Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Alexey Statsenko
[REGNUM] It's common knowledge that the German garrison in Berlin capitulated by the morning of May 2, 1945. However, what's less commonly remembered is that the fighting didn't end there: the announcement of the capitulation occurred against the backdrop of a planned breakout from encirclement.
Those who intended to leave the capital of the Third Reich understood that they would likely face harsh consequences for their "artful acts" during the war. And until May 5, the city and its surrounding areas saw fierce fighting, using heavy tanks and self-propelled artillery.
So, by 7:00 on May 2, the commander of the Berlin defense area (and concurrently the commander of the 56th Panzer Corps), General of Artillery Helmut Weidling, signed an order for his troops to lay down their arms, the text of which began to be announced throughout the city over loudspeakers.
However, at this very time it had already “begun”.
Breakthroughs began in various directions, the main one being orchestrated by the commander of Kampfgruppe Mohnke, SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, commander of one of Berlin's nine defense sectors—the central sector, "Citadel." A significant number of high-ranking officers and functionaries of the Third Reich flocked to him.
The attack was carried out in the sector of the Soviet 3rd Shock Army and 2nd Guards Tank Army. The Germans, advancing from central Berlin along Friedrichstrasse, crossed to the northern bank of the Spree across the intact Weidendammer Bridge, located a kilometer northwest of Tiergarten Park.
The plan was to strike north and then turn west towards the Americans.
And a miscalculation in preparing the defense of Berlin, when there wasn't enough explosives for all the bridges, unexpectedly played into the Germans' hands. The "King Tigers" of the 503rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion attacked in the vanguard, forming the armored "spearhead" of the attack. They were followed by tanks and self-propelled guns of the Nordland Division, then cars and trucks carrying personnel and civilians. They were later joined by the remnants of the 9th Parachute-Jäger Division and the security regiment of the Grossdeutschland Division.
Having crossed the river, the column turned northeast and passed along the railway line on Schönhauserallee. Unterscharführer Georg Diers, commander of one of the "King Tigers," left behind a memoir describing the first hours of the breakthrough: immediately beyond the bridge, the tanks came under intense fire from Soviet field artillery and infantry—our soldiers had no anti-tank guns.
"Everything outside the vehicle was knocked off, including the right fender and tow ropes. The intercom failed, and the driver continued driving at high speed...A little further on, we encountered a barricade. Opening the commander's hatch, I saw a pointed headdress emerge from the side. In the darkness, I couldn't quite make it out and grabbed my pistol, but noticed the "death's head" insignia just in time.
"It was some Untersturmführer. He said he was Goebbels' driver and second adjutant. He knew the streets of Berlin well. He said he jumped onto the left fender as we moved forward and held onto the turret, knowing it would be hot at Ziegelstrasse. When asked what happened to those riding in the rear of the tank, he replied that they were torn to shreds, leaving only scraps of cloth and bodies," Diers wrote.
The unknown Untersturmführer also reported that the head of the NSDAP party chancellery, Martin Bormann, had also joined the breakthrough column.
Whether this is true or not is a very interesting question, as Bormann was missing for a long time, and it was only in 1972 that his remains were discovered during road repairs near what is now the central station. Officially, he committed suicide along with one of Hitler's attending physicians, Ludwig Stumpfegger, at Lehrter Bahnhof, the site of what is now Berlin's central station.
And he wasn't the only one who was unlucky.
After passing between Zürichstrasse and Schönhauserallee, the breakthrough column encountered a second ring of Soviet defenses, and their tanks ran into German mines. SS-Brigadeführer Mohnke himself, along with the group gathered around him, was captured. He either didn't manage to escape, or after the initial losses, he tried to cheat and hide in the basement, but he was found there.
The Kampfgruppe commander, who was pulled out of the basement, was then taken to Moscow under heavy guard.
The second attack, involving the remaining "king tigers," hit the junction of the Soviet 76th and 132nd rifle divisions of the 125th corps of the 47th army, which held the line in the west of Berlin along the Havel River, on the approaches to the famous Spandau citadel.
