April 1945

Eastern Front

Rokossovsky reinforces the 65th Army to place the main weight of his attack here. Fierce fighting continues as the 3rd Panzer Army tries to prevent the Soviet forces breaking into Mecklenberg. Once again the 70th and 49th Armies are held up but the 65th makes steady gains.

The 1st Belorussian increases its arty bombardment of Berlin. Elements of the 3rd Shock Army enters the northeast suburbs while the 5th Shock breaks in from the east. The 8th Guards Army and 1st Guards Tank Army remain heavily committed in bloody fighting around Furstenwalde as the 9th Army launches repeated counterattacks. Inside Berlin, factories still producing weapons fall silent as electriciy and gas supplies are cut. North of the city the 1st Polish and 61st Armies are involved in heavy fighting near Eberswalde, while the 47th and 2nd Guards Tank Armies cross the main Autobahn north of Berlin. The 47th Army is pushing east toward Potsdam and Ketzin while the 2nd Guards Tank Army attempts to push straight into the city from the north.

South of Berlin, the 3rd Guards Tank Army takes Zossen, isolating the southern wing of the 9th Army and half of the 4th Panzer Army between Frankfurt and Guben, a force of 200,000 men with 2,000 arty pieces and 200 panzers. The group is under heavy attack by the 33rd and 69th Armies from the east and north and by the 28th Army to the south and west.