1 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,560 Spring 1945. After nearly four years of savage fighting 2 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,800 With millions of dead on both sides, 3 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,680 The Red Army has arrived at the gates of Berlin. 4 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,160 The German capital will witness some of the Most bitter fighting of the entire war, 5 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:50,400 As Hitler s Third Reich collapses amidst blood and fire. 6 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,520 Red Army tank crews looked on intently as mechanics arrived carrying steel meshes. 7 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,720 They began to fix them to their tank s hull and turret. 8 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,840 It seemed a flimsy kind of armour, but this experiment could save the tank crew s lives. 9 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:23,880 As Soviet tanks advanced into German towns and cities in the spring of 1945, 10 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,000 they were regularly ambushed by German panzerfaust teams. 11 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,040 The Wehrmacht was running out of trained soldier. 12 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,560 They had been forced to conscript teenagers and old men. 13 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,000 But even in their hands, the Panzerfaust could be just as lethal as a tank. 14 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,400 The commander of a Soviet Guards tank regiment described the aftermath: 15 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,280 Here s a tank, standing with the hatches buttoned down. 16 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:07,760 There s a small hole burnt through the turret 17 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,000 just wide enough to put your little finger in. 18 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:15,520 This is a Panzerfaust s work. 19 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,080 We have to weld off the hatch which is locked from inside. 20 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,320 We pull four dead men from the turret. 21 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:29,480 A hollow charge round has burnt through the armour, 22 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,080 and the spitting of melting metal has killed them all. 23 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,400 Engineers believed steel meshes could protect Soviet tanks, 24 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,120 by causing the Panzerfaust warhead to explode before it reached the tank s armour. 25 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,960 The report read: The surface of the mesh was torn and bent as a result of the impact. 26 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,360 There was a hole in the tank s slopping armour plate. It went right through. 27 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:30,240 So the panzerfaust could kill a T-34 even if it was cloaked in the protective mesh. 28 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,720 Nonetheless, many tank crews adopted the new measure. In this bitter fighting, 29 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,600 they were willing to try anything that gave them an added chance of survival. 30 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:46,960 On 31st January 1945, tanks of the 1st Byelorussian Front 31 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,200 reached the Oder River near Küstrin and Frankfurt an der Oder. 32 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,080 They crossed without waiting for the infantry to catch up. 33 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,000 They had advanced 400 kilometres across Poland. 34 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,360 35 destroyed enemy divisions and hundreds of thousands of prisoners lay in their wake. 35 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,360 They were now just 100 kilometres from Berlin, the lair of the Nazi beast . 36 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,320 But now the Stavka Soviet High Command ordered a halt. 37 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,640 The frontline troops needed resupply and rest, 38 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,320 before they were ready to begin the final assault. 39 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:36,640 In March 1945, Pomerania to the north, and Silezia to the south, 40 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,240 were cleared of German troops. The flanks were secure for the drive on Berlin. 41 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,880 The Germans attempted a counterattack at Küstrin, but it ended in complete failure. 42 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,960 In the process, some of the last armoured forces available 43 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,480 for the defence of Berlin were destroyed. 44 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:06,760 From his Fuhrerbunker beneath the Reich Chancellery, 45 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,280 Hitler raged at this latest failure. 46 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,640 He was particularly scathing of the commander of the 9th Army, Theodor Busse. 47 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,320 But when Chief of the General Staff, Heinz Guderian, stood up for Busse, 48 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,880 Hitler s wrath fell on him instead. 49 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,720 Guderian was sent on leave, effectively enforced retirement. 50 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,120 His successor was General Hans Krebs. 51 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,600 Hans Krebs had been a military attaché in Moscow when the war began. 52 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,440 More recently, he d been Chief of Staff for Model s Army Group B, 53 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,680 which that winter had launched the doomed Ardennes Offensive 54 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:44,960 against the western allies. 55 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,600 During his career Krebs had shown a talent for planning defensive operations. 56 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,680 Now, Hitler expected a miracle from him in Berlin. 