Soviet Forces Capture Berlin: Nazi Rule Ends
Soviet forces completed the capture of Berlin on May 2, 1945, after a brutal two-week urban battle that destroyed much of the city. The final Soviet assault began on April 16 with 2.5 million troops, 6,250 tanks, and 41,600 artillery pieces, the largest concentration of firepower in military history. German defenders, many of them teenage Hitler Youth and elderly Volkssturm militia, fought from building to building. Soviet casualties in the Berlin operation exceeded 80,000 killed and 280,000 wounded. German military and civilian deaths in the battle are estimated at 100,000. The Soviet banner raised over the Reichstag by Sergeants Yegorov and Kantaria became the iconic photograph of victory, though it was actually staged by photographer Yevgeny Khaldei.
May 2, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 2
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