Defense of Berlin

Berlin was one of largest cities 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 engineering industry, 1/6 of mechanical engineering, many military enterprises), a junction of German highways and railways, and a major inland shipping port. 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 railway 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. The inner regions (within the circumferential railway) are the most densely built up. 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 are the Spree River, up to 100 meters wide, a large number of channels, especially in the southern and northwestern parts capital Cities. 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 Minister of Propaganda was the Gauleiter of Berlin, responsible for the civil authorities and the preparation of 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 Staff of the German Army Wilhelm Burgdorf and Secretary of State 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 best-preserved and combat-ready 18th motorized division was left in reserve. 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 the troops of the navy to the rescue of Berlin. 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 the Anglo-American troops would capture a significant territory of the country. The main task of the army was to unblock Berlin. Widespread propaganda was carried out among 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 was prepared under the lower hatch for storing ammunition, 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. The exits from the underground structures that went towards our troops were mined, filled up or set up posts from submachine 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 of the Soviet troops. Groups of snipers, submachine 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 the last days of the battle for Berlin, the supply situation 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 be separated by a roadway, a square, a wall of a building, or even a floor. So, on the ground floor there could be our troops, and in the basement and on the upper floors - the Germans. However Soviet troops already had a rich successful experience conducting street fights. 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 practically independent action 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 keep high rates offensive, isolate entire urban areas, and then "cleanse" them from the Nazis.

order of battle assault squad, usually built like this: the infantry was supported by tanks and self-propelled guns; 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 enemy submachine gunners and 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 penetrated into 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 a 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. An important role was played by sappers, 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 a very effective means of fighting 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

The gun barrel of the Soviet heavy tank IS-2, aimed at the Reichstag building

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 fighting 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 on the central regions of Berlin began. 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 group, surrounded southeast of the capital, following the order of the Fuhrer, formed a strong grouping of several divisions to break through battle formations 1st Ukrainian Front and join 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 almost non-stop attacked the battle formations of the German group. The Germans suffered great losses in manpower and equipment.

At the same time, our troops repelled the blow of the 12th Army of Wenck, which attacked in the Belitz-Treuenbrizen 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. The offensive of the 2nd 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 - 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 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. Units of the 79th Rifle Corps of S. N. Perevertkin of the 3rd Shock Army advanced from the north. 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. 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, decisive actions of the forward battalions of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Vasily Shatilov (Captain Semyon Neustroev commanded the battalion) 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 stubbornly 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 best warriors formed assault groups 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 min. 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 min. 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 once again showed mass heroism.

Soviet assault group with a banner moves to the Reichstag

The fight for interior spaces. The Germans continued to put up stubborn resistance, defending every room, every corridor, stairwell, floors and cellars. 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 Egorov and Meliton Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory - assault flag 150th Infantry Division. The assault on the Reichstag continued until May 2.

Everyone heard about the capture of the Reichstag by Soviet soldiers. But what do we really know about him? We will talk about who was sent against the Red Army, how they searched for the Reichstag and how many banners there were.

Who goes to Berlin

Those who wanted to take Berlin in the Red Army were more than enough. Moreover, if for the commanders - Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky, this was also a matter of prestige, then for ordinary soldiers who were already "one foot at home" this was another terrible battle. Participants in the assault will remember it as one of the most difficult battles of the war.

Nevertheless, the idea that their detachment would be sent to Berlin in April 1944 could only cause jubilation among the soldiers. The author of the book: "Who Took the Reichstag: Heroes by Default", Yamskoy N. talks about how they were waiting for a decision on the composition of the offensive troops in the 756th regiment:

“Officers gathered at the headquarters dugout. Neustroev burned with impatience, offering to send someone for Major Kazakov, who was supposed to arrive with the results of the decision. One of the officers joked: “What are you, Stepan, spinning around in place? Take off your boots - and go! During the time that you run back and forth, already, go, you would be near Berlin!”

Soon the cheerful and smiling Major Kazakov returned. And it became clear to everyone: we are going to Berlin!”

Attitude

Why was it so important to take the Reichstag and hoist a banner on it? This is the building where since 1919 the highest Legislature Germany, during the years of the Third Reich, de facto, did not play any role. All legislative functions were performed in the Krol-Opera, the building opposite. However, for the Nazis, this is not just a building, not just a fortress. For them, this was the last hope, the capture of which would demoralize the army. Therefore, during the storming of Berlin, the command focused precisely on the Reichstag. Hence Zhukov's order to the 171st and 150th divisions, which promised gratitude and government awards to those who set a red flag over a gray, unsightly and half-ruined building.
Moreover, its installation was a paramount task.

“If our people are not in the Reichstag and a banner is not installed there, then take all measures at any cost to hoist a flag or a flag at least on the column of the main entrance. At any price!"

- was an order from Zinchenko. That is, the banner of victory should have been installed even before the actual capture of the Reichstag. According to eyewitnesses, when trying to fulfill the order and install a banner on the building still defended by the Germans, many “lone volunteers, bravest people”, but this is what made the act of Kantaria and Yegorov heroic.

"Sailors of the SS Special Forces"

Even as the Red Army advanced towards Berlin, when the outcome of the war became obvious, Hitler either panicked or wounded pride played a role, but he issued several orders, the essence of which was that all of Germany should perish along with the defeat of the Reich. The "Nero" plan was carried out, which meant the destruction of all cultural property on the territory of the state, the evacuation of residents was difficult. Subsequently, the high command will pronounce key phrase: "Berlin will defend itself to the last German."

