The Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin

by Cornelius Ryan

  Their information was fitted into a military skeleton developed from American, British, Russian and German sources. Unit after-action reports, war diaries, division histories, intelligence summaries and interrogation reports were obtained, along with personal interviews from key military and governmental figures of the period, many of whom turned over to me their own files, documents and notes. The total accumulation of research filled ten filing cabinets and contained such disparate information as the amount of fuel in Berlin gasometers before the battle and the fact that Marshal Rokossovskii wore a wrist watch with a built-in compass.

  An enormous number of people helped on the project. It could not have begun at all without Lila and DeWitt Wallace of the Reader’s Digest, who placed at my disposal the vast research resources of their organization and who underwrote many of the costs. I would like to pay tribute to my friend Hobart Lewis, President and Executive Editor of the Digest, who was unstinting in his efforts to make the book possible. I also want to thank those men and women in the Digest’s bureaus in the United States and Europe who collected research and interviewed scores of participants. It would be unfair to single out any particular individuals. I would like instead to name them in alphabetical order by bureau. Berlin: John Flint, Helgard Kramer, Suzanne Linden, Ruth Wellman; London: Heather Chapman, Joan Isaacs; New York: Gertrude Arundel, Nina Georges-Picot; Paris: Ursula Naccache, John D. Panitza (Chief European Correspondent); Stuttgart: Arno Alexi; Washington: Bruce Lee, Julia Morgan.

  Thanks must be given to the U. S. Department of Defense for permission to research in the historical archives. In particular, I want to acknowledge the help of Brigadier General Hal C. Pattison, head of the Office of the Chief of Military History and his associates: Magda Bauer, Detmar Fincke, Charles von Luttichau, Israel Wice, Hannah Zeidlik and Dr. Earl Ziemke—all of whom gave time and assistance to me and my associates. My thanks also to the director of the World War II Records Division, Sherrod East, who permitted a day-by-day record investigation for months. Others in the Records Division were equally kind: Wilbur J. Nigh, Chief of the Reference Branch, and his associates, Lois Aldridge, Morton Apperson, Joseph Avery, Richard Bauer, Nora Hinshaw, Thomas Hohmann, Hildred Livingston, V. Caroline Moore, Frances Rubright and Hazel Ward. Working closely with this group was Dr. Julius Wildstosser who had the painstaking job of examining miles of microfilm and translating thousands of German documents for me and my Reader’s Digest associates.

  I owe special debts of gratitude to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower; Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein; General Omar N. Bradley; Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan; General Walter Bedell Smith; General William H. Simpson; Lieutenant General James M. Gavin; Lord Ismay; Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks; Lord Strang; Ambassador W. Averell Harriman; Ambassador Foy D. Kohler; Ambassador David Bruce; Ambassador Charles Bohlen; Earl Attlee; Mrs. Anna Rosenberg Hoffman; Major General Sir Francis de Guingand; Sir Miles Dempsey; Lieutenant General Evelyn Barker; Major General Louis Lyne; Major General R. F. Belchem and Professor Philip E. Mosely. These individuals and many other American and British officers and diplomats helped me to understand the military and political background of the period and to unravel the reasons why the Anglo-American forces did not continue their advance on Berlin.

  I am grateful to the Russian government for their courtesy in allowing me to see hitherto unrevealed documents, orders, interrogation reports and other papers from their defense files. We did not see eye to eye on many matters and my methods were not always as diplomatic as they might have been. I found, however, that a blunt and candid approach to the Soviet military was returned by them. On the matter of the rapes in Berlin, for example, it was suggested to me by certain members of the U. S. State Department and the British Foreign Office that it might be undiplomatic to raise the question. President John F. Kennedy disagreed with that view. His words to me before I left for the Soviet Union were to the effect that the Russians probably would not mind in the least, because at heart they were horse traders. He felt I should speak bluntly and “lay it on the table.” I did, and the Soviet authorities responded in kind. There were some awkward moments, however. Although I had been invited by the Khrushchev government to conduct my research, the border police at Moscow airport tried to take from me the very papers that the Soviet Defense Department had given me! The Red Army officers, Marshals Koniev, Rokossovskii, Sokolovskii and Chuikov, were kindness personified, generous with their time and their information, as were the other Soviet military men I interviewed. That this liaison could be established was in large part due to my associate on that trip, Professor John Erickson of the University of Manchester, whose linguistic abilities and expert knowledge of Russian affairs proved invaluable.

