 1st Belorussian Front from possible enemy counterattacks from the north, and eliminates all enemy troops north of Berlin, pressing them to the sea. The beginning of the operation was set by the Headquarters for the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts on April 16, for the 2nd Belorussian - on April 20 (this period was determined taking into account the regrouping of troops from east to west).

Berlin was not only the political stronghold of fascism, but also one of the largest centers of the country's military industry. The main forces of the Wehrmacht were concentrated in the Berlin direction. That is why their defeat and the capture of the capital of Germany should have led to a victorious conclusion to the war in Europe.

The grouping of Soviet troops consisted of 2.5 million people, 6250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7500 combat aircraft. For the first time in the history of the war, before the start of the offensive, our troops simultaneously turned on 140 powerful anti-aircraft searchlights that illuminated the battlefield.

In the Berlin direction, the troops of the Vistula Army Group under the command of Colonel General G. Heinrici, and the Center Army Group under the command of Field Marshal F. Scherner took up the defense. In total, Berlin was defended by 48 infantry, 6 tank and 9 motorized divisions, 37 separate infantry regiments, 98 separate infantry battalions, as well as a large number of separate artillery and special units and formations, numbering about 1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 tanks and assault guns and 3,300 combat aircraft. The operational density of the German forces was one division per 3 km of the front. In Berlin itself, more than 200 Volkssturm battalions were formed, and the total number of the garrison exceeded 200 thousand people.

Soviet fighters are advancing along one of the Berlin streets.

The essence of the strategic plan of the supreme command of the Wehrmacht was to hold the defense in the east at any cost, to contain the offensive of the Soviet Army, and in the meantime try to conclude a separate peace with the United States and England. The Nazi leadership put forward the slogan: "It is better to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-Saxons than to let the Russians into it." The special instructions of the National Socialist Party of April 3 stated: “The war is decided not in the West, but in the East ... Our eyes must be turned only to the East, regardless of what happens in the West. Holding the Eastern Front is a prerequisite for a turning point in the course of the war.

In the Berlin direction, a defense in depth was prepared, the construction of which began as early as January 1945. Prisoners of war and foreign workers were driven to the construction of defensive structures, the local population was involved - in total over four hundred thousand people. Selected police and SS units were concentrated in the city. For the defense of a special sector, many SS regiments and separate battalions located in the nearest areas were pulled together. These SS troops were led by the head of Hitler's personal guard Monke. Settlements were turned into strong strongholds. Using locks on the Oder River and numerous canals, the Nazis prepared a number of areas for flooding. The most equipped defense in terms of engineering was on the Zelov (Zeelovsky) heights - in front of the Kyustrinsky bridgehead. During the construction of the defensive line, the German command paid special attention to the organization of anti-tank defense, which was based on a combination of artillery fire, assault guns and tanks with engineering barriers, dense mining of tank-accessible areas and the mandatory use of such natural obstacles as rivers, canals and lakes. Numerous minefields were created. The average density of mining in the most important directions reached 2 thousand mines per 1 km. By the beginning of the offensive of the Soviet troops, the enemy comprehensively prepared the Berlin defensive area. Numerous anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire were erected on the streets.

On April 16, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts went on the offensive. At 5 o'clock in the morning the earth behind the Oder shuddered and groaned. All artillery opened fire at the same time strictly according to the planned plan. He was fired at previously shot targets. For example, the 47th Army broke through the enemy defenses on a front of 4.3 kilometers. 20 artillery regiments, 3 artillery brigades, 7 mortar regiments, 2 regiments and a brigade of guards mortars, 5 self-propelled artillery regiments participated in the artillery preparation. Only about three hundred barrels per one kilometer of the front. Each gun had three sets of ammunition, each mortar - four. This has never happened in the entire war! The enemy positions were drowned in a sea of fire, the air was filled with a continuous rumble.

A barrage of fire raged over the positions of the Nazis for twenty-five minutes. Five minutes before the end of the last artillery raid, the infantry began advancing to the front line of the enemy defenses. In the area of the 175th Rifle Division, the infantry came close to the explosions of their shells and, two minutes before the end of the last fire raid, demanded that the fire be transferred to the first line of the firing shaft. At 5.25, at the signal of green rockets, the infantrymen made a throw. The soldiers attacked in unison, in an organized manner, confidently controlled by the heroes of close combat - the commanders of platoons, companies and battalions.

“At a signal,” as G.K. Zhukov, - 140 searchlights flashed, located every 200 meters. More than 100 billion candles illuminated the battlefield, blinding the enemy and snatching objects of attack from the darkness for our tanks and infantry. It was a picture of great impressive power, and perhaps in all my life I do not remember an equal sensation. The artillery intensified the fire even more, the infantry and tanks rushed forward together, their attack was accompanied by a powerful double barrage of fire. By dawn, our troops had overcome the first position and launched an attack on the second position.

The enemy, who had a large number of aircraft in the Berlin area, was unable to effectively use his aircraft at night, and in the morning our attacking echelons were so close to the enemy troops that their pilots were not able to bomb our advanced units without risking hitting their own.

Hitler's troops were literally crushed by a sea of fire and metal. An impenetrable wall of dust and smoke hung in the air, and in places even the powerful beams of anti-aircraft searchlights could not penetrate it, but this did not bother anyone.

Our aircraft flew over the battlefield in waves. At night, several hundred bombers hit distant targets where artillery did not reach. Other bombers interacted with the troops in the morning and afternoon. During the first day of the battle, more than 6550 sorties were carried out.