So, for the most part, it didn't matter who they sent to their deaths. So, in order to detain the Red Army at the Moltke Bridge, Hitler transferred to Berlin “sailors of the SS Special Forces Detachment”, who were ordered to delay the advance of our troops to government buildings at any cost.

They turned out to be sixteen year old boys, yesterday's cadets of the naval school from the city of Rostock. Hitler spoke to them, calling them heroes and the hope of the nation. His order itself is interesting: “to throw back a small group of Russians that broke through to this bank of the Spree and prevent it from reaching the Reichstag. It takes quite a bit to hold on. You will receive a new weapon soon great strength and new planes. Wenck's army approaches from the south. The Russians will not only be driven out of Berlin, but also driven back to Moscow.”

Did Hitler know about the real number of "a small group of Russians" and about the state of affairs when he gave the order? What did he expect? At that time, it was obvious that for an effective battle with Soviet soldiers, a whole army was needed, and not 500 young boys who did not know how to fight. Perhaps Hitler expected positive results from separate negotiations with the allies of the USSR. But the question of what secret weapon was discussed, and hung in the air. One way or another, hopes were not justified, and many young fanatics died without benefiting their homeland.

Where is the Reichstag?

During the assault, there were incidents. On the eve of the offensive, at night it turned out that the attackers did not know what the Reichstag looked like, and even more so, where it was located.

This is how the battalion commander, Neustroev, who was ordered to storm the Reichstag, described this situation: “The colonel orders:

"Come out quickly to the Reichstag!". I hang up. Zinchenko's voice still sounds in my ears. And where is he, the Reichstag? The devil knows! It's dark and deserted ahead."

Zinchenko, in turn, reported to General Shatilov: “Neustroev’s battalion took up its starting position in the semi-basement of the southeastern part of the building. Only now some house interferes with him - the Reichstag closes. We will bypass it on the right. " He replies in bewilderment: "What other house? crawl opera? But he should be on the right from the "Himmler's house". There can be no building in front of the Reichstag ... ".

However, the building was Squat in two and a half floors with towers and a dome at the top. Behind him, two hundred meters away, the outlines of a huge, twelve-story house could be seen, which Neustovev took as his final goal. But the gray building, which they decided to bypass, was suddenly met with advancing solid fire.

It is rightly said that one head is good, but two is better. The mystery of the location of the Reichstag was resolved upon arrival at Neustroev Zinchenko. As the commander himself describes:

“Zinchenko looked at the square, and at the hidden gray building. And then, without turning around, he asked: "So what's stopping you from going to the Reichstag?" "This is a low building," I replied. "So this is the Reichstag!"

Battles for rooms

How was the Reichstag taken? Plain reference literature does not go into details, describing the assault as a one-day “attack” by Soviet soldiers on a building, which, under this pressure, was just as quickly surrendered by its garrison. However, things were different. The building was defended by selected SS units, which had nothing more to lose. And they had an advantage. They were well aware of its plan and the layout of all its 500 rooms. Unlike the Soviet soldiers, who had no idea what the Reichstag looked like. As the private of the third company I.V. Mayorov said: “We knew practically nothing about the internal location. And this made it very difficult to fight with the enemy. In addition, from the continuous automatic and machine-gun fire, explosions of grenades and faustpatrons in the Reichstag, such smoke and dust from the plaster rose that, mixing, they obscured everything, hung in the rooms with an impenetrable veil - nothing is visible, as in the dark. One can judge how difficult the assault was, that the Soviet command set the task on the first day to capture at least 15-10 rooms out of the 500 mentioned.

How many flags were

The historical banner hoisted on the roof of the Reichstag was the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division of the Third Shock Army, set by Sergeant Yegorov and Kantaria. But it was far from the only red flag over the German parliament. The desire to reach Berlin and set the Soviet flag over the defeated enemy lair of the Nazis was dreamed of by many, regardless of the order of the command and the promise of the title of "Hero of the USSR". However, the latter was another useful incentive.

According to eyewitnesses, there were neither two, nor three, nor even five victory banners on the Reichstag. The whole building literally "blushed" from Soviet flags, both homemade and official ones. According to experts, there were about 20 of them, some were shot down during the bombing. The first was set up by senior sergeant Ivan Lysenko, whose detachment built a banner from a mattress of red matter. Award list Ivana Lysenko says:

“April 30, 1945 at 2 p.m. Comrade. Lysenko was the first to break into the Reichstag building, exterminated more than 20 German soldiers with grenade fire, reached the second floor and hoisted the banner of victory. For his heroism and courage in battle, he is worthy of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Moreover, his detachment fulfilled its main task at the same time - to cover the standard-bearers, who were instructed to hoist the victorious banners on the Reichstag.

In general, each detachment dreamed of setting its own flag on the Reichstag. With this dream, the soldiers went all this way to Berlin, each kilometer of which cost lives. Therefore, is it really so important whose banner was the first, and whose "official". All of them were equally important.

