The Battle Of Berlin: April 30th 1945 – The Red Banner Flies High

By the early hours of April 30th, General Weidling – Commandant of the Berlin Defence Area – had informed Hitler in person what had already occurred to him the previous day. That the fight in the city was almost over and that the defenders would probably exhaust their ammunition sometime in the evening.

Hitler would finally concede to authorising a breakout of forces from the encircled city at 10pm – allowing some in his close entourage to relieve themselves of their commitment to the sinking ship.

The problem for these potential escapees was where it would be possible to break the Soviet encirclement of the city.

The question of direction being a little simpler to answer: West, and away from the Red Army advance.

To the south-west of the city, connecting Berlin to neighbouring Potsdam, the Glienicke Bridge had been maintained – in the hope that it would serve as an entry point for the relief forces of General Wenck’s 12th Army. An army that would never arrive in Berlin. Sometime on April 30th, the bridge was finally destroyed – whether by German explosives or Soviet fire is still unclear.

The crooked advance of the Soviet forces into Berlin had left some areas of the city in much better condition than others – as the damage inflicted on the city would vary greatly from block to block, with some areas reduced entirely to ruin and others visited by only minor damage. Some small corridors did still exist through the Soviet frontlines that would be exploited over the coming days by the remaining defenders of the city – and some of Hitler’s entourage – once it became clear that the Führer had abandoned his post.

While the events of April 30th 1945 in the Führerbunker are still disputed – the cast of characters in attendance and their various roles has been relatively well confirmed through documentation, interrogation, and interviews.