Agony of the Third Reich. 75 years ago, on April 16, 1945, the Berlin offensive began. The final offensive operation of the Soviet troops, during which Berlin was taken, which led to the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich.
Major milestones
During the Berlin operation, the Red Army put a victory point in the Great Patriotic War and World War II in the European theater. The operation lasted 23 days - from April 16 to May 8, 1945. At this time, Soviet troops conducted several operations: Stettinsko-Rostock, Zelovsko-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Shtremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathenovskoy front-line operations, the storming of Berlin.
The operation was attended by the armies of three Soviet fronts: 1st Belorussian under the command of G. K. Zhukov (central sector), 2nd Belorussian under the command of K. K. Rokossovsky (northern flank) and 1st Ukrainian under the command of I. S. Koneva (southern flank). Also, the offensive of the 1st Baltic Fleet was supported by the Dnieper military flotilla, and the coastal flank of the 2nd Baltic Fleet was supported by the Baltic Fleet. Air support for the operation was provided by the 4th, 16th, 18th and 2nd air armies.
The battle for Berlin was one of the largest in the war: more than 3.5 million people, over 52 thousand guns and mortars, over 7, 7 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, over 10 thousand combat aircraft took part in the battle on both sides. The fighting unfolded on a 700-kilometer section of the front from the Baltic Sea to the Sudetenland. In total, about 280 divisions took part in the battle.
The Berlin operation is divided into three stages: 1) April 16-21, 1945 - breaking through the enemy defenses on the Oder and Neisse rivers; 2) April 22-25, 1945 - the development of the offensive, the division of the Berlin group of the Wehrmacht into three parts, the creation of encirclement areas in Berlin and southeast of the German capital; 3) April 26 - early May 1945 - the destruction of German troops in Western Pomerania, the storming of Berlin, the elimination of "boilers" and the exit of Soviet armies on a wide front to the Elbe, where a meeting with the allies took place.
The battle ended with the complete victory of the Red Army. The powerful Berlin group of the Wehrmacht (about 1 million people) was defeated, scattered and captured. Soviet troops completely defeated 93 divisions and 11 brigades of the enemy, about 400 thousand people were killed, about 450 thousand people were taken prisoner. The capture of Berlin led to the collapse of the military-political elite of the Reich. Some German leaders committed suicide, others tried to escape. Organized resistance collapsed. There were only isolated centers where the most implacable fought. The defeat in the Berlin operation led to the collapse of the Reich. The war in Europe was over.
It is worth noting that the rapid defeat of the German armed forces in the Berlin direction and the capture of the German capital thwarted the plans of the Nazi elite to drag out the war and wait for a split in the ranks of the anti-Hitler coalition. And such a possibility existed. On April 12, 1945, American President Franklin Roosevelt, who was a supporter of the soft line in relations with Moscow, died. This event sparked excitement in Berlin. There were reasons for this. Washington almost immediately embarked on a course of confrontation with the Soviet empire. London from the very beginning was a supporter of a tough policy towards the USSR. In the West, preparations are beginning for a third world war - against the Soviet Union. The German elite hoped that a conflict between the former allies would soon begin. And after the elimination of Hitler (the Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave) it will be possible to agree with London and Washington on joint actions against the Russians.
Thus, the rapid capture of Berlin by Soviet troops made a great impression on the Anglo-American ruling circles. The Westerners were again surprised by the combat power of the Russian army. They had to restrain themselves for some time, pretend to be allies, partners of the USSR. Therefore, the meeting of the allies on the Elbe was peaceful. Ordinary soldiers and officers, not knowing about the "big game", were sincerely happy.
Features of the Berlin operation
The Berlin operation was prepared, unlike many other major operations of the Great War, in just two weeks. Other strategic operations, for example, Stalingrad and Vistula-Oder, were prepared for 1-2 months. This was largely due to big politics. The Soviet leadership needed to quickly take Berlin in order to end Nazi hopes in the West and gain a trump card in the game with London and Washington.
The offensive was carried out by three Soviet fronts at once, delivering six simultaneous and concentrated attacks on a wide front. The Soviet command created powerful strike groups, which made it possible to quickly break into the enemy's defenses, dismember, encircle and destroy the Berlin group. The simultaneous offensive of three Soviet fronts made it possible to tie up the enemy along the entire Oder-Neissen line, prevent German reinforcements and reserves from coming to the aid of the capital's garrison.
