Race to Berlin
Competition between Soviet marshals Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Race to Berlin was a competition between Soviet Marshals Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev to be the first to enter Berlin during the final months of World War II in Europe.
The Race to Berlin | ||||||||
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Part of World War II, Eastern Theater | ||||||||
The Reichstag was a target that both Soviet marshals wanted. | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Soviet Union Poland | Germany | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Georgy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovsky |
Ivan Konev Andrei Yeremenko |
Gotthard Heinrici Theodor Busse Walther Wenck Ferdinand Schörner | ||||||
Strength | ||||||||
1,000,000 | 280,000 | 192,143+ German soldiers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
70,000 Soviet soldiers | Approximately 20,000 Soviet soldiers | Over 72,000 |
In early 1945, with Germany's defeat inevitable, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin set his two marshals in a race to capture Berlin.[1] Although the race was mostly between one another, both marshals were supported by other fronts. Marshal Zhukov was protected by Konstantin Rokossovsky's Second Belorussian Front, and Marshal Konev was supported by Andrei Yeremenko's Fourth Ukrainian Front. Their separately-commanded armies were pitted against each other, ensuring they would drive their men as fast and as far as possible to a quick victory, leading to the climactic Battle of Berlin.
The Soviet advance and ultimate capture of the German capital was not opposed by the Western Allies. In an effort to avoid a diplomatic issue, US Army General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower had ordered his forces into the south of Germany to cut off and to wipe out the Wehrmacht there, and to avoid the possibility that the German government would attempt to hold out in a national redoubt in the Alps. The Yalta Conference had already determined that both Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones of occupation.[2]