Cottbus-Potsdam operation

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The Cottbus-Potsdam Operation ( Russian Котбус-Потсдамская операция ) from April 16 to 28, 1945 was part of the Berlin Operation during World War II and took place at the same time as the Battle of the Oder . The right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front attacking from the Neisse section broke through the Spree section to the west in the course of this offensive, with the focus between Cottbus and Spremberg, and closed the Spremberg pocket . The next task for Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev's Army Groupthen consisted of the advance to Berlin . Originally the offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front was only conceived to break through the enemy front and to advance on a broad front west to the Elbe . However, due to the ambitions of Marshal Konev in competition with the troops of the 1st Belarusian Front, the operation developed into a race to Berlin, which split into two independent operations: the Cottbus – Potsdamer and Spremberg – Torgau operations. The most important operational result of the operation was the split between the German Army Group Vistula and Mitte . The southern wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front was able to establish a connection with the American troops on the Elbe near Torgau on April 25, and the northern wing was able to reach Potsdam , Beelitz and Lehnin by April 27 .

prehistory

The 1st Ukrainian Front under Marshal Ivan Stepanowitsch Konjew was deployed on the Neisse between Guben and Görlitz . Konev's front consisted of 8 armies (with 48 rifle divisions) as well as 6 armored and 4 mechanized corps. The combat strength consisted of 2055 tanks and self-propelled guns as well as 13,571 guns (of which 5,225 mine throwers). On April 3, 1945, the Stawka issued directive No. 11060 for the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front: Preparation of an offensive against the German group in the Cottbus area and south of Berlin. The Beelitz - Wittenberg line along the Elbe river should be reached after about 10 days .

March

The main body of the 1st Ukrainian Front was preparing to attack the German 4th Panzer Army in the direction of Cottbus and Spremberg .

The decisive role in the offensive was assigned to the 3rd Guards Armored Army (General Pawel Rybalko ) and the 4th Guards Armored Army (General Dmitri Danilowitsch Lelyuschenko ), while the 5th Guards Army and the 13th Army supported the main attack. The 3rd Guard Army had to break through the German defense on the other bank of the Neisse near Forst . From the area southeast of Klein Bademeusel the breakthrough on Cottbus was to be achieved, then the advance via Zossen and Beelitz should take place. Colonel-General Gordow later changed the task of his troops so that he aimed his offensive directly on Cottbus. In his decision, he indicated that the main strike should be better against Cottbus from the south, then in the direction of Vetschau and Lübben on Luckenwalde . The 3rd Guards Army, in cooperation with the 3rd Guards Panzer Army, was supposed to reach the Zossen – Beelitz line, where two rifle corps (120th and 76th) should take part in the Battle of Berlin , while the 21st Guards Rifle Corps advance to the south-west should. The strategic goal of the Soviet offensive was the breakthrough to the Elbe , where, after connecting with the American troops, the German Army Group Vistula and Central were to be split from one another. The left southern wing of Konev's front, the 52nd Army and the Polish 2nd Army operated in the Lusatian operation in the direction of Bautzen , Lauban , Leobschütz , the 60th and 59th Armies remained defensive in the Ratibor area .

On April 14th, Marshal Konev issued a new order that changed the order in which the troops were deployed. In order to advance the advance, the 6th Guards Panzer Corps (General Mitrofanow) should remain deployed on the Forst – Cottbus line ahead. The bulk of the 3rd Guards Panzer Army was supposed to cross the Neisse in the second season behind the two guards armies, then overtake the infantry and form bridgeheads on the Spree by the end of the first day of the attack. On the second day of the offensive, the advance detachments of the 6th and 7th Guards Panzer Corps should have reached Duben and Luckau .

Right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front

Marshal Ivan Konev, Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Ukrainian Front

3rd Army of the Guard (Colonel General Vasily Nikolajewitsch Gordow )

21st Rifle Corps, Major General Alexei Alexandrovich Jamanov

  • 58th Rifle Division, Major General Vasily Akimowitsch Samsonov
  • 197th Rifle Division, Major General Fyodor S. Danilov
  • 253rd Rifle Division, Colonel Yefim Pavlovich Appin

120th Rifle Corps, Major General Semen Ivanovich Donskow

  • 106th Rifle Division, Major General Emelyan I. Vasilenko
  • 127th Rifle Division, Major General Semen Ivanovich Mladenschew, from April 24th Colonel Nikolai V. Krasowski
  • 329th Rifle Division, Colonel Fyodor Fyodorovich Avachev
  • 389th Rifle Division, Major General Leonid A. Kolobov

