Harrison, Richard W. The Berlin Operation 1945

The book tells the story of the Red Army's penultimate offensive in the war in Europe. Here, forces from three fronts (the 2nd and 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian) advanced across the Oder, surrounded the defenders of the German capital, captured the city and pushed westward to join the Western Allies in central Germany. This is another study in a series compiled by the General Staff of the Soviet Army, which in the post-war years set itself the task of collecting and generalising the experience of the war in order to train the higher staff of the armed forces in the conduct of large-scale offensive operations. The study is divided into three parts. The first part contains a brief strategic overview of the situation in the spring of 1945, with a particular focus on German preparations for the inevitable Soviet attack. This section also includes an examination of the decisions made by the Stavka of the Supreme Command regarding the execution of the operation. As usual, the material, technical and other preparations of the fronts for the offensive are discussed in detail. These include plans for artillery, artillery and engineer support, as well as the work of the army services and political organs and the strengths, capabilities and tasks of the individual armies. The second part deals with the Red Army's breakthrough of the German Oder defensive position and the encirclement of the Berlin garrison. It covers the difficulties encountered by the 1st Belorussian Front in overcoming the defensive line along the Seelow Heights on the direct route to Berlin, as well as the easier crossing of the Oder by the 1st Ukrainian Front and its secondary offensive along the Dresden axis. The breakthrough of the 2nd Belorussian Front and its advance along the Baltic coast are also covered. Part Three covers the intense fighting to defeat the city's defenders from late April until the garrison's surrender on 2 May, as well as operations in the area until Germany's formal surrender. This section contains a series of detailed descriptions of the urban fighting at battalion and regimental level. It concludes with conclusions about the role of the various branches of the armed forces in the operation.