  In Germany, Dr. Graf Schweintz of the Press and Information Department of the Bonn government opened many a door. General A. Heusinger of the NATO command in Washington wrote scores of letters of introduction. Colonel Theodor von Dufving, the former Chief of Staff of the last Berlin Commandant, General Karl Weidling, spent days going over the last battle with me. General Walther Wenck, General Theodor Busse, General Martin Gareis, General Erich Dethleffsen, Lieutenant General Hellmuth Reymann, General Hasso von Manteuffel, General Max Pemsel, Lieutenant General Friedrich Sixt, SS General Felix Steiner, General Burkhart Müller-Hillebrand, SS Major General Gustav Krukenberg, Colonel Hans Refior, Colonel Hans Oscar Wöhlermann and Frau Luise Jodl—all helped in every way possible to reconstruct the battle and those last days in Berlin.

  There were many others who aided in one way or another: Leon J. Barat, Deputy Advisor for the Institute for the Study of the U.S.S.R. in Munich; Rolf Menzel, then Editor-in-Chief, Radio Berlin; Lieutenant Colonel Meyer-Welcker of the German military archives institute; Frank E. W. Drexler, editor of the Berlin paper Der Abend; Robert Lochner, head of RIAS in Berlin; Raymond Cartier of Paris Match; Dr. Jurgen Rohwer of the Library of Modern History in Munich; Dr. Albrecht Lampe of the Berlin Municipal Archives; Karl Röder of WAST, the German veterans organization; Carl Johann Wiberg; Marcel Simonneau of the Amicale Nationale des Anciens P.G. des Stalags; Dr. Dieter Strauss of Siegbert Mohn Verlag, the publishers. To these and many others, my most sincere thanks.

  I have saved to the last my thanks to Colonel General Gotthard Heinrici for the German side of the story. Over a period of three months we shared countless interviews and conversations. He fought each phase of the battle again. He allowed me to use his personal notes, documents and war diaries. Even though he was plagued by illness, he always gave generously of his time. Without him, I do not think this book could have been written. In some twenty years as a writer, I have rarely encountered a man of such dignity and honor—nor one with such memory for detail.

  How do I thank those who stood by me during the writing? My darling wife who collated, indexed, edited, rewrote—and at the same time looked after our family during the long years of researching and writing; my good friend and severest critic Jerry Korn, whose sharp editing pencil moves so brilliantly across paper (he will not get a chance at this page); my invaluable secretaries, “Horty” Vantresca and Barbara Sawyer, who typed and retyped, filed, answered phones and backstopped all the rest of us; Suzanne and Charlie Gleaves, who were just there when I needed them; Peter Schwed and Michael Korda of Simon and Schuster, who, togther with Helen Barrow (production manager), Frank Metz (art director), Eve Metz (designer), and Sophie Sorkin (copy chief), had to put up with my impossible demands; Raphael Palacios, whose meticulous maps and sense of humor are more than any author can hope to have; Dave Parsons of Pan American Airways, who moved trunkloads of research all over Europe without losing a single item; my friends Billy Collins and Robert Laffont—my publishers in England and France—who waited so long for this book that they almost called it “Watch on the Ryan”; my lawyer, Paul Gitlin, whose help, guidance and temperature-taking were extraordinary; my representatives Marie Schebeko (in France) and Elaine Greene (in England), who have he
lped by work, courage, support and belief—to them all, my deepest thanks.

  —C.R.

  Index

  A

  A-Day, 9, 122

  Abu Markub stork, 169, 171, 408, 484, 512

  Ache, Captain Kurt, 511

  Acheson, Dean, 469

  Adolf-Hitler-Platz, 166

  Aherne, Corporal John, 493

  Air Ministry building, 382

  Air raids, 24, 65, 262-63, 370, 409

  extent of destruction in Berlin, 13-16, 18, 257-58

  last Western, 420

  by Russians, 165-68

  on zoo, 14, 169

  on Zossen, 79

  Airborne assault on Berlin planned, 120-25, 147, 179, 249, 281-82

  Airstrip on East-West Axis, 378-79, 482-83

  Alexanderplatz, 437, 502

  Alexandrov (Russian propaganda chief), 28n

  Alkett plant, 50-51, 372

  Alpenfestung, see National Redoubt

  Alte Krug restaurant, 166

  American Army, see United States Army

  Ammunition shortage in Berlin, 383

  Anderson, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur, 323-24

  Anglo-American forces

  airborne assault on Berlin planned, 120-25, 147, 179, 249, 281-82

  armored tactics of, 134-35, 305

  Berlin drive by, 135-36, 139-40, 165, 194, 198-202, 206-7, 217, 234, 237-42, 252-53, 278-80, 283-94, 304-26, 330