76th Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General Mikhail Iwanowitsch Gluchow

  • 149th Rifle Division, Colonel Mikhail Ivanovich Golytzov
  • 287th Rifle Division, Major General Ivan Nikolayevich Ryushkov

25th Panzer Corps, Major General Yevgeny Ivanovich Fominych

  • 111th Panzer Brigade,
  • 162nd Tank Brigade, Colonel Ivan Petrovich Mishchenko
  • 175th Panzer Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai I. Batalow
  • 20th Motorized Rifle Brigade
  • 87th Independent Guard Panzer Regiment

3rd Guards Tank Army (Colonel General Pawel Rybalko )

6th Guards Panzer Corps, Major General Vasily Andreevich Mitrofanov

  • 51st Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Ivan Jakowlewitsch Jakunin
  • 52nd Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Ludwik I. Kurist
  • 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, Major General Vasily Sergeyevich Archipov
  • 22nd Guards Mechanical Rifle Brigade, Colonel Hamza Salimowitsch Bogdanow

7th Guards Panzer Corps, Major General Vasily Vasilyevich Novikov

  • 54th Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Ivan Ilyich Chugunkov
  • 55th Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel David Abramowitsch Dragonow
  • 56th Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Sakari Karpovich Slusarenko
  • 23rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, Major Nikolai Ivanovich Gorjushkin

9th Mechanized Corps, Lieutenant General Ivan Prokofievich Sukhov

  • 69th Mechanical Brigade, Colonel Ivan Semenovich Vaganov
  • 70th Mechanical Brigade, Colonel Alexander Myotelkov
  • 71st Mechanical Brigade, Colonel Ivan M. Shuravlev
  • 91st Tank Brigade, Major General Viktor Ivanovich Tutushkin

13th Army (Colonel General Nikolai Puchow )

24th Rifle Corps, Major General Dmitri Platonovich Onuprienko

  • 350th Rifle Division, Major General Grigory Ivanovich Vechin
  • 395th Rifle Division, Colonel Fyodor Alexsandrovich Afanasyev

27th Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General Filipp Michailowitsch Cherokmanow

  • 6th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Georgi Wassiljewitsch Ivanov
  • 117th Rifle Division, Major General Fedor I. Volkovich
  • 280th Rifle Division, Colonel Yefim Antonovich Lyashenko

102nd Rifle Corps, Major General Ivan Michailowitsch Puzikow

  • 121st Guards Rifle Division, Major General Logwin Danilowitsch Tscherwoni
  • 147th Rifle Division, Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Jeremejew
  • 172nd Rifle Division, Major General Anatoly Andreyevich Krasnov
  • 88th Independent Panzer Regiment

5th Guard Army (Colonel General Alexei Semjonowitsch Schadow )

32nd Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General Alexander I. Rodimzew

  • 13th Rifle Division, Colonel Vladimir Komarov
  • 95th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Andrei Ivanovich Olejnikov
  • 97th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Antoni Prokofievich Garan

33rd Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General Nikita Fedotowitsch Lebedenko

  • 14th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Sikorski
  • 78th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Sachari Trophimowitsch Trofimov
  • 118th Rifle Division, Major General Mikhail Afanasyevich Sukhanov

34th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General Gljeb Vladimirovich Baklanov

  • 15th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Pyotr M. Tschirkow
  • 58th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Vladimir Rusakov

4th Guards Panzer Corps, Lieutenant General Pavel Pavlovich Poluboyarov

  • 12th Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Mykola Duschak
  • 13th Guards Tank Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Semyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin
  • 14th Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Alexander J. Skidanow
  • 3rd Guard Motorized Rifle Brigade

4th Guards Tank Army (Colonel General Dmitri Danilowitsch Leljuschenko )

5th Guards Mechanized Corps, Major General Ivan Prokhorovich Yermakov

  • 10. Guard mech. Brigade, Colonel Vasily Nikitowitsch Buslaew
  • 11. Guard mech. Brigade,
  • 12. Guard mech. Brigade,
  • 24th Guards Tank Brigade,

6th Guards Mechanized Corps Colonel Vasily Ignatievich Koretzki

  • 16. mech. Brigade, Colonel Gregori M. Tscherbak
  • 17. mech. Brigade, Colonel Nikolai Yakovlevich Seliwantschik
  • 35. mech. Brigade, Colonel Pyotr Nikitowitsch Turkin
  • 49. mech. Brigade,
  • 28th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade

