Agony of the Third Reich. 75 years ago, on April 18, 1945, the Red Army took the Seelow Heights. Having completed the breakthrough of the Oder line of defense of the Wehrmacht, on April 20, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the approaches to Berlin.
Berlin will remain German
On April 15, 1945, Adolf Hitler addressed the soldiers with an appeal, urging them to fight mercilessly and assuring them that "Berlin will remain German." He demanded to shoot on the spot all who gave the order to retreat or leave their positions. Military courts operated in the front-line areas, the action of which was extended to the civilian population. Field Marshal Keitel and Bormann ordered to defend every city to the last man, surrender was punishable by death. Propaganda also called for a fight to the last man. Russian soldiers were portrayed as terrible monsters who exterminate all Germans indiscriminately. This forced millions of people to leave their homes, many old people, women and children died of hunger and cold.
German troops created a powerful defense in the path of the Soviet armies. In front of the 1st BF, under the command of Zhukov, in the area from Schwedt to Gross-Gastrose, there were about 26 German divisions (calculated). Plus the garrison of Berlin. In total, in the 1st BF offensive zone there were over 500 thousand soldiers and officers, more than 6 thousand guns and mortars, 800 tanks and self-propelled guns. In the offensive zone of the 2nd BF under the command of Rokossovsky from Berg-Divenov to Schwedt, the Germans had 13, 5 calculation divisions. A total of about 100 thousand soldiers, 1800 guns and mortars, about 130 tanks. In the offensive zone of the 1st UV under the command of Konev from Gross-Gastrose to Krnov, the Nazis had over 24 divisions. A total of 360 thousand people, 3600 guns and mortars, 540 tanks.
In the rear, Army Group Vistula and Center formed reserves from previously defeated divisions. North of Berlin, the army group of Steiner (2 divisions) was located, south of Berlin, in the Dresden area - the corps group Moser (3 divisions). In total, 16 reserve divisions were located in the Berlin direction, 20-30 km from the front. In addition to personnel divisions, the German command mobilized everything that was possible, special, training and spare parts, schools and colleges, etc. The battalions of the militia, tank destroyers, and parts of the "Hitler Youth" were formed.
The Germans had powerful defenses along the western banks of the Oder and Neisse rivers. Three defensive lines were up to 20-40 km deep. Reserve lines were located between them. The settlements in the Berlin direction were turned into strong points and defense centers, cities - into "fortresses". The most saturated with various engineering structures was the section between Kustrin and Berlin (here the Russians were closest to the German capital). The major centers of resistance were Stettin, Frankfurt, Guben, Hartz, Cottbus, and others. The total defense depth, including the Berlin fortified area, reached 100 km. The German capital itself was defended by three rings of defense: external, internal and urban. The city was divided into eight defense sectors, they were connected by the 9th - the central one (Reichstag, Imperial Chancellery and other large buildings). The bridges over the Spree and the canals were prepared for destruction. The defense of Berlin was led by General Reiman. Goebbels was the imperial commissar for the defense of the capital. The general leadership of the defense of Berlin was carried out by Hitler himself and his entourage: Goebbels, Bormann, Chief of Staff Krebs, General Burgdorf and Secretary of State Naumann.
Soviet forces
The 1st BF had three groups of troops, which were supposed to break into the enemy defenses on the approaches to the German capital, take Berlin and go to the Elbe on the 12-15th day of the operation. The main blow in the central sector was delivered from the Kyustrin bridgehead by General Perkhorovich's 47th Army, Kuznetsov's 3rd Shock Army, Berzarin's 5th Shock Army, Chuikov's 8th Guards Army, Bogdanov's and Katukov's 2nd and 1st Guards Tank Armies … On the right flank, north of Kustrin, the 61st Army of Belov and the 1st Army of the Polish General Poplavsky's Army dealt a blow. On the left flank, south of Kustrin, the 69th and 33rd armies of Kolpakchi and Tsvetaev advanced.
Konev's armies were supposed to crack the enemy defenses in the Kottbus direction, destroy German troops in the area south of Berlin, and reach the Belitz-Wittenberg-Dresden line on the 10-12th day of the offensive. The main strike group of the 1st UV was aiming at the area south of Berlin. It consisted of: the 3rd Guards Army of Gordov, the 13th Army of Pukhov, the 28th Army of Luchinsky, the 5th Guards Army of Zhadov, the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko. An auxiliary blow in the Dresden direction was inflicted by the 2nd Army of the Polish General Sverchevsky and the 52nd Army of Koroteev.
