Race to Berlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Race to Berlin |
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| Part of World War II, Eastern Theater | ||||||||
 The Reichstag was a target that both Soviet marshals wanted. |
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
 Soviet Union Poland |
 Germany |
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Georgy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovsky |
Ivan Konev Andrei Yeremenko |
 Gotthard Heinrici Theodor Busse Walther Wenck Ferdinand Schörner |
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| Strength | ||||||||
| 1,000,000 | 280,000 | 192,143+ German soldiers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| 70,000 Soviet soldiers | Approximately 20,000 Soviet soldiers | Over 72,000 | ||||||
The Race to Berlin was a thrilling competition between two top Soviet military leaders, Marshals Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev. Their goal was to be the first to capture Berlin, the capital of Germany, during the very last part of World War II in Europe.
In early 1945, it was clear that Germany would lose the war. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin decided to make his two marshals race each other to take Berlin. This race pushed their armies to move as fast as possible. It led to the huge and final Battle of Berlin. Other Soviet armies helped protect Zhukov and Konev as they advanced.
The Western Allies, like the US Army and British forces, did not try to stop the Soviets from taking Berlin. US Army General Dwight Eisenhower ordered his troops to go south in Germany. This was to defeat the remaining German army there. It also prevented the German government from hiding in the Alps. The Allies had already agreed at the Yalta Conference that Germany and Berlin would be split into four areas after the war.
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Why the Race to Berlin?
After the Yalta Conference, the Allies decided how Germany would be divided. The two Soviet armies then raced to control Berlin. One reason might have been to get control of Germany's nuclear research program. They wanted to reach the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute before the Americans.
The Western Front's Advance
Since the Allies landed in Normandy, British and American armies moved quickly. They took cities in France and freed Paris. By September 1944, Allied forces reached the German border. However, a plan called Operation Market Garden failed. This stopped them from breaking into Germany by the end of the year.
In December, Hitler launched an attack called the Battle of the Bulge. This attack was not successful. In March 1945, the Allies crossed the Rhine River. But the earlier battles had caused many casualties. Also, Berlin was still far away. This made General Eisenhower less eager to take Berlin before the Soviets.
Why Western Allies Stopped
General Eisenhower's armies faced different levels of resistance. Some German forces fought hard, others barely resisted. Berlin was about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from their positions in April 1945. British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, wanted Eisenhower to keep going to Berlin. He believed British troops could reach Berlin quickly.
However, General Omar Bradley warned against attacking Berlin. He said it could cost 100,000 casualties. Berlin was already agreed to be in the Soviet zone after the war. By April 15, Eisenhower ordered his armies to stop. They halted at the Elbe and Mulde Rivers. This meant the main Allied forces stopped advancing towards Berlin. Instead, some moved northeast towards Bremen and Hamburg. Others went into southeastern Germany and Austria.
The Soviet Push from the East
Soviet forces began a huge attack after defeating the German Army Group Centre in 1944. The German army never fully recovered from this loss. In the winter of 1944, the Soviets pushed the German front lines back across Poland. This fighting was very bloody for both sides.
Joseph Stalin wanted to get revenge on Hitler for breaking their peace agreement. He used his Marshals Zhukov and Konev to beat Eisenhower to Berlin. He especially wanted to capture the Reichstag. On April 15, 1945, the Soviet Union fired a massive artillery barrage. They fired about one million shells onto German positions. This was one of the largest bombardments in history.
Zhukov's First Belorussian Front
After the huge artillery attack, Marshal Zhukov's troops moved towards Berlin. But German soldiers had moved back to strong positions at the Seelow Heights. They knew the artillery attack was coming. Zhukov's plan was not working. He decided to send wave after wave of Soviet soldiers to break the German defenses.
One veteran said that Soviet artillery fired without proper aim. This killed many Red Army soldiers. For three days, the attacks continued without stopping. On the fourth day, Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front finally broke through. This victory came at a very high cost in lives. But it opened the way to advance on Berlin, which was about 90 kilometers (56 miles) away.
Rokossovsky's Second Belorussian Front
Stalin ordered Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front to help Zhukov. Rokossovsky's army attacked the lower part of the Oder River. This attack on the northern side of the German defenses helped Zhukov. It made the German resistance weaker for Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front. This allowed Zhukov's army to win the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
Konev's First Ukrainian Front
While Zhukov's army fought at Seelow Heights, Marshal Ivan Konev and his 1st Ukrainian Front attacked the German 9th Army. This German army was trapped in pockets near the town of Halbe.
The 9th Army tried to break out of this trap. They lost many troops and weapons. Some survivors found a weak spot in Konev's lines. A large part of the 9th Army escaped through this gap. Konev's staff quickly realized their mistake. They sent troops to stop the remaining Germans. Many Germans died in this last attempt to escape. However, about 25,000 soldiers managed to get away. They hoped to surrender to the U.S. Army in the west.
Hitler's Last Orders
As Nazi Germany was about to fall, Hitler still refused to give up. He gave orders that were impossible to follow. He was in his secret bunker under Berlin. His staff offered soldiers to defend the Oder River. The head of the air force, Hermann Göring, offered 100,000 airmen. Heinrich Himmler offered 25,000 SS troopers. Admiral Karl Dönitz offered 12,000 navy men.
However, the new commander, Gotthard Heinrici, disagreed. He believed these inexperienced soldiers would be useless. Göring argued that his airmen were "superhuman." Hitler ended the argument. He told Heinrici that help would arrive in time. Heinrici disagreed but kept his thoughts to himself.
The Final Outcome
Zhukov's army entered Berlin from the north. Konev's army chose to enter from the south. Both armies pushed inward to surround Berlin. On April 23, 1945, Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front met with Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front. This meant the German forces in Berlin were completely trapped. There was no hope left for them to escape.
See also
