About Antony Beevor
Sir Anthony Beevor is a British military historian born on 14 December 1946, a year and six months after the collapse of the Third Reich. Over the years, he has written history books regarding specific battles during World War II. The bestsellers are Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin, 1945, released in 1998 and 2007, respectively.
Chapter 1
This chapter exposes us to the deteriorating living standard of Berliners in the days leading up to 1945. Beevor also added that Hitler had completely lost touch with the reality of how things used to be versus how they are now. And the author claims that it is negatively affecting the Wehrmacht soldiers on the Eastern Front. Lastly, Speers announced that gun and tank production in Germany was higher than it had been in June 1941, as if there were enough men to operate that equipment.
Chapter 2
Here, the author introduces us to the Soviet forces that’ll take Berlin in 1945.
- Geology: Zhukov-1st Byelorussian Front
- Rokosovsky-2nd Byelorussian Front
- Konev—1st Ukrainian front
The author also stated the reason in full detail why Stalin decided to move up the date to attack the Vistula: the road to Berlin. Unbeknownst to his Western allies.
Chapter 3
Beevor explains here the Chernyakhovsky furious attack on East Prussia. This attack was accompanied by horrific stories of atrocities from German women regarding the men of the Red Army. Many Red Army men did not deny these atrocities committed by them when interviewed in the postwar era. Chenyakovsky’s men cut East Prussia from the rest of Nazi Germany by January 23, an attack that had started on 13 January.
Chapter 4
This chapter narrates the suffering of the German inhabitants still in East Prussia at the end of January 1945. Then it shows that Hitler’s government failed to recognize the people’s suffering and failed to provide a standard evacuation process. Meanwhile, the Red Army is firing on all cylinders to smash the Wehrmacht on its way to Berlin.
Chapter 5
By the third week in January, the author had placed the advancing Red Army 70 kilometers close to Berlin. Hitler is now scraping the bottom of the barrel of old men and children to sacrifice their lives for Nazi Germany’s capital. And the Soviets had determined not to take any Germans prisoner.
Chapter 6
In this chapter, Beevor describes the Yalta Conference, which took place between Comrade Stalin, Prime Minister Churchill, and President Roosevelt and their subordinates, in full detail. It also explains how Stalin psychologically manipulated his two other allies into emerging as the victors at the conference. Meanwhile, in the background, the Red Army is advancing steadily on Berlin.
Chapter 7
This chapter provides the full picture of the ongoing mauvais event at the rear of the Red Army as it advances closer to Berlin. Though tough discipline was carried out by the NKVD in these rear areas, atrocities by the Soviet men still didn’t stop, particularly against women. Russians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, even Germans—anything that looks like a woman, young or very old, it doesn’t matter; the ‘sex-starved’ red soldiers just want to get laid.
Chapter 8
The Red Army took Pomerania at the end of February and treated its German civilians roughly as it had been, resulting in significant suffering and displacement among the local population. Additionally, the multiple losses suffered by Himmler’s Army Group Vistula forced Guderian to relinquish control of the army group from the Reichsführer SS. And the replaced commander was General von Saucken, a more competent commander.
Chapter 9
Stalin wanted Berlin badly; he saw it as the crown jewel of taking Nazi Germany. And he’s willing to go to any length to achieve this goal. At one point, he told his Western allies that only his second-rate army would go on to take Berlin, when, in truth, he had amassed 2.5 million men, commanded by Khuzov and Konev, his most capable commanders of all time. Meanwhile, truly, the Americans and the British never saw Berlin as important as Stalin had.
Chapter 10
As March 1945 arrived in Nazi Germany, the Red Army was nearly at the gates of Berlin, and every subordinate of Hitler recognized that the war was lost. All the general staff, Guderian included, believed the war was lost. Only Hitler believed there were still ways to win the war through the development of unrealistic miracle weapons. However, Hitler believed that if the Red Army captured Berlin, then nothing should survive; with this belief, he issued his Nero order, which mandated the annihilation of everything useful to the advancing enemy. Albert Speer completely disagreed with Hitler on this and worked hard to reverse the order with nazi and wehrmacht senior personnale.
