On April 25, 1945, the Red Army closed the ring around Berlin. For the final victory over Nazi Germany, the last step remained - to take the capital of the Third Reich. The battle was about to be tough: the city was defended by about 300 thousand soldiers who received the order from the Fuhrer to fight to the last.
Walled city
By the time the Soviet troops approached, Berlin was a gigantic fortress. The strengthening of the German capital began in early March. The streets were dug with anti-tank ditches. Reinforced concrete pillboxes (about four hundred of them were built in Berlin) towered everywhere, bunkers, anti-aircraft and artillery batteries were visible. Many houses turned into long-term firing points, the windows and doors of which were barricaded, leaving only small embrasures for firing. And the closer the Soviet troops advanced to the city center, the denser the fortification system became.
Berlin's powerful, well-organized air defense did not allow an effective air attack on the city. Tanks practically could not operate on narrow streets, which became excellent targets for enemy faust cartridges. The most effective in such conditions were assault groups. At first, a couple of tanks or guns were beaten with direct fire at the house or bunker in which the Nazis sat down, after which a small unit of specially trained infantry rushed in and finished off the enemy. The fighting did not stop day or night, and gradually, street by street, Soviet troops moved closer and closer to the heart of the German capital - the Reichstag.
Victory Banner
By April 28, Red Army fighters had cleared almost all of Berlin of enemies. Now the Nazis held the defense only in a small area in the center of the city. He was also the most fortified. It took the attackers more than a day to overcome the Spree River, behind which the Reichstag was located. On the night of April 29, the Moltke Bridge was in the hands of Soviet soldiers. On the morning of April 30, they managed to gain a foothold on the enemy coast, capturing the buildings of the Swiss Embassy and the Ministry of the Interior. The Red Army immediately tried to take the Reichstag as well. However, the first attack failed: the Reich Chancellery was defended by about five thousand fighters with a well-organized defense. In addition, the path to the main building of the Third Reich was blocked by a long anti-tank ditch filled with water, which made it impossible to attack head-on.
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The second assault was scheduled for 13:00. By that time, artillery and tanks were brought up to help the infantry, which at the appointed hour opened direct fire on the Reichstag. The soldiers of the Red Army overcame a moat and engaged in hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches in front of the Reichstag. At 14:25 a red flag appeared at the stairs of the main entrance - this is how Soviet soldiers marked objects repulsed from the enemy. By evening, artillery and sappers managed to break through a breach in the wall of the Reichstag, and infantry rushed into the breach.
The defenders fought desperately for every room, every floor. Despite the fact that at about three o'clock in the morning on May 1, a red flag was raised over the Reichstag - the famous Victory Banner, the resistance of the fascists continued for about a day. Only on the night of May 2, the remaining defenders of the building laid down their arms.
Please cease fire
On April 30, the German parliamentarian General Hans Krebs arrived at the headquarters of General Vasily Chuikov. He announced the suicide of Adolf Hitler and conveyed the request of the new German government to conclude a truce. This was immediately reported to Stalin. He replied that the Soviet side would only agree to the complete surrender of the enemy. The Germans refused to surrender.
Only after the capture of the Reichstag the words in Russian were heard on the radio: "Please cease fire." The arriving parliamentarian announced that their troops were finally ready to lay down their arms. General Weidling, who had surrendered, drew up an order of surrender, which on the same day, with the help of radio and loudspeakers, thundered throughout Berlin. Even after that, some German units continued to resist. However, they did not last long: the last of them were defeated by May 7. And two days later, Soviet troops were already marching across Red Square, celebrating the victory.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №18. Author: Oleg Gorosov