April was noisy and green, the last year of the bloody war was on. Military operations almost completely crossed into German territory. The USSR army was advancing from the east, the allies crushed from the west. Everyone understood that the end of the Wehrmacht and the capture of Berlin was inevitable.
At this point, Germany was in complete economic and political isolation. The only remaining ally - Japan - could no longer help, and was in the same deplorable position. German military production was steadily declining, the economy was disorganized. The casualties 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 significant forces for resistance on its territory.
Hitler’s strategic plan was to contain the pressure of Soviet troops in the east for as long as possible, and meanwhile 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 USA, but at all costs not to let in the Russians there.
Therefore, the main part of the forces was concentrated in the east of Germany, the most powerful defensive structures were built there. A defensive Berlin area was created , which included three ring fortified contours. The city itself was divided into nine sectors, interconnected by moves.
The central region, in which the main administrative buildings and the Reichstag were located, was most powerfully prepared for defense. 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 be a turning point in the history of the war. The task of the Soviet troops was at all costs to break the German resistance and lead to a final and unconditional surrender.
Armies of three fronts were brought in to participate in the Berlin operation on the part of the USSR, so that in the end, our troops significantly outnumbered the German ones.
The general plan of the operation was as follows: with quick strikes, defeat the main groups of the German armies "Center" and "Wisla", secure the capture of Berlin and go to the Elba River to unite with the Allied forces. This was to deprive Germany of the possibility of further organized resistance and force her to completely capitulate. An agreement in principle with Britain and the United States on coordination of joint actions was reached during the Crimean Conference.
In mid-April 1945, after careful preparation, Soviet troops launched a powerful attack on Berlin. The power of artillery fire and air raids was devastating. The first Ukrainian, First and Second Belorussian fronts quickly moved deep into enemy territory, squeezing a ring around the capital. On April 19, Soviet troops were able to break through the third defensive ring and bypass the city from the north. The losses on both sides were huge.
But by April 24, Berlin was surrounded, and on April 25, the planned union of Soviet and Anglo-American troops took place - a meeting on the Elbe. Everything went according to plan.
The Soviet troops grew stronger enthusiasm and joy from the imminent 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. Almost 470 thousand Soviet soldiers took part in it against 300 thousand Germans. The peculiarity of the Berlin operation is that tank attacks were actively and widely used in it. The Nazis fiercely resisted. So, in two weeks of fighting more than a third of the entire composition of the Soviet tank troops was lost.
Fights in the capital went day and night. On April 28, the assault on the Reichstag, the symbol and stronghold of the Wehrmacht, began. It was actually turned into an impregnable fortress, which was defended by the best SS detachments and well-trained naval school cadets. Nevertheless, everyone understood that this was a doomed struggle.
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, soldiers of the 150 rifle division Egorov, Kantaria and Berest put up a Soviet military banner on the roof of the Reichstag.
Around 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 expected the liberation of Prague and a number of other important battles, breaking through the direction to the west.