The fate of autographs

Those who failed to hoist the banner left reminders of themselves on the walls of the taken building. As eyewitnesses describe: all the columns and walls at the entrance to the Reichstag were covered with inscriptions in which the soldiers expressed feelings of joy of victory. They wrote to everyone - with paints, charcoal, a bayonet, a nail, a knife:

“The shortest way to Moscow is through Berlin!”

“And we girls were here. Glory Soviet soldier!"; “We are from Leningrad, Petrov, Kryuchkov”; “Know ours. Siberians Pushchin, Petlin"; "We are in the Reichstag"; "I walked with the name of Lenin"; "From Stalingrad to Berlin"; "Moscow - Stalingrad - Orel - Warsaw - Berlin"; "Got to Berlin."

Some of the autographs have survived to this day - their preservation was one of the main requirements for the restoration of the Reichstag. However, today their fate is often called into question. So, in 2002, representatives of the conservatives Johannes Singhammer and Horst Günther proposed to destroy them, arguing that the inscriptions "aggravate modern Russian-German relations."

Author
Vadim Ninov

The traces of the Nazis from the Reichstag were lost without a trace. Only from the German archives can our historians restore the truth and the exact number of defenders.

Hero of the Soviet Union S. Neustroev

In Soviet historiography, the assault on the Reichstag and the hoisting of the red flag on it became the culminating event of the entire Great Patriotic War. These events have become an absolute and indisputable symbol, glorified in art, textbooks and memoirs. In the Russian Federation, it is legally determined that "The Banner of Victory is the official symbol of victory Soviet people and its Armed Forces over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, the state relic of Russia".

Such a significant and unprecedented topic should be written into history in the smallest detail, as a warning to future generations. However, what do we know about the storming of the Reichstag? Through the efforts of Soviet official historiography, we know very little - fragmentary and distorted Soviet memoirs and inconsistent presentation in official sources. The words of the battalion commander who broke into the Reichstag, spoken by him in his declining years, serve as a verdict on all official Soviet historiography. After almost half a century, S. Neustroev did not really know with whom, in fact, he fought. Research teams led by professors and academicians for all this time have not bothered to study and publish the details of the storming of the Reichstag. And if the actions of the Soviet side today can be reconstructed quite accurately, then the quantitative and qualitative composition Germans, not to mention the details, remain terra incognita through the efforts of Soviet historiography.

Lieutenant Colonel S. Neustroev understood that they did not want to understand high ranks: "Only from the German archives can our historians restore the truth and the exact number of defenders". To this day, the truth has not been restored, but German strength unknown - only inconsistent stories and unconfirmed claims.

However, not everything can be found in the German archives. In the last days of the battles for Berlin, the German defense was improvised, and much was no longer recorded on paper. Was there an opportunity, as Neustroyev said, to "restore the truth"? Of course, the Soviet side had such an opportunity, and given special treatment to storm the Reichstag, it was simply necessary to do this. In the hands of the Red Army was the headquarters of the defense of the capital of the Third Reich, headed by the commander and documents to boot. What was not included in the documents could be clarified with German prisoners who spent up to 10 years in Soviet captivity. After the war, many former prisoners returned to the GDR, which was under Soviet influence. And finally, if desired, no one interfered with collecting information from German veterans living in Germany. The Reichstag area is not like that large plot so that it cannot be studied thoroughly. There would be a desire.

20 years after the end of the war, the monumental 6-volume work "History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, 1941-1945" was published in the USSR. No one was involved in compiling this opus, but a special department of the history of the Great Patriotic War of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU. This department had the broadest powers, and the authors include the highest military ranks of the Soviet army. And what do we see there? We see the total collapse of Soviet official historiography. In the section dedicated to the storming of Berlin, stunning maps are laid out, which indicate specific Soviet units, but German ones are not marked at all! Just a blue line and an inscription - "Remnants of the 9th Army. Volkssturm Battalions". And there are no more questions about who, how much and where - historians of the highest rank have clearly calculated everything - "remnants". And on the map of the assault on the Reichstag even more concise - blue lines and the inscription "about 5,000 enemy soldiers and officers". "Volkssturm battalions" have already gone somewhere. And think what you want. This is all that the official Soviet historiography of the highest rank has mastered in 23 years of fruitful work after the war. Needless to say, this is not how military maps are made and history is not written. So the story is hushed up. In subsequent official publications, the presentation remained at the same "residual" level of penetration and reliability. Soviet side in the Berlin question, in general, she was prone to strong exaggerations and distortions, both in military documents and in post-war works. A minimum of informativeness - a maximum of pathos. Exalt, not study; to be proud, not to know - that's what Soviet historians were guided by.

Western lone historians, unlike Soviet historical institutes and professors, did not have such access to information and funding. As a result, today, there is no reliable and complete picture of the German forces defending the Reichstag area.

And yet we will try to reconstruct the forces of the defenders of the Reichstag, based on Soviet and Western sources, as well as film and photographic materials. After the battles, heavy weapons remained standing near the Reichstag for a long time and were recorded by journalists and amateurs in photographs and film. Unfortunately, this is the only relatively reliable evidence that the defenders of the Reichstag had.

