The Battle of Berlin was the last major battle in Europe during World War II. It began on April 16, 1945, following the start of a major Soviet Union offensive on the capital city of the Third Reich, and ended on May 2, 1945, when the German defenders surrendered the city to the Red Army.

On January 12, 1945, the Red Army entered German territory during the VistulaOder offensive and advanced westward at a great speed, up to forty kilometers a day, pushing into East Prussia, Lower and Upper Silesia and Eastern Pomerania, until it came to a temporary halt sixty kilometers east of Berlin on a German defensive line along the Oder River. When the offensive resumed, two Soviet fronts groups of armies attacked Berlin from positions to the east and south, while a third attacked German positions north of the city.

The first preparations to defend the outskirts of Berlin began on March 20, when the newly appointed commander of Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici, correctly anticipated that the bulk of Soviet troops would cross the Oder River. Before the start of the Battle of Berlin, the Soviets managed to encircle the city thanks to their victories in the battles of the Seelow and Halbe Hills. On April 16, 1945, the First Belarusian Front led by Soviet Union Marshal Georgy Zhukov began bombarding the center of Berlin, while the First Ukrainian Front led by Marshal Ivan Konev pushed the remnants of the Central Army Group southward. The German defenders were led mainly by Helmuth Weidling, and consisted of exhausted, illequipped and disorganized Wehrmacht and WaffenSS divisions, joined by many foreign SS volunteers and poorly trained Hitler Youth and Volkssturm volunteers. During the days of the battle, the Soviets advanced rapidly through the streets of Berlin until they reached the city center, where the fighting was handtohand and housetohouse.

On April 30, Adolf Hitler, Germany's Führer, committed suicide, as did many of his top officials and staunch supporters. Although the Soviet Union wanted to take Berlin on May 1, to coincide with Workers' Day, the defenders finally surrendered the city on May 2, 1945. However, street fighting continued in the northwest, west and southwest of the city until the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany a week later on May 8 May 9 in the Soviet Union. Numerous German units marched westward to surrender to the Western Allies rather than be captured by the Soviets.