  Berlin drive forbidden, 331-32, 365-66, 388

  Berliners’ hope for capture by, 35-37, 39

  breakout in West by, 126-36, 207, 209, 277-78, 280-82

  cross Rhine, 17, 86-87, 116, 207

  First Allied Airborne Army, 121, 122, 282

  Hitler’s policy toward, 84-85

  “Land Forces Commander” proposed for, 204, 205

  meeting of Russian army and, 187-88, 208-9, 215-16, 293, 471-72

  “National Redoubt” and, 209-14, 216, 237, 238, 279, 329-30, 446-47

  rumor that they have joined Germans, 457

  supply problems of, 326

  Anhalter Station, 421-22, 449

  Anti-aircraft defense of Berlin, 166-68

  Antonov, General A. A., 248

  Antwerp, 202

  Antz, Anneliese, 487

  Antz, Ilse, 418, 461, 487, 512

  Archer, Rear Admiral Ernest R., 231, 239, 243

  Ardennes offensive, 84-85, 120, 193

  Eclipse map captured in, 97

  Montgomery and, 204-5

  Arie, see Bestebreurtje, Arie D.

  Armistice and Post-war Committee (Attlee Committee), 143, 144, 154n

  Armored tactics, 134-35, 305

  Arneburg, 288

  Artillery

  German, 223, 352-53, 384, 390, 391

  Russian, 254, 255, 335, 348-52, 354, 357-59, 417-22, 479

  Artillery-spotting planes, 126-27, 190, 310-12, 479

  Asch, 148

  Astrology, 318

  Atrocities, 30

  Russian attitude to German, 246, 349

  by SS, 28, 34, 440-42 See also Sexual attack

  Attlee, Clement, 143, 144, 154n

  Attlee Plan, 153

  Augsberg, 203

  Austria, 242

  Axmann, Artur, 398, 403

  B

  Bad Blankenburg, 296

  Bad Salzelmen, 307-8

  Balzen (batman), 70, 95

  Barbarossa (Frederick I), 212

  Barby, 319-20, 325, 331, 365-66

  Barker, Lieutenant General Evelyn H., 508-9

  Barnes, Lieutenant Frank, 135

  Batchelder, Lieutenant Colonel Clifton Brooks, 134

  Bathe, SS Sergeant, 432

  Batov, General Pavel, 245

  Baur, Hans, 337, 502

  Bautzen, 70

  Bavaria, 229-30, 274-76, 376 See also National Redoubt

  Bayer, Anne-Lise, 409

  Bayer, Erich, 304

  Bayreuth, 374

  BBC broadcasts, 20-21, 35, 209

  Beethoven Hall, see Philharmonic Orchestra

  Belgium, 146, 156

  Below, Colonel Nicolaus von, 404, 405, 497

  Belsen concentration camp, 45, 328

  Beltow, Hans, 433

  Belzig, 298, 445

  Bendler Block headquarters (Bendlerstrasse), 46, 48, 373, 382

  Berchtesgaden, 125, 212, 275, 435

  Beria, Lavrenti, P., 248

  Berlin

  administration breaks down, 407-8, 450-53

  air raids on, 13-16, 18, 24, 65, 165-68, 257-58, 262-63, 370, 409, 420

  Anglo-American drive for, 135-36, 139-40, 165, 194, 198-202, 206-7, 217, 234, 237-42, 252-53, 278-80, 283-94, 304-26, 330

  Anglo-American forces forbidden to drive to, 331-32, 365-66, 388

  anti-aircraft defense of, 166-68

  children in, 219, 422

  commandants of, 65-66, 428, 449

  defense plans for, 65-66, 217-20, 229-30, 375-84, 413-14

  demolition in, 334-35, 378-80, 409, 481

  encircled, 472

  evacuation of, 217-20, 404-7, 510-11

  factories in, 16, 372, 409, 494

  first artillery fire heard in, 358, 369

  first artillery shelling of, 417-22

  first Russians enter, 457-65

  foreign workers in, 48-51

  Goebbels as Gauleiter of, 217-20, 377-78, 399-400, 405, 479n

  hopes for capture by British and Americans, 35-37, 39

  its attitude to Nazis, 52, 371-72

  Jews in, 40-44, 262-63, 461-64

  joint occupation planned, 143, 144, 148, 154, 159

  last plane into, 482-83

  planned airborne assault on, 120-25, 147, 179, 249, 281-82

  population estimates for, 26-27

  proposed corridors to, 152, 158-59

  Roosevelt’s desire for capture of, 140, 145-48, 163

  Russian fear of Anglo-American seizure of, 243, 249, 354-55

  Russian plans for assault on, 21-22, 193-94, 243, 247-52, 254-56, 302-3

  sexual attacks in, 484-93

  surrendered, 109, 502-3

  tunnel flooded, 481

  Wenck and Steiner ordered to relieve, 422, 426-27, 441-45, 449, 466, 472-74 See also specific persons, places, and topics

