The Race to Berlin was a competition between
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
Marshals
Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
and
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...
to be the first to enter
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
during the final months of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in Europe.
In early 1945, with Germany's defeat inevitable, Soviet Premier
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
set his two marshals in a race to capture Berlin. Although the race was mostly between one another, both marshals were supported by other fronts. Marshal Zhukov was protected by
Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky ( Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who bec ...
's
Second Belorussian Front, and Marshal Konev was supported by
Andrei Yeremenko
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, image = Маршал Советского Союза Герой Советского Союза Андрей Иванович Ерёменко (cropped).jpg
, image_size =
, caption = Y ...
's
Fourth Ukrainian Front. Their separately-commanded armies were pitted against each other, ensuring they would drive their men as fast and as far as possible to a quick victory, leading to the climactic
Battle of Berlin.
The Soviet advance and ultimate capture of the German capital was not opposed by the
Western Allies
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...
. In an effort to avoid a diplomatic issue,
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower had ordered his forces into the south of Germany to cut off and to wipe out other pieces of the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
'' and to avoid the possibility that the German government would attempt to hold out in a
national redoubt in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
.
The Western Allies left eastern Germany and the city of Berlin to the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
. The
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
had already determined that both Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones of occupation.
Prelude
After the Allies agreed at the Yalta Conference to specific zones of influence within Germany, the two Soviet armies raced to win control of Berlin, perhaps motivated by a desire to gain control of the German nuclear research program in the
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science (German: ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften'') was a German scientific institution established in the German Empire in 1911. Its functions were taken over by ...
before the Americans.
The western front
Since the Allies landed in Normandy, the British and American armies (among affiliated Western Allied forces) had moved swiftly and decisively to take western cities in France, and to liberate Paris. By September 1944, Allied forces had reached the German border, but the subsequent failure of
Operation Market Garden prevented a decisive breakthrough into the heart of Germany by the end of the year. In December, Hitler launched an unsuccessful offensive known as the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
. In March 1945, the Allies
crossed the Rhine in a decisive manner, but the casualties taken by Allied forces in the
Ardennes in the previous months and the distance remaining to reach Berlin dampened Eisenhower's drive to take Berlin before the Soviets.
Final moves by Western Allies
General Eisenhower's armies were facing resistance that varied from being almost nonexistent to fanatical as they advanced toward Berlin, which was from their positions in early April 1945.
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
urged Eisenhower to continue the advance toward Berlin by the
21st Army Group, under the command of
Field Marshal Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...
, with the intention of capturing the city. Even General
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
agreed with Churchill that he should order the attack on the city since Montgomery's troops could reach Berlin within three days.
[Eisenhower Commission]
Eisenhower Memorial
The British and the Americans contemplated an airborne operation before the attack. In Operation Eclipse, the
17th Airborne Division
The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley.
It was officially activated as an airborne division in April 1 ...
,
82nd Airborne Division,
101st Airborne Division, and a British brigade were to seize the
Tempelhof
Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...
,
Rangsdorf
Rangsdorf is a municipality in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg in Germany. It has an airfield p to 1940 a genuine commercial airportfrom where on 20 July 1944 Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg took off on his fateful attempt to ass ...
,
Gatow
Gatow (), a district of south-western Berlin is located west of the ''Havelsee'' lake and has forested areas within its boundaries. It is within the borough of Spandau. On 31 December 2002, it had 5,532 inhabitants.
History
Gatow's existence was ...
,
Staaken, and
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.
Geography
Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.
Division of the town
Oranienburg ...
airfields. In Berlin, the
Reichsbanner resistance organization identified possible drop zones for Allied paratroopers, and they planned to guide them past German defenses into the city.
However, General
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. Bradley was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and over ...
warned that capturing a city located in a region that the Soviets had already received by the
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
might cost 100,000 casualties. By April 15, Eisenhower had ordered all armies to halt when they reached the Elbe and Mulde Rivers, thus immobilizing the spearheads while the war continued for three more weeks. The 21st Army Group was then instead ordered to move northeast toward
Bremen and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. The U.S. Ninth and First Armies held their ground from
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
through
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
to western
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, but Eisenhower ordered three Allied field armies (1st French, and the U.S. Seventh and Third Armies) into southeastern Germany and Austria. Advancing from northern Italy, the British Eighth Army
[Ultimately under the command of Field Marshal ]Harold Alexander
Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...
, not Eisenhower. pushed to the borders of
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
to defeat the remaining ''Wehrmacht'' elements there.
[ That later caused some friction with the ]Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...
, notably around Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
.
From the east
Soviet forces took the offensive after the spectacular defeat of Army Group Centre following Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...
in 1944 from which the ''Wehrmacht'' forces never recovered. In the winter of 1944 they pushed the German front lines back across Poland, with heavy casualties on both sides. That winter would turn out to be a bloody one, as the fighting came closer to Germany. Stalin had wanted to settle the score since Hitler's breach of their non-aggression pact. Using his Marshals Zhukov and Konev, he was determined to beat Eisenhower to Berlin and the '' Reichstag''. The Soviet Army ultimately captured Berlin. On 15 April 1945, the Soviet Union fired a massive barrage of some one million artillery shells, one of the largest in history, onto the German positions west of the Oder.
Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
After the devastating attack, Marshal Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...