Analyzing the heavy German weapons that fell into the frame near the Reichstag, one must remember that relatively close, in the Tiergarten park, there was a collection point for broken equipment. After the end of the fighting, she was dragged there along the roads next to the Reichstag, and the direct path depended on where it was most convenient to do it at the moment, i.e. where there is less blockage, damage to the roadway, people and equipment. Thus, cars that did not fight at the Reichstag, but were transported to the collection site for broken equipment in the Tiergarten, could have got into the frame. Today we can talk about following forces Germans at the Reichstag:

1 x Tiger tank ( Pz.Kpfw. VI), Panzer Division Müncheberg (Panzer-Division Müncheberg)

1 x tank Royal Tiger ( Pz.Kpfw. VI B), 503rd SS heavy tank battalion (schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503)

1 x 20mm ZSU ( 2 cm Flak-Vierling 38 auf Selbstlafette)

1 x Wanze anti-tank vehicle ( Borgward B IV Ausführung mit Raketenpanzerbüchse 54, Wanze)

1 X StuG IV -

1 X Jagdpanzer IV/70(A) - it is not known whether he participated in the defense of the Reichstag

8 x 8mm anti-aircraft guns ( Flak 37)

2 x 150mm howitzers ( 15 cm SFH 18) - probably did not participate in the direct defense of the Reichstag

All these objects were positioned and applied to the aerial photograph. Below is their photo and a brief note.

Attention! Interactive image.
Circles with numbers are the location of heavy weapons in front of the Reichstag.
Click on them and read more.

The location of the heavy weapons of the Germans in the defense of the Reichstag.

Wanze near the Reichstag, Berlin, 1945. Approximately 165m west of the northwest corner of the Reichstag.

In the general diagram,

This anti-tank vehicle Borgward B IV Ausführung mit Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 is located approximately 150m northwest of the Reichstag. The car was badly damaged - an explosion in the engine compartment, the right caterpillar was torn off, there was no armor plate with six grenade launchers ... This Wanze is one of about 56 produced. Their more or less noticeable use was just in the Berlin battles. To the right ahead of the car (in azimuth at 2 o'clock) the hospital bunker is clearly visible.

2 cm Flak-Vierling 38 auf Selbstlafette (Sd.Kfz.7/1)

Quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft gun on a self-propelled carriage - 2 cm Flak-Vierling 38 auf Selbstlafette (Sd.Kfz.7/1), about 60 meters west of the southwest corner of the Reichstag.

In the general diagram,

The same quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft gun on a self-propelled carriage - 2 cm Flak-Vierling 38 auf Selbstlafette (Sd.Kfz.7/1), about 60 meters west of the southwest corner of the Reichstag.

In the general diagram,

StuG IV

StuG IV near the Riichstag, Berlin, 1945. Approximately 30m from the south wall, standing on the parapet of the trench.

In the general diagram,

In the picture - StuG IV 32-35m from the southern wall of the Reichstag, in the center. The starboard side and partially the stern of the self-propelled gun are visible, and the forehead is turned to the east. The right caterpillar stands on the parapet of the trench. It is noteworthy that the StuG IV does not have a barrel. It remains a mystery how the self-propelled gun lost it and whether it participated in the defense of the Reichstag. One can only put forward a number of assumptions. StuG IV lost its barrel in the battle at the Reichstag; or the barrel was lost even earlier, and the self-propelled gun fought at the Reichstag, like a machine-gun point against the infantry; or a damaged car, without a barrel, was used as an impromptu tractor. There are a lot of options, up to the fact that the StuG ended up at the Reichstag and got into the frame when military equipment was removed from the streets after the battles. In the Tiergarten was one of the collection points for broken equipment.

It is impossible to reliably state that this StuG IV fought near the Reichstag.

To the left of the StuG IV is an Opel Blitz with a kung. The rear side door of the kung is torn out.

In general, it is noteworthy that in almost the same place, near the Reichstag, there were two self-propelled guns without trunks (see below).

Jagdpanzer IV

Jagdpanzer IV/70(A) near the Reichstag.

The top photo was taken in March 1945, before the fighting. It shows a car about 28m south of the southeast corner of the Reichstag (circled).

The bottom photo is after the fight.

In the general diagram,

Jagdpanzer IV/70(A), or as it was also designated Pz IV/70(A), (Sd Kfz 162/1) is located approximately 28m south of the southeast corner of the Reichstag. A remarkable detail is that the tank has no barrel. It can be assumed that this Jagdpanzer IV took part in the battles near the Reichstag, where it was damaged and lost its gun.

However, more early photography, made from the air, you can see how a certain car is standing in the same place, equally turned towards the Reichstag. It is not possible to accurately determine the type of machine, but the location and angle of rotation are identical. Therefore, we can put forward a second assumption that this Jagdpanzer IV without a barrel ended up in the indicated place near the Reichstag even before the start of the fighting. However, since it was damaged, it remained, all this time, to stand there and did not participate in the battles for the Reichstag.

The question of how he ended up in that place, if he did not fight, is rather prosaic. For comparison, even in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery, after the battles, obsolete armored cars remained, which were under the jurisdiction of the Police. In the Police itself, they were part of the Technische Nothilfe - a formation that was responsible for quick repair and the functioning of objects of mass necessity (water supply, gas, etc.) Since Berlin was constantly bombarded, accompanied by fires and collapses of buildings, the Technische Nothilfe employees were in dire need of equipment that could protect them in extreme conditions. It is possible that the damaged Jagdpanzer IV, on which it was impossible to repair the gun, was transferred, for example, to Technische Nothilfe, where it finally broke down and stood at the Reichstag during the battles. By the way, the Reichstag area was subjected to heavy air raids and there was something to repair.

