We passed the artillery position. The artillerymen desperately swore: they could not fire, since 105-mm shells were sent to them for the 150-mm guns. Two hours later, passing by another battery, where there were 105-mm guns, we heard that they had been sent 150-mm shells. Is this an accident or malicious intent?
To the west, bypassing the main roads, a stream of army columns and an occasion with refugees stretched. We joined them and continued on our way through the Brandenburg fields and pine forests. Stopping in the forestry we ate up everything that was edible there so as not to leave anything to the Russians. So we fled to the west in search of our regimental convoy, but that was elusive as a ghost and we never saw him again.
In Königs-Wusterhausen, white flags were posted everywhere. Not a single German soldier was to be seen. The infirmary staff scattered. The helpless wounded were left to fend for themselves. We turned towards Spreenhausen. We walked until we heard the sounds of battle in the north.
Already with caution, we moved forward and saw a comic picture - a crowd of boys in SS field jackets and short shorts or ski pants. Among them were several officers and junior commanders of the SS troops. It turned out that they had recently been drafted into the SS forces and sent to Spreenhausen. They had not yet had time to receive full uniforms when the Russians came here.
We, that is, those who survived the "Falke" so far, were gratefully accepted into the detachment. We had to defend the Oder-Spree canal, the northern bank of which was already occupied by the Russians. There were also supposed to be other recruits and soldiers who fought off the units standing in Spreenhagen, who took part in the unsuccessful attack from the Hartmannsdorf bridgehead.
So, we have been lying on the bank of the canal for several hours. I dozed off, and when I woke up, I discovered that we were the four of us; we were left here alone. Our commander was one Unterscharführer. We moved south, and after a few kilometers we came out onto a busy road, where we joined those who walked and drove in a westerly direction ...
On the eastern outskirts of Wolzig, an open Volkswagen vehicle pulled up beside us, from which a camouflaged Obersturmbannführer leaned out and asked which unit we were from. Upon learning that we were from the SS Falke regiment, he introduced himself as Obersturmbannführer Junghas and said that he was in command of the regiment of foreigners.
He invited us to join him. So we regained a soldier's homeland and met the commander. Now my part was a battalion of Hungarians, whom I, however, could hardly distinguish from the Russians ...
I was on guard. Anxiety did not allow me to sit still and I went deeper into the transverse wing of the vast house, reaching the glazed veranda. What I saw in the courtyard made me froze in place with horror - there was a T-34 tank, and its crew was peeing nearby.
I rushed to warn my comrades. But as soon as I opened the back door, I saw the approaching line of Russian soldiers. In the blink of an eye, I threw up to my shoulder and released the entire store into them. The Russians were as udevlen as I was and rushed for cover. I rushed into the basement and yelled: "There are Russians here!"
In a hurry, everyone rushed across the garden, jumping over the asparagus beds, to the breach in the fence. I had an eerie feeling that now the gunner of a Russian tank was examining me through the sight. We ran at a run through the forest, and the Russians sent us bullets to catch up. The wounded and killed appeared. Then Russian tanks opened fire. The explosion of a shell to one of ours tore off his arm to the elbow ...
Military units as such were no longer observed. The officers tore off their shoulder straps, exchanging them for a backpack and a staff, so that they would not have to answer for anything and for anyone else. Only we, the young, who would later be called fanatics, continued to trudge with weapons and ammunition, breaking open the barriers so that the stream of unarmed soldiers could rush on.
How many small "cauldrons", how many soldiers left behind and surrounded by groups perished in that confusion, no one will ever know. Again and again we were told: SS troops forward! And we went forward, breaking through to the west ... "- from the memoirs of the grenadier Musa, SS grenadier regiment" Falke "from the SS division" January 30 ".
She took possession of the city of Pillau, completing the defeat of the enemy on the Zemland Peninsula. The remnants of the German troops took refuge in the western part of the Frisches-Nerung spit and in the vast floodplains of the swampy mouth of the Vistula.
