Historical background: the capture of Berlin

April was springing and green, the last year of the bloody war was on. Military operations almost completely moved to the territory of Germany. From the east the army of the USSR was advancing , from the west allies pressed. Everyone understood that the end of the Wehrmacht and the capture of Berlin were inevitable.

By this time, Germany was in complete economic and political isolation. The only remaining ally, Japan, could not help, and was in the same sorry state. German military production was steadily declining, the economy was disorganized. Human losses were so critical that young men aged 16-17 were drafted into the army. The only positive thing for Germany was the reduction in the length of the Eastern Front, which helped to concentrate considerable forces for resistance on its territory.

Hitler's strategic plan was to keep the pressure of the Soviet troops in the east as long as possible, and in the meantime to conclude a separate peace with the allied countries. The leadership of the Wehrmacht was ready to surrender Berlin to the troops of England and the United States, but at any cost not to admit the Russians there.

Therefore, the bulk of the forces concentrated in the east of Germany, where the most powerful defensive structures were built. A defensive Berlin area was created, which included three ring reinforced contours. The city itself was divided into nine sectors, connected by turns.

The most powerful was prepared for the defense of the central area, which housed the main administrative buildings and the Reichstag. The number of the Berlin garrison was constantly increasing due to recruits. It was clear that the capture of Berlin would be difficult and bloody.

The German command called for fighting for the city "to the last man, to the last patron." Successful defense of the capital could become a turning point in the history of the war. The task of the Soviet troops was at any cost to break the German resistance and lead to a final and unconditional surrender.

To participate in the Berlin operation, the armies of three fronts were drawn from the Soviet side, so that as a result our troops were numerically much larger than the German ones.

The general plan of the operation was as follows: by swift blows to smash the main groups of the German armies Center and Vistula, to ensure the capture of Berlin and to reach the Elbe River in order to unite with the Allied forces. This was to deprive Germany of the possibility of further organized resistance and force it to capitulate completely. An agreement with Britain and the United States on the coordination of joint actions was reached during the Crimean Conference.

In mid-April 1945, after careful preparation, Soviet troops launched a powerful offensive against Berlin. The power of artillery fire and air strikes was devastating. The First Ukrainian, First and Second Byelorussian Fronts moved rather quickly into the interior of the enemy territory, squeezing the ring around the capital. April 19, Soviet troops were able to break through the third defensive ring and get around the city from the north. Losses on both sides were huge.

But by April 24, Berlin was taken into the encirclement, and on April 25 the planned combination of Soviet and Anglo-American troops - a meeting on the Elbe. Everything went according to the plan.

The Soviet troops were encouraged by the enthusiasm and joy of a quick victory. The soldiers began to join the ranks of the party en masse, and even the wounded soldiers refused to leave the battlefield.

The capture of Berlin lasted from April 16 to May 2. The culmination of the operation was the battle for the city, which began on April 21. It was attended by almost 470,000 Soviet soldiers against 300,000 Germans. The peculiarity of the Berlin operation is that it actively and widely used tank attacks. The Nazis fiercely resisted. Thus, during two weeks of fighting more than a third of the total Soviet tank forces were lost.

The fighting in the capital was day and night. On April 28, the storming of the Reichstag - the symbol and stronghold of the Wehrmacht began. It was actually turned into an impregnable fortress defended by the best SS units and well-trained naval cadets. Nevertheless, everyone understood that this was a struggle of the doomed.

In the middle of the day on April 30, Soviet soldiers were able to occupy the first floor of the building, and on the same day, at 22:40, the soldiers of the 150th Infantry Division Egorov, Kantaria and Berest mounted a Soviet military banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

At about the same time, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.

The capture of Berlin in 1945 was not the last battle in this war. Ahead Soviet troops were awaiting the liberation of Prague and a number of other important battles punching the direction to the west.