Storming of the Reichstag. Unwanted Truth

(This is a staged photo taken during the period from May 4 to May 8, 1945. None of the photographers accompanied the soldiers in the Reichstag!_

Secondly, it became clear why German troops defended the Reichstag building for so long and steadfastly until the end of May 2, 1945 (after the death of Adolf Hitler on April 30, 1945) and the general surrender of the German garrison on May 1, 1945.

Despite the fact that the Reichstag building did not have any military or political significance in the defense of Berlin after the Germans themselves surrendered the main defense headquarters located in the Reich Chancellery (Hitler’s bunker)! Because since 1933, parliament meetings were no longer held in this building, which was actually abolished by Hitler due to the concentration of all power in his hands! And if he did, it would be in a different place.

When the daily bombing of Berlin and massive destruction of buildings began (autumn 1944-spring 1945), the central Berlin hospital (Clinique Charite) was placed in the Reichstag building along with the maternity ward (where, as you know, von Stirlitz himself operated, saving the Soviet radio operator-intelligence woman Kat! ) and already the military authorities, when the Red Army troops approached the outskirts of Berlin, placed a large military hospital in its basements.

The then top leaders of the Soviet Union could not have been unaware of this fact in Moscow.

And yet, the command in the person of Marshal Zhukov drove Soviet soldiers to storm the Reichstag building, promising as an “incentive” those participants in the assault, among the first who would break into the Reichstag building and hoist the “red banner of Victory” over it, would be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union ! In general, another Soviet fetish! Give it!!! Another gift to the Motherland for May 1!!!

This criminal undertaking for the Red Army then cost additional victims, because more than 2,000 soldiers and officers became “irretrievable losses” in the three-day battles from 04/30–05/02/1945 in the area of ​​the Reichstag alone, which is approximately two rifle regiments

But first, I will describe in general terms the course of the battle from April 30 to the end of May 2, 1945, namely what happened in the area of ​​the Reichstag building and the Reichstag itself, and only after that I will move on to the announcement of documentary evidence of the new participants in the storming of the Reichstag that I found.

If we take the word of Soviet historians or current Russian historians, who claim to be strictly documented, then all the events of April 30, 1945 in connection with the battles of the Red Army around the Reichstag building, then instead of a documented accurate description, with an accurate determination of the location and specific actions of each assault group We only have a fairy tale rich in artistic descriptions of the storming of the “fascist lair”!.

It features “tens of thousands of soldiers impatiently awaiting the order to begin the assault”; “the muzzles of hundreds of guns aimed at the Reichstag” or even “direct fire”; “young fanatics from the Hitler Youth rushing at the armor of our tanks,” and most importantly, two fearless hero-scouts Egorov and Kantaria rushed ahead of everyone to the Reichstag with the Red Banner in their hands!

But, in fact, if you look at least in the 5th volume (Soviet edition) of the six-atomic “History of the Great Patriotic War”, then you can find out that about 89 guns (mostly 45 caliber) took part in the artillery preparation of the decisive assault on the Reichstag. , and this for the walls of the Reichstag meant that all their shells were like shot to an elephant!), besides, they worked mainly from closed positions and there was no accuracy in hitting targets. And, alas, there was no way to put the existing guns on direct fire due to the fact that almost all the passages between the buildings on the Royal Square - and especially the entire space in front of the Reichstag - were under dense targeted enemy fire from the so-called anti-aircraft towers.

These are essentially fortifications - concrete forts built in the city itself provided an excellent overview of the battlefield... And they showed the highest efficiency in defense. Not a single such tower was captured by storm. The garrison either surrendered after the ammunition was shot (there was only one such case with the Zoobunker tower) or they fought to the end, blowing up the tower’s equipment with them, or, if possible, escaped through underground passages, into the city metro and to a new line of defense.

About where and how the Red Army troops advanced on the Reichstag is well illustrated in this diagram.

It is no coincidence that at the post-war scientific-practical conference, corps commander Perevertkin and regimental commander Zinchenko unanimously emphasized that the entire area adjacent to the Reichstag, in addition to artillery, was also shelled by machine-gun fire from nearby buildings and Faust cartridges.

And they were shot at so much that it was impossible to raise their heads, let alone stand up to their full height and run into the attack with a red banner in their hands!

« Our artillery,” I quote Zinchenko, “could not shoot through it (the approaches to the Reichstag).” .

So, judging by all of the above, only a small part of our artillery of 86 guns could provide really effective “targeted” support to the assault groups that reached the Reichstag!) - a dozen “forty-fives” dismantled during transportation and reassembled at the positions, as well as approximately the same number of M-31 missiles.

Both of them were dragged in the arms of soldiers to the 1st and 2nd floors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Forty-five guns were installed in the gaps for direct fire. And the rockets had to be launched almost from the tables.

So the accuracy of the hit was appropriate.

Our tanks and self-propelled guns were also of little help during the capture of the Reichstag. They were instantly knocked out!!!

One of the participants in the assault, who left descriptions of the battle around the Reichstag, Minin, wrote that during the entire time of these movements around the perimeter and into the depths of the Royal Square (in front of the Reichstag), he saw only two red star tanks.”

Moreover, neither one nor the other even reached the “canal” (the water barrier in front of the Reichstag).

The crew of the first died in the morning, somewhere around ten, right in front of Minin. The tank was moving at low speed and with the hatches closed 10-12 meters from the building, when, apparently having pushed through the ceiling of some underground structure flooded with water under its own weight, it and its crew sank like a stone into the abyss.

As a result, the resulting huge failure completely blocked the passage from the Moltke Bridge to the Royal Square for our heavy equipment...

Minin observed the second tank closer to six o'clock in the evening. His crew tried to make their way along the opposite passage - between “Himmler’s house” and the Krol Opera.

The tankers even managed to bring their combat vehicle into the square and advance 40-50 meters along the eastern wall of “Himmler’s house”.

But here, without even having time to turn its frontal part towards the Reichstag, the tank was immediately burned by a Faust shell.”

Thus, even on the morning of April 30, 1945, after the first attack that ended unsuccessfully, it was clear to any more or less competent, experienced commander, and these were the ones who basically led the units that went to the Reichstag, it was clear that they would rely on “our powerful there should be no advantage in formidable technology.” So the Soviet command formed the erroneous opinion that, together with the garrison, the Reichstag area was defended by selected enemy units with a total number of about six thousand people!

In fact, everything was not so and the Germans were doing very poorly with their defense!

The defense of the Reichstag was an experienced soldier holder of two German orders of the Iron Cross (senior lieutenant) of the SS troops Babich. And at first he could rely solely on the cadets of the naval school, transferred from Rostock in the composition of 300 people. I don’t even want to say which of these teenage cadets are fighters. They were not taught about battle. As part of the infantry, but to fight at sea! No experience, no fighting cohesion!!! Nothing but German military discipline!

From the cadets of this school, as well as from scattered units of the Wehrmacht, by April 28, 1945, a “combined” SS battalion of about 900 people was formed in the Reichstag. The battalion's actions were supported by a battalion of 105 mm guns and 23 anti-aircraft guns mounted on reinforced concrete towers in the Tiergarten park.

The Reichstag itself was part of the general defense system of the area, which consisted of three strong points located in the Friedrichshain and Humboldhain parks and in the zoological garden.

These strongholds were connected by communication passages. Their garrisons numbered up to 150 people each and were armed, in addition to automatic weapons and faustpatrons, up to 25 guns of various calibers.

And speaking about the scattered units of the Wehrmacht defending the Reichstag, I meant the fact that the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery were defended by howl units of the SS division “Nordland” (citizens of Holland and Norway), they were also joined by the French battalion Fene from the “Charlemagne” division and the Latvian battalion 15 1st SS Grenadier Division. In general, such a German military international! A. Hitler trusted them (as the surviving soldiers recalled in their memoirs), chose these soldiers for himself, focusing solely on their high moral fighting qualities) knowing that they had nowhere to run from Berlin and they would fight to the last bullet and die in battle but would not retreat! By the way, only 30 fighters from the French Frenet battalion waited in battle, but half of them were later shot by the French themselves during their deportation to France!

For example, the story of why the Red Army soldiers did not storm the Reich Chancellery!! But because during the last, senseless and merciless battle around the bunker of the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag, the French once again proved their effectiveness, now unnecessary to anyone.

On the day of fighting on April 28 alone in Berlin, three hundred Charlemagne fighters. 108 Soviet tanks were destroyed, 62 of them (and in total 500 Soviet tanks were knocked out by the Germans in Berlin). Four members of the battalion were awarded the Knight's Iron Cross on April 29, 1945, at one of the last award ceremonies in the now defunct Reich.

Thus, we can now claim that the Reichstag garrison was 900-1000 people. But only half of the fighters were combat-ready. The rest were unfired novices and teenagers with Faust cartridges in their hands!

And Soviet and Russian historians, describing the forces of the Red Army, write: “our 150th, 171st and 207th divisions entered the battle with them. In addition, from the central Berlin quarters from the east and south, the advanced units of the 5th Shock Army under Colonel General N. Berzarin and the 8th Guards Army under Colonel General V. Chuikov advanced towards the Reichstag. The strength, in general, is incomparable with the defending enemy!