The 2nd BF under the command of Rokossovsky received the task of crossing the Oder, taking Stettin, and liberating the territory of Western Pomerania. The Soviet armies were to cut off the 3rd Panzer Army from the rest of the forces of Army Group "Vistula", to destroy the Nazis in the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea. Ensure the capture of Berlin from the northern flank. The main strike group of the front carried a blow in the direction of Demmin, Rostock, Furstenberg - Wittenberg. It consisted of Batov's 65th Army, Popov's 70th Army, Grishin's 49th Army, Panov's, Panfilov's and Popov's 1st, 3rd and 8th Guards Tank Corps, Firsovich's 8th Mechanized Corps and 3- 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of Oslikovsky. On the northern flank of the front, the 2nd shock of Fedyuninsky was advancing. On the coastal flank, the actions of the front were supported by the Baltic Fleet.
The offensive of the ground forces was supported by large aviation forces: Vershinin's 4th Air Force, Rudenko's 16th Air Force, Krasovsky's 2nd Air Force, Golovanov's 18th Army, and Baltic Fleet aviation.
Breakthrough of the German defense by the armies of Zhukov
On April 16, 1945, the troops of Zhukov and Konev went to storm the enemy positions. A powerful artillery and air preparation was previously carried out. She was effective. The Soviet infantry and tanks of the place wedged themselves into the enemy's defenses for 1, 5-2 km, without encountering strong resistance from the Nazis. From 30 to 70% of the advanced German forces were incapacitated by the fire of Soviet artillery and air strikes.
On the very first day of the operation, Zhukov's armies broke through the main defense zone of the German army. However, at the Seelow Heights, where the enemy's second line of defense passed, our troops were detained. There were well fortified heights, the Nazis had a strong system of artillery and machine-gun fire. The approaches to the heights were covered with mines, wire and other obstacles, and an anti-tank ditch. The German units retreating from the forward positions were reinforced from the reserve with fresh divisions, armored vehicles and artillery.
So that there was no delay, Marshal Zhukov threw the tank armies of Katukov and Bogdanov into battle. But the Nazis fiercely resisted. The command of the 9th German army threw two motorized divisions into a counterattack - the 25th and the Kurmark panzergrenadier division. The Germans fought fiercely, hoping to stop the Russians at the turn of the Seelow Heights. This line was considered "the castle to Berlin". Therefore, the battles on April 17 took on the most stubborn character.
As a result, the rate of advance of the 1st BF turned out to be lower than planned, but in general, the Soviet armies fulfilled the assigned task and made their way forward. The soldiers and commanders knew that the main target ahead was Berlin. The victory was close. Therefore, the Soviet soldiers bit into the enemy defenses. The Seelow Heights were taken by the morning of April 18. Zhukov's armies broke through the enemy's second defensive line and two intermediate positions in the rear of the German army. The front command ordered the 3rd, 5th Shock and 2nd Guards Tank Armies to break through to the northeastern outskirts of Berlin, the 47th Army and Kirichenko's 9th Panzer Corps to cover the German capital from the north and northwest. Troops of the 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Army continued to break through to Berlin from the east.
On April 18, the German high command demanded the transfer of all available reserves in the Berlin area, including the garrison, to reinforce Busse's 9th Army. On this day, the Nazis were still furiously trying to detain the Russians on the outskirts of Berlin. On April 19, stubborn battles were fought for Munchenberg, which covered the German capital from the east. Having taken the city, our troops began an assault on the third line of the enemy defense. The defeated German units began to retreat to the outer contour of the Berlin Defense Region. On April 20, Russian troops broke through the third line of defense of the Nazis and rushed to Berlin. On this day, the long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of Kuznetsov opened fire on the German capital. On the same day, the artillery of Perkhorovich's 47th army opened fire on Berlin.
The beginning of the assault on the German capital
On April 21, the forward units of the 1st BF of the front broke into the northern and northeastern outskirts of Berlin. The front command decided that not only combined arms armies, but also tank armies would go to storm the city. At the same time, the 61st Army and the 1st Polish Army were successfully advancing towards the Elbe River.
On April 22, Hitler held the last military conference. The Fuhrer decided to stay in the capital and personally lead the struggle. He ordered Keitel and Jodl to fly south and from there lead the troops. Hitler also ordered to remove all remaining troops from the Western Front and throw them into battle for Berlin. The 12th Army of Wenck, which held the defenses on the Elbe and Mulda, received the task of turning east, to join the 9th Army, to the southern suburbs of Berlin. The 9th Army was ordered to break through to Berlin from the southeast. Also, from the north of the capital, it was planned to attack the right wing of the 1st BF with a group of three divisions (4th SS Motorized Division "Police", 7th Panzer Division and 25th Motorized Division). On April 23, Keitel went to the Western Front at the headquarters of the 12th Army and discussed with Wenck a plan to move the army to Berlin in the Potsdam area.