  Berliner, Trude, 407

  Bernadotte, Count Folke, 404, 469-70

  Bernau, 401

  Bernburg, 96

  Berzarin, General N. E., Fifth Shock Army of, 302

  Bessarabia, 142

  Bestebreurtje, Arie D. (Captain Harry), 119-21, 123-24

  Bieler, Colonel, 268, 276-77, 439

  Biesenthal, 415

  Bila, Captain Heinrich von, 70, 72-73, 80-81, 90-92, 96, 300, 507

  Birkenhain, 83, 91, 300, 474

  Bismarck, Otto von, 257

  Bismarckstrasse, 422

  Bitterfeld, 298

  Blanter, Matvei Isaakovich, 499n

  Blaschke, SS Brigadeführer Hugo J., 54-56, 64, 405-7, 505

  Blondi (Hitler’s dog), 495

  Bochnik, Juliane, 31-32, 59, 485-86

  Boese, Helena, 407, 461

  Boese, Karl, 407

  Bogdanov, General, Second Guards Army of, 302

  Bohg, Kurt, 482

  Boldt, Captain Gerhard, 80, 227n

  Bolling, Major General Alexander R., 180, 292

  84th Infantry Division of, 128, 134, 289, 292, 317

  Bombach, Marianne, 459

  Bonn, 129

  Bonninghardt, 136

  Borgmann, Eberhard, 36, 453

  Borgmann, Ruby, 36, 453-54

  Bormann, Martin, 260, 261, 338, 403, 468, 498, 502

  Bourdeau, André, 50

  Boutin, Jean, 51

  Bradley, General Omar N., 129, 132, 178, 202, 213, 216-17, 241, 282

  on cost of taking Berlin, 321

  Montgomery and, 205

  on National Redoubt, 446-47

  orders Simpson not to advance on Berlin, 331, 388

  Twelfth Army Group of, 129-3
2, 204, 207, 212-13, 232, 233, 282-83

  Brandenburg Gate, 14, 114, 217, 378, 418

  Braun, Eva, 56, 337, 467, 496

  arrives at Führerbunker, 359

  body of, 341, 505, 506n

  marriage of, 497

  suicide of, 495, 497-98, 500

  Breitenbachplatz, 453

  Bremen, 145, 155, 161, 326

  Bremerhaven, 161

  Brereton, Lieutenant General Lewis H., First Allied Airborne Army of, 121, 122, 282

  Breslau, 268, 378

  Breweries, 450n

  Bridges

  in Berlin, 334, 379-80, 413, 481

  on Elbe, 306-10, 312, 313, 315-17, 319-20, 322-25, 365-66

  on Neisse, 355-57, 368

  on Oder, 223, 352

  Remagen, 17, 86-87, 130, 207, 314, 334-35

  Bristow, Sergeant John, 390

  British Army, see Anglo-American forces

  British Army units

  ARMY GROUP, Twenty-first, 103, 116, 129, 135-36, 139-40, 200, 216-17, 232-33, 282, 325-26

  ARMY, Second, 44, 126, 129, 135, 326

  CORPS

  1st Airborne, 121

  8th, 508

  DIVISIONS

  6th Airborne, 281, 508

  7th Armored, 128, 134, 135, 280-81

  51st Highland, 128

  REGIMENT, Devonshire, 135

  BATTALION, 13th Parachute, 281

  British Information Services, 496

  British occupation zone, 100

  Roosevelt’s objections to plans for, 141, 145-50, 154-61

  Bromberg, 33

  Brooke, Field Marshal Sir Alan, 126, 142, 178, 201, 204, 207, 238

  protests Eisenhower’s message to Stalin, 233, 234

  Brunswick, 202

  Brussels, 119

  Buchenwald concentration camp, 327

  Buchholz, 356

  Buchwald, Elsa, 486

  Buchwald, Gerd, 486, 494

  Bückeburg, 291

  Buhle, General Walter, 261, 271

  Bulganin, Marshal Nikolai A., 248

  Bulge, see Ardennes offensive

  Burgdorf, General Wilhelm, 65, 226, 227, 260, 261, 273, 275-76, 359, 448, 496, 497, 498

  suicide of, 502, 503

  Burmester, Charlotte, 457

  Busch, Field Marshal Ernst, 297

  Busse, General Theodor, 93-94, 110, 225-26, 229, 351, 362-65, 396, 428, 434n

  links up with Wenck, 509-10

  Ninth Army of, 88-89, 93-94, 222, 224-25, 265, 342, 351-53, 364-65, 385, 395, 396-98, 400, 404, 414-16, 423, 434, 436, 438-39, 444, 447, 449, 472-73, 509-10