I. S. Konev
Storming Berlin- the final part of the Berlin offensive operation of 1945, during which the Red Army captured the capital of Nazi Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in Europe. The operation lasted from April 25 to May 2.
Storming Berlin
"Zoobunker" - a huge reinforced concrete fortress with anti-aircraft batteries on the towers and an extensive underground shelter - served at the same time as the largest bomb shelter in the city.
Early in the morning of May 2, the Berlin metro was flooded - a group of sappers from the SS division "Nordland" blew up a tunnel passing under the Landwehr Canal in the Trebbiner Strasse area. The explosion led to the destruction of the tunnel and filling it with water at a 25-km section. Water gushed into the tunnels where a large number of civilians and the wounded. The number of victims is still unknown.
Information about the number of victims ... is different - from fifty to fifteen thousand people ... The data that about a hundred people died under water look more reliable. Of course, there were many thousands of people in the tunnels, among whom were the wounded, children, women and the elderly, but the water did not spread through the underground communications too quickly. Moreover, it spread underground in various directions. Of course, the picture of the advancing water caused genuine horror in people. And some of the wounded, as well as drunken soldiers, as well as civilians, became its inevitable victims. But talking about thousands of dead would be a strong exaggeration. In most places, the water barely reached a depth of one and a half meters, and the inhabitants of the tunnels had enough time to evacuate themselves and save the many wounded who were in the "hospital cars" near the Stadtmitte station. It is likely that many of the dead, whose bodies were subsequently brought to the surface, actually died not from water, but from wounds and diseases even before the destruction of the tunnel.
In the first hour of the night on May 2, the radio stations of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “Please cease fire. We are sending parliamentarians to the Potsdam Bridge.” A German officer who arrived at the appointed place on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance. At 6 am on May 2, Artillery General Weidling, accompanied by three German generals, crossed the front line and surrendered. An hour later, while at the headquarters of the 8th guards army, he wrote a surrender order, which was duplicated and, with the help of loud-speaking installations and radio, brought to the enemy units defending in the center of Berlin. As this order was brought to the attention of the defenders, resistance in the city ceased. By the end of the day, the troops of the 8th Guards Army cleared the central part of the city from the enemy. Separate units that did not want to surrender tried to break through to the west, but were destroyed or scattered.
On May 2, at 10 o'clock in the morning, everything suddenly calmed down, the fire ceased. And everyone understood that something had happened. We saw white sheets that were “thrown away” in the Reichstag, the Chancellery building and the Royal Opera and cellars that had not yet been taken. Entire columns were toppled from there. Ahead of us was a column, where there were generals, colonels, then soldiers behind them. It must have been three hours.
Alexander Bessarab, participant in the Battle of Berlin and the capture of the Reichstag
Operation results
Soviet troops defeated the Berlin grouping of enemy troops and stormed the capital of Germany - Berlin. Developing a further offensive, they reached the Elbe River, where they joined up with American and British troops. With the fall of Berlin and the loss of vital areas, Germany lost the opportunity for organized resistance and soon capitulated. With the completion of the Berlin operation, favorable conditions were created for the encirclement and destruction of the last large enemy groupings on the territory of Austria and Czechoslovakia.
German losses armed forces dead and wounded are unknown. Of the approximately 2 million Berliners, about 125,000 perished. The city was badly damaged as a result of the bombing even before the arrival of Soviet troops. The bombing continued during the battles near Berlin - the last bombing of the Americans on April 20 (Adolf Hitler's birthday) led to food problems. The destruction intensified as a result of the actions of Soviet artillery.
Indeed, it is unthinkable that such a huge fortified city should be taken so quickly. We do not know of other such examples in the history of the Second World War.
Alexander Orlov, Doctor of Historical Sciences.
Two guards heavy tank brigades IS-2 and at least nine guards heavy self-propelled artillery regiments of self-propelled guns took part in the battles in Berlin, including:
- 1st Belorussian Front
- 7th Guards ttbr - 69th army
- 11th Guards ttbr - frontline submission
- 334 Guards. tsap - 47th Army
- 351 Guards. tsap - 3rd shock army, front-line subordination
- 396 guards tsap - 5th shock army
- 394 guards tsap - 8th Guards Army
- 362, 399 guards. tsap - 1st Guards Tank Army
- 347 Guards. tsap - 2nd Guards tank army
- 1st Ukrainian Front
- 383, 384 guards. tsap - 3rd Guards Tank Army
The situation of the civilian population
Fear and despair
A significant part of Berlin, even before the assault, was destroyed as a result of Anglo-American air raids, from which the population hid in basements and bomb shelters. There were not enough bomb shelters and therefore they were constantly overcrowded. By that time, in Berlin, in addition to the three million local population (which consisted mainly of women, the elderly and children), there were up to three hundred thousand foreign workers, including Ostarbeiters, most of whom were forcibly deported to Germany. They were forbidden from entering bomb shelters and cellars.
Although the war for Germany had long been lost, Hitler ordered to resist to the last. Thousands of teenagers and old people were drafted into the Volkssturm. From the beginning of March, on the orders of the Reichskommissar Goebbels, responsible for the defense of Berlin, tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women, were sent to dig anti-tank ditches around the German capital.