Let's take a closer look. In the photo, everything looks like in a fog, but in fact it is smoke and red dust from the ruins. The red dust that stood everywhere in Berlin was noted by many participants in those bloody events. Let's analyze the picture in detail - that fraction of a second that it took the camera to take a picture left a lot of interesting moments for posterity, some, just some, of which we will consider.

In the frame, the section between the Brandenburg Gate (in the background) and the Reichstag (from where the picture was taken).

Jagdpanzer IV/70(A) near the Reichstag.

Obviously the same Jagdpanzer IV / 70 (A) in the lower left corner of the picture. The left sloth and the absence of the caterpillar are clearly visible. Perhaps the car belonged to the Müncheberg Panzer Division.

In the general diagram,

PzKpfw VI #323

Between the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag was a Tiger with tactical number 323, from the Müncheberg division.

Between the Brandenbkrg Gate and the Reichstag was a Tiger with tactical number 323, from the Müncheberg division.

In the general diagram,

PzKpfw VI B

The Royal Tiger of SS Unterscharführer Georg Diers from SS sPzAbt 503 participated in the battles near the Reichstag. The Reichstag does not have a photo of this tank, but Diers himself has memories. On April 30, 1945, he received an order to arrive at the Reichstag and on the same day entered into battle with Soviet tanks. On May 1, 1945, this tank fought in the Reichstag area - the Brandenburg Gate - triumphal column. Participated in the counterattack to the Krol-Opera, where the Germans were still holding. Around 19.00 Dirs received an order to withdraw from this area in order to participate in the breakthrough of the remaining troops from Berlin.

in the general scheme is indicated

Flak #1

Flak #1
This Flak 37 anti-aircraft gun was located about 120 meters from the front of the Reichstag, opposite the first and second windows to the left of the main entrance. The gun could effectively shoot through the offensive of the Soviet troops along the Moltke bridge. The distance from this cannon to the barricade that blocked the exit from the Moltke bridge is about 440 meters.

In the general diagram,

Flak #2

Flak #2
This Flak 37 is about 100 meters from the front of the Reichstag, opposite the right end of the main staircase. The gun could fire towards the Moltke bridge. The distance from this cannon to the barricade that blocked the exit from the Moltke bridge is about 477 meters.

In the general diagram,

Flak #3

Flak 37 is marked on the general scheme

Flak #4

Flak #4
Flak 37 was on the opposite side of the ditch from the Reichstag, just next to the bridge, about 205m west of the southwest corner of the Reichstag.

In the general diagram,

May 6th, 2012

On April 30, 1945, the German parliament building was stormed. For any Russian, this phrase looks even shorter - the storming of the Reichstag. It means the end of the war, Victory. And, although the complete victory came a little later, it was this assault that became the apogee of the whole long war.

The assault on the Reichstag is a military operation of the Red Army units against German troops to seize the building of the German parliament. It was carried out at the final stage of the Berlin offensive operation from April 28 to May 2, 1945 by the forces of the 150th and 171st rifle divisions of the 79th rifle corps of the 3rd shock army of the 1st Belorussian Front.

In preparation for repelling the Soviet offensive, Berlin was divided into 9 defense sectors. The central sector, which included the buildings of government offices, including the imperial office, the Gestapo building and the Reichstag, was well fortified and defended by elite SS units.

It was to the central sector that the armies of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts. As the Soviet troops approached specific institutions, the command of the front and the armies set tasks for mastering these objects.

On the afternoon of April 27, the task of capturing the Reichstag was assigned to the 11th Guards tank corps 1st Guards Tank Army. However, on the following day, the tankers failed to fulfill it due to the strong resistance of the German troops.

The 3rd Shock Army under the command of V.I. Kuznetsov, operating as part of the 1st Belorussian Front, was not originally intended to storm the central part of the city. However, as a result of seven days of fierce fighting, it was on April 28 that she was the closest to the Reichstag area.

It should be said about the aspect ratio in this operation:

The Soviet group included:
79th Rifle Corps (Major General S. N. Perevertkin) consisting of:
150th Infantry Division (Major General Shatilov V.M.)
756th rifle regiment(Colonel Zinchenko F.M.)
1st Battalion (Captain Neustroev S.A.)
2nd Battalion (Captain Klimenkov)
469th Infantry Regiment (Colonel Mochalov M.A.)
674th Infantry Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Plekhodanov A.D.)
1st Battalion (Captain Davydov V.I.)
2nd Battalion (Major Logvinenko Ya. I.)
328th Artillery Regiment (Major Gladkikh G.G.)
1957th Antitank Regiment
171st Rifle Division (Colonel Negoda A.I.)
380th Infantry Regiment (Major Shatalin V.D.)
1st Battalion (St. Lieutenant Samsonov K. Ya.)
525th Rifle Regiment
713th Rifle Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel M. G. Mukhtarov)
357th Artillery Regiment
207th Rifle Division (Colonel V. M. Asafov)
597th Rifle Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Kovyazin I.D.)
598th Rifle Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Voznesensky A. A.)
Attached parts:
86th Heavy Howitzer Artillery Brigade (Colonel Sazonov N.P.)
104th howitzer brigade of high power (Colonel Solomienko P.M.)
124th howitzer brigade of high power (Colonel Gutin G. L.)
136th Cannon Artillery Brigade (Colonel Pisarev A.P.)
1203rd self-propelled artillery regiment
351st Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
23rd tank brigade(Colonel Kuznetsov S.V.)
tank battalion (major Yartsev I. L.)
tank battalion (Captain Krasovsky S.V.)
88th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Mzhachikh P. G.)
85th Tank Regiment

The Reistag was defended by:
Part of the forces of the 9th defense sector of Berlin.
Consolidated battalion of cadets of the naval school from the city of Rostock
In total, the Reichstag area was defended by about 5,000 people. Of these, the Reichstag garrison was about 1,000 men.
You can talk about the capture of the Reistag by the minute, since each of them was performed by the fighters and performed a feat! I will try to restore the chronology by day ..