But unfortunately, in the story of his capture, due to the writer’s exorbitant love for large-scale battle scenes, a very important fact was somehow erased from the public consciousness.

Its essence is that the Reichstag itself was not stormed by the named divisions or even their regiments, but by three hastily completed battalions advanced to the first echelon and at the forefront of the attack. . Of which, after the first unsuccessful assault on the Reichstag, only 20-25% of the personnel remained!!!

Therefore, on the morning of April 30, 1945, when Neustroev’s attempt to take the Reichstag from a swoop ended in failure, the disposition was as follows.

In the center – in the direction from “Himmler’s house” to the Reichstag – the “Shatilovites” operated: the battalions of S. Neustroev and V. Davydov.

At the junction between them, the assault group of Captain V. Makov aimed at the enemy’s lair. Somewhat to the left, from the side of the Swiss embassy, ​​a battalion from the 171st division of Colonel Negoda pulled up to the starting point.

In the formation of this battalion, commanded by Senior Lieutenant N. Samsonov, was the second assault group of Major M. Bondar sent from corps headquarters.

So, only three battalions and two assault groups.

Add to this the lack of tanks and not “hundreds”, but less than a few dozen artillery barrels - and it becomes clear why the next attempt of our soldiers to capture the Reichstag was also unsuccessful.

And now about what really happened!

Middle of a day. The commander of the Red Army troops in Berlin, K. Zhukov, received a report "The Reichstag has been taken!"

Although it was at this time that the regrouped units of the Red Army received a new order “Prepare (for the first) assault on the Reichstag!”

« Why storm something that has already been taken?”– the meticulous reader will ask. And from the point of view of formal logic and common sense, he will be absolutely right.

Nevertheless, such a command was heard that day. But we will start by finding out what preceded it. What preceded this was that the Soviet command, despite having completed two assaults, already really wanted to distinguish itself, and they began drilling holes in their uniforms for orders!

And therefore, at approximately 13.00, the battalions of Neustroev, Samsonov and Davydov for the third time, at the signal of soaring red rockets and noticeably increased artillery support, went on the attack again. It was understood that now they would be able to advance on a broad front.

And - according to the plan - to break through: Neustroev’s battalion - to the main western entrance; Samsonov - to the northern, Davydov - to the “deputy” entrance located at the southern end. Only the reconnaissance group operating in the Davydov battalion under the command of Captain Sorokin managed to move forward more or less significantly.

And even then only to the place on the right flank of the attack where the water-filled ditch ended. There, of course, there was an opportunity to slip through to the Reichstag “on land,” but on the other hand, they immediately came under flank fire that was hitting almost point-blank.

The rest did not even have time to approach the “canal” when the square literally drowned in the explosions of German shells and mines. And very soon, those who survived had to lie down first.

And then, firing back and using the folds of the area pitted with craters, littered with fallen trees, metal and stones, retreat again to the starting point.

Thus, this third attack did not produce any results.

Further repetition did not so much promise the desired result as guarantee new losses.

And right from the very top! Indeed, in the middle of the day, the front headquarters received a message from the commander of the 3rd Shock Army, Colonel General V. Kuznetsov: the Reichstag had been taken.

This is how Marshal Zhukov described this event in the first edition of his famous book “Memories and Reflections” a quarter of a century later:

“This historically important event was personally observed by Army Commander V.I. Kuznetsov, who kept in constant contact.

- At the Reichstag - Red Banner! Hurray, Comrade Marshal! .

The report on the capture, having passed with lightning speed on command from the bottom up, quickly flew to Moscow. From there I received congratulations from I. Stalin.

The Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front immediately issued a congratulatory order to troops No. 06.

It noted: “The troops of the 3rd Shock Army of Colonel General Kuznetsov... occupied the Reichstag building and today, April 30, 1945, at 14:25, they raised the Soviet flag on it.

In the battles for the area and the main building of the Reichstag, the 79th Rifle Corps of Major General Perevertkin, his 171st Infantry Division of Colonel Negoda and the 150th Infantry Division of Major General Shatilov distinguished themselves.” .

Meanwhile, on Royal Square in front of the Reichstag, something happened that later, in subsequent reissues, forced Zhukov to shift the time of hoisting the banner and the joyful report of the commander of the 3rd shock by as much as seven hours!

The unpleasant and, apparently, not immediately revealed to Zhukov truth was that at 14.25 (remember: both here and below are local time) not a single Soviet soldier was in the Reichstag.

The assault units, having retreated to their starting points, sadly waited for the next command to attack. And those few who were unable to escape were buried in craters, took cover behind a transformer booth, or simply sprawled on the ground.

How this could happen has long been known to inquisitive military historians. It’s more difficult with awareness of the general public...

This is how the commander of the 756th regiment F. Zinchenko explains what happened in his memoirs: “It’s all due to hasty, unverified reports. The fighters of the units lying in front of the Reichstag rose to attack several times, making their way forward alone and in groups. It might have seemed to some of the commanders that his fighters, if they had not achieved, then were about to achieve their cherished goal... After all, everyone so wanted to be the first!..”

It is possible that false information slipped to the very top and through political agencies, which were usually eager to be the first to bring the long-awaited news to the high authorities.

From now on, that’s the only way it will be.

To some extent, the memoirs of Zinchenko and Shatilov suggest the same idea.

True, for everyone, completely different events take place in the same place, at the same “historical” 14.25.

In Shatilov’s story, everything fits exactly into the “canon” in time.

“From my position on the fourth floor, I could see how the figures of people scattered across the square rose, ran, fell, rose again, or remained motionless. And they all were drawn together, as if to the two poles of a magnet, to the front entrance and to the southwestern corner of the building, behind which was the deputy entrance, hidden from my eyes.

I saw how, above the steps, at the right column, the Banner suddenly glowed with a scarlet speck. And then, at 14:30, I received two reports almost simultaneously - from Plekhodanov and Zinchenko.

- One and a half of our companies broke into the Reichstag! - one reported. – Time – 14 twenty-five!

– At fourteen twenty-five, Syanov’s company burst into the main entrance of the Reichstag! – another reported.”

Well, God be with him and Shatiloov.

He was far away and could not see everything and understand what was happening! And in this connection, let’s better focus on the report of Zinchenko, who, according to Shatilov, Syanov’s company, formed, by the way, only in the evening of April 30, managed to “break into the main entrance” five hours earlier.

Zinchenko himself in his own memoirs about his report to the division commander “at 14.30” does not say anything. But he reports that at 15.00 the units in front of the Reichstag had not advanced a meter. And he refers to a rather interesting call from Shatilov. I quote. Shatilov:

“Why don’t you report anything? Are your people already in the Reichstag?

“Our people are not in the Reichstag yet,” I answer, somewhat puzzled by the general’s question. –

The battalions lie one hundred and fifty meters away from him. Both my regiment and Plekhodanov’s regiment were repelling counterattacks all this time, and the 380th regiment just came towards us from the left...”

And here—I quote the text again—Shatilov’s question follows:

“And if, after all, our people are really in the Reichstag?

- They are not there, Comrade General.

- Okay, I authorize a ten-minute artillery attack. Starts at 17.15. Prepare for the assault"

This is how a paradoxical phrase was born, if not in life, then in the general’s memoirs, where the words of the same person, spoken in the same place, but with a difference of half an hour, come into a fantastic and therefore insurmountable contradiction for common sense : “The Reichstag has been taken. Prepare for the assault!

Meanwhile, the famous “soldier’s telegraph” brought the news of order No. 06 to the very bottom. Including to the front line, to the regiments and battalions of the divisions of Shatilov and Negoda.

There, this order made a discouraging impression on the soldiers, who had rolled back after so many unsuccessful attacks on the starting line.

Even earlier, the junior command staff experienced this unpleasant feeling. Here is what S. Neustroev recalled about this:

“At about three o’clock in the afternoon Colonel Zinchenko came to my observation post again and embarrassedly said:

– There is an order from Marshal Zhukov, which declares gratitude to the troops who hoisted the Victory Banner, including all soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals of the 171st and 150th rifle divisions.

I asked the regiment commander:

- The Reichstag has not been taken, the Victory Banner has not been hoisted, but gratitude has already been announced?

“So it turns out, comrade battalion commander,” Zinchenko answered thoughtfully and immediately asked me: “Or maybe one of our people did enter the Reichstag?” Perhaps, because of the explosions of shells and mines, you did not notice what was happening on the steps of the front entrance?

It was difficult for me to answer this question. A thought flashed:

"Maybe someone really came in, maybe not».

By phone I asked the company commanders to report the situation, they reported: there are no people in the Reichstag. General Shatilov called my observation post and ordered me to hand over the telephone receiver to the regiment commander.

The division commander demanded from Zinchenko:

– If our people are not in the Reichstag and the banner is not installed, then take all measures to hoist a flag at any cost, or at least a flag on the column of the front entrance.

At any cost! - repeated the general and added that if Zhukov finds out that the banner has not been hoisted, then his anger will fall on our heads.”

Shatilov himself in his memoirs does not mention this “somewhere”, “somehow”, “at least a flag”.

But Zinchenko remembers the Banner of Military Council No. 5 located in his headquarters.

