The
Battle of Berlin, designated as the
Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as
Operation Equinox by the Western Allies, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of the Second World War. The battle was notable for being the first true joint operation between the Allied Powers, as units from nearly all the participating powers were involved in the assault. The Soviets had moved to within striking distance of Berlin as far back as February, but encountered numerous delays in moving on the city itself, beginning first with the unexpected death of Stalin at the Crimean Conference in February, the failed crossing of the Oder during Operation Thunderclap in early March, finally culminating with the outbreak of the Soviet Civil War in May 1945. On the Western Front, the Allies had continued their push into Inner Germany beginning with the capture of the Ruhr pocket in April, continuing through the liberation of Denmark in May and the long-awaited linkup at Innsbruck with Mark Clark's 15th Army Group on June 1st. By then, the areas of firm Nazi control on the Continent had been reduced primarily to a wobbly oval centered on Berlin, with remaining pockets of control in parts of Yugoslavia, scattered outposts in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea, and Norway.
With the execution of Lavrentiy Beria and the cessation of the Soviet Civil War on June 4th, the Soviets were once again free to return their attention to ending the war against Germany. The front line had remained largely stable despite a large number of troops having moved back east to fight the NKVD. Instead of taking advantage of the thinning of the Soviet front line, the few remaining eastern German formations either followed Steiner's call to make a final stand in Berlin or began retreating west in the hopes of surrendering to the British or the Americans.
The Germans, despite the losses of most of their existing territory, had used the pause granted by the ongoing Allied turmoil to turn Berlin into a fortress. Hitler, whose spirits had been lifted by the death of Stalin in February and the announcement of FDR's coma in May, was confident that Allied armies would break on the anvil of Berlin and that salvation was at hand. Steiner had laid in as much food and ammunition that could be found, raiding farms and larders across Brandenburg and Saxony and ordering civilians to abandon their lands, anticipating that a fresh flood of refugees would slow the Allied advance even more. Buildings across the city and in the outer suburbs were demolished to block free movement across the city and to funnel invading troops into pre-planned routes that were heavily mined and/or pre-sighted by mortars and artillery. If the Allies managed to breach these defenses, Hitler ordered that the city's sewers and gas mains be lain with explosives, planning a final act of revenge against the Allies and the German people who failed him. Steiner estimated that the city's defenders, a hodgepodge of regular Army, Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe and regular civilians impressed into Volkssturm formations, had enough ammunition and supplies to hold out for at least two months.
On June 7th, the combined staffs of SHAEF and the Red Army began a military summit at Zhukov's headquarters near Müllrose. Over the course of 4 days of often contentious preparation and negotiation, the assault plan was finalized. The ground assault would be preceded by what was up until that point the largest concentrated artillery and air barrage in history (later surpassed by the pre-invasion bombardment for Operation Olympic). The sheer number of Allied aircraft in theater allowed for almost continuous bombing of the Berlin pocket, while thousands of pieces of tube and rocket artillery encircled the city nearly wheel to wheel. To the surprise of many, Zhukov agreed to allow Polish and Czechoslovakian troops under Soviets control to join their countrymen serving with the Western Allies in combined units under independent command. It was later revealed in Eisenhower’s memoirs that this was done in response to the secret transfer of American fuel during a crucial moment early in the Soviet Civil War.
After nearly a week of preparatory bombardment, the ground assault launched on June 18th. The Soviet advance through the eastern suburbs was split between the commands of Rokossovsky’s 1st Belorussian Front and Chuikov’s 1st Ukrainian Front. The southern advance was headed up by the recently formed Free Polish Army, under the command of the legendary Stanisław Maczek, the Czechoslovakian Legion and The French 1st Army under de Lattre. The Americans assault from the west would be headed by Patton’s Third Army and Patch’s Seventh Army. The British advance from the north would be criticized later being much more cautious, but most historians would note that Montgomery’s desire to limit casualties was due largely to the UK having nearly reached the limit of its manpower reserves.
Over the next 9 days, the Allies would grind their way through Berlin’s outer suburbs, fiercely opposed by the German defenders. Taking a page from Chuikov at Stalingrad, Steiner kept his troops as close to the Allies as possible, “hugging” the front lines to negate the overwhelming advantages in supporting firepower. Fighting was especially brutal in the southern sector, as the Poles, French and Czechoslovakians sought revenge for the brutal occupation of their homelands. Allied troops would think a street or neighborhood cleared, only to be met by vicious counterattacks by German units making use of rail and sewer tunnels to move troops around the city.
By June 27th, the Germans still managed to hold most of the city between the American line in Grunewald forest in western Berlin, the Polish/French/Czechoslovakians in Mariendorf in the south and the Soviets at Karlshorst in the east.
Casualties had been extremely heavy on all sides, but the Germans continued to reject any offers of surrender. Allied commanders began brainstorming any approach to bring a quick end to the war. Several proposals were put forward, such as using incendiaries to burn out the city center similar to the ongoing campaign against Japanese cities or deploying poison gas. Both were dismissed as either being impractical (most of the US supply of incendiaries was in the Pacific and would take weeks to arrive) or abhorrent, even against the Nazis. The solution would come in the form of an audacious suggestion by Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower’s chief of staff: drop several airborne units directly into the city to cause havoc in the German rear and sunder the defensive lines. The Allied Airborne Army was rested and mostly fresh, having been in reserve since the US 13th Airborne and British 1st Airborne Divisions jump into Copenhagen during Operation Roundhouse in May. Bedell Smith noted that Tempelhof Airport in central Berlin was still mostly intact, as the Luftwaffe no longer had any working aircraft there and its air defenses had been moved away to serve in anti-personnel roles. A pre-dawn drop could secure the airport and establish an airhead, allowing for rapid reinforcement and that paratroopers would move rapidly towards Allied lines and establish direct routes into the city. Eisenhower at first demurred, remembering the harsh lesson of Market-Garden. But Zhukov was enthusiastic for the plan, provided that Soviet paratroopers be allowed to participate. The discussions would endure long into the night, but in the end Eisenhower would give his endorsement.
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Operation Eclipse