In February 1945, Soviet soldiers, including war correspondent Vasili Grossman, stood by the Oder River, preparing for the final assault on Berlin as World War II neared its end. Hitler's Third Reich was collapsing, and the Soviet Red Army was rapidly advancing towards Berlin. The Red Army aimed to avenge the destruction inflicted by the Germans on the Soviet Union. The Soviets faced challenges in crossing the Oder River, but they planned a massive assault with millions of troops, tanks, and aircraft.
The Germans, although defending with determination, were undermanned, under-equipped, and demoralized. Berlin's defenses included a mix of regular soldiers, inexperienced recruits, and even boys from the Hitler Youth. Despite their efforts, the Soviet forces broke through German lines and approached Berlin.
Hitler, increasingly delusional, demanded fanatical resistance from his troops. Many officials of the Nazi party tried to flee the city. The situation in Berlin became chaotic, with refugees and deserters flooding into the city.
As the Red Army closed in, Berlin endured heavy shelling and air attacks, with Soviet tank armies racing to the city's outskirts. The remaining German defenders could only delay the inevitable as the Red Army pushed into Berlin from multiple directions. The city was in a state of despair and devastation, with the end of Nazi Germany looming.
1. The text is set in February 1945, during the final stages of World War II.
2. The Soviet Eighth Guards Army, led by Vasily Grossman, is observing the morning sun glistening on the icy waters of the Oder River.
3. Grossman has been covering the war since the Battle of Moscow and has crossed every river he has encountered since the advance westward from the Volga at Stalingrad.
4. Hitler's Third Reich is on its last legs, while the Allies are preparing to cross the Rhine in the east.
5. The Red Army is advancing towards the German border at lightning speed, vowing to take revenge for the death and destruction the Germans have caused.
6. Hitler refuses to surrender and forces his people into another cataclysmic bloodletting.
7. The Red Army advances on Berlin with 2.5 million men, 6,250 tanks, self-propelled guns, and 7,500 combat aircraft.
8. The Soviet planners had to find a way to move 29 armies over hundreds of kilometers to create shock groups capable of penetrating the German line.
9. The German defenders, numbering 750,000, are supported by 1,519 tanks, assault guns, 9,303 guns, and 2,200 aircraft.
10. The Germans lack the fuel reserves to keep their fighting vehicles operational for an extended period of time.
11. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra gives its last performance, with the music played including Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
12. The Red Army begins its assault on the German defensive line, with thousands of Katyusha rocket launchers and field guns.
13. Many German defenders are caught in the initial onslaught and disappear in the blink of an eye.
14. The Red Army manages to force its way through the final defensive line, with the surviving German defenders forced into a headlong retreat.
15. On April 20th, the Red Army fires a frenzied barrage into Berlin's city center, marking the end of the Third Reich.
16. Hitler commits suicide in his bunker, and Goebbels rejects Stalin's demand for an unconditional surrender of the Garrison.
17. General Weidling finally orders his remaining men to lay down their arms, marking the end of the Battle of Berlin.
18. The Red Army estimates that it has lost 78,000 men killed in action and over 274,000 wounded during the battle. The Germans have lost between 90,000 and 100,000 men killed in action, as well as at least another 200,000 wounded.
19. The Red Army leaves a trail of pillage and destruction in its wake, with an estimated 95,000 to 130,000 women in Berlin alone said to have been sexually assaulted.
20. Despite the end of the war, a semblance of normal human life is slowly returning under shared Allied-Soviet occupation. However, the alliance between the two victors would prove short-lived, and the star of the Cold War would usher in a new type of crisis in the city.