Who took the Reichstag. The absurd struggle of the Russians for the Reichstag

A few traces of that deadly mistake have been preserved - they have been carefully restored and are under a special protective glass. In the building of the Berlin Reichstag today you can see 159 graffiti in Cyrillic - mainly in the northern and eastern corridors, as well as in the southwestern staircase. In addition to inscriptions like “We lived to see the ruins of Berlin and are very happy,” there are also obscene phrases like “I fuck Hitler in the f***!”

But much more important are those few inscriptions that explain why the last battle of the Third Reich unfolded around the Reichstag building. “We were in the Reichstag, Hitler's cave!” Capt. Kokyushkin and Senior Lieutenant Krasnikov scrawled on May 15, 1945 on the wall next to the stairs. Even more brief was Captain Katnikov, who left the inscription in east corridor“A shameful death. Hiding Hitler.

The Red Army probably considered the neo-Baroque parliament building to be the heart of the Third Reich, so they rushed to conquer it, not looking back at possible victims in their ranks. "The Reichstag has become practically a place of pilgrimage," Soviet military writer Konstantin Simonov remarked on May 2, 1945, of the smoking ruins' appeal to his comrades.

Already on April 29, 1945, the first Soviet troops made their way from the northwest to the Reichstag building. On the afternoon of April 30, after many hours of artillery shelling, soldiers of the 380th, 756th and 674th Soviet infantry regiments began an assault on the smoking ruins. The Red Army received an order to take the parliament building as a symbol of victory, and this was to happen before May 1, the second most important Soviet holiday.

Colonel Zhinchenko, one of the regimental commanders, later described those days in his memoirs with a propaganda tinge: “There is only one order for me - the flag must fly over the Reichstag!”.

However, although it was badly damaged, thanks to the massive construction, it was still a solid building inside, which was protected by Wehrmacht and SS units. They desperately and tactically competently resisted the Red Army soldiers storming the building, then retreated to the basement. How many people died during the storming of the Reichstag, meaningless from a military point of view, is unknown. At least 2,000 Soviet soldiers and several hundred Germans.

For the first time, red moisture was hung out on April 30, 1945 at about 11 pm from a window on the second floor of the building - but the fighting still continued, people died further. Only in the afternoon of May 1st last defenders left the cellars, most likely, along the heating tunnel to the Spree. In the morning of May 2, military photojournalist Yevgeny Khaldei took the very picture that became a symbol of the battle for Berlin - two Red Army soldiers hoisted a fluttering red banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

The huge amount of blood spilled during the capture of the Reichstag building was especially meaningless, since the Reichstag never served as a shelter for the German dictator, was not his "cave". Hitler's bunker was located in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, about a kilometer to the southeast. All the way last moment its location was unknown to the Red Army. Only on May 2, Soviet nurses in search of trophies stumbled upon an underground facility, and only a week later it became known about the location of the Fuhrer's bunker.

The Reichstag was never Hitler's refuge; the head of the NSDAP appeared in this building only a few times in his entire life. Although he was close to the architecture of Paul Wallot, he despised this building as a symbol of parliamentarism and the Weimar Republic.

According to the history of the party, the Fuhrer, before his appointment as Reich Chancellor, never appeared in the building built in 1894 - but this was not true. It is known that on March 13, 1925, the leader of the party, together with seven deputies of the people's party, visited a restaurant located in the Reichstag. But this was his only visit until January 30, 1933.

Hitler never spoke in the Reichstag. He became an elected deputy on March 5, 1933, and during the existence of the Third Reich, meetings of the German parliament were held in the hall "decorated" with a swastika in the nearby Kroll Opera - where today, south of the chancellor's office, there is a lawn with sparsely planted trees.

Why did the call of the Soviet conquerors of Berlin sound exactly like this - "To the Reichstag!"? Why did the Red Army receive the task of hoisting the red flag here? How did he mistakenly become a symbol of victory over Nazi Germany?

The answers to these questions can be found in Zhinchenko's memoirs. He recorded that the military commissar told his soldiers before the assault: “From here in 1933, in front of the eyes of the whole world, the fascists began their bloody campaign against communism. Here we must affirm the fall of fascism. It has political and military significance."

This refers, apparently, to the burning of the Reichstag on the evening of February 27, 1933. Then, in power for only four weeks, Hitler interpreted the fire in the plenary hall as a harbinger of the upcoming uprising of the German communists. A good occasion to attack all supporters of the Communist Party and Social Democrats with all cruelty. Thousands of political opponents of the NSDAP were detained within 48 hours, most of them were tortured in the following weeks, dozens were killed.

However, the communists had nothing to do with the arson. On fresh footsteps, the mentally unstable Dutchman Marinus van der Lubbe was detained. He confessed to the crime during interrogation and in court. Van der Lubbe had no collaborators in the SS, as many conspiracy theorists later believed and for more than 80 years maintained.

The first destruction of the Reichstag as a result of arson indirectly led to the second destruction in final battle for Berlin. Because only the trial of the Dutchman, which caused a wide international response, and four innocently convicted communists made the Reichstag building known to the whole world. Stalin also learned about him in Moscow.

Berlin was one of the largest cities in the world, yielding in Europe in terms of area (88 thousand hectares) only to Greater London. From east to west it stretches for 45 km, from north to south - more than 38 km. Most of its territory was occupied by gardens and parks. Berlin was the largest industrial center (2/3 of the country's electrical industry, 1/6 of mechanical engineering, many military enterprises), a junction of German highways and railways, a major port inland navigation. 15 railway lines converged to Berlin, all the tracks were connected by a ring road within the city. In Berlin, there were up to 30 stations, more than 120 railway stations and other railway infrastructure facilities. Berlin had big network underground communications, including the metro (80 km of tracks).