On April 23, units of the armies of Perkhorovich, Kuznetsov and Berzarin broke through the Berlin city bypass and began to advance into the central part of Berlin from the west, north and northeast. When overcoming the Spree, the ships of the Dnieper flotilla of Rear Admiral Grigoriev played an important role. Chuikov's 8th Guards Army reached the Adlershof, Bonsdorf area, attacked the southeastern part of the German capital. The strike grouping of the left flank of the front (3rd, 69th and 33rd armies) advanced to the south-west and south, blocking the enemy's Frankfurt-Guben grouping (part of the forces of the 9th and 4th tank armies).
The offensive of Konev's troops
Konev's armies successfully broke through the enemy defenses on the Neisse River and on April 17 reached the third line of German defense on the Spree River. To hasten the fall of Berlin, the Soviet Headquarters ordered Konev to turn his tank armies north to break through to the German capital from the south. The Soviet high command decided to use the fact that against the 1st UV, the Germans did not have such powerful forces as in the Kyustrin direction. As a result, the main forces of Konev, having broken through the enemy's defenses from east to west, turned sharply to the north. Before the Soviet mobile formations there were no new enemy defensive lines, and those that did exist were located with the front to the east, and our troops calmly passed north past them and between them.
The armies of Rybalko and Lelyushenko crossed the Spree on April 18 and began to move towards Berlin. The 3rd Guards Army of Gordov moved west and northwest, repelling the counterattacks of the enemy group from the Kotlas area. Pukhov's 13th Army, providing the entry of mobile units into the gap, developed an offensive to the northwest. But over the flanks of the army loomed large enemy forces in the areas of Kotlas and Spremberg. On April 19, Zhadov's 5th Guards Army and the 13th Army's left flank blocked the enemy's Spremberg grouping. Thus, Soviet troops surrounded and began to destroy strong enemy groups in the areas of Kotlas and Spremberg.
On April 20, Soviet tanks broke through to the Zossen defensive area (here the headquarters of the General Staff of the German ground forces was located) and occupied it the next day. On April 21, the guardsmen Lelyushenko and Rybalko made their way to the southern section of the Berlin fortified region. Our troops fought heavy battles with the Nazis in the area of Luckenwalde and Jüterbog. On this day, Lucinschi's 28th Army was brought into the battle from the second echelon.
On the night of April 22, Rybalko's army units crossed the Notte Canal and broke through the outer defensive loop in the Mittenwalde and Zossen sector. Coming out to the Telt Canal, Rybalko's guards, supported by the infantry of the 28th Army, artillery and aviation of the front, broke through to the southern outskirts of the German capital. The advancing units of the 4th Guards Tank Army of Lelyushenko, advancing to the left, captured Jüterbog, Luckenwalde and advanced on Potsdam and Brandenburg. In the Luckenwald area, our tankers occupied a concentration camp, where they freed over 15 thousand prisoners (over 3 thousand were Russians). On the same day, units of the 3rd Guards Army of Gordov completed the destruction of the enemy's Cottbus grouping and took Cottbus. Then the troops of Gordov began to move to the northeast.
On April 24, the main forces of the 3rd Guards Army crossed the Teltow Canal and fought on the Lichterfelde-Zehlendorf line. By the end of the day, Soviet troops broke through the internal defensive loop, which covered the capital of Germany from the south. The 4th Guards Tank Army took the southern part of Potsdam. On the same day, units of the 1st UV linked up southeast of Berlin in the area of Bonsdorf, Bukkov and Brits with the troops of the left flank of the strike group of the 1st BF. As a result, the Frankfurt-Guben grouping was completely separated from the main forces of the 9th German army.
On the left flank of the 1st UV, the Germans still inflicted strong counterattacks. On April 19, in the Dresden direction, the Nazis attacked from the Görlitz-Bautzen area. Fierce battles raged for several days. The well-equipped reserves of the elite German divisions attacked the Soviet troops, which were advancing without aviation support, which had been drained of blood and exhausted in previous battles. Here the last "cauldron" of the Great Patriotic War was formed, into which the Soviet troops fell. In stubborn battles for the cities of Weissenberg and Bautzen and during the exit from the encirclement, most of the personnel and equipment of the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps and the 294th Rifle Division were lost. The Germans were able to break through the defenses of the 52nd Army and went into the rear of the 2nd Polish Army. The Nazis advanced in the direction of Spremberg for more than 30 km, but were then stopped.
The offensive of Rokossovsky's troops
2nd BF went on the offensive on April 18, 1945. In difficult conditions, Soviet troops overcame the eastern arm of the Oder (Ost-Oder), crossed the dams flooded with water and crossed the western arm (West Oder). Having hacked the German defenses on the west bank, our troops began to push their way to the west. In stubborn battles, Rokossovsky's troops tied up the German 3rd Panzer Army.
Attempts by the Nazis to help the capital from the northern flank and strike on the right flank of the 1st BF were thwarted by the active actions of Rokossovsky's armies. “Our offensive did not allow the enemy to transfer reserves to Berlin and thus contributed to the success of our neighbor,” noted Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky.