In his account, at 10 o’clock in the morning on May 1, 1945, he “ordered: the regimental intelligence officer, Captain V.I. Kondrashev, to take two of the best intelligence officers and arrive with them at the command post.

Here they will be presented with the Banner of the Military Council of the Army to hoist it on the dome of the Reichstag.

Several minutes passed, and the scouts were already standing in front of me, but not two, but... a whole platoon!

...I looked at Kondrashev in surprise and even angrily: was it really unclear how the order was given?

...Kondrashev looked for a long time, first at me, then at the scouts, as if he had received an impossible task. Then he sighed with regret, looked at his eagles again and resolutely, in a firm voice, ordered:

- Egorov and Kantaria! To the regiment commander!

...I called Egorov and Kantaria closer to me and led them to the window:

– Here is the Reichstag in front of you, take a good look at it. Do you see the dome?

- That's right, Comrade Colonel.

– Your task is to install the Banner of the Army Military Council on this dome

...Then he ordered Kondrashev:

– You are responsible for planting the banner. You will accompany Egorov and Kantaria with a group of scouts.

You will enter the Reichstag immediately after the first battalion.”

A completely different picture appears in Shatilov’s memoirs.

“About 14.00,” he writes, “I called Plekhodanov. He didn't have much change. Contacted Zinchenko. He reported that Syanov’s company was fighting on the other side of the ditch, but could not yet get through to the main entrance.

- And the Banner? – I asked. – Where is the Banner of the Military Council? After all, as soon as they burst in, it must be set up immediately!

- The banner is on my enpa. There is no one to send him with, Comrade General, there are no people...

- Okay, now I’ll hand over the Banner to Plekhodanov. He will find it. As soon as I hung up, the device began to buzz insistently.

“Well, that’s the same,” I grinned, “there will always be people for a holy cause.”

So, two completely different stories about the same event. I can’t judge what is documentary and what is fiction.

The discrepancies in time and facts are such that it is difficult to believe both.

But with a high degree of probability, I would venture to assume that, faced with the prospect of arousing Zhukov’s wrath with a premature report, not only Shatilov and Zinchenko, but also Perevertkin and Army Commander Kuznetsov had no time for ceremonies with the Banner of the Military Council.

The premature report had to be confirmed somehow!

It was not for nothing that Shatilov directly squeezed out of Zinchenko an admission that his battalions were already in the Reichstag.

And Army Commander Kuznetsov, in pursuance of Zhukov’s order No. 6, hastily signed his own order on encouraging personnel, which included the following words:

“In commemoration of the victory, distinguished generals, officers, sergeants and Red Army soldiers should be presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded with orders. Long live the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Comrade Stalin!”

(This is a staged photo taken during the period from May 4 to May 8, 1945. None of the photographers accompanied the soldiers in the Reichstag!)

Having found out what happened in the ranks of the Soviet troops, we can look at the opposite side and see what they did for the defense of Berlin at A. Hitler’s Headquarters.

But they didn’t do anything! A. Hitler admitted defeat and the pointlessness of defense and decided to commit suicide so as not to be captured.

So, at “historical 14.25 04.30.45”:

And we will be transported to the dungeon of the Imperial Chancellery, where at these moments the last act of Germany’s military agony was played out.

The office from which the defense of Berlin was controlled, after the loss of the communications center of the main command, located in a shelter on Benderstrasse, lost telegraph and telephone communications and was left only with poorly functioning radio communications.

Having contacted General Wedling at 14.30 via this channel, Hitler gave him freedom of action and allowed him to attempt a breakout from Berlin. It seemed that, having realized his complete collapse, the Fuhrer seemed to be saving the army, but at the same time drawing a line under his fate, the fate of the Imperial Chancellery, the Reichstag and all of Berlin.

However, after about three hours, Wedling, whose attempts to escape from the capital with at least part of the troops failed, received a new order on behalf of Hitler.

It canceled the previous one and reaffirmed the task of defending Berlin to the last man.

Apparently, Wedling, like the rest of the army, did not yet know that this was essentially a message from the other world.

Because at 15.30 in his deep underground bunker, Hitler, having given his last orders, committed suicide.

Only half a century later the circumstances of this suicide will become public knowledge.

And then it will become known that the first person who saw Hitler after the shot was his valet, SS Sturmbannführer G. Lange.

According to the documents, during an interrogation conducted in mid-May 1945 by investigators of the Soviet military counterintelligence SMERSH, he testified:

“Hitler was sitting on the left side of the sofa. He was dead. A bloody stain was clearly visible on the right temple - the place where the bullet hit. Both of his pistols (caliber 6.35 and 7.65) were lying on the floor. His right arm hung over the back of the sofa. There were blood spatters on the wall, on the edge of the sofa and on the carpet. Sitting next to Hitler with her legs crossed was his wife. She was also dead. Her shoes were on the floor. There was no visible wound on her corpse..."

Hitler died, but the troops, faithful to their oath and military discipline, continued to fight!

They fought just as desperately for the Reichstag - the same object that, according to the reports of the command of the 3rd Shock Army, “had already been taken.”

However, the Reichstag - no matter what else was happening around it - had already been “taken” for G. Zhukov.

Because at 16.30 the marshal sent a combat report to Comrade Stalin in Moscow, in which he solemnly reported:

“Continuing the offensive and breaking enemy resistance, units of the 3rd Shock Army occupied the main building of the Reichstag and at 14.25 on April 30, 1945 raised the Soviet flag on it”

“In the battles for the Reichstag area and its main building, the troops of the 3rd Shock Army, Colonel General Kuznetsov, the commander of the 79th Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Perevertkin, the commander of the 171st Infantry Division, Colonel Negoda, and the commander of the 150th Infantry Division, Major General Shatilov, distinguished themselves. The offensive in Berlin continues, the front troops continue to carry out the tasks you set.”

Now we return again to the Reichstag.

(This is a staged photo taken during the period from May 4 to May 8, 1945. None of the photographers accompanied the soldiers in the Reichstag!)

And General Perevertkin decided to suppress the defenders of the Reichstag with the maximum firepower that the corps had in abundance and begin a new assault.

By 16.30, all the basements of the corner part of “Himmler’s house”, hitherto occupied only by the farms of Neustroev and Davydov, were occupied by officers - tank crews and artillerymen. They installed stereo tubes and established communications via telephones and walkie-talkies.

The news of the capture of the Reichstag brought here a bunch of people completely unnecessary for the assault: representatives of various political departments, numerous correspondents and cameramen not only from the army and front, but also from Moscow itself.

In addition, Zinchenko, Plekhodanov, and the battalion commander of the 380th regiment Samsonov repeatedly appeared in the room.

“All of them,” according to M. N. Minin, “demanded a resumption of the assault and repeatedly stated that the one who reaches the Reichstag first will be nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

We understood that the command of the 150th and 171st Rifle Divisions had decided to capture the Reichstag at any cost in order to get out of the awkward situation.”

As if to prove this truth, the powerful artillery barrage ordered by Shatilov at 17.50 again did not bring about the desired turning point. It would seem that, the hurricane fire seemed to sweep away everything from the square. And as soon as our companies rushed forward, and the artillery stopped firing due to the risk of covering our own, the trenches were immediately filled with German machine gunners, and the seemingly suppressed firing points in the square and in the Reichstag itself came to life.

In short, this time the enemy did not allow us to approach him.

Meanwhile, towards evening, the good news about the capture of the Reichstag was published by Moscow radio.

And foreign broadcasting immediately spread it all over the world.

While humanity was discussing this good news, in Berlin it became more and more obvious to the Soviet command: our soldiers would have a real chance to approach and break into the Reichstag only after dark.

The sunset hour on this day in the German capital began at 20.26 local time. Therefore, it was decided to begin the assault at dusk with a powerful and fairly lengthy artillery preparation involving the maximum number of batteries located in closed positions.

From about 18.30 the firefight in the Reichstag area began to weaken and by 19.00 it almost completely stopped.

The commanders of the battalions and assault groups were informed that the corps command had decided to conduct the final decisive assault on the Reichstag. The 30-minute artillery barrage will begin at 21:30 local time.

At 22.00, on a signal - a green rocket - the beginning of the assault.

The battalions and assault groups tried to use the pause to more thoroughly prepare for the attack. The infantrymen reloaded machine gun discs, replenished grenades, and helped the artillerymen carry boxes of shells.

In Moscow there was half an hour left before midnight, when in Berlin the hands on the commander's watch showed 21.30.

And immediately my ears were blocked by a sound wave from powerful explosions on the Royal Square, the massive walls of “Himmler’s house” began to shake. Flashes from bright, similar to frequent flashes of hundreds of lightning discharges burst through the gaps of the semi-basement windows.

A giant fire tornado walked through the Reichstag and the adjacent squares. The calculation was based on the fact that during shelling the enemy - as had already happened during previous attacks - would leave the trenches and move away from the loopholes in order to wait out the raid in the dungeon.

As a result, the attackers were able to approach the building relatively unhindered.

It was only necessary to rush as quickly as possible those few hundred meters, which were now equally separated by the battalions of Neustroev, Davydov and the assault group of Makov, located in the “house of Himmler,” and the battalion of Samsonov with the group of Bondar, who were preparing to attack from the Swiss embassy.

The offensive front of all three battalions was just over 200 meters.