Civilians who violated the orders of the authorities, even in last days war was threatened with execution.
On the number of victims among civilian population there is no exact information. Various sources indicate different number persons who died directly during the Battle of Berlin. Even decades after the war, previously unknown mass graves are found during construction work.
Violence against civilians
Western sources, especially Lately, a significant number of materials appeared concerning mass violence by the Soviet troops against the civilian population of Berlin and Germany in general - a topic that practically did not come up for many decades after the end of the war.
There are two opposite approaches to this extremely painful problem. On the one hand - artistic and documentary works of two English-speaking researchers - " last fight by Cornelius Ryan and The Fall of Berlin. 1945" by Anthony Beevor, which are, to a greater or lesser extent, a reconstruction of the events of half a century ago based on the testimonies of the participants in the events (in the overwhelming majority - representatives of the German side) and the memoirs of Soviet commanders. The claims Ryan and Beevor make are regularly reproduced by the Western press, which presents them as scientifically proven truth.
On the other hand, the opinions of Russian representatives ( officials and historians) who recognize numerous facts of violence, but question the validity of the allegations of its extreme mass character, as well as the possibility, after so many years, of verifying the shocking figures that are given in the West. Russian authors also draw attention to the fact that such publications, which focus on the over-emotional description of scenes of violence allegedly perpetrated by Soviet troops in Germany, follow the standards of Goebbels' propaganda of early 1945 and are aimed at belittling the role of the Red Army as the liberator of Eastern and Central Europe from fascism and denigrate the image of the Soviet soldier. In addition, the materials distributed in the West contain practically no information about the measures taken Soviet command to combat violence and looting - crimes against the civilian population, which, as has been repeatedly pointed out, not only lead to a toughening of the resistance of the defending enemy, but also undermine the combat capability and discipline of the advancing army.
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Episode Seven Years' War. The capture of the city was due to the surrender of the city to the Russian and Austrian troops by the commandant Hans Friedrich von Rochov, who sought to avoid the destruction of the Prussian capital. The capture of the city was preceded by a military operation by Russian and Austrian troops.
background
The activation of Prussia, led by King Frederick II, who hatched ambitious conquest plans in Central and Eastern Europe led to the Seven Years' War. In this conflict, Prussia and England opposed Austria, France, Sweden and Russia. For Russian Empire it was the first Active participation in a major European conflict. Entering East Prussia, Russian troops occupied a number of cities and defeated the 40,000th Prussian army in the town of Gross-Egersdorf near Königsberg. In the Battle of Kunersdorf (1759), the forces of Field Marshal P.S. Saltykov defeated the army under the command of the Prussian king himself. This put Berlin in danger of being taken.
The vulnerability of the capital of Prussia became apparent back in October 1757, when the Austrian corps of General A. Hadik broke into the suburbs of Berlin and captured it, however, then chose to retreat, forcing the magistrate to pay indemnity. After the Battle of Kunersdorf, Frederick II expected the capture of Berlin. The anti-Prussian forces had a significant numerical superiority, but, despite this, almost the entire campaign of 1760 was unsuccessful. On August 15, Prussian troops inflicted a serious defeat on the enemy at Liegnitz. All this time, however, Berlin continued to remain unprotected, and the French side offered the Allies to make a new raid on the city. The Austrian commander L. J. Daun agreed to support the Russian troops with the auxiliary corps of General F. M. von Lassi.
The Russian commander P. S. Saltykov ordered General G. Totleben, who was at the head of the vanguard of the Russian corps Z. G. Chernyshev (20 thousand soldiers), to completely destroy all royal institutions in Berlin and such important objects as the arsenal, foundry, gunpowder mills, cloth manufactories. In addition, it was assumed that a large contribution would be taken from Berlin. In case the magistrate did not have enough cash, Totleben was allowed to accept bills guaranteed by the hostages.
Beginning of the Berlin expedition
On September 16, 1760, the corps of Totleben and Chernyshev set out for Berlin. October 2 Totleben arrived in Wusterhausen. There he learned that the garrison of the enemy's capital had only 1,200 people - three infantry battalions and two hussar squadrons - but General Johann Dietrich von Huelsen from Torgau and Prince Friedrich Eugene of Württemberg from the north came to their rescue. Totleben did not refuse a sudden assault and asked Chernyshev to cover him from the rear.
In terms of fortification, Berlin was almost an open city. It was located on two islands surrounded by a wall with bastions. The branches of the river Spree served as ditches for them. The suburbs on the right bank were surrounded by an earthen rampart, and on the left - by a stone wall. Of the ten city gates, only one was protected by a flush - an obtuse field fortification. The population of Berlin at the time of the Russian occupation was, according to the historian A. Rambaud, approximately 120 thousand inhabitants.
The head of the Berlin garrison, General Rokhov, whose forces were inferior to the enemy both quantitatively and qualitatively, thought about leaving the city, but under pressure from retired military leaders who were in Berlin, he decided to resist. He ordered to build flashes in front of the gates of the city suburbs and placed guns there. Loopholes were punched in the walls, and the crossing over the Spree was taken under protection. Couriers were sent to General Hülsen at Torgau and at Templin to the Prince of Württemberg asking for help. Preparations for the siege provoked panic among the townspeople. Some rich Berliners fled to Magdeburg and Hamburg with valuables, others hid their property.