On the first day, 1,197,000 shots were planned for only one artillery, in fact, 1,236,000 shots were fired. Think about these numbers! 2450 wagons of shells, that is, almost 98 thousand tons of metal, fell on the head of the enemy. The enemy defenses were destroyed and suppressed to a depth of 8 kilometers, and individual nodes of resistance - to a depth of 10-12 kilometers.

On the morning of April 16, Soviet troops were successfully moving forward in all sectors of the front. However, the enemy, having come to his senses, began to resist from the Seelow Heights with his artillery, mortars, and groups of bombers appeared from the direction of Berlin. And the further our troops advanced to the Seelow Heights, the stronger the resistance of the enemy grew.

The Seelow Heights dominated the surrounding area, had steep slopes and were in every respect a serious obstacle on the way to Berlin. They stood like a solid wall in front of our troops, covering the plateau on which the battle was to unfold on the near approaches to Berlin.

It was here, at the foot of these heights, that the Germans expected to stop our troops. Here they concentrated the greatest number of forces and means.

The Seelow Heights not only limited the actions of our tanks, but were also a serious obstacle to artillery. They closed the depth of the enemy's defense, making it impossible to observe it from the ground from our side. Artillerymen had to overcome these difficulties by intensifying their fire and often shooting at squares.

For the enemy, the retention of this most important line was also of moral importance. After all, behind him lay Berlin! Hitler's propaganda in every possible way emphasized the decisive importance and insurmountability of the Seelow Heights, calling them either "Berlin's castle" or "an insurmountable fortress."

G.K. Zhukov: “In order to strengthen the blow of the attacking troops and certainly break through the defenses, we decided, after consulting with the commanders, to additionally bring into action both tank armies of Generals M.E. Katukov and S.I. Bogdanov. At 2:30 p.m., I already saw from my observation post the movement of the first echelons of the 1st Guards Tank Army.

However, the tank and mechanized corps were drawn into stubborn battles and could not break away from the infantry. The Soviet troops had to successively break through several lines of defense. In the main areas near the Seelow Heights, it was possible to break through the defenses only on April 17th. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Neisse River and on the first day of the offensive broke through the enemy's main line of defense.

The commander of the 334th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Upper Dnieper Red Banner Guard Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Fyodor Alexandrovich Gorashchenko, deployed his batteries almost at the edge of the Stadt-Graben canal and, in cooperation with artillerymen and mortarmen, with close range began to shoot the enemy defending the opposite bank. The infantry of the assault battalions, under the cover of artillery and mortar fire on boats and swimming on improvised means found here near the canal, crossed to the opposite bank of the canal and captured the fourth (main) trench of the first position of the enemy's main line of defense. As always, the communists were in the forefront of the attackers.

With frequent counterattacks, the enemy tried to stop the advance of our troops. But, as the commander of the 125th Rifle Corps, Major General Andrei Matveevich Andreev, recalled, in the reports of the division commanders received by the headquarters of the corps, with a sober assessment of the current situation, one felt confident that the assigned tasks would be completed. This confidence came from an absolute conviction in the high combat capabilities of the troops. In the final battle for Berlin, it was difficult to find a squad, crew, platoon, company, battery, whose soldiers would not have shown in battles, in addition to courage and courage, mature military skill, ingenuity, and military cunning. Thanks to these qualities, like no one else, modest war workers - sappers - always succeed.

On the eve of the offensive, the commander of a sapper platoon from the 277th Infantry Regiment, Junior Lieutenant Mikhail Chupakhin, under enemy fire, personally made a passage through the enemy's wire fence and minefields, removing more than a hundred mines. The next day, Chupakhin, together with his subordinates, again built a bridge across the Stadt-Graben canal under fire, and only after a second wound was evacuated to the hospital.

The sappers of the 696th separate sapper battalion also distinguished themselves. They always worked with high quality, with a display of initiative, which contributed to their achievement of combat results with a minimum expenditure of forces and means, while preserving the lives of fighters and large material values for the Motherland. During the fighting on April 16, 1945, sappers removed 289 anti-tank, 132 anti-personnel mines, 48 high-explosive explosives and neutralized 43 shells. Hero of the Soviet Union Junior Sergeant Ivliev cleared 120 anti-tank mines, Sergeant Chernyshev with his squad removed 160 anti-tank mines. And this is during the day, under enemy fire!

Soviet troops are fighting on the streets of Berlin

In the battles on the outskirts of Berlin, the 24-year-old commander of the battery control platoon of the 142nd cannon artillery brigade (1st Belorussian Front) Kudaibergen Magzumovich Suraganov, correcting the fire of the battery, helped the rifle units in the exit to the Oder-Spree canal. For this feat he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on May 15, 1946.

The Red Army soldier of the 1st machine-gun company of the 1285th rifle regiment Yushchenko said before the battle: “Now we have read the Appeal of the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front - the hour has come for the last retribution against the Nazi barbarians for the atrocities and crimes they committed. Great and mighty is the power of the Red Army, and this power that we bear, we will mercilessly bring down on the head of the enemy. We will fulfill the order of the Motherland - in two hours we will go forward to victory.

Red Army soldier Kuznetsov from the 5th company of the 2nd rifle battalion of the 216th rifle regiment of the 76th rifle division said: “I am glad that I have lived to see this historic day when we begin the decisive assault on Berlin. I will not spare my strength and life and will carry out the combat order.”