The districts of the city were divided by large parks (Tiergarten, Treptow Park, etc.), which occupied most Berlin. Greater Berlin was divided into 20 districts, 14 of them were external. Interior areas (within the district railway) are built up the most densely. The layout of the city was characterized by straight lines, with large quantity areas. Average Height buildings 4-5 floors, but to the top Berlin operation most of the houses were destroyed by Allied bombing. The city has many natural and artificial obstacles. Among them is the Spree River, up to 100 meters wide, big number canals, especially in the southern and northwestern parts of the capital. There are many bridges in the city. City roads ran along steel overpasses and embankments.

The city began to prepare for defense from the beginning of 1945. In March, a special headquarters for the defense of Berlin was formed. The command of the city's defense was headed by General Reiman, on April 24 he was replaced by the commander of the 56th Panzer Corps, Helmut Weidling. Joseph Goebbels was the Imperial Commissar for the Defense of Berlin. The Propaganda Minister was the Gauleiter of Berlin, in charge of the organs civil authority and preparing the population for defense. General leadership defense was carried out by Hitler himself, he was assisted by Goebbels, Bormann, chief General Staff Ground Forces General Hans Krebs, Chiefs of Personnel german army Wilhelm Burgdorf and State Secretary Werner Naumann.

Defense commander and last commandant of Berlin Helmut Weidling

Weidling was ordered by Hitler to defend himself until the last soldier. He decided that the division of the Berlin region into 9 defense sectors was unsuitable and concentrated on the defense of the eastern and southeastern outskirts, where the most combat-ready units of the garrison were located. To strengthen the 1st and 2nd sectors ( East End Berlin) Panzer Division "Münchenberg" was sent. 3rd defensive sector ( southeastern part city) was reinforced by the Nordland Panzer Division. The 7th and 8th sectors (northern part) were reinforced by the 9th parachute division, and the 5th sector (southwestern) - by units of the 20th tank division. The most preserved and combat-ready 18th motorized division. The remaining sections were defended by less combat-ready troops, militias, various units and subunits.

In addition, Hitler had high hopes for outside help. Steiner's army group was to break through from the north, the 12th Army of Wenck was to approach from the west, and the 9th Army to break through from the southeast. Grand Admiral Dönitz was supposed to bring troops to the rescue of Berlin navy. On April 25, Hitler ordered Dönitz to suspend, if necessary, all other tasks of the fleet, surrender strongholds to the enemy and transfer all available forces to Berlin: by air - to the city itself, by sea and by land to the fronts fighting in the capital area. The commander of the Air Force, Colonel-General Hans Jurgen Stumpf, received an order to deploy all available aviation forces for the defense of the Reich capital. The directive of the German High Command of April 25, 1945, called on all forces to abandon "against Bolshevism", to forget about the Western Front, not paying attention to the fact that Anglo-American troops take over a large area of the country. The main task of the army was to unblock Berlin. Widespread propaganda was carried out in the troops and among the population, people were intimidated by the "horrors of Bolshevism" and called to fight to the last opportunity, to the last bullet.

Berlin was prepared for a long defense. The most powerful part of the Berlin defensive area was the city center, where the largest government buildings, main stations and the most massive city buildings were located. Most of the government, military bunkers, the most developed metro network and other underground communications were located here. Buildings, including those destroyed by bombardments, were prepared for defense and became strongholds. Roads and intersections were closed with powerful barricades, some of which were difficult to destroy even with the fire of large-caliber guns. Streets, lanes, intersections and squares were under oblique and flanking fire.

Stone buildings were turned into strong strongholds. In the buildings, especially in the corners, they housed submachine gunners, machine gunners, faustnikov, cannons with a caliber of 20 to 75 mm. Most of the windows and doorways were closed up, left only for embrasures. The composition and number of garrisons of such strongholds was different, and depended on the tactical significance of the object. The most serious points were defended by garrisons up to a battalion. Approaches to such a strong point were covered by firepower, which were located in neighboring buildings. The upper floors usually housed observers, spotters, machine gunners and submachine gunners. The main fire weapons were placed on the ground floors, in the basement and basement rooms. In the same place, under the protection of thick ceilings, most of the garrison was located. Several of these fortified buildings, usually uniting an entire block, formed a knot of resistance.

Most of the fire weapons were located in the corner buildings, the flanks were covered by powerful barricades (3-4 meters thick), which were built from concrete blocks, bricks, trees, tram cars and other vehicles. The barricades were mined, covered by infantry and artillery fire, and trenches were prepared for the Faustniks. Sometimes tanks were buried behind the barricade, then a loophole was made in the barricade, and a trench for storing ammunition was prepared under the lower hatch, connected to the nearest basement or entrance. As a result, a greater survivability of the tank was achieved; in order to get to it, it was necessary to destroy the barricade. On the other hand, the tank was deprived of maneuver, could fight enemy tanks and artillery only in the lane of its own street.

The intermediate buildings of resistance centers were defended by smaller forces, but the approaches to them were covered by firepower. In the rear part of the resistance center, heavy tanks and self-propelled guns were often dug into the ground in order to fire on Soviet troops and stop our infantry from infiltrating into their rear. Underground communications were widely used - the metro, bomb shelters, sewers, drain channels, etc. Many strongholds were connected by underground passages, when our troops broke into one object, the German garrisons could go through them to another. exits from underground structures, who went out in the direction of our troops, mined, filled up or set up posts from machine gunners and grenade launchers. In some places, reinforced concrete caps were installed at the exits. They had machine gun nests. They also had underground passages and, if the reinforced concrete cap was threatened or undermined, its garrison could leave.

In addition, thanks to the developed network of underground communications, the Germans could attack the rear Soviet troops. Groups of snipers, machine gunners, machine gunners and grenade launchers were sent to ours, which, thanks to a good knowledge of the area, could cause serious harm. They set up ambushes, shot down armored vehicles, vehicles, gun crews, destroyed single soldiers, officers, messengers, destroyed communication lines, and could quickly curl up and retreat along underground passages. Such groups were very dangerous.