Chapter 11
Antony Beevor explains in this chapter how the Red Army was planning to boost its troops’ morale and population to storm and take Berlin with ferocity. Over a million men were recruited from the Gulag prison and fed to the advancing army, and extreme versions of atrocities were committed by the Wehrmacht in and out of the Soviet Union.
Chapter 12
The Germans, too, were waiting for the onslaught. In preparation to defend the city, under-fourteen boys were recruited and were propagandized to hate and fight the enemy and to defend the Fatherland with their individual lives. Boys who don’t know what war was truly like. Since 1943, ammunition, guns, and fuel tanks have been in critical short supply.
Chapter 13
The author in this chapter explains why the Western Allies did not advance on Berlin, even when they had an opportunity. Beever explained that it was due to the trick Stalin had played on the Supreme Commander of SHAEF. He convinced Eisenhower that Berlin had no strategic importance whatsoever, and Eisenhower believed it and acted accordingly based on that information. His field commanders were furious when orders came to hold back from advancing on Berlin.
Chapter 14
On the eve of the Battle for Berlin, as this chapter has shown, the Red Army was pleased. First, they were happy that the war was nearing its end; second, they looked forward to taking revenge on German fascists. They were, on the other hand, still nervous about what to expect when the real battle begins. Many of the front soldiers escape by writing letters to their girls back home and singing morale songs. This chapter then showed the extent to which the Red Army tried to camouflage its coming attack on Berlin. But 2.5 million men and the roar of almost 6,700 armored tanks could not be concealed. The Germans knew the Russians were coming. And the date is set. 16th of April, 1945.
Chapter 15
General Zhukov attacked Berlin with Chuikov’s 8th Guard Army with bombardment so heavy that Berliners from 60 kilometers away could feel the tremble on their wall pictures. However, Zhukov faced challenges, though, as the Red Army was losing more men to the Germans than it was to the Germans. Between Zhukov and Konev, Konev’s army was making a smoother advance on Berlin than Zhukov’s.
Chapter 16
Much of the fighting laid out in this chapter occurred on April 20, 1945, Hitler’s birthday. With the Red Army’s steady advance, General Gothard Heinrici still managed to throw one or two counterattacks against the enemy, but the Wehrmacht was understrength in every aspect. The Red Army could never be stopped, not in 1945. The author also concluded that Hitler’s firing and hiring policy this time did not improve the situation for his capital’s defenders.
Chapter 17
This chapter describes how the Führer’s birthday was celebrated in the Reich Chancellery. It was a dull drinking celebration, unlike years before when monumental gifts were being donated to Hitler. Today, the only donation to the Führer by almost everyone around him except a few was evacuation advice, urging him to flee from the vengeful Red Army. Lastly, it was Konev, not Zhukov, who broke into Berlin first on the 20th. It would be the 21st of April before the latter broke in.
Chapter 18
This chapter showed how senior Nazi officials are running away from Berlin in bulk. On the surface, they still show full faith in the führer. Meanwhile, the Red Army was taking town after town and city after city toward Berlin. Nazi Germany’s capital was now only kilometers away from the Soviets’ clutches. Hitler now realized that everything was lost. He prepared some people and documents to be relocated south of Berlin, where they would be safer. But he realized some people still wanted to die alongside him. They refused his proposal of evacuation.
Chapter 19
This chapter tells the tale of horrible events that occurred to the Berliners on 22 to 23 April when the Soviets were bombarding the city with half-ton shells. They couldn’t go out in peace to find sustainable rations and drinking water, which were in critical short supply. Meanwhile, a large number of people were crowded into a small room, much like sardines packed in a tin can. And in the Führer bunker, innocent Eva Braun had decided to stay with Hitler to the sweet-bitter end and wrote a final letter to her sister about the safekeeping of her luxurious jewelry.