Severely wounded in the first battles of the battle, the foreman of the machine-gun company of the 277th rifle Karelian Red Banner, the Order of the Suvorov regiment of the 175th rifle division, a member of the CPSU (b) A. Rakhimbaev said: “It’s not a pity that he was wounded, but it’s a pity that he didn’t reach Berlin !" He was echoed by a Red Army soldier of the 6th company of the 278th rifle Revdinsky orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov regiment of the 175th rifle division Ivan Zakharovich Zheldin:

“I am very sorry that I was injured. I would also like to take revenge on the Germans, because they killed my two sons.”

You can continue to quote the statements of the heroes of the battle for Berlin. All of them in those memorable hours before our decisive attack on the lair of the fascist beast thought about the Motherland, about fulfilling their sacred duty to it. And it is no coincidence that on the historic night of April 16, 1945, the party organizations of the 1st Belorussian Front received more than 2 thousand applications from soldiers and commanders who decided to go into battle as communists.

Experienced front-line soldiers who distinguished themselves in battles with the Nazi invaders were accepted into the party and the Komsomol. Before the beginning of the Berlin operation, at a meeting of the primary party organization of the 3rd division of the 969th artillery Prague Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment, the gun commander of this division, Kazakh sergeant Mussamim Bekzhegitov, was admitted to membership in the CPSU (b), as having particularly distinguished himself in battles with the Germans in the cities of Schneidemuhl and Altdamm. During the liquidation of the enemy bridgehead on the right bank of the Oder, his gun was on direct fire and shot the Nazis point-blank. On March 15, 1945, Bekzhegitov's crew, together with the shooters, repulsed three enemy counterattacks and at the same time knocked out two self-propelled guns and destroyed more than 15 Nazis.

In his statement, Bekzhegitov wrote: “I ask the primary party organization of the 3rd division to accept me as a member of the CPSU (b), since I want to be a member of the party that leads us to complete victory over the enemy. In the final battles, I will spare no effort, and if necessary, even my life, in order to fulfill any combat order of the command. I will justify the title of a member of the party in battles with honor.

On the night of April 16, 1945, the gunner of the 120-mm mortar battery of the 1281st Infantry Regiment, Hero of the Soviet Union, Junior Sergeant Petr Petrovich Shlyakhturov was accepted as a candidate member of the CPSU (b) on the night of April 16, 1945.

On the same night, Captain I. Grab, assistant chief of the political department of the 60th Infantry Division for Komsomol, handed Komsomol tickets to the Red Army soldier of the 1285th Infantry Regiment Sukharsky, Sergeant Mishagin, Junior Lieutenant Chepkasov and others. Receiving a ticket, the commander of the rifle squad, Fyodor Mishagin, said: “I am glad that I receive a Komsomol ticket in such decisive battles with the Nazis. I will fight in such a way that, together with my comrades, I will be the first to come to Berlin and hoist the Banner of Victory in it.

Komsomol member Mishagin kept his word. After artillery preparation on April 16, 1945, he was the first to attack and boldly went forward, leading the squad. In this battle, he killed three Nazis from a machine gun. When the enemy launched a counterattack, Mishagin told his fighters: “Not a step back! We'd rather die than give up our occupied frontier. We will keep him." And they survived.

As the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev: “I had to deal with incorrect statements in the Western press that on the first day of the Berlin operation on both fronts - the 1st Belorussian and the 1st Ukrainian - the attack was carried out according to a single plan. This is not true. The coordination of the actions of both fronts was carried out by the Headquarters, and the fronts, as usual, mutually exchanged information and operational intelligence reports. Naturally, on the first day of the operation, each of the fronts chose its own method of attack, based on its assessment of the situation. On the 1st Belorussian Front, it was decided to carry out a powerful artillery preparation at night and an attack by the light of searchlights. At 1st Ukrainian, a completely different method was chosen. We planned a longer artillery preparation than our neighbor's, designed to ensure the crossing of the Neisse River and the breakthrough of the enemy's main line of defense on the opposite western bank. In order for the crossing to take place more discreetly, it was completely unprofitable for us to cover the breakthrough zone. On the contrary, it was much more profitable to lengthen the night. In total, the artillery preparation was to last two hours and thirty-five minutes, of which an hour and forty were given to ensure the crossing and another forty-five minutes to prepare an attack already on the west bank of the Neisse. During this time, we expected to suppress the entire control and surveillance system of the Germans, their artillery and mortar positions. Aviation, acting to an even greater depth, had to complete the defeat of the enemy, concentrating blows on his reserves.

The Red Army soldier Ladeyshchik was the first to burst into the enemy's trench and destroyed four Nazis with machine gun fire. The rest of the German soldiers, leaving the machine gun, fled. The squad leader, Sergeant Kolyakin, destroyed a German machine gun along with the calculation with grenades. The fighters of Sergeant Kolyakin's department exterminated 30 German soldiers and officers in a day. Red Army machine gunner Kochmuratov, repelling an enemy counterattack, destroyed more than 40 enemy submachine gunners with well-aimed fire.