A feature of the city center was the presence of a significant number of reinforced concrete shelters. The largest were reinforced concrete bunkers, containing a garrison of 300-1000 people, and several thousand civilians. The Luftwaffe anti-aircraft turrets were large ground-based concrete bunkers that housed about 30 guns up to 150 mm in caliber. The height of the combat tower reached 39 meters, the thickness of the walls was 2-2.5 meters, the thickness of the roof was 3.5 meters (this made it possible to withstand a bomb weighing up to 1000 kg). The tower had 5-6 floors, each combat platform had 4-8 anti-aircraft guns that could also fire at ground targets. There were three such battle towers in Berlin - in the Tiergarten, Friedrichshain and Humboldthain Park. In total, there were about 400 reinforced concrete bunkers in the city. The presence of a developed underground network of cable and telephone communications made it possible to maintain command and control of troops even during the most heavy fighting when most of the communications equipment was disabled.

The weak point of the Berlin garrison was providing it with ammunition and food. The capital was provided with supplies for one month of siege. However, due to the danger of air strikes, supplies were dispersed throughout the suburbs and outskirts of Berlin. There are almost no warehouses left in the city center. The rapid fall of the outskirts led to the loss of most of the warehouses. As the encirclement narrowed, supplies became scarce. As a result, in last days the battle for Berlin, the situation with the supply of German troops became catastrophic.

Destroyed German 88 mm FlaK 37 anti-aircraft gun at the defeated Reichstag

Tactics of the Soviet troops

The battle in the city required special methods of combat, which differed from field conditions. The front was all around. Soviet and German troops could only separate the carriageway of the street, the square, the wall of the building or even the floor. So, on the ground floor there could be our troops, and in the basement and on the upper floors - the Germans. However, the Soviet troops already had rich successful experience in street fighting. The experience of fighting in Stalingrad and Novorossiysk, replenished in Poznan, Breslau, Budapest, Königsberg and other cities, came in handy.

The main form of urban combat, already experienced in other cities, was the practically independent actions of assault groups and detachments reinforced with fire weapons. They could find weak spots and gaps in the enemy defenses, storm buildings turned into strongholds. Soviet attack aircraft tried to move not along the main highways, well prepared for defense, in the intervals between them. This reduced the damage from enemy fire. Assault squads moved from building to building, through courtyards, gaps in the walls of buildings or fences. Assault squads cut the enemy defenses into separate parts, paralyzed control. They could independently penetrate deeply into enemy defenses, bypassing the most powerful knots of resistance. Artillery, aviation, additional infantry and tank forces were aimed at them. This allowed the Soviet troops to maintain a high rate of advance, isolate entire urban areas, and then "cleanse" them from the Nazis.

The battle formation of an assault detachment, as a rule, was built as follows: tanks and self-propelled guns supported the infantry; they, in turn, were guarded by riflemen who controlled attics, window and door openings, and basements; tanks and infantry were supported by self-propelled guns and artillery. The infantry fought the enemy garrisons, cleared houses and neighborhoods from the Nazis, carried out close anti-tank defense, primarily from grenade launchers. Tanks and self-propelled guns took on the tasks of destroying enemy fire weapons. Then the infantry completed the cleanup of the area, destroying the surviving enemy soldiers.

Soviet self-propelled guns SU-76M on one of the streets of Berlin

A column of Soviet self-propelled guns ISU-122 on a street in Berlin

Soviet heavy tanks IS-2 on a street in Berlin

The assault detachment consisted of several assault groups, a fire group and a reserve. Assault groups directly stormed the buildings. The fire group included artillery, including large-caliber guns, mortars, tanks and self-propelled guns. The reserve constituted a rifle platoon or company, replaced the active assault groups, consolidated success and repelled enemy counterattacks. When attacking a fortified building, the assault group was usually divided into several parts: one part destroyed the Nazis in the basement and semi-basement rooms with the help of flamethrowers, grenade launchers, grenades and bottles of combustible mixture; another group - led the cleaning of the upper floors from machine gunners and enemy snipers. Both groups were supported by a fireteam. Sometimes the situation required reconnaissance in battle, when small units - 3-5 of the most courageous and trained soldiers quietly entered the building, which was defended by the Germans and caused a commotion with a sudden attack. Then the main forces of the assault group were connected.

Usually at the beginning of each day, before the attack of assault detachments and groups, artillery preparation took place lasting up to 20-30 minutes. It involved divisional and corps guns. They fired from concealed positions at previously reconnoitered targets, enemy firing positions and possible concentrations of troops. Artillery fire was applied throughout the quarter. Directly during the assault on strongholds, volleys of M-31 and M-13 rocket launchers were used. Katyushas also hit enemy targets in the depths of his defense. In the course of urban battles, rocket launchers for direct fire were widely used. This was done directly from the ground, from the simplest devices, or even from window openings and breaches. So they destroyed barricades or destroyed the defenses of buildings. With a short firing range - 100-150 meters, the M-31 projectile pierced a brick wall up to 80 cm thick and burst inside the building. When several rockets hit the inside of the building, the house was severely destroyed, and the garrison died.

Artillery as part of assault squads fired at enemy buildings with direct fire. Under the cover of artillery and mortar fire, attack aircraft approached enemy strongholds, broke into them, and went into the rear. Artillery played huge role in street fighting. In addition, tanks and self-propelled guns were used in the assaults on enemy targets, which crushed the enemy’s firepower. Heavy self-propelled guns could destroy barricades, create breaches in buildings and walls. Big role sappers played, who, under cover of fire, dragged explosives, destroyed obstacles, created gaps, removed mines, etc. During the assault on some objects, they could put up a smoke screen.

