The Battle Of Berlin: April 17th 1945 – Zhukov Struggles To Break Out

…(the attack on Berlin)…is developing irresponsibly slowly. If the operation continues like this, it risks losing its momentum and it might die out…”

Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov
Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front

“I got a directive from the front commander to cross the river Spree and attack swiftly in the general direction of Vetschau, [Golsen], Baruth, Teltow and the southern outskirts of Berlin […] The march of the 1st Ukrainian Front towards Berlin had begun.”

Soviet General Pavel Rybalko,
Commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army

While Soviet forces continued to push against Army Groups Vistula and Centre some 90km to the east, the millions of residents of Berlin waited to see whether the threadbare remnants of the mighty Wehrmacht could withstand ‘the Red onslaught’.

The pre-war population of Berlin had been reduced by evacuation, redeployment of labour, and casualties – from a peak of around 4.3 million to between two and two and a half million in April 1945.

Two years earlier, Propaganda Minister of Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels – in his capacity of Gauleiter (district leader) of Berlin – had closed schools and organised the evacuation of some one million inhabitants in response to the threat of Allied air raids. With refugees flooding into the Nazi capital from the provinces of East Prussia, Pomerania, and Silesia, in the last year of the war – bearing tales of horror at the hands of the Soviets – Berlin’s population had naturally increased in size. But nothing substantial enough to overburden the city’s robust infrastructure.

Despite its wide streets – that limited the spread of fire from Allied air raids and allowed fire engines to maneuver around rubble – Berlin could boast of being the most heavily bombed city in Germany – if not the world.

But the population had yet to suffer from hunger. Food rationing was somewhat adequate considering the circumstances. Public order was being maintained – with 12,000 police still patrolling the streets – and in spite of the growing destruction of the city municipal transportation remained operational.