The East Prussian operation ended. Soviet troops captured East Prussia and eliminated the enemy forces defending here. The duration of the operation is 103 days. The width of the front of hostilities is 550 km. The depth of advance of Soviet troops is 120-200 km. The average daily rate of advance is 2-6 km. The number of troops by the beginning of the operation - 1,669,100 people, irrecoverable losses - 126,464 (7.6%), sanitary losses - 458,314, total - 584,778, average daily - 5677.
Berlin offensive operation . By April 25, 65th Army and 70th Army 2nd Belorussian Front advanced up to 8 kilometers and expanded the bridgehead to a size of 35 by 15 kilometers. The 70th Army reached the Radekhov, Petershagen, Hartz line. By the evening of April 25, the breakthrough of the enemy defense on the 20-kilometer front was completed. Front troops approached the Randov River.
On April 25 at 12 noon, the 47th Army and 2nd Guards Tank Army 1st Belorussian Front, advancing west of Berlin, reached the Ketzin area, where they united with units of the 4th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. 3rd shock army fought for the expansion of bridgeheads on the Berlin-Spandauer-Schiffarts Canal. 5th Shock Army advanced along the western bank of the Spree and advanced 2,800 meters. 8th Guards Army resumed the assault on the city and captured the Landwehr Canal crossings. 1st Guards Tank Army crossed the Landwehr Canal, crossed the Telt Canal north of Brits and got involved in street fighting north of the canal.
On the morning of April 25, Steiner's German army group launched another offensive in the Hermansdorf area. The 1st Polish Army repulsed the offensive.
3rd Guards Tank Army 1st Ukrainian Front reinforced by three divisions of the 28th Army, cleared the southwestern suburbs of Berlin from the enemy and fought for the suburb of Schmargendorf, advancing towards the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. During the day of April 25, bomber aviation of the 1st Belorussian Front, in poor visibility conditions, attacked the battle formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. As a result, the army suffered losses. In the evening, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command established a new demarcation line between the fronts, passing through Mittenwalde, Mariendorf, Tempelhof, Potsdam railway station. Two corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army were withdrawn from the center of Berlin beyond the demarcation line.
4th Guards Tank Army continued to fight for crossings across Havel southeast of Potsdam. The 6th Guards Mechanized Corps crossed Havel and at twelve o'clock linked up with units of the 328th Division of the 47th Army 1st Belorussian Front, closing the encirclement ring around Berlin. Then the 6th Mechanized Corps, together with the 47th Army, continued the offensive against Potsdam. 3rd Guards Army fought fierce battles against the Frankfurt-Guben group.
In the west, the 13th Army and the 5th Mechanized Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army continued to engage in battles with the troops of Wenck's 12th Army. On April 25, in the Strela and Torgau area, on the Elbe River, units of the 58th Guards Division of the 5th Guards Army met with reconnaissance groups of the 69th Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps of the 1st American Army.
Sovinformburo. The troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front on April 25 captured the last stronghold of the German defense on the Zemland peninsula, the city and fortress of PILLAU ...
The troops of the 1st BELARUSIAN front cut off all the routes going from BERLIN to the west, and on April 25 they united north-west of POTSDAM with the troops of the 1st UKRAINIAN front, thus completing the complete encirclement of BERLIN ... At the same time, the front troops continued to conduct street battles in the northern , the eastern and southeastern part of BERLIN, while occupying the urban areas of TREPTOV and BRITZ. To the south-west of FRANKFURT-na-Oder, the front's troops took the cities of MÜLLROSE and FRIEDLAND in battle ...
The troops of the 1st UKRAINIAN Front with battles occupied the city of KETZIN and in the southwestern part of BERLIN the urban areas of LICHTERFELDE, ZELENDORF. To the north of the town of KOTTBUS, the troops of the front occupied more than 40 settlements ... To the northwest of DRESDEN, the troops of the front crossed the river ELBA and occupied the town of RIZA on the west bank of the river. In the BAUZEN area, our troops fought off counterattacks by large enemy infantry and tanks and inflicted heavy damage on them ...
On the territory of Czechoslovakia north-west of the city of GODONIN, the troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, occupied more than 50 settlements ...
During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet troops carried out the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation, the purpose of which was to defeat the main forces of the Vistula and Center German army groups, capture Berlin, reach the Elbe River and join up with the Allied forces.