The Germans broke through in two groups. The first, numbering over 7,500 soldiers and officers with tanks and self-propelled guns, attacked near the railway bridge where the Spree flows into the Havel. Here, on the western bank of the river, the 498th and 605th Regiments of the 132nd Rifle Division held the line.
They had little chance of holding back the enemy onslaught—by May 1, the division had lost about half its personnel. It was not reinforced. The defensive area was densely populated with private houses, both on the riverbank and 5-6 kilometers deep—defending such terrain required far more men.
As a result, division commander Colonel Ivan Solovyov was forced to stretch his regiments "like a string," organizing the defense based on the strongpoint principle. The main forces of the division were engaged in eliminating small enemy groups and evacuating civilians from the front lines.
When a concentration of enemy forces and equipment was discovered in front of the railway bridge, units of the 605th Regiment defending the bridge opened heavy fire on the enemy infantry and equipment. However, local residents and German soldiers in civilian clothes began shooting from the rear of the Soviet soldiers from basements and attics.
Several artillery crews and riflemen were killed, allowing the enemy to break through and capture the bridge. The Germans widened the breach to a kilometer, their flanking units finding themselves in the rear of the Soviet regiments stationed along the Havel. The Germans then captured Klosterfelde, Stanen, the southeastern part of Gartenstadt, and secured the Neustadt-Falkenhagen road.
They intended to break through to the Elbe to surrender to the Americans there.
Three kilometers south of the first enemy group, a second group, numbering over 16,000 men, was breaking through. Supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, it advanced along An der Heerstrasse toward the road bridge southeast of Wilhelmstadt near the Charlottenburger Chaussee.
Soviet soldiers destroyed two "King Tigers" with a captured German 88mm anti-aircraft gun, but the Germans pushed back the units defending the bridge and crossed the Havel. After a brief, powerful artillery barrage, they penetrated the Soviet defenses and advanced southwest.
This group included approximately 300 high-ranking Nazi military officers and functionaries. According to survivors' recollections, they included Major General Erich Bärenfänger, commandant of the northeastern and eastern Berlin defense sectors "A" and "B"; Artur Axmann, leader of the Hitler Youth; Hans Baur, Hitler's personal pilot, who was seriously wounded in the leg and captured; and Werner Naumann, State Secretary of the Propaganda Ministry.
They expected to advance about 70 kilometers to the village of Großwoudikke, where, according to their information, the Ulrich von Hutten Division was fighting. More than 20 tanks of the 18th Panzergrenadier Division, as well as self-propelled guns and armored personnel carriers, advanced ahead of the column.
To stem the enemy's advance, Colonel Solovyov, commander of the 132nd Rifle Division, threw every available force into the fight: mortarmen, sappers, signalmen, and headquarters guards. They even sent in newly arrived reinforcements, who hadn't even had time to change their uniforms. He simultaneously requested assistance, which immediately began to converge on the Spandau area.
All available artillery was used against the enemy armored vehicles, and the enemy was held back until May 3, when tanks and motorized infantry of the 9th Guards Tank Corps began to arrive from Berlin.
Among the first to come to the rescue were the heavy ISU-122 and ISU-152 self-propelled guns of the 334th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, which had "straddled" the road. Soon, an enemy column appeared. They brought it to within 600 meters of the self-propelled guns' "pistol range," and fired one salvo, then a second, then a third. The lead "King Tiger" initially stalled. Shells continued to rain down on it, and it finally burst into flames and exploded.
The German infantry, already demoralized, rushed into the forest, taking cover behind the trees. Self-propelled guns continued to finish off the remaining vehicles—the Germans couldn't advance further along this road. The battle continued all day until nightfall.
The Germans began to break through further in small groups, and this tactic yielded results: Axmann himself managed to break through to the Allies, spent some time in prison, lived in West Germany after his release, and died in 1996. Unlike thousands of German boys who, thanks to him, did not live to see adulthood.
Meanwhile, fighting in the 47th Army's sector shifted westward—over a thousand Germans, supported by 10-15 armored vehicles, broke through to the town of Dalgow-Döberitz, near Berlin. Soviet troops set up ambushes and pursued with artillery fire, but the Germans suffered enormous losses. According to the 47th Army's headquarters, its units captured 8,539 enemy soldiers and officers on May 2-3 alone.