When a barricade appeared on the path of the assault detachment, Soviet soldiers first took possession of the buildings that were adjacent to the obstacle, then large-caliber guns, including self-propelled guns, destroyed the blockage. If the artillery failed to do this, then the sappers, under cover of fire and a smoke screen, dragged explosive charges and undermined the obstacle. Tanks broke through the passages made, guns were dragged behind them.

It is also worth noting that flamethrower and incendiary means were widely used in street battles. When storming houses, Soviet soldiers widely used Molotov cocktails. Units of high-explosive flamethrowers were used. Flamethrowers were very effective tool struggle, when it was necessary to “smoke out” the enemy from the basement or set fire to the building and force the Nazis to retreat. Infantry smoke weapons were also widely used to set up small camouflage and blinding smoke screens.

Soviet gunners are preparing a BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher for a salvo in Berlin

Guards jet mortar BM-31-12 in Berlin

Soviet tanks and other equipment at the bridge over the Spree River in the Reichstag area. On this bridge, Soviet troops, under fire from the defending Germans, stormed the Reichstag. In the photo, tanks IS-2 and T-34-85, self-propelled guns ISU-152, guns

Fights in other directions. Breakthrough to the city center

The battle for Berlin was fierce. Soviet troops suffered heavy losses, 20-30 fighters remained in rifle companies. Often it was necessary to bring three companies into two in battalions in order to increase their combat effectiveness. In many regiments, three battalions were reduced to two. The advantages in manpower of the Soviet troops during the assault on the German capital were insignificant - about 460 thousand people against 300 thousand German troops, but there was an overwhelming superiority in artillery and armored vehicles (12.7 thousand mortar guns, 2.1 thousand " Katyusha, up to 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns), which made it possible to smash the enemy defenses. With the support of artillery and tanks, the Red Army marched step by step towards victory.

Before the start of the battles for the central part of the city, the bombers of the 14th and 16th air armies delivered powerful blows to the complex of government buildings and the main centers of resistance in Berlin. During Operation Salyut on April 25, aircraft of the 16th air army made two massive raids on the capital of the Reich, 1486 aircraft participated in them, which dropped 569 tons of bombs. The city was heavily bombarded by artillery: from April 21 to May 2, about 1,800 thousand artillery shots were fired at the German capital. After heavy air and artillery strikes, the assault began central regions Berlin. Our troops crossed water barriers - the Teltow Canal, the Berlin-Spandauer Canal, the Spree and Dahme rivers.

On April 26, the Berlin grouping was divided into two separate parts: in the city itself and a smaller part, in the suburbs of Wannsee and Potsdam. This day was the last telephone conversation between Hitler and Jodl. Hitler still hoped to "save" the situation south of Berlin and ordered the 12th Army, together with the troops of the 9th Army, to sharply turn the offensive front to the north in order to alleviate the position of Berlin.

Soviet 203mm howitzer B-4 firing in Berlin at night

The calculation of the Soviet 100-mm gun BS-3 is firing at the enemy in Berlin

The Germans fought furiously. On the night of April 26, the command of the surrounded Frankfurt-Guben grouping, surrounded southeast of the capital, following the order of the Fuhrer, formed a strong grouping of several divisions in order to break through battle formations 1st Ukrainian front and link up in the Luckenwalde area with the 12th Army advancing from the west. On the morning of April 26, the Germans launched a counteroffensive, inflicting swipe at the junction of the 28th and 3rd Guards armies. The Germans made a breach and went to the city of Barut. But here the enemy was stopped by the 395th division of the 13th army, and then the Germans were attacked by units of the 28th, 3rd guards and 3rd guards tank armies. Aviation played an important role in defeating the enemy. Bombers and attack aircraft attacked the battle formations almost non-stop. German band. The Germans suffered great losses in manpower and equipment.

At the same time, our troops repulsed the blow of the 12th Army of Wenck, which attacked in the Belitz-Treuenbritzen zone. Parts of the 4th Guards tank army and the 13th Army parried all enemy attacks and even advanced west. Our troops captured part of Wittenberg, crossed the Elbe south of it and captured the city of Pratau. Intense battles with the 12th Army and the remnants of the 9th Army, trying to break out of the encirclement, continued for several more days. The troops of the 9th Army were able to advance a little more to the west, but only small scattered groups were able to break out of the "cauldron". By the beginning of May, the encircled enemy grouping was completely destroyed.

The Görlitz group did not succeed either. She was unable to overturn the left flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front and break through to Spremberg. By the end of April, all attacks by enemy troops were repulsed. German troops went on the defensive. The left wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front was able to go on the offensive. 2nd offensive Belorussian Front also developed successfully.

On April 27, our troops continued the offensive. The Potsdam enemy group was destroyed and Potsdam was taken. Soviet troops captured the central railway junction, started a battle for the 9th sector of the Berlin defensive region. At 3 o'clock. On the night of April 28, Keitel spoke with Krebs, who said that Hitler demanded immediate assistance to Berlin, according to the Fuhrer, "at most 48 hours of time" remained. At 5 o'clock. morning communication with the Imperial Chancellery was broken. On April 28, the territory occupied by German troops was reduced to 10 km from north to south and to 14 km from east to west.