However, the same water line on the square did not allow the attackers to develop a rapid attack.

The fighters were forced to linger at the crossing, and then continue the offensive in small groups in the dark. In addition, as they advanced towards the Reichstag, some of the fighters of all three battalions found themselves outside the offensive zone of their units.

In such a mixed composition, they reached the ditch and began to cross the ditch in a chain one after another - some in the footsteps of the scouts of Makov’s group, and some, having found their own crossings along the same channels and pipes.

The management of the units was, of course, disrupted.

But there was no time to stop, establish contact and wait for commander’s orders: in the open, the soldiers could again come under heavy fire. Therefore, without understanding their units, everyone who managed to reach the “canal” and cross it rushed to the Reichstag.

The Makov group, of which by that moment there were four scouts left, led by the captain and the radio operator, without expecting the rest, was already not far from the main entrance.

Just at this moment, the surviving enemy firing points began to speak to the right and left.

When they approached the Reichstag, they opened machine-gun fire on the main entrance as they walked and, without stopping for a second, they immediately began to climb the wide granite staircase littered with fragments of brick.

Evening of April 30, 1945 – Night of May 1, 1945 “We are rushing to the top, not a step back!”

In the very difficult situation of a night battle in an unfamiliar room, and even in a mixed composition, devoid of usual control, those commanders who found themselves in the vanguard group took command.

These were Captain Makov, officers from the Zinchenko battalion - political officer A. Berest and chief of staff I. Gusev, political department agitator of the 150th division Captain I. Matveev and several other people.

We had to navigate in the pitch darkness mainly by the flashes of machine gun fire.

There weren’t many chances in such pitch darkness, in a completely unfamiliar room, without a plan, to find the right exit to the roof. And therefore they acted harmoniously, with their heads. All the corridors that led to the stairs were bombarded with F-1 grenades and combed with machine gun fire.

When we reached the attic, we had to quickly find a way out to the roof.

After they combed the attic with machine gun fire and threw several grenades into the darkness, Sergeant G. Zagitov shined a flashlight and immediately discovered a cargo winch nearby, two massive plate chains of which went up.

We climbed along the chain for about four meters until we reached a dormer window, through which we climbed onto the roof.

Close by, in the darkness, the silhouette of a small tower was barely visible, to which Zagitov and I began to attach the Red Banner.

Suddenly, against the backdrop of the fiery glow from a shell exploding on the roof, A. Lisimenko noticed our daily landmark - the “Goddess of Victory,” as we then called the sculptural group.

Despite the artillery shelling, they decided to hoist the Red Banner at the top of this sculpture - from it the banner will be very clearly visible during the daytime. Here on the roof in the dark, almost by touch, he wrote his name and the names of his comrades on the banner.

To tie the banner to the metal “pole,” Zagitov tore his handkerchief into ribbons. With these ribbons we tied the two corners of the panel to the tube.

Skinning my hands bloody on the jagged holes of numerous shell fragments, with the help of my comrades I climbed onto the croup of a bronze horse. I found a hole in the giantess’s crown and secured the “shaft” in it. (it was around 22.30 -22.40 local time

Neustroev himself appeared in the Reichstag after the field telephone buzzer buzzed at his NP in “Himmler’s house” around half past ten.

The battalion chief of staff, senior lieutenant K. Gusev, called from the Reichstag.

He reported that the new NP is ready, companies and individual assault groups are fighting in the depths of the Reichstag, but the intensity is subsiding and it is risky to continue the battle - you can shoot your own.

The first person Neustroev, who had made his way into the Reichstag, met in the lobby was the commander of one of the battalion companies, Captain Yarunov. He reported that the main part of Samsonov’s battalion was located at the arch of the northern entrance.

And companies from Captain Davydov’s battalion advanced to the southern, “deputy” entrance. The raising of the banner by Makov’s scouts was, of course, inspiring. But the battle for the Reichstag was just unfolding.

And Zinchenko, while the situation was more or less calm, immediately, under the cover of darkness, decided to visit Davydov to coordinate issues of interaction.

Captain Neustroyev discovered one hundred and fifty meters from the Reichstag in a large crater left by a high-explosive shell or bomb - here Davydov had an observation post.

As Stepan Neustroev recalls, the battalion commander familiarized the guest with the situation in his sector and said that he considered it risky to completely introduce the battalion into the Reichstag: the Nazis could counterattack from the Brandenburg Gate.

Therefore, I decided to bring into the lobby of the southern entrance only the company of Lieutenant P. Grechishnikov and the platoon commanded in the morning by Rakhimzhan Koshkarbaev, who had disappeared, but now appeared. Davydov positioned his main forces at the Reichstag Wall with a front to the south, since it was from there that a counterattack could be expected every minute...

Reassured that the right flank was covered, Neustroev, not without incident, but in general, safely made his way to Senior Lieutenant Samsonov. He also acted thoughtfully. The companies of his battalion took up defensive positions along the northern side of the Reichstag, on the outside of the building. Essentially, the first half of the task of capturing the Reichstag was completed: the companies and groups that broke into the building were reliably protected from counterattacks from the flanks.

In the Reichstag, meanwhile, the “soldier’s telegraph” spread the news of the “hoisting of the banner over the Reichstag by artillerymen” throughout the battalion.

At approximately 12 o'clock at night (or, as noted in the combat log of the 380th regiment, at two o'clock Moscow time), soldiers from the battalion of Senior Lieutenant K. Samsonov entered the Reichstag.

The battalion commander still kept part of the forces outside, positioning them along the northern end to repel a possible enemy counterattack from this direction. The other part united with the “non-disruptors”.

Among their ranks was the assault group of Major M. Bondar, which until now had mainly conducted surveillance and transmitted information via radio from the Swiss embassy building to corps headquarters.

It was Bondar, as an officer of the corps headquarters, who was invited by M. Minin to witness the hoisting of the first banner on the Reichstag.

Accompanied by junior sergeant M. Bondar, taking with him two of his soldiers, he repeated the entire path of the “four” up to the roof. Here, at the hind leg of the bronze horse, on his orders, his subordinates planted their own flag...

Long after midnight, during another pause, the commander of the 756th Infantry Regiment, Colonel F. Zinchenko, arrived at the Reichstag.

Neustroev at this time, having allowed the battalion personnel to rest alternately, was in the process of sending the wounded to the rear. Zinchenko entered the building accompanied by a large group of machine gunners and immediately addressed the battalion commander:

- Captain, report the situation!

During the report, it suddenly became clear that the regiment commander was concerned not only with the situation. From the memoirs of S. Neustroyev: “The colonel was interested in the banner. I tried to explain to him that there were a lot of banners... and reported that the company, platoon and squad flags were installed in the location of their positions

“What you’re saying is wrong, comrade battalion commander,” Zinchenko abruptly interrupted me.

– I ask, where is the Banner of the Army Military Council number five? I ordered the regimental intelligence chief, Captain Kondrashev, to have Banner go on the attack with the 1st company! – the colonel was indignant.

They began to find out and ask questions, and it turned out that the Banner remained at the regimental headquarters, in “Himmler’s house.” Zinchenko called the chief of staff, Major Artemy Grigorievich Kazakov, on the phone and ordered:

– Immediately arrange for the Banner of the Military Council to be delivered to the Reichstag! Send him with proven, reliable soldiers from the reconnaissance platoon...

Soon two of our scouts ran into the lobby - Sergeant Egorov and Junior Sergeant Kantaria. They unfurled the scarlet banner...

Neustroyev clarified what time this “soon” corresponded to 52 years later in one of his last interviews – “at three o’clock in the morning.”

M.P. Minin also notes in his memoirs that, having changed his post at the banner on the roof and going down to the vestibule, he accidentally witnessed the arrival of two scouts in the period “between three and four hours.”

There is a whole series of other evidence, of which at least one thing is obvious: Sergeants Egorov and Kantaria appeared in the Reichstag after the arrival of Regimental Commander Zinchenko.

And accordingly, a few hours after the façade at the main entrance was decorated with numerous flags of the soldiers who stormed the Reichstag, and a corps banner hoisted by scouts from Makov’s group hoisted on the roof.

But let’s return to Neustroyev’s memoirs: “The regiment commander set a task for them:

- Immediately to the roof of the Reichstag! Place the banner somewhere on a high place so that it can be seen from afar. Yes, attach it tightly so that it doesn’t get torn off by the wind.

Twenty minutes later Egorov and Kantaria returned.

- What's the matter?!! – the colonel asked them angrily.

“It’s dark there, we don’t have a flashlight, we didn’t find a way out to the roof,” Yegorov answered in an embarrassed and depressed voice.

Colonel Zinchenko was silent for a minute. Then he spoke quietly, with emphasis on every syllable.

– The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, on behalf of the Communist Party, our socialist Motherland and the entire Soviet people, ordered us to hoist the Victory Banner over Berlin. This historical moment has come... and you... haven’t found the exit to the roof!

Colonel Zinchenko turned sharply to me:

- Comrade battalion commander, ensure the hoisting of the Victory Banner over the Reichstag!

I ordered Lieutenant Berest:

“You will go along with the scouts and tie a banner on the pediment, above the front entrance, so that it can be seen from the square and from “Himmler’s house.”