Chapter 20
There were hopes scattered among Berliners of a miraculous general in the form of General Wenck coming to save the city from the coming Soviets; this false hope extended to the Führer bunker. But the fact is that no German general is coming to save the city. On the 26th of April, the US Army and the Red Army successfully cut Germany in half: West and East Germany.
Chapter 21
Just as in Stalingrad in late 1942, Berlin had shifted to more street fighting than a traditional battle. In this case, however, it was the Red Army that was on the attack, while the Wehrmacht was on the defense. Again, like Stalingrad, the Red Army was showing no mercy to Berliners, as the Wehrmacht too hadn’t shown the Stalingrad inhabitants any mercy. However, unlike Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht could not repulse the Red Army’s attack even if it had wanted to; there were no men and ammunition to do so in 1945. The Red Army had all the ground to itself.
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Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor (Summary)
Chapter 22
This chapter describes the battle that effectively destroyed the Army Group Vistula. This battle, as Beevor described, occurred in the Halbe forest on April 26 to 27. The forest is situated along the autobahn that leads to Berlin. General Gothard Henrici and General Wenck did their best to save lots of their troops in direct disobedience to Hitler. They knew they risked execution. Still, they withdrew their men far back from immediate Soviet bombardment.
Chapter 23
In this chapter, Beevor lists Hitler’s close associates who refused to go down with Hitler and Nazi Germany. This list:
- Herman Goring. He wanted to succeed Hitler; he deemed him unhealthy to lead Germany any longer.
- Heinrich Himmler. He was negotiating with the allies through the Swiss Red Cross to secure a favorable peace settlement for Germany, believing that this would help stabilize the country after Hitler’s downfall. Hitler stripped him of all state and party posts immediately when he found out.
- Herman Fegelein. He was aware of Himmler’s negotiations with the Allies but did not inform the führer. He himself was running out of Berlin but was caught and summarily executed.
Just to name a few. In contrast, some chose unwavering loyalty to the end by marrying the Führer. That’s Eva Hitler. She officially attached Hitler’s name to her own.
Chapter 24
This chapter described the Red Army’s capture of major government buildings in such a grand style. Himmler’s interior ministry, Göring’s air ministry, and most importantly, the Reichstag and soon the Reich Chancellery will be captured. This chapter also reveals the announcement of Hitler’s death to Stalin, who received the news with utmost calmness. Such a shame, the man who had sent millions to their grave died heroically.
Chapter 25
This chapter announces the previously concealed death of Hitler to the German population. It also announces the capitulation of the German troops fighting in the Reichstag and the death of Martin Bormann while trying to escape Berlin hurriedly.
Chapter 26
The search for proof of Hitler’s death was tense, as this chapter has shown, but was relaxed once a jaw found in the Reich Chancellery confirmed his identity. The Soviet higher authorities maintained a high degree of secrecy about this discovery. After Hitler’s death, fighting still continued in Berlin in factions, simply because Hitler’s death didn’t reach their ears on time. But then again, smart commanders were already surrendering to the Red Army as fast as possible. The final surrender of the city was signed by Field Marshal Ketel and two other senior Wehrmacht officers at Zhukov’s new headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the Western Allies.
Chapter 27
This chapter describes the event that followed the official surrender in Berlin. Rape en masse by the Red Army well into August of 1945, followed by looting, most especially of watches. The NKVD also arrested Red Army soldiers for minor offenses. Even German communists suffer from the now-occupied Soviets. The Soviets perpetrated gang atrocities against their daughters and women.
Chapter 28
This chapter concludes with life in the Soviet Union for the Soviets, especially soldiers who had fought in Germany. The Soviet government treated its veterans with distrust, particularly Zhukov, who had helped win the battle against German fascists. Finally, Beevor concluded that the battle for Berlin was a win for Stalin but a loss for most of those who had actually fought in it.