And on May 4, more than a thousand enemy soldiers (according to the combat report of the 9th Guards Tank Corps - about 3 thousand) driven out of Potsdam, supported by four self-propelled guns and armored personnel carriers, also tried to break through in a western direction, but came under powerful attacks from Soviet infantry and tanks.
Eight enemy armored personnel carriers carrying infantry even broke through to the corps headquarters in the town of Gorz, 45 kilometers west of Berlin. All were burned by units of the 33rd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade stationed there, and this effectively ended the Germans' attempts to break out: on May 4 and 5, only small detachments attempted to break through to the west.
Some of them were destroyed, but some still managed to achieve their goal.
#1
Eisenhower had no problem stopping at the Elbe. He saw it a waste of lives to fight for Berlin. The Soviets paid the bill, 81,116 dead or missing, for the victory.
#2
Another reason for the Russians to hate us. As 'Allies' we let them suffer much heavier casualties, while we were fighting in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Depending on the source they lost between 12.5% to over 20% of their entire population during WWII
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/06/2026 11:44 Comments ||
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#4
I think Stalin wanted Berlin so he could have Hitler's head on a platter.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/06/2026 13:04 Comments ||
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#5
#2 What they don't recognize is the shear amount of material aid they received in the critical time as they rebuilt their manufacturing further east as the Germans were overrunning their facilities in the west.
Neither do they acknowledge the Allied air campaign which drew a lot of the German airforce away from the Russian front.
Meanwhile the Americans were conduction a war with Japan which the Soviets found convenient to ignore till it suited them.
I remember reading about that, massive amounts of machinery and raw material, i was awed by the numbers, and jokingly to myself thought maybe we funded/assisted/built half of the soviet commie infrastructure.
Text taken from a tass.ru article posted by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Amid the diplomatic pause in negotiations over Ukraine, Europe continues to actively prepare for an "inevitable war with Russia." Rhetorically, one constantly hears statements about Moscow "about to attack the peaceful European tractor" and the need to prepare—by 2027, 2029, or 2030.
The "Russian threat" is a convenient bogeyman to justify militarization, the arms race, the need to keep unpopular governments in power, and the population's austerity. It also conveniently blames socioeconomic problems, loss of competitiveness, industrial closures, and the failure of multiculturalism and the "green transition."
But the situation goes beyond the bombastic rhetoric about Russia's contrived aggression in the West and verbal threats against Moscow. Systematic practical efforts are underway to increase the preparedness of a number of European countries for a hot war with Russia. This now affects everything from the propaganda machine and the armed forces, the military-industrial complex, and the intelligence services, to the civil defense system and transport and logistics infrastructure.
MILITARIZATION IN PRACTICE:
Against the backdrop of the conflict between European globalist elites and the administration of US President Donald Trump and the announced reduction of the American military presence in Europe, the European Union is increasingly discussing the idea of creating an independent military bloc, its own army. An increase in defense spending to 3-5% of GDP is also being promoted, not because the US demands it within NATO, but "to combat Russia" and "to unite allies."
The militarization of Europe can be easily traced through the example of three countries that currently form the backbone of NATO's new defense architecture on the eastern flank.
Germany, for example, has announced plans to create the most powerful army in Europe—both in quantity and quality—by 2039. Germany's first military strategy calls for increasing the standing army from 185,000 to 260,000, as well as the reserve force from 70,000 to 200,000. This should yield a total of 460,000 troops, exceeding, for example, French ambitions. This "military fist" is being created against Russia, which, according to doctrinal documents, is considered "the main threat to Germany."
It can be concluded that German militarism is finally shedding the constraints of the Yalta-Potsdam system. The Bundeswehr's primary efforts in 2026 are focused on accelerating the formation of the 45th Tank Brigade, which is deployed in Lithuania. Its combat readiness date is 2029, which Berlin calls "the year of a possible war."