I thought to myself with irritation: “Let the rear officials and high authorities admire them.”

Berest, Egorov and Kantaria headed to the stairs leading to the upper floors. The path was cleared for them by machine gunners from Syanov’s company. And almost immediately gunfire and the roar of grenade explosions were heard from somewhere above, but after a minute or two everything died down...

Half an hour passed. Berest and the scouts still did not return. We waited impatiently for them downstairs in the lobby.

The minutes passed slowly. But finally, steps were heard on the stairs, even, calm and heavy. Only Berest could walk like that.

Alexey Prokopyevich reported:

– The Victory Banner was installed on a bronze equestrian sculpture on the pediment of the main entrance. Tied with belts. It won't come off. It will last for hundreds of years!”

Like everyone else who was in the Reichstag at that time, Lieutenant Berest, not very well versed in the layout of the premises, and even in the dark, still really brought Egorov and Kantaria to the roof.

Looking ahead, we note that Egorov and Kantaria were lucky not only in that the Germans weakened the fire at that time, but also in the fact that, thanks to Berest, they secured the Banner of the Military Council on the side from which units of the 5th shock were approaching the Reichstag army of General Berzarin.

After Colonel Zinchenko, his deputy for political affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Efimov, Captain Kondrashev, Egorov and Kantaria went to the regimental command post in “Himmler’s house,” S. Neustroyev again remained in charge of the Reichstag.

Having made the necessary orders and feeling that he was simply collapsing from fatigue and tension, the battalion commander decided to light a cigarette for at least an hour.

But I couldn't sleep. From the outside of the Reichstag, where the southern entrance and the Royal Square were located, a roar was heard.

The enemy brought down hurricane artillery fire on the building. The Reichstag shook... Soldiers in all companies were raised. Everyone was waiting for a counterattack...

Neustroev called battalion commander Davydov. The signalman on duty at his OP replied that the captain could not approach - the battalion was fighting off the advancing enemy.

There was no connection with Samsonov. But, judging by the crackle of machine gun fire and the hooting of guns on the northern side, there was also a battle going on there. What the wise military Davydov warned about came true: the enemy tried to attack from the flanks. And, by the way, not only from the flanks.

The Germans sharply increased fire on Royal Square, clearly trying to cut off those who broke into the Reichstag from the support of the second echelon and rear. The square became as bright as day. It was illuminated by the fires raging in the houses adjacent to the Reichstag.

The real battle took place near the Krol Opera building...

The threat of being “in a mousetrap” loomed over those fighting in the German parliament building.

Apparently, realizing that it would not be possible to break through to the Reichstag and connect with its garrison, somewhere around four o’clock in the morning the enemy weakened the fire, and then completely died down.

(It was the last defenders of the Reich Chancellery who were making a breakthrough - the author)

By this time, the bulk of the battalions of Davydov and Samsonov had moved to the Reichstag and at that moment it seemed to many that the worst was behind them.

So such a decisive elimination of all unnecessary people from the Reichstag seemed to be completely justified...

The unpleasant news that scouts brought to Neustroev at dawn, having run into an ambush in the basement, was not only about five dead comrades.

Now, before doing anything, it was necessary to establish exactly what kind of dungeon it was and what forces were concentrated there.

As if by luck, in one of the rooms of the Reichstag, captured Nazis had been kept as prisoners since the evening. There was neither time nor extra people to escort them to the rear. But now it was possible to obtain very valuable information from them.

Moreover, there was a translator - Private Prygunov. He got to the front line, having previously been in German captivity - he worked at some factory. There I learned to “talk” in German.

Neustroev was greatly puzzled by the information received from the Nazi officer.

During interrogation, he said that under the Reichstag there are vast premises connected to each other by numerous tunnels and passages.

More than a thousand garrison men, led by Lieutenant General, Commandant of the Reichstag, take refuge in them. The defenders have large reserves of ammunition, food and water.

From this, Neustroyev concluded that there was no need to go into the basement yet, but that it was better to keep the defense upstairs, in the hall that began immediately behind the entrance lobby. And at the same time, of course, control all the corridors, block all exits from the dungeon.

Neustroev had no doubt about this any longer - there was nothing to count on from outside help in the near future.

Then Neustroyev and other fighters saw that part of the German forces (obviously acting according to plan and precise calculation) located at the Krol Opera building, turning the bulk of their forces towards the western facade of the Reichstag, opened hurricane fire at its front entrance.

But this group did not advance, and almost simultaneously, in the Reichstag building itself, the Nazis, trying to escape from the dungeon at any cost, made a breakthrough.

They succeeded in three or four places..

Through the resulting gaps, enemy soldiers and officers burst into the first floor.

After the night withdrawal of all unnecessary personnel from the Reichstag, several chemical soldiers with backpack flamethrowers remained with Neustroev’s battalion.

Their attempts to disrupt the enemy’s offensive impulse with long tongues of flame did not give the desired result.

They only set fire to wooden structures and mountains of paper, which filled some of the Reichstag premises.

Within half an hour, many rooms on the ground floor were engulfed in flames. The soldiers of the 150th Division who were in “Himmler’s house” watched with alarm as thick black smoke generously poured through the embrasures of the brick-walled Reichstag windows.

It seemed that it was impossible not only to fight, but to simply be in these conditions inside the building.

People's clothes were smoldering, their hair and eyebrows were burnt. It was impossible to breathe from the smoke that covered all the rooms.

Neustroyev's battalion again found itself in an extremely difficult situation.

Communication with the battalions of Davydov and Samsonov was severed. Neustroev could only guess that they were meeting the enemy with fire at the walls of the Reichstag from the outside.

There was also no contact with the regiment commander. True, after a while it suddenly started working again. Having learned what was going on in the Reichstag, Zinchenko proposed to withdraw the battalion from the Reichstag, wait until everything in it burned out, and then re-enter. But it was no longer possible to do this. Part of the mouth was cut off by fire!

How to give them the order to withdraw?

And where to go: the front entrance was under enemy gunpoint. And in the building itself, a fiery wave of fire was approaching the fighters. The battalion essentially found itself “in the bag.”

After consulting, battalion commander S. Neustroyev and other commanders came to the conclusion that it was better not to leave the building on the square: death still awaited there.

And if you die, then it’s better “with music” - to fight in the burning Reichstag.

The tactics were learned from the Germans. Those, firing from machine guns, throwing grenades through the fire, moved after him from one burnt-out room to another and recaptured room after room.

We tried to do the same. As a result, a bloody oncoming battle began again in the burning halls, on the stairs and passages.

But the Germans won this battle! And their last counterattack was not empty heroism, but precise combat calculation!

Moreover, even this long ago, at the same time, more than half of the combat-ready soldiers escaped from the Reichstag building, and with their help, all the walking wounded from the military hospital, pregnant women and women in labor from the Charité clinic, and all the women’s honey were evacuated to the metro dungeons. hospital staff!

Almost without ceasing, this confrontation, which broke up into battles of separate groups, continued throughout the daylight hours and part of the night...

It is interesting that at this moment, after order No. 6, according to which the Reichstag had already “been taken,” G. Zhukov reported to Moscow?

Nothing like that.

In his combat report No. 00514 to the Supreme, marked “May 1, 21.30,” Zhukov generally avoids the issue of “capture” and “armament.”

He only states that “the enemy is offering especially stubborn resistance in the Reichstag area. On the stairs and in the premises of the main building of the Reichstag, the struggle repeatedly turned into numerous hand-to-hand fights.” .

It was already quite clear to Zhukov that over time the capture of the Reichstag had misled him.

But the marshal had no intention of canceling order No. 6!

In addition, neither Neustroev, nor other commanders, nor their soldiers prepared to storm the dungeons knew that at the very beginning of the new day on May 2, the radio station of the 79th Guards Division of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front received a radiogram from the Germans on Russian language:

« Hello! Hello! This is the 56th Tank Corps speaking.

Please cease fire. By 12:50 a.m. Berlin time, we send envoys to the Potsdam Bridge. Identification mark: a wide white stripe on a red background. Waiting for an answer!

While parts of the Berlin garrison, realizing the complete futility of resistance, asked for “pardon,” Soviet troops in the center of Berlin suppressed the last pockets of resistance.

German positions in the Tiergarten area were empty.

The shelling of the area adjacent to the Reichstag almost stopped. With strong fire from the approaching units, the enemy was driven away from the Krol Opera and scattered.

Communication between the Reichstag and our rear was restored.

And into the building to the shouts of “Hurray!” The company sent by Zinchenko immediately entered. Following her, ammunition, food, and water were finally delivered to Neustroev’s battalion.

Now fighting has become somehow more fun. And all the fighters, no longer expecting to receive an answer from the enemy and quickly refreshed themselves, began to prepare for a difficult battle in the dungeon...

Literally a minute later, when Neustroyev was ready to give this command, a white flag suddenly slowly appeared over the staircase opening...

At seven o'clock in the morning on May 2, 1945, groups of captured soldiers and officers, a hundred to a hundred and twenty people, came out of the basements!!!

Pale, with gloomy faces, they walked slowly, hanging their heads. Based on the number of prisoners, one could conclude that the Reichstag garrison did not have even a thousand people.