High concentration of armored formations: 4 tank armies, 10 tank and mechanized corps, dozens of brigades and individual regiments. Mobile units participated in all stages of the operation: they broke through the enemy's defenses together with infantry, acted independently in the operational depth, carried out a maneuver around Berlin from the north and south, and stormed the German capital. Air and artillery superiority also played a major role in the operation.
Soviet troops successfully applied in Berlin the rich experience of street fighting in Stalingrad, Budapest and Königsberg. Soviet assault groups quickly wedged themselves into the enemy's battle formations, went forward to the main targets, did not waste time on a complete cleanup of areas and quarters, the garrisons of which could be finished off later, or taken prisoner. This made it possible to quickly break the organized resistance of the Nazis.
Agony of the Reich
By April 1945, the German Empire was in agony. The military-strategic position was hopeless. The war was fought on German territory. The Reich was sandwiched between two strategic fronts. By early April 1945, Russian troops defeated large groupings of the German army in Poland, Silesia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, East Prussia and East Pomerania. There were battles for the liberation of the Czech Republic. In Latvia, the German Army Group Courland was blocked, in East Prussia the main forces of Army Group North were destroyed, and Königsberg fell. The East Pomeranian group of the Wehrmacht was defeated, its remnants were finished off in the region of Gdynia and Gdansk. Army Group South suffered a heavy defeat, and Soviet soldiers liberated Bratislava, Vienna and Brno. The Soviet armies reached the central regions of Germany, in the central direction they were only 60 kilometers from Berlin.
On the Western Front, the situation was also in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition. On the Italian direction, the French were at Nice, and the Anglo-American troops were north of Florence. German Army Group C was driven out of Northern Italy. Using the successes of the Russians and the transfer of the 6th SS Panzer Army and other formations and units from the Western Front to the Eastern, the Allies resumed their offensive in the second half of March 1945. Allied forces crossed the Rhine, surrounded the Ruhr group of the Wehrmacht (the largest group of the Wehrmacht on the Western Front). On April 17, the commander of Army Group B, Walter Model, ordered to lay down arms and committed suicide on the 21st. Over 300 thousand were captured. German soldiers and officers. In fact, the German Western Front collapsed, Germany lost the most important military-industrial region - the Ruhr. The allies were now moving eastward with little or no resistance from the enemy. The Germans resisted only in some places. The allied armies were moving towards Hamburg, Leipzig and Prague.
The former slowness of the allies was replaced by haste. The Anglo-American command wanted to use the fall of the West German front to rush to Berlin in order to be there before the Russians. Also, the Westerners wanted to occupy as much German territory as possible. Only the exit of the Russians to Berlin forced the Allies to abandon the idea of taking the capital of Germany themselves. The distance between the Anglo-American forces and the Russians was reduced to 150-200 km. The closest allies to the German capital (about 100 km) came out in the Magdeburg region. However, the British and Americans simply did not have enough time to organize an attack on Berlin. The advance detachments reached the Elbe and seized a small bridgehead, but the main forces were far behind.
The German economy was dying. In March 1945, the output of military products compared with July 1944 fell by 65%. The military industry could no longer fully supply the army with everything it needed. For example, the production of aircraft satisfied only about half of the needs, the production of tanks fell by more than two times (in 1944, 705 vehicles were produced monthly, in 1945 - 333), the production of artillery and small arms was at the level of 50% of the average monthly production in 1944 g.
Germany's economic and human resources were exhausted. East Prussia and East Pomerania, Silesia, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria with their natural resources, industry, agriculture and population were lost. Young men of 16-17 years old were already drafted into the army. However, the losses that the German army suffered during the battle of the winter of 1945 were able to make up only 45-50%. The quality of conscripts has dropped.