10th Guards Panzer Corps, Lieutenant General Yevtichi Jemeljanowitsch Below

  • 61st Guards Tank Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Saizew
  • 62nd Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Proschin
  • 63 Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Mikhail G. Fomichev
  • 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, Colonel Andrei Illarionowitsch Efimov
  • 70th Guards Assault Artillery Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Fyodorovich Kornyushkin
  • 13th Independent Guard Panzer Regiment
  • 119th Guards Panzer Regiment

1st Guards Cavalry Corps, Lieutenant General Viktor Kirillowitsch Baranow

  • 1st Guards Cavalry Division, Colonel Filipp Akimowitsch Blinow
  • 2nd Guards Cavalry Division, Major General Hadji Umar Mamsurow
  • 7th Guards Cavalry Division, Colonel IS Borschew
  • 152nd Armored Brigade,
  • 98th Independent Panzer Regiment

28th Army (Lieutenant General Alexander Alexejewitsch Lutschinski )

20th Rifle Corps, Major General Nikolai Alexandrovich Blackev

  • 48th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Gleb Nikolayevich Korchik
  • 55th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Adam Petrovich Turchinsky
  • 20th Rifle Division, Major General Andrei Alexandrovich Myshkin

3rd Guards Rifle Corps, Major General Pyotr Alexejewitsch Alexsandrov

  • 50th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Antoni Stanislavowitsch Vladjatschankin
  • 54th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Mikhail Matveevich Danilov
  • 96th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Sergei Nikolayevich Kuschentzow

128th Rifle Corps, Major General Pawel F. Batizki

  • 61st Rifle Division, Colonel Andrei G. Shazki
  • 130th Rifle Division, Colonel Konstantin Stepanowitsch Popov
  • 152nd Rifle Division, Colonel Grigory Leontievich Ryabalka

2nd Air Army (Colonel General Stepan Akimowitsch Krassowski )

  • 1st Guard Fighter Corps
  • 2nd Guard Fighter Corps
  • 3rd Fighter Corps
  • 4th and 6th Guards Air Bomber Corps
  • 5th and 6th Fighter Corps
  • 208th Night Bomber Division
  • 98th and 193rd Air Defense Guard Regiment

course

Overview of the overall situation (April 16-25, 1945)

On the evening of April 15, Soviet units crossed the west bank of the Neisse, as darkness fell, to clear up the attack zone. The imminent attack by the 1st Ukrainian Front could not be kept completely secret from the German reconnaissance, although the forest areas there masked the strong masses of Soviet troops. The first attempts to penetrate the opponent's defense met tough German resistance. During the night fighting, it was found that the German troops were leaving the front trenches and were already retreating to the second line of defense. The German 4th Panzer Army under General Gräser was defending between Guben and Görlitz on the Neisse . On the left wing stood the V Army Corps (with the 342nd, 214th and 275th Infantry Divisions and combat groups of the 35th and 36th SS Divisions) and the Panzer Corps "Greater Germany" (Division "Brandenburg", and Division Group 615 as well) the 545th People's Grenadier Division).

North wing of Army Group Center

4th Panzer Army, General of the Panzer Troop Fritz-Hubert Gräser

V. Army Corps , Lieutenant General Kurt Waeger

Panzer Corps "Greater Germany" , General Georg Jauer

Reserve:

Corps Group Moser, General of the Artillery Wilhelm Moser

  • Division No. 193, Major General Eckhard von Geyso
  • Division No. 404, Major General Gerhard Sturt
  • Division No. 463, Lieutenant General Rudolf Habe

LVII. Panzer Corps , General of the Armored Troops Friedrich Kirchner

The attack on April 16

The artillery bombardment of the 1st Ukrainian Front started on April 16 at 6:15 am between Forst and Muskau and was supported by the 2nd Air Army under Colonel General Stepan Akimowitsch Krassowski . After a brief fire on the first German trench, the entire firepower of the artillery was concentrated against the second trench of the German 342nd Infantry Division and 545th Volksgrenadier Division . At 6:55 a.m. the artillery fire was brought forward in the depths, a smoke screen protected the troops at the river crossing, while at the same time a hail of shells and bombs held down the intact German defense points. Under their cover, the reinforced battalions of the first Echelons began to cross the Neisse. The right wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front near Forst was formed by the 3rd Guards Army, 5 rifle divisions were deployed in the first season and 3 rifle divisions in the second season, the 389th rifle division acted as a reserve. The infantry was brought across the river in boats, at 6:55 a.m., when the artillery carried the fire down, a smoke screen was drawn, under the cover of which the reinforced battalions of the first squadron bridged the Neisse. The translation of the First Squadron of the Main Forces was completed in an hour before the artillery preparation was even finished. After conquering the bridgeheads on the west bank, the pioneers began to build bridges, after 90 minutes they were able to transfer 30 tons and after 4 to 5 hours - loads of up to 60 tons.