In Berlin, the Germans especially stubbornly defended the 9th sector (central). From the north, this sector was covered by the Spree River, and the Landwehr Canal was located in the south. Most of the bridges were destroyed by the Germans. The Moltke bridge was covered by anti-tank obstacles and was well defended. The banks of the Spree and the Landwehr Canal were dressed in granite and rose 3 meters, providing additional protection for the German troops. In the central sector there were several powerful defense centers: the Reichstag, the Krol Opera (the building of the imperial theater), the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Gestapo). The walls of the buildings were very powerful, they were not pierced by shells of large-caliber guns. The walls of the lower floors and basements reached a thickness of 2 meters, and were additionally reinforced with earth embankments, reinforced concrete and steel rails. The square in front of the Reichstag (Koenigsplatz) was also prepared for defense. Three trenches with machine-gun nests were located here, they connected with the passages of communication with the Reichstag. The approaches to the square were covered with anti-tank ditches filled with water. The defense system included 15 reinforced concrete pillboxes. Anti-aircraft guns were located on the roofs of buildings, field artillery positions were located on the sites and in the Tiergarten park. Houses on the left bank of the Spree were turned into strongholds that protected the garrisons from platoon to company. The streets leading to the German parliament were blocked by barricades, rubble and mined. A powerful defense was created in the Tiergarten. To the south-west of the central sector adjoined the defense center in the Zoological Garden.

The central region was defended by soldiers from various elite SS units and a Volkssturm battalion. On the night of April 28, three companies of sailors from a naval school in Rostock were dropped from transport aircraft into the central sector. In the Reichstag area, a garrison of 5,000 soldiers and officers defended, supported by three artillery battalions.

The beginning of the assault on the Reichstag

Waging stubborn battles, by April 29, Soviet troops cleared most of the city from the Nazis. In some areas, Soviet troops broke through the defenses of the central sector. Parts of the 79th were advancing from the north rifle corps S. N. Perevertkina 3rd shock army. By the evening of April 28, the troops of the 3rd Shock Army, having captured the Moabit area, broke through to the Reichstag area, near the Moltke bridge. Here lay shortest way to the Reichstag.

At the same time, units of the 5th shock, 8th guards and 1st guards tank armies of the 1st Belorussian Front made their way to the center from the east and southeast. The 5th shock army captured Karlhorst, crossed the Spree, cleared the Anhalt railway station and the state printing house of the Germans. Her troops broke through to Alexanderplatz, Wilhelm's Palace, the town hall and the imperial office. The 8th Guards Army moved along the southern bank of the Landwehr Canal, approaching the southern part of the Tiergarten Park. The 2nd Guards Tank Army, having captured the Charlottenburg region, advanced from the northwest. The troops of the 3rd Guards Tank Army and the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front made their way to the 9th sector with south direction. The 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, part of the forces of the 4th Guards Tank and 13th Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front firmly provided the outer front of Berlin's encirclement from the west.

The position of Berlin became completely hopeless, ammunition was running out. The commander of the defense of the Berlin region, General Weidling, offered to save the troops and gather the remaining forces for a breakthrough to the west. General Krebs supported the idea of a breakthrough. Hitler was also repeatedly asked to leave the city himself. However, Hitler did not agree with this and ordered to continue the defense to the last bullet. He considered that it makes no sense for the troops to break through from one "cauldron" to another.

The troops of the 79th Rifle Corps were unable to take the Moltke bridge on the move. However, on the night of April 29, the decisive actions of the forward battalions of the 756th rifle regiment 150th rifle division under the command of Major General Vasily Shatilov (the battalion was commanded by Captain Semyon Neustroev) and the 380th Infantry Regiment of the 171st Infantry Division under the command of Colonel Alexei Negoda (the battalion was commanded by Senior Lieutenant Konstantin Samsonov), the bridge was occupied. The Germans fired heavily and launched counterattacks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the right bank of the Spree had not yet been completely cleared of German troops. Soviet soldiers occupied only Alt-Moabit-Straße, which went to the bridge and the surrounding neighborhoods. At night, the Germans launched a counterattack, trying to surround and destroy our troops, who crossed to the left bank of the river and destroy the Moltke bridge. However, enemy attacks were successfully repulsed.

Units of the 380th regiment, the 525th regiment of the 171st division, the 756th regiment of the 150th division, as well as tanks and escort guns, flamethrowers of the 10th separate motorized flamethrower battalion were transferred to the left bank of the Spree. On the morning of April 29, after a short fire attack, our troops continued their offensive. All day long, our soldiers fought stubborn battles for the buildings adjacent to the Spree, it was especially difficult to take the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (our soldiers called it "Himmler's house"). Only after the commissioning of the second echelon of the 150th division - the 674th rifle regiment, did the situation turn in our favor. "Himmler's House" was taken. Several more buildings were captured, and the Soviet soldiers ended up 300-500 meters from the Reichstag. But it was not possible to immediately develop success and take the Reichstag.

Soviet troops carried out preliminary preparations for the assault on the Reichstag. Intelligence studied the approaches to the building and the enemy's fire system. New weapons were brought into the battle area. All new tanks, self-propelled guns and guns were transported to the left bank of the river. At a close distance of 200-300 meters from the building, several dozen guns were brought up, including 152- and 203-mm howitzers. Prepared rocket launchers. They brought ammunition. From the best warriors, assault groups were formed to hoist the banner over the Reichstag.

Early morning April 30 bloody battles resumed. The Nazis repulsed the first attack of our troops. Selected units of the SS fought to the death. At 11 o'clock. 30 minutes. after artillery preparation, our troops went to new assault. A particularly stubborn battle took place in the offensive zone of the 380th regiment, which was led by the chief of staff, Major V. D. Shatalin. The Germans repeatedly turned into violent counterattacks, which turned into hand-to-hand combat. Our troops suffered serious losses. Only towards the end of the day did the regiment make its way to the anti-tank ditch at the Reichstag. A heavy battle was also going on in the offensive zone of the 150th Infantry Division. Units of the 756th and 674th Rifle Regiments made their way to the canal in front of the Reichstag and lay there under heavy fire. There was a pause, which was used to prepare a decisive assault on the building.