As the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky: “On April 16, a cannonade came from the south. It was the troops of the neighbor of the 1st Belorussian Front that moved forward. Our turn was drawing near. On the initiative of the army commanders, separate units crossed the eastern branch of the river into the floodplain at night and seized the dams there. The subordinates of P.I. Batov. The advanced battalions of the division P.A. Teremov, for example, occupied the surviving supports of the highway, knocking out the Nazis who had settled there. Thus, original bridgeheads were created among the flooded floodplain, where the troops were gradually transported. Subsequently, this greatly facilitated the crossing of the river. One could talk a lot about the heroic sorties of our scouts, who searched at night on the western bank of the West Oder. They got there by swimming, sometimes seized important objects under the very noses of the Nazis and held them, fighting with the enemy many times superior.

Berlin radio that day broadcast the following message: "In the Furstenfeld area, the German troops again achieved complete success in defense." At the time when this message was transmitted, the Germans had already been driven out of the city of Furstenfeld and, under the blows of the Soviet troops, were retreating to the west.

On April 16, 86 German tanks and self-propelled guns were knocked out and destroyed on all fronts. In air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire, 50 enemy aircraft were shot down.

The newspaper "Pravda" reported: - Leading "Increase the output of consumer goods":

It should be firmly understood that when planning the production of consumer goods, those products that consumers especially need should be taken into account. The 1st Mechanical Plant of the Moskvoretsky Trust of Moscow received an order for beds, spoons, locks, bowls and flints for lighters, but the director took the easy path: he fulfills 75 percent of the plan through the least troublesome and labor-intensive production - flints. There are also cases of marriage at individual enterprises: the Tula artel, for example, produced black dresses sewn with white thread, and the artel in Saratov produced shoes, of which one pair was yellow, the other Brown.

- Yesterday, a solemn meeting of party and Soviet activists took place in Kyiv, dedicated to the opening of the Kyiv branch of the Central Museum of V.I. Lenin. Fraternal republics took an active part in the restoration of the branch in 17 halls. A copy of the office of Vladimir Ilyich was made in Moscow, the Tbilisi Museum of V.I. Lenin sent the most valuable material about the life and work of I.V. Stalin, a model of a house in Gori, where Comrade Stalin was born, a model of the Avlabari printing house.

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Battle for Berlin. Complete Chronicle - 23 days and nights author Suldin Andrey Vasilievich

April 5, 1945 In the course of the war, Soviet troops have not yet had to take such large, heavily fortified cities as Berlin. His total area was equal to almost 900 square kilometers. Metro and widely developed underground facilities made it possible for enemy troops

From the author's book

April 6, 1945 On April 6, 28 German tanks and self-propelled guns were knocked out and destroyed on all fronts. In air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire, 14 enemy aircraft were shot down. * * * Twice Hero of the Soviet Union became the Soviet commander Joseph Iraklievich Gusakovsky

From the author's book

April 7, 1945 The work of commanders, political workers, aimed at revealing the bestial nature of fascism, contributed to the upbringing of a feeling of hatred for the enemy. Even near Warsaw, employees of the political departments of divisions paid much attention to stories about the atrocities of the Nazis in From the author's book

April 11, 1945 The road to Berlin was not easy. Preparing for the offensive, the commander of the 125th Rifle Corps, Major General A.M. Andreev conducted a reconnaissance of the areas of crossings and terrain in the zone of upcoming hostilities with the commanders of rifle divisions,

From the author's book

April 12, 1945 On April 12, 40 German tanks and self-propelled guns were knocked out and destroyed on all fronts. 37 enemy planes were shot down in air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire. * * * * American troops are stationed near Magdeburg, 60 kilometers from Berlin. In the area of the Ruhr

From the author's book

April 13, 1945 Given the experience of previous battles, for the personnel of the units preparing for the storming of Berlin, leaflets were issued with summary of what every soldier needs to know, participating in the breakthrough of a heavily fortified, defense in depth

From the author's book

April 14, 1945 By order of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, reconnaissance in force was carried out on the entire line of contact between the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front and the enemy on April 14-15.

From the author's book

On April 15, 1945, Hitler made a special appeal to the soldiers of the Eastern Front. He urged at all costs to repel the offensive of the Soviet army. Hitler demanded that anyone who dared to retreat or give the order to withdraw be shot on the spot. Appeals

From the author's book

April 16, 1945 The victorious Berlin strategic offensive operation of the Soviet troops began. The fulfillment of this task was assigned to three fronts: 1st Belorussian (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov), 1st Ukrainian (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union

From the author's book

On April 17, 1945, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, advancing in the Berlin direction, broke through the enemy defenses on the Seelow Heights. From the early morning of April 17, fierce battles broke out in all sectors of the front. The enemy resisted fiercely. However, by the evening,

From the author's book

April 18, 1945 On the right flank, the 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front expanded its bridgehead on the Oder, the 47th Army advanced south of Vritsen and entered the Vritsen-Schulzdorf highway, the 3rd Shock Army reached Meglin in the middle of the day, and in the afternoon overcame the defense

From the author's book

April 19, 1945 The second stage of the Berlin operation began. The troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Ost-Oder River and cleared the area between the Ost-Oder and the West-Oder from German troops. The troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts broke through the enemy defenses on

From the author's book

On April 21, 1945, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front cut the Berlin ring road and entered the northern outskirts of Berlin. there are fights. 61st Army, 1st Army

From the author's book

April 29, 1945 The most fierce battles unfolded in the center of Berlin. The German troops, squeezed in the central regions of the German capital, offered desperate resistance. Soviet units of the 1st Belorussian Front (Commander Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Despite heavy losses, the enemy persistently rushed to the west. Its maximum advance was more than 30 km, and the minimum distance between the formations of the 9th and 12th armies that delivered counter strikes was only 3-4 km. However, by the beginning of May, the Frankfurt-Guben group had ceased to exist. During heavy fighting, up to 60,000 people were killed, 120,000 soldiers and officers were captured, over 300 tanks and assault guns, 1,500 field and anti-aircraft artillery guns, 17,600 vehicles, and a large number of other equipment were captured.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

During the Great Patriotic War Soviet troops carried out the Berlin strategic offensive operation, the purpose of which was to defeat the main forces of the German army groups Vistula and Center, capture Berlin, reach the Elbe River and unite with the Allied forces.

