Transcript The Battle of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin
Presented by: Matt Mullin, Danny Coleman
Battle of Berlin : Basic Info
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Date: January 16, 1945
Location: Berlin
Forces Involved:
Mainly: Soviet Union, Poland, Germany,
USA, British, French came in later.
Forces Involved
• Soviet Union & Poland
2,500,000 Soldiers
6,250 Tanks
7,500 Aircraft
41,600 Artillery Peices
- German
766,750 Soldiers
1,519 Armored Fighting Vhicles
2,224 Aircraft
9,303 Artillery Peices
Hilter Youth and Police forces dragged into the army out of
desperation.
Starting the Battle
The Soviets along with Polish allies
integrated into their army, initiated the attack
on Berlin. USA, Britain, and France held back, to
give the Soviets and the Polish a chance to get
revenge on the Nazis for what they had done to
Poland and Russia throughout WW II. The
Soviets set up two fronts to attack Berlin, one
for the East, and one from the South.
Leaders
Nazis
- Gotthard Heinrici, surrendered. (Army group Vistula)
- Kurt von Tippelskirch, surrendered to US. (Army group
Vistula)
- Ferdinand Schorner, surrendered to Soviets (Centre)
- Hellmuth Reymann, surrendered to Soviets (Berlin Defence)
- Helmuth Weidling, last to surrender to Soviets (Berlin
Defence)
- Hasso von Manteuffel, surrendered US (III Panzer Army)
- Von Saucken, surrendered to US (II Panzer Army)
- Walther Wenck, surrendered to US (Twelfth German Army)
- Adolf Hitler, suicide (Nazi Leader)
Leaders, continued…
Russian Leaders
- Georgy Zhukov (1st Belorussian Front)
- Vasily Chuikov (1st Belorussian Front)
- Konstantin Rokossovski (2nd Belorussian Front)
- Ivan Konev (1st Ukrainian Front)
- Joseph Stalin (Russian Leader)
Battle of Oder-Neisse
- Force Strength:
- 1 million Russian troops and 20,000 + tanks broke
through the final defenses of the Germans,
defended by 100,000 Nazis with 1,200 tanks.
- Loses:
- Nazis: 12,000 Men
- Russians: 30,000
The Soviet Union claimed victory in this Battle.
Battle of Halbe
• Soviets split the Nazi forces in two and began
to surround them. German forces attempted
to break out, but failed. However, the Soviets
took heavy casualties losing over 2,807 tanks
in 17 days.
Bombing Berlin
• During the Battle of Berlin, Bombings were
conducted over Berlin to soften up the Germans.
However, Berlin was bombed throughout all of
WW II.
• Major Bombing dates (1945):
• April 15 (105 bombers)
• April 17 (61 bombers)
• April 18 (57 bombers)
• April 19 (79 bombers)
• April 20 (78 bombers)
Casualties / Losses
• Russia and Poland
81,116 Missing or Dead
280,251 Sick or Wounded
Total Casualties: 361,367 Men
10,097 Tanks
2,108 Artillery Pieces
917 Aircraft
- German
Exact Losses unkown: EST. 92,000-100,000 KIA.
220,000 Wounded
480,000 Prisoners of War
Inside Berlin: 22,000 Soldiers dead, 22,000 civilians dead.
Outcome of the Battle of Berlin
• Allies Claim victory over Germany
• Berlin divided into sections rules by different
countries. (Starts the cold war)
• Allies raise their flags over many German
buildings as a symbol of Victory.