At 18 o'clock. 30 minutes. under the cover of artillery fire, our soldiers climbed into new attack. The Germans could not stand it, and our soldiers broke through to the building itself. Immediately, red banners of various shapes and sizes appeared on the building. One of the first to appear was the flag of a fighter of the 1st battalion of the 756th regiment junior sergeant Peter Pyatnitsky. An enemy bullet struck down a Soviet soldier on the steps of a building. But his flag was picked up and placed over one of the columns of the main entrance. The flags of Lieutenant R. Koshkarbaev and Private G. Bulatov from the 674th Regiment, Sergeant M. Eremin and Private G. Savenko from the 380th Regiment, Sergeant P. S. Smirnov and Privates N. Belenkov and L. Somov from 525th regiment, etc. Soviet soldiers in again displayed massive heroism.

Soviet assault group with a banner moves to the Reichstag

The fight for interior spaces. The Germans continued to put up stubborn resistance, defended every room, every corridor, stairwell, floors and basements. The Germans even launched counterattacks. However, it was no longer possible to stop our fighters. There is very little left before the Victory. In one of the rooms, the headquarters of Captain Neustroev was deployed. The assault group under the command of sergeants G. Zagitov, A. Lisimenko and M. Minin broke through to the roof and fixed the flag there. On the night of May 1, a group of soldiers under the command of Lieutenant A.P. Berest received the task of hoisting a banner on the Reichstag, which was presented by the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army. Early in the morning, Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory - the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division. The assault on the Reichstag continued until May 2.

On the same day, when the Soviet banners appeared on the Reichstag (April 30), Adolf Hitler committed suicide.

Banner of Victory over the Reichstag

assault flag 150th Order of Kutuzov, II degree, Idritsa Rifle Division
Author Samsonov Alexander

From April 28 to May 2, 1945 by forces The 150th and 171st Rifle Divisions of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front carried out an operation to capture the Reichstag. To this event, my friends, I dedicate this photo collection.
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1. Fireworks in honor of the Victory on the roof of the Reichstag. Soldiers of the battalion under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union S. Neustroev.

3. Soviet cargo and cars on a ruined street in Berlin. Behind the ruins you can see the Reichstag building.

4. Rear Admiral Fotiy Ivanovich Krylov (1896-1948), head of the River Emergency and Rescue Directorate of the USSR Navy, awards a diver with an order for clearing mines on the Spree River in Berlin. In the background is the Reichstag building.

6. View of the Reichstag after the end of hostilities.

7. A group of Soviet officers inside the Reichstag.

8. Soviet soldiers with a banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

9. The Soviet assault group with the banner moves to the Reichstag.

10. The Soviet assault group with the banner is moving towards the Reichstag.

11. Commander of the 23rd Guards Rifle Division, Major General P.M. Shafarenko in the Reichstag with colleagues.

12. Heavy tank IS-2 against the backdrop of the Reichstag

13. Soldiers of the 150th Rifle Idritsko-Berlin, Order of Kutuzov, 2nd degree, division on the steps of the Reichstag (among the depicted scouts are M. Kantaria, M. Egorov and the Komsomol organizer of the division, Captain M. Zholudev). In the foreground is the 14-year-old son of the regiment, Zhora Artemenkov.

14. The Reichstag building in July 1945.

15. The interior of the Reichstag building after the defeat of Germany in the war. On the walls and columns there are inscriptions of Soviet soldiers left as a keepsake.

16. The interior of the Reichstag building after the defeat of Germany in the war. On the walls and columns there are inscriptions of Soviet soldiers left as a keepsake. Pictured is the south entrance of the building.

17. Soviet photojournalists and cameramen at the Reichstag building.

18. Fragments of the inverted German fighter Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in front of the Reichstag.

19. Autograph of Soviet soldiers on the column of the Reichstag: “We are in Berlin! Nikolay, Peter, Nina and Sasha. May 11, 1945.

20. A group of political workers of the 385th Infantry Division, headed by the head of the political department, Colonel Mikhailov, near the Reichstag.

21. German anti-aircraft guns and a dead German soldier at the Reichstag.

23. Soviet soldiers on the square near the Reichstag.

24. Red Army signalman Mikhail Usachev leaves his autograph on the wall of the Reichstag.

25. british soldier leaves his autograph among the autographs of Soviet soldiers inside the Reichstag.

26. Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria go out with a banner to the roof of the Reichstag.

27. Soviet soldiers hoist a banner over the Reichstag on May 2, 1945. This is one of the banners installed on the Reystag in addition to the official hoisting of the banner by Yegorov and Kantaria.

28. The famous Soviet singer Lidia Ruslanova performs "Katyusha" against the backdrop of the destroyed Reichstag.

29. The son of the regiment Volodya Tarnovsky puts his autograph on the column of the Reichstag.

30. Heavy tank IS-2 against the backdrop of the Reichstag.

31. A captured German soldier at the Reichstag. The famous photograph, often published in books and on posters in the USSR under the name "Ende" (German: "The End").

32. Fellow soldiers of the 88th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Regiment near the wall of the Reichstag, in the storming of which the regiment took part.

33. Banner of Victory over the Reichstag.

34. Two Soviet officers on the steps of the Reichstag.

35. Two Soviet officers on the square in front of the Reichstag building.

36. Soviet mortar soldier Sergei Ivanovich Platov leaves his autograph on the column of the Reichstag.

The culmination of World War II was the capture of the Reichstag building in Berlin by Soviet troops in late April - early May 1945.

The capture of the Reichstag was the culmination of World War II. The citadel of evil falling into the hands of the victors, the dictator taking a bullet at himself - it's hard to imagine a more spectacular final chord the largest armed conflict in human history. Meanwhile, the epic of the storming of Berlin contains quite a few curious and non-trivial nuances.

Fortress with cracked walls

Berlin was preparing for a stubborn defense for a long time, and at the end of April its defenders had something to repel attacks, although the garrison forces still did not meet their tasks. Long before the start of the final offensive of the Russians, Berlin was brutally bombed by the allies, so various shelters and fortifications were arranged in advance in the capital of the Reich. True, they protected mainly from air raids. The system of fortifications protecting against ground attack was built anyhow, ditches, shelters and trenches were erected without a single plan, and warehouses according to stupid mistake located on the outskirts - in the battle they were quickly received by the Russians.

