Seelow Heights: Preparations, Expectations, and Legacy

Описание: The Battle of Seelow Heights is remembered as a key part of the Battle of Berlin today, but at the time it was barely a blip on the Red Army's radar. How did this happen and what was the actual battle like? I go through both the run-up of the battle and the fighting for Seelow Heights to find out.

This video was originally recorded to provide historical background for reenactors of the Istochnik military history club.

**Sources and further reading**

Ministerstvo oborony Rossiyskoy Federatsii. Mediateka VOV. Karty i skhemy
G.F. Krivosheev, Velikaya Otechestvennaya bez grifa sekretnosti
Warspot, Vesna 1945-go. Shturm Zeelovskikh vysot
https://www.tankarchives.com/2014/10/...
TsAMO RF F.233 Op.2356 D.804 L.503-544, Lieutenant General Pronin, Political resources of the 1st Belorussian Front in the Berlin Operation
TsAMO RF F.345 Op.5487 D.87 L.435, Combat journal of the operational department of the 8th Guards Army
TsAMO RF F.345 Op.5487 D.409 L.1, Combat journal of the 8th Guards Army
TsAMO RF F.345 Op.5487 D.366-1 L.282, Report on the strength of the Rifle Division and average composition of rifle companies of the 8th Guards Army for April 1945
TsAMO RF F.299 Op.3080 D.704 L.2, Report on the combat of the 1st Gds.TBr. within the 8th Gds.MC., 1st Guards T.A., 1st Bel.F. from April 15th to May 2nd 1945
TsAMO RF F.233 Op.2356 D.470 L.1, Plan of the Berlin offensive operation by the 1st BelF. Variant A
TsAMO RF F.233 Op.2356 D.471 L.1, Plan of the Berlin offensive operation by the 1st BelF. Variant B
TsAMO RF F.299 Op.3070 D.827 L.1, Combat journal of the 1st Guards Tank Army
Soobscheniya Sovetskogo Informburo Vol.8 p.178
TsAMO RF F.33 Op.686169 D.4648 L.69, Award order for Nasatov Yakov Ivanovich
TsAMO RF F.33 Op.686196 D.4885 L.7, Award order for Ilyin Sergey Nikolayevich
A. Isayev and V. Damarsky, Tsena Pobedy, Echo FM
A. Isayev, Ot Zeelovskikh vysot do Reikhstaga

00:00 Intro
01:10 Zhukov's plan for Berlin
03:45 Progress on the Western Front
04:22 Stalin gets paranoid
05:22 Zhukov's Plan B
07:14 Order of Battle
09:40 Busse and Zhukov's strategies
12:00 Preparations for the attack
15:12 The Spotlights
17:05 Political workers in the Battle of Berlin
22:06 Strict OPSEC
23:45 The battle for Seelow Heights
29:42 Was Seelow Heights important?
33:37 Seelow Heights in post-war discourse
35:46 Conclusions


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