The troops of the Red Army, having defeated large groupings of Nazi troops in East Prussia, Poland and East Pomerania during January-March 1945, by the end of March reached the Oder and Neisse rivers on a wide front. After the liberation of Hungary and the occupation of Vienna by Soviet troops in mid-April, fascist Germany was under the blows of the Red Army from the east and south. At the same time, from the west, without encountering any organized resistance from the Germans, the Allied troops advanced in the Hamburg, Leipzig and Prague directions.

The main forces of the Nazi troops acted against the Red Army. By April 16, there were 214 divisions on the Soviet-German front (of which 34 were armored and 15 motorized) and 14 brigades, and against the American-British troops, the German command held only 60 poorly equipped divisions, of which five were armored. The Berlin direction was defended by 48 infantry, six tank and nine motorized divisions and many other units and formations (a total of one million people, 10.4 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns). From the air, ground troops covered 3.3 thousand combat aircraft.

The defense of the Nazi troops in the Berlin direction included the Oder-Neissen line 20-40 kilometers deep, which had three defensive lanes, and the Berlin defensive area, which consisted of three ring contours - external, internal and urban. In total, with Berlin, the depth of defense reached 100 kilometers, it was crossed by numerous canals and rivers, which served as serious obstacles for tank troops.

The Soviet Supreme High Command during the Berlin offensive operation provided for breaking through the enemy’s defenses along the Oder and Neisse and, developing the offensive in depth, encircle the main grouping of Nazi troops, dismember it and subsequently destroy it in parts, and then go to the Elbe. For this, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Georgy Zhukov and the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Ivan Konev were involved. The Dnieper military flotilla, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army took part in the operation. In total, the Red Army troops advancing on Berlin numbered over two million people, about 42 thousand guns and mortars, 6250 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 7.5 thousand combat aircraft.

According to the plan of the operation, the 1st Belorussian Front was supposed to capture Berlin and reach the Elbe no later than 12-15 days later. The 1st Ukrainian Front had the task of defeating the enemy in the area of Cottbus and south of Berlin, and on the 10th-12th day of the operation to capture the line of Belitz, Wittenberg and further the Elbe River to Dresden. The 2nd Belorussian Front was to cross the Oder River, defeat the Stettin enemy grouping and cut off the main forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army from Berlin.

On April 16, 1945, after a powerful aviation and artillery preparation, a decisive attack by the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts of the Oder-Neissen defensive line began. In the area of the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front, where the offensive was launched before dawn, the infantry and tanks, in order to demoralize the enemy, went on the attack in a zone illuminated by 140 powerful searchlights. The troops of the shock group of the front had to sequentially break through several lanes of defense in depth. By the end of April 17, they managed to break through the enemy defenses in the main areas near the Seelow Heights. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front completed the breakthrough of the third line of the Oder line of defense by the end of April 19. On the right wing of the shock group of the front, the 47th Army and the 3rd Shock Army were successfully moving forward to cover Berlin from the north and northwest. On the left wing, conditions were created for bypassing the Frankfurt-Guben enemy grouping from the north and cutting it off from the Berlin area.

The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Neisse River, on the first day they broke through the enemy's main line of defense, and wedged 1-1.5 kilometers into the second. By the end of April 18, the troops of the front had completed the breakthrough of the Neusen line of defense, crossed the Spree River and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the south. On the Dresden direction, formations of the 52nd Army repelled an enemy counterattack from the area north of Görlitz.

On April 18-19, the advanced units of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Ost-Oder, crossed the interfluve of the Ost-Oder and West-Oder, and then began crossing the West-Oder.

On April 20, artillery fire of the 1st Belorussian Front on Berlin laid the foundation for its assault. On April 21, tanks of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke into the southern outskirts of Berlin. On April 24, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts joined in the Bonsdorf area (southeast of Berlin), completing the encirclement of the Frankfurt-Guben grouping of the enemy. On April 25, tank formations of the fronts, leaving in the Potsdam area, completed the encirclement of the entire Berlin grouping (500 thousand people). On the same day, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Elbe River and joined the American troops in the Torgau region.

During the offensive, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Oder and, having broken through the enemy's defenses, advanced to a depth of 20 kilometers by April 25; they firmly fettered the German 3rd Panzer Army, depriving it of the opportunity to launch a counterattack from the north against the Soviet troops surrounding Berlin.

The Frankfurt-Gubenskaya grouping was destroyed by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts in the period from April 26 to May 1. The destruction of the Berlin grouping directly in the city continued until May 2. By 3 pm on May 2, enemy resistance in the city had ceased. Fighting with separate groups, breaking through from the outskirts of Berlin to the west, ended on May 5th.

Simultaneously with the defeat of the encircled groupings, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front on May 7 reached the Elbe River on a wide front.