57 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,000 As Guderian packed his bags, an old acquaintance of his was preparing 58 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,080 for the final push on Berlin. He was the Soviet General Semyon Krivoshein. 59 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,800 The two men had met in September 1939 in Poland, 60 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,560 during the Nazi-Soviet carve-up of the country. 61 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:25,000 Semyon Moiseyevich Krivoshein began his military career in 1918 with the cavalry. 62 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,080 In 1939, as part of the Nazi-Soviet partition of Poland, 63 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:33,960 his brigade occupied Brest, in modern Belarus. 64 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,920 This was when Krivoshein met Guderian, the German general responsible 65 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,600 for handing over control of the city to the Soviets. 66 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,320 In 1945, Krivoshein commanded the 1st Mechanized Corps. 67 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,080 It was the only unit of the 1st Byelorussian Front 68 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,280 to be completely equipped with American Sherman tanks. 69 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:06,280 1st Mechanised Corps was on the eastern bank of the Oder River. But every night, 70 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:09,760 its soldiers crossed the river to help dig emplacements for guns and tanks. 71 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,200 On the night of 15th April, 72 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,520 the Corps crossed the Oder to take up these prepared positions. 73 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,000 As Hitler ranted and raved at his generals, 74 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:29,080 Commander of the 1st Byelorussian Front Marshal Zhukov was summoned to Moscow. 75 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,240 He and Stalin were to discuss details of the final assault on Berlin. 76 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,560 Zhukov had prepared two plans for the offensive on the German capital. 77 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,920 Plan A envisaged a thrust from the Küstrin bridgehead. 78 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,240 Plan B from the bridgehead near Frankfurt. 79 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,840 The Germans would be kept guessing as to which was the real line of advance, 80 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,120 forcing them to disperse their troops. 81 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:05,920 But bad news awaited Zhukov in the Kremlin. 82 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,600 In his memoirs he described a late night meeting with Stalin. 83 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,160 He was told, The German front in the West has completely collapsed. 84 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,560 The Germans don t seem to be willing to take any measures 85 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,280 to stop the advance of the western Allies. 86 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:28,760 British and American troops had crossed the Rhine. 87 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,320 They had destroyed German Army Group B on the Ruhr. 88 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,080 Their armoured divisions were advancing rapidly towards Berlin. 89 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,160 Although the Allies had agreed at Yalta 90 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:41,920 that Berlin would be in the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 91 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,440 the Western Allies hadn t ruled out entering the city before the Red Army. 92 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:53,680 Winston Churchill had expressed his opinion to the American President. 93 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,600 Russian armies will no doubt enter Vienna. If they also take Berlin, 94 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,200 will not their impression that they have been the overwhelming contributor 95 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,040 to our common victory be unduly imprinted in their minds? 96 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,840 I therefore consider that should Berlin be in our grasp, we should certainly take it. 97 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,520 Zhukov understood. 98 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,920 He put forward the plan that could be implemented most rapidly 99 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,200 a single assault from the Küstrin bridgehead. 100 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,600 Marshal Konev, Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, 101 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,640 also flew to Stavka headquarters in Moscow. 102 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:44,280 In his memoirs, Konev recalled: The Chief of Staff read aloud a telegram, 103 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,000 the point of which was that the Western Allies were preparing an operation 104 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,680 to capture Berlin. Stalin addressed Zhukov and myself: 105 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,520 So, who is going to take Berlin? Are we, or are the Allies? 106 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:58,920 I was the first to answer: 107 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,600 WE shall take Berlin, and we ll take it before the Allies. 108 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,800 The General Staff worked night and day as they planned the operation. 109 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,080 One of the directives received by the1st Byelorussian Front ran as follows: 110 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,000 After the German defences have been breached, 111 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:23,560 tank armies are to be introduced on the line of the main thrust, 112 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:26,160 to enable the envelopment of Berlin from the north and north-east. 113 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,200 The purpose of this manoeuvre was to block the Western Allies 114 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,600 eastward advance on Berlin. The prize was not for sharing. 