By the evening of April 28, units of the 79th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Shock Army occupied the areaMoabitand from the northwest approached the area where, in addition to the Reichstag, the building of the Ministry of the Interior, the theaterKrol-Opera, the Swiss embassy and a number of other structures. Well fortified and adapted for long-term defense, together they were a powerful center of resistance.

The task of capturing the Reichstag was set on April 28 at the disposal of the commander of the 79th Rifle Corps, Major General S. N. Perevertkin:

3. 150th Rifle Division - one rifle regiment - defense on the river. Spree. With two rifle regiments, continue the offensive with the task of forcing the river. Spree and master western part Reichstag...

4. The 171st Infantry Division to continue the offensive within its borders with the task of forcing the river. Spree and master eastern part Reichstag...

Before the advancing troops lay another water barrier - the Spree River. Its three-meter reinforced concrete shores excluded the possibility of crossing on improvised means. The only way to the south coast lay across the Moltke bridge, which, when the Soviet units approached, was blown up by German sappers, but did not collapse, but only deformed.

At both ends, the bridge was covered with reinforced concrete walls a meter thick and about one and a half meters high. It was not possible to capture the bridge on the move, since all approaches to it were shot through by multi-layered machine-gun and artillery fire. It was decided to undertake a second assault on the bridge after careful preparation. Strong artillery fire destroyed the firing points in the buildings on the Kronprinzen Ufer and Schlieffen Ufer embankments and suppressed the German batteries that were shelling the bridge.

By the morning of April 29, the advanced battalions of the 150th and 171st rifle divisions under the command of Captain S. A. Neustroev and Senior Lieutenant K. Ya. Samsonov crossed to the opposite bank of the Spree. After the crossing, the Soviet units began fighting for the quarter located southeast of the Moltke bridge.

Among other buildings in the quarter was the building of the Swiss embassy, ​​which overlooked the square in front of the Reichstag and was important element in common system German defense. On the same morning, the building of the Swiss embassy was cleared of the enemy by the companies of Senior Lieutenant Pankratov and Lieutenant M.F. Grankin. The next target on the way to the Reichstag was the building of the Ministry of the Interior, nicknamed by the Soviet soldiers "Himmler's House". It was a huge six-story building that occupied an entire block. The solid stone building was additionally adapted for defense. To capture Himmler's house at 7 o'clock in the morning, a powerful artillery preparation was carried out, immediately after which Soviet soldiers rushed to storm the building.

For the next day, units of the 150th Infantry Division fought for the building and captured it by dawn on April 30. The way to the Reichstag was open.

The assault on the Reichstag began before dawn on 30 April. The 150th and 171st rifle divisions, commanded by General Shatilov V.M., rushed to the building of the German parliament. and Colonel Negoda A.I. The attackers were met with a sea of ​​fire from various types of weapons, and soon the attack bogged down.

The first attempt to take possession of the building on the move ended in failure. A thorough preparation of the assault began. To support the infantry attack only for direct fire, 135 guns, tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts were concentrated. Dozens more guns, howitzers and rocket launchers fired from closed positions. From the air, the attackers were supported by squadrons of the 283rd Fighter Aviation of the division of Colonel Chirva S.N.

At 12 o'clock artillery preparation began. Half an hour later the infantry went on the assault. She had only 250 m left to reach her intended goal, and it seemed that success had already been ensured. “Everything roared and rumbled around,” recalled Colonel F.M. Zinchenko, whose regiment was part of the 150th Infantry Division. goals ... So they flew on the command of the report. After all, everyone so wanted to be the first! .. "General Shatilov V.M. first by telephone, and then in writing, he informed the commander of the 79th Rifle Corps, General Perevertkin S.N., that at 14 hours 25 minutes rifle battalions under the command of captains Neustroev S.A. and Davydova V.I. broke into the Reichstag and hoisted a banner on it. AT given time units continue to clear the building of the Germans.

Such long-awaited news rushed further - to the headquarters of the 3rd shock army and the 1st Belorussian Front. This was reported by Soviet radio, followed by foreign radio stations. The Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front, by order of April 30, already congratulated the soldiers on their victory, expressed gratitude to all soldiers, sergeants, officers of the 171st and 150th rifle divisions and, of course, General Perevertkin S.N. and ordered the Military Council of the Army to present the most distinguished for awards.

After receiving the news about the fall of the Reichstag, military cameramen, photojournalists, journalists rushed to him, among them famous writer Gorbatov B.L. What they saw was disappointing: the assault battalions were still fighting on the outskirts of the building, where there was not a single Soviet soldier and not a single flag.

