What Are The Causes Of Berlin Battle And Disorder
The Battle and Surrender of Berlin
3rd Squad
United States Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy
Advanced Leader Course
Prior to the battle, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin believed Berlin was one of the key terrain features of World War II. Stalin feared that the British would beat the Soviets to the city with UK Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s 21st Army Group that was advancing from Holland into Northern Germany. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower believed that Hitler was fleeing south towards Austria, which led to the decision to plan for an offensive attack by the U.S. 9th Army in the Ruhr and then the advancement eastwards towards the Erfurt-Leipzig-Dresden line. Simultaneously, the 21st Army Group was charged to guard the north while the 6th Army Group would protect the south, with the idea that they could cut off the Soviet’s near Dresden and split Germany in half. All of these developments with each respected party is was led to the Battle of Berlin.
The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War II in Europe. The battle was a long and very devastating one. It was thought to be a pretty short battle, but an overlook at the events will leading up to the actual battle will show that the whole situation is a lot more complex. It really started on 22 June 1944 when a Soviet army …show more content…
initiated its campaign against the German forces, which was two weeks after the landing in Normandy. It wasn’t until 16 October that the Soviet troops actually crossed over the Germany borders. The Soviet army was lead by the head of state of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. He was in a hurry to get into Berlin before the Americans; he wanted to demonstrate that the Soviet army had power and he also wanted a favourable postwar negotiating position. Stalin made the mistake of thinking the US wasn’t interested in conquering Berlin. United States President Franklin Roosevelt only wanted to gain the Soviet Union as an ally in the war against Japan, and above all, he wanted a stable post-war world order partnership with the Soviet.
What many don’t know is that the Battle of Berlin was put in motion when General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, had changed his mind. Eisenhower had wrote two letters which outlined how he believed that Berlin was the main prize and there was no doubt in his mind they should concentrate all of their energy and resources on a rapid push to Berlin. He sent these two letters to two principal subordinate commanders, Montgomery and General Omar Bradley. When these letters were sent to the two subordinate commanders, they were splitting Germany in two. Even when they agree with Eisenhower and believe he was right, Montgomery’s army group was still 300 miles from Berlin and would take months and expenditure a large amount of their resources to move them.
After the fall and surrender of Berlin on 2 May 1945, the city of Berlin was devastated by the significant amount of artillery fire that the Soviet and allied forces produced over the two-week battle. An estimated 92,000 German soldiers were killed in the battle and over 81,000 Soviet Union soldiers were killed. The remaining German soldiers attempted to break out of the city and escape to the western front so they could surrender to the allied forces fearing the Soviet’s revenge. During this time. the capitulation occurred and some German soldiers stayed back and fought to the very end while others were trapped and fought their way out. The number of civilian casualties were estimated to be over 125,000 after the battle of Berlin. All essential services in the city were destroyed. Travel in and out of the city was rendered inoperable along with the sewer system failing. The Soviet army made an effort to feed the local populace by establishing local food kitchens. Soviet authorities tried their best to provide humanitarian aid to the German people in Berlin but it wasn’t enough, the populace was starving. While this occurred, some of the Soviet soldiers occupying the Berlin area would rape the local women in the city self-proclaiming it was justified revenge. Soldiers who were caught were punished or even executed. Overall, the Battle of Berlin left one million people homeless with no food and water and an extreme lack of security.
In conclusion, the Battle of Berlin destroyed over 600,000 buildings only allowing about half of the population to live in the city after the battle.
The Red Army gave significant efforts to rebuild the city and shelter people who lost their homes. The allies came to an agreement that was signed causing the city to divide into four sectors. Each sector had an occupying power: the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Conflict of interest prevailed between the victorious factions causing Berlin to be a central point of the upcoming Cold War. Even after seven decades, scars from the war still exist in the city of
Berlin.