115 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,480 Zhukov planned to deliver the main thrust through the Seelow Heights, 116 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:47,040 held by General Weidling s 56th Panzerkorps. 117 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,040 Then the Soviet armies would race west 118 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,120 and establish a perimeter in the suburbs of Berlin. 119 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,400 This cordon would prevent German forces retreating into the city. 120 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,760 Konev was unhappy that he was not making the main assault on Berlin. 121 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,040 Instead his Front would encircle the city from the south-west. 122 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,600 But Konev ordered his staff to prepare two plans 123 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,680 one following the Stavka s Directives the other planning a quick dash to Berlin. 124 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:24,440 Meanwhile, in Berlin life went on. 125 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,880 Most services continued to run, including public transport. 126 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,240 In reponse to the air raids, many had volunteered to help with firefighting, 127 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:36,480 or to help clear debris. 128 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,200 There were still films and concerts. 129 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:49,600 But over everything hung a sense of fear fear of what was to come. 130 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,760 Berlin bore the unmistakable scars of war cratered streets, and scorched, 131 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,960 ruined buildings. Now Berliners helped to build barricades, 132 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,000 as the city prepared to defend itself. 133 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,800 Berlin s barricades were made of wood, stone and rails. 134 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,960 They could be up to 2.5 metres high and 4 metres thick. 135 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,360 They made many streets completely impassable, 136 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:23,640 and the approaches to them were mined. 137 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:34,000 Immobilised tanks were dug in at crossroads, and became fixed gun emplacements. 138 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,880 Berlin also boasted three massive flak towers, 139 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:40,960 built to defend the city from Allied air raids. 140 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,200 These were 40 metres high, and bristled with anti-aircraft artillery. 141 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,200 Many Berliners now wore the armband of the Volksturm 142 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,080 the German equivalent of the Home Guard. 143 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,160 These units were controlled not by the army, but by the Nazi Party. 144 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,560 The Volkssturm was formed in October 1944, 145 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,080 after Hitler ordered the mobilisation of all German males 146 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,120 between the age of 16 and 60. 147 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,800 By 1945, this meant the conscription of the only men left 148 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,680 teenagers, invalids and the elderly. 149 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,400 The Nazis hoped to create a fanatical people s militia, 150 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,320 but most had little stomach for a one-sided fight with the Red Army. 151 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,440 There were very few weapons available for these units. 152 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,200 Some received Italian or Dutch rifles, with just a few cartridges. 153 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,120 But there were plenty of Panzerfausts.. 154 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:50,720 The Panzerfaust was a one-shot, disposable launcher that fired a hollow-charge, 155 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,440 anti-tank warhead. It was very cheap and easy to make. 156 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,240 The Germans produced more than 6 million of them 157 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,440 between 1943 and the end of the war. 158 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,880 The most common version, the Panzerfaust 60, 159 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,120 had an effective tank-killing range of 60 metres. 160 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:12,720 Its warhead travelled at 45 metres per second, 161 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,280 and was able to penetrate 200 millimetres of armour. 162 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,840 This was very bad news for Soviet tank crews. 163 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:30,960 The front armour of a T-34 was just 45mm and of an IS-2, 120mm. 164 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,640 Standing between Zhukov and the capital of the Third Reich were 4 German armies. 165 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,120 They consisted of nearly a million soldiers, 166 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,800 more than 1,000 armoured vehicles, and almost 10,000 guns and mortars. 167 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,080 More than 200 Volkssturm battalions 168 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:55,920 were formed into the Berlin Army Command reserve. 169 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,560 The Berlin garrison itself totalled more than 200,000 men. 170 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:04,560 Busse was extremely cynical about their prospects. 171 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,000 We will consider our task fulfilled , he wrote, 172 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,880 if American tanks strike us in our back. 173 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,920 The German general staff believed the fate of Berlin 174 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:19,520 would be decided on the Seelow Heights. 