The troops of the Red Army, having defeated during January - March 1945, large groupings of German fascist troops in East Prussia, Poland and Eastern Pomerania, by the end of March reached on a wide front to the Oder and Neisse rivers. After the liberation of Hungary and the occupation of Vienna by Soviet troops in mid-April, Nazi Germany was under the blows of the Red Army from the east and south. At the same time from the west, without encountering any organized resistance from the Germans, the Allied forces advanced in the Hamburg, Leipzig and Prague directions.
The main forces of the German fascist troops acted against the Red Army. By April 16, there were 214 divisions on the Soviet-German front (of which 34 were tank and 15 motorized) and 14 brigades, and against the American-British troops, the German command held only 60 poorly manned divisions, of which five were tank. The Berlin sector was defended by 48 infantry, six tank and nine motorized divisions and many other units and formations (only one million people, 10.4 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns). From the air, ground troops covered 3.3 thousand combat aircraft.
The defense of the German fascist troops in the Berlin direction included the Oder-Neissen line 20-40 kilometers deep, which had three defensive zones, and the Berlin defensive area, which consisted of three circular contours - external, internal and urban. In total, with Berlin, the depth of the defense reached 100 kilometers, it was crossed by numerous canals and rivers, which served as serious obstacles for the tank forces.
During the Berlin offensive operation, the Soviet Supreme Command envisaged breaking through the enemy's defenses along the Oder and Neisse and, developing the offensive in depth, encircling the main group of German fascist troops, dismembering it and subsequently destroying it in parts, and then reaching the Elbe. For this, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Georgy Zhukov and the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Ivan Konev were involved. The operation was attended by the Dnieper military flotilla, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army. In total, the troops of the Red Army advancing on Berlin numbered over two million people, about 42 thousand guns and mortars, 6250 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, 7.5 thousand combat aircraft.
According to the concept of the operation, the 1st Belorussian Front was supposed to capture Berlin and reach the Elbe no later than 12-15 days later. The 1st Ukrainian Front had the task of defeating the enemy in the Cottbus area and south of Berlin and on the 10-12th day of the operation to capture the Belitz, Wittenberg line and further the Elbe River to Dresden. The 2nd Belorussian Front was to cross the Oder River, defeat the Stettin grouping of the enemy and cut off the main forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army from Berlin.
On April 16, 1945, after a powerful air and artillery preparation, a decisive attack by the troops of the 1st Byelorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts of the Oder-Neissen defensive line began. In the area of the main attack of the 1st Belorussian Front, where the offensive was launched before dawn, infantry and tanks, with the aim of demoralizing the enemy, moved into the attack in a strip illuminated by 140 powerful searchlights. The troops of the front's strike grouping had to sequentially break through several zones of in-depth defense. By the end of April 17, they managed to break through the enemy defenses in the main sectors at the Seelow Heights. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front completed the breakthrough of the third line of the Oder line of defense by the end of April 19. On the right wing of the front's strike force, the 47th Army and the 3rd Shock Army successfully advanced to cover Berlin from the north and northwest. On the left wing, conditions were created for bypassing the enemy's Frankfurt-Guben grouping from the north and cutting it off from the Berlin area.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Neisse River, on the first day they broke through the main line of enemy defense, and wedged into the second one by 1-1.5 kilometers. By the end of April 18, the front's troops completed the breakthrough of the Neissen defense line, crossed the Spree River and provided the conditions for encircling Berlin from the south. On the Dresden direction, the 52nd Army's formations repelled the enemy's counterstrike from the area north of Gorlitz.
The advance units of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Ost-Oder on April 18-19, crossed the interfluve of the Ost-Oder and the West-Oder, and then began to cross the West-Oder.
On April 20, artillery fire of the 1st Belorussian Front in Berlin began its assault. On April 21, tanks of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke into the southern outskirts of Berlin. On April 24, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts united in the Bonsdorf area (southeast of Berlin), completing the encirclement of the enemy's Frankfurt-Guben grouping. On April 25, tank formations of the fronts, leaving in the Potsdam area, completed the encirclement of the entire Berlin group (500 thousand people). On the same day, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front crossed the Elbe River and united with American troops in the Torgau area.