Regarding civilian infrastructure, media reports indicate that Germany has allocated €1.6 billion for the large-scale modernization of the Bremerhaven motorway port. This is being done to accommodate large consignments of heavy armored vehicles, which would be transported to Europe via Germany in the event of a full-scale war with Russia. Work is also underway to strengthen bridges to accommodate heavy vehicles, and key roads are being repaired as a matter of priority.
Among other things, as part of its support for the Ukrainian theater of operations, Germany will finance the purchase of missiles for Patriot PAC-2 anti-aircraft systems and additional launchers for the IRIS-T air defense system. Long-range drones for strikes against Russia are also already being assembled in Germany.
Overall, Berlin plans to increase defense spending from the current 2.8% of GDP to 3.5% by 2029.
Militarization is proceeding similarly in neighboring Poland.
Militarization has been proceeding in Poland for years. For some reason they don’t trust Russian intentions.
On May 3, the planned NATO military exercise Amber Shock 2026 began there, practicing coordination between the ground forces of participating countries in Poland, Lithuania, and Finland. The primary objective is "deterring the Russian threat."
And just recently, in April 2026, a new American logistics base, APOD (Air Port of Debarkation), opened in Wroclaw, capable of handling large US Air Force military transport aircraft. Although the country's leadership claims it has not yet received "signals" from Washington, it clearly expects that some of the troops the US is withdrawing from the Middle East and Germany will be deployed in Poland.
Moreover, as Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz noted in February 2026, Poland plans to increase its army to 500,000 soldiers and officers within a few years. By 2025, it has already grown from 206,000 to 230,000. An active propaganda campaign is underway to promote the service. Poles' participation in the proxy war in Ukraine has been de facto decriminalized.
POLAND IS THE LEADING NATO COUNTRY IN DEFENSE SPENDING:
Five percent of GDP, even amid a significant budget deficit. Arms purchases are financed primarily through loans. Poland is the largest recipient of European defense loans under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program. Warsaw is also planning to sell its gold reserves (a joint proposal by National Bank Governor Adam Glapiński and President Karol Nawrocki). All for the sake of funding militarism.
Meanwhile, Finland, which recently joined NATO (2023), is actively cultivating the image of Russia as a personal enemy. The strategy remains the same: preparing the population and state institutions for a potential war. Aircraft and drones are being purchased, and troop levels are being increased.
Finland also distrusts Russian goodwill for some reason. It’s a puzzlement.
Helsinki withdrew from the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines and intends to resume their production as early as 2027. This is being done to mine the border with Russia, as well as for possible transfer to Ukraine. On May 2, NATO's Northern Strike 26 military exercise began in Finland (70 km from Russia). It is being positioned as a clear signal to Moscow: "NATO is ready to support Finland."
Helsinki, for its part, plans to increase defense spending to 3.2% of GDP by 2030 and to 3.5% by 2035, including by cutting other budget items.
Despite Western plans and calculations, this entire effort faces a number of systemic problems. In particular, there is a shortage of volunteers to expand the army. Germany, for example, is forced to consider raising the retirement age for all categories of reservists to 70. Even the targets for increasing the strength of the 45th Brigade in Lithuania cannot be achieved in the short term.
A significant portion of military projects are essentially being financed on credit, amid a growing budget deficit. This previously led to the collapse of plans to adopt the €800 billion "ReArm Europe" program. It is simply impossible to implement without significant borrowing, which, for example, displeased Germany and the Netherlands.
Furthermore, we mustn't forget the more common problems of corruption and embezzlement. It's no coincidence that, following the return of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech Republic launched an audit of the "projectile initiative," where significant sums of money disappeared amid the supply of used ammunition to Ukraine. A high-profile corruption scandal previously rocked the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), affecting a number of member countries. Not to mention the large-scale theft of weapons and ammunition from direct shipments to Ukraine, which are surfacing on black markets, including within Europe itself.
Meanwhile, even during exercises near the Russian border, problems with actual, rather than merely ostensible, coordination between the forces of various countries are being revealed, and "losses due to incidents during combat training" of personnel (injuries and deaths) and equipment (breakdowns and accidents during transportation) are being recorded.
Despite its own active militarization, Europe's plans to counter Russia still largely rely on the direct involvement of the United States. Washington, in my opinion, is deliberately reducing its participation in European initiatives aimed at "preparing for war with Moscow."