175 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,160 Therefore most troops were committed to the front, 176 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:24,960 rather than held back inside the city. 177 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,120 On 15th April, a proclamation from the Fuehrer was read out to the troops: 178 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,400 Berlin will remain German, 179 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,320 Vienna will remain German and Europe will never be Russian. 180 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,880 Form a single community to defend not the empty word Fatherland , 181 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,120 but your families, your wives, your children and, hence, your own future. 182 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,760 The slogan Berlin will remain German appeared daubed on walls around the city. 183 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,600 Many still believed that somehow the city could be saved. 184 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,320 Troops of the 1st Byelorussian Front were addressed by their Commissar: 185 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,120 Our troops have travelled a difficult but glorious road. 186 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,920 Our battle standards are covered with glorious victories 187 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,720 won at Stalingrad and Kursk, on the Dnieper and in Byelorussia, 188 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,760 at Warsaw and in Pomerania, in Brandenburg and at the Oder. 189 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,840 With our own sweat and blood, we have earned the right to assault Berlin, 190 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,440 to be first to enter the city. To Berlin! 191 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:53,880 At 3 a.m. on 16th April 1945, more than 7,000 guns, mortars 192 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,240 and Katyusha rocket-launchers 193 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,120 began an earth-shaking bombardment of the German line. 194 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,280 It was one of the greatest concentrations of firepower ever seen. 195 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,920 In Berlin, the bombardment was heard like the sound of distant thunder. 196 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,640 In houses closer to the front, pictures fell off walls, and windows shattered. 197 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:23,160 In Müncheberg, the cross tumbled from the church spire. 198 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,440 Amongst the guns were six, massive, 280 millimetre mortars, 199 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,360 from the 34th Independent Battalion of Heavy Artillery. 200 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,040 When the bombardment stopped, 150 giant searchlights were switched on, 201 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:54,880 pointed straight at the German lines. 202 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,040 The searchlights were Zhukov s idea. 203 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,680 They were supposed to light the way, and dazzle the German defenders. 204 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,240 But they struggled to penetrate the thick morning mist, 205 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,640 and the smoke and dust thrown up by the barrage. 206 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,320 The searchlights proved just as effective at dazzling their own men. 207 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,840 And many were silhouetted by the lights, becoming easy targets for the Germans. 208 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,400 The Germans had known the initial bombardment would be massive. 209 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,960 So most of their troops had already been withdrawn to the second line. 210 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,920 This allowed Soviet troops to advance the first few kilometres with relative ease. 211 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,240 As the sun rose, the searchlights were turned off. 212 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:06,680 Despite the early success, 213 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,480 it was clear by afternoon that there had be no immediate breakthrough. 214 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,560 The Seelow Heights were defended by a network of machine-gun nests 215 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,560 and gun emplacements. It was a slow and bloody process 216 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,840 for the Soviet infantry to fight their way through. 217 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,280 The advance of the 1st Byelorussian Front was supported by 800 Soviet aircraft. 218 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,640 Unchallenged by the Luftwaffe, they arrived overhead to batter the German positions. 219 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,840 By 1pm , Zhukov explained, 220 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,600 I clearly understood that the enemy s defensive fire system was intact 221 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,160 so to reinforce the attacking troops and ensure a breakthrough, 222 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,960 we decided to feed both tank armies into the battle. 223 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,200 His decision created huge traffic jams on the approaches to the Seelow Heights. 224 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,040 Tanks, artillery tractors, and supply trucks all struggled to get forward. 225 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:28,760 By committing his tank armies to the battle, 226 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,880 Zhukov had altered the plan that he d agreed with the Stavka. 227 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,080 It showed desperation. And Stalin was not happy. 228 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,880 He rang Zhukov to reprimand him for this unauthorised use of the tank reserve. 229 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,720 And he demanded to know when the breakthrough would be made. 230 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,360 Zhukov tried to remain calm. The enemy s defences at the Seelow Heights 231 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:00,480 will be breached tomorrow , he told Stalin. 