Battle of Berlin
1945 CE · Germany
The Battle of Berlin was fought in 1945 CE in Germany between Soviet Union and Poland vs Germany; decisive Soviet victory; Hitler died in his bunker and the city surrendered.
Battle of Berlin: quick facts
- Date
- 1945 CE
- Location
- Germany
- Belligerents
- Soviet Union and Poland vs Germany
- Commanders
- Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev vs Helmuth Weidling
- Result
- decisive Soviet victory; Hitler died in his bunker and the city surrendered.
- Era
- 🪖 World Wars
- Quiz difficulty
- medium
What happened at the Battle of Berlin?
The final battle of the European war saw 2.5 million Soviet soldiers close in on the German capital in a massive pincer movement. Desperate German defenders, including old men and boys of the Volkssturm, fought block by block as the city was reduced to rubble. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April 30 as Soviet soldiers raised the red flag over the Reichstag. Germany surrendered unconditionally eight days later, ending the war in Europe.
Did you know?
Soviet soldiers at Berlin competed fiercely to be the first to raise the red flag over the Reichstag. The famous photograph was actually staged the next day because the original flag-raising happened at night.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of Berlin on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.