During the offensive, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front crossed the Oder and, having broken through the enemy's defenses, by 25 April advanced to a depth of 20 kilometers; they firmly bound the German 3rd Panzer Army, depriving it of the opportunity to deliver a counterattack from the north against the Soviet troops encircling Berlin.
The Frankfurt-Guben group was destroyed by the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts in the period from April 26 to May 1. The destruction of the Berlin group directly in the city continued until May 2. By 15:00 on May 2, enemy resistance in the city ceased. Fighting with individual groups breaking through from the outskirts of Berlin to the west ended on 5 May.
Simultaneously with the defeat of the encircled groupings, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front on May 7 reached the Elbe River on a wide front.
At the same time, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front, successfully advancing in Western Pomerania and Mecklenburg, on April 26 captured the main strongholds of the enemy's defense on the western bank of the Oder River - Pölitz, Stettin, Gatow and Schwedt and, deploying a swift pursuit of the remnants of the defeated 3rd tank army, on May 3 they reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, and on May 4 they advanced to the line Wismar, Schwerin, the Elda River, where they came into contact with British troops. On May 4-5, front forces cleared the islands of Wallin, Usedom and Rügen from the enemy, and on May 9 they landed on the Danish island of Bornholm.
The resistance of the German fascist troops was finally broken. On the night of May 9, in the Berlin district of Karlshorst, the Act of surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany was signed.
The Berlin operation lasted 23 days, the width of the front of hostilities reached 300 kilometers. The depth of front-line operations was 100-220 kilometers, the average daily rate of advance was 5-10 kilometers. As part of the Berlin operation, the Stettin-Rostock, Seelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Shtremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathen front offensive operations were carried out.
During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops surrounded and eliminated the largest group of enemy troops in the history of war.
They defeated 70 infantry, 23 tank and mechanized divisions of the enemy, took 480 thousand prisoners.
The Berlin operation cost the Soviet troops dearly. Their irrecoverable losses amounted to 78,291 people, and sanitary ones - 274,184 people.
More than 600 participants in the Berlin operation were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 13 people were awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
(Additional
Together with Soviet poets
Leads a soldier to the west.
Let him find a soldier everywhere!
And your smile and look ...
Sabir Kinyakay (1919-1945)
During East Prussian operations in the morning 14th of April
14th of April
April 14-15
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 14th of April
April 15
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During April 15
Mikhail Lvov
16 april Started April 16 to May 8.
By the evening 16 april
On the 1st Ukrainian front 16 april
16 april
I was long ago, I forgot everything.
And those forced rivers.
I am an unidentified soldier.
I am a private, I am a name.
V.Vysotsky
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 16 april
And foreheads knock on iron.
M. Lvov
We survived so many persistent
We've seen so much of everything -
Nothing is scary anymore.
M. Lvov
17 april
I. S. Konev 1st Ukrainian Front to Berlin from the south.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 17 april
17 april
By the end April 18th
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During April 18th
From the Soviet Information Bureau:
During April 19
... on narrow roads,
So that the Mitl group (2) smash immediately to dust!
Alexander Pomorsky
East Prussian operation
20 April
Berlin offensive operation
20 April
20 April
From the Soviet Information Bureau:
Order
“Break into Berlin!
Do you understand the order?
Report on execution!
“The order is clear!
The guards are ready.
We'll break in at any cost! "
The troops will pass the same day.
Our soldiers will learn:
Writzen, Bad Freien-Walde,
Mokre Lazze, Alt Hefline,
...«
(My verse .... 04/12/2014)
(1)
(2)
Registration number 0208776 issued for the work:
Calendar of events of the Great Patriotic War
Together with Soviet poets
The road of war is deadly and harsh,
Leads a soldier to the west.
And your sacred word with a tear
Let him find a soldier everywhere!
Let your tears carry letters to us
And your smile and look ...
Sabir Kinyakay (1919-1945)
During East Prussian operations in the morning 14th of April the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front resumed their offensive and broke through the enemy's defenses on the flanks. By the end of the day, the 2nd and 43rd Guards armies had advanced 15-10 km forward.
The retreat of the fascist troops began to acquire a panic character. The German command ordered 14th of April start retreating southwest towards Pillau.