Air defense towers became a specific masterpiece of fortification - huge concrete structures in which anti-aircraft guns and shelters for thousands of people were mounted. In spite of exotic look and design, these structures turned out to be pretty hard nuts: not one of them was destroyed either from the air or from the ground. It was in one of these towers that the commandant of Berlin, Helmut Weidling, sat during the assault.

In addition to the towers, there were hundreds of conventional air defense positions in Berlin with anti-aircraft artillery of all calibers. These anti-aircraft guns have become perhaps the most serious obstacle to the attackers. However, on engineering structures and a powerful air defense system, the list of advantages of Berlin as a fortress was exhausted. In the city, battalions of elderly Volkssturmists were urgently created, many of whom were not young men already in the previous world war, firefighters, policemen, Hitler Youth, etc. etc. Tens of thousands of armed men gathered in Berlin, but only a minority of them could actually be considered soldiers. Some organization was given to this horde by the remnants of the 56th Panzer Corps retreating to Berlin from the east. Numbering only 13-15 thousand soldiers and officers, the remnants of the divisions defeated on the Oder line became the core around which irregular units gathered. In total, according to various estimates, there were from 60 to 140 thousand defenders in Berlin, which, of course, is not enough for such a city.

FROM Soviet side more than 400 thousand soldiers and officers burst into the streets. It should be noted that the Russians purposefully created such a favorable balance of power: the powerful 9th Army of the Wehrmacht, consisting of regular units, was cut off from Berlin in the forests south of the city, covered from all sides and defeated in a large "cauldron". The Fuhrer had great hopes for her divisions, but at the moment when Berlin different sides Soviet tanks entered, the 9th army died ingloriously surrounded.

Entered the streets of Berlin Soviet armies aspired to the Reichstag. As political center this building, built for the German parliament, had no significance for a long time. Hitler himself was in the Reich Chancellery. However, as a massive building in the city center, the Reichstag was stubbornly held by the detachments of the Berlin garrison, it was he who was a guide for the attackers and a symbol of the defense of Berlin.

The need for a quick assault on Berlin was largely dictated by the personality of the Nazi leader. Hitler's will soldered together the remaining forces of the Wehrmacht, the Berlin garrison was too weak to pose a serious threat to the advancing. The main danger came not from the youths clutching faustpatrons in Berlin attics, but from the large regular forces of the German army outside of Berlin, capable of independent operations, so the rapid destruction of the Third Reich's "think tank" was a reasonable decision. Moreover, they carefully prepared for the offensive. Berlin was carefully filmed by aerial reconnaissance, even platoons were supplied with plans for the city.

Fight in the streets

The Reichstag did not have conquerors originally assigned to this role. For a number of reasons, as a result, the troops of the 3rd shock army, advancing on the city from the north, made their way to it. Meanwhile, on April 23, when the troops entered Berlin, the commander of this army, General Kuznetsov, was dissatisfied with the low pace of the offensive. On this day, he gave a real dressing down to the commanders of his own corps for the poor organization of the battle and the loss of control of the advancing units.

Meanwhile, the army did have objective reasons to conduct an offensive relatively slowly: she acted in a zone of dense buildings against stubbornly defending units. A separate problem was the numerous rivers and canals that had to be overcome in battle. The channel itself is much less convenient for forcing than the river: the sheer walls of the embankments created problems for sappers. Nevertheless, the 3rd shock had infantry well prepared for assault operations, strong sapper units and a terrible artillery fist, so the advance was steady, albeit unhurried.

Soon, a bridgehead was captured on the other side of the Berlin-Spandauer Canal. The 150th Infantry Division, whose banner would soon be over the Reichstag, crossed the canal separately, bypassing the German resistance center. However, the Spree, which lay further in the way of the army, again slowed down the advance. Again an artillery raid, detours, the work of sappers to build crossings - and continuous sweeps of quarters from a desperately defending enemy. As a kind of training before the final assault, parts of two divisions of the 3rd shock liberated the Moabit prison, which was intended for political prisoners in the Reich.

The attack was carried out carefully and methodically. The main character in the street fighting was assault squad. A single staff of such a unit did not exist, detachments were put together on the fly for specific tasks, but a typical assault detachment included a rifle company or battalion, a platoon or company of sappers, a separate platoon of submachine gunners, heavy machine guns, flamethrowers, several self-propelled guns or tanks, mortars and field guns that rolled on their hands. Heavy artillery was added as needed. Such a detachment was divided into several assault groups, which, in fact, solved tactical tasks: to capture a house, a bridge, a sewer, a building, to suppress a firing point.

The meaning of this division was to create small, but heavily armed units that could not waste time asking for support, but would immediately have their own means of fighting against any enemy. The assault group had its own means to knock out a tank, set fire to what is burning, blow up what is not burning, maneuver under the cover of a smoke screen. As a rule, such a group, before the main attack, "softened" the enemy by hitting guns or tanks on embrasures and windows. Mortars suppressed the enemy on open places and cut off from anyone's attempts to come to the rescue. Passages for the infantrymen were made by sappers, who undermined barriers and walls in the right places, then the infantry penetrated the object that they were supposed to capture. Large-caliber machine guns were placed on the upper floors of already passed buildings and hit their shooters over the head, preventing them from raising their heads. The attackers immediately sought to capture the upper floors of buildings in order to cut off the Germans trying to counterattack with fire from above, or vice versa, to prevent the garrison from escaping.