The third attack began at 18:00. Together with the attacking battalions of the 674th and 380th rifle regiments, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Plekhanov A.D., Colonel Zinchenko F.M., two groups of volunteers advanced, led by the adjutant of the commander of the 79th rifle corps, Major Bondar M.M. and the commander of the battery of control of the commander of the artillery of the corps, captain Makovetsky V.N. At the initiative of the command and the political department of the corps, these groups were created specifically for hoisting flags made in the corps over the Reistag.

"This attack was a success: the battalions of captains Neustroev S.A., Davydov V.I., senior lieutenant Samsonov K.Ya. and a group of volunteers broke into the building, about which Zinchenko F.M. reported to General Shatilov V.M. in the afternoon, he repeatedly demanded to break into the Reichstag and, which worried him most of all, to hoist a banner on it.

The report pleased the division commander and at the same time upset him: the banner had not yet been installed. The general ordered to clear the building of the enemy and "immediately install the banner of the Military Council of the Army on its dome"! To speed up the task, the division commander appointed Zinchenko F.M. commandant of the Reichstag". (R. Portuguese V. Runov "Boilers of the 45th", M., "Eksmo", 2010, p. 234).

However, Colonel Zinchenko F.M. he understood, as he wrote after the war, "that neither in the evening nor during the night the Reichstag can be completely cleared, but the banner must be installed at any cost! ..". He ordered to recapture as many rooms as possible from the enemy before dark, and then give the personnel a rest.
The banner of the Military Council of the 3rd shock army was instructed to hoist the regiment's scouts - M.V. Kantaria and M.A. Egorov. Together with a group of fighters led by Lieutenant A.P. Berest, with the support of I.Ya. Syanov’s company, they climbed onto the roof of the building and at 21:50 on April 30, 1945 hoisted the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag.
Two days later it was replaced by a large red banner. The flag was taken down on June 20 by a special aircraft flight from military honors sent to Moscow. On June 24, 1945, the first military parade took place on Red Square in Moscow. active army, Navy and Moscow garrison to commemorate the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War. After participating in the parade, the Banner of Victory is still kept in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.
It should also be noted that in addition to the banner of the Military Council of the Army, many other flags were strengthened on the Reichstag building. The first flag was hoisted by a group of Captain Makov V.N., who attacked together with Neustroev's battalion. Volunteers headed by the captain, senior sergeants Bobrov A.P., Zagitov G.K., Lisimenko A.F. and Sergeant Minin M.P. they immediately rushed to the roof of the Reichstag and fixed the flag on one of the sculptures on the right tower of the house. It happened at 22:40, which was two or three hours before the hoisting of the flag, which history was destined to become the Banner of Victory.

For skillful leadership in battle and heroism to V.I. Davydov, S.A. Neustroev, K.Ya. Samsonov, I.Ya. Syanov, as well as M.A. Egorov and M.V. - was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The battle inside the Reichstag continued with great tension until the morning of May 1, and individual groups of fascists who settled in the cellars of the Reichstag continued to resist until May 2, until the Soviet soldiers finally finished with them. In the battles for the Reichstag, up to 2,500 enemy soldiers were killed and wounded, 2,604 prisoners were captured.

Participants in the assault on the Reichstag (from left to right):
K. Ya. Samsonov, M. V. Kantaria, M. A. Egorov, I. Ya. Syanov, S. A. Neustroev at the Banner of Victory. May 1945

On May 8, 1945, the German Field Marshal Keitel, entering the hall where he must sign the Act on the complete and unconditional surrender Germany, and seeing there, in addition to representatives Big Three- the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, and also the representatives of France in military uniform, could not resist the phrase: “How ?! Did they defeat us too?

Germany, already at the beginning of 1942, at the limit of its capabilities, was forced, contrary to the prevailing ideology of National Socialism and xenophobia, to arm and deploy military formations on the Eastern Front, consisting of almost all the peoples of Europe. The European Union fought against the USSR!

The French were especially distinguished. In the USSR and the Russian Federation, it was generally accepted that the French people, France were occupied by the Germans and participated in the war on the side Anti-Hitler coalition, i.e. were our allies. Almost since childhood, we have been taught to think that France was a victim of Germany in World War II, that she fought heroically against the Nazis since 1939, that best sons French people went into the partisans and underground. Again, we can recall the "Fighting France" of General de Gaulle and the legendary air regiment "Normandie-Niemen" ... However, all this does not correspond to historical facts.

It would be naive to assume that in World War II, in which almost all of Europe fought against the USSR, France became an exception. Of course, one should not belittle the merits of the Normandy-Niemen and Fighting France, but long before the French pilots took the first battle, their compatriots, and in much larger numbers, had long fought on the Eastern Front. And at the same time they fought shoulder to shoulder not with the Soviets, but with German soldiers. And many fought voluntarily.

On June 22, 1941, on the first day of the German attack on the USSR, the leader of the French fascist party PPF (Parti Populaire Francais) Jacques Doriot announced the creation of the Legion of French Volunteers to participate in the war against the USSR. On July 5, Ribbentrop approved this idea in telegram No. 3555. The leaders of the pro-Nazi French organizations created the Central Committee of the Legion of French Volunteers (LVF).

