Battle for the Reichstag

The Battle for the Reichstag was the final stage of the savage Battle of Berlin. It was fought between the Soviet 150th Rifle Division and a 1,000-man German garrison consisting of Waffen-SS units and sailors who had holed up inside the Reichstag. It took place between April 29 and May 2, 1945, during World War II. Both sides fought tenaciously as they suffered heavy losses. On the second day of the Russian assault on this building, Adolf Hitler committed suicide.

Summary

The Battle for the Reichstag started at 02:30 hours, on April 29, 1945, after the Soviet 3rd Shock Army had crossed the Moltke bridge and started to fan out into the surrounding streets and buildings. The initial assaults on the buildings next to the Reichstag, including the Ministry of the Interior, were hindered by the lack of supporting artillery. It was not until the remainder damaged bridges were repaired that artillery could be moved up in support of the advancing infantry units.

At 04:00 hours, in the Führerbunker, Hitler signed his last will and testament and, shortly afterwards, married Eva Braun. At dawn the Soviets pressed on with their assault in the southeast. After very heavy fighting, they managed to capture Gestapo headquarters on Prinz-Albrechtstrasse, but a Waffen SS unit counter-attacked, forcing the Soviets to withdraw from the building.

At 06:00 hours, on April 30, when the Russians had finally taken the bridges and were able to bring up artillery support, the 150th Rifle Division, 3rd Shock Army, launched an assault on the Reichstag. Nevertheless, this first attacking wave of red soldiers were thrown back by determined German troops entrenched in the building. The Waffen-SS troops inside had the support from 12.8 cm guns, emplaced two kilometers away on the Berlin Zoo flak tower from which they fired at the Russian troops in the streets.

Several assaults had been repelled by the Germans, decimating entire companies, when the Soviets were finally able to enter the building. The Reichstag had not been in use since 1933, but now its interior was nothing but a maze of rubble and debris. The German troops inside made excellent use of this and lay heavily entrenched. Fierce room-to-room fighting broke out. At 01:30 hours on May 1, Soviet troops made their way to the roof to hoist up their communist flag.

The close quarter battle of the Reichstag raged on until very late in the evening when the surviving German troops pulled out of the building and headed north. During that same timeframe, about 100 of the last German combatants surrendered. A further 300 defenders were dead and another 350 were already lying wounded in the basement. Finally, on May 2, 1945, the Red Army was able to control the whole building.

Below, Soviet troops approaching the Reichstag on April 29th, 1945. They are equipped with a ZiS-2 anti-tank gun.

Map of a sector of Berlin. The Russian troops closed in on the Reichstag by crossing the Moltke bridge.

Below, the smoking and battered building of the Reichstag right after it had been taken.

The bullet-riddled remains of that historically famous building. You can see an abandoned German 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun in the foreground.