At the same time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, successfully advancing in Western Pomerania and Mecklenburg, on April 26 captured the main strongholds of the enemy’s defense on the western bank of the Oder River - Pölitz, Stettin, Gatow and Schwedt and, deploying a swift pursuit of the remnants of the defeated 3rd tank army, on May 3 they reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, and on May 4 they advanced to the line of Wismar, Schwerin, the Elde River, where they came into contact with the British troops. On May 4-5, the troops of the front cleared the islands of Vollin, Usedom and Rügen from the enemy, and on May 9 they landed on the Danish island of Bornholm.

The resistance of the Nazi troops was finally broken. On the night of May 9, in the Berlin district of Karlshorst, the Act of Surrender of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany was signed.

The Berlin operation lasted 23 days, the width of the front of hostilities reached 300 kilometers. The depth of front-line operations was 100-220 kilometers, the average daily advance rate was 5-10 kilometers. As part of the Berlin operation, the Stettin-Rostock, Zelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Stremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathen front-line offensive operations were carried out.

During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops surrounded and liquidated the largest grouping of enemy troops in the history of wars.

They defeated 70 infantry, 23 tank and mechanized divisions of the enemy, captured 480 thousand people.

The Berlin operation cost the Soviet troops dearly. Their irretrievable losses amounted to 78,291 people, and sanitary - 274,184 people.

More than 600 participants in the Berlin operation were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 13 people were awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

(Additional

Battle for Berlin. Complete chronicle - 23 days and nights Suldin Andrey Vasilyevich

April 18, 1945

On the right flank, the 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front expanded its bridgehead on the Oder, the 47th Army advanced south of Vritsen and reached the Vritzen-Schulzdorf highway, the 3rd Shock Army reached Meglin in the middle of the day, and in the second half day overcame the enemy defenses at the turn of Schulzedorf - Meglin.

In the center, the 5th shock army and the 2nd guards tank army advanced in the conditions of a forest and a chain of lakes, moved forward 4 km and reached the Rigenwalde area on the outskirts of Batslov. The 1st Guards Tank Army, advancing in a southwestern direction, occupied Marksdorf and deeply enveloped the German troops defending in front of the front of the 8th Guards Army and the 69th Army. The 8th Guards Army reached Trebnitsa by the end of the day.

On the left flank, the 69th Army and the 33rd Army bypassed the Frankfurt fortified area and threatened its encirclement. The German command decided to evacuate the garrison from Frankfurt an der Oder and reinforce it with defense units on the west bank.

By the end of the day, the 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front had passed 30 kilometers behind the Spree, and the 4th Guards Tank Army had advanced 45 kilometers. The 13th Army crossed the Spree and began to advance in a northwestern direction. The 3rd Guards Army and the 5th Guards Army fought fierce battles on the flanks of the breakthrough.

I.S. Konev: "Trying to stop the Soviet offensive, Hitler's command from 16 to 18 April, on the second and third lines of defense, it brought into battle from its reserves six tank, motorized and five infantry divisions. These data refute the opinion of some authors about the weakness of the enemy grouping acting against the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The fights were brutal. The Nazis threw sixty to seventy tanks into counterattacks, directed against the Soviet troops everything that they had at hand. And this is not surprising. We struck at their weakest point, and if they did not foresee the catastrophe in full, then, in any case, they foresaw the troubles that threatened them.

The fiercest battles, including tank battles, unfolded on the second lane of the German defense and - immediately after its breakthrough - behind it.

Berlin during the assault. April 1945

In these wooded places there were no conditions for such massive actions of the tank forces of both sides, as we saw, for example, during the Battle of Kursk. But the overall saturation with tanks on both sides was very high. The average rate of advance of the troops of the front during the period of breaking through all three zones of the Neissen defensive line turned out to be somewhat lower than planned. But what does it mean to plan for war? We plan alone, but we carry out our plans, so to speak, together with the enemy, that is, taking into account his opposition. The longer the battle goes on, the more adjustments are made to the original plans.

But, as the marshal recalled: “... during the first three days of the operation, the entire 30-kilometer depth of the enemy defense was broken through by the forces of our infantry and tanks of the first echelon of combined arms armies, with the support of units of the first echelons of tank armies. The corps of the second echelons of the combined arms armies and the second echelons of the tank armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko have not yet been put into action. In the hands of the command there were still several fresh rifle and mechanized corps, that is, a huge force. It was precisely this that ensured our success in the future, made it possible, by introducing fresh forces, to freely maneuver in the operational depth.

Secondly, I was aware that the enemy's reserves are not unlimited. Receiving reports of the appearance of more and more enemy infantry and tank units, I saw more and more clearly that the Germans were placing their main stake on them. But, introducing one division after another into battle in parts, they gradually exhaust their forces in battles with the troops of our first echelon. By crushing the enemy's reserves already on the first two lines, we got the opportunity to move our second echelons forward when the enemy's operational reserves were crushed and defeated.

And so it happened. Trying at all costs to keep us on the second line of defense, the Germans then no longer had sufficient forces for the third line of defense, on the Spree. By the end of the second day, the third German defense line was pierced by us on the move, and on the third day it was broken through on a fairly wide front, and the Spree River was forced on the shoulders of the retreating defeated enemy units.

“In pursuance of the order of the Supreme High Command, I order:

1. To the commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army: during the night from 17 to 18.IV.45, cross the Spree River and develop a swift offensive in the general direction of Vetschau, Golsen, Barut, Teltow, the southern outskirts of Berlin. The task of the army on the night of 20 to 21.IV.45 is to break into the city of Berlin from the south.

