Battle of Berlin 1945
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 April 1945 – 2 May 1945 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1945 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Eastern Front | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Nazi Germany, Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland, Soviet Union | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 52.5186, 13.3761 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula–Oder Offensive of January–February 1945, the Red Army had temporarily halted on a line 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin. On 9 March, Germany established its defence plan for the city with Operation Clausewitz. The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were made on 20 March, under the newly appointed commander of Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici.
When the Soviet offensive resumed on 16 April, two Soviet fronts (army groups) attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Red Army encircled the city after successful battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe. On 20 April 1945, Hitler's birthday, the 1st Belorussian Front led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, advancing from the east and north, started shelling Berlin's city centre, while Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front broke through Army Group Centre and advanced towards the southern suburbs of Berlin.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Berlin (revision 1380693319), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Eastern Front
- Battle of Romania 1944
- Battle of Studzianki 1944
- Battle of the Dukla Pass 1944
- Moonsund operation 1944
- Narva offensive (18–24 March 1944) 1944
- Battle of the Oder–Neisse 1945
- Battle of the Seelow Heights 1945
- Heiligenbeil Pocket 1945
- Siege of Breslau 1945
All 33 battles of the Eastern Front →
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