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov issues an order to conduct April 14-15 troops of the 1st Belorussian Front of reconnaissance in force.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 14th of April on the Zemland peninsula north-west and west of KÖNIGSBERG, the troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front occupied more than 60 settlements in battles.
On the territory of Czechoslovakia east and south-west of the city of GODONIN, the troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, occupied the settlements MA-ZUR, KUZHELOV, MALAYA VRBKA.
To the north and north-east of VIENNA, the troops of the front, with battles, occupied the settlements of HOCHENAU and GROSS INZERSDORF on the territory of Austria.
West of VIENNA, the troops of the 3rd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, crossed the TRAISEN River and occupied the city of HERZOGENBURG.
Moravian-Ostrava offensive operation.
April 15 the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front began to break through the enemy's defenses in a 12-kilometer sector north-west of Moravska Ostrava. The Nazis, using a wide network of engineering structures, fortified stone buildings in settlements, put up strong resistance.
During the day, Soviet troops were able to advance only 2-7 kilometers.
The troops of the 3rd and left wings of the 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, together with the Bulgarian army, defeated the main forces of the German Army Group South and completely liberated Hungary, the southern regions of Czechoslovakia and the eastern part of Austria with its capital Vienna.
The duration of the operation is 31 days. The width of the front of hostilities is 230 km. The depth of advance of Soviet troops is 150-250 km. The average daily rate of advance is 5-8 km. The number of troops by the beginning of the operation was 920,500 people, irrecoverable losses - 38,661 (6.0%), sanitary losses - 129,279, total - 167940, average daily - 5417.
“Soldiers of the Eastern Front! For the last time, with deadly hatred, Bolshevism launched an offensive. He is trying to destroy Germany and exterminate our people. Bolshevism this time will meet the old fate, they will be drained of blood. Whoever does not fulfill his duty at this moment will be a traitor to his people. Berlin was German and will be German, and Europe will never become Russian ... "
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During April 15 on the Zemland peninsula north-west and west of KONIGSBERG, the troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front, continuing the offensive, occupied more than 60 settlements with battles.
The troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN Front, with the assistance of the troops of the 3rd UKRAINIAN Front, surrounded and defeated a group of German troops trying to retreat from VIENNA to the north, and captured the cities of KORNEYBURG and FLORIDSDORF.
The troops of the 3rd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, on April 15 captured the city of SANKT-PELTEN on the territory of Austria.
Soviet artillery on the outskirts of Berlin, April 1945.
Hurrying to the Berlin freeway
And we write letters without leaving the armor.
Mikhail Lvov
16 april Started Berlin strategic offensive operation 2nd Belorussian Front K.K. Rokossovsky, 1st Belorussian Front G.K. Zhukov and 1st Ukrainian Front I.S. Konev, which lasted from April 16 to May 8.
As part of this operation, the following were carried out: Stettinsko-Rostock, Zelow-Berlin, Cottbus-Potsdam, Shtremberg-Torgau and Brandenburg-Rathenov front-line offensive operations.
The offensive of the strike group of the 1st Belorussian Front began two hours before dawn at 5 o'clock Moscow time with powerful artillery preparation. Three minutes before the end of the artillery training on a special signal (vertical searchlight beam) in the bands of the 3rd and 5th shock, 8th Guards and 69th armies, 143 anti-aircraft searchlights were switched on, in the light of which the infantry with tanks of direct support crossed attack.
The 5th Shock Army entered the line 3 km west of the Lechin-Seelov railway. In the second half of the day, in the zone of the 5th Shock Army, the 2nd Guards Tank Army of S.I.
By the middle of the day, VI Chuikov's 8th Guards Army reached the line of the Haupt Graben Canal, where it met fierce enemy fire resistance. By 18.00, artillery units were brought up here, which overcame the Haupt Graben line.
By the evening 16 april The 8th Guards Army reached the foot of the Seelow Heights. In the second half of the day, the 1st Guards Tank Army of M.E. Katukov entered the battle in the zone of the 8th Guards Army. By the evening the advance units of the army approached the line of the Seelow Heights.
