Götterdämmerung

The Last Days of the Wehrmacht in the East

Bob Carruthers

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781781591369
• eBook ISBN: 9781473845336
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

This fascinating collection of primary source accounts focuses on the combat actions of the Wehrmacht in the final battles of the war. The material is drawn from a variety of wartime sources and encompasses fascinating writings concerning the tactical, operational and strategic aspects of the battle for Berlin. Compiled and edited by Emmy Award winning author and historian Bob Carruthers, this absorbing assembly of primary source intelligence reports encompasses rare material originally drawn from both German and Russian original sources to provide the reader with a unique insight into the last battles in the east. This is the unvarnished reality of what it meant to fight in this titanic struggle to the death.Featured in the book are reports concerning little known and neglected tactical aspects of the war including weapons, street fighting techniques and improvised anti-tank measures. Original illustrations from US wartime intelligence manuals are also featured. This compelling compilation is essential for readers with an interest in discovering more about the last days of the Wehrmacht from a range of unusual and diverse primary sources.

THE GERMAN DEFENSE OF BERLIN

1. INTRODUCTION

The research in connection with the present topic proved to be unusually difficult. It becomes evident almost from the start that no long-range, strategic planning for Berlin’s defense had ever been conducted. Instead, all plans had been dictated directly by the current situation.

This planning entailed collaboration from the most varied authorities:

(1) Hitler

(2) The Army High Command

(3) The Replacement Army

(4) Army Group Vistula

(5) The Nazi Party, National Defense Commissioner.

Agencies responsible for carrying out the defense plans were:

(1)	Deputy Headquarters, III Corps [Each Wehrkreis, or basic military area, was under the command of a corps headquarters. In wartime this headquarters went into the field and was replaced in the Wehrkreis by a deputy corps headquarters (Stellvertretendes Generalkommando).]
(2)	The Commander of the Berlin Defense Area
(3)	Troop units from all branches of the Wehrmacht, the SS, and the Police
(4)	the Party Organizations.

Accordingly, the author had to find persons from all of the above organizations who were able to give information. No documents or other written data were discovered, nor was any information found in the later literature of the war which could be considered valid source material.

The only course left to the author was to solicit information from a large number of persons who participated in the operation. Nearly all the answers were made from memory, as only a few of the persons questioned are in the possession of notes which they made at the time. Consequently the data thus obtained had to be compared and, where necessary, supplemented and corrected by enlisting the aid of still other collaborators.

Sketch 1

Sketch 2

Generalleutnant a.D. Reymann, who from 8 March 1945 to 22 April 1945 was Commander of the Berlin Defense Area, for reasons of principle preferred not to collaborate. [A number of former German officers have refused to collaborate with the Historical Division while their comrades are still imprisoned for war crimes.] The work, therefore, had to be accomplished without his assistance. Later, at the personal request of the author, General Reymann checked the manuscript for factual accuracy. The drafts were also examined by Generaloberst a.D. Heinrici, former commander of Army Group Vistula. It is assumed, therefore, that an acceptable degree of accuracy was attained. In matters of detail the possibility of error still exists. A few contradictions which could not be fully clarified are indicated in footnotes.

To aid evaluation, this text is accompanied by:

a. A chronological outline of the course of events.

b. Sketch 1, showing the distribution of German forces on 14 April 1945 before the beginning of the large-scale Russian offensive on the Oder.

c. Sketch 2, showing the main lines of attack of the Russian offensive.

In preparing this study, the author acquired an over-all view of the actual course of combat operations. Since it seemed desirable not to overlook the knowledge thus gained a short account of the action is included as an appendix.

Chronological Outline of the Course of Events in the Battle for Berlin

31 January 1945 Weak motorized Russian forces penetrate across the ice of the Oder into the vicinity of Stausberg. Berlin is alerted. February-March The Oder defenses are built up. Early February General der Infanterie von Kortzfleisch, commanding general of Deputy Headquarters, III Corps, and at the same time Commander of the Berlin Defense area, is relieved by Generalleutnant Ritter von Hauenschild.

22 March 1945 Generaloberst Heinrici assumes command of Army Group Vistula.

29 March 1945 Generaloberst Guderian, Chief of the Army General Staff, is relieved by General der Infanterie Krebs.

12-15 April 1945 The Russians make preliminary attacks to widen the Kuestrin bridgehead.