Assault on the outskirts of Berlin
On the morning of October 3, Totleben went to Berlin. By 11 o'clock, its units occupied the heights opposite the Cottbus and Gallic gates. The Russian commander sent Lieutenant Chernyshev to General Rokhov demanding to surrender and, having received a refusal, began to prepare for the bombardment of the city and the storming of the gates. At 2 o'clock, the Russian troops opened fire, but due to the lack of large-caliber howitzers, it was not possible to break through the city wall or cause fires. Only red-hot cores helped to provoke a fire. The defenders of Berlin responded with cannon fire.
At 9 pm Totleben decided to simultaneously storm the gates of both suburbs. Prince Prozorovsky with three hundred grenadiers and two cannons was ordered to attack the Gallic Gates, Major Patkul with the same forces - Cottbus. At midnight, the Russian units went on the attack. Both attempts were unsuccessful: Patkul did not manage to take the gate at all, and Prozorovsky, although he reached the goal, did not receive support and was forced to retreat by dawn. After that, Totleben resumed the bombardment, which continued until the morning of the next day: the Russian guns fired 655 shells, including 567 bombs. On the afternoon of October 4, the vanguard of the forces of the Prince of Württemberg arrived in Berlin, numbering seven squadrons; the rest, the infantry units, were also approaching the city. Totleben withdrew most of his forces to the village of Köpenick, and by the morning of October 5, under the onslaught of Prussian reinforcements, the rest of the Russian units also left the approaches to Berlin.
Totleben blamed Chernyshev for the failure of his plan, who simply did not have the opportunity to arrive in the vicinity of Berlin before October 5th. Chernyshev occupied Fürstenwalde on October 3, and the next day he received a request from Totleben for help with people, guns and shells. On the evening of October 5, the forces of the two generals joined in Köpenick, Chernyshev assumed overall command. All day on October 6, they were waiting for the arrival of Panin's division. The Prince of Württemberg, meanwhile, ordered General Huelsen to speed up the movement towards Berlin via Potsdam.
On October 7, Chernyshev received a dispatch from Panin, who arrived in Fürstenwalde and then proceeded in the direction of Berlin. The commander decided to attack the forces of the Prince of Württemberg and, if successful, storm the eastern suburbs of the city. Totleben was instructed to organize a diversionary maneuver, but he was not satisfied with this role and on the same day resumed the assault on the western suburbs. Having forced the troops of the Prince of Württemberg to take cover behind the walls of Berlin, Totleben attacked parts of Hülsen that had approached from Potsdam, but were driven back. At this time, on the outskirts of Berlin, appeared, on the one hand, the enemy vanguard of Kleist, and on the other, the allied corps of the Austrian General Lassi. Not wanting to wait for the help of the Austrians, Totleben attacked Kleist. The Russian units suffered heavy losses, and the outcome of the battle was decided by the intervention of the Lassi corps. This irritated Totleben, who did not want to share the glory of the conqueror of Berlin with the Austrian commander, and the general returned to his positions in front of the gates of the suburbs. As a result, Huelsen's corps was able to enter Berlin by evening. Chernyshev, who at the same time was operating on the right bank of the Spree, managed to occupy the heights of Lichtenberg and begin shelling the Prussians, forcing them to take refuge in the eastern suburbs.
On October 8, Chernyshev planned to attack the Prince of Württemberg and storm the eastern suburbs, but the arrival of the Kleist corps violated this plan: the number of Prussian units increased to 14 thousand people, and at the same time they were more mobile than the Allied forces. The latter numbered about 34 thousand (almost 20 thousand Russians and 14 thousand Austrians and Saxons, but were separated by a river, while the defenders of Berlin could easily transfer troops from one bank to another.
Negotiations and surrender
While Chernyshev was planning the further actions of the allied forces, Totleben, without his knowledge, decided to enter into negotiations with the enemy on surrender. He did not know that a corresponding decision had also been made at the military council in Berlin. Fearing the destruction of the city during the assault, the Prussian military leaders decided that the troops of Kleist, Huelsen and the Prince of Württemberg would retreat to Spandau and Charlottenburg on the night of October 9, while Rochov, meanwhile, would begin negotiations on surrender, which would concern only his garrison. Totleben sent Rokhov a new demand for the surrender of the city and by one in the morning was refused. This perplexed the Russian general, but at three o'clock the Prussian representatives themselves appeared at the Cottbus Gate with proposals from Rokhov. By this time, reinforcements had already left Berlin. At four o'clock in the morning the head of the garrison signed the surrender. Together with soldiers and military equipment, he surrendered. At five o'clock in the morning, Russian troops accepted civilian surrender. On the eve of the townspeople gathered in the town hall, they discussed whether to capitulate to the Austrians or the Russians. The merchant Gotzkowski, an old friend of Totleben, convinced everyone of the preference for the second option. First, Totleben demanded an astronomical sum as an indemnity - 4 million thalers. But in the end he was persuaded to cede up to 500 thousand in cash and one million bills under the guarantee of the hostages. Gotzkowski promised the town hall to achieve an even greater reduction in indemnity. Totleben guaranteed the townspeople security, inviolability of private property, freedom of correspondence and trade, and exemption from camping.