Perhaps some of the Nazis left through the parliamentary entrance, which we learned about only after the battles, and took refuge in the ruins behind the Reichstag, but these could only be individuals.

It was not possible to clarify the size of the garrison, the number of units and units after the battles.

I sent the prisoners from the Reichstag through the Royal Square to “Himmler’s house”, where our counterintelligence workers SMERSH were located.

There were ten guards led by a sergeant; Unfortunately, I don't remember his last name. Upon his return, he reported that he had not delivered the prisoners to regimental headquarters.

A large column of Nazi troops was being marched in front of “Himmler’s house,” and some unknown colonel ordered him to join the prisoners to his column.

Thus, the traces of the Nazis from the Reichstag were lost without a trace. Only from German archives can our historians restore the truth and the exact number of defenders.”

This is what VICTORY is like and these are its official heroes! But we will talk about unofficial heroes forgotten by official Soviet and Russian historians 71 years ago in the second part of this work...

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Everyone has heard about the capture of the Reichstag by Soviet soldiers. But what do we really know about him? We will talk about who was sent against the Red Army, how they searched for the Reichstag and how many banners there were.

Who's going to Berlin

There were more than enough people who wanted to take Berlin to the Red Army. Moreover, if for the commanders - Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky, this was also a matter of prestige, then for ordinary soldiers who already had “one foot at home” this was another terrible battle. Participants in the assault will remember it as one of the most difficult battles of the war.

Nevertheless, the thought that their detachment would be sent to Berlin in April 1944 could cause nothing but jubilation among the soldiers. The author of the book: “Who took the Reichstag: heroes by default,” N. Yamskoy talks about how they were waiting for a decision on the composition of the offensive army in the 756th regiment:

“Officers gathered at the headquarters dugout. Neustroev burned with impatience, offering to send someone for Major Kazakov, who was supposed to arrive with the results of the decision. One of the officers joked: “Why are you, Stepan, spinning around in place? I should have taken off my boots and let’s go! In the time that you’ve been running back and forth, you’d probably already be near Berlin!”

Soon the cheerful and smiling Major Kazakov returned. And it became clear to everyone: we are going to Berlin!”

Attitude

Why was it so important to take the Reichstag and plant a banner on it? This building, where the highest legislative body of Germany met since 1919, did not play any role during the Third Reich, de facto. All legislative functions were performed in the Krol Opera, the building opposite. However, for the Nazis this is not just a building, not just a fortress. For them, this was the last hope, the capture of which would demoralize the army. Therefore, during the assault on Berlin, the command placed emphasis on the Reichstag. Hence Zhukov’s order to the 171st and 150th divisions, which promised gratitude and government awards to those who planted a red flag over the gray, unsightly and half-destroyed building.
Moreover, its installation was a top priority.

“If our people are not in the Reichstag and the banner is not installed there, then take all measures at any cost to hoist a flag or flag at least on the column of the front entrance. At any cost!"

- there was an order from Zinchenko. That is, the banner of victory had to be installed even before the actual capture of the Reichstag. According to eyewitnesses, while trying to carry out the order and plant a banner on a building still defended by the Germans, many “single volunteers, the bravest people” died, but this is precisely what made the act of Kantaria and Egorov heroic.

"Sailors of the SS Special Forces Detachment"

Even as the Red Army advanced towards Berlin, when the outcome of the war became obvious, Hitler was either seized by panic, or wounded pride played a role, but he issued several orders, the essence of which was that all of Germany should perish along with the defeat of the Reich. The “Nero” plan was carried out, which implied the destruction of all cultural property on the territory of the state, making the evacuation of residents difficult. Subsequently, the high command will utter the key phrase: “Berlin will defend to the last German.”

This means that, for the most part, it didn’t matter who was sent to death. So, in order to detain the Red Army at the Moltke Bridge, Hitler transferred “sailors of the SS special forces detachment” to Berlin, who were ordered to delay the advance of our troops to government buildings at any cost.

They turned out to be sixteen-year-old boys, yesterday's cadets of a naval school from the city of Rostock. Hitler spoke to them, calling them heroes and the hope of the nation. His order itself is interesting: “throw back the small group of Russians that broke through to this bank of the Spree and prevent it from approaching the Reichstag. You only need to hold out for a little while. Soon you will receive new weapons of enormous power and new planes. Wenck's army is approaching from the south. The Russians will not only be driven out of Berlin, but also driven back to Moscow.”

Did Hitler know about the real number of the "small group of Russians" and the state of affairs when he gave the order? What did he expect? At that time, it was obvious that for an effective battle with Soviet soldiers, a whole army was needed, and not 500 young boys who did not know how to fight. Perhaps Hitler expected positive results from separate negotiations with the allies of the USSR. But the question of what secret weapon they were talking about remained in the air. One way or another, hopes were not justified, and many young fanatics died without bringing any benefit to their homeland.

Where is the Reichstag?

During the assault, incidents also occurred. On the eve of the offensive, at night, it turned out that the attackers did not know what the Reichstag looked like, much less where it was located.

This is how the battalion commander, Neustroyev, who was ordered to storm the Reichstag, described this situation: “The Colonel orders:

“Come out to the Reichstag quickly!” I hang up. Zinchenko's voice still rings in my ears. Where is it, the Reichstag? The devil knows! It’s dark and deserted ahead.”

Zinchenko, in turn, reported to General Shatilov: “Neustroyev’s battalion took its starting position in the basement of the south-eastern part of the building. Only now some house is bothering him - the Reichstag is closing. We'll go around it on the right." He answers in bewilderment: "What other house? Rabbit opera? But it should be to the right of “Himmler’s house”. There cannot be any building in front of the Reichstag...”

However, the building was there. Squat, two and a half stories high, with towers and a dome on top. Behind him, two hundred meters away, the outlines of a huge, twelve-story building could be seen, which Neustovev took as the final goal. But the gray building, which they decided to bypass, was unexpectedly met with advancing continuous fire.

They say correctly, one head is good, but two are better. The mystery of the location of the Reichstag was resolved upon Zinchenko’s arrival at Neustroev. As the battalion commander himself describes:

“Zinchenko looked at the square and at the hidden gray building. And then, without turning around, he asked: “So what’s stopping you from going to the Reichstag?” “This is a low building,” I answered. “So this is the Reichstag!”

Fights for rooms

How was the Reichstag taken? The usual reference literature does not go into detail, describing the assault as a one-day “assault” of Soviet soldiers on a building, which, under this pressure, was just as quickly surrendered by its garrison. However, this was not the case. The building was defended by selected SS units, who had nothing else to lose. And they had an advantage. They knew full well about his plan and the layout of all his 500 rooms. Unlike the Soviet soldiers, who had no idea what the Reichstag looked like. As private third company I.V. Mayorov said: “We knew practically nothing about the internal layout. And this made the battle with the enemy very difficult. In addition, from the continuous automatic and machine-gun fire, the explosions of grenades and faust cartridges in the Reichstag, such smoke and dust rose from the plaster that, mixing, they obscured everything, hung in the rooms like an impenetrable veil - nothing was visible, as if in the dark.” How difficult the assault was can be judged by the fact that the Soviet command set the task of capturing at least 15-10 rooms out of the mentioned 500 on the first day.

How many flags were there

The historical banner hoisted on the roof of the Reichstag was the assault flag of the 150th Infantry Division of the Third Shock Army, installed by Sergeant Egorov and Kantaria. But this was far from the only red flag over the German parliament. Many people dreamed of the desire to reach Berlin and plant the Soviet flag over the destroyed enemy lair of the Nazis, regardless of the order of the command and the promise of the title “Hero of the USSR.” However, the latter was another useful incentive.

According to eyewitnesses, there were neither two, nor three, or even five victory banners on the Reichstag. The entire building was literally “blushing” with Soviet flags, both homemade and official. According to experts, there were about 20 of them, some were shot down during the bombing. The first was installed by senior sergeant Ivan Lysenko, whose squad built a banner from a mattress of red material. Ivan Lysenko's award sheet reads:

“On April 30, 1945 at 2 p.m. Comrade. Lysenko was the first to break into the Reichstag building, destroy more than 20 German soldiers with grenade fire, reach the second floor and hoist the victory banner. For his heroism and courage in battle, he is worthy of being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.”

Moreover, his detachment fulfilled its main task - to cover the standard bearers, who were tasked with hoisting the victorious banners on the Reichstag.

In general, each detachment dreamed of planting its own flag on the Reichstag. With this dream, the soldiers walked all the way to Berlin, every kilometer of which cost lives. Therefore, is it really so important whose banner was the first and whose was the “official” one? They were all equally important.

The fate of autographs

Those who failed to hoist the banner left reminders of themselves on the walls of the captured building. As eyewitnesses describe: all the columns and walls at the entrance to the Reichstag were covered with inscriptions in which the soldiers expressed feelings of joy of victory. They wrote to everyone - with paints, charcoal, a bayonet, a nail, a knife:

“The shortest way to Moscow is through Berlin!”

“And we girls were here. Glory to the Soviet warrior!”; “We are from Leningrad, Petrov, Kryuchkov”; “Know ours. Siberians Pushchin, Petlin"; "We are in the Reichstag"; “I walked with the name of Lenin”; "From Stalingrad to Berlin"; “Moscow - Stalingrad - Orel - Warsaw - Berlin”; “I reached Berlin.”