16 April 1945 The Russians begin a large-scale offensive from the Kuestrin bridgehead and across the Neisse.

18 April 1945 Counterattack by the 18th Panzer Grenadier Division is unsuccessful. Oder and Neisse fronts collapse.

19 April 1945 Berlin is placed under the command of Army Group Vistula. The army group assigns SS Obergruppen-fuehrer Steiner the task of safeguarding the Hohen- zollern Canal and vainly requests the withdrawal of the center and right wing of the Ninth Army from the Oder. The Russians push forward from the south to the rear of the Ninth Army in the direction of Berlin.

20 April 1945 The Russians reach Baruth from the south. To the east of Berlin an unsuccessful counterattack is made by the 18th Panzer Grenadier Division and the Panzer Grenadier Divisions “Nordland” and “Nederland.” Army Group Vistula orders all available forces to be moved out of Berlin to the defense positions. Hitler decides to remain in Berlin. The Russians launch a large-scale offensive south of Stettin.

21 April 1945 The Soviets reach Zossen, Erkner, and Hopegarten.

22 April 1945 The Russians reach the Teltow Canal near Klein-Machnow from the south and the outskirts of the city at Weissensee and Pankow from the east. They cross the Havel River north of Spandau. Generalleutnant Reymann is replaced by Colonel Kaether. Army Group Vistula is excluded from command in Berlin; the city is placed under Hitler’s personal command. Hitler moves Panzer Grenadier Division “Nordland” to Berlin. Army Group Vistula instructs Steiner to launch a relief attack. The LVI Panzer Corps receives orders to proceed to Berlin, but withdraws to the south.

Weary German infantrymen emerge from a Berlin sub-way station and surrender to the victorious Red Army.

23 April 1945 The Russians attack along the Teltow Canal, against Friedrichshein, and near Tegel. Generalleutnant Weidling becomes Commander of the Defense Area and moves the LVI Panzer Group to Berlin. The Army High Command the Wehrmacht High Command leave Berlin. Hitler orders an attack by the Twelfth Army from the southeast, aiming at Berlin.

24 April 1945 The Russians cross the Teltow Canal; strong fighting progresses in the eastern part of the city. The Russians advance west from Spandau and close off Berlin from the west. Steiner’s troops are thrown back to their line of departure after attacking with initial successes.

25 April 1945 The Russians break through south of Stettin.

24 April-1 May1945 Berlin’s defenders stage severe retarding actions.

29 April 1945 The Twelfth Army reaches Beelitz-Ferch. General-oberst Heinrici is relieved of the command of Army Group Vistula.

30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide. Remaining elements of the Ninth Army break through to the Twelfth Army.

1 May 1945 Negotiations for surrender are begun. Elements of the Berlin garrison attempt to escape.

2 May 1945 Berlin surrenders.

THE GERMAN DEFENSE OF BERLIN

2. THE VARIOUS VIEWPOINTS

I. GENERAL

The decision to defend Berlin to the last man was of crucial importance both to the troops involved and, even more, to the city’s several million inhabitants. Special attention must be given to the command authorities who made this decision and carried it through and those who attempted to counteract it. Only thus can one see an over-all picture of the plans prepared for the defense of the city.

II. HITLER

To Hitler the defense of every city was important, so that to him it was a foregone conclusion that the capital of the Reich would be defended. Human considerations did not concern him. On the contrary, he stated on numerous occasions that the German people, if defeated, would be unworthy to survive the struggle. The thought of his own downfall cannot have been absent from Hitler’s mind during the last months. On the other hand, almost to the very end he seems to have clung - sporadically, at least - to the hope that a shift in front by the Western Allies might change the tide of war. This hope is indicated by repeated statements of the Fuehrer.

Hitler was an advocate of stubborn defense, particularly of cities. The successful defense of Leningrad and Stalingrad by the Russians and of Breslau by the Germans seemed to him to support his views. However, it was no longer possible at this stage of the war for a strategic concept to serve as a basis for the defense of Berlin.

At the beginning of Februa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• The German Defense of Berlin
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Various Viewpoints
• Chapter 3: Organizational Planning
• Chapter 4: The Defense Positions
• Chapter 5: Planning for the Defense Forces
• Chapter 6: Supply
• Chapter 7: Measures on Behalf of the Civilian Population
• Chapter 8: Concluding Observations
• Appendix: A Short Account of Combat Operations
• What the Germans Learned at Warsaw
• The German Volkssturm
• The Panzerhandmine 3
• Concrete Stick Hand Grenade
• German Position Warfare Reverts to Trench Lines in the East
• Soviet Tanks in City Fighting
• More from the Same Series