The joy at the capture of Berlin by the Allied forces was overshadowed by Totleben's act: the Austrians were outraged that in the battles near Berlin the Russians actually assigned them the role of spectators; Saxons - too favorable terms of surrender (they expected to avenge the cruelties of Frederick II in Saxony). There was neither a solemn entry of troops into the city, nor a thanksgiving service. Russian soldiers clashed with the Austrians and Saxons, which undermined discipline in the allied forces. Berlin almost did not suffer from robberies and ruin: only royal institutions were plundered, and even then not to the ground. Totleben opposed Lassi's idea to blow up the arsenal, citing his unwillingness to cause damage to the city.
Results and consequences
The capture of the Prussian capital produced a great resonance in Europe. Voltaire wrote to I. Shuvalov that the appearance of Russians in Berlin "makes a much greater impression than all Metastasio's operas." Union courts and envoys brought congratulations to Elizaveta Petrovna. Frederick II, who suffered heavy material losses as a result of the ruin of Berlin, was annoyed and humiliated. Count Totleben was presented with the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the rank of lieutenant general, but as a result, his success was only noted with a diploma for his duty. This prompted the commander to publish a "Relation" about the capture of Berlin with an exaggeration of his own contribution to the success of the operation and unflattering comments about Chernyshev and Lassi.
The occupation of the capital of Prussia by the Russians and Austrians lasted only four days: having received information about the approach of the troops of Frederick II to Berlin, the allies, who did not have sufficient forces to hold the city, left Berlin. The abandonment of the capital by the enemy allowed Frederick to turn his troops to Saxony.
The real threat of the capture of the Prussian capital by the Russians and their allies continued to persist until the end of 1761, when, after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter III ascended the Russian throne. The so-called "miracle of the House of Brandenburg" happened - the accession of a great admirer of Frederick II in Russia saved Prussia from defeat. The new monarch radically changed the vector of the Russian foreign policy, having concluded peace with Prussia, returning to it all the conquered territories without any compensation, and even concluding an alliance with the former enemy. In 1762, Peter was overthrown as a result of palace coup, but his wife and successor Catherine II maintained a neutral position with respect to Prussia. Following Russia, Sweden also stopped the war with Prussia. This allowed Frederick to resume the offensive in Saxony and Silesia. Austria had no choice but to also agree to a peace agreement. The peace signed in 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle sealed the return to the pre-war status quo.
Copy of someone else's materials
The final battle in the Great Patriotic War became the battle for Berlin, or the Berlin strategic offensive, which was held from April 16 to May 8, 1945.
On April 16, at 03:00 local time, aviation and artillery preparation began on the sector of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. After its completion, 143 searchlights were turned on to blind the enemy, and the infantry, supported by tanks, went on the attack. Encountering no strong resistance, she advanced 1.5-2 kilometers. However, the further our troops advanced, the stronger the resistance of the enemy grew.
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian front carried out a swift maneuver to reach Berlin from the south and west. On April 25, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts joined up west of Berlin, completing the encirclement of the entire enemy Berlin grouping.
The liquidation of the Berlin enemy grouping directly in the city continued until May 2. The assault had to take every street and house. On April 29, fighting began for the Reichstag, the possession of which was entrusted to the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Before the assault on the Reichstag, the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army presented its divisions with nine Red Banners, specially made according to the type State flag THE USSR. One of these Red Banners, known under No. 5 as the Banner of Victory, was transferred to the 150th Rifle Division. Similar self-made red banners, flags and flags were in all advanced units, formations and subunits. They, as a rule, were handed over to assault groups, which were recruited from among volunteers and went into battle with the main task - to break into the Reichstag and install the Banner of Victory on it. The first - at 22:30 Moscow time on April 30, 1945, hoisted an assault red banner on the roof of the Reichstag on the sculptural figure "Goddess of Victory" - reconnaissance artillerymen of the 136th Army Cannon Artillery Brigade, senior sergeants G.K. Zagitov, A.F. Lisimenko, A.P. Bobrov and Sergeant A.P. Minin from the assault group of the 79th Rifle Corps, commanded by Captain V.N. Makov, the assault group of artillerymen acted jointly with the battalion of captain S.A. Neustroeva. Two or three hours later, also on the roof of the Reichstag, on the sculpture of an equestrian knight - Kaiser Wilhelm - by order of the commander of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th Infantry Division, Colonel F.M. Zinchenko, the Red Banner No. 5 was installed, which then became famous as the Banner of Victory. Red Banner No. 5 was hoisted by scouts Sergeant M.A. Egorov and junior sergeant M.V. Kantaria, who were accompanied by Lieutenant A.P. Berest and machine gunners from the company of senior sergeant I.Ya. Syanov.
The fighting for the Reichstag continued until the morning of May 1. At 6:30 am on May 2, the head of the defense of Berlin, General of Artillery G. Weidling, surrendered and ordered the remnants of the troops of the Berlin garrison to cease resistance. In the middle of the day, the resistance of the Nazis in the city ceased. On the same day, the encircled groups were liquidated. German troops southeast of Berlin.