The Soviet 13th Army was deployed on April 16 in the center of the main strike group of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On the right wing of the army, the 102nd Rifle Corps was deployed, which operated with three divisions in the first season and was supported by the 7th Guards Panzer Corps of the 3rd Guards Panzer Army. The crossing of the Neisse, which began in the morning with the crossing at the pontoon bridges, lasted the whole day. The 27th Rifle Corps operated on the left flank of the 13th Army. The 24th Rifle Corps, which was in the second season of the 13th Army, did not finish the crossing until the end of the day and concentrated its troops on the west bank. The 7th Guards Panzer Corps bridged the Neisse even faster than its neighbor on the right - the 6th Guards Panzer Corps. The 54th Guards Tank Brigade crossed the river at 7:00 p.m., the 56th Guards Tank Brigade at 3:00 p.m., and the 23rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade by 8:00 p.m. Until 9:30 p.m., the infantry of the 102nd Rifle Corps could occupy Groß- and Klein-Keltzig and expand the break-in area to 13 kilometers. The second squadron, the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, crossed the Neisse on the evening of April 16 and followed in the footsteps of the 7th Guards Panzer Corps.

After the bridgehead had been erected, the 10th Guards Panzer Corps of the 4th Guards Panzer Army was brought into the combat zone in the afternoon to provide support. The 29th Guards Mechanical Rifle Brigade crossed the Neisse at 4:45 p.m. and supported the attacks of the 350th Rifle Division on the Chernitza and Dubrutz line, the losses remained low. Only at 10 p.m. did the 62nd Guards Tank Brigade (General II Proschin) concentrate on the west bank. Parts of the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 4th Guards Panzer Army spent most of the day navigating the ferries that crossed the Neisse in the Kebeln area. At 8 p.m. the 10th Mechanized Brigade began the crossing over temporary bridges near Kebeln, which had been built in the morning by pioneers and were concentrated in the forests on the west bank of the Neisse. The 5th Mechanized Guards Corps followed behind the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps.

The 3rd Guards Panzer Army advanced south of Forst and fought around Domsdorf and Groß-Schaksdorf in the evening; during the day their troops had covered about 9 km. The 13th Army advanced in the middle of the main blow and operated in the focus of the offensive, they occupied Groß- and Klein-Kelzig and had advanced 13 km deep by evening. The Neisse was crossed in the same way on the right flank of the main thrust group, where the 5th Guards Army put the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps (Lieutenant General Alexander Rodimzew ) across the river. In the first season, the 95th and 13th Guards Rifle Divisions were deployed, followed by the 97th Guards Rifle Division in the second season. The rifle divisions were soon supported by the 4th Guards Panzer Corps, but they could only advance 8 kilometers deep. In the 5th Guards Army, the 14th Guards Rifle Division deployed on the left wing had the task of removing the German bridgehead on the east bank near Muskau before the second squadron of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps was to be introduced in the afternoon. While the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps made the Neisse crossing, the neighboring 34th Guards Rifle Corps (Major General GW Baklanov) attacked the enemy positions at the Muskau bridgehead. The 15th Guards Rifle Division crossed the river the fastest: from 8:30 am the 50th Guards Rifle Regiment began the crossing and at 8:00 pm it was in a bridgehead at a width of 7 km and a depth of Fixed 5–6 km on the western bank. The commander of the 4th Guards Panzer Army realized that any loss of time enabled the enemy to prepare new lines of defense and therefore decided to continue the offensive at night. He used the 10th Guards Panzer Corps to form bridgeheads on the west bank of the Spree north and the 6th Guards Mechanical Corps south of Spremberg.

