The Red Army then drove on to Pomerania, clearing the right bank of the Oder River, thereby reaching into Silesia.
The newly created Army Group Vistula, under the command of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, attempted a counter-attack, but this had failed by 24 February.
On the fourth day, the Red Army broke out and started moving west, up to 30 to 40 km (19 to 25 mi) per day, taking East Prussia, Danzig, and Poznań, drawing up on a line 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin along the Oder River. On 12 January 1945, the Red Army began the Vistula–Oder Offensive across the Narew River and, from Warsaw, a three-day operation on a broad front, which incorporated four army Fronts. Background Main thrusts of the Red Army and its eastern allies German counter-attacks Berlin offensive The city's garrison surrendered on 2 May but fighting continued to the north-west, west, and south-west of the city until the end of the war in Europe on 8 May (9 May in the Soviet Union) as some German units fought westward so that they could surrender to the Western Allies rather than to the Soviets. On 30 April, Hitler and several of his officials committed suicide. Over the course of the next week, the Red Army gradually took the entire city. The garrison consisted of several depleted and disorganised Army and Waffen-SS divisions, along with poorly trained Volkssturm and Hitler Youth members. On 23 April General Helmuth Weidling assumed command of the forces within Berlin. On 20 April 1945, Hitler's birthday, the 1st Belorussian Front led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, advancing from the east and north, started shelling Berlin's city centre, while Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front broke through Army Group Centre and advanced towards the southern suburbs of Berlin. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Red Army encircled the city after successful battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe. When the Soviet offensive resumed on 16 April, two Soviet fronts ( army groups) attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were made on 20 March, under the newly appointed commander of Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici. On 9 March, Germany established its defence plan for the city with Operation Clausewitz. Īfter the Vistula–Oder offensive of January–February 1945, the Red Army had temporarily halted on a line 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin. The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
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