On May 9, at 0:43 Moscow time, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as representatives of the German Navy, who had the appropriate authority from Doenitz, in the presence of Marshal G.K. Zhukov from the Soviet side signed the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Brilliant operation, coupled with courage Soviet soldiers and officers who fought to end the four-year nightmare of war, led to a logical outcome: Victory.
Capture of Berlin. 1945 Documentary
PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE
The Berlin operation of the Soviet troops began. Goal: complete the defeat of Germany, capture Berlin, connect with the allies
The infantry and tanks of the 1st Belorussian Front launched an attack before dawn under the illumination of anti-aircraft searchlights and advanced 1.5-2 km
With the onset of dawn on the Seelow Heights, the Germans came to their senses and fight with bitterness. Zhukov introduces tank armies into battle
16 Apr. 45g. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev meet less resistance on the way of their offensive and immediately force the Neisse
Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front Konev orders the commanders of his tank armies Rybalko and Lelyushenko to advance on Berlin
Konev demands from Rybalko and Lelyushenko not to get involved in protracted and head-on battles, to boldly move forward towards Berlin
Hero died twice in the battles for Berlin Soviet Union, commander of a tank battalion. Mr. S.Khokhryakov
The 2nd Belorussian Front of Rokossovsky joined the Berlin operation, covering the right flank.
By the end of the day, Konev's front had completed the breakthrough of the Neissen line of defense, crossed the river. Spree and provided the conditions for the encirclement of Berlin from the south
Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front Zhukov break the 3rd enemy defense line on the Oderen-on the Seelow Heights all day
By the end of the day, Zhukov's troops completed the breakthrough of the 3rd lane of the Oder line at the Seelow Heights
On the left wing of Zhukov's front, conditions were created for cutting off the Frankfurt-Guben group of the enemy from the area on Berlin
Directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the commanders of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts: "It is better to treat the Germans." , Antonov
Another directive of the Headquarters: on identification marks and signals at a meeting Soviet armies and allied troops
At 13.50, long-range artillery of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army was the first to open fire on Berlin - the beginning of the assault on the city itself
20 Apr. 45g. Konev and Zhukov send almost identical orders to the troops of their fronts: “Be the first to break into Berlin!”
By evening, formations of the 2nd Guards Tank, 3rd and 5th Shock Armies of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the northeastern outskirts of Berlin
The 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies wedged into the city defensive bypass of Berlin in the districts of Petershagen and Erkner
Hitler ordered the 12th Army, previously targeted against the Americans, to be turned against the 1st Ukrainian Front. She now has the goal of linking up with the remnants of the 9th and 4th Panzer Armies, making their way south of Berlin to the west.
Rybalko's 3rd Guards Tank Army broke into the southern part of Berlin and is fighting for Teltow by 17.30 - Konev's telegram to Stalin
Hitler refused to leave Berlin for the last time while there was such an opportunity. Goebbels and his family moved to a bunker under the Reich Chancellery ("Fuhrer's bunker")
Assault flags were presented by the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army to the divisions storming Berlin. Among them is the flag that became the banner of victory - the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division.
In the area of Spremberg Soviet troops eliminated the encircled group of Germans. Among the destroyed units is the tank division "Protection of the Fuhrer"
Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front are fighting in the south of Berlin. At the same time, they reached the Elbe River northwest of Dresden
Goering, who had left Berlin, turned to Hitler on the radio, asking him to approve him at the head of the government. Received an order from Hitler removing him from the government. Bormann ordered Goering's arrest for treason
Himmler unsuccessfully tries through the Swedish diplomat Bernadotte to offer the allies surrender on the Western Front
Shock formations of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts in the Brandenburg region closed the encirclement ring of German troops in Berlin
Forces of the German 9th and 4th tanks. armies are surrounded in the forests southeast of Berlin. Parts of the 1st Ukrainian Front reflect the counterattack of the 12th German Army
Report: “In the suburbs of Berlin, Ransdorf, there are restaurants where they “willingly sell” beer to our fighters for occupation marks.” The head of the political department of the 28th Guards Rifle Regiment, Borodin, ordered the owners of Ransdorf's restaurants to close them for a while until the battle was over.
In the area of Torgau on the Elbe, Soviet troops of the 1st Ukrainian fr. met with the troops of the 12th American Army Group General Bradley
Having crossed the Spree, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front of Konev and the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of Zhukov are rushing towards the center of Berlin. The rush of Soviet soldiers in Berlin can no longer be stopped
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front in Berlin occupied Gartenstadt and Gerlitsky Station, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the district of Dahlem
Konev turned to Zhukov with a proposal to change the demarcation line between their fronts in Berlin - the city center to transfer it to the front
Zhukov asks Stalin to salute the capture of the center of Berlin to the troops of his front, replacing Konev's troops in the south of the city
The General Staff orders Konev's troops, who have already reached the Tiergarten, to transfer their offensive zone to Zhukov's troops
Order No. 1 of the military commandant of Berlin, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel-General Berzarin, on the transfer of all power in Berlin into the hands of the Soviet military commandant's office. It was announced to the population of the city that the National Socialist Party of Germany and its organizations were disbanding and their activities were prohibited. The order established the order of behavior of the population and determined the main provisions necessary for the normalization of life in the city.