As you can see, the set of techniques is complex, requiring clear interaction. But the Soviet soldiers of 1945 were very different from themselves four years earlier, and really could show high class assault operation.

heart of Darkness

By the evening of April 28, only hundreds of meters remained before the Reichstag. The 3rd shock came ashore on the Spree from the north, and was preparing to force it. At night, the 171st division of Colonel Negoda crossed the river and captured the bridgehead. Under the cover of artillery, Negoda achieved the main success of that night - the capture of the bridge over the Spree. The undamaged crossing became a valuable acquisition; the main forces of the 171st and 150th divisions crossed over it to the Reichstag. However, the first attempt to immediately take the Reichstag failed: several thousand German soldiers with armored vehicles, including a pair of Tigers, defended themselves on the approaches, one of which was shot down right in the middle of the square.

No one was going to storm the Reichstag at any cost, and so far the attackers have limited themselves to the adjacent Gestapo building. Only Koenigs-Platz separated the attackers from the Reichstag. The decisive assault was planned for April 30, but for now the Russians were conducting reconnaissance and pulling up the rear with artillery. In addition to the Reichstag itself, the target was the Kroll Opera, which remained on the right: from there, the Germans could threaten the flank and rear of those advancing on the Reichstag itself. The Reichstag was already becoming an island in the stormy sea of the advancing Soviet troops: units of the 8th Guards Army were moving towards the 3rd shock from the south.

The final assault began at 11-30. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Russians began to bombard the Reichstag itself with guns of all calibers, including 203-mm siege howitzers. The building was stormed by units of two divisions at once. It should be noted that the rifle divisions by the end of the war were extremely small in number, and rather resembled regiments, that is, we are not talking about the participation of tens of thousands of people in the assault on one building. The first to break into the Reichstag were the soldiers of the 171st Rifle. It was they who were the first to hang the red banner in the window of the Reichstag. However, inside the attackers had to make their way through the desperately defended ruins. Here the artillery could no longer help, close combat was going on in the building. Meanwhile, while in the twilight of the Reichstag, assault groups were making their way with grenades and hand weapons, important events took place nearby, in the Reich Chancellery.

On 29 April, Hitler sent inquiries about where the German troops were and what they were doing outside of Berlin. He counted on salvation from 9 and 12 field armies. The answers were disappointing for the dictator. The remnants of the 9th Army fought their way out of the encirclement to the west with difficulty and were not going to rescue the Fuhrer, the 12th Army was bogged down in battles with the barriers of Soviet troops to the west of the city, and also had no way to break into Berlin. Soviet troops at that moment were less than half a kilometer from the Reich Chancellery. These news predetermined further events: the unlucky conqueror of the world committed suicide.

The last Chief of the General Staff of the Reich, Hans Krebs, went to the 8th guards army to General Vasily Chuikov and began negotiations on surrender. All this was not yet known in the Reichstag. There was a fight going on inside. By at least, the Russians drove one and a half thousand soldiers of the garrison into the basement and were now knocking them out with explosives and grenades. On May 1, they tried to break into the lobby, but they were met and thrown back.

It is interesting that this battle was going on when the red banner was already fluttering over the Reichstag. Moreover, the banners were hoisted on the roof of the building several times. In general, many tried to symbolically consolidate their primacy, so there were about forty different flags and banners on the Reichstag. The "classic" banner hoisted on the dome was originally hoisted by Yegorov and Kantaria with east side building. But it was transferred to the dome a little later, on the 2nd.

“On April 30, 1945, the Fuhrer committed suicide, leaving us, who had given him the oath, to ourselves.

You think that, according to the Führer's order, you must still fight for Berlin, despite the fact that the lack of heavy weapons, ammunition and the general situation make further struggle pointless.

Every hour of your struggle increases the terrible suffering of the civilian population of Berlin and our wounded. Everyone who is now dying for Berlin is making a vain sacrifice.

Therefore, in agreement with the High Command of the Soviet Forces, I call on you to immediately end your resistance.

Weidling, General of Artillery and Commander of the Defense of Berlin.

At this time, in the Reichstag, the situation of the besieged became completely hopeless. The building was on fire. On the morning of May 2, the remnants of the garrison capitulated. In total, 2,500 German soldiers were killed in the Reichstag, another 1,650 were captured. The Krol-Opera building fell the day before, where about 850 German soldiers and officers surrendered. In turn, for the entire time of the Berlin operation, that is, not only in the city itself, but also during the breakthrough to it, the 3rd shock army lost 4244 people dead and missing.

The Reichstag became a symbol of not just a military triumph, but the end of a very long way for the soldiers and officers who stormed it. Lieutenant Berest, whose soldiers hoisted the Banner of Victory over the dome, participated in Finnish war. Sergeant Mikhail Yegorov got into active army in December 1944 after fighting for several years in the partisans in the Smolensk region. The biography of Meliton Kantaria was just as long and stormy - he served as a reconnaissance officer of the 150th division since December 1941. Far from random people entered the dome of the Reichstag: they really were worthy of the glory of the conquerors of Berlin. Finally, General Vasily Kuznetsov did not just fight from the very beginning: in June 1941 he made his way with the remnants of his army from the first encirclement of the war in Belarus. By some irony of fate, that army that died in the forests also had number 3.

We can say that the Reichstag in 1945 was no longer the center political power in the Reich, and it's true. However, it was his capture that became a symbol of the end of four years of suffering, and the final triumph of the winners. Whatever one may say, the Reichstag area was one of the most important nodes of the defense of Berlin, and even in a purely military aspect, its assault was important. Now, in modern non-Nazi Germany, the Reichstag has regained its old meaning - the center of German politics. The banner above the dome became not only a symbol of the end of the Third Reich, but also marked the beginning of a new Germany, and, without exaggeration, a new world order.

1. View of the Reichstag after the end of hostilities.

2. Fireworks in honor of the Victory on the roof of the Reichstag. Soldiers of the battalion under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union S. Neustroev.

3. Soviet trucks and cars on a ruined street in Berlin. Behind the ruins you can see the Reichstag building.