Most of the mobile reserves of the German 4th Panzer Army were in the area north of Görlitz , far south of the main attack by the 1st Ukrainian Front. In the Spremberg area, only the 21st Panzer Division and the Führer-Escort Division could be used as reserves. The 21st Panzer Division covered the Breslau-Berlin connection and the Führer-Escort Division covered the motorway to Spremberg. The only unit the Germans were able to bring from the Görlitz area to Spremberg and Cottbus was the 10th SS Division Frundsberg, whose approach was associated with a shortage of fuel. The rear parts of the division had to remain in the Bautzen area after they had given up all their fuel. With the few remaining fuel, the SS division moved further north to occupy the defenses between Cottbus and Spremberg.

Battle for forest

The 3rd Guard Army, deployed on the northern wing, had been assigned to the town of Forst since April 16 ; the line of defense on the Neisse was particularly strongly fortified there by the Germans. In the main attack area near Forst, the German 214th and 342nd Infantry Divisions defended, south of it the 545th Volks-Grenadier-Division and, as a reserve, parts of the parachute armored division "Hermann Göring 1". Grenadier Regiment 554 of the 342nd Infantry Division was deployed in Forst. After the Neisse in the southeastern suburbs of Forst had been overcome, the Soviet 149th Rifle Division remained tied there. The 127th Rifle Division stormed the fortifications at Keune . After crossing the Neisse, the 329th and 253rd Rifle Divisions broke the resistance of the German Grenadier Regiment 697 and reached the forest to large and small bathers. By 10:30 a.m., the German defense was breached to a depth of 3 kilometers, the Soviet 25th Panzer Corps under Major General JI Fominych was brought into battle. The German position in Forst was attacked from the southeast flank by the 149th Rifle Division, which was already fighting around the city center at 6:00 p.m. The 76th Rifle Corps stood north of Forst, another rifle division stormed the eastern part of Forst and a third rifle division was about to conquer the Neisse at the bend northeast of Forst. The 329th and 253rd rifle divisions overcame the woods of Bademeusel and advanced to Groß-Schacksdorf . The 127th Rifle Division advanced together with the 175th Panzer Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai I. Batalow) of the 25th Panzer Corps on the Nosdorf Forest, which was bypassed from the south-west. The rifle divisions 197th, 58th and 389th remained as reserves in the second season. The 3rd Guard Army initially lagged behind schedule, although their attack after crossing the river produced good results. On the first day of the attack, the advance reached a front width of 10 km and a depth of 4-6 km. On the night of April 17, the Germans launched a counterattack against the southern outskirts of Forst, but this was repulsed by the Soviet troops. In the afternoon, the encirclement was continued, with units of the second season, the 3rd Guard Army formed new focal points: The 120th Rifle Corps advanced further west, while the 76th Rifle Corps took over the enclosure of Forst.

On April 18, the Soviet high command decided not to force Forst into the status of a fortress because a rifle corps would have been necessary for the siege, but instead left the route to the north open for the German garrison to withdraw. For Konjew, the Spree section had to be completely under control before operations could continue to Berlin.

Fight on April 17th and 18th

On the morning of April 17, the tanks of the 4th Guards Panzer Army managed to overtake the infantry and move forward. However, the task set by the commander to capture the bridgeheads north and south of Spremberg was not carried out by troops. During the nocturnal advance the 3rd Guards Panzer Army had taken Simmersdorf and then fought nightly battles on the Roggosen and Neuhausen line , which was occupied by the Soviet troops at 8 a.m. But as early as 10:00 a.m., a German counterattack followed by parts of the 21st Panzer Division, which were advancing from the north and south and trying to circling the advancing Soviet units. All German attacks were repulsed, but the fighting slowed the advance westward.

On the evening of April 17th there was a conversation between Konjew and Stalin , during which permission was given to lead the tank armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front to Berlin. With the permission of the Stawka, Konjew gave the new order that the 3rd Panzer Army should break into the southwest of Berlin on the night of April 20-21 and the 4th Guards Panzer Army should reach Potsdam.

On the southern section, meanwhile, the Polish 2nd Army advanced to Bautzen , the Brandenburg Division was pushed from the Weißwasser area to Kosel and then surrounded by the 52nd Soviet Army in the Rothenburg area, but was able to break out to Löbau . On the afternoon of April 18, the 7th Guards Panzer Corps passed the forest roads to the Spree north of Spremberg and crossed the river. In the afternoon Konev went to this area personally and decided to lead all three mobile corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. A counterattack by the 21st Panzer Division was successfully repulsed.

