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 Soviet Army had temporarily halted on a line 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin. On March 9th, Germany established its defence plan for the city with Operation Clausewitz. The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were made on March 20th, under the newly appointed commander of Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici .
When the Soviet offensive resumed on April 16th, 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 (but very costly) battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe.
On April 20th, 1945, Adolf 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. On April 23th General Helmuth Weidling assumed command of the forces within Berlin. The garrison consisted of several depleted and disorganised Army and Waffen-SS divisions, along with poorly trained Volkssturm and Hitler Youth members. Over the course of the next week, the Red Army gradually took the entire city.
On April 30th, Hitler and several of his officials committed suicide. The city of Berlin's garrison surrendered on May 2nd but fighting continued to the north-west, west, and south-west of the city until the end of the war in Europe on May 8th (May 9th in the Soviet Union) as some German units fought westward so that they could surrender to the Western Allies rather than to the Soviets.
