Berlin Experiences/Battle of Berlin
The Battle Of Berlin: April 26th 1945 – The Red Army Takes Tempelhof
Berlin's largest airport, Tempelhof, finally fell to the Soviet Red Army, as the battle for control of the Nazi capital raged on.
Berlin Experiences · 07/12/25 · 11 min read
A heavy thunderstorm hit Berlin during the early hours of April 26th bringing with it torrential rain that managed to extinguish some of the fires burning throughout the city.
Still, intense fighting continued – especially in the area around Tempelhof airport, with Soviet artillery and Katyusha rocket launchers blasting the aerodrome’s administrative buildings. Wrecked fuselages of Focke-Wulf fighters littered the tarmac, as the remnants of the Müncheberg Panzer Division attempted to hold off the Soviet advance into the south of the city for as long as possible.
The airfield was roughly one mile square and defended by a Luftwaffe unit using anti-aircraft guns in an anti-tank role, base personnel in an infantry role, and a Hitler Youth tank-hunting group serving alongside the remnants of the Müncheberg. The northwest corner of the complex included a massive arc of administrative buildings and hangars where aircraft would remain in stand-by, ready to fly out any remaining Nazi officials.
To the south of the airfield was the S-bahn ring – and the Inner Defense Ring of the Berlin Defense Area with a group of fuelless tanks dug in to hold the perimeter.
A common feature in the city, beyond the guarded barricades made of tram carriages and piled rubble, were tank turrets appearing out of the ground – used as fixed guns in the final battle for the Reich.
On April 25th, the 28th Soviet Rifle Guards Corp along with two of the 1st Guards Tank Army’s brigades fought their way through the two defensive lines at Tempelhof but only managed to get on to the airfield grounds, without securing the buildings.
It would be on April 26th, around noon, that the remaining defenders would be subdued – the airfield commander captured alive – and some 2,000 German women soon put to work to clear the obstacles on the runway. Within thirty six hours of its capture, Tempelhof Airport would be used by the Soviet Air Force, in some instances to fly out seriously wounded casualties to base hospitals.
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Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin 1945 — day by day.