Some of the autographs have survived to this day - their preservation was one of the main requirements during the restoration of the Reichstag. However, today their fate is often called into question. So, in 2002, conservative representatives Johannes Singhammer and Horst Günther proposed to destroy them, arguing that the inscriptions “burden modern Russian-German relations.”

Storm of Berlin- the final part of the Berlin offensive operation of 1945, during which the Red Army captured the capital of Nazi Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in Europe. The operation lasted from April 25 to May 2.

Storm of Berlin

The “Zoobunker” - a huge reinforced concrete fortress with anti-aircraft batteries on the towers and extensive underground shelter - also served as the largest bomb shelter in the city.

Early in the morning of May 2, the Berlin metro was flooded - a group of sappers from the SS Nordland division blew up a tunnel passing under the Landwehr Canal in the Trebbiner Strasse area. The explosion led to the destruction of the tunnel and filling it with water along a 25-km section. Water rushed into the tunnels, where a large number of civilians and wounded were taking refuge. The number of victims is still unknown.

Information about the number of victims... varies - from fifty to fifteen thousand people... The data that about a hundred people died under water seems more reliable. Of course, there were many thousands of people in the tunnels, including the wounded, children, women and old people, but the water did not spread through the underground communications too quickly. Moreover, it spread underground in various directions. Of course, the picture of advancing water caused genuine horror in people. And some of the wounded, as well as drunken soldiers, as well as civilians, became its inevitable victims. But talking about thousands of deaths would be a gross exaggeration. In most places the water barely reached a depth of one and a half meters, and the inhabitants of the tunnels had enough time to evacuate themselves and save the numerous wounded who were in the “hospital cars” near the Stadtmitte station. It is likely that many of the dead, whose bodies were subsequently brought to the surface, actually died not from water, but from wounds and illnesses even before the destruction of the tunnel.

At one o'clock in the morning on May 2, the radio stations of the 1st Belorussian Front received a message in Russian: “We ask you to cease fire. We are sending envoys to the Potsdam Bridge.” A German officer who arrived at the appointed place, on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance. At 6 a.m. on May 2, Artillery General Weidling, accompanied by three German generals, crossed the front line and surrendered. An hour later, while at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army, he wrote a surrender order, which was duplicated and, with the help of loudspeaker installations and radio, delivered to enemy units defending in the center of Berlin. As this order was communicated to the defenders, resistance in the city ceased. By the end of the day, the troops of the 8th Guards Army cleared the central part of the city from the enemy. Individual units that did not want to surrender tried to break through to the west, but were destroyed or scattered.

On May 2 at 10 o'clock in the morning everything suddenly became quiet, the fire stopped. And everyone realized that something had happened. We saw white sheets that had been “thrown away” in the Reichstag, the Chancellery building and the Royal Opera House and cellars that had not yet been taken. Entire columns fell from there. A column passed ahead of us, where there were generals, colonels, then soldiers behind them. We walked for probably three hours.

Alexander Bessarab, participant in the Battle of Berlin and the capture of the Reichstag

Results of the operation

Soviet troops defeated the Berlin group of enemy troops and stormed the capital of Germany, Berlin. Developing a further offensive, they reached the Elbe River, where they linked up with American and British troops. With the fall of Berlin and the loss of vital areas, Germany lost the opportunity for organized resistance and soon capitulated. With the completion of the Berlin operation, favorable conditions were created for encircling and destroying the last large enemy groups on the territory of Austria and Czechoslovakia.

The losses of the German armed forces in killed and wounded are unknown. Of the approximately 2 million Berliners, about 125 thousand died. The city was heavily destroyed by bombing even before the arrival of Soviet troops. The bombing continued during the battles near Berlin - the last American bombing on April 20 (Adolph Hitler's birthday) led to food problems. The destruction intensified as a result of Soviet artillery attacks.

Indeed, it is unthinkable that such a huge fortified city could be taken so quickly. We know of no other such examples in the history of World War II.

Alexander Orlov, Doctor of Historical Sciences.

Two Guards IS-2 heavy tank brigades and at least nine Guards heavy self-propelled artillery self-propelled artillery regiments took part in the battles in Berlin, including:

• 1st Belorussian Front
  • 7th Guards Ttbr - 69th Army
  • 11th Guards ttbr - front-line subordination
  • 334 Guards tsap - 47th Army
  • 351 Guards tsap - 3rd shock army, front-line subordination
  • 396 Guards tsap - 5th shock army
  • 394 Guards tsap - 8th Guards Army
  • 362, 399 guards tsap - 1st Guards Tank Army
  • 347 Guards tsap - 2nd Guards Tank Army
• 1st Ukrainian Front
  • 383, 384 guards tsap - 3rd Guards Tank Army

Situation of the civilian population

Fear and despair

A significant part of Berlin, even before the assault, was destroyed as a result of Anglo-American air raids, from which the population hid in basements and bomb shelters. There were not enough bomb shelters and therefore they were constantly overcrowded. In Berlin by that time, in addition to the three million local population (consisting mainly of women, old people and children), there were up to three hundred thousand foreign workers, including “ostarbeiters”, most of whom were forcibly taken to Germany. Entry into bomb shelters and basements was prohibited for them.

Although the war had long been lost for Germany, Hitler ordered resistance to the last. Thousands of teenagers and old men were conscripted into the Volkssturm. From the beginning of March, by order of Reichskommissar Goebbels, responsible for the defense of Berlin, tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women, were sent to dig anti-tank ditches around the German capital.

Civilians who violated government orders even in the last days of the war faced execution.

There is no exact information about the number of civilian casualties. Different sources indicate different numbers of people who died directly during the Battle of Berlin. Even decades after the war, previously unknown mass graves are found during construction work.

Violence against civilians

In Western sources, especially recently, a significant number of materials have appeared concerning mass violence by Soviet troops against the civilian population of Berlin and Germany in general - a topic that was practically not raised for many decades after the end of the war.

There are two opposing approaches to this extremely painful problem. On the one hand, there are artistic and documentary works by two English-speaking researchers - “The Last Battle” by Cornelius Ryan and “The Fall of Berlin. 1945" by Anthony Beevor, which are more or less a reconstruction of the events of half a century ago based on the testimony of participants in the events (overwhelmingly representatives of the German side) and memoirs of Soviet commanders. The claims made by Ryan and Beevor are regularly reproduced by the Western press, which presents them as scientifically proven truth.

On the other hand, there are the opinions of Russian representatives (officials and historians), who acknowledge numerous facts of violence, but question the validity of statements about its extreme mass character, as well as the possibility, after so many years, of verifying the shocking digital data provided in the West . Russian authors also draw attention to the fact that such publications, which focus on hyper-emotional descriptions of scenes of violence that were allegedly committed by Soviet troops on German territory, follow the standards of Goebbels propaganda of the beginning of 1945 and are aimed at belittling the role of the Red Army as the liberator of Eastern and Central Europe from fascism and denigrate the image of the Soviet soldier. In addition, the materials distributed in the West provide virtually no information about the measures taken by the Soviet command to combat violence and looting - crimes against civilians, which, as has been repeatedly pointed out, not only lead to tougher resistance of the defending enemy, but also undermine the combat effectiveness and discipline of the advancing army.

On May 8, 1945, German Field Marshal Keitel, entering the hall where he was to sign the Act of Complete and Unconditional Surrender of Germany, and seeing there, in addition to representatives of the Big Three - the USSR, USA and Great Britain, also representatives of France in military uniform, could not resist phrases: “How?! Did these guys defeat us too?”

Germany, already at the limit of its capabilities at the beginning of 1942, was forced, contrary to the dominant ideology of National Socialism and xenophobia, to arm and send military formations consisting of almost all the peoples of Europe to the Eastern Front. The European Union fought against the USSR!

The French especially distinguished themselves. In the USSR and the Russian Federation, it was generally accepted that the French people, France were occupied by the Germans and participated in the war on the side of the Anti-Hitler coalition, i.e. were our allies. We were taught almost from childhood to the idea that France was a victim of Germany in World War II, that it had heroically fought the Nazis since 1939, that the best sons of the French people went into partisans and underground. Again, one can recall General de Gaulle’s “Fighting France” and the legendary Normandy-Niemen air regiment... However, all this does not correspond to historical facts.

It would be naive to assume that in World War II, in which almost all of Europe fought against the USSR, France became an exception. Of course, one should not belittle the merits of “Normandie-Niemen” and “Fighting France,” but long before the French pilots took the first battle, their compatriots, and in much larger numbers, had long been fighting on the Eastern Front. And they fought shoulder to shoulder not with Soviet, but with German soldiers. Moreover, many fought voluntarily.

On June 22, 1941, on the first day of Germany’s attack on the USSR, the leader of the French fascist party PPF (Parti Populaire Francais) Jacques Doriot announced the creation of the “Legion of French Volunteers” to participate in the war against the USSR. On July 5, Ribbentrop approved this idea in telegram No. 3555. Leaders of pro-Nazi French organizations created the Central Committee of the Legion of French Volunteers (LVF).