232 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,400 Now Zhukov had to make it happen. 233 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:19,400 Zhukov s advance, led by Chuikov s 8th Guards Army 234 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,960 and Katukov s 1st Guards Tank Army, was faltering on the Seelow Heights. 235 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,840 Meanwhile Marhsal Konev s 1st Ukrainian Front 236 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,200 was advancing towards the Neisse River and the forests south-east of Berlin. 237 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,920 The Germans had no forces here able to withstand his assault. 238 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,120 On the evening of 17th April, 239 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:58,440 Konev informed Stalin that he was ready to send two tank armies to help Zhukov. 240 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,760 Stalin thought about it for a moment. Then he agreed. 241 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,400 Very good he said, Direct the tank armies towards Berlin. 242 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,120 Konev immediately issued orders to Rybalko s 3rd Guards Tank Army, 243 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,040 and Lelyushenko s 4th Guards Tank Army, to turn towards Berlin. 244 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,960 At the Neisse River, Rybalko s troops found a ford no more than a metre deep. 245 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,840 Rather than wait for bridging equipment, 246 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,560 his tank crews made their vehicles water-tight, and drove straight across. 247 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,040 By the third day of the offensive, tanks of the 1st Ukrainian Front 248 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,920 were poised to breakthrough the German defences. 249 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,920 At the same moment, Zhukov s troops were at last about 250 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,280 to breakthrough German positions on the Seelow Heights. 251 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,920 General Krivoshein s motorised infantry had managed to capture 252 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,640 an intact bridge at the town of Platkov. 253 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,800 Now his 1st Mechanised Corps was advancing unchecked. 254 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,160 Behind them, rolled the T-34s of Bogdanov s 2nd Guards Tank Army. 255 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,040 On 20th April , wrote General Weidling, commanding the German defence, 256 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:49,200 our units, having suffered huge losses and exhausted to extremity, 257 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,280 could no longer withstand the pressure of the Russian assault. 258 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,360 Weidling s corps was outflanked on both sides. 259 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,520 That evening Zhukov entrusted General Semen Bogdanov with a historic mission 260 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,720 to lead his 2nd Guards Tank Army into Berlin, 261 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,760 and to become the first Soviet troops to enter the enemy capital. 262 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,600 The next day Krivoshein s 1st Mechanised Corps, part of 2nd Guards Tank Army, 263 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,400 reached the Berlin suburb of Weissensee, and fulfilled the mission. 264 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,240 For this, Krivoshein received his nation s highest award, 265 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,640 the title Hero of the Soviet Union . 266 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,160 The main force of the 1st Byelorussian front 267 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,280 was now sweeping around Weidling s shattered corps, 268 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,200 and arriving en masse at the outskirts of Berlin. 269 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,360 Konev s dream of conquering Berlin had been thwarted. 270 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,200 Forests and lakes, minefields and pillboxes had slowed his advance. 271 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,040 There was hard fighting around Zossen, 272 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,280 from where the Wehrmacht High Command had recently fled. 273 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,960 But his advance had trapped 20,000 men of the German 9th 274 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,520 and 4th Panzer Army in the forests south of Berlin. 275 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,720 These men could no longer reach the city to help in its defence. 276 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,320 Hitler faced a dilemma: stay in the capital or flee to his Alpine Fortress . 277 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,640 He pinned his hopes on the army detachment of SS General Felix Steiner. 278 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,240 Hitler telegraphed the general: 279 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,240 The primary task before Army Detachment Steiner is to attack from the north 280 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,120 The fate of the capital of the Third Reich 281 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:46,280 depends on how successfully you execute this mission. 282 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:52,040 It was an impossible order that could not be carried out. 283 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,880 When Hitler was told this he flew into a rage, 284 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:01,560 accusing the army of cowardice and treason. It s all over. he at last recognised. 285 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:06,800 The Fuhrer would stay in Berlin. 286 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,440 But he clutched at one last straw, General Wenck s 12th Army, 287 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,240 facing the Americans on the Elbe River. 288 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,040 On 23rd April Wenck was ordered to relieve Berlin. 289 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,920 But neither Steiner nor Wenck could save the capital. 