The battles for the Reichstag began, the mastery of which was entrusted to the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front
When breaking through the barriers on the Berlin Kaiserallee, the tank of N. Shendrikov received 2 holes, caught fire, the crew failed. The mortally wounded commander, having collected last strength, sat down at the controls and threw a flaming tank at an enemy cannon
Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun in a bunker under the Reich Chancellery. Witness - Goebbels. In his political testament, Hitler expelled Goering from the NSDAP and officially named Grand Admiral Dönitz as his successor.
Soviet units are fighting for the Berlin metro
The Soviet command rejected attempts by the German command to start negotiations on the time. ceasefire. There is only one demand - surrender!
The assault on the Reichstag building itself began, which was defended by more than 1000 Germans and SS men from different countries
In different places of the Reichstag, several red banners were fixed - from regimental and divisional to self-made
Scouts of the 150th division Egorov and Kantaria were ordered to hoist the Red Banner over the Reichstag around midnight
Lieutenant Berest from the Neustroev battalion led the combat mission of installing the Banner over the Reichstag. Established around 3.00, May 1
Hitler committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery bunker by taking poison and shooting him in the temple with a pistol. Hitler's corpse is burned in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery
At the post of Chancellor, Hitler leaves Goebbels, who will commit suicide the next day. Before his death, Hitler appointed Bormann Reich Minister for Party Affairs (previously such a post did not exist)
The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front captured Bandenburg, cleared the areas of Charlottenburg, Schöneberg and 100 quarters in Berlin
In Berlin, Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide, after killing their 6 children
Beg. German General Staff Krebs, announced the suicide of Hitler, offered to conclude a truce. Stalin confirmed the categorical demand for unconditional surrender in Berlin. At 18 o'clock the Germans rejected him
At 18.30, in connection with the rejection of the surrender, the Berlin garrison received a fire attack. The mass surrender of the Germans began
At 01.00, the radios of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “Please cease fire. We are sending parliamentarians to the Potsdam Bridge"
A German officer, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance
At 0600, General Weidling surrendered and an hour later signed the surrender order for the Berlin garrison.
Enemy resistance in Berlin has completely ceased. The remnants of the garrison surrender en masse
In Berlin, Goebbels's deputy for propaganda and press, Dr. Fritsche, was taken prisoner. Fritsche testified during interrogation that Hitler, Goebbels and Chief of the General Staff General Krebs committed suicide
Stalin's order on the contribution of the Zhukov and Konev fronts to the defeat of the Berlin group. By 21.00, 70 thousand Germans had already surrendered
The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in the Berlin operation - 78 thousand people. Enemy losses - 1 million, incl. 150 thousand killed
Everywhere in Berlin, Soviet field kitchens are deployed, where "wild barbarians" feed hungry Berliners.
The capture of the German capital is an old Russian tradition dating back more than a quarter of a millennium.
Dying but not giving up
In early October 1760, the Russian army approached Berlin. The war with Prussia, which lasted for the seventh year, came to its logical end. Frederick the Great, the formidable emperor, who until recently was considered the first European commander, was well aware that the old fortifications of Berlin were not able to withstand either a long siege or a serious assault. dilapidated medieval walls and the wooden palisade were weak protection for the garrison, which at that moment numbered only one and a half thousand bayonets.
However, the first demand for surrender, sent by the commander of the Russian advanced units, the international adventurer General Gottlob Kurt Heinrich von Totleben, the Prussians responded with a decisive refusal. Then he deployed an assault battery and struck at the center of the city, making it clear that he was able to shoot through him. However, the garrison still did not lower the flag. The valor of the Germans was appreciated - the old Berliner Totleben put up another battery, this time at the city gates. Dense fire opened the way to the city and led to fires along Friedrichstraße. By midnight, in the light of the fires, the Russian grenadiers attacked the gap in three detachments. But it was not possible to take the city "on a spear" on the move.
Member of the assault prince Prozorovsky, who commanded the Russian troops here, wrote in his memoirs that one detachment lost its way in the dark, the second came under fire from fortress artillery and retreated. And only the detachment that he personally led, despite huge losses, managed to break through to the moat filled with water. However, it was unrealistic to cross the ditch under fire. The first assault ended in failure, but worst of all, the forward corps was running out of fire supplies. In addition, many guns were out of order: to increase the range of the shot, they were loaded with an excessive amount of gunpowder. The seemingly defenseless fortress survived and was ready to continue the defense.
Russians fight - Germans tremble
Soon the main Russian forces under the command of General Zakhara Chernysheva. It was then that the main battle began - in which the unfortunate Germans did not take part, waiting for their fate to be decided. Chernyshev and Totleben set up their camps respectively on the right and left banks of the Spree. At the same time, Chernyshev tried to achieve obedience from Totleben, wanting to take over the overall leadership of the assault. In turn, Totleben, with a stamina worthy of a better use, ignored all Chernyshev's orders. To the demands to cross to the right bank, he completely refused. Half a century later, retreating before Napoleon, in the same way they will pull the blanket over themselves Bagration And Barclay de Tolly..