Thus, the first French Nazi unit, the Legion of French Volunteers, was formed as early as July 1941. Beginning in July 1941 in Central Committee More than 13,000 volunteers have applied to LVF. The Legion was formed from volunteers who adhered to the extreme right and racist ideology, who believed that they had an honorable mission - to free the world from Bolshevism.

The regimental banner was tricolor French and orders were also given to French. But all volunteers had to take an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

On November 6, 1941, French combat units as part of the Wehrmacht from Smolensk headed for Moscow on foot. The battle near Moscow took a heavy toll on the legionnaires. Total losses personnel reached 1000 people.

In November 1941, near the village of Borodino, as in 1812, the Russians and the French again met in battle - the 32nd division of Colonel V. Polosukhin and the 638th French infantry regiment.

The "Legion of French Volunteers" fought near Moscow, distinguished itself in punitive operations against Belarusian partisans in 1942. Later, the French Legion was merged with another volunteer formation“The Tricolor Legion.”

This unit became famous for the fact that on June 25, 1944, it prevented the defeat of Army Group Center by stopping the tank breakthrough of Soviet troops on the Beaver River. Some historians believe that this operation was the most successful operation French collaborators during the war. In 48 hours of fighting, they managed to destroy at least 40 Soviet tanks.

In September 1944, on the basis of the Tricolor Legion, the SS Charlemagne division was created, which was to literally words, to carry out the Third Reich on its last journey.

Himmler personally assured the leadership of the division that it would not be sent to the Western Front to fight compatriots from the Free French units advancing in France.

First, French cutthroats were sent to Poland in February 1945 to resist the advance of the Red Army. However, while unloading her in Pomerania, she was attacked by units of 1 Belorussian Front. In the battles in the Coerlin area, the French division lost more than half of its personnel and was withdrawn to regroup to the West.

The commander of the division, Krukenberg, told his soldiers that they were released from the oath and could go home. Nevertheless, about 700 people volunteered to participate in the defense of Berlin. Created from the remnants of the division, the Charlemagne assault battalion became the last regular German formation who entered Berlin on the eve of the assault.

On the night of April 23-24, 1945, the commander of the SS division "Charlemagne" Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg received an urgent telegram from the Berlin Reich Chancellery in Neustrelitz with an order to immediately come to the defense of the Reich capital. In the ranks French division, numbering at the beginning of 1945 about seven and a half thousand fighters, by that time there were no more than 1100. Of those who wished to stop the fight, a labor battalion was created, and from those who decided to fight until the end of three hundred, Krukenberg formed an assault battalion, together with which on April 24 on nine trucks went to Berlin. They managed to break into the capital of the Reich through the northwestern suburbs in Nauen a few hours before the Soviet troops completely closed the blockade around the city.

Following that, the Charlemagne assault battalion, under constant Soviet bombardment, advanced to the east of Berlin in the Neuköln area, where it entered into battle with the advancing Red Army.

After several fierce counterattacks on Hasenheide and the Tempelhof airfield, the French moved west across the Landwehr canal on April 26 and, fighting in the following days heavy defensive battles with the many times superior forces of the Red Army in the Kreuzberg area, gradually retreated to the city center to the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery bunker.

During this last, senseless and merciless battle around the bunker of the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag, the French once again proved their now useless effectiveness. According to the memoirs of the Germans, the French fought to the last, defending the Reich Chancellery together with the Danes and Norwegians from the SS division Nordland.

During the day of fighting on April 28 in Berlin, 108 Soviet tanks were destroyed, of which 62 were destroyed by three hundred Charlemagne fighters. Four fighters of the battalion were awarded the Knight's Iron Cross on April 29 at one of the last ceremonies awards in the Reich, which has already ceased to exist. The remnants of the battalion in small groups tried to seep out of Berlin. About 30 people were taken prisoner by the Red Army and handed over to the French authorities. A group of 11 people was arrested by the French army already in France.

Only on the morning of May 2, following the announcement of the surrender of the German capital, the last 30 Charlemagne fighters out of 300 who arrived in Berlin left the Reich Chancellery bunker, where no one else was left alive.

May with full confidence say that France took an active part in the Great Patriotic War. Not in the Second World War, where its role is very insignificant, but in the Great Patriotic War. After all, French volunteers already appeared in Russia in September 1941, and this does not count those Frenchmen who were drafted into the Wehrmacht and from the very beginning participated in the campaign to the East. Of course, no one will ever forget the feat of the French pilots from the Normandy-Niemen, but we must not forget about other "exploits" of the French - "brave" volunteers from the same SS division "Charlemagne", punishers from the LVF and others French units who fought with the Red Army.

There are no exact figures on how many French fought against the USSR on the Eastern Front, there is only data on French prisoners - there were 23,136 French citizens in Soviet captivity.

Summing up, we can say that France took an active part in the war against the Soviet Union, the French citizens deliberately helped Hitler build his “new world order”, only everyone knows what a sad end this “undertaking” itself and his "builders".

And even in postwar period the surviving French volunteers did not regret this, believing that they were participating in a "crusade" against Bolshevism.

Therefore, remembering de Gaulle and the French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment, we should also know about the French who fought against our people as part of the Wehrmacht, about French Legion volunteers, who repeated the fate of Napoleon's "Great Army", about thousands of Frenchmen who fought in various units of the Waffen-SS armed forces and killed our fellow citizens during the Great Patriotic War.