290 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,680 The Berlin garrison was formed from a host of shattered army and SS divisions, 291 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,400 supplemented by Volkssturm battalions, police and air defence units 292 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,320 about 120,000 men in total. It was not enough, 293 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,360 although many of the SS men were prepared to fight until the end. 294 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,280 The Soviets outnumbered the Germans by more than four to one. 295 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:22,160 And many Red Army soldiers were now battle-hardened veterans 296 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,880 graduates of the Stalingrad academy of street fighting. 297 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,800 Soviet tanks advanced on both sides of the street, in a staggered double file. 298 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,640 They kept 30 metres behind the infantry, and used their main gun 299 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,400 to take out defensive strongpoints that were holding up the advance. 300 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,640 Infantry squads and snipers worked to flush out the German panzerfausters. 301 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:03,920 The Soviets knew that the Panzerfaust had a short range, about 60 metres. 302 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,480 So tanks would pull up 150 metres from an enemy-held building, 303 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:08,920 and shell it from a safe range. 304 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,880 When assault teams captured a building, 305 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,880 they used smoke grenades to fill the street with smoke, 306 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:27,920 allowing more troops to move up in safety. 307 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:43,480 General Krivoshein s mechanised corps was redeployed to the north-western suburbs. 308 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,760 After crossing the River Spree, it joined up with Rybalko s 3rd Guards Tank Army 309 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,000 to complete the encirclement of Berlin. 310 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,000 The River Spree curled through the German defences. 311 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,560 In places the river was 200 metres wide. The Germans considered this 312 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,360 an impenetrable barrier, and so the south bank was lightly defended. 313 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,560 The appearance of Soviet motorboats 314 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,560 was therefore an unpleasant surprise for the Germans. 315 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,040 These boats of the Dnieper fleet had been transported by road, 316 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,360 and were now launched onto the Spree. 317 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,160 The amphibious assault succeeded in establishing a foothold across the river. 318 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,760 Reinforcements were then quickly ferried in to shore up the position. 319 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,720 This sudden advance, where it was least expected, 320 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,040 threw the German defensive plan into chaos. 321 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,640 Several blocks were given up without a fight, 322 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,520 as units raced back to avoid being cut off. 323 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:16,480 The Red Army troops were all aiming for one spot the Reichstag building. 324 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,680 The Reichstag building was completed in 1894. 325 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:25,760 In the interwar period of the Weimar Republic, 326 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,360 it was where the lower chamber of the German parliament met. 327 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:36,600 In 1933, shortly after Hitler came to power, it caught fire in suspicous circumstances. 328 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,080 Hitler accused the communists of starting the fire 329 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:42,080 as part of a plot against the government. 330 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:48,080 The next day, the Reichstag Fire Decree gave the Nazi party 331 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,320 emergency powers to deal with its political opponents. 332 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,320 In effect, it was the death of democracy in Germany. 333 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,720 The Reichstag building no longer had a purpose. 334 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,200 The centre of government was now located somewhere else entirely   335 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:12,080 inside the Führerbunker, 25 feet beneath the garden of the old Reich Chancellery. 336 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,880 The bunker had been built during the war in complete secrecy. 337 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,800 By April 1945, it had become Adolf Hitler s permanent residence, 338 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,680 and the site of his military headquarters. 339 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,720 According to those who experienced life inside the bunker, 340 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,560 the place smelled of wet cement, and there was a constant drone 341 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,040 from the ventilation system. 342 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,000 It was claustrophobic, but impervious to bombs and shells. 343 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:44,840 The Red Army didn t know about the Führerbunker, 344 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,280 even as their tanks fired on the Reich Chancellery itself. 345 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:16,000 The observation point of the 34th Battalion of Heavy Artillery 346 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,920 was located in an elevator tower on Schlesinger Strasse. 347 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,880 They couldn t see the Reichstag only flames and smoke. 