Perked up in spirit, the Berliners did not prevent the besiegers from pursuing their strife, especially since they had enough of their own affairs - fresh reinforcements from Saxony and Pomerania approached. So by the time the Russians turned their attention back to Berlin, the balance of power was already quite decent. The Berliners hoped that the miracle of three years ago would repeat itself, when Stepan Apraksin for reasons known to him alone. In addition, now the battle, which only yesterday had been seen as a simple undertaking, threatened to turn into a real massacre.
force majeure event
However, unlike the generals concerned only with personal glory, the Almighty was on the side of the Russian battalions - on October 8, a hurricane of unprecedented strength swept over Berlin. And if the burgomaster could still do something with the hundred-year-old oaks turned upside down, then it was already difficult to repair the fallen sections of the palisade under the fire of Russian troops. And then, to the misfortune of the Prussians, two days earlier than planned, their sworn friends approached the city - the Austrians, allies of the Russians. Of course, one could wait to see if the Russian generals would clash with the Austrian ones, finding out who was now in charge, but the Prussians decided not to risk it. On the night of October 9, they began to retreat to Spandau. On the morning of the same day, the authorities of Berlin took out the keys and capitulated to their fellow countryman, General Totleben, who of the three commanders seemed to be the lesser evil.
In Berlin, Russian troops captured 4,500 soldiers, seized 143 guns, 18,000 guns and pistols, and almost 2 million thalers of indemnity as payment for travel expenses. But at the same time, the pogroms and reprisals expected by the Berliners did not follow - the ferocious Russians behaved surprisingly peacefully and calmly.
Gifted Victory
The fall of Berlin plunged Emperor Frederick the Great into extreme despondency, but soon the fruits of Russian victories in this war were nullified. January 5, 1762 Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died and her nephew ascended the throne PeterIII. The new sovereign idolized Frederick the Great and therefore immediately ended the war without any benefits for Russia, returning to his idol all the lands conquered from him.
Contrary to popular belief, there was a certain logic in the actions of the new sovereign. Peter III, born Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, wanted to involve Frederick in the war with Denmark, which at that time chopped off a large piece of his Holstein possessions, and he succeeded. True, our emperor did not live to see the triumph of such dubious diplomacy: he was eliminated in the interests of Ekaterina Alekseevna, which would later be called the Great. But that's a completely different story...
And the keys to Berlin, presented on October 9 to General Totleben, are still kept in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
ALWAYS POSSIBLE
The capture of Berlin militarily was not particularly successful, but it had a great political resonance. All European capitals quickly flew around the phrase uttered by the favorite of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Count I.I. Shuvalov: “You can’t reach Petersburg from Berlin, but you can always get from Petersburg to Berlin.”
COURSE OF EVENTS
The dynastic contradictions of the European courts in the 18th century resulted in a bloody and long war "for the Austrian inheritance" of 1740-1748. Military fortune was on the side of the Prussian king Frederick II, who managed not only to expand his possessions by taking away the rich province of Silesia from Austria, but also to increase the foreign policy weight of Prussia, turning it into a powerful Central European power. However, this state of affairs could not suit other European countries, and especially Austria, which was then the leader of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Friedrich II that the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and the court of Vienna would strive to restore not only the integrity of their state, but also the prestige of the state.
The confrontation between the two German states in Central Europe led to the emergence of two powerful blocs: Austria and France opposed the coalition of England and Prussia. In 1756, the Seven Years' War began. The decision to join Russia to the anti-Prussian coalition was made by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna in 1757, since the numerous defeats of the Austrians threatened the capture of Vienna, and the excessive strengthening of Prussia was in conflict with the foreign policy of the Russian court. Russia also feared for the position of its newly annexed Baltic possessions.
Russia acted successfully in the Seven Years' War, more successfully than all the other sides, won brilliant victories in key battles. But she did not take advantage of their fruits - in any case, Russia did not receive territorial acquisitions. The latter stemmed from internal court circumstances.
At the end of the 1750s. Empress Elizabeth was often ill. They feared for her life. Elizabeth's heir was her nephew, the son of Anna's eldest daughter - Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy, his name was Karl Peter Ulrich. Almost immediately after birth, he lost his mother, was left without a father in childhood and took his father's Holstein throne. Prince Karl Peter Ulrich was the grandson of Peter I and great-nephew of the Swedish King Charles XII. At one time he was being prepared to become the heir to the Swedish throne.
The young duke of Holstein was brought up with exceptional mediocrity. The main pedagogical tool was the rod. This took a toll on the boy, whose natural abilities were thought to be limited. When in 1742 the 13-year-old Holstein prince was discharged to St. Petersburg, he made a depressing impression on everyone with his underdevelopment, bad manners and contempt for Russia. The ideal of Grand Duke Peter was Frederick II. As Duke of Holstein, Peter was a vassal of Frederick II. Many feared that he would be a "vassal" of the Prussian king, and take the Russian throne.
The courtiers and ministers knew that if Peter III came to the throne, Russia would immediately end the war as part of the anti-Prussian coalition. But still the reigning Elizabeth demanded victories over Frederick. As a result, the military leaders sought to inflict defeat on the Prussians, but "not fatal."