References
Battle for Berlin: April–May 1945. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from http:// www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_berlin.html The Battle for Berlin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from ttps://www.historylearningsite.co.uk
/world-war-two/world-war-two-and-eastern-europe/the-battle-for-berlin/
Battle of Berlin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from https://www.secondworldwarhistory.com
/fall-of-berlin.asp
Europe, L. R. (n.d.). Battle of Berlin. Retrieved April 01, 2018, from https://liberationroute.com
/germany/storyline/battle-of-berlin?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtOLVBRCZARIsADPLtJ3NelackZHbdWM5JKH8KgTcqnh1ojcQLEPk54HypGo1KPrxncG0pkEaAgU2EALw_wcB
3rd Squad
United States Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy
Advanced Leader Course
Prior to the battle, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin believed Berlin was one of the key terrain features of World War II. Stalin feared that the British would beat the Soviets to the city with UK Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s 21st Army Group that was advancing from Holland into Northern Germany. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower believed that Hitler was fleeing south towards Austria, which led to the decision to plan for an offensive attack by the U.S. 9th Army in the Ruhr and then the advancement eastwards towards the Erfurt-Leipzig-Dresden line. Simultaneously, the 21st Army Group was charged to guard the north while the 6th Army Group would protect the south, with the idea that they could cut off the Soviet’s near Dresden and split Germany in half. All of these developments with each respected party is was led to the Battle of Berlin.
The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War II in Europe. The battle was a long and very devastating one. It was thought to be a pretty short battle, but an overlook at the events will leading up to the actual battle will show that the whole situation is a lot more complex. It really started on 22 June 1944 when a Soviet army …show more content…
initiated its campaign against the German forces, which was two weeks after the landing in Normandy. It wasn’t until 16 October that the Soviet troops actually crossed over the Germany borders. The Soviet army was lead by the head of state of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. He was in a hurry to get into Berlin before the Americans; he wanted to demonstrate that the Soviet army had power and he also wanted a favourable postwar negotiating position. Stalin made the mistake of thinking the US wasn’t interested in conquering Berlin. United States President Franklin Roosevelt only wanted to gain the Soviet Union as an ally in the war against Japan, and above all, he wanted a stable post-war world order partnership with the Soviet.
What many don’t know is that the Battle of Berlin was put in motion when General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, had changed his mind. Eisenhower had wrote two letters which outlined how he believed that Berlin was the main prize and there was no doubt in his mind they should concentrate all of their energy and resources on a rapid push to Berlin. He sent these two letters to two principal subordinate commanders, Montgomery and General Omar Bradley. When these letters were sent to the two subordinate commanders, they were splitting Germany in two. Even when they agree with Eisenhower and believe he was right, Montgomery’s army group was still 300 miles from Berlin and would take months and expenditure a large amount of their resources to move them.
After the fall and surrender of Berlin on 2 May 1945, the city of Berlin was devastated by the significant amount of artillery fire that the Soviet and allied forces produced over the two-week battle. An estimated 92,000 German soldiers were killed in the battle and over 81,000 Soviet Union soldiers were killed. The remaining German soldiers attempted to break out of the city and escape to the western front so they could surrender to the allied forces fearing the Soviet’s revenge. During this time. the capitulation occurred and some German soldiers stayed back and fought to the very end while others were trapped and fought their way out. The number of civilian casualties were estimated to be over 125,000 after the battle of Berlin. All essential services in the city were destroyed. Travel in and out of the city was rendered inoperable along with the sewer system failing. The Soviet army made an effort to feed the local populace by establishing local food kitchens. Soviet authorities tried their best to provide humanitarian aid to the German people in Berlin but it wasn’t enough, the populace was starving. While this occurred, some of the Soviet soldiers occupying the Berlin area would rape the local women in the city self-proclaiming it was justified revenge. Soldiers who were caught were punished or even executed. Overall, the Battle of Berlin left one million people homeless with no food and water and an extreme lack of security.
In conclusion, the Battle of Berlin destroyed over 600,000 buildings only allowing about half of the population to live in the city after the battle.
The Red Army gave significant efforts to rebuild the city and shelter people who lost their homes. The allies came to an agreement that was signed causing the city to divide into four sectors. Each sector had an occupying power: the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Conflict of interest prevailed between the victorious factions causing Berlin to be a central point of the upcoming Cold War. Even after seven decades, scars from the war still exist in the city of
Berlin.
References
Battle for Berlin: April–May 1945. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from http:// www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_berlin.html The Battle for Berlin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from ttps://www.historylearningsite.co.uk
/world-war-two/world-war-two-and-eastern-europe/the-battle-for-berlin/
Battle of Berlin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2018, from https://www.secondworldwarhistory.com
/fall-of-berlin.asp
Europe, L. R. (n.d.). Battle of Berlin. Retrieved April 01, 2018, from https://liberationroute.com
/germany/storyline/battle-of-berlin?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtOLVBRCZARIsADPLtJ3NelackZHbdWM5JKH8KgTcqnh1ojcQLEPk54HypGo1KPrxncG0pkEaAgU2EALw_wcB