The 4th Guards Panzer Army, which encountered stubborn resistance at Spremberg, began to bypass the city from the north and south. In the evening she managed to cross the river Spree both there and on the northern bridgehead. On the third day of the offensive, two tank and two combination armies succeeded in overcoming the entire depth of the German defense on the Neisse and penetrated deep into the operating room. The Germans had no reserves for counter-attacks or for the restoration of the front; the way to Berlin was clear for the Soviet troops. Part of the Soviet troops continued the attacks on Cottbus, the two tank armies stormed into Berlin and the rifle armies continued their offensive in a westerly direction.

April 19-22, Battle of Cottbus

On April 19, Colonel General Gordow had four rifle divisions gathered near Kolkwitz to encircle Cottbus. The main blow was to be carried out with the left wing of the army and the city in the northwest bypassed, which would interrupt German communication in the west. The Soviet troops began to develop the offensive in a north and north-west direction via the Spree crossings of the neighboring 13th Army. On the evening of April 20, the Cottbus- Calau railway was interrupted and the Berlin-Breslau autobahn, which ran south of Cottbus, was approached. On April 19, at 3 p.m., the 3rd Panzer Guard Army with the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade stormed the Vetschau junction and left the fighting of the German garrison to the 52nd Guards Panzer Brigade and the 22nd Guards Mechanical Brigade. At 7:00 p.m., the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade was able to occupy Groß Lübbenau and the 51st Guards Tank Brigade Boblitz . On Rybalko's left flank, the 7th Guards Panzer Corps advanced with the 56th Guards Tank Brigade and occupied Ogrosen at 3 p.m. and Calau at 7 p.m. The 9th Mechanical Corps remained in the second season of the 3rd Guards Tank Army until April 19.

In the southern attack wedge of the 4th Guards Panzer Army, the 10th Guards Panzer Corps formed the top. The 63rd Guards Tank Brigade under General MG Fomichev crossed on April 19, to coincide with the 61st Guards Tank Brigade, the Spree and occupied at 10:00 Drebkau . Only before Calau did the brigades encounter German resistance again. The corps commander General Below decided to bypass Calau with the 29th Guards Mechanical Brigade and Calau from the south. At the end of the day, the 61st Guards Tank Brigade was stopped in front of Luckau, while the 63rd Guards Tank Brigade was able to continue its offensive in a north-westerly direction. At 5:00 p.m. Fomichev's tank brigade moved into Luckau; in one day his units had covered almost 70 km. The other tank brigades of the 10th Guards Panzer Corps immediately stormed further north-west into the gap. Despite the need to break individual resistance nodes, the 10th Guards Panzer Corps moved almost without a fight through their area of ​​operation, insignificant garrisons of the Volkssturm mostly surrendered. The 5th Mechanized Corps under General Jermankow was now following the advance route of the 10th Guards Panzer Corps, it crossed the Spree and set out for Luckau at the end of April 19.

Cottbus was defended by units of the 36th SS Division, the 242nd, 214th and 275th Infantry Divisions, the 21st Panzer Division and the reconnaissance battalion of the 10th SS Panzer Division. The 3rd Guards Army, which attacked Cottbus, had been tying up the enemy reserves for four days. Since the autobahn to Berlin ran through Cottbus, without whose control it was impossible to supply the advancing troops on time, Marshal Konev drove personally to Colonel General Gordow on April 20 to speed up the storming of the city. At his discretion, the 3rd Guards Army was given the 25th Artillery Division for a further six hours, which should already be relocated to Berlin. With their support, the 120th Rifle Corps overcame the city fortifications and penetrated the eastern part of the city. On the evening of April 21, the German Cottbus group was circled from the east, south and west, only a swampy route to the north was not blocked. During the night the 21st Rifle Corps broke into the city and on April 22nd at 1:00 p.m. on April 22nd, the rest of the city was completely taken. The attack was made by the 127th Rifle Division, the 162nd Panzer Brigade of the 25th Panzer Corps and the 58th, 253rd and 389th Rifle Divisions of the 21st Rifle Corps (Major General Alexei A. Jamanow). The remote Guben suffered severe damage from fighting and did not fall until April 24th. Almost 90 percent of the historic city center with the Renaissance town hall and the late Gothic town and main church were destroyed.

