Zhukov At the Oder: The Decisive Battle for Berlin

This text provides an account of the Soviet-German conflict east of Berlin, culminating in 1945 with the last major land battle in Europe that proved decisive for the fate of Berlin. When the first Red Army soldier reached the Oder on the 31st of January, everyone at the Soviet Headquarters expected Marshall Zhukov’s troops to bring a quick end to the war. However, despite desperate fighting by both sides, a stalemate persisted for two months, at the end of which the Soviet bridgeheads north and south of Kustrin were united, and the fortress finally fell. By drawing not only on official sources, but also on the accounts of individuals involved, the author reconstructs the difficult breakthrough achieved on the Oder: the establishment of bridgeheads; the battle for the fortress of Kustrin; and the bloody fight for Seelow Heights. Numerous maps and step-by-step illustrations show the operations of both contestansts in detail and reveal this episode in the history of the Second World War in Europe.