The canal was also to be forced in the sectors of the 22nd and 23rd Guards Motorised Rifle Brigades. The riflemen had it somewhat easier than us as they did not have to get heavy tanks and self-propelled guns across, and in the worst case swim across the 40 metres.
It looked as if everyone was convinced that the result of the battle depended entirely on his personal efforts.
Once it became light we could see several dark objects on the opposite bank. These were the members of our storm groups. They were storming forwards, taking cover, getting up again and going on. The submachine-gun battalion crossed over to the other side of the canal by platoons.
I knew precisely how important it was to support the men. What could they achieve on the other bank with their light weapons. We had to help the battalion immediately or it would inevitably be destroyed.
The commanders of two brigades of the Breakthrough Artillery Division suddenly appeared near me. They had also assessed the situation and were already giving the necessary orders. Some stout-hearted gunners hastened past us on their way to establish a forward observation post on the other bank. Shortly afterwards the guns thundered, clearing the way for our battalion.
At last Bystrov reported that the bridge, which the enemy had made impassable the day before, was now usable. Nevertheless only light tanks could pass over the temporarily repaired bridge under heavy fire. The mortar battery of a submachine-gun battalion and an attached artillery battery immediately crossed over. This eased the situation for the submachine-gun troops.
Battalion commander Staruchin asked for the quickest possible support. The situation for his battalion was getting worse. The enemy had recovered from our artillery preparation and was now conducting a massive resistance. We even had to reckon with counterattacks.
The chief engineer let self-propelled guns get across the bridge. Their success could be decisive. An advance of 3 to 4 kilometres by the self-propelled artillery regiment would be helpful to us; we could then throw bridges across and get the remaining troops over.
Two artillery brigades tried to split up the enemy as our tank battalions fired from the south bank. Impatiently we waited for the crossing points to be made ready.
The artillery and tank fire fight had lasted for over an hour already. The Fascists were increasingly active. Two artillery detachments were firing on the crossing points and within half an hour the bridges no longer existed. Bystrov had only been able to get three self-propelled guns across the canal, two others having fallen into the water with the wrecked bridge. Colonel Kostin, their regimental commander, was killed in this way.
The submachine-gun battalion had to fight on in a confined area without the urgently required tanks and guns. Critical minutes began for the battalion. Then the attack came to a full stop. The three self-propelled guns had destroyed the enemy. Staruchin received effective help from only two artillery brigades, which the enemy kept under fire. On the left wing Gulevatov’s battalion held down an infantry company that wanted to strike into the rear of our submachine-gunners.
This massive exchange of fire lasted several hours. We tied down the enemy’s forces, but that was all that we achieved.
The same applied to our right-hand neighbour. But our action lightened the activities of other units. In the centre the 22nd Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade, followed by the 23rd, was able to force the canal, form a bridgehead and get its main forces across. Several hours later a bridge had been established here over which the tank brigades and corps rolled. The battle for the Teltow Canal was decided, the gateway to Berlin had been opened.
At dusk on the same day the brigade rolled up to its crossing point. Novikov caught us up on the bridge. The corps commander was in good spirits. ‘I saw how you tried to take the bridge. But it did not work out,’ he said painfully. ‘In any case you have given the Fascists a proper drubbing, and that was just right for us.’
Novikov took a creased map from his boot, flattened it and spread it over the bonnet of his vehicle. With a pencil he drew a line to the north as far as Zehlendorf, from where a dotted line went on to the autobahn and then on to the western edge of the city.
‘That’s it. All clear?’
‘Understood, Comrade General.’
‘Understanding is one thing, but you must think the thing through thoroughly.’ For the first time the corps commander was addressing me with the familiar ‘you’. This immediately raised my spirits. ‘Look right here. Wherever you turn there are buildings. Reconnoitre exactly how many and what is involved. Every building must be fought for. Our whole hopes rest with the riflemen and the assault teams.’
Novikov gave his instructions in a quiet voice. Often he had to explain his words, although for both of us much was not understandable. There were many unknowns in the task confronting me. I knew nothing about the character of the enemy defences, about the strength of the enemy and his reserves.
But we did know that we would have to bite our way slowly and carefully through the defences. Every street offered a multitude of surprises. The brigade stood on the outermost left wing of the corps and the army. There was no visual contact with General Leliushenko’s troops attacking towards Potsdam. Only from the distant thunder of artillery and rumbling explosions could I guess where the 4th Guards Tank Army was.
General Novikov had his individual traits. I could observe them once more as he left. He threw his cigarette end away, then, holding his spectacles firmly with two fingers, he grasped the windscreen of his open vehicle with his other hand and jumped into his seat with an elegant swing. As he drove off he called out to me: ‘Think about it, such a moment will never return. We are in Berlin!’
The vehicle turned away and drove towards the crossing point with an endless stream of tanks, guns and vehicles behind it. I had to smile over the general’s last words. Who could ever forget what it was like to stand in a Berlin street for the first time?
That night the tanks, together with Serashimov’s reconnaissance men, Bystrov’s sappers, and Staruchin’s and Chadsarakov’s submachine-gunners reached the Berlin suburbs. We went round Schönow, leaving Kleinmachnow to one side, and pushed through the devastated woods and gardens towards Lichterfelde-West S-Bahn station. The fighting took an unusual form. The enemy was there but invisible, appearing unexpectedly and vanishing again in an inexplicable way.
Trenches, individual slit trenches, ripped up streets, barricaded cellars, firing positions in roofs, dug-in tanks at crossroads and anti-aircraft guns gave us plenty to do. We needed the whole day to clear this thickly populated area. First we took Zehlendorf S-Bahn station, then the whole city district of Lichterfelde. We reported this victory immediately to the corps commander. In reply he radioed: ‘Zehlendorf has still to be taken today!’
Hastily we drove the Rear Services and repair units into Lichterfelde. They had to be in the immediate vicinity of the attacking battalions. I was afraid that they would get lost in the maze of streets and that our tanks would finally run out of ammunition, fuel, food and workshop repairs, and be stuck in the burning city. This was why I always kept my ‘household’ immediately behind me, and we kept a large detachment formed of members of the rear units to maintain security. My deputy for the Rear Services, the experienced and practical Major Leonov, soon found himself at home in these unusual circumstances.
At the Teltow Canal General Novikov had hinted at the significance of Zehlendorf. ‘That is the key to Berlin. It opens the door to the southwestern part of the city and must be in our hands by tonight. Don’t let yourself get tied up in street-fighting.’
His radio message reinforced this demand once more.