In the first major battle between the Prussian and Russian troops, which took place on August 19, 1757 near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, our army was commanded by S.F. Apraksin. He defeated the Prussians, but did not pursue them. On the contrary, he withdrew himself, which allowed Frederick II to put his army in order and transfer it against the French.
Elizabeth, having recovered from another illness, removed Apraksin. His place was taken by V.V. Fermor. In 1758 the Russians captured the capital East Prussia Koenigsberg. Then followed a bloody battle near the village of Zorndorf, both sides suffered heavy losses, but did not defeat each other, although each side declared its "victory".
In 1759 at the head Russian troops P.S. stood up in Prussia. Saltykov. On August 12, 1759, the Battle of Kunersdorf took place, which became the crown of Russian victories in the Seven Years' War. 41,000 Russian soldiers, 5,200 Kalmyk cavalry and 18,500 Austrians fought under Saltykov. The Prussian troops were commanded by Frederick II himself, with 48,000 men in service.
The battle began at 9 o'clock in the morning, when the Prussian artillery dealt a crushing blow to the Russian artillery batteries. Most of the gunners died under the buckshot, some did not even have time to make a single volley. By 11 o'clock in the afternoon, Friedrich realizes that the left flank of the Russian-Austrian troops is extremely weakly fortified, and attacks it with superior forces. Saltykov decides to retreat, and the army, keeping the order of battle, retreats. At 6 pm, the Prussians captured all the artillery of the allies - 180 guns, of which 16 were immediately sent to Berlin as war trophies. Friedrich celebrated the victory.
However, Russian troops continued to hold two strategic heights: Spitzberg and Judenberg. An attempt to capture these points with the help of cavalry failed: the inconvenient terrain of the area did not allow Frederick's cavalry to turn around, and they all died under a hail of buckshot and bullets. A horse was killed near Frederick, and the commander himself miraculously escaped. Frederick's last reserve, life cuirassiers, was thrown into Russian positions, but the Chuguev Kalmyks not only stopped this attack, but also captured the cuirassier commander.
Realizing that Frederick's reserves were depleted, Saltykov ordered a general offensive, which threw the Prussians into a panic. Trying to flee, the soldiers crowded on the bridge over the Oder River, many drowned. Frederick himself admitted that the defeat of his army was complete: out of 48 thousand Prussians after the battle, only 3 thousand were in the ranks, and the guns captured at the first stage of the battle were repulsed. Frederick's despair is best shown in one of his letters: “From an army of 48,000, I don’t have even 3,000 left at this moment. Everything is running, and I no longer have power over the army. In Berlin, they will do well if they think about their safety. A cruel misfortune, I will not survive it. The consequences of the battle will be even worse than the battle itself: I have no more means, and to tell the truth, I consider everything lost. I will not survive the loss of my fatherland."
One of the trophies of Saltykov's army was the famous cocked hat of Frederick II, which is still kept in the museum in St. Petersburg. Frederick II himself almost became a prisoner of the Cossacks.
The victory at Kunersdorf allowed the Russian troops to occupy Berlin. The forces of Prussia were so weakened that Frederick could only continue the war with the support of the allies. In the campaign of 1760, Saltykov hoped to capture Danzig, Kolberg and Pomerania, and from there proceed to capture Berlin. The plans of the commander were realized only in part because of the inconsistency of actions with the Austrians. In addition, the commander-in-chief himself fell dangerously ill at the end of August and was forced to surrender command to Fermor, who was replaced by A.B., the favorite of Elizabeth Petrovna, who arrived in early October. Buturlin.
In turn, the building of Z.G. Chernyshev with the cavalry of G. Totleben and the Cossacks made a trip to the capital of Prussia. On September 28, 1760, the advancing Russian troops entered capitulated Berlin. (It is curious that when in February 1813, pursuing the remnants of Napoleon's army, the Russians occupied Berlin for the second time, Chernyshev was again at the head of the army - but not Zakhar Grigoryevich, but Alexander Ivanovich). The trophies of the Russian army were one and a half hundred guns, 18 thousand firearms, almost two million thalers of indemnity were received. 4.5 thousand people who were in German captivity Austrians, Germans and Swedes.
After staying in the city for four days, the Russian troops left it. Frederick II and his Great Prussia were on the verge of destruction. Corps P.A. Rumyantsev took the fortress of Kolberg ... At this decisive moment, the Russian Empress Elizabeth died. Having ascended the throne, Peter III stopped the war with Frederick, began to offer help to Prussia and, of course, broke off the anti-Prussian alliance with Austria.
Have any of those born in the world heard,
So that the triumphant people
Surrendered into the hands of the vanquished?
Oh shame! Oh, strange twist!
Thus, M.V. Lomonosov about the events of the Seven Years' War. Such an illogical end to the Prussian campaign and the brilliant victories of the Russian army did not bring Russia any territorial gains. But the victories of Russian soldiers were not in vain - the authority of Russia as a powerful military power has grown.
Note that this war became a military school for the outstanding Russian commander Rumyantsev. For the first time, he showed himself at Gross-Jägersdorf, when, leading the infantry of the vanguard, he fought his way through the thicket of the forest and hit the bayonets of the discouraged Prussians, which decided the outcome of the battle.
