At the very end of World War II there was an assault on the Zeelov Heights located east of Berlin. This truly great battle showed heroism and incredible sacrifice of many soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army at a time when less than a month remained before the Great Victory.
The Seelow Heights is a ridge of hills located 50-60 km east of Berlin, on the left bank of the Oder. Their length is about 20, and the width is up to 10 km. They rise above the river valley by no more than 50 m.
German military fortifications
The Seelow Heights of 1945 is a deeply echeloned defense of the troops of fascist Germany. They were a military fortification, built almost 2 years. The main task of the 9th German army was precisely to defend the Zeelow Heights.
The fascist command created the 2nd defense zone here, consisting of trenches, trenches for anti-tank weapons and artillery, a large number of bunkers and machine gun sites, as well as anti-personnel barriers. Separate buildings served as strongholds. Directly in front of the heights there was a dug anti-tank ditch, the width of which was 3.5 and the depth was 3 m. In addition, all approaches to the defensive structures were carefully mined and shot by cross-machine gun and artillery fire.
The 9th German Army, which defended the Zeelov Heights, consisted of 14 rifle units, had more than 2.5 thousand artillery barrels and anti-aircraft guns, and about 600 tanks.
German defense
On March 20, General Heindritzi was appointed to command the Wisla Army Group. He was considered one of the best specialists in defensive tactics. He knew in advance that the Soviet Army would direct its main blow along the motorway, not far from which the Seeelows Heights were located.
Hendrici did not strengthen the bank of the river. Instead, he used the advantageous location of the heights through which the Oder flowed. The floodplain of the river in the spring was always saturated with floods, so German engineers first destroyed part of the dam, and then released water upstream. Thus, the plain turned into a swamp. Behind it were three lines of defense: the first - a system of various fortifications, barriers and trenches; the second is the Zeelov Heights, the battle for which will last from April 16 to 19; the third is the Wotan line, located 17–20 km behind the front line itself.
By the beginning of the battle, the 56th German tank corps totaled about 50 thousand people. After the battle in Berlin, only 13-15 thousand fighters were able to break through, who later became defenders of the fascist capital.
Location of Soviet troops
On April 9, Koenigsberg fell - the last stronghold of East Prussia. Then the 2nd Belorussian Front, commanded by Marshal Rokossovsky, occupied the eastern shore of the Oder. Then, within two weeks, the redeployment of Soviet troops was carried out. Meanwhile, the 1st Belorussian Front concentrated its troops opposite the heights. Farther south are the units of the 1st Ukrainian led by Marshal Konev.
In total, there were 2.5 million people in the area of Zeelovsky heights, more than 6 thousand Soviet tanks, which also included self-propelled artillery installations, 7.5 thousand aircraft, about 3 thousand Katyushas and 41 thousand barrels of mortars and artillery.
Battle
On April 16, the 1st Belorussian Front went on the offensive and overcame the first line of defense. By the evening of the same day, he met strong resistance from the Germans, defending the Zeelov heights. The battle was extremely fierce. The enemy’s reserve divisions managed to approach the second line of defense. The density of artillery on two sides of the main highway, which went along the heights, reached about 200 guns per 1 km.
On the first day, an attempt was made to accelerate the advance of Soviet troops. Why two tank armies were introduced into battle. But this did not bring the desired result. Mobile units and infantry were forced to engage in a grueling battle. It should be noted that almost all tank battles of the Second World War were extremely fierce and bloody. Only by the end of the day on April 17, after a powerful aviation and artillery preparation, the enemy’s defense in the main areas was broken.
The ring around Berlin
Now historians are trying to understand whether this bloody battle was needed and whether Marshal Zhukov did the right thing, abandoning the simpler way - encircling Berlin. Those who are of the opinion that it is advisable to take the German capital into the ring, for some reason do not notice the obvious, namely the quantitative and qualitative composition of the defense garrison of the city. The 9th German and 4th armored armies, which had taken advantageous positions on the Oder, totaled about 200 thousand people. It was impossible to give them even the slightest opportunity to move to Berlin and thereby become his defenders.
Zhukov's plan
A plan brilliant in its simplicity was invented. According to him, tank armies were to occupy positions located on the outskirts of Berlin and form around him something like a cocoon. His task was to prevent the reinforcement of the garrison of the German capital at the expense of the 9,000th army, as well as reserve troops that could come from the west.
At the first stage, the entrance to the city was not planned. First, it was necessary to wait for the approach of the Soviet combined arms units. Then the "cocoon" was to open, and after that the assault on Berlin would begin.
The unexpected turn of Marshal Konev to the German capital, as historians note, led to some change in Zhukov's original plan. The conceived “cocoon” turned into a classic environment with the help of the adjacent flanks of two adjacent fronts. Almost all the forces of the 9th German army were caught in a ring in the forests located southeast of the capital. This is one of the largest defeats of the fascist troops, which has so undeservedly remained in the shadow of the assault on Berlin itself.
As a result, the capital of the Third Reich was defended only by members of the Hitler Youth, the remnants of the units destroyed on the Oder, and the police. In total there were no more than 100 thousand people. Such a number of defenders for the defense of a huge city, as history has shown, was insufficient.