's troops advanced towards Berlin, only to be ambushed by German soldiers who had withdrawn from their positions in the Oder to the fortified positions of the Seelow Heights further west after they had received intelligence about the expected artillery barrage
In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
from a captured Red Army soldier. Zhukov, seeing that his plan was not working, decided to send wave after wave of Soviet soldiers to destroy the German resistance.[Remme, T]
The Battle for Berlin in World War Two
', page 3. BBC (UK) "According to one Russian veteran, Soviet artillery was fired without proper guidance, killing scores of Red Army soldiers."[ For three days, the attacks still relentlessly came. After the fourth day, the ]1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
finally broke through the German defensive line but at a high cost in casualties. That provided the opportunity to advance on Berlin, to the west.
Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front
Stalin ordered the 2nd Belorussian Front, commanded by Marshal Rokossovsky
Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who beca ...
, to support Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front to the south.[Greg, G:]
On To Berlin
page 15 Although Rokossovsky's Front was not chosen to lead the attack at the Seelow Heights, it did benefit Zhukov's Front. It was the actions of Rokossovsky's Front that allowed Zhukov's Front to concentrate on their sector of the front-line while the 2nd Belorussian Front to attack in the lower half of the Oder, between Schwedt
Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a ''Große Kreisstadt, Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark (district), Uckermark ...
and the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
coast. This attack on the northern flank of the German Seelow Heights position by the 2nd Belorussian Front helped to reduce resistance on the 1st Belorussian Front sector, and made it possible for the 1st Belorussian Front to emerge victorious at the battle of the Seelow Heights.
Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front
While Zhukov's Front was fighting the German forces at the Seelow Heights, Marshal Konev and his 1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
was attacking the remaining German 9th Army that was trapped within pockets
A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag o ...
in the Spree
Spree may refer to:
Geography
* Spree (river), river in Germany
Film and television
* ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
* ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery
* "Spree" (''Numbers' ...
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
region near the town of Halbe.
The 9th Army's first attempt at breaking out of this pocket resulted in the capture of almost 5,000 of its troops, and the loss of 200 guns, mortars and 40 tanks captured by the Red Army. The survivors detected a weakly held sector in the 1st Ukrainian Front's position and attempted a second breakout. A large part of the 9th Army was able to escape through this breach before Konev's staff realized their mistake and sent troops to deal with the unlucky rear guard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
Germans who were caught in the open by the Red Army. The 9th Army's last attempt to escape resulted in many German deaths, but allowed 25,000 soldiers to escape and regroup with the 12th Army sector of the front. From there, they retreated west toward Elbe, hoping to surrender to the U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
.
Yeremenko's 4th Ukrainian Front
General of Army Andrei Yeremenko
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, image = Маршал Советского Союза Герой Советского Союза Андрей Иванович Ерёменко (cropped).jpg
, image_size =
, caption = Y ...
and his 4th Ukrainian Front was deployed south-west of Marshal Konev's Front, and was ordered by Stalin to continue the offensive against German forces in Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
to the west.
Malinovsky's 2nd Ukrainian Front
The 2nd Ukrainian Front was to attack into Austria, under the command of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky, under the orders of Stalin to deny Hitler the ability to transfer German troops north to defend the Berlin area as the Red Army approached.
From Berlin
As the end of Nazi Germany approached, Hitler, still not wanting to give up, issued orders that were impossible for the Germans to execute given the situation. While meeting in his secret bunker under Berlin, Hitler's chief staff members offered personnel to defend the Oder. Commander Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
of the ''Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' offered 100,000 ''Luftwaffe'' men; Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
offered 25,000 SS troopers; and Admiral Doenitz offered 12,000 navy men. However, the new commander of Army Group Vistula, Commander Gotthard Heinrici, who had replaced Himmler, did not agree with the personnel addition and believed that the inexperienced soldiers would be useless and ultimately slaughtered. Göring countered that statement by stating that his ''Luftwaffe'' men were "Übermensch
The (; "Overhuman") is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itse ...
en" or superhuman. Hitler ended their argument by telling Heinrici that reinforcements would arrive in time. Heinrici disagreed with Hitler's statement but kept it to himself.
The outcome
Zhukov's Front entered Berlin from the north then expanded north-west from the Oder River. Konev's Front had chosen the southern areas of Berlin to enter from. Both Fronts continued to expand north-west in an attempt to complete a pincer movement and encircle Berlin. On 23 April 1945, Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front finally linked up with members of Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front, thereby ending any hope for the Germans to escape.[Ziemke, Earl F. Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich, NY: Ballantine Books, London: Macdonald & Co, 1969.]
See also
* Battle of Berlin
Notes
References
*LeTissier, Tony, ''Race for the Reichstag: The 1945 Battle for Berlin'', Frank Cass Publishers, Portland, Ore., 1999
*Sampson, Jobim, (writer/director), ''The Lost Evidence series, Battle of Berlin'', Part 3, Flashback Television Limited for The History Channel, 2004.
*Remme, Tilman
''The Battle for Berlin in World War Two''
BBC (UK) History
*Goebel, Greg
2005
*Ziemke, Earl F. Battle For Berlin: End Of The Third Reich, NY: Ballantine Books, London: Macdonald & Co, 1969.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Race To Berlin
Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
Battle of Berlin
Western European Campaign (1944–1945)
Conflicts in 1945
World War II aerial operations and battles of the Eastern Front
1940s in Berlin
April 1945 events in Europe