The 1st Polish Army on the right flank crossed the Oder and Alte Oder and captured a major bridgehead. On the first day of the offensive, the 61st Army of P. A. Belov conducted reconnaissance in force.
The 47th Army broke through the first position of the enemy's main line of defense and reached the second position. The 3rd Shock Army crossed the Posedin Graben Canal and advanced 8 km.
On the left flank, V. Ya. Kolpakchi's 69th Army overcame the enemy's first defensive line. With the approach to the second defensive line, the army's troops met strong fire resistance.
The 33rd Army of V.D. Tsvetaev advanced 5-7 km during the day of the battle.
On the 1st Ukrainian front 16 april at 0615 hours in the morning, a powerful artillery preparation began. Under cover of a smoke screen, powerful artillery fire and with the support of aviation, infantry and artillerymen crossed the Neisse and captured a number of strong points. At the same time, engineer-sapper and pontoon-bridge units began to build bridges across the Neisse River.
At 9 o'clock the crossing of the second echelons of rifle troops and artillery began. By noon 16 april several bridges with a carrying capacity of 60 tons were built across the Neisse, which made it possible to bring forward detachments of tank armies into battle and ferry heavy artillery.
Well, what if I was there.
I was long ago, I forgot everything.
I don’t remember the days, I don’t remember the dates.
And those forced rivers.
I am an unidentified soldier.
I am a private, I am a name.
V.Vysotsky
By the end of the day, the strike group of the 1st Ukrainian Front approached the enemy's second defensive zone, which ran along the line east of Cottbus - Weiswasser - Niski.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 16 april on the Zemland peninsula northwest and west of KONIGSBERG, the troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front, continuing the offensive, occupied more than 40 settlements with battles.
On the territory of Czechoslovakia, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, overcoming enemy resistance, captured the city of BRZHESLAV in battle. To the north of VIENNA, the troops of the front on the territory of Austria with battles occupied the settlements of HAWEIN-STEEL, TRAUNFELD, SCHLEINBACH.
West of VIENNA, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, advancing along the southern bank of the Danube, occupied more than 30 settlements in Austria.
Germany is shaking like on a train
And foreheads knock on iron.
M. Lvov
East Prussian operation (1945)
The troops of the 3rd Belorussky captured the powerful center of enemy resistance on the Zemland peninsula, the city of Fischhausen. The remnants of the German grouping of 15-20 thousand people withdrew to the Pillau area and entrenched themselves on the defensive line prepared in advance. The offensive of the Soviet troops was halted.
We put so many in the ground
We survived so many persistent
We've seen so much of everything -
Nothing is scary anymore.
M. Lvov
Berlin offensive operation.
On the right flank, the 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front began crossing the Oder River. The 47th Army approached the enemy's second defensive zone. The 3rd Shock Army advanced 8 km and wedged into the second line of defense.
In the center, the 5th Shock Army and the 2nd Guards Tank Army on the entire front of the offensive reached the line of the Alte Oder River, crossed it and approached the foot of the Seelow Heights. The 8th Guards Army, in cooperation with the 1st Guards Tank Army, fought heavy battles on the Seelow Heights during the day. By 15.00 the 8th Guards Army surrounded and captured Seelow.
On the left flank, the 69th Army advanced 1-2 km. The 33rd Army crossed the Oder-Spree Canal.
By the end of the day, in the sector of the 13th Army of Pukhov of the 1st Ukrainian Front and on the right flank of the 5th Guards Army of Zhadov, the second line of defense of the Germans was broken through, passing along the line east of Cottbus - Weiswasser - Niski. Soviet troops rushed to the third line of defense, to the Spree and in the evening ford across the river.
17 april J.V. Stalin, in connection with the slow advance of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front G.K. Zhukov, issues an order:
I. S. Konevrotate 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies 1st Ukrainian Front to Berlin from the south.
Moravian-Ostrava offensive operation.
38th Army and 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front crossed Opava and captured a bridgehead north of Stitin up to 15 km along the front and 5 km in depth. Its further expansion was hampered by a long-term line of defense, which ran along the northern heights of the mountain range, along the former border between Czechoslovakia and Germany.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During 17 april on the Zemland peninsula to the west of KÖNIGSBERG, the troops of the 3rd BELARUSIAN Front, continuing the offensive, with battles occupied the city and port of FISHHAUSEN.
The troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN front, continuing the offensive, 17 april captured the center of the oil-bearing region of Austria - the city of ZISTERSDORF.
The troops of the 3rd UKRAINIAN Front on the territory of Austria north and west of the city of SANKT-PELTEN with battles occupied the settlements of OBER-WELBLING, AM-BACH, HOUSHEIM.
Berlin offensive operation. On the right flank, the 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front expanded the bridgehead on the Oder, the 47th Army advanced south of Vrizen and reached the Writzen-Schulzdorf highway.
The 3rd shock in the middle of the day reached Meglin, and by the evening overcame the enemy's defense on the Schulsedorf - Meglin line.
In the center, the 5th Shock Army and the 2nd Guards Tank Army advanced in a forest and a chain of lakes, advanced 4 km and reached the Rigenwalde area on the outskirts of Batslov.
The 1st Guards Tank Army, advancing in the southwestern direction, occupied Marksdorf and deeply engulfed the German forces defending the front of the 8th Guards Army and the 69th Army.
The 8th Guards Army reached Trebnitsa by the end of the day.
On the left flank, the 63rd Army and the 33rd Army bypassed the Frankfurt fortified area and created a threat of its encirclement. The German command decided to evacuate the garrison from Frankfurt an der Oder and reinforce its defense units on the west bank.
By the end April 18th The 3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front passed 30 kilometers beyond the Spree, while the 4th Guards Tank Army advanced 45 kilometers.
The 13th Army crossed the Spree and began to advance in the northwest direction. The 3rd Guards Army and the 5th Guards Army fought fierce battles on the flanks of the breakthrough.
North of Görlitz, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army and the 52nd Army crossed the Neisse River and broke through the tactical zone of the German defense.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: During April 18th the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front continued fighting to destroy the remnants of the German troops driven back to the area of the port of PILLAU.
Southwest and south of the city of RATIBOR, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front occupied more than 30 settlements in battles.
On the territory of Czechoslovakia, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front captured the town of IVANCHICE. To the north of VIENNA, the troops of the front occupied the city of MI-STELBACH on the territory of Austria.
Berlin offensive operation
On the right flank, the 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front continued fighting to expand the bridgehead on the western bank of the Oder and advanced 1 km in a day.
The 47th Army, the 3rd Shock Army and the 2nd Guards Tank Army were advancing on Berlin from the northeast.
The 2nd Guards Tank Army, having broken the enemy's resistance at the "Wotan position", successfully advanced in the western direction, covering up to 30 km with battles.
The 5th Shock Army was moving towards the German capital along the "Reichsstrasse No. 1".
and the 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army broke through the enemy defenses in the Müncheberg area.
On the left flank, the 69th Army and the 33rd Army occupied the foothold left by the enemy on the eastern bank of the Oder near Frankfurt and advanced 3-4 km in a day.
The 3rd Guards Tank Army of P.S. Rybalko, the army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, continued its offensive on Berlin.
The 4th Guards Tank Army advanced 50 km by evening.
The 13th Army followed the tank armies to the west. The 3rd Guards Army and the 5th Guards Army expanded the penetration towards the flanks in the area of Cottbus and Spremberg.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: Over the past three days, power reconnaissance has been conducted in the area of the Central Group of our forces, which has developed into battles to seize and expand bridgeheads on the Oder River and the Neisse River. As a result of these battles, our troops crossed the Neisse River in the Dresden direction and captured the cities of FORST, MUSKAU, WEISSWASSER. The troops of the 2nd Polish Army occupied the city of ROTENBURG. On the Oder, our troops captured and expanded the bridgehead west of KYUSTRIN.
To the north of VIENNA, the troops of the front, with battles, occupied the settlements of BERNGARDSTAL, ALT LICHTENWART, WILFERSDORF on the territory of Austria.
During April 19 On the territory of Czechoslovakia northeast and north of the city of GODONIN, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front fought offensive battles and occupied the settlements of KOZOYIDKI, LIDEROVITSE, ZARAZITSE.
The path to the Czech Republic is steep and wooded.
