Marshal Georgy Zhukov was appointed commander of the 1st Belorussian Front in November 1944 for the last two great offensives of World War II: the “East Prussian Offensive”—the capture of Poland and East Prussia—and the “Berlin Offensive Operation”—the capture of Berlin.

The Battle of Berlin raged for 16 days. The Berlin Offensive Operation commenced at 3 a.m. on April 16th, 1945. The Soviets launched their opening attack through Seelow Heights. The Soviets were met with fierce German resistance, but overwhelming numbers eventually saw the Third Reich bashed and beaten into a handful of city blocks. The Germans surrendered at 3 p.m. on May 2nd, 1945.

The Battle of Berlin was monumental and involved 2.3 million Soviets and 750,00 German defenders consisting of Wehrmacht, Hitler Youth, Volksstorm, Naval personnel, Airforce personnel and police.

The Germans refused to go quietly and managed to destroy about 2,000 Soviet tanks.

The Soviets saw the Reichstag as the actual seat of power in Germany. A symbol equivalent to that of the Kremlin in Moscow. The Nazis did not need the building and left it a partial ruin following a fire in February 1933. It was turned into a fortress by the German defenders. Fighting in the Reichstag was brutal and often hand-to-hand. The Soviets managed to raise Special Banner No.5 on the rooftop on April 30th 1945. However, elements of the German defenders continued to hold out in the basements until the German capitulation on May 2nd.

Once the war was over, Berlin was divided into four sections of control by the United States, The Soviet Union, the British and the French. Eventually, these zones melted into two -- East and West Berlin, separated in 1961 by the notorious Berlin Wall.