348 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:32,920 On 27th April their unit was ordered forward. 349 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,200 As the artillery spotters looked for a new vantage point, their telephone rang. 350 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:46,840 A voice demanded to speak to the senior officer. 351 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,880 Sergeant Pavel Larin, commander of the scout section, was given the phone. 352 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,760 18th orders you to fire on Target 21. said the voice. 353 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:02,840 Target 21 was the Reichstag building. Sergeant Larin acknowledged the order. 354 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,200 His battery hadn t fired on the Reichstag before. 355 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,880 And Larin knew that there were Red Army troops just 300 metres from it. 356 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,480 Firing from a range of 3 miles, the smallest mistake in their calculations 357 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,040 could end up killing their own comrades. 358 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,520 Larin also knew that any delay in the fire mission would not be forgiven. 359 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,720 The BR-5 heavy mortar fired an anti-concrete round 360 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,760 that weighed 246 kilograms and carried 58 kilograms of explosive. 361 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:44,040 This shell made a crater 10 metres wide and 6 metres deep. 362 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,800 The battery fired 42 shells, one after another. Then the phone rang again. 363 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,760 At the other end of the line they were shouting to cease fire. 364 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,040 They d been hitting their own positions. 365 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,840 The new order was to fire on Target 20. 366 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:23,920 Target 20 was the Reich Chancellery. The battery fired 18 rounds. 367 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:34,520 The forward unit came back on the phone. 368 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,040 Good shooting. I officially thank you on behalf of the assaulting units! 369 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,600 Pavel Larin had just played his small part in the fall of Berlin. 370 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:03,240 The Soviet 3rd Shock Army was leading the race to the Reichstag. 371 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,920 Its commander was Vasiliy Kuznetsov. 372 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,160 The same Kuznetsov who d faced the Germans on the first day of the war, 373 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,880 near the Byelorussian town of Grodno, 374 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,320 as he struggled to save his 3rd Army from encirclement. 375 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,800 His war looked like it would finish in the Baltic, 376 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,440 where he d been a Deputy Front Commander. Then in March 1945, 377 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:31,320 Zhukov clashed with Nikolai Simonyak, commanding the 3rd Shock Army. 378 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,200 It was just two weeks before the Berlin Operation. 379 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,000 The experienced Kuznetsov was flown in as a replacement. 380 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,520 The 3rd Shock Army had fought its way through the northern suburbs of Berlin. 381 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:54,560 Now Kuznetsov s men were just 800 metres from the Reichstag building. 382 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,160 The first attempt on the Reichstag took place on 29th April. 383 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,520 But the attacking troops were fired on from the rear, 384 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:14,680 by Germans in the Kroll Opera House. 385 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,640 So first the Opera House had to be cleared. 386 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:28,680 Soviet infantry attacked again at 11.30 a.m. on 30th April. 387 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:31,040 They were supported by artillery fire 388 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:34,240 falling directly onto the Reichstag building. 389 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,720 At 10.30 p.m. the Victory Banner finally flew above the Reichstag building. 390 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:26,360 The previous morning, Hitler had spoken with Major General Mohnke, 391 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,600 commanding the defence of the Berlin Central Sector. He asked him, 392 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:36,880 How long will you be able to hold out? . 20 to 24 hours maximum came the reply. 393 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,600 That evening, Hitler ordered a report on the status of Wenck s 12th Army. 394 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:44,640 The answer came at 1am 395 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,120 Wenck had been forced to abandon his attempt to relieve Berlin. 396 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:52,680 14 hours later, Hitler shot himself. 397 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,000 His body was carried to a shell hole outside the entrance to the Fuhrerbunker, 398 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:00,960 covered in petrol, and burned. 399 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,680 Under a white flag, a delegation led by Chief of the General Staff 400 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:09,600 Hans Krebs approached the Soviet lines. 401 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,240 They were taken to see General Chuikov at 8th Guards Army headquarters. 402 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:18,960 Krebs informed Chuikov of Hitler s death, 403 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,720 and the formation of a new German government under Grandadmiral Dönitz. 404 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,400 But Chuikov refused to negotiate. 405 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,640 His demands were simple and to the point: 406 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,680 He wanted the immediate and unconditional surrender of the Berlin Garrison. 