RESPONSE MEASURES:
Europe's intentions in supporting the proxy war in Ukraine are clear, and the ongoing militarization has long since gone beyond simple scaremongering and alarmist statements, so Russia, of course, is forced to respond to the threat from the West.
In particular, the Russian military contingent in Kaliningrad is being strengthened. Tactical nuclear weapons have already been deployed in Belarus. The Moscow and Leningrad military districts have been reestablished. The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has intensified its efforts to uncover the operational and strategic plans of NATO and individual EU countries. For example, the SVR reported on plans to deploy British and French troops in Ukraine, provide Kyiv with a nuclear bomb, Poland's intentions to annex Western Ukraine, and so on. Building on the amendments to its nuclear doctrine adopted in late 2024, Moscow plans to further adapt it to growing threats from the West.
Naturally, these are not the only countermeasures being employed. As the West's hostile course escalates and becomes protracted, Russia will need to develop a long-term deterrence strategy that eliminates any dangerous illusions the enemy may have.
#5
I think it's a good idea for US forces to remain in Europe just to make sure that everybody's aggressive tendencies are kept in check.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/06/2026 14:00 Comments ||
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#6
I was looking at selective service numbers the other day. 77% are not fit to fit. That shows me the numbers are cooked. The 33% fit to fight wont be our "cultural enrichments'.
I'm starting to think these wars, some call them banker wars, are designed to cull the alphas amongst us. We were 38% of the world prior to 1900's, and are only 8% today. That's a true minority.
Christians need to stop killing Christians. Because if not: UKR is the model.
#7
77% are not fit to fit. That shows me the numbers are cooked.
What do you mean, mossomo? And how many could become fit if they went outside to play instead of surrounding themselves with munchies while binge gaming?
"Hat tip" indeed.
[X] Suppose you train a monkey to push a button, by rewarding it with a banana every time.
Then you stop giving it bananas.
What happens next is called Extinction Rage (technically, "Frustrative Nonreward.")
I’ve seen it called Extinction Burst, but they all clearly mean the same thing
The monkey becomes angry and agitated.
You may have experienced something similar, when a vending machine took your money and gave you nothing in return.
Extinction rage may be accompanies by an "Extinction burst." Paradoxically, when the bananas stop arriving, the monkey pushes the button more, at least for a while.
(In this context, the term "extinction" refers to the death of the monkey's belief that a button press will be rewarded with a banana. It's a sad time for the monkey.)
In the 60's, right-wingers trained leftists to call us racists. When they called us racists, we dropped loot.
Pushing the racist button was always rewarded with loot, and better yet, with the right-winger's cowering submission.
So leftists pushed the racist button a lot.
Then a few years ago, most right-wingers stopped dropping loot. In classic extinction behavior, leftists got angry and called us racists even more. They frantically pushed the racist button, hoping the bananas would resume, getting angrier and angrier when they didn't.
Some leftists are still pushing the button.
I'm sure you can make the connection to the sexist button, as well as the homophobe, islamaphobe, and trans-phobe buttons.
Posted by: Grom the Affective ||
05/06/2026 01:44 ||
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[1777 views]
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#1
Another button; the SNAP 'no more junk food' button.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
05/06/2026 2:58 Comments ||
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#2
But the left - THEY'RE the smart ones.....
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/06/2026 6:29 Comments ||
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#3
Why do I so readily relate to stories about four legged primates ?
[SteelCutter] If it ever goes fully kinetic. Maps. charts, photos and analysis
After following the latest news from both sides, and listening to this morning's Pentagon brief, it's becoming clear to me that the new American "safe passage guidance" plan is to steer shipping through the inshore southern “local traffic” channel near Oman. Jazirat Salamah is the northernmost outcropping of Omani Territory, and guards this inshore shipping channel.
Posted by: Clem+Elmish4239 ||
05/06/2026 00:00 ||
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[1771 views]
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#1
I don’t think the international channel is mined. If it proves to be mined, I would take Kharg Island permanently.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/06/2026 5:47 Comments ||
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#2
Must be some UN resolution condemning such action to be published shortly.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