Thus, the first French Nazi unit, the Legion of French Volunteers, was formed already in July 1941. Since July 1941, more than 13,000 volunteers have contacted the LVF Central Committee. The Legion was formed from volunteers who adhered to far-right and racist ideology, who believed that they had an honorable mission - to free the world from Bolshevism.

The regimental banner was tricolor French and orders were also given in French. But all volunteers had to take an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

On November 6, 1941, French combat units as part of the Wehrmacht from Smolensk headed on foot towards Moscow. The Battle of Moscow had a hard impact on the legionnaires. The total loss of personnel reached 1000 people.

In November 1941, near the village of Borodino, as in 1812, the Russians and the French again met in battle - the 32nd division of Colonel V. Polosukhin and the 638th French infantry regiment.

The “Legion of French Volunteers” fought near Moscow and distinguished itself in punitive operations against Belarusian partisans in 1942. Later, the French Legion merged with another volunteer formation, the Tricolor Legion.

This unit became famous for preventing the defeat of Army Group Center on June 25, 1944, stopping a tank breakthrough of Soviet troops on the Beaver River. Some historians believe that this operation was the most successful operation of the French collaborators during the war. In 48 hours of fighting, they managed to destroy at least 40 Soviet tanks.

In September 1944, on the basis of the Tricolor Legion, the SS Charlemagne division was created, which was to literally lead the Third Reich on its last journey.

Himmler personally assured the leadership of the division that it would not be sent to the Western Front to fight with compatriots from the Free French units advancing in France.

First, French thugs were sent to Poland in February 1945 to resist the advance of the Red Army. However, during its unloading in Pomerania, it was attacked by units of the 1st Belorussian Front. In the battles in the Coerlin area, the French division lost more than half of its personnel and was withdrawn to regroup in the West.

The division commander, Krukenberg, told his soldiers that they were released from the oath and could go home. However, about 700 people volunteered to participate in the defense of Berlin. Created from the remnants of the division, the Charlemagne assault battalion became the last regular German formation to enter Berlin on the eve of the assault.

On the night of April 23-24, 1945, the commander of the SS Charlemagne division, Brigadeführer Gustav Krukenberg, received an urgent telegram in Neustrelitz from the Berlin Reich Chancellery with an order to immediately report to the defense of the Reich capital. In the ranks of the French division, which numbered about seven and a half thousand fighters at the beginning of 1945, by that time no more than 1,100 remained. Of those who wished to stop the fight, a labor battalion was created, and from those who decided to fight until the end of three hundred, Krukenberg formed an assault battalion, together with which on April 24 went to Berlin in nine trucks. They managed to break through to the capital of the Reich through the northwestern suburbs in Nauen a few hours before Soviet troops completely closed the blockade ring around the city.

Following this, the Charlemagne storm battalion, under constant Soviet bombing, moved to the east of Berlin to the Neuköln area, where it entered into battle with the advancing Red Army.

After several fierce counterattacks on Hasenheide and the Tempelhof airfield, the French moved west across the Landwehr Canal on April 26 and, fighting heavy defensive battles in the following days with many times superior Red Army forces in the Kreuzberg area, gradually retreated into the city center to the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery bunker.

During this last, senseless and merciless battle around the bunker of the Reich Chancellery and the Reichstag, the French once again proved their now useless efficiency. According to the recollections of the Germans, the French fought to the last, defending the Reich Chancellery together with the Danes and Norwegians from the SS Nordland division.

During the day of fighting on April 28 in Berlin, 108 Soviet tanks were destroyed, 62 of them by three hundred Charlemagne soldiers. Four members of the battalion were awarded the Knight's Iron Cross on April 29 at one of the last awards ceremonies in the now defunct Reich. The remnants of the battalion in small groups tried to infiltrate from Berlin. About 30 people were captured by the Red Army and handed over to the French authorities. A group of 11 people was arrested by the French army already on French territory.

Only on the morning of May 2, following the announcement of the capitulation of the German capital, the last 30 Charlemagne fighters out of 300 who arrived in Berlin left the Reich Chancellery bunker, where there was no one left alive except them.

We can say with complete confidence that France took an active part in the Great Patriotic War. Not in the Second World War, where its role was very insignificant, but in the Great Patriotic War. After all, French volunteers appeared in Russia already in September 1941, and this does not count those French who were drafted into the Wehrmacht and from the very beginning participated in the campaign to the East. Of course, no one will ever forget the feat of the French pilots from Normandie-Niemen, but we must not forget about other “feats” of the French - “brave” volunteers from the same SS division “Charlemagne”, punishers from the LVF and from other French units that fought the Red Army.

There are no exact figures about how many French fought against the USSR on the Eastern Front, there is only data on captured Frenchmen - there were 23,136 French citizens in Soviet captivity.

To summarize, we can say that France took an active part in the war against the Soviet Union, French citizens consciously helped build Hitler’s “new world order”, but everyone knows what a sad end both this “undertaking” itself and his "builders".

And even in the post-war period, the surviving French volunteers showed no regret about this, believing that they participated in a “crusade” against Bolshevism.

Therefore, remembering de Gaulle and the French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment, we must also know about the French who fought against our people as part of the Wehrmacht, about the French Legion of Volunteers, which repeated the fate of Napoleon’s “Grand Army”, about thousands of Frenchmen who fought in various units of the Waffen-SS armed forces and those who killed our fellow citizens during the Great Patriotic War.

During the Great Patriotic War, when the battle for Berlin was going on, Soviet troops stormed the walls of the Reichstag and on May 1, 1945 the Victory Banner was hoisted.

On the walls of the greatness of the Aryan nation, Soviet soldiers left a large number of inscriptions, some of them were left during restoration work.
After German reunification in October 1990, the German Federal Assembly, the Bundestag, moved to Berlin and took up residence in the Reichstag building.

"...A particularly fierce battle broke out for the Reichstag. Its building was one of the most important defense points in the center of Berlin; the hoisting of the Soviet red banner over it marked our historic victory. At 13:30 the battalions of captains S.A. Neustroev, V. I. Davydova, K. Ya. Samsonova stormed the Reichstag...with a swift attack, Soviet troops broke into the Reichstag...

By the end of the day on May 1, the Reichstag was completely captured."
(from the memoirs of captain S. A. Neustroev)

From the memoirs of an eyewitness to the events V.M. Shatilova:

The intensity of the battle in the huge building did not subside. In the darkness (the windows were walled up, and small loopholes let in very little light), here and there fierce skirmishes arose - in rooms, on staircases, on landings. Grenades burst, machine gun fire scattered. Guided by sounds, one group of fighters came to the aid of another. Fires started in some rooms. Cabinets with papers and furniture caught fire. They extinguished them as best they could - with overcoats, quilted jackets, and raincoats.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Egorov and Meliton Kantaria, under the cover of a small group of Berest, began to climb upward. Every step had to be taken with caution and caution. Several times they came across the Nazis. And then the machine gun started banging and grenades were thrown.

The day was drawing to a close. But the cannonade did not stop. The dust in the air tickled his nostrils. All my thoughts were now in the Reichstag.

And there the entire second floor had already been cleared. Egorov and Kantaria, under the cover of Berest's group, continued to make their way to the upper floors. Suddenly the stone staircase broke off - the whole flight was broken. The confusion was short-lived. “I’m here now,” Kantaria shouted and rushed down somewhere. Soon he appeared with a wooden stepladder. And again the fighters stubbornly climbed up.

Here's the roof. They walked along it towards the huge horseman. Below them lay houses shrouded in smoky twilight. Flashes were flashing around. Shards were tapping on the roof. Where to attach the flag? Near the statue? No, it won't do. After all, it was said - to the dome. The staircase leading up to it was wobbly - it was broken in several places.

Then the fighters climbed along the sparse ribs of the frame, exposed from under the broken glass. It was difficult and scary to move. They climbed slowly, one after another, clinging to the iron with a death grip. Finally we reached the top platform. They fastened the Banner with a belt to the metal crossbar - and down the same way. The return journey was even more difficult and took longer.

The building, crowned with a scarlet banner, caused a very definite reaction from the enemy - he began shelling it with artillery. Yes, at the Reichstag, which the Germans defended so stubbornly and at which we had recently fired, they themselves opened fire.

Each fighting company placed its assault flag here. One even flutters on the pediment, next to the figure of a horseman. And above the dome, above all, is the Victory Banner.

Those who surrendered walked through the Brandenburg Gate - in formation, led by officers, and without formation, in small groups. And a white flag floated in front of each group. On the other side of the gate, the pile of abandoned weapons grew and grew - about 26 thousand people piled them there. And on this side, to the Reichstag, to the Moltke Bridge, an unarmed crowd kept arriving, spreading at the behest of the traffic police girls into separate streams, towards the commandant’s offices.

“Yes, your soldiers,” I began, carefully choosing my German words, “committed a terrible crime.” But we are not Hitlerites, we are Soviet people. We are not going to take revenge on the German people... You need to quickly get to work cleaning the streets so that you can start public transport, open shops, restore normal life...

At first the townspeople did not understand me. But then, when the meaning of my words finally dawned on them, their faces brightened and smiles appeared on many of them.

Lidia Ruslanova performs "Katyusha" on the steps of the fallen Reichstag.

The infantry soldier reached Berlin.

Already peaceful post-war Berlin.

Reichstag today.