407 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,560 The Germans refused. The fighting went on. 408 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,200 After returning from his failed negotations, 409 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,760 General Krebs committed suicide in the Fuhrerbunker on 1st May. 410 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,640 It fell to General Weidling to surrender the Berlin garrison, and end the fighting. 411 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:09,800 Weidling contacted the Soviets by radio: Please cease fire. 412 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:15,520 We will send truce envoys to the Potsdam Bridge at 12.50 p.m., Berlin Time 413 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,560 The arrangements of the surrender were agreed at these brief negotiations. 414 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,680 At about 6am the next day, 2nd May, 415 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,560 the headquarters of the Berlin Garrison crossed the frontline and surrendered. 416 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,920 From captivity, Weidling issued his last order: 417 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:42,840 On 30th April the Fuehrer committed suicide, 418 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,080 thus abandoning those who had sworn loyalty to him. 419 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:49,240 The situation makes further resistance meaningless. 420 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,080 I order the immediate cessation of resistance. 421 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:58,680 This order was relayed through loudspeakers. 422 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:02,840 The Germans began to put down their weapons. 423 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:10,200 The Battle of Berlin was one of the largest battles in history. 424 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,480 About 3.5 million men fought on both sides. During the campaign, 425 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,160 Red Army soldiers liberated hundreds of thousands of prisoners 426 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,600 from German concentration camps. 427 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:25,960 Amongst them were more than 200,000 foreign nationals. 428 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,080 They included Edouard Herriot, the former Prime Minister of France, 429 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:34,040 and General Otto Ruge, Commander of the Norwegian Army. 430 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:43,080 On 7th May, the German Instrument of Surrender was signed at Rheims in France. 431 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,680 The signatories were the German General Alfred Jodl, 432 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,600 US General Walter Smith, Soviet General Ivan Susloparov, 433 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,520 and French General François Sevez, as the official witness. 434 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,720 But the Soviet Union decided Susloparov did not have proper authority 435 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:04,880 to sign the surrender. It would have to be done again. 436 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:10,960 And so on 8th May, 10.43 pm Central European Time, 437 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:14,600 Field Marshal Keitel, representing the German army, 438 00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:21,200 General Stumpff, of the Luftwaffe, and Admiral von Friedeburg of the Kriegsmarine, 439 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,680 signed another Act of Surrender in Berlin, 440 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:28,080 in the presence of Marshal Georgi Zhukov and Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder. 441 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,760 On 9th May the Red Army entered Prague. 442 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,720 On 10th May the Red Army occupied the Hel peninsula in the Danzig Bay. 443 00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:48,720 And on 11th May, German Army Group Courland finally surrendered. 444 00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:01,080 In these last days of the war, 1.2 million German soldiers were taken prisoner, 445 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:04,160 including 101 generals. 446 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,880 On 24th June 1945, a Victory Parade was held in Moscow s Red Square. 447 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:19,480 Marshal Rokossovsky commanded the parade. Marshal Zhukov inspected the troops. 448 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:25,240 Thus ended the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People. 449 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,240 Sergeant Pavel Larin never found out who 18th was, 450 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:38,480 the voice who d ordered him to fire on the Reichstag and Reich Chancellery. 451 00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:43,200 He was just thankful to have survived the war. 452 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,560 On the morning of 3rd May, Larin was ordered to go to the Reich Chancellery 453 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,080 and document the effects of their bombardment. 454 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,720 The Berlin Garrison had surrendered, 455 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:02,600 but suddenly they came under fire from a machine-gunner on a rooftop. 456 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:10,440 Luckily he missed. Larin wasn t allowed to enter the Reich Chancellery 457 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:14,800 it was being visited by Zhukov and the front commanders. 458 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,600 The artillerymen made his notes and headed towards the Reichstag. 459 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:25,880 It was difficult to get in there too 460 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:31,240 the building was crowded with thousands of soldiers celebrating their victory. 461 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,080 Then, standing on his comrade s shoulders, 462 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:44,280 he wrote on the wall: Sergeant Pavel Larin .