2. The Commander of the 4th Panzer during the night from 17 to 18.IV.45 cross the river Spree north of Spremberg and develop a rapid offensive in the general direction of Drepkau, Kalau, Dane, Luckenwalde. The task of the army by the end of 20.IV.45 is to capture the area of Beelitz, Treyenbrizen, Luckenwalde. On the night of 21.IV.45, capture Potsdam and the southwestern part of Berlin. When the army turns to Potsdam, the Treyenbrizen area will be provided with the 5th mechanized corps. Conduct reconnaissance in the direction: Senftenberg, Finsterwalde, Herzberg.

3. In the main direction, with a tank fist, it is bolder and more resolute to break forward. Bypass cities and large settlements and not get involved in protracted frontal battles. I demand a firm understanding that the success of tank armies depends on bold maneuver and swiftness in action.

Bring point 3 of the order to the consciousness of corps and brigade commanders.

4. Orders given execution to convey.

Commander of the First Ukrainian Front Konev.

Member of the Military Council of the Krainyukov Front.

Petrov, Chief of Staff of the First Ukrainian Front.

Directive No. 00215, April 17, filed on April 18 at 2:47 am.

To the north of Görlitz, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army crossed the Neisse River, broke through the tactical zone of the German defense, and by the end of April 18 they approached the third lane.

In the battles for Berlin, the commander of the rifle company of the 1054th rifle regiment of the 301st rifle division, Pyotr Fyodorovich Gnida, distinguished himself. Before the battle for Berlin, the senior lieutenant already had extensive combat experience. On the Volga coast near the ruins of Stalingrad, the soldiers of his company fought the enemy to the last bullet. While crossing the Seversky Donets, he was wounded. For crossing the Vistula and expanding the Sandomierz bridgehead, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree. And overcoming the full-flowing Oder, the soldiers of his company crossed to the western bank on the move. And now the command set a very important task for his company - to force the Spree River, seize a bridgehead and ensure the crossing of the regiment to the western bank. Twenty brave men in two boats pushed off the shore at dusk and silently glided through the water. When ten meters remained to the shore, a cannon shot rang out, out of ten fighters three remained alive. And from the first boat, the fighters jumped ashore. The Nazis immediately launched a counterattack, but they were met by dense automatic fire. At the request of the commander, transmitted by radio, our guns began to speak, shells burst in the ranks of the attackers. A handful of fighters took the brunt of the enemy counterattack and held the bridgehead. And soon our tanks, artillery, infantry switched to it. And those who occupied and held the bridgehead were taken to rest. Then there were fights in Berlin itself. And when eight hundred meters remained to the imperial office, the company commander was wounded again. The news that he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for crossing the Spree found him in a military hospital.

On the second and third days of the offensive, the weather improved, and Soviet aviation worked with might and main, bombing the main centers of resistance on the Spree River and the fortified areas on the flanks of our breakthrough - Cottbus and Spremberg. Aviation searched in the forests and successfully smashed enemy tank groups from the air. During the first three days of the offensive, seven thousand five hundred and seventeen sorties were made, one hundred and fifty-five German aircraft were shot down in air battles. The damage for the Nazis is all the more sensitive because by this time they had not a lot of aviation.

A lot of explanatory work was carried out in the troops about a loyal attitude towards the civilian population of Germany, which was cruelly deceived by the Nazis and now experienced all the hardships of the war. Thanks to extensive explanatory work, it was possible to avoid the undesirable phenomena that could be manifested by the Soviet fighters, whose families suffered so much from the atrocities and violence of the Nazis.

On April 18, our troops knocked out and destroyed 96 German tanks and self-propelled guns. 115 enemy planes were shot down in air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire.

The Allies destroyed the 21st German division in the Ruhr Sack and occupied the cities of Magdeburg and Düsseldorf, after which the encircled German troops (325 thousand people and 30 generals) surrendered, which led to the actual disintegration of the entire Western Front.

In Holland, the Germans made a breach in the dam at Hukvan Holland, and the waters of the Zender See rushed towards Amsterdam. The Canadian 1st Army suspended hostilities and concluded a temporary truce with the German Colonel General Johannes von Blaskowitz, who agreed not to flood the country anymore and to provide food for the starving civilian population. However, Blaskowitz refused to surrender unconditionally.

The newspaper "Pravda" reported: - Prohibition of substitution of performances (TASS). IN Lately in the theaters of Moscow, announced performances are often replaced by others, and sometimes cancelled. There were 18 changes in the Moscow Operetta Theater in three months, and 7 changes in the Vakhtangov Theater. In exceptional cases, such changes at the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moscow Art Theater and the Maly Theater will be authorized personally by the chairman of the committee.

The newspaper "Krasnaya Zvezda" reported: - The first stage of the Nikolaev power plant, blown up by the invaders, was put into operation.

