The Battle of Berlin

1
The Battle of Berlin

• The Fall of Hitler and the Third Reich

2
Final Offensive from the West

• With the elimination of the "bulge" the campaign
  in the west moved towards conclusion. The Allies
  paused only briefly before resuming the
  offensive. Eisenhower had already decided that
  his forces should advance to the Rhine and cover
  its length before crossing he wanted to shorten
  Allied lines, provide a defensible position to
  counter further German counterattacks, and free
  troops to build up strong reserves.
• The Western Allies found a great deal of success
  in their engagements with the Germans.
• Nevertheless, Eisenhower resisted British
  pressure to drive on to Berlin. He saw no point
  in taking casualties to capture ground that, in
  line with earlier agreements between Allied
  leaders, would have to be relinquished to the
  Soviets once hostilities ceased. His objective
  remained to capture or destroy the remnants of
  the German armed forces.

3
Offensive from the West continued

• No offensive was planned to take the city. The
  major Western Allied contribution to the battle
  for Berlin was a strategic bombing of it. During
  1945 the West launched a number of very large
  daytime raids on Berlin and for 36 consecutive
  nights, bombers raided the German capital, ending
  on the night of 20/21 April 1945, just before the
  Soviets entered the city.
• As the battles raged, British, American, and
  Soviet forces neared previously negotiated stop
  lines along the Elbe and Mulde Rivers.
• German forces in Italy surrendered effective May
  2 and those in the Netherlands, northwestern
  Germany, and Denmark on May 4.

4
Final Offensive from the East

• On 20 April, Hitler's birthday, Soviet artillery
  began to shell the centre of Berlin and did not
  stop until the city surrendered.

Outside his bunker, Hitler awards the Iron Cross
to Hitler Youth on his 56th Birthday.
5
Russian Encirclement of Berlin

• On 23 April, the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front and
  1st Ukrainian Front continued to tighten the
  encirclement. This included cutting off the last
  link that the German IX Army had with the city.
  Elements of 1st Ukrainian Front continued to move
  westward and started to engage the German XII
  Army, moving towards Berlin
• By April 24 elements of 1st Belorussian Front and
  1st Ukrainian Front had completed the
  encirclement of the city.
• The next day, 25 April, the Soviet attack on
  Berlin was consolidated by leading Soviet troops
  to probe and penetrate the German defensive ring.
  By the end of the 25 April it became obvious that
  the German defence of Berlin could not stop the
  Russian onslaught, but only temporally delay it.

6
Russians Advance to Reichstag
7
Battle for the Reichstag

• The Reichstag was one of the places where the
  fighting was heaviest, with house-to-house and
  hand-to-hand combat. German SS soldiers fought
  especially hard, as they were ideologically
  motivated and they believed that they would not
  live if captured.
• In the early hours of the 29 April the Soviet 3rd
  Shock Army crossed the Moltke bridge and began to
  spread out into the surrounding area.
• At 0400 hours, in the Führerbunker, Hitler
  signed his last will and testament and, shortly
  afterwards, married Eva Braun. At dawn the
  Soviets pressed on with their assault in the
  south east. After very heavy fighting they
  managed to capture the Gestapo headquarters.

8
Hitler Commits Suicide

• Just days before his death Hitler married Eva
  Braun. That same night he tested out a cyanide
  pill on his German Shepherd dog, Blondi. Braun
  agreed to commit suicide with him.
• The Soviet troops were now only 300 yards away
  from Hitler's underground bunker. Although defeat
  was assured, Hitler demanded his troops fight to
  the death. Instructions were constantly being
  sent out giving orders that the Germans execute
  any military commanders who retreated.
• On 30th April, 1945, after saying their
  farewells, Hitler and Eva Braun went into a
  private room and took cyanide tablets. Hitler
  also shot himself in the head. There are some
  discrepancies over what was done with their
  bodies.

9
Time Magazine - May 7, 1945
10
Soviets Capture the Reichstag

• By the next day, 30 April, the Soviets had gained
  artillery support and at 0600 they launched an
  attack on the Reichstag.
• Soviet troops fought their way to the top of the
  building and hoisted the red flag on the top of
  the Reichstag at 2250

11
Soviets Capture Reichstag
12
German Surrender

• On the night of the 2/3 May General Hasso von
  Manteuffel, commander of the III Panzer Army and
  Kurt von Tippelskirch commander of the XXI Army
  surrendered to the Americans.
• On the morning of 7 May the perimeter of Wenck's
  XII army's bridgehead was compromised. Wenck
  crossed the Elbe under small arms fire that
  afternoon and surrendered to the Americans. Those
  who did not succeed in crossing the Elbe
  surrendered to the Soviets.