April 19-25 Spremberg – Torgau operation

On April 17th, the High Command of Army Group Center moved its reserves into the offensive zone of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The commander of the 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" , General Heinz Harmel , who set up his headquarters in Roitz west of Spremberg the following day , received an order from the commander-in-chief of the 4th Panzer Army to close the front gap between Cottbus and Spremberg. During the advance of the 3rd and 4th Guards Panzer Armies across the Spree, Soviet bridgeheads were built north and south of Spremberg. The Soviet 5th Guards and 13th Army advancing westward faced three German divisions in the Spremberg area on April 19, and their defensive positions had already been bypassed on both flanks. After the Soviet tank armies, the following 13th Army took advantage of the situation on April 19 for a quick advance. The 172nd Rifle Division of the 102nd Rifle Corps covered 22 kilometers in one day, the 6th Guards Rifle Division of the 27th Rifle Corps covered 20 kilometers. The 13th Army was between the German groups that held out in Cottbus and Spremberg, so the Soviet Army Leader Colonel General Puchow had to deploy four army divisions to cover his flanks. After overcoming the Spree, the 350th Rifle Division of the 27th Rifle Corps turned southwest to attack the German Spremberg group. The 280th Rifle Division of the same corps turned south and formed the left flank of the 13th Army, the 117th Guards Rifle Division of the 102nd Rifle Corps turned north while the 147th Rifle Division from the second squadron was advanced to Cottbus. The 24th Rifle Corps of the 13th Army remained on the east bank of the Spree to continue to tie the German Spremberg group frontally.

The 6th Guards Tank Corps, which now independently of the 4th Panzer Army deployed operated, dealt with the 5th Guards Army Spremberg from the south and interrupted the evening of April 19, most of the roads on which to withdraw the cut Spremberg Group could have. The German divisions that had withdrawn to Spremberg on the east coast of the Spree were now threatened with imminent liquidation behind them. Before 10 p.m. the infantry of the 5th Guards Army was not expected to be replaced because they had been operating 3–6 km away until then. To avoid using Spremberg as a "fortress", it was decided to storm the city immediately. Spremberg was surrounded on three sides by the Soviet artillery group (3rd and 17th Artillery Divisions of the 7th Artillery Breakthrough Corps, and 4th Artillery Division of the 10th Artillery Breakthrough Corps), while a corridor to retreat to during the garrison West was left. At the. April 20th at 10:30 in the morning the attack on Spremberg began with a powerful artillery preparation. At 11:00 am, the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps went over to the storm. The city was stormed by evening, after which the main forces of the 5th Guards Army could concentrate on the pursuit and advance to the west. In the meantime, on April 20, the 13th Army advanced at a rapid pace on the corridor defined by the tank armies for 30 km and at the end of the day reached the Berlin – Dresden road at the intersection from Waltersdorf to Brenitz without encountering strong enemy resistance .

On April 21, parts of the released 33rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Guards Army and parts of the 24th Rifle Corps of the 13th Army in the Neu-Weltz area joined them and included the remnants of three German divisions near Kausche. The German units, which had no more time to break out to the west, were dispersed and the German Spremberg group was also broken up. The remnants of the German divisions ( 344th Infantry , Führer-Accompanying and 10th SS Division ) decided to break out through the woods to the northwest in order to make their way to the newly established 12th Army of General Walther Wenck . The operation began on the morning of April 21st, around noon Kraushubitz was occupied by Soviet troops. Since Kausche was directly in the direction of the outbreak of the German associations, the village had to be taken. Towards the evening of April 21st, Kausche was retaken. On the morning of April 22nd, they continued the outbreak westwards and walked on forest paths and through a meadow between the two villages of Klein Görick and Geisendorf , which were already occupied by Soviet troops. After the rubble broke through, the remains of the three divisions disappeared as a whole and were divided into small groups, which one by one fell into Soviet captivity.

The first contact with the Soviet troops was reached on April 25 on the Elbe near Strehla , near Torgau soldiers of the 1st US Army (69th US Division) met units (58th Guards Rifle Division) of the Soviet 5th Guards Army and thus pushed the front of the German Army Group Center to the south. At the end of April 1945 the connection with the Red Army was also established near Dessau .

Participation in the Berlin operation

On the morning of April 19, the offensive of the 3rd and 4th Guards Panzer Army began in a north-westerly direction on Berlin. The breakthrough of the Soviet tank armies had cut the German 5th Army Corps off from the 4th Panzer Army, on the evening of April 19 it was assigned to the 9th Army, which also soon got into the Halbe pocket. General Theodor Busse , Commander-in-Chief of the 9th Army, immediately ordered the V Army Corps to set up a front to the west between Lübben and Halbe , where the rifle corps of the 3rd Guard Army soon stormed.