... on narrow roads,
Winding in the mountains
You can't put so many cars into a fist
So that the Mitl group (2) smash immediately to dust!
Alexander Pomorsky
East Prussian operation
20 April the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front to capture the port of Pillau brought the 11th Guards Army of K.N. Galitsky into battle. At 11 o'clock, the divisions of the 16th and 36th Guards Rifle Corps launched an assault on the first defensive position.
Berlin offensive operation
20 April the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front of KK Rokossovsky went on the offensive in the Berlin direction. At 0630 hours, the 65th army of PI Batov, under the cover of smoke screens, forced the West Oder River, broke through the first position of the main defense zone and created a small bridgehead.
V.S. Popov's 70th Army occupied a bridgehead on the western bank of the West Oder and moved slightly forward. All attempts to overcome the West Oder 49 by the army of I. T. Grishin were repelled by the enemy.
The 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front crossed the Alte Oder.
The 2nd Guards Tank Army, having escaped from the forest of the Pretzeler Forst, occupied Bernau. At 21.50 20 April G.K. Zhukov demanded from the commander of the 2nd Guards Tank Army S.I.Bogdanov to reach Berlin as soon as possible:
“The 2nd Guards Tank Army is entrusted with a historic task: the first to break into Berlin and hoist the Victory Banner. I personally instruct you to organize the execution. Send one of the best brigades from each corps to Berlin and assign them the task: no later than 4 am on April 21, 1945, at any cost, break through to the outskirts of Berlin and immediately report to Comrade Stalin and announcements in the press. "
The 47th Army, advancing in the space between "Reichsstrasse No. 2" and "Reichsstrasse No. 158", advanced 15-22 km and by the end of the day reached the line Albertshof, Schönfelde, Vezov.
From 16.00 the artillery of the 47th Army fired on Berlin.
The 3rd Shock Army fought through the Pretzeler Forst forest and captured the city of Verneuchen.
The 5th Shock Army took Strausberg by storm.
The 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army fought to break through the enemy's third line of defense. The 1st Guards Tank Army broke through deep to the southeast and began to cross the Leknitz River.
The 69th Army turned to the southwest and advanced 10 km in a day. The 33rd Army was advancing around Frankfurt an der Oder, trying to encircle its garrison.
3rd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front captured the city of Barut, fought around Zossen and, at the same time, marched north with its forward units to Berlin. During the day, she moved 60 km.
The 4th Panzer Army met strong enemy resistance in the Luckenwalde area and advanced 45 km.
On the Dresden direction, the enemy managed to stop the advance of the 52nd Army, and somewhat push the units of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army to the north.
From the Soviet Information Bureau: The central group of our troops fought offensive battles west of the Oder River and the NEISE River. As a result of these battles, our troops occupied the cities of BAD FRIEN WALDE, VRITSEN, ZEELOV.
Southwest and south of RATIBOR, the troops of the 4th UKRAINIAN Front, overcoming enemy resistance, occupied the settlements of KOMAROV, MOKRE LAZCE.
On the territory of Austria north of Vienna, the troops of the 2nd UKRAINIAN Front, continuing the offensive, with battles occupied the settlements of ALT HEFLINE, GINTSERSDORF, ERDBERG.
Order
“Break into Berlin!
Do you understand the order?
Report on execution!
So that the banner of Victory by the end of April
We were able to plant it on the Reichstag! "
“The order is clear!
The guards are ready.
We'll break in at any cost! "
... To Oder, Neisse under Seelow
The troops will pass the same day.
How many complex non-Russian names
Our soldiers will learn:
Writzen, Bad Freien-Walde,
Mokre Lazze, Alt Hefline,
Schönfelde, Vezov, Albertshof,
Altlichtenwart, Wilfersdorf.
...« Ausruen (rest) we will later! "
(1) Sabir Kinyakay (Kinyakayev Sabir Mukminovich) (1919-1945) - poet, member of the CPSU since 1942. Began to publish in 1936. During the Great Patriotic War he took part in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine. In April 1945 he died in the defeat of the unfinished Nazis.
(2) A large group of German troops, the so-called "Mitl-group", led by Field Marshal Schörner near Prague