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Battle for Berlin. Complete Chronicle - 23 days and nights author Suldin Andrey Vasilievich

April 5, 1945 In the course of the war, Soviet troops have not yet had to take such large, heavily fortified cities as Berlin. Its total area was almost 900 square kilometers. Metro and widely developed underground facilities made it possible for enemy troops

From the author's book

April 7, 1945 The work of commanders, political workers, aimed at revealing the bestial nature of fascism, contributed to the upbringing of a feeling of hatred for the enemy. Even near Warsaw, the workers of the political departments of the divisions paid much attention to stories about the atrocities of the Nazis in

From the author's book

April 8, 1945 On this day, 50 German tanks and self-propelled guns were knocked out and destroyed on all fronts. In air battles and anti-aircraft artillery fire, 42 enemy aircraft were shot down. The gun crew is fighting on the outskirts of the city. 1st Belorussian Front * * *Troops

From the author's book

April 9, 1945 The order for the preparation of the defense of Berlin said: “Defend the capital to the last man and to the last cartridge ... The enemy must not be given a minute of rest, he must be weakened and bled in a dense network of strongholds, defensive nodes and

From the author's book

April 13, 1945 Taking into account the experience of previous battles, for the personnel of the units preparing to storm Berlin, leaflets-memos were issued with a summary of what every soldier needed to know, participating in the breakthrough of a heavily fortified, deeply echeloned defense

From the author's book

On April 21, 1945, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front cut the Berlin ring road and entered the northern outskirts of Berlin. there are fights. 61st Army, 1st Army

From the author's book

Captured the city of Pillau, completing the defeat of the enemy on the Zemland Peninsula. The remnants of the German troops took refuge in the western part of the Frishes-Nerung spit and in the vast swamps of the swampy mouth of the Vistula.

The East Prussian operation ended. Soviet troops took over East Prussia and eliminated the grouping of enemy troops defending here. The duration of the operation is 103 days. The width of the combat front is 550 km. The depth of advance of Soviet troops is 120-200 km. The average daily advance rate is 2-6 km. The number of troops at the beginning of the operation was 1669100 people, irretrievable losses - 126464 (7.6%), sanitary losses - 458314, total - 584778, average daily losses - 5677.

Berlin offensive operation . By April 25, the 65th Army and the 70th Army 2nd Belorussian Front advanced up to 8 kilometers and expanded the bridgehead to a size of 35 by 15 km. The 70th Army reached the line of Radekhov, Petershagen, Hartz. By the evening of April 25, the breakthrough of the enemy defenses on a 20-kilometer front was completed. Front troops approached the Randov River.

April 25 at 12 noon the 47th Army and 2nd Guards Tank Army 1st Belorussian Front, advancing west of Berlin, went to the Ketzin area, where they connected with units of the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. 3rd shock army fought for the expansion of bridgeheads on the Berlin-Spandauer-Schiffarts canal. 5th shock army advanced along the western bank of the Spree and advanced 2800 meters. 8th Guards Army resumed the assault on the city and captured the crossings over the Landwehr Canal. 1st Guards Tank Army crossed the Landwehr Canal, crossed the Teltow Canal north of Britz, and became involved in street fighting north of the canal.

On the morning of April 25, the German army group Steiner launched another offensive in the Hermannsdorf area. The 1st Army of the Polish Army repulsed the offensive.

3rd Guards Tank Army 1st Ukrainian Front, reinforced by three divisions of the 28th Army, cleared the southwestern suburbs of Berlin from the enemy and fought for the suburb of Schmargendorf, advancing towards the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. During the day of April 25, bomber aircraft of the 1st Belorussian Front, in conditions of poor visibility, attacked the combat formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. As a result, the army suffered losses. In the evening, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command established a new dividing line between the fronts, passing through Mittenwalde, Mariendorf, Tempelhof, Potsdam Station. Two corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army were withdrawn from the center of Berlin beyond the dividing line.

4th Guards Tank Army continued to fight for crossings over the Havel southeast of Potsdam. The 6th Guards Mechanized Corps crossed Havel and at twelve o'clock in the afternoon connected with units of the 328th division of the 47th army 1st Belorussian Front, closing the encirclement around Berlin. Then the 6th mechanized corps, together with the 47th army, continued the offensive on Potsdam. 3rd Guards Army fought fierce battles against the Frankfurt-Guben group.

In the west, the 13th Army and the 5th Mechanized Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army continued to fight the troops of Wenck's 12th Army. On April 25, in the region of Strela and Torgau, on the Elbe River, units of the 58th Guards Division of the 5th Guards Army met with reconnaissance groups of the 69th Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps of the 1st American Army.

Sovinformburo. On April 25, the troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front captured the last stronghold of the German defense on the Zemland Peninsula, the city and fortress of PILLAU ...

The troops of the 1st BELARUSIAN Front cut off all the routes leading from BERLIN to the west, and on April 25 they joined the troops of the 1st UKRAINIAN Front northwest of POTSDAM, thus completing the complete encirclement of BERLIN ... At the same time, the front troops continued to conduct street battles in the northern , the eastern and southeastern parts of BERLIN, while occupying the urban areas of TREPTOV and BRITZ. South-west of FRANKFURT-on-ODER, the troops of the front occupied the cities of MULLROSE and FRIEDLAND in battle ...

Troops of the 1st UKRAINIAN Front with fighting occupied the city of KETZIN and in the southwestern part of BERLIN the urban areas of LICHTERFELDE, ZELENDORF. To the north of the city of COTTBUS, the troops of the front occupied more than 40 settlements ... To the north-west of DRESDEN, the troops of the front forced the river ELBA and occupied the city of RIZA on the western bank of the river. In the BAUZEN area, our troops repelled counterattacks by large enemy infantry and tanks and inflicted heavy damage on him ...

On the territory of Czechoslovakia, northwest of the city of GODONINA, the troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, occupied more than 50 settlements ...