On April 20, Rybalko's tank army continued the offensive without encountering serious resistance. By the evening of April 20, the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade had reached the outer defensive ring of Berlin.

The Stawka ordered the 1st Ukrainian Front to penetrate Berlin by the morning of April 21. Konev's Front received the 28th Army of Lieutenant General AA Lutschinski and the 31st Army of Lieutenant General PG Schafranov as reinforcements . The 28th Army had been brought in via Neisse and was already concentrating in the second season. On the right wing of the front, the 8th Guards Army operated about 10 km east of Berlin-Mitte after the battle for the Seelower Heights . The 3rd Guards Panzer Army was ordered to break into the city via the Ring Autobahn . The 4th Guards Panzer Army was not included in the order, as it was already operating further west at that time. On the night of April 20th to April 21st and on the day of April 21st, the army had to create a narrow corridor between the swamps east and west of Baruth and the forest north of it, where the outer defensive ring of Berlin was. The Baruth – Zossen line was only reached on April 21 at 2:00 p.m. The troops of the 4th Guards Panzer Army had lagged behind schedule in the west and on the evening of April 20th Konev began to see that his plan to be the first to break through to Berlin-Mitte was doomed to failure. At 7:40 p.m. he still sent the order to Lelyuschenko for troop reinforcements and at 11:50 p.m. he asked Rybalko to start the night attack on Berlin. Konev's hopes for the sole conquest of the imperial capital, however, could not be realized. The 3rd Guards Panzer Army got stuck in the woods and in front of the anti-tank ditches near Zossen, the 3rd Guards Army was not able to take Cottbus immediately and could not follow to Berlin because of the new boiler front in the Halbe area . The events meant that the 4th Guards Panzer Army had to surrender forces to Berlin. At 2:55 p.m. Leljuschenko gave the commanding officer of the 10th Guards Panzer Corps, Lieutenant General Jewtichy Jemeljanowitsch Below, the order to swing to Luckenwalde and to carry the offensive towards Stahnsdorf and Zehlendorf in order to control the south-western part of Berlin on April 21 to enable.

As of April 22nd, the area gained by the 3rd Guards Panzer Army was significantly improved. The 9th Mechanical Corps (General Suchow) reached the Teltow Canal on a broad front at the end of the day . The 6th Guards Panzer Corps (General Mitrofanow) captured Zossen , but was stopped again in front of the bridge that had been blown up there. The tanks continued the offensive via a ford in the east and an intact railway bridge and captured Teltow in the evening . General Rybalko was aware of the danger of the defenseless flank and concentrated the reserves (28th Army) southeast of Zossen in order to be able to parry a possible breakout of parts of the German 9th Army from the Königs Wusterhausen area .

On April 23, the 3rd Guards Panzer Army stopped fighting, the 6th and 7th Guards Panzer Corps stopped and waited for the infantry of the 28th Army, only the 71st Guards mechanical brigade of the 9th mechanized Corps advancing northeast via Lichterfelde continued their active operations. On the same day, to the west of it, the tanks of the 10th Guard Corps reached the Teltow Canal in the area of ​​Stahnsdorf.

Occupation of Potsdam

While the 3rd Panzer Guard Army began the attack on Berlin, the 4th Panzer Guard Army was fighting for the Havel crossings southeast of Potsdam . The rapid German retreat to Berlin made it possible for the German 9th Army to fight down in the pocket from Halbe until April 28, which made the subsequent attack on Berlin much easier. On April 25th, the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps (Colonel Vasili Ignatjewitsch Koretzki) crossed the Havel and united with the 328th Rifle Division of the 47th Army at 12 o'clock near Ketzin . The encirclement in the west of Berlin was complete. By April 28, the 10th Guards Panzer Corps (Lieutenant General JJ Below), together with the 47th Army, completed the liquidation of the German Potsdam Group (Army Department Spree) under Lieutenant General Hellmuth Reymann . The southward breakout of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn division succeeded and in the Ferch area reached the front of the German 12th Army , which in turn awaited the breakout group of the 9th Army from the Halbe pocket.

literature

  • И. С. Конев: Сорок пятый. Воениздат, Москва 1970.
  • А. Исаев: Берлин 45-го. Сражения в логове зверя. “Яуза”, “Эксмо”, Москва 2007.
  • Tony Le Tissier: The fight for Berlin 1945. From the Seelower heights to the Reich Chancellery. Bechtermünz Verlag 1997.