Interestingly, despite the general military-political and economic catastrophe, the German leadership retained control over the population until the very end of the war. Neither defeat in the war, nor the collapse of the economy, nor the terrible losses, nor the carpet bombing, which wiped out entire cities and massively destroyed the civilian population, did not provoke uprisings or resistance. This was due to several factors. The Germans are a warrior people, resistant to hardships and losses, disciplined and tough. Plus skillful propaganda with the use of psychotechnology, which laid in the masses ideas about the "infallibility of the leader", "invincibility of the army", "chosenness", etc. Therefore, there was no "fifth column" in Germany, as well as resistance to the Nazis. All "dissenters" were cleared out before the war. Therefore, the people to the last believed either in the "miracle weapon" that would change the course of the war, or in the clash between the Anglo-Americans and the Russians. Soldiers and officers fought in a disciplined manner, workers stood at their machines.
The Reich remained a strong enemy until the very end of the war. The German leadership hoped to the last for a "miracle" and made every effort to drag out the war. Troops continued to be withdrawn from the Western Front in order to strengthen the defenses of the Berlin region. The Reich still had quite combat-ready forces - only the ground forces totaled 325 divisions (263 divisions, 14 brigades, 82 battle groups of divisions, remnants of divisions, remnants of brigades, battle groups, etc.). At the same time, the German command held the main forces on the Eastern Front: 167 divisions (including 32 tank and 13 motorized ones), and more than 60 battle groups, remnants of divisions, remnants of brigades, battle groups, that is, translated into divisions, this corresponded to 195 divisions. At the same time, there were weak divisions in the combat ratio on the Western Front - they were less trained, armed, staffed only by 50-60%, the replenishment was of poor quality (elderly men and boys).
Plans and forces of the German leadership
As noted above, the German leadership tried with all its might to drag out the war. Hitler and his entourage wanted to preserve the main cadres of the Nazi party, to take them, as well as the treasures looted throughout Europe, gold to various "reserve airfields", for example, in Latin America. In the future, revive the "Eternal Reich", renewed, "democratic". Enter into an alliance with Britain and the United States against the USSR.
The last hope of a part of the Reich leadership was to surrender Berlin to the Anglo-American troops, not to let the Russians into the capital. Therefore, the German Western Front was weakened. The Germans fought half-heartedly in the West. Only the swift breakthrough of Soviet troops to Berlin thwarted these plans. The British and Americans simply did not have time to reach Berlin.
The German high command concentrated a strong grouping on the Berlin direction. The bulk of human and material resources were directed to strengthening the Vistula and Center army groups. The Germans disbanded the reserve army, all reserve infantry, tank, artillery and special units, schools and higher military educational institutions. At the expense of the personnel, weapons and equipment of these units, the divisions of two army groups in the Berlin direction were replenished. By the beginning of the Berlin operation, the German companies had 100 fighters each, and the divisions had 7-8 thousand people.
The reserves being formed were located north of the German capital. First of all, at the end of March - beginning of April 1945, most of the mobile formations were withdrawn to the rear. First of all, they were replenished with manpower and equipment. Also, the reserves were formed at the expense of previously defeated units. Militia battalions were actively formed. There were about 200 of them in the capital alone. The Nazis tried to organize large-scale guerrilla and sabotage activities in the rear of the enemy. But on the whole, this program has failed. The Germans did not succeed in organizing, following the example of Russia, and deploying large-scale partisan activities.
Preparing for the battle for Berlin, the Germans regrouped their forces in the first half of April 1945. The main forces of the 3rd Panzer Army were transferred from the northeastern direction closer to Berlin. To cover the capital from the southeast, the command of Army Group Center sent its reserves to the left wing in the zone of the 4th Panzer Army.
In general, in the Berlin direction against the troops of the 2nd and 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, the Nazis concentrated a large grouping. The armies of the three Soviet fronts were defended by: 1) the troops of the Vistula Army Group under the command of G. Heinrici: the 3rd Panzer Army of H. Manteuffel, the 9th Army of T. Busse; troops of Army Group Center F. Scherner: 4th Panzer Army F. Greser, part of 17th Army V. Hasse. A total of 63 divisions (including 6 tank, 9 motorized) and a large number of separate infantry regiments and battalions, artillery, engineering, special and other units. The Berlin group numbered about 1 million people (together with militias, soldiers of various paramilitary services, etc.), over 10 thousand guns and mortars, about 1,500 tanks and self-propelled guns. The Nazis were able to create a fairly strong aviation group in the capital area, having transferred here almost all the combat-ready forces of the Luftwaffe - over 3,300 aircraft.
